Christian and unbeliever alike acknowledge His supremacy as a Man, and respect the epoch-making significance of His birth. Christ was born in the meridian of time; His life on earth marked at once the culmination of the past and the inauguration of an era distinctive in human hope, endeavor, and achievement. It is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what has since come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the Christ, was born in Bethlehem of Judea. The principal data as to His birth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably indisputable; they are facts of record, and are accepted as essentially authentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities of deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past as to circumstantial details; but such differences are of strictly minor importance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow of rational doubt upon the historicity of the earthly existence of the Man known in literature as Jesus of Nazareth.

As to who and what He was there are dissensions of grave moment dividing the opinions of men; and this divergence of conception and belief is most pronounced upon those matters to which the greatest importance attaches. The solemn testimonies of millions dead and of millions living unite in proclaiming Him as divine, the Son of the Living God, the Redeemer and Savior of the human race, the Eternal Judge of the souls of men, the Chosen and Anointed of the Father—in short, the Christ. Others there are who deny His Godhood while extolling the transcendent qualities of His unparalleled and unapproachable Manhood. To the student of history this Man among men stands first, foremost, and alone, as a directing personality in the world's progression. Mankind has never produced a leader to rank with Him. Regarded solely as a historic personage He is unique. Judged by the standard of human estimation, Jesus of Nazareth is supreme among men by reason of the excellence of His personal character, the simplicity, beauty, and genuine worth of His precepts, and the influence of His example and doctrines in the advancement of the race.

To these distinguishing characteristics of surpassing greatness the devout Christian soul adds an attribute that far exceeds the sum of all the others: the divinity of Christ's origin and the eternal reality of His status as Lord and God.

The text is rephrased while maintaining its original meaning and significance. Here's the revised version:

We affirm that Jesus Christ, as revealed in holy scripture, existed prior to his birth in the flesh as the Being who was with God in the beginning. This preexistence is attested by multiple accounts in various texts, including those written by prophets and apostles. The Father chose Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind before the foundation of the world, and he was ordained to this position through his divine nature and rank.

The evidence for Christ's preexistence can be found in various scriptures, including those that describe his antemortal state and his appointment as the chosen Savior. For instance, the book of John states that Jesus was with God in the beginning, and he is the one who created all things. Similarly, the book of Isaiah describes how Lucifer, who was once a son of the morning, sought to exalt himself without regard to the rights and agency of others, leading to his rebellion against God.

In addition, modern prophets and apostles have testified to the preexistence of Christ, with some citing revelations given to Moses and other ancient prophets that describe Jesus as a divine being who was with God in the beginning. These testimonies confirm that Jesus was ordained as the Savior and Redeemer before the foundation of the world, and his mission among men is rooted in his preexistent nature as the Only Begotten Son of the Father.

In conclusion, the testimony of scriptures and the words of modern prophets and apostles confirm that Jesus Christ existed prior to his birth in the flesh and was appointed as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind before the foundation of the world. This preexistence is a central doctrine in Mormonism and underscores the divine nature of Jesus Christ and his mission among men.

As the Only Begotten in the fullness of time became incarnate among men, He lived a sinless life, fulfilled the will of the Father, and offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He conquered death and provided salvation for all who put their faith in Him.

The atonement of Jesus Christ is unique and universal in its application. It reconciles men to God through the forgiveness of sins, and it provides a means for the redemption of all mankind from spiritual death. The atonement makes possible the resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust, and provides a way for all to come again into communion with God.

The victory over death was achieved by Jesus Christ through His resurrection, which demonstrated His power over death and provided a pattern for the resurrection of all who believe in Him. The resurrection of the dead is a universal reality, and it is confirmed by numerous scriptural references.

The need of a Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from the temporal to the spiritual plane without divine assistance. Mineral matter can never become part of an organic tissue except through the agency of life, and man cannot advance himself from his fallen state without the aid of a power above his own. A Redeemer and Savior of mankind is essential to the realization of the plan of the Eternal Father, and that Redeemer and Savior is Jesus Christ, beside whom there is and can be none other.

In conclusion, the atonement of Jesus Christ is a fundamental doctrine of the gospel, and it provides the means for the redemption of all mankind from spiritual death. It is a universal and individual reality that reconciles men to God through the forgiveness of sins and provides a way for all to come again into communion with God.

God the Creator, Jesus Christ, was and is God. He was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One. The scriptures show that Jesus Christ was and is God even before Abraham existed. Jesus declared, "Before Abraham was, I am." Jesus is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled, has a Greek derivation. Its Hebrew equivalent was Yehoshua or Yeshua, or as we render it in English, Joshua. In the original, the name was well understood as meaning "Help of Jehovah" or "Savior."

Jesus is related to other titles, each possessing a definitive meaning. For example, Emmanuel signifies "God with us," Savior signifies "The Anointed One," Redeemer signifies "The Chosen One," and Only Begotten Son signifies "The One and Only."

Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as Adonai, or the Lord. Jesus identified himself as Jehovah, saying, "Arise and come forth unto me."

In conclusion, God the Creator, Jesus Christ, was and is God even before Abraham existed. He is Jehovah, the Eternal One, and He is Jesus the Christ.

The predictions of the Old Testament prophets regarding the life, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ are explicit and unambiguous. These prophecies provide irrefutable evidence of the divinity of Jesus and the authenticity of the Bible.

The following are some of the key predictions made by the Old Testament prophets regarding Jesus:

1. Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23)
2. Descended from David's line (Jeremiah 23:5, Matthew 1:1)
3. Rejected by his people (Psalm 22:16-18, John 19:14)
4. Crucified (Psalm 22:16-18, Luke 23:33)
5. Buried in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57-58)
6. Resurrected on the third day (Hosea 6:2, Acts 10:40)
7. Ascended to heaven (Psalm 68:18, Acts 1:9)

These predictions were made by prophets who lived and died before Jesus was born, demonstrating that they were inspired by God to foretell the events of Jesus' life. The fulfillment of these prophecies provides conclusive evidence of the divinity of Jesus and the authenticity of the Bible.

The Jews were a proud and isolated people, with a strong sense of their own identity and destiny. They believed themselves to be the chosen people of God, set apart for a special purpose and destined to play a unique role in the history of the world. This belief was rooted in their interpretation of the Bible, which they saw as a divine revelation of their origins, history, and destiny.

The Jews were also characterized by a strong sense of tradition and ritual. They believed that their religion was not just a matter of personal faith, but a complex system of rules and practices that had been handed down from generation to generation. These practices included the observance of various festivals and holidays, the use of specific dietary laws, and the performance of elaborate religious ceremonies in the synagogue or temple.

At the time of Christ's birth, the Jews were experiencing a period of political and social turmoil. The Maccabean Revolt had recently taken place, and the Jews were struggling to maintain their independence and cultural identity in the face of external threats from neighboring nations. This led to a growing sense of nationalism and exclusivity among the Jews, which was reflected in their religious practices and beliefs.

The Pharisees were a prominent Jewish sect during this time, known for their strict adherence to traditional practice and their rejection of innovations or changes in the law. They believed that the law was divinely given and must be observed without compromise or deviation. This led to a complex system of rules and regulations that governed every aspect of Jewish life, from dietary laws to religious ceremonies.

The Sadducees were another Jewish sect that existed at this time, known for their rejection of the supernatural and their emphasis on strict compliance with the written law. They believed in a literal interpretation of the Bible and rejected many of the oral traditions and interpretations that had developed among the Pharisees.

The Essenes were a sect of ascetic mystics who lived in isolation and practiced a rigorous form of self-denial. They believed in the power of prayer and fasting to achieve spiritual purity, and they observed a strict code of conduct that included abstinence from worldly pleasures and the rejection of all forms of idolatry.

The Nazarites were a group of devout Jews who took vows of abstinence and sacrifice in order to serve God more fully. They believed in the power of prayer and fasting to achieve spiritual purity, and they observed a strict code of conduct that included abstinence from worldly pleasures and the rejection of all forms of idolatry.

The Herodians were a political party that supported the plans of the Herods, who were Roman-appointed rulers of Judea. They believed that through this dynasty alone could the status of the Jewish people be maintained and a reestablishment of the nation be secured.

Finally, the Galileans were a group of Jews from the region of Galilee, who were known for their simplicity and devotion to the law. They were opposed to innovations but were generally more liberal than some of the professedly devout Judeans. They were prominent as able defenders in the wars of the people and won for themselves a reputation for bravery and patriotism.

In conclusion, the world was characterized by a strong sense of tradition and ritual among the Jews at the time of Christ's birth. The Pharisees and Sadducees represented two prominent Jewish sects that existed during this time, each with their own beliefs and practices. The Essenes, Nazarites, Herodians, and Galileans were other groups that existed at this time, each with their own distinctive characteristics and beliefs. Overall, the Jews were a proud and isolated people, characterized by a strong sense of tradition and ritual, and a deep conviction of their unique destiny and purpose in the world.

1. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

The Bible teaches that the birth of Jesus was miraculous, in that He had no human father but was conceived by a virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:30-35). This doctrine is known as the Virgin Birth or Immaculate Conception.

The prophet Isaiah foretold this event hundreds of years before it occurred, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The New Testament confirms that Mary was indeed a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:26-35).

The Virgin Birth is an essential doctrine of Christianity because it demonstrates the divine nature of Christ. If Jesus had been conceived through natural means, He would have inherited original sin from His human father and could not be our Savior (Romans 5:12; 1 Peter 2:22). But since He was born of a virgin, without any human intervention, He remained sinless throughout His life on earth.

Furthermore, the Virgin Birth shows that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. As God incarnate (John 1:14), He possesses all the attributes of deity; yet as a true human being (Hebrews 2:14-18), He experienced our weaknesses and temptations, making Him uniquely qualified to be our High Priest who sympathizes with us in our sufferings (Hebrews 4:15).

In summary, the Virgin Birth is a foundational doctrine of Christianity that affirms the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. It demonstrates His sinless nature as well as His ability to save us from our sins by taking upon Himself the punishment we deserve (Isaiah 53:4-6).

2. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ

The doctrine of the incarnation teaches that God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. This means that while remaining fully divine, He also took on human nature and lived among us as one of us (John 1:14).

The Bible affirms this truth by stating that "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14) and that "God was manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). The term "Word" refers to Jesus Christ, who is described as being with God from eternity past and being Himself fully divine (John 1:1-2).

The incarnation of Jesus Christ has several important implications for our faith. First, it shows us that God loves us so much that He was willing to become one of us in order to save us from our sins (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). Second, it demonstrates the humility and self-sacrifice of Christ, who gave up His heavenly glory to live among us as a servant (Philippians 2:5-8).

Third, the incarnation enables Jesus to be our perfect High Priest and mediator between God and man. Because He experienced human life firsthand, including temptations and sufferings, He can sympathize with us in our weaknesses and intercede for us before the Father (Hebrews 4:15-16; 7:25).

In summary, the doctrine of the incarnation teaches that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. This truth has profound implications for our faith, showing us the depths of God's love for us.

The Book of Mormon is a religious text that was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr., who claimed to have translated it from golden plates given him by an angel. The book purports to be the history of three groups of people: the Jaredites, who came to America after the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel; the Mulekites, descendants of a son of King Zedekiah of Judah; and the Nephites, who were led by Lehi from Jerusalem just before its destruction in 587 BC.

The Book of Mormon has been criticized for its historical inaccuracies and anachronisms, such as references to horses, elephants, wheat, barley, silk, steel swords, chariots, and other items that were not present in the Americas during the time period described. Critics also point out that there is no archaeological evidence for any of the civilizations or events described in the book.

Despite these criticisms, many Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is a divinely inspired text and use it as a guide to their faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that the Book of Mormon is "another testament of Jesus Christ" and that its teachings are essential for salvation.

The Book of Mormon contains many prophecies about future events, including the coming forth of the book itself. One such prophecy can be found in 2 Nephi 25:17-18, which states: "And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel."

This prophecy was fulfilled when Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon in 1830. Since then, millions of copies have been printed and distributed around the world. The LDS Church continues to use the Book of Mormon as a central part of its teachings and missionary efforts.

BIBLE Dictionaries - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Nazareth

Nazareth (Heb. Natzrat), a town or "city" in Galilee, of which Biblical mention is found in the New Testament only. Josephus says nothing concerning the place. The name of the existing village, or the Nazareth of to-day, is En-Nazirah. This occupies an upland site on the southerly ridge of Lebanon, and "commands a splendid view of the Plain of Esdraelon and Mount Carmel, and is very picturesque in general" (Zenos). The author of the article "Nazareth" in Smith's Bible Dict. identifies the modern En-Nazirah with the Nazareth of old on the following grounds: "It is on the lower declivities of a hill or mountain (Luke 4:29); it is within the limits of the province of Galilee (Mark 1:9); it is near Cana (John 2:1, 2, 11); a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luke 4:29); and a series of testimonials reaching back to Eusebius represent the place as having occupied the same position." The same writer adds: "Its population is 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. Most of the houses are well built of stone, and appear neat and comfortable. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and after rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost impassable." At the time of Christ's life the town was not only regarded as unimportant by the Judeans who professed but little respect for Galilee or the Galileans, but as without honor by the Galileans themselves, as appears from the fact that the seemingly contemptuous question, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" was uttered by Nathanael (John 1:46), who was a Galilean and a native of Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth (John 21:2). Nazareth owes its celebrity to its association with events in the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke 1:26; 2:4; 4:23,34; John 1:45,46; 19:19; Acts 2:22).

In this passage, Jesus is described as being tempted in three ways by Satan. The first temptation was to throw himself from the top of a temple, trusting that God would save him. The second temptation was to turn stones into bread during a time of hunger, and the third temptation was to ask for all the kingdoms of the world and their riches in exchange for worshiping Satan. Jesus resisted each of these temptations by quoting scripture, and Satan departed after each attempt.

The passage also highlights the idea that Jesus was not immune to temptation, but rather experienced them throughout his ministry. This is supported by Jesus' own words, as well as those of the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, who declared that Christ was peccable, or capable of sinning, despite being the Son of God.

Overall, this passage provides insight into the nature of Jesus and his relationship with Satan, as well as the idea that he experienced temptation throughout his life.

The title "Son of Man" is used in the Book of Daniel to refer to the Ancient of Days, who sits to judge his posterity. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is exclusively and specifically referred to as the Son of Man. The term has a profound significance beyond its common usage, indicating that Jesus was not only a mortal human being but also the unique and exclusive Son of God.

In John's Gospel, Mary, the mother of Jesus, addresses him at a marriage party in Cana, Galilee, expressing concern about the lack of wine. Jesus responds by directing the servants to fill six water pots with water, which he then transforms into wine without audible command or formula of invocation. This miracle demonstrates Jesus' glory and confirms his disciples' belief in him.

Miracles are phenomena not susceptible of explanation by natural law but are wrought through the operation of laws not universally recognized. The Baptist was credited with no miracles, though he was pronounced by Christ as more than a prophet. Moses was commissioned to deliver Israel from Egypt and was empowered to perform miracles.

In conclusion, all nature is miraculous, and the growth of a vine is no less miraculous than the transmutation of water into wine at Cana. The miracles wrought by Christ are beyond human understanding, and to deny their actuality on the grounds that they cannot be comprehended is arrogating to the human mind the attribute of omniscience. To know Jesus as the Son of God is essential to comprehend his works, and the invitation to "Come and see" is ready for those who wish to inquire about him.

21. Jesus at the Temple. At the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. On the last day of the festival, as He stood and spoke in the temple courts, the multitude listened with rapt attention to His words. In their hearts they questioned: "Is not this the Son of God?" But they durst not pronounce Him publicly. The incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is a contradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentle and unassertive in demeanor as to appear unmanly. Gentle He was, and patient under attestation by the priestly usage and clearing of the temple courts by force could not fail to impress with varied effect the people in attendance at the feast; and they, returning to their homes in distant and widely separated provinces, would spread the fame of the brave Galilean Prophet. Though we have many records of Christ having said that He would die and on the third day would rise again, the plainest of such declarations were made to the apostles rather than openly to the public. The learned of Jerusalem, who waited upon Pilate, almost certainly had in mind the utterance of Jesus when they had stood, nonplussed before Him, at the clearing of the temple courts. That the wonderful deeds wrought by Christ at and about the time of this memorable Passover had led some of the learned in profession and of the Pharisees, who occupied a high place as one of the rulers of the Jews, to believe on Him, is evidenced by the fact that Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee in profession and who occupied a high place as one of the rulers of the Jews, came to Him on an errand of inquiry. Jesus answered and said unto him: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus appears to have been puzzled; he asked how such a rejuvenation could be accomplished. The narrative of this interview between Jesus and Nicodemus constitutes one of the most important in the New Testament. It is here that Jesus sets forth the absolute necessity of a new birth, and that without it no man can see the kingdom of God. The doctrine of regeneration is thus introduced, and the possibility of men's receiving Christ as their Savior is made plain. From City to Country. Leaving Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went into the rural parts of Judea; there they tarried, directing souls unto baptism at their hands. The Pharisees observed with increasing apprehension the growing popularity of Jesus; but they durst not pronounce Him publicly. In Galilee, Jesus continued His work, directing souls unto repentance and baptism. The people listened with rapt attention to His words, and many believed on Him. Thus the fame of Jesus spread throughout the land, and multitudes gathered unto Him.

21. Jesus Again in Galilee: at Cana and Nazareth

Jesus, accompanied by His disciples, resumed His journey northward into Galilee, from which province He had been absent for several months. Realizing that the people of Nazareth, the town in which He had been brought up, would be probably loath to acknowledge Him as other than the carpenter, or, as He stated, knowing that "a prophet hath no honour in his own country," He went first to Cana. The people of that section, and indeed the Galileans generally, received Him gladly; for many of them had attended the last Passover and probably had been personal witnesses of the wonders He had wrought in Judea. While at Cana, Jesus was visited by a nobleman, most likely a high official of the province, who entreated Him to proceed to Capernaum and heal his son, who was then lying at the point of death. With the probable design of showing the man the true condition of his mind, for we cannot doubt that Jesus could read his thoughts, our Lord said to him: "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." As observed in earlier instances, notably in the refusal of Jesus to commit Himself to the professing believers at Jerusalem, whose belief rested solely on their wonder at the things He did, our Lord would not regard miracles, though wrought by Himself, as a sufficient and secure foundation for faith. The entreating nobleman, in anguish over the precarious state of his son, in no way resented the rebuke such as a captious mind may have found in the Lord's reply; but with sincere humility, which showed his belief that Jesus could heal the boy, he renewed and emphasized his plea: "Sir, come down ere my child die." Probably the man had never paused to reason as to the direct means or process by which death might be averted and healing be insured through the words of any being; but in his heart he believed in Christ's power, and with pathetic earnestness besought our Lord to intervene in behalf of his dying son. He seemed to consider it necessary that the Healer be present, and his great fear was that the boy would not live until Jesus could arrive. "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." The genuineness of the man's trust is shown by his grateful acceptance of the Lord's assurance, and by the contentment that he forthwith manifested. Capernaum, where his son lay, was about twenty miles away; had he been still anxious and doubtful he would probably have tried to return home that day, for it was one o'clock in the afternoon when Jesus spoke the words that had given to him such relief; but he journeyed leisurely, for on the following day he was still on the road, and was met by some of his servants who had been sent to cheer him with the glad word of his son's recovery. He inquired when the boy had begun to amend, and was told that at the seventh hour on the yesterday the fever had left him. That was the time at which Christ had said, "Thy son liveth." The man's belief ripened fast, and both he and his household accepted the gospel. This was the second miracle wrought by Jesus when in Cana, though in this instance the subject of the blessing was in Capernaum. Our Lord's fame spread through all the region round about. During a period not definitely stated, He taught in the synagogues of the towns and villages, and the people were amazed at His doctrine. The evangelist Mark observes that Jesus went about preaching the gospel of God, and that He was received by them with one accord; for from Galilee straightway after John had preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to them. IN CANA AND NAZARETH

Jesus again visited Cana, where He had previously performed His first miracle at a wedding feast. The people of that town received Him gladly, and He taught in their synagogue. While there, He healed a nobleman's son who was at the point of death, and the man believed in Jesus as the Healer. Jesus then went to Nazareth, where He had grown up, and was received with mixed feelings by the people there. They were amazed at His teachings and miracles, but they did not fully accept Him as their Messiah. Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and predicted that a prophet is without honor in his own country. He then left Nazareth and continued His ministry in other parts of Galilee.

22. In Capernaum

Jesus went to Capernaum, where He healed a man who was an invalid and could not walk. The man was amazed at Jesus' power and believed in Him as the Son of God. Jesus then left Capernaum and continued His ministry in other parts of Galilee.

13. THE CALL OF MATTHEW

Matthew, one of the publicans or tax-gatherers, was sitting at his custom-house in Capernaum when Jesus passed by. The Lord saw Matthew and said to him, "Follow me." Matthew left his place and followed Jesus. At this time many people from all classes were following Him, and He taught them many things.

14. PUBLICANS AND SINNERS

The Pharisees and scribes criticized Jesus for associating with publicans and sinners. Jesus replied that the sick need a physician, not the righteous. He also said that He came to call sinners to repentance, not the self-righteous.

15. THE OLD AND THE NEW

John's disciples came to Jesus and asked why His disciples did not fast as John's disciples did. Jesus replied that the bridegroom is with his friends during their wedding celebration, and they cannot fast while he is with them. When the bridegroom is taken away, they will fast.

16. FISHERS OF MEN

Jesus stood by the lake when a large crowd gathered around Him. Two fishing boats were drawn up on the beach, belonging to Simon Peter and Zebedee. Jesus entered Simon's boat and asked him to let down his nets for a catch. When the nets were filled with fish, they began to break, and Simon fell at Jesus' feet, exclaiming that he was a sinful man. Jesus told him not to be afraid and promised that from then on he would catch men instead of fish.

The Sabbath-day controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees is a significant event in the New Testament, providing insight into the religious and cultural context of first-century Judea. This exchange highlights the complexities of Jewish law and theological interpretations, as well as the animosity of the Pharisees towards Jesus.

Jesus' response to the accusation of Sabbath desecration is remarkable for its clarity and conviction. He argues that His actions were not intended to break the Sabbath commandment but rather to fulfill it. By healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus demonstrates that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, with authority to do good on that day.

The discussion turns to the question of witnesses and testimony, with Jesus asserting that His witness is validated by the Father's testimony. He also rebukes the Pharisees for their lack of love and their reliance on human honor rather than seeking eternal life through faith in God.

The event underscores the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of His time, as well as the centrality of love and obedience to God's will. The Sabbath-day controversy serves as a backdrop for understanding the broader themes of Jesus' ministry and the opposition He faced from the religious establishment.

The Twelve Apostles, as they are commonly called, were a group of twelve men who were chosen by Jesus Christ to be his closest followers and special witnesses of his divinity. They were chosen from among the common people, not rabbis, scholars, nor priestly officials, and were all of the same general characteristics and qualifications. The apostleship is an office and calling belonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, and the Twelve did constitute a council or "quorum" having authority in the Church established by Jesus Christ. Their ordination marked the inauguration of an advanced epoch in the earthly ministry of Jesus, and they were specifically charged and sent forth to preach and to administer in the authority of their priesthood.

The Twelve Apostles were:

1. Simon Peter

2. Andrew

3. Philip

4. Bartholomew (also known as Nathanael)

5. Thomas

6. James, son of Alpheus

7. Lebbeus Thaddeus (also known as Judas the brother of James)

8. Simon Zelotes

9. Judas Iscariot

Each of the Twelve had their own unique characteristics and qualifications, but they all shared a common trait: they were willing to learn and be trained by Jesus. They were all chosen by Jesus himself, and they were all given the authority to preach and administer in his name. Despite their differences, they were all united in their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and they were all committed to serving him and spreading his teachings.

The Twelve Apostles played a crucial role in the early Christian Church, and their legacy continues to be felt today. They were responsible for spreading Jesus' teachings throughout the world, and their example and leadership helped shape the course of Christianity. Their ordination marked a significant turning point in Jesus' ministry, as it signaled the beginning of his mission to establish his Church on earth.

In conclusion, the Twelve Apostles were a group of twelve men chosen by Jesus Christ to be his closest followers and special witnesses of his divinity. They were all chosen from among the common people, and they shared certain characteristics and qualifications that made them well-suited for their role in spreading Jesus' teachings throughout the world. Their legacy continues to be felt today, and they remain an important part of Christian history and tradition.

In this passage, Jesus delivers the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Lord's Prayer and teaches his disciples about prayer. He emphasizes the importance of sincerity in prayer and provides guidance on how to pray effectively. Jesus also teaches that God is a loving Father who desires a personal relationship with humanity and provides instruction on how to communicate with Him through prayer.

Jesus begins by teaching his disciples about the Lord's Prayer, which includes asking for daily bread, forgiveness of sins, protection from temptation, and deliverance from evil. He emphasizes the importance of sincerity in prayer and provides guidance on how to pray effectively. Jesus teaches that God is a loving Father who desires a personal relationship with humanity and provides instruction on how to communicate with Him through prayer.

Jesus then turns his attention to the topic of fasting, contrasting the transitory nature of worldly wealth with the enduring riches of eternity. He teaches that spiritual light is greater than any physical illuminant and that one's spiritual eye sees by spiritual light. Jesus warns his disciples against indecision and hypocrisy, emphasizing that they cannot serve both God and mammon.

Finally, Jesus cautions his disciples against judging others and praises those who seek to discern the spirits of those they try to teach. He provides a rich promise that their supplications will be heard and answered, and he reassures them that God will give good gifts to those who ask according to their need in faith.

Overall, Jesus' teachings on prayer and spirituality emphasize the importance of sincerity, personal relationship, and effective communication with God. He provides guidance on how to pray effectively and live a life pleasing to God, highlighting the importance of faith, trust, and obedience in one's relationship with Him.

Matthew's account of the invaluable address, known as the Sermon on the Mount, is closed with a forceful sentence of his own. A striking characteristic of Christ's ministry was the entire absence of any claim of human authority for His words or deeds. His addresses, whether delivered to multitudes or spoken in relative privacy to few, were free from the labored citations in which the teachers of the day delighted. His authoritative "I say unto you" took the place of invocation of authority and exceeded any possible array of precedent commandment or deduction.

The centurion had faith that Christ could heal his servant, and invoked the intercession of the Jewish elders to beg of the Master the boon desired. A military officer, a centurion or captain of a hundred men, was stationed in Capernaum. Attached to the household of this officer was an esteemed servant, who was ill, "and ready to die"

The centurion, probably learning of the approach of the little company, hastily sent other envoys to say that he did not consider himself worthy to have Jesus enter his home. We may well contrast this man's conception of Christ's power with that of the nobleman of the same town, who had requested Jesus to hasten in person to the side of his dying son. The centurion seems to have reasoned in this way: He himself was a man of authority, though under the direction of superior officers. To his subordinates he gave orders which were obeyed. "But," ran the message of supplication, "say in a word, and my servant shall be healed"

He did not find it necessary to personally attend to the carrying out of his instructions. Surely One who had such power as Jesus possessed could command and be obeyed. Jesus is said to have marveled at the centurion's manifestation of faith, and, turning to the people who followed, He thus spake: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

This remark may have caused some of the listeners to wonder. The Jews were unaccustomed to hear the faith of a Gentile so extolled. A Gentile, even though an earnest proselyte to Judaism, was accounted essentially inferior to even the least worthy of the chosen people. Our Lord's comment plainly indicated that Gentiles would be preferred in the kingdom of God if they excelled in worthiness. This lesson, that the supremacy of Israel can be attained only through excellence in righteousness, is reiterated and enlarged upon in the Lord's teachings, as we shall see.

On the day after that of the miracle last considered, Jesus went to the little town of Nain, and, as usual, many people accompanied Him. This day witnessed what in human estimation was a wonder greater than any before wrought by Him. He had already healed many, sometimes by a word spoken to afflicted ones present, and again when He was far from the subject of His beneficent power. But, though the sick who were nigh unto death had been saved from the grave, we have no earlier record of our Lord having commanded dread death itself to give back one it had claimed. The only son of a widow was being borne to the tomb; the body was carried according to the custom of the day on an open b

Our Lord looked with compassion upon the sorrowing mother, now bereft of both husband and son. He said in gentle tone, "Weep not." He touched the stretcher upon which the dead man lay, and the bearers stood still. Then addressing the corpse He said: "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise" And the dead heard the voice of Him who is Lord of all, and immediately sat up and spoke. We read without wonder that there came a fear on all who were present, and that they glorified God, testifying that a great prophet was amongst them. Reports of this miracle were carried throughout the land, and even reached the ears of John the Baptist, who was confined in the prison

Even before Jesus had returned to Galilee after His baptism and the forty days of solitude in the wilderness, John the Baptist had been imprisoned by order of Herod Antipas. Herod had listened to John gladly, and had imprisoned him through a reluctant yielding to the importunities of Herodias, whom Herod claimed as a wife under cover of an illegal marriage. The tetrarch had some regard for John, having found him to be a holy man; and many things had Herod done on the direct advice of the Baptist or because of the influence of the latter's general teaching.

Herodias had been and legally was still the wife of Herod's brother Philip, from whom she had never been lawfully divorced. Her pretended marriage to Herod Antipas was both adulterous and incestuous under Jewish law. The Baptist had fearlessly denounced this sinful association; to Herod he had said: "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" Herod feared an uprising of the people in the event of John being slain by his order.

In the course of his long imprisonment John had heard much of the marvelous preaching and works of Christ. Particularly was he informed of the miraculous raising of the young man at Nain. He commissioned two of his disciples to bear a message of inquiry to Jesus. These came to Christ and reported the purpose of their visit. The messengers found Jesus engaged in beneficent ministrations. He continued His labor, relieving in that same hour many who were afflicted by blindness or infirmities, or who were troubled by evil spirits.

The words of John's inquiring disciples were answered by wondrous deeds of beneficence and mercy. When the reply was reported to John, the imprisoned prophet could scarcely have failed to remember the predictions of Isaiah, that by those very tokens of miracle and blessing should the Messiah be known. The reproof must have been convincing and convicting as he called to mind his own citations of Isaiah's prophecies, when he had proclaimed in fiery, withering eloquence the fulfilment of those earlier predictions in his own mission and in that of the Mightier One to whom he had borne personal testimony.

"Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me," said the Lord. Misunderstanding is the prelude to offense. Christ has been an offender to many because they, being out of harmony with His words and works, have of themselves taken offense.

John's situation must be righteously considered by all who assume to render judgment as to his purpose in sending to inquire of Christ, "Art thou he that should come?" John thoroughly understood that his own work was that of preparation; he had so testified and had openly borne witness that Jesus was the One for whom he had been sent to prepare. But, left in prison, he may have become despondent, and may have permitted himself to wonder whether that Mightier One had forgotten him.

He knew that were Jesus to speak the word of command the prison of Machærus could no longer hold him; nevertheless Jesus seemed to have abandoned him to his fate. It may have been a part of John's purpose to call Christ's attention to his pitiable plight. In this respect his message was rather a reminder than a plain inquiry based on actual doubt.

After the envoys had departed, Jesus addressed Himself to the people who had witnessed the interview. He reminded them of the time of John's popularity, when some of those then present, and multitudes of others, had gone into the wilderness to hear the prophet's stern admonition. They had found in John a prophet indeed, yea, more than a prophet.

Other prophets had told of the Messiah's coming, but John had seen Him, had baptized Him, and had been to Jesus as a body servant to his master. Nevertheless from the day of John's preaching to the time at which Christ then spoke, the kingdom of heaven had been rejected with violence. Concerning John, the Lord continued: "And if ye will... receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come" It is important to know that the designation, Elias, here applied by Jesus to the Baptist, is a title rather than a personal name, and that it has no reference to Elijah, the ancient prophet called the Tishbite.

Many of those who heard the Lord's eulogy on the Baptist rejoiced, for they had accepted John, and had turned from him to Jesus. But Pharisees and lawyers were present, those of the class that John had so vehemently denounced as of a generation of vipers, and those who had rejected the counsel of God in refusing to heed the Baptist's call to repentance. At this point the Master resorted to analogy to make His meaning clearer. He compared the unbelieving and dissatisfied generation to fickle children at play, disagreeing among themselves. Some wanted to enact the pageantry of a mock wedding, and though they piped the rest would not dance. Then they changed to a funeral procession and essayed the part

John the Baptist had come amongst them like the eremitic prophets of old, as strict as any Nazarite, refusing to eat with the merry-makers or drink with the convivial. The Master explained that such inconsistency, such wicked trifling with matters most sacred, would surely be revealed in their true light, and the worthlessness of boasted learning would appear. "But," said He, "wisdom is justified of all her children."

From reproof for unbelieving individuals He turned to unappreciative communities. He upbraided the cities in which He had wrought so many mighty works, and wherein the people repented not. Seemingly faint at heart over the unbelief of the people, Jesus sought strength in prayer.

With the eloquence of soul for which one looks in vain save in the anguish-laden communion of Christ with His Father, He voiced His reverent gratitude that God had imparted a testimony of the truth to the humble and simple rather than to the learned and great. Turning again to the people, He urged anew their acceptance of Him and His gospel, and His invitation is one of the grandest outpourings of spiritual emotion known to man. He invited them from drudgery to pleasant service; from the well-nigh unbearable burdens of ecclesiastical exactions and traditional formalism, to the liberty of truly spiritual worship; from slavery to freedom; but they would not.

The gospel He offered them was the embodiment of liberty, but not of license. It entailed obedience and submission; but even if such could be likened unto a yoke, what was its burden in comparison with the incubus under which they groaned? DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. We are left without information as to how he received and understood the reply to his inquiry, as brought by his messengers. His captivity was destined soon to end, though not by restoration to liberty on earth. The hatred of Herodias increased against him. An opportunity for carrying into effect her fiendish plots against his life soon appeared. The king celebrated his birthday by a great feast, to which his lords, high captains, and

So enchanted were Herod and his guests that the king bade the damsel ask whatever she would, and he swore he would give it unto her. She retired to consult her mother as to what she should ask, and, being instructed, returned with the appalling demand: "I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist" The king was astounded; his amazement was followed by sorrow and regret; nevertheless, he dreaded the humiliation that would follow a violation of his court.

Herod was sorely troubled over the murder he had ordered. So ended the life of the prophet-priest, the direct precursor of the Christ. Thus was stilled the mortal voice of him who had cried so mightily in the wilderness. After many centuries his voice has been heard again, as the voice of one redeemed and resurrected. In this the touch of his hand has again been felt, in this the dispensation of restoration and fulness.

Luke's narration of events suggests an attitude of condescension on the part of the host. Jesus accepted the Pharisee's invitation, as He had accepted the invitations of others, including even publicans, and those called by the rabbis, sinners. His reception at Simon's house appears to have been somewhat lacking in warmth, hospitality and honorable attendance.

It was the custom of the times to treat a distinguished guest with marked attention. Jesus took His place, probably on one of the divans or couches on which it was usual to partly sit, partly recline, while eating. Such an attitude would place the feet of the person outward from the table. It was not unusual at that time in Palestine for visitors and even strangers, usually men, to enter a house at meal time, observe the procedure and even speak to the guests, all without bidding or invitation.

Among those who entered Simon's house while the meal was in progress, was a woman. She approached Jesus from behind, and bent low to kiss His feet. As she leaned over the feet of Jesus her tears rained upon them. She may have been one of those who had heard His gracious words, spoken possibly that day.

The woman wiped the Lord's feet with her hair and anointed them with ointment. Jesus graciously permitted the woman to proceed unrebuked and uninterrupted in her humble service inspired by contrition and reverent love. Simon had observed the whole proceeding; by some means he had knowledge as to the class to which this woman belonged. He said: "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner"

Jesus asked Simon, "Which of them will love him most?" Simon gave, though apparently with some hesitation or reserve. "I suppose" he ventured, "that he, to whom he forgave most." Jesus said, "Thou hast rightly judged," and proceeded: "Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head" The Pharisee could not fail to note so direct a reminder of his having omitted the ordinary rites of respect to a specially invited guest. The lesson of the story had found its application in him, even as Nathan's parable had drawn

"Wherefore," Jesus continued, "I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven" Simon and the others at table murmured within themselves, "Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" Christ addressed the woman again, saying, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace"

Some writers have represented Mary of Bethany as the woman who anointed the head of Jesus with spikenard. This is an unjustifiable reflection upon the earlier life of Mary, the devoted and loving sister of Martha and Lazarus. Equally wrong is the attempt made by others to identify this repentant and forgiven sinner with Mary Magdalene, no period of her life was marked by the sin of unchastity so far as the scriptures aver. The importance of guarding against mistakes in the identity of these women renders advisable the following addition to the foregoing treatment. In the chapter following that in which are recorded the incidents last considered, Luke states that Jesus went throughout the region, visiting every city and village, preaching the gospel of the

With Him on this tour were the Twelve, and also "certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities" Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. Further reference is made to some or all of these honorable women in connection with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.

Mary Magdalene became one of the closest friends Christ had among women. Her devotion to Him as her Healer and as the One whom she adored as the Christ, was unswerving. To say that this woman, chosen from among women as deserving of such distinctive honors, was once a fallen creature, her soul seared by the heat of unhallowed lust, is to contribute to the perpetuating of an error for which there is no excuse.

The false tradition, arising from early and unjustifiable assumption, that this noble woman, distinctively a friend of the Lord, is the same who, admittedly a sinner, washed and anointed the Savior's feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee has so tenaciously held its place in the popular mind through the centuries. We are not considering whether the mercy of Christ could have been extended to such a sner as Mary of Magdala is wrongly reputed to have been. Man cannot measure the bounds nor fathom the depths of divine forgiveness. If it were so that this Mary and the repentant sinner who ministered to Jesus were one and the same, the question would stand affirmatively answered, for that

We are dealing with the scriptural record as a history, and nothing said therein warrants the really repellent though common imputation of unchastity to the devoted soul of Mary Magdalene. At the time of our Lord's earthly ministry, the curing of the blind, deaf, or dumb was regarded as among the greatest possible achievements of medical science or spiritual treatment. The subjection or casting out of demons was ranked among the attainments impossible to rabbinical exorcism. Demonstrations of the Lord's power to heal and restore, even in cases universally considered as incurable, had the effect of intensifying the hostility of the sacerdotal classes. They, represented by the Pharisaic party, evolved the wholly inconsistent

While the Lord was making His second missionary tour through Galilee, the absurd theory that Christ was Himself a victim of demoniacal possession was urged and enlarged upon. Jesus had withdrawn himself from the more populous centers, where He was constantly watched by emissaries, whom the ruling classes had sent from Jerusalem into Galilee. But even in the smaller towns and rural districts He was followed and beset by great multitudes, to whom He ministered for both physical and spiritual ailments.

He urged the people to refrain from spreading His fame. Matthew sees in the Lord's injunctions against publicity a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy that the chosen Messiah would not strive nor cry out on the street to attract attention. He would not fail nor be discouraged, but would victoriously establish just judgment upon the earth for the Gentiles, as well as, by implication, for Israel.

The figure of the bruised reed and the smoking flax is strikingly expressive of the tender care with which Christ treated even the weakest manifestation of faith, whether exhibited by Jew or Gentile. Soon after His return from the missionary tour referred to, an excuse for the Pharisees to assail Him was found in His healing of a man who was under the influence of a demon, and was both blind and dumb. This combination of sore afflictions, affecting body, mind, and spirit, was rebuked, and the sightless, speechless demoniac was relieved of his three-fold burden. At this triumph over the powers of evil the people were the more amazed and said: "Is not this the son of David?"

Jesus took up the malicious charge and replied thereto, not in anger but in terms of calm reason and sound logic. He laid the foundation of His defense by stating the evident truth that a kingdom divided against itself cannot endure but must surely suffer disruption. If their assumption were in the least degree founded on truth, Satan through Jesus would be opposing Satan.

By the acceptance of either proposition, and surely one was true, the Pharisees stood defeated and condemned. But the illustration went further. Christ had attacked the stronghold of Satan, had driven his evil spirits from the human tabernacles of which they had unwarrantably taken possession. How could Christ have done this had He not first subdued the "strong man," the master of devils, Satan himself? And yet those ignorant scholars dared to say in the face of such self-evident refutation of their own premises, that the powers of Satan were subdued by Satanic agency. There could be no agreement, no truce nor armistice between the contending powers of Christ and Satan.

Jesus said: "He that is not with me is against me" He then condemned the sin of condemning the power and authority by which Satan was overcome. He had proved to them on the basis of their own proposition that He, having subdued Satan, was the embodiment of the Spirit of God, and that through Him the kingdom of God was brought to them. What blasphemy could be greater? He continued: "The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men"

"To speak against the authority He possessed, and particularly to ascribe that power and authority to Satan, was very near to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, for which sin there could be no forgiveness" "If they admitted that the result of His labors was good, why did they not acknowledge that the power by which such results were attained, in other words that the tree itself was good?"

"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?" "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" "The Master's lesson fell on ears that were practically deaf to spiritual truth"

"Master, we would see a sign from thee," they asked. "Had not the blind and the deaf, the dumb and the infirm, the palsied and the dropsical, and people afflicted with all manner of diseases, been healed in their houses, on their streets, and in their synagogs?" They would have some surpassing wonder wrought, to satisfy curiosity, or perhaps to afford them further excuse for action against Him. Small wonder, that "he sighed deeply in his spirit" when such demands were made.

To the scribes and Pharisees who had shown such inattention to His words, He replied: "There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." The sign of Jonas (or Jonah) was that for three days he had been in the belly of the fish and then had been restored to liberty. So would the Son of Man be immured in the tomb, after which He would rise again. That was the only sign He would give them, and by that would they stand condemned. Against them and their generation would the men of Nineveh rise in judgment.

When a demon is cast out, he tries after a season of loneliness to return to the house or body from which he had been expelled. He calls other spirits more wicked than himself, and they take possession of the man. In this weird example is typified the condition of those who have received the truth. They renounce the good, open their souls to the demons of falsehood and deceit, and become more corrupt than before. "Even so," declared the Lord, "shall it be also unto this wicked generation."

Christ's mother and His brethren were present and desired to speak with Him. A woman in the company raised her voice in an invocation of blessing on the mother who had given birth to such a Son, and on the breasts that had suckled Him. While not rejecting this tribute of reverence, which applied to both mother and Son, Jesus answered: "Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it"

He asked, "Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?" Answering His own question and expressing in the answer the deeper thought in His mind, He said, pointing toward His disciples: "Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother"

We are not justified in construing these remarks as evidence of disrespect, far less of filial and family disloyalty. Devotion, similar in kind at least, was expected by Him of the apostles, who were called to devote without reserve their time and talents to the ministry. The purpose on which the relatives of Jesus had come to see Him is not made known; we may infer, therefore, that it was of no great importance beyond the family circle.

It was then allowable to speak of one who causes something to be done as doing that thing himself. A man may say he has built a house, when in reality others did the work of building though at his instance. An architect may with propriety be said to have constructed a building, when as a matter of fact he made the design, and directed others who actually reared the structure. 2. Jesus marveled at the faith shown by the centurion, who begged that his beloved servant be healed (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9). Some have queried how Christ, whom they consider to have been omniscient during His life in the flesh, could have marveling at anything.

The meaning of the passage is evident in the sense that when the fact of the centurion's faith was brought to His attention, He pondered over it, and contemplated it, probably as a refreshing contrast to the absence of faith He so generally encountered. In similar way, though with sorrow in place of joy, He is said to have marveled at the peoples' unbelief (Mark 6:6). 3. Sequence of the Miracles of Raising the Dead. —As stated and reiterated in the text the chronology of the events in our Lord's ministry, as recorded by the Gospel-writers, is uncertain. We have record of three instances of miraculous restoration of the dead to life at the word of Jesus.

Of course the placing of the raising of Lazarus as the latest of the three is based on certainty. Dr. Richard C. Trench, in his scholarly and very valuable Notes on the Miracles of our Lord, definitely asserts that theraising of the daughter of Jairus is the first.

The raising of the damsel is an instance of recalling to life one who had but just died. Luke, the sole recorder of the miracle at Nain, places the event before that of the daughter of Jairus, with many incidents between. We cannot consistently conceive of these cases as offering grades of greater or lesser difficulty to the power of Christ. In each case His word of authority was sufficient to reunite the spirit and body of the dead person.

The great preponderance of evidence is in favor of considering the three miracles in the order followed herein. Herod Antipas is distinctively called the tetrarch in Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:1, 19; 9:7; and Acts 13:1. According to the historian Josephus, the prison to which John the Baptist was consigned by Herod Antips was the strong fortress Machærus.

In our English version of the Holy Bible the word "offend" and its cognates, are used in place of several different expressions which occur in the original Greek. In passing it may be well to observe that whatever of reproof or rebuke these words may connote, the lesson was given in the gentlest way and in the form most easy to understand.

In other instances even the works of righteousness are construed as causes of offense to the wicked. This is so, not because the good works were in any way offenses against law or right, but because the law-breaker takes offense thereat. The convicted felon, if unrepentant and still of evil mind, is offended and angry at the law by which he has been brought to justice. To him the law is a cause of offense. In a very significant sense Jesus Christ stands as the greatest offender in history.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is designated by Peter as "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient" (1 Peter 2:8; compare Paul's words, Romans 9:33). Indeed blessed is he to whom the gospel is welcome, and who finds therein no cause for offense. 7. The exalted nature of the mission of John the Baptist was thus testified to by Jesus: "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptists"

of the Church , under date named): "It could not have been on account of the miracles John performed, for he did no miracles; but it was—First, because he was trusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Second, he was trusting and it was required at his hands, to baptise the Son of Man. Who ever did that? Who ever had so great a privilege or glory?" Third, John at that time was the only legal administrator holding the keys of power there was on earth. The keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory had departed from the Jews; and John, the son of Zacharias, by the holy anointing and decree of

John the Baptist said, "Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" The true meaning may be, that surpassingly great as was John's distinction among the prophets, he had not learned, at the time of the incident under consideration, the full purpose of the Messiah's mission. Through latter-day inspiration we learn that "it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance" and that "The glory of God in intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth" (Doc. and Cov. 93:36).

The Baptist's inquiry showed that he was then lacking in knowledge, imperfectly enlightened and unable to comprehend the whole truth of the Savior's appointed death and subsequent resurrection. Jesus in no wise intimated that John would remain less than the least in the kingdom of heaven. As he increased in knowledge of the vital truths of the kingdom, and rendered obedience thereto, he would surely advance, and become great in the Kingdom of heaven as he was great among the prophets of earth.

"Elias" is both a name and a title of office. Revelation in the present dispensation we learn of the separate individuality of Elias and Elijah. We learn that the office of Elias is that of restoration (Doc. and Cov. 27:6, 7; 76:100; 77:9, 14).

Under date of March 10, 1844, the following is recorded ( Hist. of Church ) as the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith. "The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation of God, which is the Priesthood of Elias" "We find the apostles endowed with greater power than John: their office was more under the spirit and power of Elijah than Elias"

This shows the distinction between the two powers. Paul went and baptized them, for he knew what the true doctrine was, and he knew that John had not baptized them. And these principles are strange to me, that men who have read the Scriptures of the New Testament are so far from it.

"John did not transcend his bounds, but faithfully performed that part belonging to his office" "That person who holds the keys of Elias hath a preparatory work" "This is the Elias spoken of in the last days, and here is the rock upon which many split" "I speak with boldness, for I know verily my doctrine is true" "Sat at meat" is stated by good authority to be a mistranslation.

The custom of reclining on couches set around the table seems to date back long before the days of Jesus (Amos 3:12; 6:4) The Roman usage of arranging the tables and adjoining couches along three sides of a square, leaving the fourth side open for the passage of the attendants who served the diners was common in Palestine. Tables and couches so placed constituted the triclinium.

The attempt to identify the contrite sinner who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee with Mary of Bethany is strongly condemned by Farrar (p. 228, note): "Those who identify this feast at the house with the long-subsequent feast at Simon the leper, at Bethany, adopt principles of criticism so reckless and arbitrary that their general acceptance would rob the Gospels of all credibility, and make them hardly worth study as truthful narratives"

Simon and Judas were at least as common among the Jews of that day as Smith and Jones among ourselves. There are five or six Judes and nine Simons mentioned in the New Testament. The custom still continues. The incident (of anointing with ointment) is one quite in accordance with the customs of the time and country, and there is not the least improbability in its repetition under different circumstances. (Eccles. 9:8; Cant. 4:10; Amos 6:6.)

The learned canon is fully justified in his vigorous criticism. As stated in our text, there is an entire absence of trustworthy evidence that Mary Magdalene was ever tainted with the sin for which the repentant woman in the Pharisee's house was so graciously pardoned by our Lord. The nature of the awful sin against the Holy Ghost, against which the Lord warned the Pharisaic accusers who sought to ascribe His divine power to Satan, is more fully explained in modern revelation.

Concerning them and their dreadful fate, the Almighty has said:—"I say that it had been better for them never to have been born, for they are vessels of wrath" "They are doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity" "There is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come"

They shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment. An Adulterous Generation Seeking after Signs. "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign" (Matt. 6:4-6; B. of M., Alma 39:6.) "The end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except them who are ordained unto this condemnation" (Doc. and Cov. 76:31-48)

"Adulterous" could only be interpreted by the Jews as a supreme reproof. Adam Clarke in his commentary on Matt. 12:39, says of this phase of our topic: "There is the utmost proof from their own writings, that in the time of our Lord, they were most literally an adulterous race of people" Rabbi Jachanan ben Zacchi abrogated the trial by the bitter waters of jealousy, because so many were found to be thus criminal. The sin of adultery was included among capital offenses (Deut. 22:22-25).

The severity of the accusation as applied by Jesus was intensified by the fact that the older scriptures represented the covenant between Jehovah and Israel as a marriage bond. Convicted on such a charge those sign-seeking Pharisees and scribes understood that Jesus classed them as worse than the idolatrous heathen. The words "adultery" and "idolatry" are of related origin, each connoting the act of unfaithfulness and the turning away after false objects of affection or worship.

The attempt of Mary and some members of her family to speak with Jesus on the occasion referred to in the text has been construed by many writers to mean that the mother and sons had come to protest against the energy and zeal with which Jesus was pursuing His work. The scriptural record furnishes no foundation for even a tentative conception of the kind. The purpose of the desired visit is not intimated.

It is a fact as will be shown in pages to follow, that some members of Mary's household had failed to understand the great import of the work in which Jesus was so assiduously engaged. We are told that some of His friends (marginal rendering, "kinsmen,") on one occasion set out with the purpose of laying hold on Him and stopping His public activities by physical force. These facts, however, scarcely warrant the assumption that the desire of Mary and her sons to speak with Him on the occasion referred to was other than peaceful.

The statement that the brethren of Jesus did not believe on Him at the time referred to by the recorder (John 7:5) is no proof that some or even all of those same brethren did not later believe on their divine Brother. Immediately after the Lord's ascension, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brethren were engaged in worship and supplication with the Eleven and other disciples (Acts 1:14). The attested fact of Christ's resurrection converted many who had before declined to accept Him as the Son of God.

Paul records a special manifestation of the resurrected Christ to James (1 Cor. 15:7) The specific family relationship of our Lord to James, Joses, Simon, Judas and the sisters referred to by Matthew (13:55, 56), and Mark (6:3), has been questioned. The Eastern or Epiphanian hypothesis holds, on no firmer basis than assumption, that the brethren of Jesus were children of Joseph of Nazareth by a former wife, and not the children of Mary the Lord's mother.

The Hieronymian hypothesis is based on the belief that the persons referred to as brethren and sisters of Jesus were children of Clopas (Alpheus) and Mary the sister of the Lord's mother, and therefore cousins to Jesus. It is beyond reasonable doubt that Jesus was regarded by those, who were acquainted with the family of Joseph and Mary, as a close blood relative of other sons and daughters belonging to the household. (See Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40; John 19:25.)

The acceptance of this relationship between Jesus and His "brethren" and "sisters" mentioned by the synoptists constitutes what is known in theological literature as the Helvidian view. Matt. 7:29; compare Luke 4:32; John 7:46. Luke 7:1-10; compare Matt. 8:5-13. John 4:46-53; see page 177 . Note 2 , end of chapter.

13:57; 24:10; 26:31; Mark 6:3; 14:27; John 6:61. Note that Jesus compared the sufferings of John while in prison as in part comparable to those He would Himself have to endure. They did unto John "whatsoever they listed" (Matt. 17:12; Mark 9:13). Luke 7:24-30; see also Matt. 11:7-14; compare Christ's testimony of John Baptist delivered at Jerusalem, John 5:33-35.

Matt. 12:38-45; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16, 29; John 2:18; 1 Cor. 1:22. Doc. and Cov. 46:9; compare 63:7-12. Luke 2:49. Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21. John 19:25; 20:1, 13, 18.

Christ's fame had continuously increased, because of the authority with which He spoke and of the many mighty works He did. His popularity had become such that whenever He moved abroad great multitudes followed Him. One effect of the people's eagerness, which led them to press and crowd around Him, was to render difficult if not impossible at times the effective delivery of any discourse. His usual place for open-air teaching while He tarried in the vicinity of the sea, or lake, of Galilee was the shore; and thither flocked the crowds to hear Him.

At His request, the disciples had provided a "small ship," which was kept in readiness on the beach. It was usual with Him to sit in the boat a short distance off shore, and preach to the people. On one such occasion He employed a means of instruction, which, prior to that time, had not been characteristic of His teaching. This consisted in the use of parables to illustrate His doctrines. Some of these we shall here consider briefly, in the order most advantageous for treatment, and as best we know, in what may have been the sequence in which they were given. "A SOWER WENT FORTH TO SOW."

This new way of teaching, this departure from the Master's earlier method of doctrinal exposition, caused even the most devoted of the disciples to marvel. The Twelve and a few others came to Jesus when He was apart from the multitude, and asked why He had spoken to the people in this manner, and what was the meaning of this particular parable.

Our Lord's reply to the first part of the inquiry we shall consider presently; concerning the second, He asked "Know ye not the parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" Thus did He indicate the simplicity of this the first of His parables, together with its typical and fundamental character, and at the same time intimate that other parables would follow in the course of His teaching. Then He gave the interpretation: "Hear ye therefore theParable of the sower. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart"

The seed was the same whether it fell on good ground or bad, on mellow mold or among stones and thistles. The primitive method of sowing still followed in many countries, consists in the sower throwing the grain by handfuls against the wind. Running through the Galilean fields, were pathways, hard trodden by feet of men and beasts.

Though seed should fall on such tracts, it could not grow. birds would pick up the living kernels lying unrooted and uncovered and some of the grains would be crushed and trodden down. So with the seed of truth falling upon the hardened heart; ordinarily it cannot take root, and Satan, as a marauding crow, steals it away.

Grain sown where thorns and thistles abound is soon killed out by their smothering growth. Even so with a human heart set on riches and the allurements of pleasure it will produce no harvest of good grain, but instead, a rank tangle of noxious weeds. The seed that falls in good deep soil, free from weeds and prepared for the sowing, strikes root and grows. The sun's heat scorches it not, but gives it thrift; it matures and yields to the harvester according to the richness of the soil. Some fields producing thirty, others sixty, and a few even a hundred times as much grain as was sown.

The story could be expressively designated as the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil. It is the ground upon which the seed is cast, to which the story most strongly directs our attention. Observe the grades of soil, given in the increasing order of their fertility. The clean rich mold receptive and fertile. The weed-encumbered field, capable of producing a rich crop but for the jungle of thistles and thorns.

Some Bible expositors have professed to find in this splendid parable evidence of decisive fatalism in the lives of individuals. Those whose spiritual state is comparable to the hardened pathway or wayside ground, to the shallow soil on stony floor, or to the neglected, thorn-ridden tract, are hopelessly and irredeemably bad. Yet even soils classed as good are of varying degrees of productiveness, yielding an increase of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred fold, with many inter-gradations. Let it not be forgotten that a parable is but a sketch, not a picture finished in detail; and that the expressed or implied similitude in parabolic teaching cannot logically and consistently be carried beyond

In the parable we are considering, the Teacher depicted the varied grades of spiritual receptivity existing among men. He neither said nor intimated that the hard-baked soil of the wayside might be plowed, harrowed, fertilized, and so be rendered productive. A strong metaphor, a striking simile, or any other expressive figure of speech is of service only when rationally applied. If carried beyond the bounds of reasonable intent, the best of such may become meaningless or even absurd. The parable is to be studied in the spirit of its purpose; and strained inferences or extensions are unwarranted.

Another parable, somewhat closely related to the foregoing as to the actual story, dealing again with seed and sowing. Like the first, accompanied by an interpretation, was delivered by the Master as follows: "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way"

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn." "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world," Jesus said. "The tares are the children of the wicked one," he said, "and the enemy that sowed them is the devil"

The seed as here represented is not, as in the last parable, the gospel itself, but the children of men. The good seed typifying the honest in heart, righteous-minded children of the kingdom. While the tares are those souls who have given themselves up to evil. Those who were ordained to carry on the ministry after Him are by direct implication also sowers.

Inspired by zeal for their Master's profit, the servants would have forcibly rooted up the tares, but were restrained, for their unwise though well-intended course would have endangered the wheat while yet tender. One cardinal lesson of the parable, apart from the representation of actual conditions present and future, is that of patience, long-suffering, and toleration. The tares mentioned in the story may be considered as any kind of noxious weed, particularly such as in early growth resembles the wholesome grain. Over-sowing with the seed of weeds in a field already sown with grain is a species of malignant outrage not unknown even in the present day.

The certainty of a time of separation, when the wheat shall be garnered in the store-house of the Lord, and the tares be burned, is placed beyond question by the Lord's own exposition. So important is the lesson embodied in this parable, and so assured is the literal fulfilment of its contained predictions, that the Lord has given a further explication through revelation in the current dispensation. In 1832, Jesus Christ said: "But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word,  and the blade is springing up and is yet tender"

Matthew records the Parable of the Tares as immediately following that of the Sower. Mark places in the same position of sequence a parable found in his writings alone. It is presented in outline form, and by critical expositors would be classed rather as a simple analogy than a typical parable.

"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground," says Jesus. The secret processes of its growth be a mystery to all save God alone. A man having planted seed must needs leave it alone, he says. The growth itself is dependent upon conditions and forces beyond his power to ultimately control.

Though it were Paul who planted and Apollos who watered, none but God could insure the increase. When the grain is ripe the man gladly harvests his crop. The sower in this story is the authorized preacher of the word of God. He implants the seed of the gospel in the hearts of men, knowing not what the issue shall be. Passing on to similar or other ministry elsewhere, attending to his appointed duties in other fields, he, with faith and hope, leaves with God the result of his planting. In the harvest of souls converted through his labor, he is enriched and made to rejoice.

This parable was probably directed more particularly to the apostles and the most devoted of the other disciples. The lesson is one for teachers, for workers in the Lord's fields, for the chosen sowers and reapers. Let the seed be sown, even though the sower be straightway called to other fields or other duties; in the gladsome harvest he shall find his recompense.

This little story, addressed to the assembled multitude, must have set many thinking, because of the simplicity of the incident related and the thoroughly un-Jewish application made of it. To the mind taught by teachers of the time the kingdom was to be great and glorious from its beginning. Yet this new Teacher spoke of it as having so small a beginning as to be comparable to a mustard seed. To make the illustration more effective He specified that the seed spoken of was "the least of all seeds" This superlative expression was made in a relative sense; for there were and are smaller seeds than the mustard, even among garden plants, among which rue and poppy have been named. Each of these plants is very small in maturity,

"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed... nothing shall be impossible unto you" The mustard plant attains in Palestine a larger growth than in more northerly climes. The lesson of the parable is easy to read. The seed is a living entity. When rightly planted it absorbs and assimilates the nutritive matters of soil and atmosphere, grows, and in time is capable of affording lodgment and food to the birds. So the seed of truth is vital, living, and capable of such development as to furnish spiritual food and shelter to all who come seeking. In both conceptions, the plant at maturity produces seed in abundance, and so from a single grain a whole field may be covered.

The mustard seed typifies the effect of vital growth in gathering the substance of value from without. The leaven or yeast disseminates and diffuses outward its influence throughout the mass of otherwise dense and sodden dough. Yeast is no less truly a living organism than a mustard seed. As the microscopic yeast plant develops and multiplies within the dough, its myriad living cells permeate the lump. Every bit of the leavened mass is capable of affecting likewise another batch of properly prepared meal. Each of these processes represents a means whereby the Spirit of Truth is made effective.

The process of leavening, or causing dough "to rise," by the fermentation of the yeast placed in the mass, is a slow one. This and the two parables following are recorded by Matthew only. The place assigned them in his narrative indicates that they were spoken to the disciples alone, in the house, after the multitude had departed. Instances of finding buried valuables were not uncommon in the time of which we speak, since the practise of so concealing treasure was usual with people exposed to bandit incursions and hostile invasion.

A Jewish man finds a hidden treasure in a field and sells all that he has to buy it. He concealed the fact of his discovery from the owner of the field, to whom the treasure, they say, rightly belonged. The act was not illegal, since there was an express provision in Jewish law that the purchaser of land became the legal owner of everything the ground contained.

Jesus commended no dishonest course; and had not the story been in every detail probable, its effect as a parable would have been lost. Pearls have always held high place among gems, and long before, as indeed ever since the time of Christ, pearl-merchants have been active and diligent in seeking the largest and richest to be had. Unlike the man in the last parable, who found a hidden treasure with little or no search, the merchant in this story devoted his whole energy to the quest for goodly pearls, to find and secure which was his business.

When at last he beheld the pearl that excelled all others, though it was, as of right it ought to have been, held at high cost, he gladly sold all his other gems. Observe that in this parable as in that of the hidden treasure, the price of possession is one's all. Men who by search and research discover the truths of the kingdom of heaven may have to abandon many of their cherished traditions, and even their theories of imperfect philosophy and "science falsely so called," if they would possess themselves of the pearl of great price.

No man can become a citizen of the kingdom by partial surrender of his earlier allegiances. He must renounce everything foreign to the kingdom or he can never be numbered therein. The cost of the hidden treasure, and of the pearl, is not a fixed amount, alike for all; it is all one has. Even the poorest may come into enduring possession; his all is a sufficient purchase price.

The good, however, die to usefulness, the bad to utter waste. Unwise efforts to carry the application of the parable beyond the Author's intent have suggested the criticism that whether the fish be good or bad they die. Though all men die, they die not alike; some pass to rest, and shall come forth in the resurrection of the just; others go to a state of sorrow and disquiet there to anxiously and with dread await the Resurrection of the wicked.

Similarity of application in the present parable as in that of the tares is apparent in the emphasis given to the decreed separation of the just from the unjust. A further parallelism is noticed in the postponement of the judgment until the "end of the world," by which expression we may understand the consummation of the Redeemer's work.

The Twelve and other disciples were surprized at the Lord's innovation of parabolic instruction. The use of parables was common among Jewish teachers. In adopting this mode of instruction Jesus was really following a custom of the time. Between the parables He spake and those of the scholars there is possible no comparison except that of most pronounced contrast.

To the chosen and devoted followers who came asking the Master why He had changed from direct exposition to parables, He explained that while it was their privilege to receive and understand the deeper truths of the gospel, with people in general, such fulness of understanding was impossible. "Therefore," said He, "speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand"

That the state of spiritual darkness then existing among the Jews had been foreseen was instanced by a citation of Isaiah's words. The ancient prophet had told of the people becoming blind, deaf, and hard of heart respecting the things of God. There is plainly shown an element of mercy in the parabolic mode of instruction adopted by our Lord under the conditions prevailing at the time. Had He always taught in explicit declaration, such as required no interpretation, many among His hearers would have come under condemnation, inasmuch as they were too weak in faith and unprepared to break the bonds of traditionalism and the prejudice engendered by sin, so as to accept and obey the saving word.

Their inability to comprehend the requirements of the gospel would in righteous measure give Mercy some claim upon them, while had they rejected the truth with full understanding, stern Justice would surely demand their condemnation. That the lesson of the parables was comprehensible through study, prayer and search was intimated in the Teacher's admonishment: "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear"

The incidents of an impressive though simple story will live, even in minds which for the time being are incapable of comprehending any meaning beyond that of the common-place story itself. Another example of the merciful adaptation of the word of truth to the varied capacities of the people who heard the parables is found in the psychological fact, that the one has heard to his eternal profit, the other to his everlasting condemnation.

Many a peasant who had heard the little incident of the sower and the four kinds of soil, of the tares sown by an enemy at night, would be reminded by the recurring circumstances of his daily work. And then, when time and experience, including suffering perhaps, had prepared them for deeper thought, they would find the living kernel of gospel truth within the husk of the simple tale.

The essential feature of a parable is that of comparison or similitude, by which some ordinary, well-understood incident is used to illustrate a fact or principle not directly expressed in the story. The narrative or incident upon which aParable is constructed may be an actual occurrence or fiction; but, if fictitious, the story must be consistent and probable, with no admixture of the unusual or miraculous. There is no fiction in the parables we have thus far studied; the fundamental stories are true to life and the given circumstances are facts of experience.

In this respect the parable differs from the fable, the latter being imaginative, exaggerated and improbable as to fact. The parable may embody a narrative as in the instances of the sower and the tares, or merely an isolated incident, as in those of the mustard seed and the leaven. Stories of trees, animals and inanimate things talking together are wholly fanciful; they are fables or apologues whether the outcome be depicted as good or bad.

Allegories are distinguished from parables by greater length and detail of the story. Proverbs and parables are closely related, and in the Bible the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The Old Testament contains two parables, a few fables and allegories, and numerous proverbs.

Many Bible scholars hold that the seven parables recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew were spoken at different times and to different people. The writer of the first Gospel grouped them for convenience in recording and with prime consideration of their subjective interest. The parables of the New Testament, spoken by the Teacher of teachers, are of such beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness, as to stand unparalleled in literature.

Some color is found for this claim in Luke's mention of some of these parables in different relations of both time and place. It is probable that Jesus repeated some of His parables, as He certainly did other teachings, and thus presented the same lesson on more occasions than one. As a matter of fact each parable is a lesson in itself, and holds its high intrinsic value whether considered as an isolated story or in connection with related teachings. Let us give heed to the lesson of each whatever opinions men may promulgate as to the circumstances of its first delivery.

R. C. Trench, in his excellent work Notes on the Parables of our Lord, quotes Dean Stanley's description of existing conditions in the place where the Parable of the Sower was given by Jesus. "A slight recess in the hillside close upon the plain disclosed at once in detail, and with a conjunction which I remember nowhere else in Palestine, every feature of the great parable"

This term occurs nowhere within the Bible except in this instance of the parable. Plainly any kind of weed, particularly a poisonous sort, such as would seriously depreciate the garnered crop, would serve the Master's purpose in the illustration. The traditional belief commonly held is that the plant referred to in theParable is the darnel weed, known to botanists as Lolium temulenium, a species of bearded rye-grass.

This plant closely resembles wheat in the early period of growth, and exists as a pest to the farmers in Palestine to-day. It is called by the Arabians "Zowan" or "Zawan" which name, says Arnot, citing Thompson, "bears some resemblance to the original word in the Greek text" Smith's Dictionary says: "Critics and expositors are agreed that the Greek plural zizania, A.V. 'tares,' of the parable (Matt 13:25) denotes the weed called 'bearded darnel' ( Lolium temulentum ), a widely-distributed grass"

This darnel is easily distinguishable from the wheat and barley when headed out, but when both are less developed, 'the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect it' Even the farmers, who in this country generally weed their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from the other. The taste is bitter, and, when eaten separately, or even when diffused in ordinary bread, it causes dizziness, and often acts as a violent emetic.

Trench thus meets the criticism ( Notes on the Parables , pp. 72, 73): "Our Lord did not imagine here a form of malice without example, but adduced one which may have been familiar enough to His hearers" In Roman law the possibility of this form of injury is contemplated. A modern writer, illustrating Scripture from the manners and habits of the East, affirms the same to be now practised in India. In Ireland I have known an outgoing tenant, in spite at his eviction, to sow wild oats in the fields which he was leaving.

These, like the tares in the parable, ripening and seeding themselves before the crops in which they were mingled, it became next to impossible to extirpate. "; The Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly. —This parable has given rise to much discussion among expositors, the question being as to who is meant by the man who cast seed into the ground. Some ask, how can it be said "that the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how," when all things are known unto Him? If on the other hand the planter represents the authorized teacher or preacher of the gospel, howCan It be said that at the harvest time "

Whether the seed be planted by the Lord Himself, as when He taught in Person, or by any one of His authorized servants, the seed is alive and will grow. Time is required; the blade appears first and is followed by the ear, and the ear ripens in season, without the constant attention which a shaping of the several parts by hand would require. The lesson imparted is the vitality of the seed as a living thing, endowed by its Creator with the capacity to both grow and develop. Those who heard the parable evidently understood the contrast between size of seed and that of the fully developed plant.

Arnot, ( The Parables , p. 102), aptly says: "This plant obviously was chosen by the Lord, not on account of its absolute magnitude, but because it was, and was recognized to be, a striking instance of increase from very small to very great" Edersheim (i, p. 593) states that the diminutive size of the mustard seed was commonly used in comparison by the rabbis, "to indicate the smallest amount such as the least drop of blood, the least defilement, etc."

The same author continues, in speaking of the grown plant: "Indeed, it looks no longer like a large garden-herb or shrub, but 'becomes' or rather appears like 'a tree' — as St. Luke puts it, 'a great tree' " In the parable, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto leaven. In other scriptures, leaven is figuratively mentioned as representing evil, thus, "the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Matt. 4:12, 14, 21, 22)

In the incident of the woman using leaven in the ordinary process of bread-making, the spreading, penetrating vital effect of truth is symbolized by the leaven. The same thing in different aspects may very properly be used to represent good in one instance and evil in another. If a man had found a treasure in loose coins among the corn it would certainly be his if he bought the corn.

If he had found it on the ground, or in the soil, it would equally certainly belong to him if he could claim ownership of the soil. The law went so far as to adjudge to the purchaser of fruits anything found among these fruits. This will suffice to vindicate a question of detail, which, in any case, should not be too closely pressed in a parabolic history.

This distinction will be found to hold true, even in instances where there seems the closest parallelism between a Rabbinic and an Evangelic parable. Geikie tersely says: "Others have uttered parables, but Jesus so far transcends them, that He may justly be called the creator of this mode of instruction" (ii, p. 145). 10. The parable is also clearly distinguishable from the proverb, though it is true that, in a certain degree, the words are used interchangeably in the New Testament.

'Physician, heal thyself' (Luke 4:23) is termed a parable, being more strictly a proverb. 'If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch' (Matt. 15:14, 15); and Luke 5:36 is a proverb or proverbial expression. So, upon the other hand, those are called 'proverbs' in St. John, which if not strictly parables, yet claim much closer affinity to the parable than to the proverb, being in fact allegories. It is easy to account for this interchange of words. Partly it arose from one word in Hebrew signifying both parable and proverb.

A fable or moral tale, especially one in which animals or inanimate things speak or act, and by which a useful lesson is suggested or taught. Allegory. — The setting forth of a subject under the guise of some other subject or aptly suggestive likeness. Myth. — A fictitious or conjectural narrative presented as historical, but without any basis of fact. Proverb. —A brief narrative or descriptive allegory founded on real scenes or events such as occur in nature and human life, and usually with a moral or religious application.

Of parables in the strictest sense the Old Testament contains only two. Other stories, such as that of the trees assembled to elect a king, are more strictly fables. The small number of parabolic narratives must not, however, be taken as an indication of indifference toward this literary form as suitable for moral instruction. In reality, similitudes, which, though not explicitly couched in the terms of fictitious narrative, suggest and furnish the materials for such narrative, are abundant.

By applying the term "parable" in its broadest sense, to include all ordinary forms of analogy, we may list the following as the most impressive parables of the Old Testament. Trees electing a king (Judges 9:7-); the poor man's ewe lamb (2 Sam. 12:1-); story of the escaped captive (1 Kings 20:35-) The vineyard and its wild grapes (Isa. 5:1) and the eagles and the vine (Ezek. 17:3-)

Note 5 , end of chapter. 1 Cor. 3:6. Read the Lord's early promise of souls as the hire of the appointed harvesters: John 4:35-38; see also Matt. 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2. Matt. 13:31, 32; compare Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19.

Read again Matt. 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49. Note 10 , end of chapter. 2 Sam. 12:1-7, 13. Isa. 5: 1-7. Note 11 , start of chapter; note 12, end of book.

A certain scribe came to Jesus and said: "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest" Prior to that time, few men belonging to the titled or ruling class had offered to openly ally themselves with Jesus. Had the Master been mindful of policy and desirous of securing official recognition, this opportunity to attach to Himself as influential a person as a scribe would have received careful consideration if not immediate acceptance. But He, who could read the minds and know the hearts of men, chose rather than accepted.

He had called men who were to be thenceforth His own, from their fishing boats and nets, and had numbered one of the ostracized publicans among the Twelve. The gospel was offered freely to all; but authority to officiate as a minister thereof was not to be had for the asking; for that sacred labor, one must be called of God. In this instance, Christ knew the character of the man, and, without wounding his feelings by curt rejection, pointed out the sacrifice required of one who would follow whithersoever the Lord went.

We do not read that the aspiring scribe pressed his offer. Another man indicated his willingness to follow the Lord, but asked first for time to go and bury his father. To him Jesus said: "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead" Some readers have felt that this injunction was harsh, though such an inference is scarcely justified.

The duties of ministry in the kingdom pertained to spiritual life. One dedicated thereto might well allow those who were negligent of spiritual things, and figuratively speaking, spiritually dead, to bury their dead. A man who wanted to be a disciple of the Lord asked that, before entering upon his duties, he be permitted to go home and bid farewell to his family and friends. The reply of Jesus has become an aphorism in life and literature: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"

The three incidents may be profitably considered together, whether all occurred in the evening of that same eventful day or at different times. The instruction to launch forth and cross to the opposite side of the lake was given by Jesus, who probably desired a respite after the arduous labors of the day. No time had been lost in unnecessary preparation; "they took him, even as he was, into the ship," and set out without delay. Even on the water some of the eager people tried to follow; for a number of small boats, "little ships" as Mark styles them, accompanied the vessel on which Jesus was embarked. But these lesser craft may have turned back, possibly on account of the approaching storm; anyway

The fact that after a day of strenuous effort He could calmly sleep, even amidst the turmoil of a tempest, indicates an unimpaired nervous system and a good state of health. Nowhere do we find record of Jesus having been ill. He lived according to the laws of health, yet never allowed the body to rule the spirit.

Meanwhile the storm increased in fury; the wind rendered the boat unmanageable; waves beat over the side. The disciples were terror-stricken; yet through it all Jesus rested peacefully. Calmly He replied to their piteous call, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Then He arose, into the roaring wind, over the storm-lashed sea, went the voice of the Lord as He "rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still"

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Turning to the disciples, He asked in tones of gentle yet unmistakable reproof: "Where is your faith?" and "How is it that ye have no faith?" Gratitude for rescue from what but a moment before had seemed impending death was superseded by amazement and fear. "What manner of man is this," they asked one of another, "that even the wind and the sea obey him?" Among the recorded miracles of Christ, none has elicited greater diversity in comment and in attempt at elucidation than has this marvelous instance of control over the forces of nature. Science ventures no explanation. The Lord of earth, air, and sea spoke and was ob

A small part of that dominion has been committed to man as the offspring of God, tabernacled in the very image of his divine Father. But man exercizes that delegated control through secondary agencies, and by means of complicated mechanism. Man's power over the objects of his own devizing is limited. It is according to the curse evoked by Adam's fall, which came through transgression, that by the strain of his muscles, by the sweat of his brow and by stress of his mind, shall he achieve. His word of command is but a sound-wave in air, except as it is followed by labor. Through the Spirit that emanates from the very Person of Deity, and which pervades all space,

Not man alone, but also the earth and all the elemental forces pertaining thereto came under the Adamic curse. As the soil no longer brought forth only good and useful fruits, but gave of its substance to nurture thorns and thistles, so the several forces of nature ceased to be obedient to man as agents subject to his direct control. But the earth shall yet be "renewed and receive its paradisaical glory"; then soil, water, air, and the forces acting upon them, shall directly respond to the command of glorified man, as now they obey the word of the Creator.

Jesus and the disciples with Him landed on the eastern or Perean side of the lake, in a region known as the country of the Gadarenes or Gergesenes. The precise spot has not been identified, but it was evidently a country district apart from the towns. As the party left the boat, two maniacs, who were sorely tormented by evil spirits, approached. The demoniac was in a pitiful plight. His frenzy had become so violent and the physical strength incident to his mania so great that all attempts to hold him in captivity had failed.

He had been bound in chains and fetters, but these he had broken asunder by the aid of demon power. He had fled to the mountains, to the caverns that served as tombs, and there he had lived more like a wild beast than a man. Night and day his weird, terrifying shrieks had been heard, and through dread of meeting him people traveled by other ways rather than pass near his haunts. He wandered about naked, and in his madness often gashed his flesh with sharp stones. Seeing Jesus, the poor creature ran toward Him, and, impelled by the power of his demon control, prostrated himself before Christ, the while crying out with a loud voice: "What have I

Matthew records the further question addressed to Jesus: "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" The demons, by whom the man was possessed and controlled, recognized the Master, whom they knew they had to obey. But they pleaded to be left alone until the decreed time of their final punishment would come. Jesus asked, "What is thy name?" and the demons within the man answered, "My name is Legion, for we are many"

In their wretched plight, and out of diabolical eagerness to find abode in bodies of flesh even though of beasts, they begged that, being compelled to leave the man they be allowed to enter a herd of hogs feeding nearby. Jesus gave permission; the unclean demons entered the swine; and the whole herd, numbering about two thousand, went wild, stampeded in terror, ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and were drowned. The swineherds were frightened, and, hastening to the town, told what had happened to the hogs. People came out in crowds to see for themselves; and all were astounded to behold the once wild man of whom they had all been afraid

The man who had been rid of the demons feared not; in his heart love and gratitude superseded all other feelings. Jesus forbade, saying: "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee" The man became a missionary, not alone in his home town but throughout Decapolis, the region of the ten cities. The testimony of wicked and unclean spirits to the divinity of Christ as the Son of God is not confined to this instance. We have already considered the case of the demoniac in the synagog at Capernaum.

from Perea), and inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon, amongst whom He had healed many of divers diseases. Those who were in bondage to unclean spirits had fallen down and worshiped Him; while the demons cried out: "Thou art the Son of God." In the course of the short journey considered in this chapter, the power of Jesus as Master of earth, men and devils, was manifest in miraculous works of the most impressive kind. We cannot classify the Lord's miracles as small and great, nor as easy and difficult of accomplishment. The Lord's word was sufficient in every instance. To the wind and the waves, and to the demon-ridden mind of the man possessed, He had but to speak and be

Immediately after landing, Jesus was approached by Jairus, one of the rulers of the local synagog, who "besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death" The fact of this man's coming to Jesus, with the spirit of faith and supplication, is an evidence of the deep impression the ministry of Christ had made even in priestly and ecclesiastical circles. Many of the Jews, rulers and officials as well as the people in common, believed in Jesus, though few belonging to the upper classes were willing to sacrifice prestige and popularity by acknowledging their discipleship.

The father of a young girl fell at the Lord's feet, or as Matthew says, worshiped Him. Jesus went with the imploring father, and many followed. On the way to the house an incident occurred to hinder progress. A sorely afflicted woman was healed, under circumstances of peculiar interest; this occurrence we shall consider presently.

No intimation is given that Jairus showed impatience or displeasure over the delay. Jesus heard what was said, and sustained the man's sorely-taxed faith by the encouraging behest: "Be not afraid, only believe" Jesus permitted none of His followers save three of the apostles to enter the house with Himself and the bereaved but trusting father. Peter and the two brothers James and John were admitted.

The house was no place of such respectful silence or subdued quiet as we now consider appropriate to the time and place of death. Professional mourners, including singers of weird dirges, and minstrels who made great noise with flutes and other instruments, had already been summoned to the house. To all such Jesus said, on entering: "Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead but sleepeth"

Jesus ordered these people out, and restored peace to the house. He then entered the death chamber, accompanied only by the three apostles and the parents of the girl. Taking the dead maiden by the hand He "said unto her, Talitha cumi"; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. To the astonishment of all but the Lord, the girl arose, left her bed, and walked. Jesus directed that food be given her, as bodily needs, suspended by death, had returned with the girl's renewal of life.

In His own wisdom Christ knew when to prudently forbid and when to permit publication of His doings. Though the grateful parents, the girl herself, and the three apostles who had been witnesses of the restoration, may all have been loyal to the Lord's injunction of silence, the fact that the maiden had been raised to life could not be kept secret. The means by which so great a wonder had been wrought would certainly be inquired into. It is not surprizing, therefore, to read in Matthew's short version of the history, that the fame of the miracle "went abroad into all that land"

The vital distinction between a restoration of the dead to a resumption of mortal life, and the resurrection of the body from death to a state of immortality, must be thoughtfully heeded. In each of the instances thus far considered, the miracle consisted in reuniting the spirit and the body in a continuation of the interrupted course of mortal existence. That the subject of each of these miracles had to subsequently die is certain. Jesus Christ was the first of all men who have lived on earth to come forth from the tomb an immortalized Being; He is therefore properly designated as "the first fruits of them that slept"

Elijah and Elisha, many centuries prior to the time of Christ, were instrumental in restoring life to the dead. In these earlier miracles the restoration was to mortal existence, not to immortality. Jehovah, embodied in flesh as Jesus Christ, did nothing outwardly but command, and the bonds of death were immediately broken. He spoke in His own name and by inherent authority, for by the power with which He was invested He held control of both life and death.

A woman who had suffered a serious ailment for 12 years touched Jesus' clothes. The effect was more than magical; immediately she felt the thrill of health throughout her body. She tried to escape notice, by hastily dropping back into the crowd. But her touch was not unheeded by the Lord. He turned to look over the throng and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" or as Luke puts it, "who touched me?"

The woman's faith was sincere and free from guile, but it was in a sense defective. Jesus, addressing her by a term of respect and kindness, said: "Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole;" and as Mark adds, "be whole of thy plague"

She believed that the influence of Christ's person, and even that attaching to His raiment, was a remedial agency, ample to cure her malady. But she did not realize that the power to heal was an inherent attribute to be exercized at His will. To correct her misapprehension and to confirm her faith, Jesus gently subjected her to the necessary ordeal of confession, which must have been made easier through her consciousness of the great relief already experienced. He confirmed the healing and let her depart with the comforting assurance that her recovery was permanent.

In contrast with the many cases of healing in connection with which the Lord charged the beneficiaries that they should tell none how or by whom they had been relieved, we see here that publicity was made sure by His own action. The purposes and motives of Jesus may be but poorly understood by man; but in this woman's case we see the possibility of stories strange and untrue getting afloat. It appears to have been the wiser course to make plain the truth then and there. Moreover the spiritual worth of the miracle was greatly enhanced by the woman's confession and by the Lord's gracious assurance. Observe the significant assertion, "Thy faith hath made thee whole."

Faith is of itself a principle of power, says Pope Francis. The Lord was and is influenced, and in great measure controlled, in the bestowal or withholding of blessings, he says. He ministers according to law, and not with caprice or uncertainty, Francis says.

a deeper significance than could inhere in a simple inquiry as to the identity of an individual. The usual external act by which His miracles were wrought was a word or a command, sometimes accompanied by the laying on of hands, or by some other physical ministration as in anointing the eyes of a blind man. That there was an actual giving of His own strength to the afflicted whom He healed is evident from the present instance. Passive belief on the part of a would-be recipient of blessing is insufficient; only when it is vitalized into active faith is it a power.

Two blind men followed Jesus, crying out: "Thou son of David, have mercy on us" Their persistency in following the Lord was evidence of their belief that in some way, though to them unknown and mysterious, He could help them. Jesus touched their eyes, saying: "According to your faith be it unto you" The effect was immediate; their eyes were opened.

They were explicitly instructed to say nothing of the matter to others; but, rejoicing in the inestimable blessing of sight, they "spread abroad his fame in all that country" So far as we can unravel the uncertain threads of sequence in the works of Christ, this is the earliest instance, recorded with attendant details, of His giving sight to the blind. Many remarkable cases follow. It is worthy of note that in blessing the sightless by the exercize of His healing power, Jesus usually ministered by some physical contact in addition to uttering the authoritative words of command or assurance.

An analogous circumstance is found in the healing of one who was deaf and defective of speech, in which instance the Lord put His fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue. Christ was not a physician who relied upon curative substances, nor a surgeon to perform physical operations; His healings were the natural results of the application of a power of His own. It is conceivable that confidence, which is a stepping-stone to belief, as that in turn is to faith, may have been encouraged by these physical ministrations, strengthened, and advanced to a higher and more abiding trust in Christ. There is apparent not alone an entire absence of formula and formalism in His ministration, but a lack of uniformity of procedure

As the two men, once sightless but now seeing, departed, others came, bringing a dumb friend whose affliction seems to have been primarily due to the malignant influence of an evil spirit rather than to any organic defect. Jesus rebuked the wicked spirit and cast out the demon that had obsessed the afflicted one and held him in the tyranny of speechlessness. The man's tongue was loosened, he was freed from the evil incubus, and was no longer dumb. Another incident connected with a storm on this small body of water is of scriptural record, and will be considered later in the text (Matt. 14:22-26; Mark 6:45-56; John 6:15-21).

Dr. Thompson ( The Land and the Book ii:32) gives a description founded on his personal experience on the shores of the lake. "I spent a night in that Wady Shukaiyif, some three miles up it, to the left of us. The sun had scarcely set when the wind began to rush down toward the lake, and it continued all night long with constantly increasing violence"

The wind howled down every wady from the north-east and east with such fury that no efforts of rowers could have brought a boat to shore at any point along that coast. To understand the causes of these sudden and violent tempests, we must remember that the lake lies low—six hundred feet lower than the ocean.

The earth itself fell under the curse incident to the fall of the first parents of the race, and that even as man shall be redeemed so shall the earth be regenerated, is implied in Paul's words. The present author has written elsewhere: "According to the scriptures, the earth has to undergo a change analogous to death, and to be Regenerated in a manner comparable to a resurrection"

The new earth, really the renewed or regenerated planet, which is to result, may be compared with a resurrected organism. The change has been likened unto a transfiguration (Doc. and Cov. 63:20, 21). Every created thing has been made for a purpose; and everything that fills the measure of its creation is to be advanced in the scale of progression. In speaking of the degrees of glory provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and sanctification, the Lord, in a revelation dated 1832, speaks plainly of the approaching death and subsequent quickening of the earth.

The vital Spirit that emanates from God and is coextensive with space, may operate directly and with as positive effect upon inanimate things, and upon energy in its diverse manifestations known to us as the forces of nature. Thus, the Lord may speak directly to the earth, the air, the sea, and be heard and obeyed, for the divine affluence, which is the sum of all energy and power may and does operate throughout the universe.

In the course of a revelation from God to Enoch, the earth is personified, and her groans and lamentations over the wickedness of men were heard by the prophet. Enoch pleaded: "O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth?" Following further revelation as to the then future course of mankind in sin and in the rejection of the Messiah who was to be sent, the prophet wept with anguish, and asked of God "When shall the earth rest?"

It was then shown unto him that the crucified Christ shall return to earth and establish a millennial reign of peace. "And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance" (P. of G.P., Moses 7:48, 49, 58, 60, 61, 64)

A partial description of the earth in its regenerated state has been given through the prophet Joseph Smith in the present dispensation. That Jesus Christ, in the exercize of His powers of Godship, should speak directly to the wind or the sea and be obeyed is no less truly in accord with the natural law of heaven, than that He should effectively command a man or an unembodied spirit.

Gospel-historians have tried to discredit the account of Christ's healing the demoniac in "the country of the Gadarenes" (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) They claim the ancient town of Gadara was too far inland to make possible the precipitous dash of the swine into the sea from that place. Others lay stress on the fact that Matthew differs from the two other Gospel-historian, in specifying "thecountry of the Gergesenes" (8:28) As stated in the text, a whole region or section is referred to, not a town.

The keepers of the swine ran off to the towns to report the disaster that had befallen their herd. In that district of Perea there were at the time towns named respectively Gadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa. The region in general, therefore, could properly be called the land of the Gadarenes or of the Gergesenes. The existence of this little town was apparently known both to Origen, who first introduced the reading, and to Eusebius and Jerome. A steep declivity near it, where the hills approach to within a little distance from the lake, was pointed out as the scene of the miracle.

The people were frightened over the power possessed by Jesus, as demonstrated in the cure of the demoniac, and in the destruction of the swine. They were in part heathen, and had but superstitious conceptions of Deity. Their prayer that Jesus leave them brings to mind the ejaculation of Simon Peter in his witnessing one of Christ's miracles: "Depart from me: for I am a sinful man, O Lord"

Matthew (9:18) represents the father as saying: "My daughter is even now dead" The maid was seemingly breathing her last, she was in the very throes of death, when the father hurried away. Before he met Jesus he felt that the end had probably come; nevertheless his faith endured. His words attest his trust, that even had his daughter actually died since he left her side, the Master could recall her to life. He was in a state of frenzied grief, and still his faith held true. 6. Mourning Customs Among Orientals. —Observances that to us seem strange, weird, and out of place, prevailed from very early times among oriental peoples.

Noise and tumult, including screeching lamentations by members of the bereaved family and by professional mourners, were usual accompaniments of mourning. Geikie, citing Buxtorf's quotation from the Talmud, gives place to the following: "Even a poor Israelite was required to have not fewer than two flute players and one mourning woman at the death of his wife" In Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, we read: "The number of words (about eleven Hebrew and as many Greek) employed in scripture to express the various actions characteristic of mourning, shows in a great degree the nature of Jewish customs in this respect"

"The damsel is not dead but sleepeth" told that her sleep was to be of short duration. It was a rabbinical and common custom of the time to speak of death as a sleep. It is noticeable that the Lord used a strictly equivalent expression with respect to the death of Lazarus. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," said He, "but I go that I may awake him out of sleep."

The literal construction placed upon these words by the apostles evoked the plain declaration "Lazarus is dead" (John 11:11, 14). In the Talmud death is repeatedly designated as sleep—hundreds of times says Lightfoot, a recognized authority on Hebrew literature. We should realize that even complete knowledge may not preclude the propriety of making inquiries. Even omniscience does not imply ever-present consciousness of all that is.

Undoubtedly through his paternal heritage of divine attributes, Jesus had the power of ascertaining for himself, by means not possessed by others, any facts He might have desired to know. Trench ( Notes on the Miracles , pp. 148-9), thus instructively points the lesson as illustrated by our Lord's question concerning the woman who was healed of her issue of blood. With little force "can it be urged that it would have been inconsistent with absolute truth for the Lord to profess ignorance, and to ask the question which He did ask?"

A father among his children, and demanding Who committed this fault? himself conscious, even while he asks, but at the same time willing to bring the culprit to a full confession, can he be said, in any way to violate the law of the highest truth? The same offense might be found in Elisha's 'Whence comest thou, Gehazi?' (2 Kings 5:25) when his heart went with his servant all the way that he had gone. In every case there is a moral purpose in the question, an opportunity given even at the latest moment for making good at least a part of the error by its unreserved confession.

Each of these miracles is a literal fulfilment of that prophetic word of Isaiah concerning the days of Messiah: 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened' (35:5) Frequent as these miracles are, they yet will none of them be found without distinguishing features of their own. That they should be so numerous is nothing wonderful, whether we regard the fact from a natural or spiritual point of view. Regarded naturally they need not surprize us if we keep in mind how far commoner a calamity is blindness in the East than with us.

"He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils" (Matt. 9:32-34) For further treatment of this inconsistent and, strictly speaking blasphemous charge, see pages 265-269. "Articles of Faith," x:1-20—"Men called of God." Page 87 . Luke 9:57-62; see also Matt. 8:19-22; Matt 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.

Gen. 1:28; P. of G.P., Moses 2:26; 5:1. Gen. 3:17-19. Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56; Matt. 9:18, 19, 23-26. John 11:45; compare 8:30; 10:42. John 9:6; compare Mark 6:5; 7:33; 8:23.

Matt. 15:22; 20:30, 31; Mark 10:47, 48; Luke 18:38, 39. John 9:6; Mark 8:23. Mark 7:32-37. Matt. 9:32, 33. John 10:6.

JESUS AGAIN in NAZARETH. Jesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth, who thrust Him out from their synagog and tried to kill Him. It appears that subsequent to the events noted in our last chapter, He returned to the town of His youth, and again raised His voice in the synagog. The Nazarenes, as they had done before, now again openly expressed their astonishment at the words He spoke, and at the many miraculous works He had wrought. They rejected Him anew, for He came not as they expected the Messiah to come; and they refused to know Him save as "the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and

Jesus reminded them of the proverb then current among the people, "A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his Own house." Their unbelief was so dense as to cause Him to marvel. Because of their lack of faith He was unable to accomplish any great work except to heal a few exceptional believers upon whom He laid His hands. About this time, also, Jesus inaugurated a notable expansion of the ministry of the kingdom, by sending forth the Twelve on assigned missions. Since their ordination the apostles had been with their Lord, learning from Him by public discourse and private exposition, and acquiring invaluable experience and training through that privileged and blessed companionship.

They were directed to confine their ministrations for the time being "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and not to open a propaganda among the Gentiles. This was a temporary restriction, imposed in wisdom and prudence; later, as we shall see, they were Directed to preach among all nations, with the world for their field. They were specifically and solemnly charged. Some of the instructions given them on this occasion had particular reference to their first mission, from which they would in due time return and report. Other directions and admonitions were to be of effect throughout their ministry, even after the Lord's ascension.

The subject of their discourses was to be that upon which they had heard the Master preach. Personal comfort and bodily needs they were not to provide for. People were to be proved as to their willingness to receive and assist those who came in the name of the Lord. The apostles themselves were to learn to rely upon a Provider more to be trusted than man. In the several towns they entered they were to seek entertainment and leave their blessing upon every worthy family into which they were received.

If they found themselves rejected by a household or by a town as a whole, they were to shake the dust from their feet on leaving, as a testimony against the people. It was decreed that, in the day of judgment, the place so denounced would fare worse than wicked Sodom and Gomorrha. The apostles were told to be prudent, to give no needless offense, but to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. They were not to recklessly entrust themselves to the power of men, for wicked men would persecute them.

These servants of Christ were told that they would be hated of all men, but were assured that their sufferings were to be for His name's sake. They were not to trust even the claims of kinship for protection, for families would be divided over the truth.

They were admonished to humility, and were always to remember that they were servants, who ought not to expect to escape when even their Master was assailed. Nevertheless they were to be fearless, hesitating not to preach the gospel in plainness. They were solemnly warned that whosoever would freely confess the Christ before men would be acknowledged by Him in the Father's presence.

And again they were told that the gospel would bring strife, whereby households would be disrupted; for the doctrine the Lord had taught would be as a sword to cut and divide. The duties of their special ministry were to supersede the love for kindred. They must be willing to leave father, mother, son, or daughter, whatever the sacrifice; for, said Jesus "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" The significance of this figure must have been solemnly impressive, and actually terrifying.

They were never to forget in whose name they were sent; and were comforted with the assurance that whoever received them would be rewarded as one who had received the Christ and His Father. The period of their absence was marked by many important developments in the individual labors of Jesus. It is probable that during this time our Lord visited Jerusalem, on the occasion mentioned by John as coincident with the unnamed feast of the Jews.

While the apostles were absent, Jesus was visited by the Baptist's disciples, as we have already seen. The return of the Twelve occurred near the time of the infamous execution of John the Baptist in prison. Herod Antipas, who had given the fatal order, trembled in his palace. He heard, with fear due to inward conviction of guilt, of the marvelous works wrought by Jesus, and in terror averred that Christ could be none other than John Baptist returned from the tomb.

Herod feared that the murdered John had returned to life. His fawning courtiers essayed to allay his fears by saying that Jesus was Elijah, or some other of the prophets whose advent had been predicted. But the conscience-stricken Herod said: "It is John whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead." Herod desired to see Jesus; perhaps through the fascination of fear, or with the faint hope that sight of the renowned Prophet of Nazareth might dispel his superstitious dread.

Jesus and the Twelve withdrew from the throng, and privately entered a boat in which they crossed to a rural spot adjacent to the city of Bethsaida. Their departure had not been unobserved, and eager crowds hastened along the shore, and partly around the northerly end of the lake, to join the party at the landing place. From John's account we are led to infer that, before the arrival of great numbers, Jesus and His companions had ascended the hillside near the shore where, for a short time they had rested.

Five thousand people gathered in the wilderness to be fed. Jesus asked Philip, one of the Twelve, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" The purpose of the question was to test the apostle's faith, but the Lord had already determined as to what was to be done.

Philip's reply showed surprize at the question, and conveyed his thought that the suggested undertaking was impossible. Andrew added that there was a lad present who had five barley loaves, and two small fishes, "But," said he, "what are they among so many?" Such is John's account; the other writers state that the apostles reminded Jesus of the lateness of the hour, and urged that He send the people away to seek for themselves food and lodging in the nearest towns. The Master's reply to the apostles was: "They need not depart; give ye them to eat."

In amazed wonder they replied: "We have here but five loaves and two fishes;" and Andrew's despairing comment is implied again—What are they among so many? Jesus gave command, and the people seated themselves on the grass in orderly array; they were grouped in fifties and hundreds. The substance of both fish and bread increased under the Master's touch; and the multitude feasted there in the desert, until all were satisfied. To the disciples Jesus said: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost;" and twelve baskets were filled with the surplus. As to the miracle itself, human knowledge is powerless to explain.

Though wrought on so great a scale, it is no more nor less inexplicable than any other of the Lord's miraculous works. It was a manifestation of creative power, by which material elements were organized and compounded to serve a present and pressing need. Our Lord's direction to gather up the fragments was an impressive object-lesson against waste; and it may have been to afford such lesson that an excess was supplied. The multitude, now fed and filled, gave some consideration to the miracle. The conversion of water into wine at Cana was a qualitative transmutation; the feeding of the multitude involved a quantitative increase. Who can say that one, or which, of these miracles of provision was the more wonderful?

In Jesus, by whom so great a work had been wrought, they recognized One having superhuman powers. Jesus directed His disciples to depart by boat, while He remained to dismiss the now excited multitude. The disciples hesitated to leave their Master, but He constrained them and they obeyed. His insistence, that the Twelve depart from both Himself and the multitude, may have been due to a desire to protect the chosen disciples against possible infection by the materialistic and unrighteous designs of the throng to make Him king. Such was their gross conception of Messianic supremacy.

He caused the people to disperse; and, as night came on, He found that for which He had come in quest, solitude and quiet. Ascending the hill, He chose a secluded place, and there remained in prayer during the greater part of the night. "IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID." The return by boat proved to be a memorable journey for the disciples. They encountered a boisterous head-wind, which of course rendered impossible the use of sails. Though they had labored through the night they had progressed less than four miles on their course. To turn and run before the wind would have been to invite disastrous wreck. Their sole hope lay in their holding the vessel to the wind by sheer

Jesus, in His place of solitary retirement, was aware of their sad plight. When the voyagers caught sight of Him as He approached the ship in the faint light of the near-spent night, they were overcome by superstitious fears. "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Relieved by these assuring words, Peter, impetuous and impulsive as usual, cried out: "Lord, if   and it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water."

Jesus caught him by the hand, saying: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" From Peter's remarkable experience, we learn that the power by which Christ was able to walk the waves could be made operative in others, provided only their faith was enduring. It was on Peter's own request that he was permitted to attempt the feat. Had Jesus forbidden him, the man's faith might have suffered a check. His attempt, though attended by partial failure, was a demonstration of the efficacy of faith in the Lord, such as no verbal teaching could ever have conveyed.

Marveling at the power of One to whom the wind-lashed sea was a sustaining floor, the apostles bowed before the Lord in reverent worship. Aside from the marvelous circumstances of its literal occurrence, the miracle is rich in symbolism and suggestion. By what law or principle the effect of gravitation was superseded, so that a human body could be supported upon the watery surface, man is unable to affirm. The phenomenon is a concrete demonstration of the great truth that faith is a principle of power, whereby natural forces may be conditioned and controlled.

The night voyage, in the course of which Jesus had reached the boat with its frightened occupants while "in the midst of the sea," ended at some point within the district known as the land of Gennesaret. Word of our Lord's presence there spread rapidly, and, from "all that country round about" the people flocked to Him, bringing their afflicted to receive of His beneficence by word or touch.

In the towns through which He walked, the sick were laid in the streets that the blessing of His passing might fall upon them. Many "besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole" Bounteously did He impart of His healing virtue to all who came asking with faith and confidence. The multitude who, on the yesterday, had partaken of His bounty on the other side of the lake, were greatly surprized in the morning to discover that He had departed. They had seen the disciples leave in the only boat there present, while Jesus had remained on shore. They knew that the night tempest had precluded the possibility of other

Some boats were sighted, bound for the western coast; these they hailed, and, securing passage, crossed to Capernaum. Their difficulty in locating Jesus was at an end, for His presence was known throughout the town. Coming to Him, probably as He sat in the synagog, for on this day He taught there, some of the most intrusive of the crowd asked, brusquely and almost rudely, "Rabbi, when camest thou hither?" Jesus deigned no direct reply; in the miracle of the preceding night the people had no part, and no account of our Lord's movements was given them. In tone of impressive rebuke Jesus said unto them: "Verily, verily, I

One who could supply them with victuals as He had done must not be lost sight of. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you," Jesus said.

Moses had fed their fathers with manna in the desert, they said. They regarded a continued daily supply as a greater gift than a single meal of bread and fish. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread of heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world"

They were mistaken in assuming that Moses had given them manna. Jesus met their appeal with an explanation: "I am the bread of life" He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall not thirst. The request was not wholly gross; there may have been in the hearts of some of them at least a genuine desire for spiritual nourishment.

He reminded them that though they had seen Him they believed not His words. He assured them that those who really accepted Him would do as the Father directed. Then, without metaphor or symbolism, He affirmed: "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me"

He advized them to cease their murmurings; for it was a certainty that they could not apprehend His meaning, and therefore would not believe Him, unless they had been "taught of God" as the prophets had written. Then, reverting to the symbolism of the bread, He reiterated: "I am the bread of life." In further elucidation He explained that while their fathers did truly eat manna in the wilderness, yet they were dead.

Jesus said: "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him" He added: "This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead" There was little excuse for the Jews pretending to understand that our Lord meant an actual eating and drinking of His material flesh and blood.

The utterances to which they objected were far more readily understood by them than they are by us on first reading. The representation of the law and of truth in general as bread, and the acceptance thereof as a process of eating and drinking, were figures in every-day use by the rabbis of that time. Their failure to comprehend the symbolism of Christ's doctrine was an act of will, not the natural consequence of innocent ignorance. To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ was and is to believe in and accept Him as the literal Son of God and Savior of the world. By these means only may the Spirit of God become an abiding part of man's individual being, even as the substance of the food he eats is

It is not sufficing to accept the precepts of Christ as we may adopt the doctrines of scientists, philosophers, and savants, however great the wisdom of these sages may be. Such acceptance is by mental assent or deliberate exercize of will, and has relation to the doctrine only as independent of the author. The teachings of Jesus Christ endure because of their intrinsic worth. Many men respect His aphorisms, proverbs, parables, and His profoundly philosophical precepts, who yet reject Him as the Son of God.

The sacrament of the Lord's supper perpetuates the symbolism of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, by the partaking of bread and wine in remembrance of Him. Acceptance of Jesus as the Christ implies obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel. To profess the One and refuse the other is but to convict ourselves of inconsistency, insincerity, and hypocrisy. The truth respecting Himself, as taught by the Lord in this, His last, discourse in the synagog at Capernaum, proved to be a test of faith through which many fell away.

Not alone critical Jews of the official class, but those who had professed some measure of belief in Him were affected. "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" Jesus, cognizant of their disaffection, asked: "Doth this offend you?" and added: "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" His ascension, which was to follow His death and resurrection, is here definitely implied. The spiritual significance of His teachings was put beyond question by the explanation that only through the Spirit could they comprehend. Many deserted Him, and from that time sought Him no more. The effect was

Even the Twelve were unable to comprehend the deeper meaning of these latest teachings. They were puzzled, though none actually deserted. Peter, speaking for himself and his brethren, answered with pathos and conviction: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" They knew Jesus to be the Christ, and were faithful to Him while others turned away into the dark depths of apostasy. The spirit of the Holy Apostleship was manifest in this confession.

While Peter spoke for the apostolic body as a whole, there was among them one who silently revolted. The Lord knew this man's heart, and said: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" The historian adds: "He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve"

Luke's account refers to an occasion immediately following the first return of Jesus to Galilee after His baptism and temptations. Matthew (13:53-58) and Mark (6:1-6) chronicle a visit later than the occasion of the first teaching in parables. We have good reason for accepting Luke's record as that of an early incident, and the accounts given by Matthew and Mark as those of a later visit. 2. Jews designated all other peoples as Gentiles; though the same Hebrew word is rendered in the Old Testament variously, as "Gentiles" (Gen. 10:5; Judg. 4:2, 13, 16; Isa. 11:10; etc. ), "

of the Bible, we read "It acquired an ethnographic and also an invidious meaning, as other nations were idolatrous, rude, hostile, etc." Dr. Edward E. Nourse, writing for the Standard Bible Dictionary, says: "In New Testament times, the Jew divided mankind into three classes, (1) Jews, (2) Greeks (Hellenes, made to include Romans, thus meaning the civilized peoples of the Roman Empire), and (3) barbarians (the uncivilized)." The injunction laid by Jesus upon the Twelve—"Go not into the way of the Gentiles"—was to restrain them for the time being from attempting to make converts among the Romans and Greeks.

To ceremonially shake the dust from one's feet as a testimony against another was understood by the Jews to symbolize a cessation of fellowship and a renunciation of all responsibility. It became an ordinance of accusation and testimony by the Lord's instructions to His apostles as cited in the text. In the current dispensation, the Lord has similarly directed His authorized servants to so testify against those who wilfully and maliciously oppose the truth when authoritatively presented.

Bethsaida Julias was the town of that name in Perea, on the eastern side of the Jordan. The Perean village of Bethsaida had been enlarged and raised to the rank of a town by the tetrarch, Philip. The Gospel narratives of the voyage by which Jesus and His companions reached the place, and of the return therefrom, are conformable to the assumption that the "desert place" referred to was an outlying district.

Matthew specifies two evenings of the day on which the five thousand were fed. "When it was evening" the disciples asked Jesus to send away the multitude. After the miraculous feeding and after the disciples had left by boat, "when the evening was come" Jesus was alone on the mountain (Matt. 14:15, 23; compare Mark 6:35, 47). Trench Notes on the Miracles, (p. 217) says: "St. Matthew and St. Mark with him, makes two evenings to this day—one which had already commenced before the preparations for the feeding of the multitude had begun (verse 15)... the second evening being the twilight, or from six o'clock to twilight,

During the greater part of Old Testament time, the people of Israel divided the night into three watches, each of four hours. Before the beginning of the Christian era, however, the Jews had adopted the Roman order of four night-watches, each lasting three hours. These were designated numerically, e.g. the fourth watch mentioned in the text (see Matt. 14:25), or as even, midnight, cock-crowing, and morning (see Mark 13:35).

The fourth watch was the last of the three-hour periods between sunset and sunrise. The Jews regarded the border or hem of their outer robes as of particular importance. The desire to touch the hem of Christ's robe may have been associated with this thought of sanctity attaching to the hem or border.

The supplying of manna to the Israelites incident to the exodus and the long travel in the wilderness, was rightly regarded as a work of surpassing wonder (Exo. 16:14-36; Numb. 11:7-9; Deut. 8:3, 16; Josh. 5:12; Psa. 78:24, 25). Many traditions, some of them perniciously erroneous, gathered about the incident, and were transmitted with invented additions from generation to generation. In the time of Christ the rabbinical teaching was that the manna on which the fathers had fed was literally the food of the angels, sent down from heaven; and that it was of diverse taste and flavor to suit all

These erroneous conceptions in part explain the demand of those who had been fed on barley loaves and fishes, for a sign that would surpass the giving of manna in the olden days, as evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus. Although faith is called the first principle of the Gospel of Christ, though it be in fact the foundation of all religion, yet even faith is preceded by sincerity of disposition and humility of soul.

The idea of eating, as a metaphor for receiving spiritual benefit, was familiar to Christ's hearers. In Isaiah 3:1, the words 'the whole stay of bread,' were explained by the rabbis as referring to their own teaching. It was a saying among them—'In the time of the Messiah the Israelites will be fed by Him'

'Messiah is not likely to come to Israel,' said Hillel, 'for they have already eaten Him' —that is, greedily received His words. A current conventionalism in the synagogs was that the just would 'eat the Shekinah' It was peculiar to the Jews to be taught in such metaphorical language. Their rabbis never spoke in plain words, and it is expressly said that Jesus submitted to the popular taste, for 'without a parable spake he not unto them' (Mark 4:34). "—Geikie, Life and Words of Christ , vol. i, p. 184.

Upon this many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Nay, the searching trial reached even unto the hearts of the Twelve. Would they also go away? It was an anticipation of Gethsemane—its first experience. But one thing kept them true. It was the experience of the past. This was the basis of their present faith and allegiance. They could not go back to their old past; they must cleave to Him. Whither can we go for words of eternal life, if not to Christ? If He fails us, then all hope of the eternal is gone.

But He has the words of eternal life—and we believed when they first came to us; nay, we know that He is the Holy One of God. And this conveys all that faith needs for further learning. The rest will He show when He is transfigured in our sight. But of these Twelve Christ knew one to be a devil—like that angel, fallen from highest height to lowest depth. The apostasy of Judas had already commenced in his heart. The hour of decision was past, and the hand on the dial pointed to the hour of His death."

This is the first occurrence of this title in the Synoptic Gospels, as applied to Jesus by mortals. Note similar testimony of the Seventy, who were sent out at a later time, and who returned rejoicing in the power that had been manifest in their ministry. That is to say, "since" or "inasmuch". Compare Peter's impetuous leap into the sea to reach the resurrected Lord on the shore, John 21:7. "Articles of Faith," v:11-13—"Faith a Principle of Power." Josephus, Wars. iii, 10:7, 8.

Mark 6:53-56; compare Matt. 14:34-36. John 6:32-59. John 4:13-15; page 174. Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:34; Micah 4:2; compare Heb. 8:10; 10:16.

Our Lord's last recorded discourse in the synagog at Capernaum marked the beginning of another epoch in the development of His life's work. It was the season of an approaching Passover festival. At the next succeeding Passover, one year later, as shall be shown, Jesus would be betrayed to His death. He was entering upon the last year of His ministry in the flesh. But the significance of the event is other and greater than that of a chronological datum-plane. The circumstance marked the first stage of a turn in the tide of popular regard toward Jesus, which theretofore had been increasing, and which now began to ebb.

True, He had been repeatedly criticized and openly assailed by complaining Jews on many earlier occasions; but these crafty and even venomous critics were mostly of the ruling classes. We are without information as to Jesus having attended this Passover feast; and it is reasonable to infer that in view of the increasing hostility on the part of the rulers, He refrained from going to Jerusalem on the occasion. Conjecture as to whether any of the Twelve went up to the festival is profitless; we are not told. The last year of His earthly ministration was inaugurated by a sifting of the people who professed to believe His word, and this process of test, trial, and separation, was to continue to the end

After the Passover, Jesus was visited by a delegation of Pharisees and scribes who had come from Jerusalem, and who made protest against the disregard of traditional requirements by His followers. The detectives and spies, who had been sent from Jerusalem into Galilee to watch Jesus, became more active than ever in their critical espionage. They dogged His footsteps, noted every act, and every instance of omission of traditional or customary observance, and were constantly on the alert to make Him out an offender.

Mark tells us that the disciples were charged with having eaten with "defiled", or, as the marginal reading gives it, with "common" hands. "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders," he says.

It should be borne in mind that the offense charged against the disciples was that of ceremonial uncleanness, not physical uncleanliness or disregard of sanitary propriety. They were said to have eaten with common or defiled hands, not specifically with dirty fingers. In all the externals of their man-made religionism, the Jews were insistent on scrupulous exactitude. Every possibility of ceremonial defilement was to be carefully guarded against, and the effects thereof had to be counteracted by prescribed washings.

To the Pharisaic mind this must have been a very sharp rebuke. rabbinism held that rigorous compliance with the traditions of the elders was more important than observance of the law itself. Jesus in His counter question put their cherished traditions as in direct conflict with the commandment of God. Adding to their discomfiture, He cited the prophecy of Isaiah, and applied to them whom He designated hypocrites. The prophet's words: "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men"

Moses had voiced the direct commandment of God in saying: "Honour thy father and thy mother" But this law, though given of God direct to Israel, had been superseded. Any ungrateful and wicked son could find ready means, which their traditions had made lawful, of escaping all filial obligations, even though his parents were destitute. If a needy father or mother craved help of a son, he had but to say—What you ask of me is Corban—or in other words, an intended gift to God. He was held to be legally exempt from all requirements to contribute of that substance to the support of his parents. Other obligations could be similarly evaded.

To declare a piece of property real or personal as "corban" was generally understood as an averment that the property was dedicated to the temple. Property was often declared to be "Corban" for other purposes than dedication to ecclesiastical use. The result of such established though utterly unlawful and pernicious traditions was, as Jesus emphatically stated to the Pharisees and scribes, to make the word of God of none effect, and, He added, "Many such like things do ye"

The Pharisees were offended, for they had said that to eat with hands that had not been ritualistically cleansed was to defile the food touched. The apostles were not sure that they understood the Master's lesson; though couched in plain, non-figurative language, it was to some of them very like a parable, and Peter asked an exposition.

The Lord explained that the food one eats is but temporarily part of his body. Having served its purpose of nourishing the tissues and supplying energy to the organism, it is eliminated. The food that enters the body through the mouth is of small and transient importance compared with the utterances that issue from the mouth, for these, if evil, are truly defiling. Some of the disciples asked Jesus whether He knew that the Pharisees had taken offense at His saying. His answer was a further denunciation of Pharisaism: "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up"

There could be no compromize between His doctrine of the kingdom and the corrupt Judaism of the time. The rulers were plotting against His life. If their emissaries chose to take offense at His words, let them be offended and stand the consequences. He had no conciliatory measures to offer those whose inability to understand His meaning was the result of wilful obstinacy, or darkness of mind produced by persistence in sin.

In one of the little towns near the border, the party took lodgings; but the attempt to secure privacy was futile, for the Master's presence "could not be hid" A woman, hearing of His presence within her own land, came asking a boon. Mark tells us she was a Greek, or more literally a Gentile who spoke Greek, and by nationality a Syro-Phenician. Matthew says she was "a woman of Canaan"; these statements are in harmony, since the Phenicians were of Canaanite descent.

The woman cried aloud to Jesus, saying: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil" Her words expressed at once faith in the Lord's power, and a fulness of mother-love, for she implored as though she were the afflicted sufferer. The fact that she addressed Jesus as Son of David demonstrates her belief that He was the Messiah of Israel. At first Jesus refrained from answering her. Undeterred, she pleaded the more, until the disciples said: "Send her away; for she crieth after us" Their intervention was probably an intercession in her behalf; she could be quieted by the granting of her request

The woman fell at the Lord's feet and worshiped Him, pleading pitifully, "Lord, help me." To her Jesus said, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs" The original term here translated "dogs" connoted, as the narrative shows, not the vagrant and despized curs elsewhere spoken of in the Bible. But literally the "little dogs" or domestic pets, such as were allowed in the house and under the table.

Instantly she adopted the analogy, and applied it in combined argument and supplication. The woman's commendable persistency was based on the faith that overcomes apparent obstacles and endures even under discouragement. Her case reminds one of the lesson taught by the Lord on another occasion through the story of the importunate widow. Many have queried as to why Jesus delayed the blessing. Mark emphasizes the special recognition of her final plea, and adds: "And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed"

We may not be able to fathom His purposes; but we see that, by the course He adopted, the woman's faith was demonstrated and the disciples were instructed. Jesus impressed upon her that she was not of the chosen people, to whom He had been sent. His words prefigured the giving of the gospel to all, both Jew and Gentile. The resurrected Christ was to be made known to every nation.

Among the many who were healed was one of whom special mention is made. He was deaf and defective in speech. The people asked the Lord to lay His hands upon the man. But Jesus led him away from the multitude, put His fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched his tongue. Then looking upward in prayer, and sighing the while, He uttered a word of command in Aramaic, "Ephphatha, that is, Be opened" And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. The manner of effecting this cure was different again from the usual mode of our Lord's healing ministrations.

The people were forbidden to tell abroad what they had witnessed. The more they were charged the more they published the news. Their conclusion as to Jesus and His works was: "He hath done all things well" Jesus had compassion upon the people, and was loath to send them away fasting, lest they would faint by the way.

When He spoke to the disciples on the matter they intimated the impossibility of feeding so great a number, for the entire stock of food at hand comprized but seven loaves and a few little fishes. But the Master commanded; and the people seated themselves on the ground. Four thousand men, beside women and children, were abundantly fed; and of the broken but uneaten food there remained enough to fill seven baskets. With no semblance of the turbulent enthusiasm that had followed the feeding of the five thousand, this multitude dispersed quietly and returned to their homes, grateful and doubly blessed.

Jesus and the apostles landed near Magdala and Dalmanutha. These towns are understood to have been so close together as to virtually make the latter a suburb of the other. Here the party was met by the ever-vigilant Pharisees, who on this occasion were accompanied by their usually unfriendly rivals, the Sadducees. That the two parties had temporarily laid aside their mutual differences, and had combined their forces in the common cause of opposition to Christ, is a demonstration of the determined purpose of the ecclesiastical authorities to find occasion against Him, and, if possible, destroy Him. Their immediate object was to further alienate the common people, and to counteract the influence of His former teachings with

They set anew the old-time snare of demanding from Him a supernatural sign of His Messiahship, though thrice already had they or others of their kind so attempted to entrap Him, and thrice had they been foiled. Before them, Satan in person had similarly tried and failed. To their present impertinent and impious demand He gave a brief and definite refusal coupled with an exposure of their hypocrisy. This was His reply: "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It'll be foul weather today": for the Sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but

Jesus said to His companions: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" The disciples had forgotten to take a supply of food; they had with them but a single loaf. They construed His words respecting leaven as a reference to bread, and possibly as a reproof for their neglect. Jesus chided them as of little faith for thinking then of material bread. He refreshed their recollection of the miracles by which the multitudes had been fed, so that their lack of loaves would not further trouble them.

The party left the boat near the site of the first miraculous feeding of the multitude, and made their way to Bethsaida. A blind man was brought, and Jesus was asked to touch him. He took the sightless one by the hand, led him outside the town, applied saliva to his eyes, laid hands upon him in a ministration, and asked him if he could see. The man answered that he saw dimly, but was unable to distinguish men from trees. Applying His hands to the man's eyes, Jesus told him to look up; the man did so and saw clearly. Bidding him not to tell of his deliverance from blindness to any in the place, the Lord sent him away rejoicing

This miracle presents the unique feature of Jesus healing a person by stages; the result of the first ministration was but a partial recovery. No explanation of the exceptional circumstance is given. Accompanied by the Twelve, Jesus continued His way northward to the neighborhood or "coasts" of Cæsarea Philippi, an inland city situated near the eastern and principal source of the Jordan, and near the foot of Mount Hermon. The journey afforded opportunity for special and confidential instruction to the apostles. Of them Jesus asked: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" In reply they reported the rumors and popular fancies that had come to their notice.

Some people, sharing the superstitious fears of the conscience-stricken Herod Antipas, said that Jesus was John the Baptist returned to life. It is significant that among all the conceptions of the people as to the identity of Jesus there was no intimation of belief that He was the Messiah. Fleeting manifestations of evanescent hope that He might prove to be the looked-for Prophet, like unto Moses, had not been lacking. But all such incipient conceptions had been neutralized by the hostile activity of the Pharisees and their kind.

To them it was a matter of supreme though evil determination to maintain in the minds of the people the thought of a yet future, not a present, Messiah. Peter, with all the fervor of his soul, voiced the great confession: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" This was no avowal of mere belief, no expression of a result at which he had arrived by mental process, no solution of a problem laboriously worked out, no verdict based on the weighing of evidence. He spoke in the sure knowledge that knows no question and from which doubt and reservation are as far removed as is the sky from the ground.

Peter's knowledge was of a kind apart from all that man may find out for himself. It was a divine bestowal, in comparison with which human wisdom is foolishness and the treasure of earth but dross. Through direct revelation from God Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ; and upon revelation, as a rock of secure foundation, the Church of Christ was to be built.

Though torrents should fall, floods roll, winds rage, and all beat together upon that structure, it would not, could not, fall, for it was founded upon a rock. Even the powers of hell would be impotent to prevail against it. By revelation alone could or can the Church of Jesus Christ be builded and maintained. Revelation of necessity implies revelators, through whom the will of God may be made known respecting His Church. As a gift from God comes the testimony of Jesus into the heart of man. This principle was comprized in the Master's teachings at Capernaum, that none could come to Him save such as the Father would bring. The Lord's promise, that unto Peter He would give "

Peter's presidency among the apostles was abundantly manifest and generally recognized after the close of our Lord's mortal life. It was he who spoke in behalf of the Eleven, in the council meeting at which a successor to the traitor Iscariot was chosen. He was the spokesman of his brethren on the occasion of the Pentecostal conversion. He opened the doors of the Church to the Gentiles. The confession by which the apostles avowed their acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, was evidence of their actual possession of the spirit of the Holy Apostleship, by which they were made particular witnesses of their Lord.

The time for a general proclamation of their testimony had not arrived, however; nor did it come until after Christ had emerged from the tomb a resurrected, immortalized Personage. Proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah would have aggravated the hostility of the rulers, which had already become a grave interference if not an actual menace to the Savior's ministry. A yet deeper reason for the secrecy appears in the fact that the Jewish nation was not prepared to accept their Lord; and to ignore Him through lack of certain knowledge involved a lesser degree of culpability than would have attached to an unpalliated rejection.

The particular mission of the apostles at a time then future was to proclaim to all nations Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Christ. From the time of Peter's confession however, Jesus instructed the Twelve more plainly and with greater intimacy concerning the future developments of His mission. On earlier occasions He had referred in their hearing to the cross, and to His approaching death, burial and ascension. Now, however, he began to show, and often afterward made plain unto them, "how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and is raised again the third day"

Peter was shocked at this unqualified declaration, and, yielding to impulse, remonstrated with Jesus, or, as two of the evangelists state, "began to rebuke him" The Lord turned upon him with this sharp reproof: "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me" Peter's words constituted an appeal to the human element in Christ's nature; and the sensitive feelings of Jesus were wounded by this suggestion of unfaithfulness to His trust, coming from the man whom He had so signally honored but a few moments before. Peter saw mainly as men see, understanding but imperfectly the deeper purposes of God. Though deserved, the rebuke he received was severe.

The adjuration, "Get thee behind me, Satan," was identical with that used against the arch-tempter himself. The temptation to evade sacrifice and suffering, though such was the world's ransom, and to follow a more comfortable way. The forceful words of Jesus show the deep emotion that Peter's ill-considered attempt to counsel if not to tempt his Lord had evoked.

Here the frightful figure of the cross was again made prominent. There was left no shadow of excuse for the thought that devotion to Christ would not mean denial and privation. He who would save his life at the cost of duty, as Peter had just suggested that Christ should do, would surely lose it in a sense worse than that of physical death. But he who stood willing to lose all, even life itself, should find the life that is eternal.

The dates on which specific acts occurred in the ministry of Jesus are difficult if not impossible to fix, except in few instances. It will be remembered that Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover soon after His baptism. This is known as the first Passover during the public life of Jesus. The record of this memorable day in the Savior's life closes with His blessed promise: "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom"

If the unnamed "feast of the Jews" referred to by John (5:1) was a Passover, as many Bible students hold, it marked the close of the year following the cleansing the temple. Then the Passover near which Jesus fed the five thousand would be the third , and would mark the expiration of two years and a fraction since the baptism of Jesus. It certainly marks the beginning of the last year of the Savior's life on earth. 2. Ceremonial Ablutions. —The numerous washings required by Jewish custom in the time of Christ were admittedly incident to rabbinism and "the tradition of the elders" and not in compliance with the Mosaic law.

Under certain conditions, successive washings were prescribed, in connection with which we find mention of "first," "second" and "other" waters. Sometimes the hands had to be dipped or immersed; at other times they were to be cleansed by pouring, it being necessary that the water be allowed to run to the wrist or the elbow according to the degree of supposed defilement. Rules for the cleansing of vessels and furniture were detailed and exacting; distinct methods applied respectively to vessels of clay, wood, and metal.

It was known that the Roll of the Law and other scriptures when laid away were sometimes touched, scratched, or even gnawed by mice. The hands had to be ceremonially cleansed after touching a copy of the scriptures or even a written passage therefrom. Emancipation from these and "many such like things" must have been relief indeed. Jesus freely offered, saying: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me" (Matt. 11:28-30.)

"A man might interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, but from giving to another or receiving from him, some particular object whether of food or any other kind whatsoever," says the writer in Smith's Bible Dict. A person might thus exempt himself from any inconvenient obligation under plea of corban. Our Lord denounced practises of this sort (Matt. 15:5; Mark 7:11), as annulling the spirit of the law.

The word 'Corban' was used in New Testament times as a mere word of vowing, without implying that the thing vowed would actually be offered or given to God. A vow of this kind was held by the scribes to excuse a man from the duty of supporting his parents, and thus by their tradition they made void the word of God.

4. The "Dogs" that Eat of the Crumbs. —The woman's fervid rejoinder, "Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table," (Matt. 15:27), is thus commented upon and paraphrased by Trench ( Notes on the Miracles , p. 271): "The rendering of her answer in our translation is not, however, altogether satisfactory. For, indeed, she accepts the Lord's declaration, not immediately to make exception against the conclusion which He draws from it, but to show how in that very declaration is involved the granting of her petition"

We also belong to His household, though we occupy but the lowest place therein,'" Jesus says in Matt. 15:26. Edersheim, referring to the original text, says: "The term means 'little dogs,' or 'house dogs'" Decapolis. —The name means "the ten cities," and was applied to a region of indefinite boundaries lying mostly on the east of Jordan and southerly from the sea of Galilee.

Scythopolis, which Josephus (Wars of the Jews, ii, 9:7) refers to as the largest of the ten cities, was on the west side of the river. There is lack of agreement among historians as to the cities comprized under the name. Biblical mention (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31) implies a general region rather than a definite area. The term "coast" as it appears in the Bible (authorized, or King James version) is used to connote boundary, limit, or border, and not distinctively a seashore. It is applied therefore to inland areas, and frequently occurs as indicating a vicinity or neighborhood.

Cæsarea Philippi is believed to be identical with the ancient Baal Gad (Josh. 11:17) and Baal Hermon (Judg. 3:3) It was known as a place of idolatrous worship, and while under Greek sovereignty was called Paneas in recognition of the mythological deity Pan. See Josephus, Ant. xviii, 2:1; this designation persists in the present Arabic name of the place, Banias.

An erroneous doctrine gained currency that Peter was the "rock" upon which the Church of Christ was founded. The Bishop of Rome laid claim to supreme authority as the alleged lineal successor to Peter. A church founded or dependent upon Peter or any other man would be Peter's or the other man's church.

The Church of Jesus Christ must authoritatively bear His name, and be guided by revelation, direct and continuous. Revelation from God to His servants invested with the Holy Priesthood through authorized ordination as was Peter, is the impregnable "rock" upon which the Church is built. (See Articles of Faith , xvi,—"Revelation.") 8. Christ's Rebuke to Peter. In addressing Peter as "Satan," Jesus was obviously using a forceful figure of speech, and not a literal designation. In his remonstrance or "rebuke" addressed to Jesus, Peter was really counseling what Satan had before attempted to induce Christ to do, or tempting, as Satan himself had tempted.

The essential meaning attached to both Hebrew and Greek originals for our word "Satan" is that of an adversary, or "one who places himself in another's way and thus opposes him" (Zenos.) The man whom Jesus had addressed as Peter was now likened to a stone in the path, over which the unwary might stumble. The event referred to, that of the Son of Man coming in the glory of His Father attended by the angels, is yet future.

At least a partial fulfilment of the prediction is presented in the prolongation of the life of John the apostle, who was there present. Peter's solemn and soulful confession of Jesus as the Christ is worded differently by each of the three synoptists. To many the most expressive version is that of Luke: "The Christ of God."

Peter's testimony in the land of Cæsarea Philippi evidences a very exalted attainment. At that stage of the Savior's ministry, the public proclamation of His divine status would have been as the casting of pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6) The Lord instructed the apostles that at that time "they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ"

Matt. 15:10-20; compare Mark 7:14-23. Matt. 11:6; Luke 7:23; pages 255 and 274   herein. See marginal reading in Oxford and Bagster Bibles.

Compare Matt. 7:24, 25. John 6:46; compare verses 37, 39, 40. See Isa. 22:22; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; compare Doc. and Cov. 6:28; 7:7. 27:5, 6, 9; 28:7, 42:69; 84:26; etc. Acts 1:15-26; 2:14-40; chap. 10, compare with 15-7. Matt. 16:22, 23; Mark 8:32, 33. Luke 4:8.

Of the week following the events last considered, no record is found in the Gospels. We may safely assume that the time was devoted, in part at least, to the further instruction of the Twelve. When the week had passed, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain, where they would be reasonably safe from human intrusion. There the three apostles witnessed a heavenly manifestation, which stands without parallel in history. In our Bible captions it is known as the Transfiguration of Christ. One purpose of the Lord's retirement was that of prayer, and a transcendent investiture of glory came upon Him as He prayed. The apostles had fallen asleep, but were awakened by the surpassing splendor of the scene

"The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering." His garments, though made of earth-woven fabric, "became shining, exceeding white as snow" With Him were two other personages, who also were in a state of glorified radiance, and who conversed with the Lord. These, as the apostles learned, were Moses and Elias, or more literally to us, Elijah. The subject of their conference with Christ was "his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem"

Undoubtedly Peter and his fellow apostles were bewildered, "sore afraid" indeed; and this condition may explain the suggestion respecting the three tabernacles. It was customary to erect a little bower, or booth of wattled boughs, for each individual worshiper, into which he might retire for devotion. So far as there was a purpose in Peter's proposition, it seems to have been that of delaying the departure of the visitants. The sublime and awful solemnity of the occasion had not yet reached its climax. Even as Peter spake, "behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well

Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Arise, and be not afraid." When they looked they saw that again they were alone with Him. The impression made upon the three apostles by this manifestation was one never to be forgotten. But they were expressly charged to speak of it to no man until after the Savior had risen from the dead.

The present reiteration of these teachings seems to have left the three with no clearer understanding of their Lord's resurrection from the dead than they had before. They seem to have had no definite conception as to what was meant by a resurrection. The comprehensiveness of the Lord's injunction, that until after His rising from thedead they tell no man of their experiences on the mount, prohibited them from informing even their fellows of the Twelve. Later, after the Lord had ascended to His glory, Peter testified to the Church of the wondrous experience, in this forceful way: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The divine purpose as shown forth in the Transfiguration may be as incomprehensible to the human mind as is a full conception of the attendant splendor from verbal description. Unto Christ the manifestation was strengthening and encouraging. The prospect of the experiences immediately ahead must naturally have been depressing and disheartening in the extreme.

In faithfully treading the path of His life's work, He had reached the verge of the valley of the shadow of death; and the human part of His nature called for refreshing. What of actual communication passed in the conference of Jesus with Moses and Elijah is not of full record in the New Testament Gospels. The voice of His Father, to whom He was the Firstborn in the spirit-world, and the Only Begotten in the flesh, was of supreme assurance. Yet that voice had been addressed to the three apostles rather than to Jesus, who had already received the Father's acknowledgment and attestation on the occasion of His baptism.

The fullest version of the Father's words to Peter, James, and John is that recorded by Matthew: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." Moses, the promulgator of the law, and Elijah the representative of the prophets, had been seen ministering unto Jesus and subservient to Him. A new dispensation had been established, that of the gospel, for which the law and the prophets had been but preparatory. The apostles were to be guided neither by Moses nor Elijah, but by Him , their Lord, Jesus the Christ.

The three selected apostles, "the Man of Rock and the Sons of Thunder" had seen the Lord in glory. They marveled that such a thing could be at that time, since as they had interpreted the scriptures, it had been predicted that Elijah should precede the Messiah's triumphal advent. As they wended their way down the mountain-side, they asked the Master: "Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?" Jesus confirmed the prophecy that Elias should first come, that is, before the Lord's advent in glory, which event they had in mind. "But," He added, "I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him

That John the Baptist would officiate "in the spirit and power of Elias," as the forerunner of the Christ, had been announced by the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, before the Baptist's birth. Jesus, on that occasion, had said: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come" It is not possible that Jesus could have meant that John was the same individual as Elijah, nor could the people have so understood His words. The false doctrine of transmigration or reincarnation of spirits was repudiated by the Jews.

Gabriel's declaration that the then unborn John should manifest "the spirit and power of Elias" indicates that "Elias" is a title of office. Every restorer, forerunner, or one sent of God to prepare the way for greater developments in the gospel plan, is an Elias. The authority of Elias is inferior to that of Elijah, the first being a function of the Lesser or Aaronic order of Priesthood, while the latter belongs to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood.

Malachi's prediction, that before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" Elijah the prophet would be sent to earth to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children" did not reach fulfilment in the mission of John the Baptist, nor in that of any other "Elias" The mission was inaugurated on the third day of April, 1836, when Elijah appeared in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, and committed to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the keys of the authority theretofore vested in himself.

Both Matthew (17:1) and Mark (9:2) state that the Transfiguration occurred "after six days" It is probable that the six-day period was meant to be exclusive of the day on which the earlier events had occurred and of that on which Jesus and the three apostles retired to the mountain. There is here no ground for a claim of discrepancy. 2. Peter, James, and John were selected from among the Twelve as the only earthly witnesses of the transfiguration of Christ. 3. The same three were the sole witnesses of our Lord's night agony in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:37; Mark 14:33).

Mount Tabor, in Galilee, has long been held by tradition as the site. Mt. Hermon stands near the northerly limits of Palestine, just beyond Cæsarea Philippi. Mark (9:30) distinctly tells us that after His descent from the mount, Jesus and the apostles departed and went through Galilee.

The Names "Elias" and "Elijah" are "the Greek and Latin form of 'Elijah' given in the Authorized Version of the Apocrypha and New Testament." 5. "The Spirit and Power of Elias." —That John the Baptist, in his capacity as a restorer, a forerunner, or as one sent to prepare the way for a work greater than his own, did officiate as an "El Elias" is attested by both ancient and latter-day scripture.

He thus prepared the way for the vicarious labor of baptism for the dead, the authority for which was restored by Elijah. "Messiah is above the spirit and power of Elijah, for He made the world, and was that spiritual rock unto Moses in the wilderness" "Elijah is to come after, holding the keys of power, building the temple to the cap-stone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon the house of Israel, and making all things ready" "Then Messiah comes to His temple, which is last of all"

Elijah was to come and prepare the way and build up the kingdom before the coming of the great day of the Lord, although the spirit of Elias might begin it. The Greek word of which "decease" appears as the English equivalent in many of the MSS. of the Gospels, is one connoting "exodus," or "departure," and the word occurring in other early versions signifies glory.

So also the Greek original of "accomplish," in the account of the Transfiguration, connotes the successful filling out or completion of a specific undertaking, and not distinctively the act of dying. Both the letter of the record and the spirit in which the recorder wrote indicate that Moses and Elijah conversed with their Lord on the glorious consummation of His mission in mortality.

Note 2 , end of chapter. Matt. 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36. Page 38 . Mark 8:31. 2 Peter 1:16-18. John 1:14; Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13. Luke 22:43; compare John 12:27-28. 2 Kings 2:11.

Our Lord's descent from the holy heights of the Mount of Transfiguration was more than a physical return from greater to lesser altitudes. It was a passing from sunshine into shadow, from the effulgent glory of heaven to the mists of worldly passions and human unbelief. From lofty converse with divinely-appointed ministers, from supreme communion with His Father and God, Jesus came down to a scene of disheartening confusion and a spectacle of demonized dominion before which even His apostles stood in impotent despair. To His sensitive and sinless soul the contrast must have brought superhuman anguish; even to us who read the brief account thereof it is appalling.

At or near the base of the mountain the party found the other apostles, and with them a multitude of people, including some scribes or rabbis. There was evidence of disputation and disturbance amongst the crowd; and plainly the apostles were on the defensive. At the unexpected approach of Jesus many of the people ran to meet Him with respectful salutations. Of the contentious scribes He asked: "What question ye with them?"

"Master," said he, kneeling at the feet of Christ, "I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit" The disciples' failure to heal the stricken youth had evidently brought upon them hostile criticism, taunts and ridicule from the unbelieving scribes. Pained in spirit at this—another instance of dearth of faith and consequent lack of power among His chosen and ordained servants—Jesus uttered an exclamation of intense sorrow: "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?"

The words were addressed primarily to the apostles; whether exclusively so or to them and others is of minor importance. As Jesus directed, the afflicted lad was brought nearer; and the tormenting demon, finding himself in the Master's presence, threw his youthful victim into a terrible paroxysm. The boy fell to the ground and wallowed in convulsions, the while frothing and foaming at the mouth. Jesus inquired as to when the malady had first befallen the lad. "Of a child," answered the father, adding, "And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him"

Jesus replied: "If thou canst believe"; and added, "all things are possible to him that believeth" The man's understanding was enlightened; up to that moment he had thought that all depended upon Jesus; he now saw that the issue rested largely with himself. It is noteworthy that the Lord specified belief rather than faith as the condition essential to the case. The man was evidently trustful, and assuredly fervent in his hope that Jesus could help; but it is doubtful that he knew what faith really meant. He was receptive and eagerly teachable, however, and the Lord strengthened his feeble and uncertain belief.

Weeping in an agony of hope he cried out: "Lord, I believe;" and then, realizing the darkness of error from which he was just beginning to emerge, he added penitently "help thou mine unbelief" Looking compassionately upon the writhing sufferer at His feet, Jesus rebuked the demon, thus: "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him" The people were amazed at the power of God manifested in the miracle; and the apostles who had tried and failed to subdue the evil spirit were disturbed.

While on their mission, though away from their Master's helpful presence, they had successfully rebuked and cast out evil spirits. When they had retired to the house, they asked of Jesus, "Why could not we cast him out?" The reply was: "Because of your unbelief;" and in further explanation the Lord said, "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting"

The possibilities of faith were now thus further affirmed: "Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove" Jesus departed with the Twelve, and passed through Galilee toward Capernaum. It is probable that they traveled by the less frequented roads, as He desired that His return should not be publicly known.

He had gone into comparative retirement for a season, primarily it seems in quest of opportunity to more thoroughly instruct the apostles in their preparation for the work. They had solemnly testified that they knew Him to be the Christ; to them therefore He could impart much that the people in general were wholly unprepared to receive. The particular theme of His special and advanced instruction to the Twelve was that of His approaching death and resurrection. "Let these sayings sink down into your ears" was His forceful prelude on this occasion, in Galilee. Then followed the reiterated prediction, spoken in part in the present tense as though already begun in fulfilment: "The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him"

We read with some surprize that the apostles still failed to understand. The thought of what the Lord's words might mean, even in its faintest outline, was terrifying to those devoted men. Their failure to comprehend was in part due to the fact that the human mind is loath to search deeply into anything it desires not to believe. Jesus and His followers were again in Capernaum. There Peter was approached by a collector of the temple tax, who asked: "Doth not your Master pay tribute?" Peter answered "Yes"

It is interesting to find that the inquiry was made of Peter and not directly of Jesus. This may suggest the possibility of doubt in the collector's mind as to whether Jesus was amenable to the tax. The annual capitation tax here referred to amounted to half a shekel or a didrachm, corresponding to about thirty-three cents in our money. This tribute, as prescribed through Moses, was originally known as "atonement money," and its payment was in the nature of a sacrifice to accompany supplication for ransom from the effects of individual sin. At the time of Christ the annual contribution was usually collected between early March and the Passover.

If Jesus was subject to this tax, He was at this time several weeks in arrears. The conversation between Peter and the tax-collector had occurred outside the house. Peter must have seen the inconsistency of expecting Jesus, the acknowledged Messiah, to pay atonement money, or a tax for temple maintenance, inasmuch as the temple was the House of God, and Jesus was the Son of God. Even earthly princes were exempted from capitation dues.

Peter's embarrassment over his inconsiderate boldness, in pledging payment for his Master without first consulting Him, was relieved however by Jesus. The money was to be paid, not because it could be rightfully demanded of Jesus, but lest non-payment give offense and furnish to His opponents further excuse for complaint. The "piece of money," which Jesus said Peter would find in the mouth of the first fish that took his bait, is more correctly designated by the literal translation "stater"

In His associations with men, even with the Twelve, our Lord always maintained His separate and unique status. He reverently acknowledged that He was the Son of God in a literal sense that did not apply to any other being. While the circumstances of the finding of the stater in the fish are not detailed, and the actual accomplishment of the miracle is not positively recorded, we cannot doubt that what Jesus had promised was realized. The miracle is without a parallel or even a remotely analogous instance.

We need not assume that an ordinary coin had fallen into the water, nor that it had been taken by the fish in any unusual way. The Lord's purpose in so miraculously supplying the money should be studiously considered. The assumption that superhuman power had to be invoked because of a supposed condition of extreme poverty on the part of Jesus and Peter is unwarranted.

Even if Jesus and His companions had been actually penniless, Peter and his fellow fishermen could easily have cast their net, and, with ordinary success have obtained fish enough to sell for the needed amount. We find no instance of a miracle wrought by the Lord for personal gain or relief of His own need, however pressing. It appears probable, that by the means employed for obtaining the money, Jesus intentionally emphasized His exceptional reasons for redeeming Peter's pledge that the tax would be paid. The Jews, who did not know Jesus as the Messiah, but only as a Teacher of superior ability and a Man of unusual power, might have taken offense had He refused to pay the tribute required of every Jew.

On the other hand, to the apostles and particularly to Peter who had been the mouth-piece of all in the great confession, the payment of the tax might have appeared as an admission that He was subject to the temple. On the way to Capernaum the apostles had questioned among themselves, as they supposed beyond the Master's hearing; questioning had led to argument, and argument to disputation. The matter about which they were so greatly concerned was as to who among them should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Then, in conclusive demonstration of His exalted status, He provided the money by the utilization of knowledge such as no other man possessed.

The testimony they had received convinced them beyond all doubt, that Jesus was the long-awaited Christ, and this had been supplemented and confirmed by His unqualified acknowledgment of His Messianic dignity. With minds still tinctured by the traditional expectation of the Messiah as both spiritual Lord and temporal King, they surrendered themselves to the selfish contemplation of their prospective stations in the new kingdom. Who of them was to be prime minister; who would be chancellor, who the commander of the troops? Personal ambition had already engendered jealousy in their hearts. When they were together with Jesus in the house at Capernaum, the subject was brought up again.

Mark tells us that Jesus asked: "What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" and that they answered not, because, as may be inferred, they were ashamed. From Matthew's record it may be understood that the apostles submitted the question for the Master's decision. Both accounts are correct; Christ's question to them may have eventually brought out their questions to Him. Jesus, comprehending their thoughts and knowing their unenlightened state of mind on the matter that troubled them, gave them an illustrated lesson. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Christ would not have had His chosen representatives become childish. They had to be men of courage, fortitude, and force; but He would have them become childlike. Even the apostles were in need of conversion. They must have learned that genuine humility is an attribute essential to citizenship in the community of the blessed. The degree of humility conditions whatsoever there is akin to rank in the kingdom; for therein the humblest shall be greatest.

Those who belong to Christ must become like children in obedience, truthfulness, trustfulness, purity, humility and faith. The child is an artless, natural, trusting believer; the childish one is careless, foolish, and neglectful. Whosoever shall offend, that is cause to stumble or go astray, incurs guilt so great that it would have been better for him had he met death even by violence before he had so sinned. The Lord continued: "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"

Then, repeating some of the precious truths embodied in His memorable Sermon on the Mount, He urged the overcoming of evil propensities whatever the sacrifice. As it is better that a man undergo surgical treatment though he lose thereby a hand, a foot, or an eye, than that his whole body be involved and his life forfeited, so is it commended that he cut off, tear away, or root out from his soul the passions of evil. In that state his conscience shall gnaw as an undying worm, and his remorse shall be as a fire that cannot be quenched. Every human soul shall be tested as by fire; and as the flesh of the altar sacrifices had to be seasoned with salt,

"Have salt in yourselves," was the Lord's admonition to the disputing Twelve. The mission of the Christ was presented as that of saving those who are temporarily lost, and who, but for His aid would be lost forever. In elucidation of His meaning, the Teacher presented a parable which has found place among the literary treasures of the world. "How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astrays?"

In this effective analogy the saving purpose of Christ's mission is made prominent. The shepherd is portrayed as leaving the ninety and nine, pastured or folded in safety, while he goes alone into the mountains to seek the one that has strayed. In finding and bringing back the wayward sheep, he has more joy than that of knowing the others are yet safe. In a later version of this splendid parable, as addressed to the murmuring Pharisees and scribes at Jerusalem, the Master said of the shepherd on his finding the lost sheep: "And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing"

"Rejoice with me," says the shepherd, "for I have found my sheep which was lost" "Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance," says Jesus. In the safe-folded ninety andNine the shepherd had continued joy. But to him came a new accession of happiness, brighter and stronger because of his recent grief, when the lost was brought back to the fold.

In continuation of the lesson illustrated by the little child, Jesus said: "Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me" It may have been Christ's reference to deeds done in His name that prompted John to interject a remark at this point: "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us" The young apostle had allowed his zeal for the Master's name to lead to intolerance. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in myname, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.

That the man who had attempted to do good in the name of Jesus was evidently sincere, and that his efforts were acceptable to the Lord we cannot doubt. His act was essentially different from the unrighteous assumptions for which some others were afterward rebuked. He was certainly a believer in Christ, and may have been one of the class from which the Lord was soon to select and commission special ministers and the Seventy. In the state of divided opinion then existing among the people concerning Jesus, it was fair to say that all who were not opposed to Him were at least tentatively on His side. The proper method of adjusting differences between brethren and the fundamental principles of Church discipline were made subjects of instruction to the Twelve.

The rule of the rabbis was that the offender must make the first advance. Jesus taught that the injured one should not wait for his brother to come to him, but go himself, and seek to adjust the difficulty. If the offender proved to be obdurate, the brother who had suffered the trespass was to take two or three others with him, and again try to bring the transgressor to repentant acknowledgment of his offense. Such a course provided for witnesses, by whose presence later misrepresentation would be guarded against. Extreme measures were to be adopted only after all gentler means had failed.

The revealed order of discipline in the restored Church is similar to that given to the apostles of old. Justice is not to be dethroned by Mercy. Continued association with the unrepentant sinner may involve the spread of his disaffection, and the contamination of others through his sin. In such state of non-membership he would be a fit subject for missionary effort.

The authority of the Twelve to administer the affairs of Church government was attested by the Lord's confirming to them as a body. Peter here broke in with a question: "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" He would fain have some definite limit set, and he probably considered the tentative suggestion of seven times as a very liberal measure, inasmuch as the rabbis prescribed a triple forgiveness only.

He may have chosen seven as the next number above three having a special Pharisaical significance. The Savior's answer was enlightening: "Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" This reply must have meant to Peter as it means to us, that to forgiveness man may set no bounds. The forgiveness, however, must be merited by the recipient.

The lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence. The lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. And his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

Ten thousand talents is specified as expressive of a sum so great as to put the debtor beyond all reasonable possibility of paying. We may regard the man as a trusted official, one of the king's ministers, who had been charged with the custody of the royal revenues. In an absolute monarchy all but the sovereign are subjects and servants. The selling of the debtor's wife and children and all that he had would not have been in violation of the law in the supposed case. The man was in arrears for debt. He did not come before his lord voluntarily but had to be brought.

In his fellowservant's plea for time in which to pay the hundred pence, the greater debtor should have been reminded of the dire straits from which he had just been relieved. The base ingratitude of the unmerciful servant justified the king in revoking the pardon once granted. The man came under condemnation, not primarily for defalcation and debt, but for lack of mercy after having received of mercy so abundantly.

He, as an unjust plaintiff, had invoked the law; as a convicted transgressor he was to be dealt with according to the law. Mercy is for the merciful. As a heavenly jewel it is to be received with thankfulness and used with sanctity. The conditions under which we may confidently implore pardon are set forth in the form of prayer prescribed by the Lord: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"

In these cases, faith was exercized in behalf of the sufferers by others. The same is true of the centurion who pleaded for his servant and whose faith was specially commended by Jesus. In connection with the ordinance of administering to the afflicted, by anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, the elders officiating should encourage the faith of all believers present.

In the case of infants and of persons who are unconscious, it is plainly useless to look for active manifestation of faith on their part. The apostles who failed on the occasion referred to had been able to cast out demons at other times. Fasting, when practised in prudence, and genuine prayer are conducive to the development of faith with its accompanying power for good. Individual application of this principle may be made with profit. Have you some besetting weakness, some sinful indulgence that you have vainly tried to overcome?

Many people have questioned the literal truth of the Lord's declaration that by faith mountains may be removed from their place. Plainly there would have to be a purpose in harmony with the divine mind and plan, in order that faith could be exerted at all in such an undertaking. Neither such a miracle nor any other is possible as a gratification of the yearning for curiosity, nor for display, or for personal gain or selfish satisfaction. Christ wrought no miracle with any such motive; He persistently refused to show signs to mere sign-seekers.

The Jews in the days of Christ and since often spoke of removing mountains as a figurative expression for the overcoming of difficulties. According to Lightfoot and other authorities a man able to solve intricate problems, or of particular power in argument or acumen in judgment, was referred to as a "rooter up of mountains"

This coin was equivalent to the half shekel, reckoned "after the shekel of the sanctuary," which was the fixed amount to be paid annually by every male "from twenty years old and above" (Exo. 30:13-15) A tax levied by the political powers would not be designated as the didrachma. Had the collector who approached Peter been one of the official publicans, he probably would have demanded the tax instead of inquiring as to whether or not the Master was to be counted among the contributors.

Of the emperor Vespasian, Josephus (Wars of the Jews, vii, 6:6) says: That he also laid a tribute wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bring two drachmæ every year into the capitol. It is evident that by specifying ten thousand talents as the debt due the king, and a hundred pence as that owed by the fellow-servant, the Lord intended to present a case of great disparity and striking contrast. The actual amounts involved are of minor significance in the story. We are not told which variety of talent was meant; there were Attic talents, and both silver and gold talents of Hebrew reckoning; and each differed from

The same authority gives as the value of the penny (Roman) sevenpence half-penny, or fifteen cents, making the second debt equivalent to about fifteen dollars. Trench says: "How vast a sum it was we can most vividly realize to ourselves by comparing it with other sums mentioned in Scripture" Farrar estimates the debt owed to the king as 1,250,000 times that owed by the lesser to the greater debtor.

An Assumed Approval of Slavery. Some readers have assumed that they find in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant an implied approval of the institution of slavery. The purpose of the parable was not even remotely to endorse or condemn slavery or any other social institution. The "angel of the Lord" who brought to Hagar a message of encouragement and blessing respected the authority of her mistress (Gen. 16:8, 9). In the apostolic epoch, instruction was directed toward right living under the secular law, not rebellion against the system.

Until men open their hearts to the reception of the gospel of Jesus Christ, injustice and oppression, servitude and slavery, in some form or other, are sure to exist. Attempts to extirpate social conditions that spring from individual selfishness cannot be otherwise than futile so long as selfishness is left to thrive and propagate. When the love of God shall be given a place in the hearts of mankind, when men shall unselfishly love their neighbors, then social systems and governments shall be formed and operated to the securing of the greatest good to the greatest number.

FOOTNOTES: Compare 2 Peter 1:18, Luke 9:37. See reading in revised version, and in margin of Oxford and Bagster Bibles. Compare Parable of the Mustard Seed, page 290 . Matt. 18:8, 9. Mark 9:49, 50; compare Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24. Matt. 19:13-15; Mark 10-13-16; Luke 18:15-17. Compare Luke 22:32.

18:12-14; compare Luke 15:3-7 in which occurs a repetition of this impressive parable, as given on a later occasion to Pharisees and scribes at Jerusalem. They based this limitation on Amos 1:3 and Job 33:29. In the latter passage, as it appears in the authorized version, the word "oftentimes" is an erroneous rendering of the original, which really signified "twice and thrice"

Of our Lord's labors during His brief sojourn in Galilee following His return from the region of Cæsarea Philippi we have no record aside from that of His instructions to the apostles. His Galilean ministry, so far as the people in general were concerned, had practically ended with the discourse at Capernaum on His return thither after the miracles of feeding the five thousand and walking upon the sea. It was autumn; about six months had passed since the return of the apostles from their missionary tour; and the Feast of Tabernacles was near at hand. Some of the kinsmen of Jesus came to Him, and proposed that He go to Jerusalem and take advantage of the opportunity offered by the great national

His brethren, as the visiting relatives are called, urged that He seek a broader and more prominent field than Galilee for the display of His powers. Jesus replied to their presumptuous advice: "My time is not yet come" It was not their prerogative to direct His movements, not to say when He should do even what He intended to do eventually.

He made it plain that between their status and His there was essential difference; they were of the world, which they loved as the world loved them; but the world hated Him because of His testimony. This colloquy between Jesus and His brethren took place in Galilee. They soon started for Jerusalem leaving Him behind. Some time after their departure He followed, traveling "not openly, but as it were in secret" Whether He went alone, or accompanied by any or all of the Twelve, we are not told. The agitated state of the public mind respecting Jesus is shown by the interest manifest in Jerusalem as to the probability of His presence at the feast. His brethren, who probably were questioned, could give no definite information as to

The Feast of Tabernacles was a seven day festival, followed by a holy convocation on the eighth day. Each day was marked by special and in some respects distinctive services, all characterized by ceremonies of thanksgiving and praise. "Now about the midst of the feast," probably on the third or fourth day, "Jesus went up into the temple, and taught." The first part of His discourse is not recorded, but its scriptural soundness is intimated in the surprize of the Jewish teachers, who asked among themselves: "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" He was no graduate of their schools; He had never sat at the feet of their rabbis. He had not been officially accredited by

Whence came His wisdom, before which all their academic attainments were as nothing? Jesus answered their troubled queries, saying: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me" If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." His Teacher, greater even than Himself, was the Eternal Father, whose will He proclaimed. The test proposed to determine the truth of His doctrine was in every way fair, and withal simple. Anyone who would earnestly seek to do the will of the Father should know of himself whether Jesus spoke truth or error.

The ruling classes thought that Jesus was possessed by a demon, and that He wrought wonders through the power of Beelzebub. Jesus knew that the two specifications of alleged guilt on which the rulers were striving most assiduously to convict Him in the popular mind, were those of Sabbath-breaking and blasphemy. On an earlier visit to Jerusalem He had healed an afflicted man on the Sabbath, and had utterly disconcerted the hypercritical accusers who even then had sought to compass His death. Then, with startling abruptness, He challenged them with the question, "Why go ye about to kill me?"

To this act of mercy and power Jesus now referred, saying: "I have done one work, and ye all marvel" Seemingly they were still of unsettled mind, in doubt as to accepting Him because of the miracle or denouncing Him because He had done it on the Sabbath. Then He showed the inconsistency of charging Him with Sabbath-desecration for such a merciful deed, when the law of Moses expressly allowed acts of mercy. "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" said He.

The thought, however, was brushed aside when they remembered that all knew whence He came; He was a Galilean, and from Nazareth, whereas as they had been taught, however wrongly, the advent of the Christ was to be mysterious. Strange it was, indeed, that men should reject Him because of a lack of mystery and miracle in His advent. Had they known the truth, they would have seen in His birth a miracle without precedent or parallel in the annals of time.

At this reiterated testimony of His divine origin, the Jews were the more enraged, and they determined anew to take Him by force. Many of the people believed in their hearts that He was of God, and ventured to ask among themselves whether Christ would do greater works than Jesus had done. The Pharisees and chief priests feared a possible demonstration in favor of Jesus, and forthwith sent officers to arrest Him and bring him before the Sanhedrin. The presence of the temple police caused no interruption to the Master's discourse, though we may reasonably infer that He knew the purpose of their errand. He spoke on, saying that He would be with the people but a little while; and that after He had returned to the Father,

Some of the Jews wondered whether He intended to leave the borders of the land and go among the Gentiles. According to authorities on Jewish customs, this feature was omitted on the closing day of the feast. It may have been with reference to the bringing of water from the pool, or to the omission of the ceremony from the ritualistic procedure of the great day. Jesus cried aloud, His voice resounding through the courts and arcades of the temple: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink"

Many people were so impressed that they declared Jesus could be none other than the Messiah. But others objected, saying that the Christ must come from Bethlehem of Judea. So there was further dissension; and though some wanted Him apprehended, not a man was found who would venture to lay hold on Him. The police officers returned without their intended prisoner. They acknowledged that they had been so affected by His teachings as to be unable to make the arrest. Their haughty masters were furious. "Never man spake like this man," they said.

"Are ye also deceived?" they demanded; and further, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" One voice of mild protest was heard in the assembly. Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, and the same who had come to Jesus by night to inquire into the new teaching, mustered courage enough to ask: "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" The answer was insulting. Maddened with bigotry and blood-thirsty fanaticism, some of his colleagues turned upon him with the savage demand: "Art thou also of Galilee?" meaning, Art thou also a disciple of this Galilean whom we

Nicodemus was curtly told to study the scriptures, and he would fail to find any prediction of a prophet arising in Galilee. It is evident that Jesus was thought of as a native of Nazareth, and that the circumstances of His birth were not of public knowledge. After the festivities were over, Jesus went to the temple one morning early; and as He sat, probably in the Court of the Women, many gathered about Him and He proceeded to teach them as was His custom. "GO, AND SIN NO MORE."

A party of scribes and Pharisees said a woman in charge, who, they said, was guilty of adultery. To Jesus they presented this statement and question: "Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou?" The submitting of the case to Jesus was a prearranged snare, a deliberate attempt to find or make a cause for accusing Him. Though it was not unusual for Jewish officials to consult rabbis of recognized wisdom and experience when difficult cases were to be decided, the case in point involved no legal complications. The woman's guilt seems to have been unquestioned, though the witnesses required by the statutes are not mentioned as appearing unless the accusing scribes

While it is true that the law of Moses had decreed death by stoning as the penalty for adultery, the infliction of the extreme punishment had lapsed long before the time of Christ. One may reasonably ask why the woman's partner in the crime was not brought for sentence, since the law so zealously cited by the officious accusers provided for the punishment of both parties to the offense. The question of the scribes and Pharisees, "But what sayest thou?" may have intimated their expectation that Jesus would declare the law obsolete. Perhaps they had heard of the Sermon on the Mount, in which many requirements in advance of the Mosaic code had been proclaimed.

Had Jesus decided that the wretched woman ought to suffer death, her accusers might have said that he was defying the existing authorities. Had He said that the woman should go unpunished or suffer only minor infliction, the crafty Jews could have charged Him with disrespect for the law of Moses. To these scribes and Pharisees Jesus at first gave little heed. Stooping down He traced with His finger on the ground; but as He wrote they continued to question Him. Lifting himself up He answered them, in a terse sentence that has become proverbial: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her"

The woman's accusers were "convicted by their own conscience"; shamed and in disgrace they slunk away. They knew themselves to be unfit to appear either as accusers or judges. What cowards doth conscience make! Jesus did not expressly condone; He declined to condemn; but He sent the sinner away with a solemn adjuration to a better life.

Sitting within the temple enclosure in the division known as the Treasury, which was connected with the Court of the Women, our Lord continued His teaching. It was another proclamation of His divinity as God and the Son of God. The Pharisees challenged His testimony, declaring it of no worth because He bore record of Himself. Jesus admitted that He testified of Himself, but affirmed nevertheless that what He said was true.

They thought, talked, and judged after the ways of men and the frailties of the flesh; He was not sitting in judgment, but should He choose to judge, then His judgment would be just. Enraged at their own discomfiture, the Pharisees would have seized Him, but found themselves impotent. "No man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come."

Jesus told the assembled that soon He would leave them, and that whither He went they could not follow. He added the fateful assurance that they would seek Him in vain and would die in their sins. This reiteration of His distinctive supremacy brought forth the challenging question, "Who art thou?"

Jesus replied, "Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning." The many matters on which He might have judged them He refrained from mentioning, but testified anew of the Father. To His Father Jesus ascribed all honor and glory, and repeatedly declared himself as sent to do the Father's will.

The evident earnestness and profound conviction with which Jesus spoke caused many of His hearers to believe on Him. These He addressed with the promise that if they continued in that belief, and shaped their lives according to His word, they should be His disciples indeed. A further promise followed: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" At these words, so rich in blessing, so full of comfort for the believing soul, the people were stirred to angry demonstrations.

Jesus made it clear that He had not referred to freedom in its physical or political sense alone. A bond-servant, Jesus reminded them, was allowed in the master's house by sufferance only. Though they were of Abrahamic lineage in the flesh, they were no heirs of Abraham in spirit or works. Now, if the Son of God made them free they would be free indeed.

Our Lord's mention of His Father as distinct from their father drew forth the angry reiteration, "Abraham is our father", to which Jesus replied: "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham" In their blind anger they apparently construed this to imply that though they were children of Abraham's household some other man than Abraham was their actual progenitor, or that they were not of unmixed Israelitish blood. They failed to understand because of their stubborn refusal to listen dispassionately. "We be not born of fornication" they cried, "we have one Father, even God."

With forceful accusation Jesus told them whose children they actually were, as evinced by the hereditary traits manifest in their lives. He challenged them to find sin in Him; then asked why, if He spake the truth, they so persistently refused to believe Him. Answering His own question, He told them that they were not of God and therefore they understood not the words of God. The Master was unimpeachable; His terse, cogent assertions were unanswerable. In impotent rage the discomfited Jews resorted to invective and calumny.

They had before called Him a Galilean; that appellative was but mildly depreciatory, and moreover was a truthful designation according to their knowledge. But the epithet "Samaritan" was inspired by hate, and by its application they meant to disown Him as a Jew. "Now we know that thou hast a devil" they cried, and as evidence of what they professed to regard as His insanity, they cited the fact that great as were Abraham and the prophets they were dead, yet Jesus dared to say that all who kept His sayings should be exempt from death. "Whom makest thou thyself?" they demanded. "Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father

The Lord's reply was a disclaimer of all self-aggrandizement. His honor was not of His own seeking, but was the gift of His Father, whom He knew. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" This was an unequivocal and unambiguous declaration of our Lord's eternal Godship.

"Jehovah" is the equivalent of "Yahveh," or "Jahveh" and signifies "The Self-existent One" Jesus was as literally the Firstborn in the spirit-world, as He was the Only Begotten in the flesh. Christ is as truly the Elder Brother of Abraham and Adam as of the last-born child of earth. At Jerusalem Jesus mercifully gave sight to a man who had been blind from his birth. BODILY AND SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS—SIGHT GIVEN TO A MAN ON THE SABBATH.

The miracle is an instance of Sabbath-day healing, of more than ordinary interest because of its attendant incidents. Jesus and His disciples saw the sightless one upon the street. The disciples, eager to learn, asked: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" The Lord's reply was: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him"

It is further to be seen that they looked upon bodily affliction as the result of personal sin. The Lord's reply was sufficing; the man's blindness would be turned to account in bringing about a manifestation of divine power. As Jesus explained respecting His own ministry, it was necessary that He do the Father's work in the season appointed, for His time was short. With impressive pertinency as relating to the state of the man who had been in darkness all his days, our Lord repeated the affirmation before made in the temple, "I am the light of the world"

"He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay"; and then directed him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash in its waters. The man went, washed, and came seeing. They brought the man to the Pharisees, who questioned him rigorously; and, having heard his account of the miracle, tried to undermine his faith by telling him that Jesus who had healed him could not be a man of God since He had done the deed on the Sabbath. Some doubted that the man they questioned was the once sightless beggar; but he assured them of his identity, and told how he had been made to see

Some of those who heard demurred to the Pharisaic deduction, and asked: "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" The man was questioned as to his personal opinion of Jesus, and promptly answered: "He is a prophet." The inquisitorial Jews were afraid of the result of such a wondrous healing, in that the people would support Jesus whom the rulers were determined to destroy. They assumed it to be possible that the man had not been really blind; so they summoned his parents, who answered their interrogatories by affirming that he was their son. They refused to commit themselves, knowing the rulers had decreed that any one who confessed Jesus to be the Christ should be cast out

With pardonable astuteness the parents said of their son: "He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself" He replied fearlessly, and with such pertinent logic as to completely offset their skill as cross-examiners: "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." He very properly declined to enter into a discussion with his learned questioners as to what constituted sin under their construction of the law. But on one matter he was happily and gratefully certain, that whereas he had been blind,. now he could see.

The Pharisaical inquisitors next tried to get the man to repeat his story of the means employed in the healing, probably with the subtle purpose of leading him into inconsistent or contradictory statements. But he replied with emphasis, and possibly with some show of impatience, "I have told you already, and ye did not hear" They retorted with anger, and reviled the man; the ironical insinuation that they perchance wished to become disciples of Jesus was an insult they would not brook. "Thou art his disciple," said they, "but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is"

"Why herein is a marvellous thing," said he, "that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes" For such an affront from a layman there was no precedent in all the lore of rabbis or scribes. Unable to cope with the sometime sightless beggar in argument or demonstration, they could at least exercize their official authority, however unjustly, by excommunicating him.

Jesus said that one purpose of His coming into the world was "that they which see not might see" Some of the Pharisees caught the remark, and asked in pride: "Are we blind also?" The Lord's reply was a condemnation: "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin"

The figure is an effective one, and all the more so when we consider the circumstances under which it was used by the Master. Pastoral conditions prevailed in Palestine, and the dignity of the shepherd's vocation was very generally recognized. By specific prophecy a Shepherd had been promised to Israel. David, the king of whom all Israelites were proud, had been taken directly from the sheepfold, and had come with a shepherd's crook in his hand to the anointing that made him royal. As the Teacher showed, a shepherd has free access to the sheep. When they are folded within the enclosure of safety, he enters at the gate; he neither climbs over nor creeps in. He, the owner of the sheep loves

Continuing the allegory, which the recorder speaks of as a parable, Jesus designated Himself as the door to the sheepfold. True, there were some who sought by avoiding the portal and climbing over the fence to reach the folded flock. But these were robbers, trying to get at the sheep as prey. Their selfish and malignant purpose was to kill and carry off. Changing the figure, Christ proclaimed: "I am the good shepherd." He then further showed, and with eloquent exactness, the difference between a shepherd and a hireling herder.

While the shepherd is ready to fight in defense of his own, and if necessary even imperil his life for his sheep, the hireling flees when the wolf approaches, leaving the way open for the ravening beast to scatter, rend, and kill. Never has been written or spoken a stronger arraignment of false pastors, unauthorized teachers, self-seeking hirelings who teach for pelf and divine for dollars. For this cause was Jesus the Father's Beloved Son—that He was ready to lay down His life for the sake of the sheep. With effective repetition Jesus continued: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I

The power to lay down His life was inherent in Himself, as was the power to take up His slain body in an immortalized state. A natural effect of His immortal origin, as the earth-born Son of an immortal Sire, was that He was immune to death except as He surrendered thereto. The life of Jesus the Christ could not be taken save as He willed and allowed. These teachings caused further division among the Jews.

Some pretended to dispose of the matter by voicing anew the foolish assumption that Jesus was but an insane demoniac, and that therefore His words were not worthy of attention. Others with consistency said "These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?" So it was that a few believed, many doubted though partly convinced, and some condemned.

When to them the resurrected Christ appeared He thus spake: "And verily, I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said, other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice" The Jews had vaguely understood Christ's reference to other sheep as meaning in some obscure way, the Gentile nations. Jesus had withheld any plainer exposition of His meaning, for so, He informed the Nephites, had the Father directed.

On the same occasion the Lord declared that there were yet other sheep, those of the Lost, or Ten, Tribes, to whom He was then about to go, and who would eventually be brought forth from their place of exile. The feast of Tabernacles was also known as the "feast of ingathering" (Exo. 23:16); it was both a memorial and a current harvest celebration.

In commemoration of their long journeying in the wilderness following their deliverance from Egypt, the people of Israel were required to observe annually a festival lasting seven days. The festival lasted from the 15th to the 22d of the month Tizri, the seventh in the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to parts of our September and October. It was made to follow soon after the annual Day of Atonement which was a time of penitence and affliction of the soul in sorrow for sin (Lev. 23:26-32).

The altar sacrifices at the feast of Tabernacles exceeded those prescribed for other festivals. Rabbinism invested this number, seventy, and the graded diminution in the number of altar victims, with much symbolical significance not set forth in the law. At the time of Christ, tradition had greatly embellished many of the prescribed observances.

The ceremonial carrying of water from the spring of Siloam to the altar of sacrifice was a prominent feature of the service. This water was mingled with wine at the altar and the mixture was poured upon the sacrificial offering. At night, during the progress of the feast, great lamps were kept burning in the temple courts, and this incident Christ may have used as an objective illustration in his proclamation: "I am the light of the world"

For fuller account see any reliable and comprehensive Bible Dictionary, and Josephus Ant. viii, 4:1; xv, 3:3, etc. The following is an excerpt from Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus The Messiah, vol. ii, p. 158-160.

In further symbolism of this Feast, as pointing to the ingathering of the heathen nations, the public services closed with a procession round the altar by the priests. But on 'the last, the Great Day of the Feast,' this procession of priests made the circuit of the altar, not only once, but seven times. The writer was once approached by an incredulous student in college, who stated that he could not accept as true the published results of a certain chemical analysis.

"The names 'Shiloah' ('Shelah,' Neh. 3. The Pool of Siloam) and 'Shiloh' ('Shilah' Neh. 4. The names'shiloh', Neh. 5. The pool of Sileam') were the names of the animals in the pool. Shiloh was the name of the animal in which the pool of sileam was found. The name'shilloh' was the word for the fish. The fish was called 'Shileah' (Shela) and the name for the pool was 'ShILO' (Shiloe). The pool was found to be made of a substance called 'Sileam

'Siloam' and 'Siloah' are the exact equivalent in Hebrew and Greek, respectively, of 'Silwan' in the modern Arabic name ('Ain Silwan') of the pool at the mouth of El-Wad. In spite of its modern designation as an 'ain' (spring), Siloam is not a spring, but is fed by a tunnel cut through the rock from the Gihon, or Virgin's Fountain.

The seeming inconsistency is thus explained: The city of David, or Bethlehem in Judea, was beyond question the fore-appointed place of the Messiah's birth. But the rabbis had erroneously taught that soon after birth the Christ Child would be caught away, and after a time would appear as a Man, and that no one would know whence or how He had returned. Geikie (ii, p. 274), citing Lightfoot in part, thus states the popular criticism.

Some modern critics claim that the verses John 7:53 and 8:1-11 inclusive are out of place as they appear in the authorized or King James version of the Bible. The incident does not appear in certain of the ancient manuscript copies of John's Gospel, and that the style of the narrative is distinctive. In some manuscripts it appears at the end of the book. Other manuscripts contain the account as it appears in the English Bible. Canon Farrar pertinently asks (p. 404, note) why so many important manuscripts give place to it as we have it?

Chambers used for ceremonial purposes occupied the four corners of this court. Between these and the houses at the gates, were other buildings, of which one series constituted the Treasury wherein were set trumpet-shaped receptacles for gifts. (See Mark 12:41-44 )— The House of the Lord , pp. 57-58. The Sheepfold. "To understand the imagery, it must be remembered that Eastern folds are large open enclosures, into which several flocks are driven at the approach of night. There is only one door, which a single shepherd guards, while the others go home to rest. In the morning the shepherds return, are recognized by the doorkeeper, call their flocks round them

This was regarded as a literal fulfilment of Isa. 12:3. John 7:37, 38; compare with the assurance respecting "living water" given to the Samaritan woman, 4:10-15. John 8:12; compare 1:4, 5, 9; 3:19; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46. See also Doc. and Cov. 6:21; 10:58, 70; 11:11; 14:9; 84:45, 46; 88:6-13; Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Numb. 35:30; Matt. 5:21-48.

Whether this incident occurred in immediate sequence to the events last considered, or at a later time after the return of Jesus to Jerusalem following an unrecorded departure therefrom, is not stated in the scriptural record. John 8:21-59. Compare P. of G.P., Moses 4:4; 5:24; B. of M., 2 Nephi 2:18; Doc. and Cov. 10:25; 93:25. Pages 174 183 . Exo. 3:14; compare 6:3. John 10:1-21. Note the promise of a Shepherd to Israel, Isa. 40:11; 49:9, 10; Ezek. 34:23;

7:15; compare 24:4, 5, 11, 24; Mark 13:22, Rom. 16:17, 18; Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1; Acts 20:29. John 10:16; compare as to "one fold and one shepherd," Ezek. 37:22; Isa. 11:13; Jer. 3:18; 50:4. See "Articles of Faith," xviii,—"The Gathering of Israel." B. of M., 3 Nephi 15:21; read verses 12-24.

When or under what circumstances our Lord departed from Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, in the last autumn of His earthly life, we are not told. The writers of the synoptic Gospels have recorded numerous discourses, parables, and miracles, as incidents of a journey toward Jerusalem. We shall here as heretofore devote our study primarily to His words and works, with but minor regard to place, time, or sequence.

As the time of His betrayal and crucifixion drew near, "he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" He turned northward on two occasions, once when He retired to the region of Bethabara, and again to Ephraim. In one of the Samaritan villages He was refused entertainment and a hearing. Racial prejudice had superseded the obligations of hospitality. James and John, those Sons of Thunder, were so resentful as to yearn for vengeance.

Luke gives next place to the incident of three men who were desirous or willing to become disciples of Christ. One of them seems to have been discouraged at the prospect of hardship such as the ministry entailed. The others wished to be temporarily excused from service, one that he might attend the burial of his father.

This, or a similar occurrence, is recorded by Matthew in another connection, and has already received attention in these pages. The supreme importance of our Lord's ministry, and the shortness of the time remaining to Him in the flesh, demanded more missionary laborers. The Twelve were to remain with Him to the end; every hour of possible instruction and training had to be utilized in their further preparation for the great responsibilities that would rest upon them after the Master's departure. As assistants in the ministry, He called and commissioned the Seventy, and straightway sent them forth into every city and place, whither he himself would come. The need of their service was explained in the introduction to the impressive charge by which they were instructed in the

Many matters on which the Twelve had been instructed prior to their missionary tour were now repeated to the Seventy. They were told that they must expect unfriendly and even hostile treatment; their situation would be as that of lambs among wolves. As their mission was urgent, they were not to stop on the way to make or renew personal acquaintanceships. On entering a house they were to invoke peace upon it; if the household deserved the gift peace would rest therein, but otherwise the Lord's servants would feel that their invocation was void.

They were not to go from one house to another seeking better entertainment, nor should they expect or desire to be feasted, but they should accept what was offered, eating that which was set before them. If rejected in any city, they were to depart therefrom, leaving, however, their solemn testimony that the city had turned away from the kingdom of God, which had been brought to its doors. It was not for them to pronounce anathema or curse, but the Lord assured them that such a city would bring upon itself a fate worse than the doom of Sodom. He reminded them that they were His servants, and therefore whoever heard or refused to hear them would be judged as having so treated Him.

They were not restrained, as the Twelve had been, from entering Samaritan towns or the lands of the Gentiles. This difference is consistent with the changed conditions, for now the prospective itinerary of Jesus would take Him into non-Jewish territory. The narrow Jewish prejudice against Gentiles in general and Samaritans in particular was to be discountenanced. We must keep in mind the progressiveness of the Lord's work.

Mention of the condemnation that would follow wilful rejection of the authorized servants of God aroused in our Lord's mind sad memories of the repulses He had suffered. In profound sorrow He predicted the woes then impending over Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Considerable time may have elapsed, weeks or possibly months, between the departure of the Seventy and their return. We are not told when or where they rejoined the Master; but this we know, that the authority and power of Christ had been abundantly manifest in their ministry. "Lord," said they, "even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." This testimony was followed by the Lord's solemn statement: "I beheld

This was said with reference to the expulsion of the rebellious son of the morning, after his defeat by Michael and the heavenly hosts. "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you," he said.

The righteous joy of His servants and His contemplation of their faithfulness caused Jesus to rejoice. Compared with the learned men of the time, such as the rabbis and scribes, these devoted servants were as babes in humility, trust, and faith. Such children were and are among the nobles of the kingdom. As in the hours of darkest sorrow, so in this moment of righteous exultation over the faithfulness of His followers, Jesus communed with the Father, to do whose will was His sole purpose.

Our Lord's joy on this occasion is comparable to that which He experienced when Peter had burst forth with the confession of his soul: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." In solemn discourse Jesus said: "All things are delivered to me of my Father" Then in more intimate communion with the disciples He added: "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see"

Luke tells us that the "certain lawyer," of whom he speaks, put a question to tempt Jesus. Viewing the questioner's motive with all possible charity, we may assume that he wished to test the knowledge and wisdom of the famous Teacher, probably for the purpose of embarrassing Him. Certainly his purpose was not that of sincere search for truth.

Jesus replied by a counter question, in which was plainly intimated that if this man, who was professedly learned in the law, had read and studied properly, he should know without asking what he ought to do. The man replied with an admirable summary of the commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart"

We may well be grateful for the lawyer's question; for it served to draw from the Master's inexhaustible store of wisdom one of His most appreciated parables. The story is known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan ; it runs as follows: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead"

The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbour?" aside from that of self-justification and a desire to retreat in the best form possible from an embarrassing situation. His desire may have been somewhat akin to that of Peter, who was eager to learn just how many times he was required to forgive an offending brother. If he had to love his neighbors as he loved himself, he wanted to have as few neighbors as possible.

The parable with which our Lord replied to the lawyer's question is rich in interest as a story alone, and particularly so as an embodiment of precious lessons. It was withal so true to existing conditions, that, like the story of the sower who went forth to sow, and other parables given by the Lord Jesus, it may be true history as well as parable. The road between Jerusalem and Jericho was known to be infested by highway robbers; indeed a section of the thoroughfare was called the Red Path or Bloody Way because of the frequent atrocities committed thereon. A priest, who, out of respect to his office, if for none other cause, should have been willing and prompt in acts of mercy,

These ought to have remembered the specified requirement of the law. If such was their duty toward a brother's beast, much greater was their obligation when a brother himself was in so extreme a plight. Doubtless priest as well as Levite salved his conscience with ample excuse for his inhumane conduct. He may have been in a hurry, or was fearful, perhaps, that the robbers would return and make him also a victim of their outrage. Excuses are easy to find; they spring up as readily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside. When the Samaritan came along and saw the wretched state of the wounded man, he had no excuse for he wanted none.

The Samaritan took the injured one to the nearest inn, where he tended him personally and made arrangements for his further care. The essential difference between the Samaritan and the others was that the one had a compassionate heart, while they were unloving and selfish. That the merciful one was a Samaritan, showed that the people called heretic and despized by the Jews could excel in good works. To a Jew, none but Jews were neighbors.

We are not justified in regarding priest, Levite, or Samaritan as the type of his class. Martha was housekeeper, and therefore she assumed responsibility for the proper treatment of the distinguished Guest. While she busied herself with preparations and "was cumbered about much serving," well intended for the comfort and entertainment of Jesus. Mary sat at the Master's feet, listening with reverent attention to His words.

bid her therefore that she help me." She was talking to Jesus but really at Mary. For the moment she had lost her calmness in undue worry over incidental details. There was no reproof of Martha's desire to provide well; nor any sanction of possible neglect on Mary's part. We must suppose that Mary had been a willing helper before the Master's arrival; but now that He had come, she chose to remain with Him. Had she been culpably neglectful of her duty, Jesus would not have commended her course.

He desired not well-served meals and material comforts only, but the company of the sisters, and above all their receptive attention to what He had to say. He had more to give them than they could possibly provide for Him. Both these women were devoted to Jesus, and each expressed herself in her own way. Martha was of a practical turn, concerned in material service; she was by nature hospitable and self-denying. Mary, contemplative and more spiritually inclined, showed her devotion through the service of companionship and appreciation. By inattention to household duties, the little touches that make or mar the family peace, many a woman has reduced her home to a comfortless house. Many another has eliminated the essential

In every family time should be found for cultivating that better part, that one thing needful—true, spiritual development. As he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. No form of private prayer was given in the law, but formal prayers had been prescribed by the Jewish authorities. John the Baptist had instructed his followers in the mode or manner of prayer. Responding to the disciples' request, Jesus repeated that brief epitome of soulful adoration and supplication which we call the Lord's Prayer. This He had before given in connection with the Sermon on the Mount.

On this occasion of its repetition, the Lord supplemented the prayer by explaining the imperative necessity of earnestness and enduring persistency in praying. The lesson was made plain by the Parable of the Friend at Midnight. The man to whose home a friend had come at midnight could not let his belated and weary guest go hungry, yet there was no bread in the house. He made his visitor's wants his own, and pleaded at his neighbor's door as though asking for himself.

The parable is regarded by some as a difficult one to apply, since it deals with the selfish and comfort-loving element of human nature. The hospitable man in the parable had refused to be repulsed; he kept on knocking until the door was opened, and as a result received what he wanted. The Master added by way of comment and instruction: " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find"

The Lord's lesson was, that if man, with all his selfishness and disinclination to give, will nevertheless grant what his neighbor with proper purpose asks. No parallelism lies between man's selfish refusal and God's wise and beneficent waiting. There must be a consciousness of real need for prayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer effective. In mercy the Father sometimes delays the granting that the asking may be more fervent. But in the words of Jesus: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Parable of the Unjust Judge or of the Importunate Widow. Judge was of wicked character; he denied justice to the widow. He was moved to action by the desire to escape the woman's importunity. Let us beware of the error of comparing his selfish action with the ways of God.

Jesus did not indicate that as the wicked judge finally yielded to supplication so would God do. He pointed out that if even such a being as this judge, who "feared not God, neither regarded man," would at last hear and grant the widow's plea, no one should doubt that God, the Just and Merciful, will hear and answer. The judge's obduracy, though wholly wicked on his part, may have been ultimately advantageous to the widow. Had she easily obtained redress she might have become again unwary, and perchance a worse adversary than the first might have oppressed her. The Lord's purpose in giving the parable is specifically stated; it was "to this end, that men ought always to

The old Pharisaic theory, that He cast out devils through the power of "Beelzebub, the chief of the devils," was revived. The utter foolishness of such a conception was demonstrated, as it had been on an earlier occasion to which we have given attention. The spiritual darkness, in which evil men grope for signs, the disappointment and condemnation that await them, and other precious precepts, Jesus elucidated in further discourse. Then, by invitation He went to the house of a certain Pharisee to dine. Other Pharisees, as also lawyers and scribes, were present. Jesus intentionally omitted the ceremonial washing of hands, which all others in the company scrupulously performed before taking their

The Pharisees and scribes resented the censure to which they had been subjected, and "began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things" Popular interest in our Lord's movements was strong in the region beyond Jordan, as it had been in Galilee. Jesus' recorded utterances on this occasion appear also in His final denunciation of Pharisaism, later delivered at the temple.

We read of Him surrounded by "an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another" Jesus warned them of the leaven of the Pharisees, which He characterized as hypocrisy. One man in the company, intent on selfish interests and unable to see beyond the material affairs of life, spoke out saying, "Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" Jesus promptly refused to act as mediator or judge in the matter. "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" was the Master's rejoinder.

As in the case of the guilty woman who had been brought before Him for judgment, Jesus refrained from intervention in matters of legal administration. An opposite course would have probably involved Him in useless disputation, and might have given color to a complaint that He was arrogating to Himself the functions of the legally established tribunals. The man's appeal, however, was made the nucleus of valuable instruction; his clamor for a share in the family inheritance caused Jesus to say: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness"

The man's abundance had been accumulated through labor and thrift. He is not represented as one in possession of wealth not rightfully his own. His plans for the proper care of his fruits and goods were not of themselves evil. He might have considered better ways of distributing his surplus, as for the relief of the needy.

His sin was twofold; first, he regarded his great store chiefly as the means of securing personal ease and sensuous indulgence; secondly, in his material prosperity he failed to acknowledge God, and even counted the years as his own. In the hour of his selfish jubilation he was smitten. Whether the voice of God came to him as a fearsome presentiment of impending death, or by angel messenger, or how otherwise, we are not informed. But the voice spoke his doom: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." He had used his time and his powers of body and mind to sow, reap and garner—all for himself. And what came of it all? Whose

Turning to the disciples Jesus reiterated some of the glorious truths He had uttered when preaching on the mount. "Fear not, little flock," He added in tone of affectionate and paternal regard, "for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" They were urged to store their wealth in bags that wax not old, suited to the heavenly treasure which, unlike the goods of the foolish rich man, shall not be left behind when the soul is summoned. The man whose treasure is of earth leaves it all at death; he whose wealth is in heaven goes to his own, and death is but the portal to his treasury.

The disciples were admonished to be ever ready, waiting as servants wait at night with lights burning, for their master's return. So is the Son of Man to come, perhaps when least expected. The faithful steward is a good type of the apostles, individually or as a body. "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?"

As stewards they were charged with the care of the other servants, and of the household. The Lord then referred feelingly to His own mission, and especially to the dreadful experiences then soon to befall Him. He told again of the strife and dissension that would follow the preaching of His gospel. To those who, ever ready to interpret the signs of the weather, yet remained wilfully blind to the important developments of the times, He applied the caustic epithet, hypocrites! "EXCEPT YE REPENT YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH."

Some of the people who had been listening to our Lord's discourse reported to Him the circumstances of a tragical event that had taken place inside the temple walls. A number of Galileans had been slain by Roman soldiers, at the base of the altar, so that their blood had mingled with that of the sacrificial victims. It is probable that the slaughter of these Galileans was incident to some violent demonstration of Jewish resentment against Roman authority, which the procurator, Pilate, construed as an incipient insurrection, to be promptly and forcibly quelled. Such outbursts were not uncommon, and the Roman tower or fortress of Antonia had been erected in a commanding position overlooking the temple grounds.

The purpose of the informants who brought this matter to the attention of Jesus is not stated. Some may have wondered as to whether the fate of the Galilean victims had befallen them as a merited retribution. By question and answer He assured them that those who had so been slain were not to be considered as sinners above other Galileans. "But," said He, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish"

There were perhaps some who believed that the men upon whom the tower had fallen had deserved their fate. It is not man's prerogative to pass upon the purposes and designs of God, nor to judge by human reason alone that this person or that suffers disaster as a direct result of individual sin. Nevertheless men have ever been prone to so judge. There are many inheritors of the spirit of Job's friends, who assumed his guilt as certain because of the great misfortunes and sufferings that had come upon him.

Even while Jesus spake, calamity dark and dire was impending over temple, city and nation. Unless the people would repent and accept the Messiah then in their midst, the decree of destruction would be carried to its dread fulfilment. The imperative need of reformation was illustrated by the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In Jewish literature, particularly in rabbinical lore, the fig tree is of frequent mention as a symbol of the nation.

The warning conveyed in the parable is plain; the element of possible escape is no less evident. The Baptist had cried out in warning that the ax was even then in readiness, and every unfruitful tree would be hewn down. If the fig tree represents the covenant people, then the vineyard is naturally the world at large. The dresser of the vineyards is the Son of God, who by personal ministry and solicitous care makes intercession for the barren tree, in the hope that it may yet bear fruit.

Jesus called a woman to Him, and without waiting for petition or request, said simply, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity." These words He accompanied by the laying-on of hands, a feature of His healing ministrations not always performed. She was healed forthwith and stood erect; and, acknowledging the source of the power by which she had been released from her bonds, glorified God in a fervent prayer of thanksgiving.

Instead of addressing himself to Jesus, he vented his ill feeling upon the people. He told them there were six days in which men ought to work, and that on those days they who wished to be healed should come, but not on the Sabbath. The rebuke was ostensibly directed to the people, especially to the woman who had received the blessing, but in reality against Jesus. If there were any element of work in the healing it had been done by Him, not by the woman nor by others. "Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham

It may be inferred that the woman's affliction had been more deeply seated than in the muscles. The rebuke to the ruler of the synagog was followed by a brief discourse. Jesus gave to these people some of the teachings before delivered in Galilee. These included the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.

One of those who had been impressed by His doctrines submitted this question: "Lord, are there few that be saved?" Jesus replied: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate" The counsel was enlarged upon to show that neglect or procrastination in obeying the requirements for salvation may result in the soul's loss. When the door is shut in judgment many will come knocking, and some will plead that they had known the Lord, having eaten and drunk in His company. But to them who had failed to accept the truth when offered the Lord shall say: "I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity"

Some commentators regard this warning as another evidence of Pharisaic cunning. Ought we not to be liberal and charitable in our judgment as to the intent of others? Doubtless there were good men in the fraternity of Pharisees. Those who came informing Christ of a plot against His life were possibly impelled by humane motives, and may even have been believers at heart.

"Go ye," said He, "and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow" The specifying of today, tomorrow, and the third day was a means of expressing the present in which the Lord was then acting, the immediate future, in which He would continue to minister. He placed beyond doubt the fact that He did not intend to hasten His steps, neither cut short His journey nor cease His labors through fear of Herod Antipas, who for craft and cunning was best typified by a sly and murderous fox.

Christ intended to go on, and soon in ordinary course He would leave Perea, which was part of Herod's domain, and enter Judea. "It cannot be," He explained, "that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" The awful reality that He, the Christ, would be slain in the chief city of Israel wrung from Him the pathetic apostrophe over Jerusalem.

It appears improbable that the numerous works recorded by the synoptic writers as features of our Lord's ministry, which extended from Galilee through Perea, into Samaria and parts of Judea, could have attended that special and, as it were secret, journey, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The lack of agreement among writers as to the sequence of events in Christs' life is wide. A comparison of the "Harmonies" published in the most prominent Bible Helps (see e.g. Oxford and Bagster "Helps") exemplifies these divergent views. The subject-matter of ourLord's teachings maintains its own intrinsic worth irrespective of merely circumstantial incidents.

"It is well known that the whole of one great section in St. Luke—from 9:51 to 18:30—forms an episode in the Gospel narrative of which many incidents are narrated by this Evangelist alone," he says. "This great journey, therefore, from Galilee to Jerusalem, must have been either a journey to the Feast of Tabernacles or to the feast of Dedication," he adds.

"I will narrate this period of our Lord's life in the order which, after repeated study of the Gospels, appears to me to be the most probable, and in the separate details of which I have found myself again and again confirmed by the conclusions of other independent inquirers. "1. That the episode of St. Luke up to 18:30, mainly refers to a single journey, although unity of subject, or other causes, may have led the sacred writer to weave into his narrative some events or utterances which belong to an earlier or later epoch. "2. That it could not have been the former may be regarded as settled, not only on other grounds, but decisively because that was a rapid and secret

That the order of the facts narrated even by St. Luke alone is not, and does not in any way claim to be, strictly chronological. "3. That this journey is identical with that which is partially recorded in Matt. 18:1; 20:16; Mark 10:1-31. "4. That (as seems obvious from internal evidence) the events narrated in Matt., Mark, and Luke belong not to this journey but to the last which Jesus ever took"

The place given it in the text is that in which it appears in the scriptural record. Those who obtain place in the Telestial, the lowest of the three, are shown to be "as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore" See Doc. and Cov. 76:111, 112; read the entire section; see also The Articles of Faith.

The charge given the Seventy with that of the Twelve, Matt. 10:5-42; Mark 6:7-11; Luke 9:1-5. The expression 'if the son of peace be there' is a Hebraism and refers to the character of the head of the house and the tone of the household. In this dispensation, many quorums of Seventy are maintained for the work of the ministry. See also "Articles of Faith," xi:20, 28; Doc. and Cov. 107:25; 124:137-140.

The office of the Seventy is one belonging to the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Pages 238-241 . Luke 18:2-5; read verses 1, and 6-8. See also Doc. and Cov. 101:81-94.

Luke 12:1-12. Luke 12:14-21. Compare the fate that overtook Nebuchadnezzar, while the words of boastful pride were yet in his mouth (Dan. 4:24-33); and that of Belshazzar, before whose eyes appeared the hand of destiny in the midst of his riotous feast. See also Psa. 39:6: 49:6-20; Job 27: 16, 17.

In the revised version the last clause reads "for Herod would fain kill thee" Paul the apostle had been a Pharisee of the most pronounced type. (Acts 23:6; 26:5.) Luke 13:34, 35: compare Matt. 23:37-39.

Jesus was a guest at the house of a prominent Pharisee. A man afflicted with dropsy was there; he may have come with the hope of receiving a blessing. Jesus forthwith healed the man; then He turned to the assembled company and asked: "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?" The learned expositors of the law remained prudently silent.

The Pharisee's guests were eager to secure for themselves prominent places at table. Jesus instructed them in a matter of good manners, pointing out the advantage of decent self-restraint. The moral follows: "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased"

Jesus said: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind" This bit of wholesome advice was construed as a reproof; and some one attempted to relieve the embarrassing situation by exclaiming: "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" The remark was an allusion to the great festival, which according to Jewish traditionalism was to be a feature of signal importance in the Messianic dispensation.

Jesus promptly turned the circumstance to good account by basing thereon the profoundly significant Parable of the Great Supper. "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and the maimed, and the halt and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

The story implies that invitations had been given sufficiently early to the chosen and prospective guests. Though called a supper, the meal was to be a sumptuous one. One man after another declined to attend, one saying: "I pray thee have me excused"; another: 'I cannot come'

The matters that engaged the time and attention of those who had been bidden, or as we would say, invited, to the feast were not of themselves discreditable, far less sinful. To arbitrarily allow personal affairs to annul an honorable engagement once accepted was to manifest discourtesy, disrespect and practical insult toward the provider of the feast. Plainly none of these people wanted to be present. The master of the house was justly angry.

His command to bring in the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind from the city streets must have appealed to those who listened to our Lord's recital. The covenant people, Israel, were the specially invited guests. They had been bidden long enough aforetime, and by their own profession as the Lord's own had agreed to be partakers of the feast. When all was ready, on the appointed day, they were severally summoned by the Messenger who had been sent by the Father; He was even then in their midst. Explication of the parable was left to the learned men to whom the story was addressed. Surely some of them would fathom its meaning, in part at least.

But the cares of riches, the allurement of material things, and the pleasures of social and domestic life had engrossed them; and they prayed to be excused or irreverently declared they could not or would not come. Then the gladsome invitation was to be carried to the Gentiles, who were looked upon as spiritually poor, maimed, halt, and blind. And later, even the pagans beyond the walls, strangers in the gates of the holy city, would be bidden to the supper. These, surprized at the unexpected summons, would hesitate, until by gentle urging and effective assurance that they were really included among the bidden guests, they would feel themselves constrained or compelled

As had been in Galilee, so was it in Perea and Judea—great multitudes attended the Master whenever He appeared. When once a scribe has presented himself as a disciple, offering to follow wherever the Master led, Jesus had indicated the self-denial, privation and suffering incident to devoted service, with the result that the man's enthusiasm was soon spent. So now to the eager multitude Jesus applied a test of sincerity. He would have only genuine disciples, not enthusiasts of a day, ready to desert His cause when effort and sacrifice were most needed.

Literal hatred toward one's family was not specified as a condition of discipleship. A man who indulges hatred or any other evil passion is a subject for repentance and reformation. The preeminence of duty toward God over personal or family demands on the part of one who had assumed the obligations of a disciple was the precept. As Jesus pointed out, it is good common-sense to count well the cost before one enters upon a great undertaking, even in ordinary affairs.

So also a king, finding his realm menaced by hostile invaders, does not rush into battle recklessly. He first tries to ascertain the strength of the enemy's forces, and then, if the odds against him be too great, he sends an embassage to treat for peace. "So likewise," said Jesus to the people around Him, "whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple"

He had replied to these uncharitable aspersions by saying that a physician is most needed by them that are sick, and that He had come to call sinners to repentance. The lesson on this later occasion was directed to the self-seeking Pharisees and scribes who personified the theocracy, and whose bounden duty it should have been to care for the strayed and the lost.

If the "publicans and sinners" were nearly as bad as they were represented to be, if they were men who had broken through the close-hedged path of the law, they were the ones toward whom the helping hand of missionary service could be best extended. In no instance of Pharisaic slur upon, or open denunciation of, these "publican and sinners," do we find Jesus defending their alleged evil ways. His attitude toward these spiritually sick folk was that of a devoted physician. His concern over these strayed sheep was thatof a loving shepherd whose chief desire was to find them out and bring them back to the fold. This neither theocracy as a system nor its officials as individual ministers even attempted to do

A direct application of the parable appears in the Lord's concise address to the Pharisees and scribes. "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance" Some readers say they catch this note of just sarcasm in the Master's concluding words. In the earlier part of the story, the Lord Himself appears as the solicitous Shepherd, and by plain implication His example is such as the theocratic leaders ought to emulate.

The parable of the lost coin is of value as portraying the status and duty of professing servants of the Master in all ages. The sheep had strayed by its own volition; the coin had been dropped, and so was lost as a result of inattention or culpable carelessness on the part of its owner. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth," says the Lord.

The woman who by lack of care lost the precious piece may be taken to represent the theocracy of the time, and the Church as an institution in any dispensational period. The lost piece symbolizes the souls that are neglected and, for a time at least, lost sight of, by the authorized ministers of the Gospel of Christ. Her search is rewarded by the recovery of the lost piece, and is incidentally beneficial in the cleansing of her house. Her joy is like that of the shepherd wending his way homeward with the sheep upon his shoulders—once lost but now regained.

These cogent illustrations were followed by one yet richer in imagery and more impressively elaborate in detail. It is the never to be forgotten Parable of the Prodigal Son . "And he said, A certain man had two sons; And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me"

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

"Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound" "It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this   - thy brother was dead, and is alive again" "Thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatter calf"

The demand of the younger son for a portion of the patrimony even during his father's lifetime, is an instance of deliberate and unfilial desertion. The duties of family cooperation had grown distasteful to him, and the wholesome discipline of the home had become irksome. He was determined to break away from all home ties, forgetful of what home had done for him and the debt of gratitude and duty by which he was morally bound. He went into a far country, and, as he thought, beyond the reach of the father's directing influence. He had his season of riotous living, of unrestrained indulgence and evil pleasure, through it all wasting his strength of body and mind, and squ

He was reduced to the lowest and most menial service, that of herding swine, which occupation, to a Jew, was the extreme of degradation. He realized not alone his abject foolishness in leaving his father's well-spread table to batten with hogs, but the unrighteousness of his selfish desertion. He had sinned against his father and against God; he would return, confess his sin, and ask, not to be reinstated as a son, but to be allowed to work as a hired servant. Having resolved he delayed not, but immediately set out to find his long way back to home and father.

Without a word of condemnation, the loving parent embraced and kissed the wayward but now penitent boy. It is noteworthy that in his contrite confession he did not ask to be accepted as a hired servant as he had resolved to do. The father's joy was too sacred to be thus marred, he would please his father best by placing himself unreservedly at that father's disposal. The rough garb of poverty was discarded for the best robe; a ring was placed on his finger as a mark of reinstatement.

The parable of the prodigal son is a close analogy to the two parables that preceded it in the same discourse. No one had complained at the recovery of the stray sheep nor at the finding of the lost coin; friends had rejoiced with the finder in each case. But the father's happiness at the return of theProdigal was interrupted by the grumbling protest of the elder son. On learning that his brother had returned and that the father had prepared a festival in honor of the event, this elder son grew angry, and churlishly refused to enter the house even after his father had come out and entreated him.

There is significance in the elder one's designation of the penitent as "this thy son," rather than "my brother" The elder son, deafened by selfish anger, refused to hear aright the affectionate assurance. "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine," and with heart hardened by unbrotherly resentment he stood unmoved by the emotional and loving outburst.

We are not justified in extolling the virtue of repentance above the faithful, plodding service of his brother, who had remained at home, true to the duties required of him. The devoted son was the heir; the father did not disparage his worth, nor deny his deserts. His displeasure over the rejoicing incident to the return of his wayward brother was an exhibition of illiberality and narrowness. Of the two brothers the elder was the more faithful, whatever his minor defects may have been. The particular point emphasized in the Lord's lesson had to do with his uncharitable and selfish weaknesses. Pharisees and scribes, to whom this masterpiece of illustrative incident was delivered, must have taken

They were typified by the elder son, laboriously attentive to routine, methodically plodding by rule and rote in the multifarious labors of the field, without interest except that of self. From all such they were estranged; such a one might be to the indulgent and forgiving Father, "this thy son," but never to them, a brother. They cared not who or how many were lost, so long as they were undisturbed in heirship and possession by the return of penitent prodigals. But the parable was not for them alone; it is a living perennial yielding the fruit of wholesome doctrine and soul-sustaining nourishment for all time.

The three parables which appear in the scriptural record as parts of a continuous discourse, are as one in portraying the joy that abounds in heaven over the recovery of a soul once numbered among the lost. Unqualifiedly offensive as is sin, the sinner is yet precious in the Father's eyes, because of the possibility of his repentance and return to righteousness. There is no justification for the inference that a repentant sner is to be given precedence, over a righteous soul who has resisted sin.

Jesus spake the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward. The rich man was accused of wasting his goods. The steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the Steward's stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

"The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light" "The steward in the story was the duly authorized agent of his employer, holding what we would call the power-of-attorney to act in his master's name" "A report of his wastefulness and lack of care had reached the master's ears" "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely"

Considerable time would be required for making up his accounts preparatory to turning the stewardship over to his successor. This interval, during which he remained in authority, he determined to use so far as possible to his own advantage, even though he wrought further injustice to his master's interests. With the desire to put others under some obligation to himself so that when he was deposed he could the more effectively appeal to them, he called his lord's debtors and authorized them to change their bonds, bills of sale, or notes of hand, so as to show a greatly decreased indebtedness.

Without doubt these acts were unrighteous; he defrauded his employer, and enriched the debtors through whom he hoped to be benefited. Most of us are surprized to know that the master, learning what his far-seeing though selfish and dishonest steward had done, condoned the offense and actually commended him for his foresight. Our Lord's purpose was to show the contrast between the care, thoughtfulness, and devotion of men engaged in the money-making affairs of earth, and the half hearted ways of many who are professedly striving after spiritual riches.

Worldly-minded men do not neglect provision for their future years, and often are sinfully eager to amass plenty. Those who believe spiritual wealth to be above all earthly possessions are less energetic, prudent, or wise. By "mammon of unrighteousness" we may understand material wealth or worldly things. While far inferior to the treasures of heaven, money or that which it represents may be the means of accomplishing good, and of furthering the purposes of God. Our Lord's admonition was to utilize " mammon" in good works, while it lasted, for some day it shall fail, and only the results achieved through its use shall endure.

It was not the steward's dishonesty that was extolled; his prudence and foresight were commended. The lesson may be summed up in this wise: Make such use of your wealth as shall insure you friends hereafter. Be diligent, for the day in which you can use your earthly riches will soon pass.

If you have not learned how to use properly the wealth of another, how can you expect to be successful in the handling of great wealth should such be given you as your own? Emulate the unjust steward and the lovers of mammon, not in their dishonesty, cupidity, and miserly hoarding of the wealth that is at best but transitory, but in their zeal, forethought, and provision for the future. Let not wealth become your master; keep it to its place as a servant, for, "No servant can serve two masters"

What did this Galilean, who owned nothing but the clothes He wore, know about money or the best way of administering wealth? Our Lord's reply to their words of derision was a further condemnation. They knew all the tricks of the business-world, and could outdo the unrighteous steward in crafty manipulation. Yet so successfully could they justify themselves before men as to be outwardly honest and straightforward. They posed as custodians of the law and expounders of the prophets. They had grown arrogantly proud of their humility, but God knew their hearts, and the traits and practises they most esteemed were an abomination in His sight.

The "law and the prophets" had been in force until the Baptist's time, since which the gospel of the kingdom had been preached. The law had not been invalidated; easier were it that heaven and earth pass away than that one tittle of the law fail of fulfilment. Yet those Pharisees and scribes had tried to nullify the law. In the matter of divorce, for example, they, by their unlawful additions and false interpretations, had condoned even the sin of adultery. The Master gave as a further lesson the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The beggar cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For

The afflicted beggar is honored with a name; the other is designated simply as "a certain rich man" The two are presented as the extremes of contrast between wealth and destitution. Lazarus had been brought to the gates of the rich man's palace, and there left, a helpless mendicant, his body covered with sores. The rich man was attended by servitors ready to gratify his slightest desire; the poor beggar at his gates had neither companions nor attendants except the dogs.

Lazarus died; no mention is made of his funeral; his festering body was probably thrown into a pauper's grave. But angels bore his immortal spirit into Paradise, the resting place of the blessed and commonly known in the figurative lore of the rabbis as Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died; his burial was doubtless an elaborate affair, but we read not of any angelic escort receiving his spirit. In hell he lifted up his eyes and saw, afar, Lazarus at peace in the abode of Abraham.

The reply throws light on certain conditions existing in the spirit world, though as in the use of parables generally, the presentation is largely figurative. Addressing the poor tormented spirit as "Son," Abraham reminded him of all the good things he had kept for himself on earth. Lazarus had lain a suffering, neglected beggar at his gates; now by the operation of divine law, Lazarus had received recompense, and he, retribution. Moreover, to grant his pitiful request was impossible, for between the abode of the righteous where Lazarus rested and that of the wicked where he suffered "there is a great gulf fixed," and passage between the two is interdicted.

The next request of the miserable sufferer was not wholly selfish; in his anguish he remembered those from whom he had been separated by death, fain would he save his brothers from the fate he had met. He prayed that Lazarus be sent back to earth to visit the ancestral home, and warn those selfish, pleasure-seeking, and yet mortal brothers, of the awful doom awaiting them except they would repent and reform. There may have been in this petition an insinuation that had he been sufficiently warned he would have done better, and would have escaped the torment. To the reminder that they had the words of Moses and the prophets, which they should obey, he replied that if one went to them from the dead they would surely repent

In any attempt to interpret the parable as a whole or definitely apply any of its parts, we should bear in mind that it was addressed to the Pharisees as an instructive rebuke. While as a practise it would be critically unfair to deduce doctrinal principles from parabolic incidents, we cannot admit that Christ would teach falsely even in parable. We accept as true the portrayal of conditions in the world of the disembodied. That righteous and unrighteous dwell apart during the interval between death and resurrection is clear.

Paradise, or as the Jews like to designate that blessed abode, "Abraham's bosom," is not the place of final glory, any more than the hell to which the rich man's spirit was consigned is the final habitation of the condemned. Failure to use his wealth aright, and selfish satisfaction with the sensuous enjoyment of earthly things to the exclusion of all concern for the needs or privations of his fellows, brought the one under condemnation. patience in suffering, faith in God and such righteous life as is implied though not expressed, insured happiness to the other.

The rich man who lacked nothing that wealth could furnish, and who kept aloof from the needy and suffering, was his besetting sin. The aloofness of the Pharisees, on which indeed they prided themselves, as their very name, signifying "separatists," expressed, was thus condemned. The parable teaches the continuation of individual existence after death, and the relation of cause to effect between the life one leads in mortality and the state awaiting him beyond.

They were shown that faith was less fitly reckoned in terms of quantity than by test of quality. The analogy of the mustard seed was again invoked. Their faith could best be gaged by obedience and untiring service. This was emphasized by the Parable of the Unprofitable Servants.

The apostles were not to hesitate nor demur, whatever the effort or sacrifice required. The best they could do would be no more than their duty required. Without regard to the Master's estimate of their worth, they were to account themselves as unprofitable servants. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unProfitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

In the course of His journey toward Jerusalem Jesus "passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee." Ten men afflicted with leprosy approached, probably they came as near as the law permitted, yet they were afar off. They cried aloud "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." The Lord answered: "Go shew yourselves unto the priests"

Pained over the lack of gratitude on the part of the nine, Jesus exclaimed: "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" And to the cleansed Samaritan, still worshiping at His feet, the Lord said: "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole" Doubtless the nine who came not back were obedient to the strict letter of the Lord's command; for He had told them to go to the priests.

The parable was given for the benefit of certain ones who trusted in their self-righteousness as an assurance of justification before God. It was not addressed to the Pharisees nor to the publicans specifically. "Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself will be exalted"

The two characters are types of widely separated classes. There may have been much of the Pharisaic spirit of self-complacency among the disciples and some of it even among the Twelve. The Pharisee prayed "with himself"; his words can hardly be construed as a prayer to God. His boast, that he fasted twice a week and gave tithes of all that he possessed, was a specification of worthiness above what was required by the law as then administered.

The publican, standing afar off, was so oppressed by his consciousness of sin and his absolute need of divine help, that he cast down his eyes and smote upon his breast, craving mercy as a penitent sinner. The Pharisee departed, justified in his own conscience and before man, prouder than ever. The other went down to his house justified before God though still a despized publican. The parable is applicable to all men; its moral was summed up in a repetition of our Lord's words: "For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased"

The question they had agreed to submit related to marriage and divorce. "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" they asked. Jesus cited the original and eternal law of God in the matter. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder"

God had provided for honorable marriage, and had made the relation between husband and wife paramount even to that of children to parents. The severing of such a union was an invention of man, not a command of God. Jesus made this fact plain, saying: "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so" The higher requirement of the gospel followed: "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery"

Strict compliance with the doctrine enunciated by Jesus Christ is the only means by which a perfect social order can be maintained. It is important to note, however, that in His reply to the casuistical Pharisees, Jesus announced no specific or binding rule as to legal divorces. The putting away of a wife, as contemplated under the Mosaic custom, involved no judicial investigation or action by an established court. In our Lord's day the prevailing laxity in the matter of marital obligation had produced a state of appalling corruption in Israel. Woman, who by the law of God had been made a companion and partner with man, had become his slave. The world's greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the

Such a broad generalization the Lord disapproved except so far as it might apply in special cases. The next event of record is one of surpassing sweetness, rich in precept and invaluable in example. Mothers brought their little children to Jesus, reverently desiring that the lives of those little ones be brightened by a sight of the Master and be blessed by a touch of His hand or a word from His lips.

The circumstance appears in appropriate sequence to that of the Lord's instructions concerning the sacredness of marriage and the sanctity of the home. Even the disciples seem to have been yet under the influence of the traditional conception that women and children were of inferior status. Jesus was displeased over the misdirected zeal of His followers, and rebuked them. Then He uttered that memorable sentence of infinite tenderness and divine affection: " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not"

Jesus was accosted on the way by a young man, who came running to meet or overtake Him, and who knelt at His feet, inquiring: "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" The question was asked in earnestness; the questioner was in very different spirit from that of the lawyer who made a similar inquiry with the purpose of tempting the Master. Jesus said: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." This remark was no denial of sinlessness on the Savior's part; the young man had called Him "good" by way of polite compliment rather than in recognition of His Godship.

A young man asked Jesus: "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" Jesus cited the prohibitions against murder, adultery, theft, and the bearing of false witness. In simplicity and without pride or sense of self-righteousness, the young man said: "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" His evident sincerity appealed to Jesus, who looked upon him lovingly. "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven," Jesus said.

Luke tells us that the young man was a ruler; this may mean that he was a presiding official in the local synagog or possibly a Sanhedrist. In his way, he yearned for the kingdom of God, yet more devotedly he loved his great possessions. To give up wealth, social position, and official distinction, was too great a sacrifice. The necessary self-denial was a cross too heavy for him to bear, even though treasure in heaven and life eternal were offered him.

Jesus said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" "Who then can be saved?" they wondered. Jesus understood their perplexity, and encouraged them with the assurance that with God all things are possible. While wealth is a means of temptation to which many succumb, it is no insuperable obstacle, no insurmountable barrier, in the way of entrance to the kingdom. We are not warranted in saying that the same treatment would be best in all cases of spiritual defection; but where the symptoms indicate the need, it may be employed with confidence as to the cure.

Peter asked, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Whether he spoke for himself alone, or by his use of the plural "we" meant to include all the Twelve, is uncertain and unimportant. Willingness to place the kingdom of God above all material possessions was the one thing he lacked.

He was thinking of the home and family he had left, and a longing for them was pardonable. He was thinking also of boats and nets, hooks and lines, and the lucrative business for which such things stood. All these he had forsaken; what was to be his reward? Jesus answered: "Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" It is doubtful that Peter or any other of the Twelve had ever conceived of so great a distinction.

The Parable of the Laborers was preached at St Paul's Cathedral in London. It was the text of the sermon known to us as the Parable Of The Laborers. Hear it: "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard"

And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said: "Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you" And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received everyMan a penny when they were hired.

"So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen" The procedure of a householder going into the marketplace to hire laborers was common to the time and place, and is still an ordinary occurrence in many lands. The first to be hired in the course of the story made a definite bargain as to wages.

Those who were employed at nine, twelve, and three o'clock respectively went willingly without agreement as to what they were to receive. So glad were they to find a chance to work that they lost no time in specifying terms. The last band of laborers went to work, trusting to the master's word that whatever was right they should receive. That they had not found work earlier in the day was no   fault of theirs; they had been ready and willing, and had waited at the place where employment was most likely to be secured. At the close of the day, the laborers came for their wages; this was in accordance with law and custom, for it had been established by statute in Israel that the employer should pay

Under instructions, the steward who acted as paymaster began with those who had been engaged at the eleventh hour. To each of them he gave a denarius, or Roman penny, worth about fifteen cents in our money, and the usual wage for a day's work. This was the amount for which those who began earliest had severally bargained. As these saw their fellow-workers, who had served but an hour, receive each a penny, they probably exulted in the expectation of receiving a wage proportionately larger, notwithstanding their stipulation. Each of them received a penny and no more. Then they complained; not because they had been underpaid, but because the others had received a full day's pay for

The parable was plainly intended for the edification of the Twelve. It was called out by Peter's question, "What shall we have therefore?" It stands as truly in force today as when it was delivered by the Master. God needs workers, and such as will labor faithfully and effectively are welcomed into the vineyard.

A man may work for wages and yet not be a hireling. Between the worthy hired servant and the hireling there is the difference that distinguishes the shepherd from the sheep herder. The Master shall judge as to the deserts of each servant. The wage at best is a free gift; for on the basis of strict accounting who of us is not in debt to God? The last called is as likely as the first to prove unworthy.

No general reversal is implied whereby all the late comers shall be advanced and all the early workers demoted. "Many that are first shall be last" was the Lord's statement, and by implication we may understand that not all the last, though some of them, may be counted among the first. Even the call and ordination to the Holy Apostleship is no guarantee of eventual exaltation in the celestial kingdom. We learn here, incidentally, how evenly balanced are the various conditions of life in a community, and how little of substantial advantage wealth can confer on its possessor.

As your property increases, your personal control over it diminishes. The more you possess the more you must entrust to others. The Lord's counsel to the disciples was to so use worldly wealth as to accomplish good thereby. In studying a parable based on contrasts, such as this one is, care must be exercized not to carry too far any one point of analogy.

Of all our Lord's recorded parables this is the only one in which a personal name is applied to any of the characters. The whole parable is full of wisdom for him who is in search of such. To the hypercritical mind it may appear inconsistent, as so it did appear to the Pharisees who derided Jesus for the story He had told.

The name "Lazarus" used in the parable was also the true name of a man whom Jesus loved. The name, a Greek variant of Eleazar, signifies "God is my help" In many theological writings, the rich man of this parable is called Dives, but the name is not of scriptural usage.

Hillel and Shammai were two schools of Jewish authorities. Hillel held that a man had a right to divorce his wife for any cause he might assign. Shammi held that divorce could be issued only for the crime of adultery, and offences against chastity. If it were possible to get Jesus to pronounce in favor of either school, the hostility of the other would be roused, and hence, it seemed a favorable chance for compromising Him.

5:32, is further illustrative: 'If a man sees a woman handsomer than his own wife he may put her away' The school of Hillel said 'If the wife cook her husband's food ill, by over-salting or over-roasting it, she is to be put away' On the other hand Rabbi Jochanan (a Shammaite) said 'The putting away of a wife is odious' Both schools agreed that a divorced wife could not be taken back.

"'I say, therefore, that whoever puts away his wife, except for fornication, which destroys the very essence of marriage by dissolving the oneness it had formed, and shall marry another, commits adultery' This statement was of far deeper moment than the mere silencing of malignant spies. It was designed to set forth for all ages the law of His New Kingdom in the supreme matter of family life. It swept away for ever from His Society the conception of woman as a mere toy or slave of man, and based true relations of the sexes on the eternal foundation of truth, right, honor, and love'

By making marriage indissoluble, He proclaimed the equal rights of woman and man within the limits of the family. For her nobler position in the Christian era, compared with that granted her in antiquity, woman is indebted to Jesus Christ. Through modern revelation the Lord has directed that all children born in the Church be brought for blessing to those who are authorized to administer this ordinance of the Holy Priesthood.

The commandment is as follows: "Every member of the church of Christ having children, is to bring them unto the elders before the church" It is now the custom in the Church to bring the little ones to the Fast-day service in the several wards, at which they are received one by one into the arms of the elders, and blessed, names being given them at the same time. The father of the child, if he be an elder, is expected to participate in the ordinance. The blessing of children is in no sense analogous to, far less is it a substitution for, the ordinance of baptism, which is to be administered only to those who have come to years of understanding, and who are capable of repentance.

The author, Articles of Faith, vi:14. See paragraphs 11-17 in same lecture. 7. The Camel and the Needle's Eye. In comparing the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom with that of a camel passing through the eye of a needle, Jesus used a rhetorical figure, which, strong and prohibitory as it appears in our translation, was of a type familiar to those who heard the remark. There was a "common Jewish proverb, that a man did not even in his dreams see an elephant pass through theEye of a Needle" (Edersheim).

Some interpreters insist that a rope, not a camel, was mentioned by Jesus. Farrar (p. 476) rejects this possible interpretation on the ground that proverbs involving comparisons of a kind with that of a camel passing through the eye of a needle are common in the Talmud. It has been asserted that the term "needle's eye" was applied to a small door or wicket set in or alongside the great gates in the walls of cities.

It would be possible though very difficult for a camel to squeeze its way through the little gate, and it could in no wise do so except when relieved of its load and stripped of all its harness. If this conception be correct, we may find additional similitude between the fact that the camel must first be unloaded and stripped, however costly its burden or rich its accoutrement. The Lord's exposition of His saying is all-sufficient for the purposes of the lesson: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26)

In tender mercy the Lord refrained from directly rebuking His impulsive servant for undue concern as to the wage to be expected. But He turned the incident to excellent purpose by making it the text of a valuable lesson. The principle which Christ lays down is, that, while nothing done for Him shall lose its reward, yet, from one reason or another, no forecast can be made, no inferences of self-righteousness may be drawn.

On the contrary,'many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.' Not all , nor yet always and necessarily, but'many.' And in such cases no wrong has been done; there exists no claim, even in view of the promises of due acknowledgment of work. Spiritual pride and self assertion can only be the outcome either of misunderstanding God's relation to us, or else of a wrong state of mind towards others.

The question is identical with that asked of Jesus in the synagog at Capernaum preliminary to the healing of the man with the withered hand (Matt. 12:10). Exo. 23:5; Deut. 22:4; Luke 13:15. The expression "eat bread" is a Hebraism, signifying eating in full as at a feast rather than partaking of bread only.

That the lost piece of silver was a coin, and not a piece of unstamped bullion nor an ornament, is apparent from the original, "drachma," a silver coin. Luke 15:11-32. Compare Doc. and Cov. 1:31; B. of M., Alma 45:16. Compare Matt. 18:14; P. of G.P., Moses 1:39.

Many writers treat this occurrence as having immediately followed the repulse of Jesus and the apostles in a certain Samaritan village (Luke 9:52-56). We give it place in the order followed by Luke, the sole recorder of the two incidents. Luke's narrative, the order of which we have followed in the events succeeding Christ's departure from Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, includes our Lord's reply to the Pharisee's question as to "when the kingdom of God should come" The Parable of the Importunate Widow (Luke 18:1-7) has already received attention, and will be considered in connection with that later event.

Note to what blasphemous extreme the doctrine of supererogation, or excess of merit, was carried by the papacy in the 13th century; see "The Great Apostasy," 913-15. We therefore turn from Luke's record to the accounts given by the other synoptic writers. This is Mark's record, (10:21) which is the most detailed of the three accounts.

Consider the lessons of the parables of the Hidden Treasure, and the Pearl of Great Price. Matt. 19:27-30 should be read as part of the narrative continued in chap. 20. The concluding clause, "for many be called but few chosen," is omitted from the revised version.

Jesus returned to Jerusalem in time to attend the Feast of Dedication during the last winter of His earthly life. This feast, like that of Tabernacles, was one of national rejoicing, and was celebrated annually for a period of eight days beginning on the 25th of Chislev. While the festival was in progress, Jesus went to the temple and was seen walking in the part of the enclosure known as Solomon's Porch. His presence soon became known to the Jews, who came crowding about Him in unfriendly spirit, ostensibly to ask questions. Their inquiry was: "How long dost thou make us to doubt?

If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly," he asked. The Lord's reply was indirect in form, though in substance and effect incisive and unmistakable. He referred them to His former utterances and to His continued works. "I told you," He said, "and ye believed not"

The reference to what had been before told was a reminder of His teachings on the occasion of an earlier sojourn among them, when He had proclaimed Himself as the I AM, who was older and greater than Abraham. He could not well answer their inquiry by a simple unqualified affirmation, for by such He would have been understood as meaning that He claimed to be the Messiah according to their conception. He was no such Christ as they had in mind; yet was He verily Shepherd and King to all who would hear His words and do His works. To such He renewed the promise of eternal life and the assurance that no man could pluck them out of His own or the Father's hand.

"I and my Father are one" was His solemn declaration. In their rage they scrambled for stones wherewith to crush Him. Owing to the unfinished state of the temple buildings, there were probably many blocks and broken fragments of rock at hand. This was the second murderous attempt upon our Lord's life within the purlieus of His Father's House.

He then cited to them the scriptures, wherein even judges empowered by divine authority are called gods. He asked: "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" Then, reverting to the first avouchment that His own commission was of the Father who is greater than all, He added: "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" The violent hostility of the Jews in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the theocracy, was such that Jesus withdrew from the city and its neighborhood.

The day for His sacrifice had not yet come, and while His enemies could not kill Him until He allowed Himself to be taken into their hands, His work would be retarded by further hostile disturbances. He retired to the place at which John the Baptist had begun his public ministry. The exact location is not specified; it was certainly beyond Jordan and therefore in Perea. We read that Jesus abode there, and from this we gather that He remained in one general locality instead of traveling from town to town as had been His custom. People resorted to Him even there, however, and many believed on Him.

"John," they said, "did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true." The duration of this sojourn in Perea is nowhere recorded in our scriptures. It could not have lasted more than a few weeks at most. Possibly some of the discourses, instructions, and parables already treated as following the Lord's departure from Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles in the preceding autumn. From this retreat of comparative quiet, Jesus returned to Judea in response to an earnest appeal from some whom He loved. He left the Bethany of Perea for the Judean Bethany, where dwelt Martha and Mary. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, lay ill in the

When Jesus received the message, He remarked: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" This was probably the word carried back to the sisters, whom Jesus loved. Lazarus had died in the interval; indeed he must have expired soon after the messenger had started with the tidings of the young man's illness. The Lord knew that Lazarus was dead; yet He tarried where He was for two days after receiving the word. Then He surprized the disciples by saying: "Let us go into Judea again"

Jesus made clear to them that He was not to be deterred from duty in the time thereof, nor should others be. He added: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." The simile between death and sleep was as common among the Jews as with us.

Jesus returned to Judea to bring Lazarus back from the grave. The apostles feared for their Master's safety, and thought their own lives would be in peril. Thomas boldly said to the others: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" The miracle was to be a testimony of our Lord's Messiahship, convincing to all who would accept it.

It was an expression of anguish combined with faith; but, lest it appear as lacking in trust, she hastened to add: "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee" Then said Jesus in words of assuring tenderness: "Thy brother shall rise again"

She was hopefully expectant of some superhuman interposition by the Lord Jesus in her behalf, yet she knew not what that might be. To the Lord's question as to whether she believed what He had just said, she answered with simple frankness; all of it she was not able to understand. "Yea, Lord," she said, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." Then she returned to the home, and with precaution of secrecy on account of the presence of some whom she knew to be unfriendly to Jesus, said to Mary: "The Master is come, and calleth for thee." Mary left the house in haste.

The Jews who had been with her thought that she had been impelled by a fresh resurgence of grief to go again to the grave, and they followed her. When she reached the Master, she knelt at His feet, and gave expression to her consuming sorrow in the very words Martha had used: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" We cannot doubt that the conviction so voiced had been the burden of comment and lamentation between the two sisters.

"Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" The body of Lazarus had been interred in a cave, the entrance to which was closed by a great block of stone. The question now raised as to whether or why One who could accomplish such a wonder could not have preserved from death a man stricken with an ordinary illness, and that man one whom He seemed to have dearly loved, was an innuendo that the power possessed by Jesus was after all limited, and of uncertain or capricious operation. This manifestation of malignant unbelief caused Jesus again to groan with sorrow if not indignation.

Such burial-places were common in that country, natural caves or vaults hewn in the solid rock being used as sepulchres by the better classes. Jesus directed that the tomb be opened. This may have had reference both to His promise spoken to Martha in person—that her brother should rise again. The illness of Lazarus was not unto final death at that time, but for the glory of God and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. The stone was removed. Standing before the open portal of the tomb, Jesus looked upward and prayed: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me"

Lazarus, again alive, came forth. His freedom of motion was limited, for the grave clothes hampered his movements. To those who stood near, Jesus said: "Loose him, and let him go" The procedure throughout was characterized by deep solemnity and by the entire absence of every element of unnecessary display. The spirit straightway reentered the tabernacle of flesh, the physical processes of life were resumed.

Jesus, who when miles away and without any ordinary means of receiving the information knew that Lazarus was dead, doubtless could have found the tomb. He who could still the waves of the sea by a word could have miraculously effected the removal of the stone that sealed the mouth of the sepulchre. Yet He said: "Take ye away the stone." He could reunite spirit and body could have loosened without hands the cerements by which the reanimated Lazarus was bound; yet He said "Loose him, and let him go." All that human agency could do was left to man. In no instance do we find that Christ used unnecessarily the superhuman powers of His Godship. The divine energy was never wasted.

The raising of Lazarus stands as the third recorded instance of restoration to life by Jesus. In each the miracle resulted in a resumption of mortal existence, and was in no sense a resurrection from death to immortality. The crowning miracle of the three was the calling of a spirit to reenter its body days after death, and when, by natural processes the corpse would be already in the early stages of decomposition. Lazarus was raised from the dead, not simply to assuage the grief of mourning relatives.

One of the Lord's purposes was that of demonstrating the actuality of the power of God as shown forth in the works of Jesus the Christ. Lazarus was the accepted subject of the manifestation; just as the man afflicted with congenital blindness had been chosen to be the one through whom "the works of God should be made manifest" The Lord's act of restoring Lazarus to life was of effect in testifying to His Messiahship is explicitly stated. All the circumstances leading up to final culmination in the miracle contributed to its attestation. No question as to the actual death of Lazarus could be raised, for his demise had been witnessed, his body had been prepared and buried in the usual way, and he had lain in the grave four days

God was glorified and the divinity of the Son of Man was vindicated in the result. Some of those who had seen the dead man raised to life went immediately and reported the matter to the rulers, whom they knew to be intensely hostile toward Jesus. Some were stirred to faith and others went their ways each with mind darkened and spirit more malignant than ever. In the parable we have recently studied, the spirit of the rich man pleaded from his place of anguish that Lazarus, the once pitiable beggar, be sent from paradise to earth, to warn others of the fate awaiting the wicked. Abraham replied: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead

Many of the Jews rejected the testimony of his return and refused to believe in Christ through whom alone death is overcome. The Jews tried to get Lazarus into their power that they might kill him and, as they hoped, silence forever his testimony of the Lord's power over death. The chief priests, who were mostly Sadducees, and the Pharisees with them assembled in council to consider the situation created by this latest of our Lord's great works. The question they discussed was: "What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation"

As stated by themselves, there was no denying the fact of the many miracles wrought by Jesus. But instead of earnestly and prayerfully investigating as to whether these mighty works were not among the predicted characteristics of the Messiah, they thought only of the possible effect of Christ's influence in alienating the people. Caiaphas, the high priest, cut short the discussion by saying: "Ye know nothing at all." This sweeping assertion of ignorance was most likely addressed to the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin. His next utterance was of greater significance than he realized: "Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."

John solemnly avers that Caiaphas spake not of himself, but by the spirit of prophecy, which, in spite of his implied unworthiness, came upon him by virtue of his office. But a few years after Christ had been put to death, for the salvation of the Jews and of all other nations, the very calamities which Ciaaphas and the Sanhedrin had hoped to avert befell in full measure.

The hostility of the ecclesiastical rulers became so great that Jesus once more sought retirement in a region sufficiently far from Jerusalem. But a few weeks of mortal life remained to Him, and the greater part of this brief period had to be devoted to the further instruction of the apostles. He prudently withdrew from the vicinity of Bethany and "went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples"

The place of this last retirement is not definitely known. It is generally thought to be the locality elsewhere called Ephrain and Ephron. Equally uncertain is the duration of our Lord's abode there. When He emerged again into public notice, it was to enter upon His solemn march toward Jerusalem and the cross.

A Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, captured Jerusalem (168 to 165 B.C.) and perpetrated blasphemous outrage against the religion of the people. He plundered the temple and carried away its golden candlestick, its golden altar of incense, its table of shewbread, and even tore down the sacred veils, which were of fine linen and scarlet. His malignity was carried so far that he purposely desecrated the altar of sacrifice by offering swine thereon, and erected a heathen altar within the sacred enclosure. Not content with the violation of the temple, this wicked monarch had altars erected in the towns, and ordered the offering of unclean beasts upon them.

As a result of this persecution many of the Jews apostatized, and declared that they belonged to the Medes and Persians. Then in the year 163 B.C. the House was rededicated; and the occasion was remembered in annual festival thereafter under the name of the Feast of Dedication. According to Josephus (Ant. xii, 7:7) the festival came to be known as The Lights. Traditional accounts say that eight days had been set as the duration of the feast, in commemoration of a legendary miracle by which the consecrated oil in the only jar found intact, and bearing the unbroken seal of the high priest, had been made to serve for temple purposes through eight days.

This name had been applied to the eastern colonnade or row of porticoes within the temple enclosure. By "the Father" the Jews rightly understood the Eternal Father, God. In the original Greek "one" appears in the neuter gender, and therefore expresses oneness in attributes, power, or purpose. For treatment of the unity of the Godhead, and the separate personality of each Member, see Articles of Faith , ii, 20-24.

This was probably Bethabara (1:28), which is called Bethany in some of the earliest manuscripts and is so designated in the latest revised version. It was and still is the custom in Palestine as in other oriental countries to bury on the day of death. The popular belief that on the fourth day after death the spirit had finally departed from the vicinity of the corpse, and that thereafter decomposition proceeded unhindered.

This may explain Martha's impulsive though gentle objection to having the tomb of her brother opened four days after his death. It is possible that the consent of the next of kin was required for the lawful opening of a grave. Both Martha and Mary were present, and in the presence of many witnesses assented to the opening of the tomb in which their brother lay. All philological authorities agree that the words in the original Greek express sorrowful indignation, or as some aver, anger, and not alone a sympathetic emotion of grief.

John's statement that Caiaphas was high priest "that same year" must not be construed as meaning that the office of high priest was of a single year's tenure. Under Jewish law the presiding priest, who was known as the high priest, would remain in office indefinitely. But the Roman government had arrogated to itself the appointive power as applying to this office; and frequent changes were made.

To such appointments the Jews had to submit, though they often recognized as the high priest under their law, some other than the "civil high priest" appointed by Roman authority. In Psalm 82:6, judges invested by divine appointment are called "gods" 8. Annas and Caiaphas exercizing the authority of the office at the time of our Lord's arrest and later. (John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6; compare Luke 3:2.)

To this scripture the Savior referred in His reply to the Jews in Solomon's Porch. Judges so authorized officiated as the representatives of God and are honored by the exalted title "gods" Compare the similar appellation applied to Moses (Exo. 4:16; 7:1). Jesus Christ possessed divine authorization, not through the word of God transmitted to Him by man, but as an inherent attribute.

Concerning blasphemy see pages 191 and 269 , also page   629 . Psa. 82, particularly verses 1 and 6. A better rendering of the last verse is: "But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. "—(Revised version.) John 10:40-42. pages 121-124 . Note 4 , end of chapter. John 11:1-46. Compare Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; Job 14:12; 1 Thess. 4:14

Each of the three synoptic writers has made record of this last journey to Jerusalem and of occurrences connected therewith. The deep solemnity of the developments now so near at hand, and of the fate He was setting out to meet so affected Jesus that even the apostles were amazed at His absorption and evident sadness. They fell behind in amazement and fear. Then He paused, called the Twelve about Him, and in language of absolute plainness, without metaphor or simile, He said: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished"

Luke unqualifiedly affirms: "And they understood none of these things" This avouchment of the Savior's approaching death and resurrection was the third of its kind. To them there was some dreadful incongruity in the sayings of their beloved Master. They knew Him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One be brought into subjection and be slain?

They could not fail to realize that some unprecedented development in His life was impending. And such indeed was to be, though in a manner far different from their anticipations. The culminating prediction—that on the third day He would rise again—seems to have puzzled them the most. They persistently repelled the thought that they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre.

Petitioners were James and John, though according to Matthew's record their mother was the first to ask. The request was that when Jesus came into possession of His kingdom, He would so signally honor the aspiring pair as to install them in seats of eminence, one on His right hand, the other on His left.

Instead of sharply rebuking such presumption, Jesus gently but impressively asked: "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?" The answer was full of self-confidence inspired by ignorant misapprehension. "We are able," they replied. Then said Jesus: "Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with" But to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." The ten apostles were indignant at the two brothers, possibly less through disapproval of the spirit that had prompted the petition than because the two had forestalled the others

He showed them how earthly rulers, such as princes among the Gentiles, domineer over their subjects. The humblest and most willing servant would be the chief of the servants. "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus came to Jericho, at or near which city He again exerted His wondrous power in opening the eyes of the blind.

Matthew states that two sightless men were made to see, and that the miracle was enacted as Jesus was leaving Jericho. Mark mentions but one blind man, whom he names Bartimeus or the son of Timeus. Luke specifies but one subject of the Lord's healing mercy, "a certain blind man," and chronicles the miracle as an incident of Christ's approach to Jericho. These slight variations attest the independent authorship of each of the records, and the apparent discrepancies have no direct bearing upon the main facts.

Jesus approached, accompanied by the apostles, many other disciples, and a great multitude of people. The sightless beggar inquired what it all meant, and was answered, "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by" Eager lest the opportunity of gaining the Master's attention be lost, he immediately cried in a loud voice: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." His appeal, and particularly his use of the title, Son of David,. show that he knew of the great Teacher, had confidence in His power to heal and faith in Him as the promised King and Deliverer of Israel.

Those who but a moment before would have stopped the blind man's yearning appeal were eager to be of service. To the Lord's question, "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?" Bartimeus answered: "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus spake the simple words of power and blessing: "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee"

Jericho was a city of considerable importance; among its resident officials was a staff of publicans. Jesus had placed one of this publican class among the most prominent of the disciples. That Zaccheus was a Jew is indicated by his name, which is a variant of "Zacharias" with a Greek or Latin termination. He must have been particularly obnoxious to his people on account of his advanced status among the publicans, all of whom were in Roman employ.

Zaccheus was a little man, and could not ordinarily see over the heads of others. He ran ahead of the company and climbed a tree alongside the road. When Jesus reached the place, to the great surprize of the man in the tree He looked up. Zaccheus came down with haste, and joyfully received the Lord as his guest. The multitude by whom Jesus had been accompanied appear to have been generally friendly toward Him. But at this turn of affairs they murmured and criticized, saying that the Master "was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner"; for all publicans were sinners in Jewish eyes. But having seen and conversed with Jesus, this chief among the publicans

As proof of his change of heart Zaccheus then and there voluntarily vowed unto the Lord to make amends and restitution if it were found that he owed such. "Behold, Lord," he said, "the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" Jesus accepted the man's profession of repentance, and said: "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham"

Jesus told them a story; we call it the Parable of the Pounds. A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. He called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. Then he said, Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he told them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

Both the circumstances of the story and the application of the parable were more readily apparent to the Jewish multitude than they are to us. The people were not to look for an immediate establishment of the kingdom in temporal power. He who would be king was pictured as having departed for a far country from which he would assuredly return.

Before leaving he had given to each of his servants a definite sum of money. When he returned he called for an accounting, in the course of which the cases of three servants are specified as types. One had so used the pound as to gain ten pounds; he was commended and received a reward such as only a sovereign could give. The second servant, with equal capital had increased it only five fold. He was properly rewarded in proportion by appointment as governor over five cities. The third gave back what he had received, without increase, for he had failed to use it. He had no reason and only a very poor excuse to offer for his dereliction. In justice he was severely reprimanded, and the money was taken from

When the king directed that the pound so forfeited by the unfaithful servant be given to him who already had ten, some surprize was manifest amongst those who stood by. This part of the parable, while of general application, must have appealed to the apostles as particularly apt. Each of them had received in trust an equal endowment through ordination, and each would be required to account for his administration. The fact is apparent that Christ was the nobleman who was to be invested with the authority of kingship, and who would return to require the accounting at the hands of His trusted servants.

Six days before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, the home town of Martha and Mary, and of Lazarus who had recently died and been restored to life. Jesus fully realized that this Sabbath was the last He would live to see in mortality. But many of the citizens hated Him and would protest His investiture, saying they would not have Him to reign over them. When He does return in power and authority, these rebellious citizens shall surely receive the punishment they deserve.

It appears that Jesus passed His last Sabbath in retirement at Bethany. A supper was spread for Jesus and the Twelve in the house of Simon the leper. No other mention of this man, Simon, appears in scripture. If he was living at the time our Lord was entertained, and if he was present, he must have been previously healed of his leprosy. Otherwise he could not have been allowed within the town, far less to be one of a festal company.

Martha was in charge of the supper arrangements on this memorable occasion, and her sister Mary was with her. Many have assumed that the house of Simon the leper was the family home of the two sisters and Lazarus. It is possible that Simon was the father of the three; but of such relationship we have no proof. There was no attempt to secure unusual privacy at this supper. Such occasions were customarily marked by the presence of many uninvited lookers-on in that time.

Lazarus was a subject of much interest and doubtless of curiosity among the people. At the time of his privileged and intimate association with Jesus in Bethany, the chief priests were plotting to put him to death. Mary, the more contemplative and spiritually minded of the two sisters, she who loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His words, and who had been commended for having so chosen the one needful thing, which her more practical sister lacked, brought from among her treasures an alabaster cruse containing a pound of costly spikenard ointment. She broke the sealed flask and poured its fragrant contents upon the head and feet of her Lord, and wiped His feet with her loosened

The anointing of head and feet with spikenard was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings. Mary's act was an expression of adoration; it was the fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection. But this splendid tribute of a devout woman's love was made the cause of disagreeable protest. Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the Twelve, but dishonest, avaricious, and small-souled in character, vented his grumbling complaint, saying: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" His seeming solicitude for the poor was all hypocrisy.

Mary's use of the costly unguent had been so lavish that others beside Judas had let their surprize grow into murmuring. Mary's sensitive nature was pained by the ungracious words of disapproval. Jesus interposed, saying: "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me" We are left without certain information as to whether Mary knew that within a few days her beloved Lord would be in the tomb.

She may have been so informed in view of the hallowed intimacy between Jesus and the family. She may have gathered from the remarks of Christ to the apostles that the sacrifice of His life was impending. Or perhaps by inspired intuition she was impelled to render the loving tribute by which her memory has been enshrined in the hearts of all who know and love the Christ.

While still in Bethany or in the neighboring village of Bethphage, Jesus directed two of His disciples to go to a certain place, where, He told them, they would find an ass tied, and with her a colt on which no man had ever sat. If stopped or questioned they were to say the Lord had need of the animals. Matthew alone mentions both ass and colt; the other writers specify the latter only. Most likely the mother followed as the foal was led away, and the presence of the dam probably served to keep the colt tractable. The company started toward Jerusalem, Jesus riding in their midst.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for the start of the Passover festival. The city was thronged with pilgrim crowds. The common people were interested in every act and movement of the Master. By the time He began the descent from the highest part of the road on the flank of the Mount of Olives, great crowds had gathered about Him.

The people were jubilant over the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city; they spread out their garments, and cast palm fronds and other foliage in His path. But amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of the great city wherein stood the House of the Lord. He wept, because of the wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as the Son of God. He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction before which both city and temple were soon to fall.

In anguish and tears, He thus apostrophized the doomed city: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes" The Lord rode through the massive portal and actually entered the capital of the Great King, the whole city was thrilled. To the inquiry of the uninformed, "Who is this?" the multitude shouted: "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."

Jesus of Galilee was the most prominent personage in Jerusalem on this day. The Pharisees resentful of the honors thus shown to One whom they had long plotted to destroy. "Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him"

Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the official representatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, were incensed. There was no denying the fact that the people were rendering Messianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene. The purpose of Christ in thus yielding Himself for the day to the desires of the people and accepting their homage with kingly grace may not be fully comprehended by us of finite mind. That the occasion was no accidental or fortuitous happening, of which He took advantage without preconceived intention, is evident. He knew beforehand what would be, and what He would do. It was no meaningless pageantry; but the actual advent of the King into His royal city, and His entry into

He came riding on an ass, in token of peace, acclaimed by the Hosanna shouts of multitudes. Not on a caparisoned steed with the panoply of combat and the accompaniment of bugle blasts and fanfare of trumpets. That the joyous occasion was in no sense suggestive of physical hostility or of seditious disturbance is sufficiently demonstrated by the indulgent unconcern with which it was viewed by the Roman officials.

The ass has been designated in literature as "the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty," and one riding upon an ass as the type of peaceful progress. Such triumphal entry of Jesus into the chief city of the Jews would have been strikingly inconsistent with the general tenor of His ministry in its early stages. Even the intimation that He was the Christ had been made with guarded care, if at all; and every manifestation of popular regard in which He might have figured as a national leader had been suppressed. Now, however, the hour of the great consummation was near at hand; the public acceptance of the nation's homage, and the acknowledgment of both kingly and Messianic titles, constituted an open and official proclamation of His

The manner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of the law and the prophets. Among the multitudes who came to Jerusalem at the time of the annual Passover were people of many nations. Some of these, though not of Jewish descent, had been converted to Judaism. They were admitted to the temple precincts, but were not allowed to pass beyond the court of the Gentiles.

Greeks sought an interview with Jesus. They applied to Philip, one of the apostles, saying: "Sir, we would see Jesus" Philip consulted with Andrew, and the two then informed Jesus. Jesus graciously received the foreign visitors and imparted to them precepts of the utmost worth.

To them Jesus testified that the hour of His death was near at hand, the hour in which "the Son of man should be glorified" They were surprized and pained by the Lord's words, and possibly they inquired as to the necessity of such a sacrifice. Jesus explained by citing a striking illustration drawn from nature: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone"

The Master's meaning is clear; he that loves his life so well that he will not imperil it, or, if need be, give it up, shall forfeit his opportunity to win the bounteous increase of eternal life. If such be true of every man's existence, how transcendently so was it of the life of Him who came to die that men may live? Therefore was it necessary that He die, as He had said He was about to do; but His death, far from being life lost, was to be life glorified.

The realization of the harrowing experiences upon which He was about to enter, and particularly the contemplation of the state of sin, so weighed upon the Savior's mind that He sorrowed deeply. "Now is my soul troubled," He groaned; "and what shall I say?" He exclaimed in anguish. To His Father alone could He turn for comforting support, not to ask relief from, but strength to endure, what was to come. "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The voice was real; it was no subjective whisper of comfort to the inner consciousness of Jesus, but an external, objective reality.

People who were standing by heard the sound, and interpreted it variously; some said it was thunder; others, of better spiritual discernment, said: "An angel spake to him"; and some may have understood the words as had Jesus. Now fully emerged from the passing cloud of enveloping anguish, the Lord turned to the people, saying: "This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes." And then, with the consciousness of assured triumph over sin and death, He exclaimed in accents of divine jubilation, as though the cross and the sepulchre were already of the past. Satan, the prince of the world was doomed. "And I," the Lord continued, "if I

John assures us that this last utterance signified the manner of the Lord's death. "Who is this Son of man?" they asked. Mindful as ever not to cast pearls where they would not be appreciated, the Lord refrained from a direct avowal. "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light"

The mother of these two sons of Zebedee is generally understood to have been the Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion. From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and "his mother's sister" and omits mention of Salome by name, some expositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary and therefore the Savior's aunt. This relationship would make James and John cousins to Jesus.

Jericho was an ancient city, lying north-easterly from Jerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In the course of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through a miraculous interposition of divine power. The name Jericho means "place of fragrance" Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequence of its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean.

In the time of Christ, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of its commercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to the maintenance of a customs office there. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, had been named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor the confirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from the people. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar (p. 493, note) says: "A nobleman going into a far country to receive a kingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately known that this was done both by Archelaus and by Antip

The Jews had actually sent to Augustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose his claims. Philipus defended the property of Archelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the Proconsul Sabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho would naturally recall these circumstances to the mind of Jesus. The parable is another striking example of the manner in which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, and made them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also another unsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of the Gospels.

John places this event as having occurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the next day after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probably reached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem did not occur on Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath.

Matthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of the supper after the record of the triumphal entry and other events. Some have drawn the inference that these two writers place the supper two days before the Passover. This inference lacks confirmation. In this matter the chronological order given by John appears to be the true one. 6. The Home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus appears to have been the usual abiding place of Jesus when He was in Bethany. As to whether this home was identical with the house of Simon the leper, the scriptural record does not state.

John, who gives a fairly detailed account of the supper served by Martha, makes no mention of Simon or his house. The house in which they take a prominent position is called 'the house of Simon the leper' Mary is called simply 'a woman' by St. Matthew and St. Mark (Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3). St. Luke contents himself with calling Bethany 'a certain village' (Luke 10:38), although he was perfectly aware of the name (Luke 19:29)." 7. Spikenard Ointment —This was among the most highly prized of oriental unguents. In the original the adjective "pistic" appears; this is translated by some

"Hosanna" is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for "Save us now," or "Save, we pray" It occurs nowhere in the English Bible except in the acclamations of the people at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. "Hallelujah," literally rendered, means "Praise ye Jehovah." It occurs in the Greek form "Alleluia" in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6.

A comparison of the accounts of the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of certain events following, as recorded by the three synoptists, shows at least a possibility of discrepancy as to sequence. It appears certain that Jesus visited the temple grounds on the day of the royal advent into the city. The question is admittedly an open one; and the order of presentation followed in the text is one of convenience of treatment based on rational probability. The earlier predictions were: (1) that spoken shortly before the Transfiguration (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31), and (2) that which followed, in Galilee, ( Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:31; compare Luke 9:

For the significance of the title, Son of Man, see pages 142-144 . Matt. 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43. See account of the two demoniacs, Matt. 8:28, compare Mark 5:1, Luke 8:27. Comparison of similarities and differences between this parable and that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be made in chapter 32. The better rendering is "cruse" or "flask" instead of "box." See revised version.

This occurrence must not be confused with that of an earlier anointing of Jesus by a penitent sinner in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50) in Galilee. The Sunday before Easter is annually celebrated by many Christian sects as Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Three hundred pence or Roman denarii would be approximately equal in value to forty-five dollars.

JESUS AGAIN FORTELLS HIS DEATH and RESURRECTION. The deep solemnity of the developments now so near at hand so affected Jesus that even the apostles were amazed at His absorption and evident sadness. Then He paused, called the Twelve about Him, and in language of absolute plainness, without metaphor or simile, He said: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished"

Luke unqualifiedly affirms: "And they understood none of these things" This avouchment of the Savior's approaching death and resurrection was the third of its kind. They knew Him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One be brought into subjection and be slain? They were told of the very manner by which the Lord should die. Yet they understood not. To them there was some dreadful incongruity, some dire inconsistency or inexplicable contradiction in the sayings of their beloved Master.

They could not fail to realize that some unprecedented development in His life was impending. And such indeed was to be, though in a manner far different from their anticipations. The culminating prediction—that on the third day He would rise again—seems to have puzzled them the most. They persistently repelled the thought that they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre.

Petitioners were James and John, though according to Matthew's record their mother was the first to ask. The request was that when Jesus came into possession of His kingdom, He would so signally honor the aspiring pair as to install them in seats of eminence, one on His right hand, the other on His left.

Instead of sharply rebuking such presumption, Jesus gently but impressively asked: "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of?" The answer was full of self-confidence inspired by ignorant misapprehension. "We are able," they replied. Then said Jesus: "Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with" But to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." The ten apostles were indignant at the two brothers, possibly less through disapproval of the spirit that had prompted the petition than because the two had forestalled the others

He showed them how earthly rulers, such as princes among the Gentiles, domineer over their subjects. The humblest and most willing servant would be the chief of the servants. "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus came to Jericho, at or near which city He again exerted His wondrous power in opening the eyes of the blind.

Matthew states that two sightless men were made to see, and that the miracle was enacted as Jesus was leaving Jericho. Mark mentions but one blind man, whom he names Bartimeus or the son of Timeus. Luke specifies but one subject of the Lord's healing mercy, "a certain blind man," and chronicles the miracle as an incident of Christ's approach to Jericho.

Jesus approached, accompanied by the apostles, many other disciples, and a great multitude of people. The sightless beggar inquired what it all meant, and was answered, "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by" Eager lest the opportunity of gaining the Master's attention be lost, he immediately cried in a loud voice: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me" Jesus halted in His course and directed that the man be brought to Him.

Those who but a moment before would have stopped the blind man's yearning appeal were eager to be of service. To the Lord's question, "What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?" Bartimeus answered: "Lord, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus spake the simple words of power and blessing: "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee"

Jericho was a city of considerable importance; among its resident officials was a staff of publicans. Jesus had placed one of this publican class among the most prominent of the disciples. That Zaccheus was a Jew is indicated by his name, which is a variant of "Zacharias," with a Greek or Latin termination. He must have been particularly obnoxious to his people on account of his advanced status among the publicans, all of whom were in Roman employ. He had a great desire to see Jesus; the feeling was not one of mere curiosity; he had been impressed and set thinking by the things he had heard about this Teacher from Nazareth.

Zaccheus was a little man, and could not ordinarily see over the heads of others. He ran ahead of the company and climbed a tree alongside the road. When Jesus reached the place, to the great surprize of the man in the tree He looked up and said: "ZacCheus, make haste, and come down" Zaccheus came down with haste,and joyfully received the Lord as his guest.

"Behold, Lord," he said, "the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" Jesus accepted the man's profession of repentance, and said: "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham." Another stray sheep had been returned to the fold; another lost treasure had been found. Another wayward son had come back to the Father's house.

Jesus told them a story; we call it the Parable of the Pounds. A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. He called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. When he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. Then he said, Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he told them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.

Both the circumstances of the story and the application of the parable were more readily apparent to the Jewish multitude than they are to us. The people were not to look for an immediate establishment of the kingdom in temporal power. He who would be king was pictured as having departed for a far country from which he would assuredly return.

Before leaving he had given to each of his servants a definite sum of money. When he returned he called for an accounting, in the course of which the cases of three servants are specified as types. One had so used the pound as to gain ten pounds; he was commended and received a reward such as only a sovereign could give. The second servant, with equal capital had increased it only five fold. He was properly rewarded in proportion by appointment as governor over five cities. The third gave back what he had received, without increase, for he had failed to use it. He had no reason and only a very poor excuse to offer for his dereliction. In justice he was severely reprimanded, and the money was taken from

When the king directed that the pound so forfeited by the unfaithful servant be given to him who already had ten, some surprize was manifest amongst those who stood by. But the king explained, that "unto every one that hath shall be given," for such a one uses to advantage the means entrusted to his care. This part of the parable, while of general application, must have appealed to the apostles as particularly apt. Each of them had received in trust an equal endowment through ordination, and each would be required to account for his administration. The fact is apparent that Christ was the nobleman who was to be invested with the authority of kingship, and who would return to require the accounting at

Jesus arrived at Bethany, the home town of Martha and Mary, and of Lazarus who had recently died and been restored to life. Jesus fully realized that this Sabbath was the last He would live to see in mortality. The chronology of events during the last week of our Lord's life supports the generally accepted belief that in this year, the fourteenth day of Nisan, on which the Passover festival began, fell on Thursday. The day on which Jesus reached Bethany was the preceding Friday, the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.

The Gospel-writers have drawn a veil of reverent silence over the events of that day. It appears that Jesus passed His last Sabbath in retirement at Bethany. On Saturday, 20 probably in the evening after the Sabbath had passed, a supper was spread for Jesus and the Twelve in the house of Simon the leper. No other mention of this man, Simon, appears in scripture. If he was living at the time our Lord was entertained, and if he was present, he must have been previously healed of his leprosy. Otherwise he could not have been allowed within the town, far less to be one of a festal company.

It is reasonable to think that the man had once been a victim of leprosy and had come to be currently known as Simon the leper. Martha was in charge of the supper arrangements on this memorable occasion, and her sister Mary was with her, while Lazarus sat at table with Jesus. There was no attempt to secure unusual privacy at this supper. Such occasions were customarily marked by the presence of many uninvited lookers-on in that time.

Lazarus was a subject of much interest and doubtless of curiosity among the people. At the time of his privileged and intimate association with Jesus in Bethany, the chief priests were plotting to put him to death. Mary, the more contemplative and spiritually minded of the two sisters, she who loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His words, and who had been commended for having so chosen the one needful thing, which her more practical sister lacked, brought from among her treasures an alabaster cruse containing a pound of costly spikenard ointment. She broke the sealed flask 23 and poured its fragrant contents upon the head and feet of her Lord, and wiped His

The anointing of head and feet with spikenard was an act of reverential homage rarely rendered even to kings. Mary's act was an expression of adoration; it was the fragrant outwelling of a heart overflowing with worship and affection. But this splendid tribute of a devout woman's love was made the cause of disagreeable protest. Judas Iscariot, treasurer of the Twelve, but dishonest, avaricious, and small-souled in character, vented his grumbling complaint, saying: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" 26 His seeming solicitude for the poor was all hypocrisy.

Mary's use of the costly unguent had been so lavish that others beside Judas had let their surprize grow into murmuring. Mary's sensitive nature was pained by the ungracious words of disapproval. Jesus interposed, saying: "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me" We are left without certain information as to whether Mary knew that within a few days her beloved Lord would be in the tomb.

She may have been so informed in view of the hallowed intimacy between Jesus and the family. She may have gathered from the remarks of Christ to the apostles that the sacrifice of His life was impending. Or perhaps by inspired intuition she was impelled to render the loving tribute by which her memory has been enshrined in the hearts of all who know and love the Christ.

Jesus told two of His disciples to go to a certain place, where, He told them, they would find an ass tied, and with her a colt on which no man had ever sat. Matthew alone mentions both ass and colt; the other writers specify the latter only. The disciples found all to be as the Lord had said. They brought the colt to Jesus, spread their coats on the gentle creature's back, and set the Master thereon. The company started toward Jerusalem, Jesus riding in their midst.

Jesus was in Jerusalem for the start of the Passover festival. The city was thronged with pilgrim crowds. The common people were interested in every act and movement of the Master. By the time He began the descent from the highest part of the road on the flank of the Mount of Olives, great crowds had gathered about Him.

The people were jubilant over the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city; they spread out their garments, and cast palm fronds and other foliage in His path. But amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of the great city wherein stood the House of the Lord. He wept, because of the wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as the Son of God. He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction before which both city and temple were soon to fall.

In anguish and tears, He thus apostrophized the doomed city: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes" The Lord rode through the massive portal and actually entered the capital of the Great King, the whole city was thrilled. To the inquiry of the uninformed, "Who is this?" the multitude shouted: "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."

Jesus of Galilee was the most prominent personage in Jerusalem on this day. The Pharisees resentful of the honors thus shown to One whom they had long plotted to destroy. "Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him"

Chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, the official representatives of the theocracy, the hierarchy of Judaism, were incensed. There was no denying the fact that the people were rendering Messianic honors to this troublesome Nazarene. The purpose of Christ in thus yielding Himself for the day to the desires of the people and accepting their homage with kingly grace may not be fully comprehended by us of finite mind. That the occasion was no accidental or fortuitous happening, of which He took advantage without preconceived intention, is evident. He knew beforehand what would be, and what He would do. It was no meaningless pageantry; but the actual advent of the King into His royal city, and His entry into

He came riding on an ass, in token of peace, acclaimed by the Hosanna shouts of multitudes. Not on a caparisoned steed with the panoply of combat and the accompaniment of bugle blasts and fanfare of trumpets. That the joyous occasion was in no sense suggestive of physical hostility or of seditious disturbance is sufficiently demonstrated by the indulgent unconcern with which it was viewed by the Roman officials. But the Romans saw nothing to fear, perhaps much to smile at, in the spectacle of a King mounted upon an ass.

The ass has been designated in literature as "the ancient symbol of Jewish royalty," and one riding upon an ass as the type of peaceful progress. Such triumphal entry of Jesus into the chief city of the Jews would have been strikingly inconsistent with the general tenor of His ministry in its early stages. Even the intimation that He was the Christ had been made with guarded care, if at all; and every manifestation of popular regard in which He might have figured as a national leader had been suppressed. Now, however, the hour of the great consummation was near at hand; the public acceptance of the nation's homage, and the acknowledgment of both kingly and Messianic titles, constituted an open and official proclamation of His

The manner of His entry should have appealed to the learned teachers of the law and the prophets. Zechariah's impressive forecast, the fulfilment of which the evangelist, John, finds in the events of this memorable Sunday. Among the multitudes who came to Jerusalem at the time of the annual Passover were people of many nations. Some of these, though not of Jewish descent, had been converted to Judaism. They were admitted to the temple precincts, but were not allowed to pass beyond the court of the Gentiles.

Greeks sought an interview with Jesus. They applied to Philip, one of the apostles, saying: "Sir, we would see Jesus" Philip consulted with Andrew, and the two then informed Jesus. Jesus graciously received the foreign visitors and imparted to them precepts of the utmost worth.

To them Jesus testified that the hour of His death was near at hand, the hour in which "the Son of man should be glorified" They were surprized and pained by the Lord's words, and possibly they inquired as to the necessity of such a sacrifice. Jesus explained by citing a striking illustration drawn from nature: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone"

The Master's meaning is clear; he that loves his life so well that he will not imperil it, or, if need be, give it up, shall forfeit his opportunity to win the bounteous increase of eternal life. If such be true of every man's existence, how transcendently so was it of the life of Him who came to die that men may live? Therefore was it necessary that He die, as He had said He was about to do; but His death, far from being life lost, was to be life glorified.

The realization of the harrowing experiences upon which He was about to enter, so weighed upon the Savior's mind that He sorrowed deeply. "Now is my soul troubled," He groaned; "and what shall I say?" He exclaimed in anguish. To His Father alone could He turn for comforting support, not to ask relief from, but strength to endure, what was to come. "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again"

People who were standing by heard the sound, and interpreted it variously; some said it was thunder; others, of better spiritual discernment, said: "An angel spake to him"; and some may have understood the words as had Jesus. Now fully emerged from the passing cloud of enveloping anguish, the Lord turned to the people, saying: "This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes." And then, with the consciousness of assured triumph over sin and death, He exclaimed in accents of divine jubilation, as though the cross and the sepulchre were already of the past. Satan, the prince of the world was doomed.

John assures us that this last utterance signified the manner of the Lord's death. "Who is this Son of man?" they asked. Mindful as ever not to cast pearls where they would not be appreciated, the Lord refrained from a direct avowal. He admonished them to walk in the light while the light was with them, for darkness would surely follow.

The mother of these two sons of Zebedee is generally understood to have been the Salome mentioned as one of the women present at the crucifixion. From the fact that John mentions the mother of Jesus and "his mother's sister" (19:25) and omits mention of Salome by name, some expositors hold that Salome was the sister of Mary. This relationship would make James and John cousins to Jesus.

Jericho was an ancient city, lying north-easterly from Jerusalem, a little less than fifteen miles in a straight line. In the course of the exodus it was captured by the people of Israel through a miraculous interposition of divine power. The name Jericho means "place of fragrance" Its climate was semi-tropical, a consequence of its low altitude. It lay in a valley several hundred feet below the level of the Mediterranean.

In the time of Christ, Jericho was an important city; and the abundance of its commercial products, particularly balsam and spices, led to the maintenance of a customs office there. Archelaus, who by the will of his father, Herod the Great, had been named king of the Jews, set out for Rome to ask of the emperor the confirmation of his royal status. He was opposed by a protest from the people. On the utilization of this circumstance in the parable, Farrar (p. 493, note) says: "A nobleman going into a far country to receive a kingdom would be utterly unintelligible, had we not fortunately known that this was done both by Archelaus and by Antip

The Jews had actually sent to Augustus a deputation of fifty, to recount his cruelties and oppose his claims. Philipus defended the property of Archelaus, during his absence, from the encroachments of the Proconsul Sabinus. The magnificent palace which Archelaus had built at Jericho would naturally recall these circumstances to the mind of Jesus. The parable is another striking example of the manner in which He utilized the most ordinary circumstances around Him, and made them the bases of His highest teachings. It is also another unsuspected indication of the authenticity and truthfulness of the Gospels.

John places this event as having occurred on the day following Christ's arrival in Bethany. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on the next day after the supper, and, as stated in the text, Jesus most probably reached Bethany on Friday. The joyous processional into Jerusalem did not occur on Friday, for that was the Jewish Sabbath.

Matthew (26:2-13) and Mark (14:1-9) give place to the incident of the supper after the record of the triumphal entry and other events. The home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus appears to have been the usual abiding place of Jesus when He was in Bethany. Undoubtedly He was on terms of very close and affectionate acquaintanceship with all members of the family, even before the miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead. This supremely blessed occurrence must have intensified into worshipful reverence the esteem in which our Lord had been held in that household. As to whether this home was identical with the house of Simon the leper, the scriptural record does not state.

John, who gives a fairly detailed account of the supper served by Martha, makes no mention of Simon or his house. The house in which they take a prominent position is called 'the house of Simon the leper' Mary is called simply 'a woman' by St. Matthew and St. Mark (Matt. 26:6, 7; Mark 14:3). St. Luke contents himself with calling Bethany 'a certain village' (Luke 10:38), although he was perfectly aware of the name (Luke 19:29)." 7. Spikenard Ointment —This was among the most highly prized of oriental unguents. In the original the adjective "pistic" appears; this is translated by some

"Hosanna" is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for "Save us now," or "Save, we pray" It occurs nowhere in the English Bible except in the acclamations of the people at Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. "Hallelujah," literally rendered, means "Praise ye Jehovah." It occurs in the Greek form "Alleluia" in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6.

A comparison of the accounts of the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and of certain events following, as recorded by the three synoptists, shows at least a possibility of discrepancy as to sequence. It appears certain that Jesus visited the temple grounds on the day of the royal advent into the city. Others interpret Mark 11:11 and 15 as meaning that the event took place on a later day. The question is admittedly an open one; and the order of presentation followed in the text is one of convenience of treatment based on rational probability.

3 Matt. 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45. For earlier lessons on the greatness of humility see pages 386 and 471. For the significance of the title, Son of Man, see pages 142-144. For account of the two demoniacs, Matt. 8:28, compare Mark 5:1, Luke 8:27. Comparison of similarities and differences between this parable and that of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be made in chapter 32, pages 580-584.

This occurrence must not be confused with that of an earlier anointing of Jesus by a penitent sinner in the house of Simon the Pharisee. The Sunday before Easter is annually celebrated by many Christian sects as Palm Sunday, in commemoration of our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The better rendering is "cruse" or "flask" instead of "box"

Isa. 9:7; Dan. 7:14, 27; Ezek. 37:25. Compare John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; see page 407. Mark 11:11. Note 9, end of chapter.

Jesus saw a fig tree that differed from the rest of the many fig trees of the region in that it was in full leaf though the season of fruit had not yet come. It is well known that the fruit-buds of a fig-tree appear earlier than do the leaves, and that by the time the tree is in full foliage the figs are well advanced toward maturity. It would be reasonable, therefore, for one to expect to find edible figs even in early April on a tree that was already covered with leaves. The unripe fruit is relished in the Orient at the present time.

When Jesus and His party reached this particular tree, they found on it nothing but leaves; it was a showy, fruitless, barren tree. Jesus pronounced upon that tree the sentence of perpetual barrenness. "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever" He said according to Mark's account; or, as Matthew records the judgment, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever" The latter writer tells us in immediate sequence that "presently the fig tree withered away"; but the former makes it appear that the effect of the curse was not observed until the following morning, when Jesus and the apostles were once again on the way between Bethany and Jerusalem.

Peter called attention to the blasted tree, and, addressing Jesus, exclaimed: "Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away." Applying the lesson of the occasion, Jesus said, "Have faith in God"; and then He repeated some of His former assurances as to the power of faith, by which even mountains may be removed. The blighting of a tree was shown to be small in comparison with the greater possibilities of achievement through faith and prayer. But to so achieve one must work and pray without reservation or doubt, as the Lord thus made plain: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them

The blighting of the barren fig tree is regarded by many as unique among the recorded miracles of Christ. While all the others were wrought for relief, blessing, and beneficent purposes generally, this one appears as an act of judgment and destructive execution. Nevertheless, in this miracle the Lord's purpose is not hidden; and the result, while fatal to a tree, is of lasting blessing to all who would learn and profit, by the works of God.

If no more has been accomplished by the miracle than the presenting of so impressive an object lesson for the instructions that followed, that smitten tree has proved of greater service to humanity than have all the fig orchards of Bethphage. To the apostles the act was another and an indisputable proof of the Lord's power over nature, His control of natural forces and all material things. He had healed multitudes; the wind and the waves had obeyed His words; on three occasions He had restored the dead to life. It was fitting that He should demonstrate His power to smite and to destroy.

The fate that befell the barren fig tree is instructive from another point of view. The incident is as much parable as miracle. That leafy tree was distinguished among fig trees; the others offered no invitation, gave no promise. For those who responded to its ostentatious invitation, for the hungering Christ who came seeking fruit, it had naught but leaves.

Even for the purposes of the lesson involved, we cannot conceive of the tree being blighted primarily because it was fruitless. It was made the object of the curse and the subject of the Lord's instructive discourse, because, having leaves, it was deceptively barren. Were it reasonable to regard the tree as possessed of moral agency, we would have to pronounce it a hypocrite. The leafy, fruitless tree was a symbol of Judaism, which loudly proclaimed itself as the only true religion of the age. When in truth it was but an unnatural growth of leaves, with no fruit of the season, nor even an edible bulb held over from earlier years. Such as it had of former fruitage was dried to worth

The religion of Israel had degenerated into an artificial religionism, which in pretentious show and empty profession outclassed the abominations of heathendom. Within the temple grounds Jesus was filled with indignation at the scene of tumult and desecration which the place presented. The fig tree was a favorite type in rabbinical representation of the Jewish race, and the Lord had before adopted the symbolism in the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, that worthless growth which did but cumber the ground.

Within four days of the cross, He cleared the courts again by casting out all "them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves" "Is it not written," He demanded of them in wrath, "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves." On the former occasion, before He had declared or even confessed His Messiahship, He had designated the temple as "My Father's house"; now that He had openly avowed himself to be the Christ, He called it "My House"

The means by which the later expulsion was accomplished are not stated, but it is plain that none could withstand His authoritative command. He acted in the strength of righteousness, before which the forces of evil had to give way. His wrath of indignation was followed by the calmness of gentle ministry. There in the cleared courts of His house, blind and lame folk came limping and groping about Him, and He healed them. The anger of the chief priests and scribes was raging against Him; but it was impotent. They had decreed His death, and had made repeated efforts to take Him. They were afraid to touch Him because of the common people, whom they professed to despize yet heartily feared.

The rage of the officials was further aggravated by a touching incident, which seems to have accompanied or to have immediately followed His merciful healing of the afflicted folk at the temple. Children saw what He did; with their innocent minds yet unsullied by the prejudice of tradition and their sight yet undarkened by sin, they perceived in Him the Christ. They burst forth into praise and worship in a hymn that was heard by the angels: "Hosanna to the son of David." With ill-concealed anger the temple officials demanded of Him: "Hearest thou what these say?" They probably expected Him to disclaim the title, or possibly hoped that He would reassert His claim in a manner that would afford excuse

Jesus answered, with an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the scriptures: "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" It was now Monday evening; Jesus left the city and retired again to Bethany, where He lodged. This course was a prudent one, in view of the determination of the rulers to get Him into their power provided they could do so without arousing the people. This they could not accomplish by day, for wherever He appeared He was the center of a multitude. But had He remained in Jerusalem over night the vigilant emissaries of the hierarchy might have succeeded in taking Him, unless He withstood them by some miraculous action.

On the following day, that is on Tuesday, He returned to the temple with the Twelve, passing the withered fig tree on the way and impressing the moral of the combined miracle and parable as we have already seen. As He taught in the sacred place, preaching the gospel to all who would hear, the chief priests with a number of scribes and elders came upon Him in a body. They had been debating about Him over night, and had resolved on at least one step; they would challenge His authority for what He had done the day before. They were the guardians of the temple, both the material structure and the theocratic system for which the holy edifice stood. So this official deputation, with plans matured

and who gave thee this authority?" This action was doubtless a preliminary step in a preconcerted attempt to suppress the activities of Jesus, both of word and deed, within the temple precincts. It will be remembered that after the first cleansing of the temple, the Jews had angrily demanded of Jesus a sign by which they might judge the question of His divine commission. To ask a further sign would have been to flagrantly expose themselves to the ridicule of the people. They knew what authority the Lord claimed; their question was of sinister purpose.

Jesus did not condescend to voice an answer in which they could possibly find further excuse for antagonizing Him. They consulted among themselves as to what answer would best serve to extricate them from an embarrassing position. No mention is made of any attempt to ascertain the truth and reply accordingly. They were thoroughly nonplussed. Should they answer that John's baptism was of God, Jesus would probably demand of them why then they had not believed in the Baptist, and why they did not accept John's testimony concerning Himself.

On the other hand, should they aver that John had no divine authority to preach and baptize, the people would turn against them, for the martyred Baptist was revered by the masses as a prophet. In spite of their boasted learning, they answered as puzzled school-boys might do when they perceive hidden difficulties in what at first seemed but a simple problem. "We cannot tell" said they. Then Jesus replied "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things." Chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people were outwitted and humiliated. The tables were completely turned upon them; Jesus, whom they had come to question, became the examiner; they a class of cowed and unwilling listeners.

The opening sentence, "But what think ye?" was a call to close attention. It implied a question soon to follow: Which of the two sons was the obedient one? There was but one consistent answer, and they had to give it, however loath. The first. John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him. And ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

The application of the parable followed with convicting promptness. They, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and elders of the people, were typified by the second son. The publicans and sinners upon whom they vented their contempt, whose touch was defilement, were like unto the first son, who in rude though frank refusal ignored the father's call. But afterward relented and set to work, repentantly hoping to make amends for the time he had lost and for the unfilial spirit he had shown.

John's call had been to no particular class; but while self-confessed sinners had repented and sought baptism at his hands, those very Pharisees and elders of the people had rejected his testimony and had hypocritically sought to ensnare him. The Lord's affirmation, "Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you," was condemnatory of the corrupt though sanctimonious polity of the hierarchy throughout. He did not say that the repentant sinners should enter, and the priestly hypocrites stand forever excluded. For the latter there was hope if they would but repent, though they would have to follow, not lead, in the

In a continuation of the same discourse the Lord presented the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. "Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower"

They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. The husbandmen could be none other than the priests and teachers of Israel. The Lord of the vineyard had sent among the people prophets authorized to speak in His name; and these the wicked tenants had rejected, maltreated, and, in many instances, cruelly slain.

In the more detailed reports of the parable we read that when the first servant came, the cruel husbandmen "beat him and sent him away empty" When the Lord sent other messengers, "more than the first," or in other words, greater than the earlier ones, the husbandmen rejected them with evil determination more pronounced than ever. At last the Son had come in person; His authority they feared as that of the lawful heir, and with malignity almost beyond belief, they determined to kill Him.

Jesus carried the story without break from the criminal past to the yet more tragic and awful future. He calmly related in prophetic imagery, as though already fulfilled, how those evil men cast the well beloved Son out of the vineyard and slew Him. The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

The rejected Stone which was eventually to have chief place, "the head of the corner," in the edifice of salvation, was Himself, the Messiah. To some that Stone would be a cause of stumbling; wo unto them, for thereby would they be broken, and only through repentance and works of righteousness could they even in part recover. But upon others, those who would persist in their opposition, the Stone would fall in judgment; and wo, wo to them,for beneath it they would be destroyed as though ground to powder.

We gather from Luke's account that in contemplation of this awful penalty, "they," whether priestly rulers or common people we are not told, exclaimed in despair, "God forbid!" As the chief priests and Pharisees realized the completeness of their discomfiture and the extent of the humiliation to which they had been subjected in the eyes of the people, they were incensed beyond measure. The people in general, while not prepared to openly proclaim Him as the Christ, knew that He was a prophet of God, and their dread of official displeasure and possible penalty did not deter them from friendly demonstrations.

"And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding" "And they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them"

"The invitation of a king to his subjects is equivalent to a command. The marriage feast was no surprize event, for the selected guests had been bidden long aforetime" "The most wicked turned upon the servants who brought the royal summons, mistreated them cruelly, and some of them they killed"

It is plainly evident that the refusal to attend the king's feast was a deliberate rebellion against the royal authority and a personal indignity against both the reigning sovereign and his son. The turning away by one man to his farm and by another to his merchandize is in part an evidence of their engrossment in material pursuits to the utter disregard of their sovereign's will. It signifies further an effort to deaden their troubled consciences by some absorbing occupation; and possibly also a premeditated demonstration of the fact that they placed their personal affairs above the call of their king. The monarch executed a terrible retribution upon his rebellious subjects.

If the parable was intended to be an allegorical presentation of actual events, it passes at this point from the story of the past to that of the future. For the destruction of Jerusalem postdates by several decades the death of Christ. Finding the guests who had some claim on the royal invitation to be utterly unworthy, the king sent out his servants again. These gathered in from the highways and cross-roads, from the byways and the lanes, all they could find, irrespective of rank or station, whether rich or poor, good or bad.

The king in the parable is God; the son whose marriage was the occasion of the feast is Jesus, the Son of God. The guests who were bidden early, yet who refused to come when the feast was ready, are the covenant people who rejected their Lord, the Christ. The later guests, who were brought in from the streets and the roads are the Gentile nations, to whom the gospel has been carried since its rejection by the Jews. The marriage feast is symbolical of the glorious consummation of the Messiah's mission. The earlier story was told in the house of one of the chief Pharisees, probably in some town in Perea; the later one was related within the temple, after Pharisa

The neglect of the invited guests in the first story was accompanied by excuses in which some approach to polite apology appears. The refusal of those bidden in the second parable was markedly offensive, and was coupled with outrageous abuse and murder. The host in one instance was a wealthy though private citizen, in the other the giver of the feast was a king. In the first instance was limited to exclusion from the banquet; in the latter the individual punishment was death, which was followed by the punitive example of the city's destruction.

The king came into the banquet hall after the guests had taken their places in orderly array. His immediate detection of one who was without the prescribed garment implies a personal scrutiny of the guests. The lessons embodied in this section of the parable may be advantageously considered apart from those of the first division.

One may be led to inquire, how, under the circumstances of hurried summoning, the several guests could have suitably attired themselves for the feast. That the unrobed guest was guilty of neglect, intentional disrespect, or some more grievous offense, is plain from the context. Had the guest been able to explain his exceptional appearance, or had he any reasonable excuse to offer, he surely would have spoken; but we are told that he remained speechless.

The king's summons had been freely extended to all whom his servants had found. But the deficient one, by some means had entered by another way. Not having passed the attendant sentinels at the portal, he was an intruder. The Lord spake these words of solemn import: "For many are called, but few are chosen"

The story of the royal marriage feast was the last of our Lord's parables delivered publicly to a mixed audience. Two others were spoken to the apostles, as they sat in solemn converse with the Lord on the Mount of Olives. To the heathen and the sinners the portals of heaven shall open, if by repentance and compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel they shall merit salvation.

2, hanging and ripening late on the tree, even after the leaves were shed, and sometimes gathered in the spring. The two sons are yet alive in every human community—the one openly boastful of his sin, the other a hypocritical pretender. The parable was addressed to the chief priests, scribes, and elders, who had come in hostile spirit to demand of Christ the credentials of His authority.

Jesus did not commend the rough refusal of the first son of whom the father made a righteous demand for service. It was his subsequent repentance attended by works that made him superior to his brother who had made fair promise but had kept it not. There are many today who boast that they make no profession of religion, nor pretense of godly life. Their frankness will not mitigate their sins; it simply shows that a certain species of hypocrisy is not prominent among their numerous offenses. But that a man is innocent of one vice, say that of drunkenness, in no wise diminishes his measure of guilt if he be a liar, a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer.

Let no man think that because he becomes intoxicated at the public bar he is any the less a drunkard than is he who swallows the "beverage of hell" in comparative privacy, though the latter be both drunkard and hypocrite. For these sins, as for all others, genuine repentance is the only saving antidote. 3. Israel Symbolized by Vineyard and Vines.

The worthlessness of a vine save only for its fruit was set forth by the Lord through His prophet Ezekiel. The wood of the grape plant is fit for nothing but burning; the whole vine as wood is inferior to a branch from a forest tree. And Israel is represented as such a vine, precious if but fruitful, otherwise nothing but fuel and that of poor quality. The psalmist sang of the vine that Jehovah had brought out of Egypt and which, planted with care and hedged about, had flourished even with goodly boughs. But the favor of the Lord had been turned from the vine, and it had been left desolate (Psalm 80:8-16). For further allusions see Isa. 27:

The Call to the Marriage Feast. Trench ( Parables , pp. 175-6): "This summoning of those already bidden, was, and, as modern travellers attest, is still, quite in accordance with Eastern manners" Esther invites Haman to a banquet on the morrow (Esth. 5:8), and when the time has actually arrived, the chamberlain comes to usher him to the banquet (6:14).

There is, therefore, no slightest reason why we should make' them that were bidden 'to mean them that were now to be bidden. Such an interpretation not merely violating all laws of grammar, but the higher purpose with which the parable was spoken. Our Lord, assuming that the guests had been invited long ago, does thus remind His hearers that what He brought, if in one sense new, was in another a fulfilment of the old. He claimed to be heard, not as one suddenly starting up, unconnected with aught which had gone before but as Himself 'the end of the law,' to which it had been ever tending.

According to good philological authority, "ministers" or "ministering attendants" is a more literal rendering of the original than "servants" in Matt. 22:13. In the earlier verses 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, "servitors" best expresses the meaning of theOriginal.

Edersheim's reflections upon this subject follow in part (vol. ii, pp. 429, 430): "The King entered to see His guests, and among them he descried one who had not on a wedding garment.... As the guests had been travelers, and as the feast was in the King's palace, we cannot be mistaken in supposing that such garments were supplied in the palace to all who sought them. And with this agrees the circumstance, that the man so addressed 'was speechless.'

All are invited to the gospel feast; but they who will partake of it must put on the King's wedding garment of evangelical holiness. And whereas it is said in the parable that only one was descried without this garment, this is intended to teach, that the King will not only generally view His guests, but that each will be separately examined. In short, in that day of trial, it is not a scrutiny of churches, but of individuals in the Church.

The call comes to all; but it may be outwardly accepted, and a man may sit down to the feast, and yet he may not be chosen to partake of the feast. And so, one may be thrust even from the marriage board into the darkness without, with its sorrow and anguish. The connecting link between them is the wedding garment, freely given in the Palace. Yet, we must seek it, ask it, put it on. And still, to all time, and to all men, alike in its warning, teaching, and blessing, is it true: 'Many are called, but few chosen!' Many words of related meaning, both Hebrew and Greek, are translated 'garment' in our English Bible.

"Bethphage," the name of a village close to Bethany, and therefore near to the Mount of Olives, means "house of figs" For "house" in the literal translation we may read "place" Matt. 21:16; compare Psalm 8:2; see also Matt. 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:27.

21:42-44; see also Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18; compare Psalm 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6, 7. Matt. 22:1-10. Note 4 , end of chapter. Compare Matt. 25:10; 2 Cor. 11:2; E.ph. 5:32; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9. Luke 14:16-24; page 450.

The Jewish authorities continued unceasingly active in their efforts to tempt or beguile Jesus into some act or utterance on which they could base a charge of offense. The Pharisees counseled together as to "how they might entangle him in his talk"; and then, laying aside their partisan prejudices, they conspired to this end with the Herodians. The same incongruous association had been entered into before in an attempt to provoke Jesus to overt speech or action in Galilee. The Lord had coupled the parties together in His warning to the disciples to beware of the leaven of both.

Pharisees and Herodians joined forces against Jesus. Their plans were conceived in treachery, and put into operation as the living embodiment of a lie. This delegation of hypocritical spies came asking a question, in pretended sincerity, as though they were troubled in conscience and desired counsel of the eminent Teacher.

"Master," said they with fawning duplicity, "we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man" "Tell us therefore," they continued, "What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?" The question had been chosen with diabolic craft; for of all acts attesting compulsory allegiance to Rome that of having to pay the poll-tax was most offensive to the Jews.

Had Jesus answered "Yes," the guileful Pharisees might have inflamed the multitude against Him as a disloyal son of Abraham. The nation, both rulers and people had settled it, however grudgingly, for they accepted and circulated among themselves the Roman coinage. To make current the coins of any sovereign was to acknowledge his royal authority. "But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?"

"Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are CæSar's; and unto God the things that are God's." The reply was a masterly one by whatever standard we gage it; it has become an aphorism in literature and life. It established for all time the one righteous basis of relationship between spiritual and secular duties, between church and state. The apostles in later years builded upon this foundation and enjoined obedience to the laws of established governments. It was that effigy with its accompanying superscription that gave special point to His memorable instruction. One may draw a lesson if he will, from the association of our Lord's words with the occurrence of C

This was followed by the further injunction: "and unto God the things that are God's" Every human soul is stamped with the image and superscription of God, however blurred and indistinct the lines may have become through the corrosion or attrition of sin. Render unto the world the stamped pieces that are made legally current by the insignia of worldly powers, and give them to God and His service.

The Sadducees tried to discomfit Jesus by propounding what they regarded as an involved if not indeed a very difficult question. They held that there could be no bodily resurrection, on which point of doctrine as on many others, they were the avowed opponents of the Pharisees. "Master," said the spokesman of the party, "Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother"

The Mosaic law authorized and required that the living brother of a deceased and childless husband should marry the widow with the purpose of rearing children to the name of the dead. Such a state of affairs as that presented by the casuistical Sadducees, in which seven brothers in succession had as wife and left as childless widow the same woman, was possible under the Mosaic code relating to levirate marriages. But it was a most improbable instance.

Jesus stopped not, however, to question the elements of the problem as presented to Him. Whether the case was assumed or real mattered not, since the question "Whose wife shall she be?" was based on an erroneous conception. The Lord's meaning was clear, that in the resurrected state there can be no question among the seven brothers as to whose wife for eternity the woman shall be. All except the first had married her for the duration of mortal life only, and primarily for the purpose of perpetuating in mortality the name and family of the brother who first died.

Luke records the Lord's words as follows in part: "But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more" In the resurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage. All questions of marital status must be settled before that time, under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in marriage for both time and eternity.

This was a direct assault upon the Sadducean doctrine of negation concerning the literal resurrection of the dead. Certain of the scribes present were impressed by the incontrovertible demonstration of the truth. The proud Sadducees were confuted and silenced; "and after that they durst not ask him any question at all"

The Pharisees, covertly rejoicing over the discomfiture of their rivals, now summoned courage enough to plan another attack of their own. One of their number, a lawyer, by which title we may understand one of the scribes who was distinctively also a professor of ecclesiastical law, asked: "Which is the first commandment of all?" The reply was prompt, incisive, and so comprehensive as to cover the requirements of the law in their entirety.

Matthew's wording of the concluding declaration is: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" The philosophic soundness of the Lord's profound generalization will appeal to all students of human nature, he says. The Jews had divided and subdivided the commandments of the law, and had supplemented even the minutest subdivision with rules of their own contriving.

To love God with all one's heart and soul and mind is to serve Him and keep all His commandments. To love one's neighbor as one's self is to be a brother in the broadest and, at the same time, the most exacting sense of the term. Therefore the commandment  to love God and man is the greatest, on the basis of the simple and mathematical truth that the whole is greater than any part. What need of the decalog could there be if mankind would obey this first and great and all-embracing commandment? The Lord's reply to the question was convincing even to the learned scribe who had acted as spokesman for his Pharisaic colleagues.

The man was honest enough to admit the righteousness and wisdom on which the reply was grounded. Jesus was no whit less prompt than the well-intending scribe in acknowledging merit in the words of an opponent. As to whether the scribe remained firm in purpose and eventually gained entrance into that blessed abode, the scriptural record is silent.

Sadducees, Herodians, Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes, all had in turn met discomfiture and defeat in their efforts to entangle Jesus on questions of doctrine or practise. They had utterly failed to incite Him to any act or utterance on which they could lawfully charge Him with offense. Having so effectually silenced all who had ventured to challenge Him to debate, "no man after that durst ask him any question," Jesus in turn became the aggressive interrogator.

The Lord's citation of David's jubilant and worshipful song of praise, which, as Mark avers, Jesus said was inspired by the Holy Ghost, had reference to the Messianic psalm. Jesus the Christ is the Son of David in the physical way of lineage by which both Jesus and David are sons of Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, and Adam.

But while Jesus was born in the flesh as late in the centuries as the "meridian of time" He was Jehovah, Lord and God, before David, Abraham, or Adam was known on earth. The humiliating defeat of the Pharisaic party was made all the more memorable and bitter by the Lord's final denunciation of the system, and His condemnation of its unworthy representatives. "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do," said the Lord, "but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not."

Distinction between due observance of official precept and personal responsibility of following evil example could not have been made plainer. Disobedience to law was not to be excused because of corruption among the law's representatives, nor was wickedness in any individual to be condoned or palliated because of another's villainy. "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers"

Their inordinate vanity and their irreverent assumption of excessive piety were thus stigmatized. The high-sounding title, Rabbi, signifying Master, Teacher, or Doctor, had eclipsed the divinely recognized sanctity of priesthood. To be a rabbi of the Jews was regarded as vastly superior to being a priest of the Most High God. "But be not ye called Rabbi," said Jesus to the apostles and the other disciples present, "for one is your Master, even Christ"

Those upon whom would rest the responsibility of building the Church He had founded were not to aspire to worldly titles nor the honors of men. Those chosen ones were brethren, and their sole purpose should be the rendering of the greatest possible service to their one and only Master. As had been so strongly impressed on earlier occasions, excellence or supremacy in the apostolic calling, and similarly in the duties of discipleship or membership in the Church of Christ, was and is to be achieved through humble and devoted service alone.

From the mixed multitude of disciples and unbelievers, comprizing many of the common people who listened in glad eagerness to learn, Jesus turned to the already abashed yet angry rulers, and deluged them with a veritable torrent of righteous indignation. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men," he said.

The avarice of the Jewish hierarchy in our Lord's lifetime was an open scandal. By extortion and unlawful exaction under cover of religious duty the priestly rulers had amassed an enormous treasure. The perfidy of the practise was made the blacker by the outward pretense of sanctity and the sacrilegious accompaniment of wordy prayer.

It is possible that this woe was directed more against the effort to secure proselytes to Pharisaism than that of converting aliens to Judaism. But as the latter was thoroughly degraded and the former disgustingly corrupt, the application of our Lord's denunciation to either or both is warranted. "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing," says Jesus. "Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?"

The Lord condemned the infamous enactments of the schools and the Sanhedrin concerning oaths and vows. They had established or endorsed a code of rules, inconsistent and unjust, as to technical trifles by which a vow could be enforced or invalidated. If a man swore by the temple, the House of Jehovah, he could obtain an indulgence for breaking his oath. But if he vowed by the gold and treasure of the Holy House, he was bound by the unbreakable bonds of priestly dictum.

To what depths of unreason and hopeless depravity had men fallen, how sinfully foolish and how wilfully blind were they, said Jesus. The lesser and evidently just requirement of strict fidelity to the terms of self-assumed obligations was to be enforced, without unrighteous quibble or inequitable discrimination. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

The law of the tithe had been a characteristic feature of the theocratic requirements in Israel from the days of Moses. The Lord denounced as rank hypocrisy the observance of such requirements as an excuse for neglecting the other duties of true religion. The reference to "the weightier matters of the law" may have been an allusion to the rabbinical classification of "light" and "heavy" requirements under the law; though it is certain the Lord approved no such arbitrary distinctions.

To omit the tithing of small things, such as mint leaves, and sprigs of anise and cummin, was to fall short in dutiful observance. To ignore the claims of judgment, mercy, and faith was to forfeit one's claim to blessing as a covenant child of God. By a strong simile, the Lord stigmatized such inconsistency as comparable to one's scrupulous straining at a gnat while figuratively willing to gulp down a camel. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess"

Cups and platters though cleansed to perfection were filthy before the Lord if their contents had been bought by the gold of extortion, or were to be used in pandering to gluttony, drunkenness or other excess. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness"

The dogmas of the rabbis made even the slightest contact with a corpse or its cerements, or with the bier upon which it was borne, or the grave in which it had been lain, a cause of personal defilement. Care was taken to make tombs conspicuously white, so that no person need be defiled through ignorance of proximity to such unclean places. The periodical whitening of sepulchres was regarded as a memorial act of honor to the dead. But even as no amount of care or degree of diligence in keeping bright the outside of a tomb could stay the putrescence going on within, so no externals of pretended righteousness could mitigate the revolting corruption of a heart

Jesus had before compared Pharisees with unmarked graves, over which men inadvertently walked and so became defiled though they knew it not. National pride, not wholly unlike patriotism, had for centuries expressed itself in formal regard for the burial crypts of the ancient prophets, many of whom had been slain because of their righteous and fearless zeal. "If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets," Jesus said.

Those modern Jews were voluble to disavow all sympathy with the murderous deeds of their progenitors. They ostentatiously averred that if they had lived in the times of those martyrdoms they would have been no participators therein. Yet by such avouchment they proclaimed themselves the offspring of those who had shed innocent blood. With scorching maledictions the Lord thus consigned them to their fate: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." To their sanctimonious asseverations of superiority over their fathers who had slain Jehovah's envoys, Jehovah Himself replied by predicting that they would dye their hands in the blood of prophets, wise men, and righteous scribes, whom He would send amongst them. That dread fate, outlined with such awful realism, was to be no eventuality of the distant future. Every one of the frightful woes the Lord had uttered was tobe realized in that generation.

Looking from the temple heights out over the city of the great King, soon to be abandoned to destruction, the Lord was obsessed by emotions of profound sorrow. With the undying eloquence of anguish He broke forth in such a lamentation as no mortal father ever voiced over the most unfilial and recreant of sons. The children of Israel had spurned the proffered safety of a protecting paternal wing; soon the Roman eagle would swoop down upon them and slay. Had Israel but received her King, the world's history of post-meridian time would never have been what it is.

The stupendous temple, which but a day before the Lord had called "My house," was now no longer specifically His. "Your house," said He, "is left unto you desolate." He was about to withdraw from both temple and nation. By the Jews His face was not again to be seen, until, through the discipline of centuries of suffering they shall be prepared to acclaim in accents of abiding faith.

Jesus observed the lines of donors, of all ranks and degrees of affluence and poverty, some depositing their gifts with evident devoutness and sincerity of purpose, others ostentatiously casting in great sums of silver and gold. Among the many was a poor widow, who with probable effort to escape observation dropped into one of the treasure-chests two small bronze coins known as mites; her contribution amounted to less than half a cent in American money. The Lord called His disciples about Him, directed their attention to the poverty-stricken widow and her deed, and said: "Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury"

In the accounts kept by the recording angels, entries are made in terms of quality rather than of quantity. The rich gave much yet kept back more; the widow's gift was her all. It was not the smallness of her offering that made it especially acceptable, but the spirit of sacrifice and devout intent with which she gave. "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath"

Our Lord's public discourses and the open colloquies in which He had participated with professionals and priestly officials, in the course of His daily visits to the temple during the first half of Passion week, had caused many of the chief rulers, beside others, to believe on Him as the veritable Son of God. But the fear of Pharisaic persecution and the dread of excommunication from the synagog deterred them from confessing the allegiance they felt, and from accepting the means of salvation so freely offered. It may have been while Jesus directed His course for the last time toward the exit portal of the one-time holy place that He uttered the solemn testimony of His divinity recorded by John.

Allegiance to Himself was allegiance to God. The people were plainly told that to accept Him was in no degree a weakening of their adherence to Jehovah, but on the contrary a confirmation thereof. Repeating precepts of earlier utterance, He again proclaimed Himself the light of the world, by whose rays alone mankind might be delivered from the enveloping darkness of spiritual unbelief. The testimony He left with the people would be the means of judgment and condemnation to all who wilfully rejected it. "For," said He in solemn finality, "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say,. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting"

As Jesus was departing from the enclosure wherein stood what once had been the House of the Lord, one or more of the disciples called His attention to the magnificent structures. The Lord's answering comment was an unqualified prophecy of the utter destruction of the temple and everything pertaining to it. The literal fulfilment of that awful portent was but an incident in the annihilation of the city less than forty years later.

Whatever of discourse, parable, or ordinance was to follow, would be directed only to the further instruction and investiture of the apostles. The Jews had an aversion for images or effigies in general, the use of which they professed to hold as a violation of the second commandment. Their own coins bore other devices, such as plants, fruits, etc., in place of a human head. The Romans had condescendingly permitted the issue of a special coinage for Jewish use, each piece bearing the name but not the effigy of the monarch. The ordinary coinage of Rome was current in Palestine, however.

When the Jews had been brought into subjection by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Lord commanded through the prophet Jeremiah (27:4-8) that the people render obedience to their conqueror. The obedience so enjoined included the payment of taxes and extended to complete submission. After the death of Christ the apostles taught obedience to the powers that be, which powers, Paul declared "are ordained of God" See Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Tim. 2:1, 3; see also 1 Peter 2:13, 14.

The restored Church proclaims as an essential part of its belief and practise: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law." See Articles of Faith , xxiii. 3. Marriage for Eternity. —Divine revelation in the dispensation of the fulness of times has made plain the fact, that contracts of marriage, as indeed all other agreements between parties in mortality, are of no validity beyond the grave, except such contracts be ratified and validated by the duly established ordinances of the Holy Priesthood. Sealing in the marriage covenant for time and eternity, which has come to be known as celestial marriage, is an ordinance established

The Rabbinical schools, in their meddling, carnal, superficial spirit of word-weaving and letter-worship, had spun large accumulations of worthless subtlety all over the Mosaic law. Among other things they had wasted their idleness in fantastic attempts to count, and classify, and weigh, and measure all the separate commandments of the ceremonial and moral law. They had come to the sapient conclusion that there were 248 affirmative precepts, being as many as the members in the human body, and 365 negative precepts. The total being 613, which was also the number of letters in the decalog. They arrived at the same result from the fact that the Jews were commanded (Numb. 15:38

Some thought the omission of ablutions as bad as homicide. Others considered the third commandment to be the greatest commandment. None of them had realized the great principle, that the wilful violation of one commandment is the transgression of all (James 2:10), because the object of the entire Law is the spirit of obedience to God.

The Hebrews adopted the custom of wearing phylacteries, which consisted essentially of strips of parchment on which were inscribed in whole or in part the following texts: Exo. 13:2-10 and 11-17; Deut. 6:4-9, and 11:13-21. Phylacteries were worn on the head and arm. The parchment strips for the head were four, on each of which one of the texts cited above was written.

The Pharisees wore the arm phylactery above the elbow, while their rivals, the Sadducees, fastened it to the palm of the hand (see Exo. 13:9). The common people wore phylacteries only at prayer time; but the Phariseers were said to display them throughout the day.

The size of the parchment strips was fixed by rigid rule. The Lord had required of Israel through Moses (Numb. 15:38) that the people attach to the border of their garment a fringe with a ribbon of blue. In ostentatious display of assumed piety, the scribes and Pharisees delighted to wear enlarged borders to attract public attention. It was another manifestation of hypocritical sanctimoniousness.

Titles of office in the Holy Priesthood are of too sacred a character to be used as marks of distinction among men. In the restored Church in the current dispensation, men are ordained to the Priesthood and to the several offices comprized within both the Lesser or Aaronic, and the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Chas. F. Deems, in speaking of the irreverent use of ecclesiastical titles, says: "The Pharisees loved also the highest places in the synagogs, and it gratified their vanity to be called Teacher, Doctor, Rabbi"

They were not to love to be called Rabbi, a title which occurs in three forms. Nor were they to call any man 'Father,' in the sense of granting him any infallibility of judgment or power over their consciences. 'Papa,' as the simple Moravians call their great man, Count Zinzendorf: 'Founder,' as Methodists denominate good John Wesley; 'Holy Father in God,' as bishops are sometimes called. 'Doctor of Divinity,' the Christian equivalent of the Jewish 'Rabbi,' are all dangerous titles. But it is not the employment of a name which Jesus denounces, it is the spirit of vanity which animated the Pharisees.

Some of the early Mss. of the Gospels omit verse 14 from Matt. 23. Such omission reduces the number of specific utterances beginning "Woe unto you" from eight to seven. There is no question as to the appearance in the original of the passages in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.

Edersheim (vol. ii, pp. 387-8) writes: "Some might come with appearance of self-righteousness, some even with ostentation, some as cheerfully performing a happy duty" See also Josephus, Antiquities xiv, 4:4; 7:1, 2. 9. Zacharias the Martyr.

The Old Testament contains no mention of a martyr named Zacharias son of Barachias. It does chronicle the martyrdom of Zechariah son of Jehoiada (2 Chron. 24:20-22) It is the opinion of most Bible scholars that the Zachariah referred to in Matthew's record is Zecharsiah.

The Old Testament does not number this Zechariah among the martyrs, but traditional accounts say that he was killed "in the day of propitiation" That the Lord referred to a late and probably the latest of the recorded martyrdoms is probable; and it is equally evident that the case was well known among the Jews. See Note 4 , page 119.

The Temple was almost finished when it was destroyed. Jesus had foretold its fate. The protecting presence of Jehovah had long since departed therefrom and Israel was left a prey to the foe. In the great conflict with the Roman legions under Titus, many of the Jews had taken refuge within the Temple courts, seemingly hoping that there the Lord would again fight the battles of His people and give them victory. This dire prediction soon found its literal fulfilment. The destruction of the Temple was predicted by Jesus in Mark 13:1, 2; see also Matt. 24:1,. 2; Luke 21:5, 6.

Though Titus would have spared the Temple, his legionaries, maddened by the lust of conflict, started the conflagration and everything that could be burned was burned. Thousands of men, women and children were ruthlessly butchered within the walls, and the temple courts were literally flooded with human blood. Of the Temple furniture the golden candlestick and the table of shewbread from the Holy Place were carried by Titus to Rome as trophies of war. representations of these sacred pieces are to be seen on the arch erected to the name of the victorious general. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, vi, 4:5, 8. For a detailed and graphic account of the destruction of the Temple see chapters 4

Since the destruction of the splendid Temple of Herod no other structure of the kind, no Temple, no House of the Lord as the terms are used distinctively, has been reared on the eastern hemisphere. The soldier who applied the torch to the Holy House, which had remained intact while fire raged in the courts, is regarded by the historian as an instrument of divine vengeance.

We read (Wars, vi, 4:5): "One of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire"

Matt. 23:37-39; compare Luke 13:34, 35. Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4. 2 Cor. 8:12. John 12:42; compare 7:13; 9:22. John12:43; compare 5:44. Luke 11:44; compare 9:34. Psalm 110. 4:4; compare Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21. Matt. 24:1, 2; Mark 13:1,. 2;Luke 21:5, 6.

Jesus gave prophecy concerning the future of Jerusalem, Israel, and the world at large. His prediction that of the temple buildings not one stone would be left upon another caused the apostles to marvel and fear. "Tell us," said they, "when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"

The destruction of which the Lord had spoken was to be apart from and precedent to the signs that were to immediately herald His glorious advent. An assumption that the events would follow in close succession is implied by the form in which the question was put. The reply dealt not with dates, but with events; and the spirit of the subsequent discourse was that of warning against misapprehension, and admonition to ceaseless vigilance. "Take heed that no man deceive you" was the first and all-important caution; for within the lives of most of those apostles, many blaspheming imposters would arise, each claiming to be the Messiah. The return of Christ to earth as Lord and Judge was more remote than any of

Before that glorious event, many wonderful and appalling developments would be witnessed, among the earliest of which would be wars and rumors of wars, caused by nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. They, the apostles, were told to expect persecution, not only at the hands of irresponsible individuals, but at the instance of officials such as they who were at that moment intent on taking the life of the Lord Himself. They would scourge them in the synagogs, deliver them up to hostile tribunals, cite them before rulers and kings, and even put some of them to death—all because of their testimony of the Christ.

As they had been promised before, so again were they assured, that when they would stand before councils, magistrates, or kings, the words they should speak would be given them in the hour of their trial. Even though they found themselves despized and hated of men, and though they were to suffer ignominy, torture, and death, yet as to their eternal welfare they were promised such security that by comparison they would lose not so much as a hair of their heads. In consoling encouragement the Lord bade them possess their souls in patience. In face of all trials and even the direst persecution, it was incumbent upon them to persevere in their ministry, for the divine plan provided and required that the gospel of

Their labors would be complicated and opposed by the revolutionary propaganda of many false prophets, and differences of creed would disrupt families, and engender such bitterness that brothers would betray one another, and children would rise against their parents. Even among those who had professed discipleship to Christ many would be offended and hatred would abound. Love for the gospel would wax cold, and iniquity would be rampant among men; and only those who would endure to the end of their lives could be saved. From this circumstantial forecast of conditions then directly impending, the Lord passed to other developments that would immediately precede the destruction of Jerusalem and the total disruption of the Jewish nation.

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place," said He, according to Matthew's account. The realization of Daniel's prophetic vision was to be heralded by the encompassing of Jerusalem by armies. Then all who would escape should make haste; from Judea they should flee to the mountains. He who was on the housetop would have no time to take his goods, but should hasten down by the outer steps and flee. he who was in the field would better leave without first returning to his house even for his clothes.

Terrible, indeed, would that day be for women hampered by the conditions incident to approaching maternity, or the responsibility of caring for their suckling babes. All would do well to pray that their flight be not forced upon them in winter time; nor on the Sabbath, lest regard for the restrictions as to Sabbath-day travel. The tribulations of the time then foreshadowed would prove to be unprecedented in horror and would never be paralleled in all their awful details in Israel's history. But in mercy God had decreed that the dreadful period should be shortened for the sake of the elect believers, otherwise no flesh of Israel would be saved alive.

In every frightful detail was the Lord's prediction brought to pass, as history avouches. After the passing of those terrible times, and thence onward for a period of unspecified duration, Satan would deceive the world through false doctrines, spread by evil men masquerading as ministers of God. But against all such the Twelve were put on their guard, and through them and other teachers, whom they would call and ordain, would the world be warned.

Deceiving prophets, emissaries of the devil, would be active. The gathering of Israel in the last days was pictured as the flocking of eagles to the place where the body of the Church would be established. In the day of the Lord's advent in glory and vengeance, no man shall be in doubt. There shall be no chance of conflicting claims by contending sects. "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be"

The chronological order of the predicted occurrences so far considered in this wonderful discourse on things to come, is clear. First there was to be a period of virulent persecution of the apostles and the Church of which they would be in charge. Then the destruction of Jerusalem, with all the horrors of merciless warfare was to follow.

Following the age of man-made creeds, and unauthorized ministry characteristic of the great apostasy, marvelous occurrences are to be manifested through the forces of nature. The sign of the Son of Man shall ultimately appear, one accompanying feature of which shall be the completion of the gathering of the elect from all parts of the earth to the places appointed. The duty that Jesus enjoined upon the apostles as of first importance throughout all the coming scenes of sorrow, suffering and turmoil, was that of vigilance. They were to pray, watch, and work, diligently and with unwavering faith. The lesson was illustrated by a masterly analogy, which, under the broadest classification, may be called a parable.

So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand," said the Lord. The next declaration in the order of the evangelical record reads: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" This may be understood as applying to the generation in which the portentous happenings before described would be realized.

So far as the predictions related to the overthrow of Jerusalem, they were literally fulfilled within the natural lifetime of several of the apostles and of multitudes of their contemporaries. The certainty of fulfilment was emphasized by the Lord in the profound affirmation: "Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." All speculation concerning the time of the Lord's appearing, whether based on assumption, deduction, or calculation of dates, was forestalled by Christ's averment: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."

That His advent in power and glory is to be sudden and unexpected to the unobserving and sinful world, but in immediate sequence to the signs which the vigilant and devout may read and understand, was made plain by comparison with the prevailing social conditions of Noah's time. In spite of prophecy and warning the people had continued in their feasting and merry-making, in marrying and giving in marriage, "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away," so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

In explication of this admonishment, the Lord condescended to compare the suddenness and secrecy of His coming to the movements of a night-prowling thief. If a householder had certain knowledge as to the time of a burglar's predetermined visit, he would remain on vigilant watch. But because of uncertainty he may be found off his guard, and the thief may enter and despoil the home.

Jesus depicted in parables the prospective condition of mankind in the last times. The first of these illustrative portrayals is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The need of unceasing watchfulness and unwavering diligence in preparation for the coming of the Lord in judgment.

The only report of it we have is that given by Matthew, as follows. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom" "Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps"

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." The story itself is based on oriental marriage customs, with which the Lord's attentive listeners were familiar. It was and yet is common in those lands, particularly in connection with marriage festivities among the wealthy classes, for the bridegroom to go to the home of the bride, accompanied by his friends in processional array, and later to conduct the bride to her new home. As the bridal party progressed, to the accompaniment of gladsome music, it was increased by little groups who had gathered in waiting at convenient places along the

In the parable ten maidens were waiting to welcome and join in with the bridal company. Each had her lamp attached to the end of a rod so as to be held aloft in the festal march. Of the ten virgins five had wisely carried an extra supply of oil, while the other five had no oil except the one filling with which their lamps had been supplied at starting. The bridegroom tarried, and the waiting maidens grew drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, the forerunners of the marriage party loudly proclaimed the bridegrooms approach, and cried in haste: "Go ye out to meet him."

The ten maidens, no longer sleepy, but eagerly active, set to work to trim their lamps. The wise ones found use for the oil in their flasks, while the thoughtless five bewailed their destitute condition. While the foolish virgins were away in quest of oil, the wedding party passed into the house wherein the feast was provided, and the door was shut against all tardy comers.

In time the unwise maidens, too late to participate in the processional entry, called from without, pleading for admittance. But the bridegroom refused their request, and disclaimed all acquaintanceship with them, since they had not been numbered among his attendants or those of the bride. The lighted lamp, which each of the maidens carried, is the outward profession of Christian belief and practise. In the oil reserves of the wiser ones we may see the spiritual strength and abundance which diligence and devotion in God's service alone can insure. The marriage feast symbolizes His coming in glory, to receive unto Himself the Church on earth as His bride.

The lack of sufficient oil on the part of the unwise virgins is analogous to the dearth of soil in the stony field, wherein the seed readily sprouted but soon withered away. The refusal of the wise virgins to give of their oil at such a critical time must not be regarded as uncharitable; the circumstance typifies the fact that in the day of judgment every soul must answer for himself. There is no way by which the righteousness of one can be credited to another's account; the doctrine of supererogation is wholly false.

The application of the parable and its wealth of splendid suggestion are summarized in the masterly manner by the Lord's impressive adjuration. The fulfilment of the predictions enshrined in this precious parable is yet future, but near. In 1831 the Lord Jesus Christ revealed anew the indications by which the imminence of His glorious advent may be perceived.

The Lord delivered the last of His recorded parables to the apostles on the Mount of Olives. We call it the Parable of the Entrusted Talents. The ten virgins will multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation, for the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their King and their Lawgiver.

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods," says the Bible. "He that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents"

He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Then he which had received the one talent came and told his lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thee hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

Some of the resemblances between this parable and that of the Pounds appear on even a casual reading. Significant differences are discovered by comparison and study. The earlier parable was spoken to a mixed multitude in the course of our Lord's last journey from Jericho to Jerusalem. The later one was given in privacy to the most intimate of His disciples in the closing hours of the last day of His public preaching. The two should be studied together.

In the story of the Pounds, an equal amount of capital is given to each of the servants, and men's diverse ability to use and apply, with commensurate results in reward or penalty, is demonstrated. In that of the Entrusted Talents, the servants receive different amounts, "every man according to his several ability"; and equal diligence, though shown in one instance by great gain and in the other by small but proportionate increase, is equally rewarded. Unfaithfulness and negligence are condemned and punished in both. In the parable now under consideration, the master is presented as delivering his wealth into the hands of his own servants, literally, bondservants. Those servants had no rights of actual ownership,

We cannot fail to perceive even in the early incidents of the story that the Master of the servants was the Lord Jesus. The Lord was about to depart; He would return only "after a long time"; the significance of this latter circumstance is in line with that expressed through the parable of the Ten Virgins in the statement that the Bridegroom tarried. At the time of reckoning, the servants who had done well, the one with his five talents, the other with his two, reported gladly, conscious as they were of having at least striven to do their best.

The unfaithful servant prefaced his report with a grumbling excuse, which involved the imputation of unrighteousness in the Master. The story in this particular, as in the other features relating to human acts and tendencies, is psychologically true. In a peculiar sense men are prone to conceive of the attributes of God as comprizing in augmented degree the dominant traits of their own nature. Both the servant who had been entrusted with five talents and he who had received but two were equally commended, and, as far as we are told, were equally recompensed. The talents bestowed upon each were the gift of his Lord, who knew well whether that servant was capable of using to better advantage one, two, or five.

Let no one conclude that good work of relatively small scope is less necessary or acceptable than like service of wider range. Many a man who has succeeded well in business with small capital would have failed in the administration of vast sums. So also in spiritual achievements "there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit"

A man possessed of any good gift, such as musical ability, eloquence, skill in handicraft, or the like, ought to use that gift to the full, that he or others may be profited thereby. But should he be too neglectful to exercize his powers in independent service, he may assist others to profitable effort, by encouragement if by nothing more. Who can doubt in the spirit of the Lord's teaching, that had the man been able to report the doubling of his single talent, he would have been as cordially commended and as richly recompensed as were his more highly endowed and faithful fellows? It is notable that to the charge of unrighteousness made by the unfaithful servant, the

The unworthy man sought to excuse himself by the despicable but all too common subterfuge of presumptuously charging culpability in another. Talents are not given to be buried, and then to be dug up and offered back unimproved, reeking with the smell of earth and dulled by the corrosion of disuse. The unused talent was justly taken from him who had counted it as of so little worth, and was given to one, who, although possessing much, would use the additional gift to his own profit, to the betterment of his fellows, and to the glory of his Lord. The Lord had uttered His last parable.

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory," says the Bible. "Unto those on His right hand the King shall give commendation and blessing, bestowing a rich recompense for their good works"

The blessed company, overwhelmed by the plenitude of the King's bounty, will fain disclaim the merit attributed to them. Unto them who wait on the left in terrified expectancy, the King shall recount their several deficiencies, in that they had given Him neither food nor drink, shelter nor clothing despite His need. The righteous shall be welcomed with "Come ye blessed of my Father"; the wicked shall hear the awful sentence, "Depart from me ye cursed"

Eternal life is the inestimable reward; everlasting punishment the unfathomable doom. Viewing as one discourse the two parables and the teaching that directly followed, we find in it such unity of subject and thoroughness of treatment as to give to the whole both beauty and worth. Vigilant waiting in the Lord's cause, and the dangers of unreadiness are exemplified in the story of the virgins. diligence in work and the calamitous results of sloth are prominent features of the tale of the talents. These two phases of service are of reciprocal and complementary import. It is as necessary at times to wait as at others to work. The lapse of a long period, as while the Bridegroom tar

The absolute certainty of the Christ coming to execute judgment is the sublime summary of this unparalleled discourse. Jesus specified the time of His betrayal and the manner of His death. "Ye know," He said, "that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified."

On the matter of wars and rumors or threats of wars, see Josephus, Antiquities xviii, ch. 9. The latter reference is to the account of the decree issued by Caligula that his statue be set up and duly reverenced in the temple. The Jews protested so strenuously that war was declared against them, but was averted by the death of the emperor. Other threats of war against the Jews were severally made by the emperors Claudius and Nero. Nation rose against nation, as for example, in the assault of Greeks and Syrians upon the Jews. 50,000 Jews were slain at Selucia on the Tigris, and 20,000 at Cæsarea, 13,

Famine and its attendant pestilence prevailed during the reign of Claudius, (41-54 A.D.) and such had been specifically predicted by inspiration, through Agabus (Acts 11:28). The famine was very severe in Palestine (Josephus, Antiquities, xx, ch. 2). Earthquakes were of alarming frequency and of unusual severity, between the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, particularly in Syria, Macedonia, Campania, and Achia. The portent of "fearful sights and great signs" from heaven, as recorded by Luke was realized in the phenomenal events chronicled by Josephus (Preface to "Wars").

Dr. Adam Clarke, in his commentary on passages in Matt 24, says: "We need go no farther than the Acts of the Apostles for the completion of these particulars" Some were delivered to councils, as Peter and John (Acts 4:5). Some were brought before rulers and kings, as Paul before Gallio (18:12); before Felix (ch. 24); before Festus and Agrippa ( ch. 25). Some had utterance and wisdom which their adversaries were not able to resist; so Stephen (6:10), and Paul who made even Felix himself tremble (24:25).

But if we look beyond the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to the bloody persecutions under Nero, we shall find these predictions still more amply fulfilled. In these, numberless Christians fell, besides those two champions of the faith, Peter and Paul. And it was, as says Tertullian, a war against the very name of Christ; for he who was called Christian had committed crime enough in bearing the name to be put to death. So true were our Savior's words that they should be hated of all men for His Name's sake.

Dummelow's Commentary applies here the record by Josephus concerning "a body of wicked men" The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom "in all the world" was no less truly an essential characteristic of the apostolic period than it is of the current or last dispensation. That the love of many did wax cold, both before and after the destruction of Jerusalem, is attested by the facts of the world-wide apostasy, which was the result of corruption within and persecution from without the Church.

The rapid spread of the gospel and the phenomenal growth of the Church under the direction of the apostles of old, is recorded as one of the marvels of history. Paul, writing about thirty years after Christ's ascension, affirms that the gospel had already been carried to every nation. The "abomination of desolation" cited by the Lord from the prophecy by Daniel was strictly fulfilled in the investment of Jerusalem by the Roman army (compare Luke 21:20, 21). To the Jews the ensigns and images of the Romans were a disgusting abomination.

The warning to all to flee from Jerusalem and Judea to the mountains when the armies would begin to surround the city was so generally heeded by members of the Church. According to the early Church writers not one Christian perished in the awful siege. The first siege by Gallus was unexpectedly raised, and then, before the armies of Vespasian arrived at the walls, all Jews who had faith in the warning given by Christ to the apostles, and by these to the people, fled beyond Jordan. As to the unprecedented horrors of the siege, which culminated in the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, see Josephus, Wars vi, chaps. 3 and 4. That historian estimates the number slain in Jerusalem alone as 1

Many tens of thousands were taken captive, to be afterward sold into slavery, or to be slain by wild beasts, or in gladiatorial combat in the arena for the amusement of Roman spectators. In the course of the siege, a wall was constructed about the entire city, thus fulfilling the Lord's prediction (Luke 19:43), "thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee" In September A.D. 70 the city fell into the hands of the Romans; and its destruction was afterward made so thorough that its site was plowed up. Jerusalem was "trodden down of the Gentiles", and ever since has been under Gentile dominion.

The 24th chapter of Matthew, and its parallel scriptures in Mark 13 and Luke 21, may be the more easily understood if we bear in mind that the Lord therein speaks of two distinct events, each a consummation of long ages of preparation, and the first a prototype of the second. Many of the specific predictions are applicable both to the time preceding or at the destruction of Jerusalem, and to developments of succeeding time down to the second coming of Christ. Josephus tells of men leading others away into the desert, saying under pretended inspiration that there should they find God. The same historian mentions a false prophet who led many into the secret chambers of the temple during the Roman assault, promising them that there would the Lord give them deliver

Men, women, and children followed this fanatical leader, and were caught in the holocaust of destruction, so that 6,000 of them perished in the flames (Josephus, Wars vi, ch. 5). Concerning an application of the Lord's precepts to later times and conditions, the author has elsewhere written ( The Great Apostasy , 7:22-25): One of the heresies of early origin and rapid growth in the Church was the doctrine of antagonism between body and spirit, whereby the former was regarded as an incubus and a curse. A result of this grafting in of heathen doctrines was an abundant growth of hermit practises, by which men sought to weaken, torture

Many who adopted this unnatural view of human existence retired to the solitude of the desert, and there spent their time in practises of stern self-denial and in acts of frenzied self-torture. Others shut themselves up as voluntary prisoners, seeking glory in privation and self-imposed penance. Think you not that the Savior had such practises in mind, when, warning the disciples of the false claims to sanctity that would characterize the times then soon to follow?

The Lord's statement that the time of His advent in glory was unknown to man, and that the angels knew it not, "neither the Son", but that it was known to the Father only, appears plain and unambiguous notwithstanding many and conflicting commentaries thereon. Jesus repeatedly affirmed that His mission was to do the will of the Father; and it is evident that the Father's will was revealed to Him from time to time. While in the flesh He laid no claim to omniscience; though whatever He willed to know He learned through the medium of communication with the Father. Christ had not asked to know what the Father had not intimated His readiness to reveal, which, in this instance, was the day and

In the last interview between Christ and the apostles immediately before His ascension (Acts 1:6, 7) they asked "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" And he said, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. Nor has the date of the Messianic consummation been since revealed to any man.

The doctrine of supererogation is as unreasonable as it is unscriptural and untrue. Man's individual responsibility for his acts is as surely a fact as is his agency to act for himself. The author has written ( The Great Apostasy , 9:15) about the fallacy of this doctrine.

He will be saved through the merits and by the atoning sacrifice of our Redeemer and Lord. Remission of sins and the eventual salvation of the human soul are provided for; but these gifts of God are not to be purchased with money. Compare the awful fallacies of supererogation and the blasphemous practise of assuming to remit the sins of one man in consideration of the merits of another. The parable of the Ten Virgins affords refutation of the Satanic suggestion that one man's sin may be neutralized by another's righteousness.

The term "generation," as connoting a period of time, has many meanings, among which are "race, kind, class" The term is not confined to a body of people living at one time. We know no supererogation but that of the Lord Jesus Christ, through whose merits salvation is placed within the reach of all men.

The "body," as that of the Church, is rendered "carcase" in both authorized and revised versions. Among Bible scholars, a favorite interpretation of the passage, "For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together," is that Christ was likening unto eagles (revised version "vultures") the angels that shall come with Him to execute judgment upon mankind. See also Heb. 1:10, 11; 2 Peter 3:7-10; Rev. 21:1.

Note 5 , end of chapter. This is Mark's version. In the parallel passage Matt. 24:36, the words "neither the Son" are not found in the King James text, but do appear in the revised version. The revised version reads "another country" instead of "a far country," in Matt. 25:14. Matt. 26:2.

The Sanhedrin and the entire priestly party conspired persistently together as to the best manner of taking Jesus into custody and putting Him to death. At one of these gatherings of evil counsel, which was held at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, it was decided that Jesus should be taken by subtlety if possible, as the probable effect of an open arrest would be an uprising of the people. The rulers feared especially an outbreak by the Galileans, who had a provincial pride in the prominence of Jesus as one of their countrymen, and many of whom were then in Jerusalem.

It was further concluded and for the same reasons, that the Jewish custom of making impressive examples of notable offenders by executing public punishment upon them at times of great general assemblages, be set aside in the case of Jesus. Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, sought an audience with these rulers of the Jews, and infamously offered to betray his Lord into their hands. The conspirators said: "Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people."

Under the impulse of diabolic avarice, which, however, was probably but a secondary element in the real cause of his perfidious treachery, he bargained to sell his Master for money. "What will ye give me?" he asked; "and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver." This amount, approximately seventeen dollars in our money, was the price fixed by the law as that of a slave; it was also the foreseen sum of the blood-money to be paid for the Lord's betrayal.

We are yet to be afflicted by other glimpses of the evil-hearted Iscariot in the course of this dread chronicle of tragedy and perdition. The day preceding the eating of the passover lamb had come to be known among the Jews as the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. On the afternoon of this day, the paschal lambs were slain within the temple court, by the representatives of families or companies who were to eat together. A portion of the blood of each lamb was sprinkled at the foot of the altar of sacrifice by one of the numerous priests on duty for the day.

The slain lamb, then said to have been sacrificed, was borne away to the appointed gathering place of those by whom it was to be eaten. During the first of the days of unleavened bread, which in the year of our Lord's death appears to have fallen on Thursday, some of the Twelve inquired of Jesus where they should make preparations for the paschal meal. He instructed Peter and John to return to Jerusalem, and added: "Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water"

In the evening, Thursday evening as we reckon time, but the beginning of Friday according to the Jewish calendar, Jesus came with the Twelve, and together they sat down to the last meal of which the Lord would partake before His death. The pronouncing of a blessing by the host upon a cup of wine, which was afterward passed round the table to each participant in turn, was the customary manner of beginning the Passover supper.

At this solemn meal Jesus appears to have observed the essentials of the Passover procedure. But we have no record of His compliance with the many supernumerary requirements with which the divinely established memorial of Israel's deliverance from bondage had been invested. As we shall see, the evening's proceedings in that upper room comprized much beside the ordinary observance of an annual festival. The supper proceeded under conditions of tense sadness. As they ate, the Lord sorrowfully remarked: "Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me." Most of the apostles fell into a state of introspection; and one after another exclaimed: "Is it I?"

Jesus answered that it was one of the Twelve, then and there eating with Him from the common dish. Then Judas Iscariot, who had already covenanted to sell his Master for money, asked with a brazen audacity that was veritably devilish: "Master, is it I?" With cutting promptness the Lord replied: "Thou hast said." There was further cause of sorrow to Jesus at the supper.

Some of the Twelve had fallen into muttering dispute among themselves over the matter of individual precedence. In sorrowful earnestness the Lord pleaded with them, asking who is greater, he that sits at the table, or he that serves? And the obvious reply He supplemented by the statement: "But I am among you as he that serveth"

With loving pathos He added: "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations" He assured them that they should lack neither honor nor glory in the kingdom of God. If they proved faithful they should be appointed to thrones as the judges of Israel. For those of His chosen ones who were true to Him, the Lord had no feeling less than that of love, and of yearning for their victory over Satan and sin.

Peter, failing to understand, objected yet more vehemently; "Thou shalt never wash my feet," he exclaimed. Jesus answered: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Then, with even greater impetuosity than before, Peter implored as he stretched forth both feet and hands, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."

Each of them had been immersed at baptism; the washing of feet was an ordinance pertaining to the Holy Priesthood. Jesus impressed the significance of what he had done, saying: "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet"

While Jesus with the Twelve still sat at table, He took a loaf or cake of bread, and having reverently given thanks and by blessing sanctified it. Then, taking a cup of wine, He gave thanks and blessed it, and gave it unto them with the command: "Drink ye all of it" In this simple but impressive manner was instituted the ordinance, since known as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

The ordinance was instituted by the Lord among the Nephites, on the western continent, and has been reestablished in the present dispensation. During the dark ages of apostasy, unauthorized changes in the administration of the Sacrament were introduced, and many false doctrines as to its meaning and effect were promulgated. In saying to the Twelve, whose feet He had washed, "Ye are clean," the Lord had specified an exception by His after remark, "but not all." John, the recorder, takes care to explain that Jesus had in mind the traitor.

The guilty Iscariot had received without protest the Lord's service in the washing of his recreant feet, though after the ablution he was spiritually more filthy than before. When Jesus had again sat down, the burden of His knowledge concerning the treacherous heart of Judas again found expression. "I speak not of you all," He said, "I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." The Lord was intent on impressing the fact of His foreknowledge as to what was to come, so that when the terrible development was an accomplished fact, the apostles would realize that thereby the scriptures had been fulfilled.

Jesus dipped a piece of bread into gravy and gave it to Judas Iscariot. He said: "That thou doest, do quickly." The others understood the remark as an instruction to judas to attend to some duty. But Iscriot understood. His heart was all the more hardened by the discovery that Jesus knew of his infamous plans.

After the sop, "Satan entered into him" and asserted malignant mastership. Judas went out immediately, abandoning forever the blessed company of his brethren and the Lord. As soon as the door had closed upon the retreating deserter, Jesus exclaimed, as though His victory over death had been already accomplished: "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him"

The law of Moses enjoined mutual love among friends and neighbors, but the new commandment embodied love of a higher order. They were to love one another as Christ loved them. Their brotherly affection was to be a distinguishing mark of their apostleship, by which the world would recognize them as men set apart. The Lord's reference to His impending separation from them troubled the brethren. Peter put the question, "Lord, whither goest thou?" Jesus answered: "Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards"

Peter seems to have realized that his Master was going to His death. Yet, undeterred, he asserted his readiness to follow even that dark way. We cannot doubt the earnestness of Peter's purpose nor the sincerity of his desire. In his bold avowal, however, he had reckoned with the willingness of his spirit only.

When Peter stoutly declared again his readiness to go with Jesus, even into prison or to death, the Lord silenced him with the remark: "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." The apostles had to be prepared to meet a new order of things, new conditions and new exigencies. persecution awaited them, and they were soon to be bereft of the Master's sustaining presence. Jesus asked of them: "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip."

The Lord was soon to be numbered among the transgressors, as had been foreseen. In the mention of purse, scrip, shoes, and sword, some of the brethren caught at the literal meaning, and said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords" Jesus answered with curt finality, "It is enough," or as we might say, "Enough of this." He had not intimated any immediate need of weapons, and most assuredly not for His own defense. Again they had failed to fathom His meaning; but experience would later teach them.

Observing the sorrowful state of the Eleven, the Master bade them be of good cheer, grounding their encouragement and hope on faith in Himself. "Let not your heart be troubled," He said, "ye believe in God, believe also in me." Then, as though drawing aside the veil between the earthly and the heavenly state, He continued: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you" Thus in language simple and plain the Lord declared the fact of graded conditions in the hereafter, of variety of occupation and degrees of glory, of place and station in the eternal worlds.

Thomas, that loving, brave, though somewhat skeptical soul, desiring more definite information ventured to say: "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" The Lord's answer was a reaffirmation of His divinity; "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" He affirmed His own inherent Godship, and through their trust in Him and obedience to His requirements would they find the way to follow whither He was about to precede them.

He was grieved by the thought that His nearest and dearest friends on earth, those upon whom He had conferred the authority of the Holy Priesthood, should be yet ignorant of His absolute oneness with the Father in purpose and action. Had the Eternal Father stood amongst them, in Person, under the conditions there existing, He would have done as did the Well Beloved and Only Begotten Son, whom they knew as Jesus, their Lord and Master. So absolutely were the Father and the Son of one heart and mind, that to know either was to know both; nevertheless the Father could be reached only through the Son.

The name of Jesus Christ was to be thenceforth the divinely established talisman by which the powers of heaven could be invoked to operate in any righteous undertaking. The Holy Ghost was promised to the apostles; He would be sent through Christ's intercession, to be to them "another Comforter," or as rendered in later translations, "another Advocate" or " helper" Even the Spirit of Truth, who, though the world would reject Him as they had rejected the Christ, should dwell with the disciples, and in them even as Christ then dwelt in them and the Father in Him.

Lebbeus, or Judas Thaddeus, was puzzled over the untraditional and un-Jewish thought of a Messiah. He asked: "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus explained that His and the Father's companionship was attainable only by the faithful. This was followed by the assurance that Christ though unknown by the world would manifest himself to those who loved Him and kept His commandments.

He further cheered the apostles by the promise that when the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, would come to them, He would teach them further. "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you," Jesus said. "If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I went unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I," he added.

The Lord made clear to His servants that He had told them these things beforehand, so that when the predicted events came to pass the apostles would be confirmed in their faith in Him, the Christ. In superb allegory the Lord thus proceeded to illustrate the vital relationship between the apostles and Himself, and between Himself and the Father. A grander analogy is not to be found in the world's literature. Those ordained servants of the Lord were as helpless and useless without Him as is a bough severed from the tree.

As the branch is made fruitful only by virtue of the nourishing sap it receives from the rooted trunk, so those men, though ordained to the Holy Apostleship, would find themselves strong and fruitful in good works, only as they remained in steadfast communion with the Lord. "Abide in me," was the Lord's forceful admonition, else they would become but withered boughs. Without Christ what were they, but unschooled Galileans, some of them fishermen, one a publican, and all of them weak mortals? As branches of the Vine they were at that hour clean and healthful, through the instructions and authoritative ordinances with which they had been blessed, and by the reverent obedience they had manifested.

"I am the vine," He added in explication of the allegory "ye are the branches" Their love for one another was again specified as an essential to their continued love for Christ. In that love would they find joy. Christ had been to them an exemplar of righteous love from the day of their first meeting. He was about to give the supreme proof of His affection, as foreshadowed in His words, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

And that those men were the Lord's friends was thus graciously affirmed. This intimate relationship in no sense modified the position of Christ as their Lord and Master, for by Him they had been chosen and ordained. They were again told of the persecutions that awaited them, and of their apostolic calling as special and individual witnesses of the Lord.

The servant was not greater than his master, nor the apostle than his Lord, as on general principles they knew, and as they had been specifically told. They that hated them hated the Christ; and they that hated the Son hated the Father; great shall be the condemnation of such. Had the wicked Jews not closed their eyes and stopped their ears to the mighty works and gracious words of the Messiah, they would have been convinced of the truth, and the truth would have saved them. But they were left without cloak or excuse for their sin; and Christ affirmed that in their evil course had the scriptures been fulfilled in that they had hated Him without a cause.

The apostles were forewarned of persecution, of their expulsion from the synagogs, and of a time in which hatred against them should be so bitter and the Satanic darkness of mind and spirit so dense. These things had Jesus declared unto them that they might not "be offended," or in other words, taken by surprize, misled, and caused to doubt and stumble by the unprecedented events then impending.

In view of their overwhelming sorrow at the Lord's departure, He sought again to cheer them, saying: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away" The assured descent of the Holy Ghost, through whom they should be made strong to meet every need and emergency, was the inspiring theme of this part of the discourse. "Howbeit," said Jesus, "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth"

The apostles pondered and some questioned among themselves as to the Lord's meaning, yet so deep was the solemnity of the occasion that they ventured no open inquiry. Jesus knew of their perplexity and graciously explained that they would soon weep and lament while the world rejoiced. He compared their then present and prospective state to that of a woman in travail, who in the after joy of blessed motherhood forgets her anguish. This had reference to His death; but He promised that their sorrow should be turned into joy; and this was based on His resurrection to which they should be witnesses.

The happiness that awaited them would be beyond the power of man to take away, said the Lord. They were to be advanced to such honor and exalted recognition that they should approach the Father in prayer direct, but in the name of the Son. The Lord again solemnly averred: "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father"

The Lord told the apostles that in an hour then close they should all be scattered, every man to his own. In the same connection He told them that before the night had passed every one of them would be offended because of Him. Peter, the most vehement of all in his protestations, had been told, as we have seen, that by cock-crow that night he would have thrice denied his Lord. All of them had declared they would be faithful whatever the trial. In further affirmation of the material actuality of His resurrection, Jesus promised that after He had risen from the grave He would go before them into Galilee.

In conclusion of this last and most solemn of the discourses delivered by Christ in the flesh, the Lord said: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace" In it Jesus acknowledged the Father as the source of His power and authority, which authority extends even to the giving of eternal life to all who are worthy. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," he said.

With unfathomable love the Lord pleaded for those whom the Father had given Him, the apostles then present. Of them but one, the son of perdition, had been lost. "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil," he said.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. And that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

When they had sung a hymn, Jesus and the Eleven went out to the Mount of Olives. Eight of the apostles He left at or near the entrance, with the instruction: "Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder" Accompanied by Peter, James and John, He went farther; and was soon enveloped by deep sorrow. He "began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy"

He was impelled to deny Himself the companionship of even the chosen three. Mark's version of the prayer is: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me" This part of His impassioned supplication was heard by at least one of the waiting three. But all of them soon yielded to weariness and ceased to watch. As on the Mount of Transfiguration, when the Lord appeared in glory, so now in the hour of His deepest humiliation, these three slumbered.

"The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak," says Jesus. The admonition to the apostles to pray at that time may have been prompted by the exigencies of the hour. If left to themselves, they would be tempted to prematurely desert their Lord.

Returning a second time He found those whom He had so sorrowfully requested to watch with Him sleeping again, "for their eyes were heavy" A third time He went to His lonely vigil and individual struggle, and was heard to implore the Father with the same words of yearning entreaty. Luke tells us that "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him"; but not even the presence of this super-earthly visitant could dispel the awful anguish of His soul. "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground"

When for the last time Jesus came back to the disciples left on guard, He said: "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" Christ's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. The thought that He suffered through fear of death is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection and triumphal return to the Father from whom He had come. And, moreover, it was within His power to lay down His life voluntarily. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible.

It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so. In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world.

In March 1830, the glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent" From the terrible conflict in Gethsemane, Christ emerged a victor. Though in the dark tribulation of that fearful hour He had pleaded that the bitter cup be removed from His lips, the request, however oft repeated, was always conditional. The accomplishment of the Father's will was never lost sight of as the object of the Son's supreme desire.

The further tragedy of the night, and the cruel inflictions that awaited Him on the morrow, could not exceed the bitter anguish through which He had successfully passed. It is probable that the determination to make the arrest that night was reached when Judas reported that Jesus was within the city walls and might easily be apprehended. The Jewish rulers assembled a body of temple guardsmen or police, and obtained a band of Roman soldiers under command of a tribune. This band or cohort was probably a detachment from the garrison of Antonia commissioned on requisition of the chief priests.

This company of men and officers representing a combination of ecclesiastical and military authority, set forth in the night with Judas at their head, intent on the arrest of Jesus. They were equipped with lanterns, torches, and weapons. It is probable that they were first conducted to the house in which Judas had left his fellow apostles and the Lord, when the traitor had been dismissed. Judas led the multitude to Gethsemane, for he knew the place, and knew also that "Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples." While Jesus was yet speaking to the Eleven whom He had roused from slumber with the announcement that the betrayer was at hand, Judas and the multitude approached. As

The Lord said: Friend, do that for which thou art come. It was a reiteration of the behest given at the supper table, "That thou doest, do quickly" Jesus walked toward the officers, with whom stood Judas, and asked, "Whom seek ye?" To their reply, "Jesus of Nazareth," the Lord rejoined: "I am he" The simple dignity and gentle yet compelling force of Christ's presence proved more potent than strong arms and weapons of violence.

Then said Jesus: "I have told you that I am he; if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way." The last remark had reference to the apostles, who were in danger of arrest. It is possible that had any of the Eleven been apprehended with Jesus and made to share the cruel abuse and torturing humiliation of the next few hours, their faith might have failed them, relatively immature and untried as it then was. When the officers approached and seized Jesus, some of the apostles asked, "Lord, shall we smite with the sword?"

Peter, waiting not for a reply, drew his sword and delivered a poorly aimed stroke at the head of one of the nearest of the crowd, whose ear was severed by the blade. The man thus wounded was Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Jesus, asking liberty of His captors by the simple request, "Suffer ye thus far," stepped forward and healed the injured man by a touch. Turning to Peter the Lord rebuked his rashness, and commanded him to return the sword to its scabbard, with the reminder that "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword"

Luke records the Lord's concluding words thus: "but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." Unheeding His question, and without deference to His submissive demeanor, the captain and the officers of the Jews bound Jesus with cords and led Him away. The eleven apostles, seeing that resistance was useless, not only on account of disparity of numbers and supply of weapons but chiefly because of Christ's determination to submit, turned and fled.

Every one of them forsook Him, even as He had foretold. That they were really in jeopardy is shown by an incident preserved by Mark alone. An unnamed young man, aroused from sleep by the tumult of the marching band, had sallied forth with no outer covering but a linen sheet. His interest in the arrest of Jesus and his close approach caused some of the guardsmen or soldiers to seize him. But he broke loose and escaped leaving the sheet in their hands.

That the Lord's last supper was regarded by Himself and the apostles as a passover meal appears from Matt. 26:2, 17, 18, 19 and parallel passages, Mark 14:14-16; Luke 22:11-13. John, however, who wrote after the synoptists and who probably had their writings before him, intimates that the last supper of which Jesus and the Twelve partook together occurred before the Feast of the Passover (John 13:1, 2) It should be remembered that by common usage the term "Passover" was applied not only to the day or season of the observance, but to the meal itself, and particularly to the slain lamb.

John also specifies that the day of the crucifixion was "the preparation of the passover" (19:14), and that the next day, which was Saturday, "was an high day" (verse 31) Much has been written by way of attempt to explain this seeming discrepancy. No analysis of the divergent views of Biblical scholars on this subject will be attempted here.

The Passover referred to by John may not have been the supper at which the paschal lamb was eaten, but the supplementary meal, the Chagigah. This later meal had come to be regarded with veneration equal to that attaching to thepaschal supper. Josephus (Wars, vi, ch. 9:3) records the number of lambs slain at a single Passover as 256,500. It is held by many authorities on Jewish antiquities that before, at, and after the time of Christ, two nights were devoted yearly to the Paschal observance. This extension of time had been made in consideration of the increased population, which necessitated the ceremonial slaughtering of more lambs than could be slain

In the same paragraph, Josephus states that the lambs had to be slain between the ninth and the eleventh hour (3 to 5 p.m.) According to this explanation, Jesus and the Twelve may have partaken of the passover meal on the first of the two evenings, and the Jews who next day feared defilement may have deferred their observance until the second. Thirdly; the Lord's last paschal supper may have been eaten earlier than the time of general observance, He knowing that night to be His last in mortality.

If "the preparation of the passover" (John 19:14) on Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion, means the slaughtering of the paschal lambs, our Lord, the real sacrifice of which all earlier altar victims had been but prototypes, died on the cross while passover lambs were being slain at the temple. 2. Did Judas Iscariot Partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper? —This question cannot be definitely answered from the brief accounts we have of the proceedings at the last supper. At best, only inference, not conclusion, is possible.

All the synoptists agree that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered before the sitting at the ordinary meal had broken up. John (13:2-5) states that the washing of feet occurred when supper was ended. The giving of a "sop" to Judas (verses 26, 27) even though supper was practically over, is not inconsistent with John's statement. The act does not appear to have been so unusual as to cause surprize.

The ordinance of the washing of feet was reestablished through revelation December 27, 1832. It was made a feature of admission to the school of the prophets, and detailed instructions relating to its administration were given. Further direction as to the ordinances involving washing were revealed January 19, 1841 (see Doc. and Cov. 124:37-39). 4. Discontinuity of the Lord's Last Discourse to the Apostles.

It is certain that part of the discourse following the last supper was delivered in the upper room where Christ and the Twelve had eaten. From Matt 26:30-35, and Mark 14:26-31 we may infer that the prediction of Peter's denial of his Lord was made as the little company walked from the city to the mount. On the other hand, John (18:1) states that "When Jesus had spoken these words", namely, the whole discourse, and the concluding prayer, "he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron." Not one of our Lord's sublime utterances on that night of solemn converse with His own, and of communion between Himself and the Father, is affected by the

The name means "oil-press" and probably has reference to a mill maintained at the place for the extraction of oil from the olives there cultivated. John refers to the spot as a garden, from which designation we may regard it as an enclosed space of private ownership. Luke, the only Gospel-writer who mentions sweat and blood in connection with our Lord's agony in Gethsemane, states that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground"

Many critical expositors deny that there was an actual extrusion of blood, on the grounds that the evangelist does not positively affirm it. Modern scripture removes all doubt. See Doc. and Cov. 19:16-19 quoted in the text (page 613 ), also 18:11. See further a specific prediction of the bloody sweat, B. of M., Mosiah 3:7. 7. "Suffer Ye thus Far." —Many understand these words, uttered by Jesus as He raised His hand to heal the wounded Malchus, to have been addressed to the disciples, forbidding their further interference. Trench ( Miracles , 355) considers the meaning to be as follows

The disputed interpretation is of little importance as to the bearing of the incident on the events that followed. The term "cup" is used in the Old Testament as a symbolic expression for a bitter or poisonous potion typifying experiences of suffering. In contrast, the opposite meaning is attached to the use of the term in some passages, e.g. Psa. 16:5.

The revised version reads: "And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver." It should be remembered that the Jews counted their days as beginning at sunset, not, as with us, at midnight. In the revised version we read "covenant" instead of "testament" in Matt. 26:28, and in parallel passages. See "The Great Apostasy" 8:15-19.

John 13:18-30. Compare Psalm 41:9. John 13:31-34. Lev. 19:18. So reads the revised version of Luke 22:32. Isa. 53:12; compare Mark 15:28. John 14:1-4. See "The Articles of Faith," iv:28, 29; and xxii:16-27.

"Abba" is expressive of combined affection and honor, and signifies "Father" "Cohort," a term descriptive of a Roman body, and "military tribune" are more literal renderings of the Greek original than "band" and "captain" in John 18:3, 12. The Greek text of Matt. 26:49, and Mark 14:45 clearly implies that Judas "kissed him much," that is many times, or effusively.

in the common version. See revised version. Matt. 26:50. John 18:9; compare 17:12. See "The Great Apostasy," chaps. 4 and 5. Note 7 , end of chapter. Compare Isa. 53:8.

From Gethsemane the bound and captive Christ was haled before the Jewish rulers. John alone informs us that the Lord was taken first to Annas, who sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas, the high priest. No details of the interview with Annas are of record; and the bringing of Jesus before him at all was as truly irregular and illegal, according to Hebrew law, as were all the subsequent proceedings of that night.

At the palace of Caiaphas, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the people were assembled, in a meeting of the Sanhedrin, all eagerly awaiting the result of the expedition led by Judas. When Jesus, the object of their bitter hatred and their predetermined victim, was brought in, a bound Prisoner, He was immediately put upon trial in contravention of the law. From the account given in the fourth Gospel we infer that the Prisoner was first subjected to an interrogative examination by the high priest in person. That functionary, whether Annas or Ciaaphas is a matter of inference, inquired of Jesus concerning His disciples and His doctrines.

The Hebrew code provided that the accusing witnesses in any cause before the court should define their charge against the accused. This was a lawful objection against denying to a prisoner on trial his right to be confronted by his accusers. It was received with open disdain; and one of the officers who stood by, hoping perhaps to curry favor with his superiors, actually struck Jesus a vicious blow.

Law and justice had been dethroned that night. "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?" If what Jesus had said was evil, why did not the assailant accuse Him? If He had spoken well, what right had a police officer to judge, condemn, and punish, and that too in the presence of the high priest? Any sitting of the Sanhedrin at night, and more particularly for the consideration of a capital charge, was directly in violation of Jewish law. Whether "all the council" means a legal quorum, which would be twenty-three or more, or a full attendance of the seventy-two Sanhedrists, is

In the Sanhedrin, every member was a judge; the judicial body was to hear the testimony, and, according to that testimony and nought else, render a decision on every case duly presented. The accusers were required to appear in person; and they were to receive a preliminary warning against bearing false witness. Every defendant was to be regarded and treated as innocent until convicted in due course. But in the so-called trial of Jesus, the judges not only sought witnesses, but specifically tried to find false witnesses. Though many false witnesses came, yet there was no "witness" or testimony against the Prisoner, for the suborned perjurers failed to agree among themselves.

The lack of two hostile witnesses who would tell the same falsehoods was a serious hindrance. But, "at the last came two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days"

Others, however, testified: "We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands" And so, as Mark observes, even in this particular their "witness" or testimony did not agree. Surely in a case at bar, such discrepancy as appears between "I am able to" and "I will," as alleged utterances of the accused, is of vital importance. Yet this semblance of formal accusation was the sole basis of a charge against Christ up to this stage of the trial.

But the inspired writer is particular to explain that Jesus "spake of the temple of his body," and not at all of those buildings reared by man. One may reasonably inquire as to what serious import could be attached to even such a declaration as the perjured witnesses claimed to have heard from the lips of Christ. The veneration with which the Jews professed to regard the Holy House, however wantonly they profaned its precincts, offers a partial but insufficient answer. The plan of the conspiring rulers appears to have been that of convicting Christ on a charge of sedition. The vaguely defined shadow of legal accusation produced by the dark and inconsistent testimony of the false witnesses, was enough to embolden the iniquitous court.

Caiaphas, rising from his seat to give dramatic emphasis to his question, demanded of Jesus: "Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?" There was nothing to answer. No consistent or valid testimony had been presented against Him; therefore He stood in dignified silence. "And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." The fact of a distinct specification of "the Christ" and "the Son ofGod" is significant, in that it implies the Jewish expectation of a Messiah, but does not acknowledge that He was to be distinctively of divine origin.

Nothing that had gone before can be construed as a proper foundation for this inquiry. The charge of sedition was about to be superseded by one of greater enormity—that of blasphemy. "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you: Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" It was an unqualified avowal of divine parentage, and inherent Godship. "Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death."

The judges in Israel, comprizing the high priest, the chief priests, the scribes and elders of the people, unlawfully assembled, decreed that the Son of God was deserving of death, on no evidence save that of His own acknowledgment. By express provision the Jewish code forbade the conviction, specifically on a capital charge, of any person on his own confession, unless that was amply supported by the testimony of trustworthy witnesses. As in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus had voluntarily surrendered Himself, so before the judges did He personally and voluntarily furnish the evidence upon which they unrighteously declared Him deserving ofDeath.

The action of the high priest in rending his garments was a dramatic affectation of pious horror at the blasphemy with which his ears had been assailed. There is no indication that the vote of the judges was taken and recorded in the precise and orderly manner required by the law. In strict accuracy we cannot say that the Sanhedrists sentenced Christ to death, inasmuch as the power to authoritatively pronounce capital sentences had been taken from the Jewish council by Roman decree. Jesus stood convicted of the most heinous offense known in Jewry. However unjustly, He had been pronounced guilty of blasphemy by the supreme tribunal of the nation.

The high-priestly court, however, decided that Jesus was worthy of death, and so certified when they handed Him over to Pilate. In their excess of malignant hate, Israel's judges abandoned their Lord to the wanton will of the attendant varlets, who heaped upon Him every indignity their brutish instincts could suggest. They spurted their foul spittle into His face, and then, having blindfolded Him, amused themselves by smiting Him again and again, saying the while: "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" The miscreant crowd mocked Him, and railed upon Him with jeers and taunts, and branded themselves as blasp

The law and practise of the time required that any person found guilty of a capital offense, after due trial before a Jewish tribunal, should be given a second trial. A bare majority was sufficient for acquittal, but more than a majority was required for conviction. If all the judges voted for conviction on a capital charge the verdict was not to stand and the accused had to be set at liberty.

Under this rule in Hebrew jurisprudence the verdict against Jesus, rendered at the illegal night session, was void. Luke, who records no details of the night trial of Jesus, is the only Gospel-writer to give place to a circumstantial report of the morning session. Between the two sittings on consecutive days the judges were required to fast and pray, and to give the case on trial calm and earnest consideration.

Some Biblical scholars have construed the expression, "led him into their council," as signifying that Jesus was condemned by the Sanhedrin in the appointed meeting-place of the court. But against this we have the statement of John that they led Jesus directly from Caiaphas to the Roman hall of judgment. It is probable, that at this early daylight session, the irregular proceedings of the dark hours were approved, and the details of further procedure decided upon. They "took counsel against Jesus to put him to death"; nevertheless they went through the form of a second trial, the issue of which was greatly facilitated by the Prisoner's voluntary affirmations.

The judges stand without semblance of justification for calling upon the Accused to testify. They should have examined anew the witnesses against Him. Neither did the question imply nor the answer furnish cause for condemnation. The whole nation was looking for the Messiah; and if Jesus claimed to be He, the only proper judicial action would be that of inquiring into the merit of the claim. Jehovah was convicted of blasphemy against Jehovah.

The only mortal Being to whom the awful crime of blasphemy, in claiming divine attributes and powers, was impossible, stood before the judges of Israel condemned as a blasphemer. "And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate"

Peter and at least one other disciple followed afar off; and, after the armed guard had entered the palace of the high priest with their Prisoner, Peter "went in, and sat with the servants to see the end" That other disciple was in all probability John, as may be inferred from the fact that he is mentioned only in the fourth Gospel, the author of which characteristically refers to himself anonymously. Peter was restless; his conscience and the fear of identification as one of the Lord's disciples troubled him.

He left the crowd and sought partial seclusion in the porch. Another maid spied him out, and said to those nearby: "This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth"; to which accusation Peter replied with an oath: "I do not know the man" Some of the men around the fire charged him with being a disciple of Jesus, and referred to his Galilean dialect as evidence that he was at least a fellow countryman with the high priest's Prisoner. But, most threatening of all, a kinsman of Malchus, whose ear Peter had slashed with the sword, asked peremptorily: "Did not I see thee in the garden with him?"

Then Peter went so far in the course of falsehood upon which he had entered as to curse and swear, and to vehemently declare for the third time, "I know not the man" As the last profane falsehood left his lips, the clear notes of a crowing cock broke upon his ears, and the remembrance of his Lord's prediction welled up in his mind. Trembling in wretched realization of his perfidious cowardice, he turned from the crowd and met the gaze of the suffering Christ, who from the midst of the insolent mob looked into the face of His boastful, yet loving but weak apostle. Hastening from the palace, Peter went out into the night, weeping bitterly. As his later life att

The united acclaim of the Sanhedrists, that Jesus was deserving of death, would be ineffective until sanctioned by the emperor's deputy. Pontius Pilate was the governor, or more properly, procurator, of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. Pilate maintained his official residence at Cæsarea, but it was his custom to be present in Jerusalem at the times of the great Hebrew feasts.

Early on Friday morning the Sanhedrin led Jesus, bound, to the judgment hall of Pontius Pilate. But with strict scrupulosity they refrained from entering the hall lest they become defiled. In deference to their scruples Pilate came out from the palace and asked: "What accusation bring ye against this man?"

The question, though strictly proper and judicially necessary, surprized and disappointed the priestly rulers. With poorly concealed chagrin, their spokesman, probably Caiaphas, answered: "If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee" Pilate's turn to feel or at least to feign umbrage, and he replied in effect: Oh, very well; if you don't care to present the charge in proper order, take ye him, and judge him according to your law; don't trouble me with the matter. But the Jews rejoined: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."

John the apostle intimates in this last remark a determination on the part of the Jews to have Jesus put to death not only by Roman sanction but by Roman executioners. Had Pilate approved the death sentence and handed the Prisoner over to the Jews for its infliction, Jesus would have been stoned, in accordance with the Hebrew penalty for blasphemy. The Lord had plainly foretold that His death would be by crucifixion, which was a Roman method of execution, but one never practised by the Jews.

It is important to note that no accusation of blasphemy was made to Pilate; had such been presented, the governor, thoroughly pagan in heart and mind, would probably have dismissed the charge as unworthy of a hearing. Rome with her many gods, whose number was being steadily increased by current heathen deification of mortals, knew no such offense as blasphemy in the Jewish sense. The accusing Sanhedrists hesitated not to substitute for blasphemy, which was the greatest crime known to the Hebrew code, the charge of high treason.

Pilate was surprized at the submissive yet majestic demeanor of Jesus. The charge, however, was a serious one; men who claimed title to kingship might prove dangerous to Rome. Pilate, plainly without animosity or prejudice against Jesus, asked: "Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?"

The Lord's counter-question, as Pilate's rejoinder shows, meant, and was understood to mean, as we might state it: Do you ask this in the Roman and literal sense—as to whether I am a king of an earthly kingdom—or with the Jewish and more spiritual meaning? A direct answer "Yes" would have been true in the Messianic sense, but untrue in the worldly signification. "No" could have been inversely construed as true or untrue.

"I find in him no fault at all" was the verdict. Their thirst for the blood of the Holy One had developed into mania. Wildly and fiercely they shrieked: "He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place" The mention of Galilee suggested to Pilate a new course of procedure.

Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. He ruled as a Roman vassal, and professed to be orthodox in the observances of Judaism. He had come up to Jerusalem, in state, to keep the feast of the Passover. He it was who, in fulfilment of an unholy vow inspired by a woman's voluptuous blandishments, had ordered the murder of John the Baptist.

Herod was pleased to have Jesus sent to him by Pilate. Herod began to question the Prisoner; but Jesus remained silent. The chief priests and scribes vehemently voiced their accusations; but not a word was uttered by the Lord. Herod had superstitiously thought to be the reincarnation of his murdered victim, John the Baptist. He saw the far-famed Prophet of Galilee in bonds before him, attended by a Roman guard, and accompanied by ecclesiastical officials.

Herod is the only character in history to whom Jesus is known to have applied a personal epithet of contempt. "Go ye and tell that fox" He once said to certain Pharisees who had come to Him with the story that Herod intended to kill Him. He and his men-at-arms made sport of the suffering Christ, "set him at nought and mocked him," then in travesty they "arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate"

Herod had found nothing in Jesus to warrant condemnation. Pilate's desire to save Jesus from death was just and genuine. His intention of scourging the Prisoner, whose innocence he had affirmed and reaffirmed, was an infamous concession to Jewish prejudice. The Roman procurator, finding that he could not evade further consideration of the case, "called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people," and "said," "I will therefore chastise him, and release him"

He knew that the charge of sedition and treason was without foundation. It was the custom for the governor at the Passover season to pardon and release any one condemned prisoner whom the people might name. This man stood convicted of the very charge on which Pilate specifically and Herod by implication had pronounced Jesus innocent, and Barabbas was a murderer in addition.

Pilate thought to pacify the priests and people by releasing Jesus as the subject of Passover leniency. This would be a tacit recognition of Christ's conviction before the ecclesiastical court, and practically an endorsement of the death sentence, superseded by official pardon. So, when Pilate reiterated the question: "Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?" assembled Israel cried "Barabbas" Pilate, surprized, disappointed, and angered, then asked: "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done?

The Roman governor was sorely troubled and inwardly afraid. To add to his perplexity he received a warning message from his wife. Those who know not God are characteristically superstitious. Pilate feared to think what dread portent his wife's dream might presage. But, finding that he could not prevail, he called for water and washed his hands. Then rose that awful self-condemnatory cry of the covenant people: "His blood be on us and on our children"

Pilate released Barabbas, and gave Jesus into the custody of the soldiers to be scourged. The instrument of punishment was a whip of many thongs, loaded with metal and edged with jagged pieces of bone. In accordance with the brutal customs of the time, Jesus, weak and bleeding from the fearful scourging He had had, was given over to the half-savage soldiers for their amusement. He was no ordinary victim, so the whole band came together in the Pretorium, or great hall of the palace, to take part in the diabolical sport. They stripped Jesus of His outer raiment, and placed upon Him a purple robe.

Then with a sense of fiendish realism they platted a crown of thorns, and placed it about the Sufferer's brows. A reed was put into His right hand as a royal scepter; and, as they bowed in a mockery of homage, they saluted Him with: "Hail, King of the Jews!" Snatching away the reed or rod, they brutally smote Him with it upon the head, driving the cruel thorns into His quivering flesh. They slapped Him with their hands, and spat upon Him in vile and vicious abandonment. Pilate had probably been a silent observer of this barbarous scene. He stopped it, and determined to make another attempt to touch the springs of

Pilate seems to have counted on the pitiful sight of the scourged and bleeding Christ to soften the hearts of the maddened Jews. Think of the awful fact—a heathen, a pagan, who knew not God, pleading with the priests and people of Israel for the life of their Lord and King! When, unmoved by the sight, the chief priests and officers cried with increasing vindictiveness, "crucify him, crucify him," Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence.

"Whence art thou?" Pilate asked Jesus. The inquiry was as to whether Jesus was human or superhuman. A direct avowal of the Lord's divinity would have frightened but could not have enlightened the heathen ruler; therefore Jesus gave no answer. Pilate was further surprized, and perhaps somewhat offended at this seeming disregard of his authority. He demanded an explanation, saying: "Speakest thou not unto me? knowst thou not that I have power to crucify thee?"

The positions were reversed; Christ was the Judge, and Pilate the subject of His decision. Though not found guiltless, the Roman was pronounced less culpable than he or those who had forced Jesus into his power, and who had demanded of him an unrighteous committal. The governor, though having pronounced sentence, yet sought means of releasing the submissive Sufferer. His first evidence of wavering was greeted by the Jews with the cry, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend"

He was resentful against those Jews who had dared to intimate that he was no friend of Cæsar, and whose intimation might lead to an embassy of complaint being sent to Rome. Pointing to Jesus, he exclaimed with unveiled sarcasm: "Behold your King!" But the Jews answered in threatening and ominous shouts: "Away with him,. away with him, crucify him." In stinging reminder of their national subjugation, Pilate asked with yet more cutting irony, "Shall I crucify your King?" And the chief priests cried aloud: "We have no king but CæSar." Even so was it and was to be. The people who had by covenant accepted Jehovah as their King

He was the emperor's representative, the imperial procurator with power to crucify or to save; officially he was an autocrat. Why did Pilate waver, hesitate, vacillate, and at length yield contrary to his conscience and his will? Because, after all, he was more slave than freeman. He was in servitude to his past. He knew that should complaint be made of him at Rome, his corruption and cruelties, his extortions and the unjustifiable slaughter he had caused would all be brought against him. When Judas Iscariot saw how terribly effective had been the outcome of his treachery, he became wildly remorseful.

When Christ's trial before the Jewish authorities, with its associated humiliation and cruelty, the traitor had seen the seriousness of his action. Rushing into the presence of the chief priests and elders, while the final preparations for the crucifixion of the Lord were in progress, he implored the priestly rulers to take back the accursed wage they had paid him. "I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood," he said. But the rulers in Israel repulsed him with disgust. "What is that to us?" they asked.

they sneered, "see thou to that" He had served their purpose; they had paid him his price; they wished never to look upon his face again. They flung him back into the haunted blackness of his maddened conscience. Still clutching the bag of silver, the all too real remembrancer of his frightful sin, he rushed into the temple, penetrating even to the precincts of priestly reservation, and dashed the silver pieces upon the floor of the sanctuary. Then, under the goading impulse of his master, the devil, to whom he had become a bond-slave, body and soul, he went out and hanged himself.

As they deemed it unlawful to add the attainted coin to the sacred treasury, they bought with it a certain clay-yard, once the property of a potter, and the very place in which Judas had made of himself a suicide. This tract of ground they set apart as a burial place for aliens, strangers, and pagans. The body of Judas, the betrayer of the Christ, was probably the first to be there interred. And that field was called "Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood."

He enjoyed all the dignity of the office, and all its influence also, since he was able to promote to it those most closely connected with him. His influence with the Romans he owed to the religious views which he professed, to his open partisanship of the foreigner, and to his enormous wealth. We have seen what immense revenues the family of Annas must have derived from the Temple booths, and how nefarious and unpopular was the traffic. The names of those bold, licentious, unscrupulous, degenerate sons of Aaron were spoken with whispered curses. Without referring to Christ's interference with that Temple-traffic, which, if His authority had prevailed, would of course have been fatal to it, we can understand how antit

Even the fact of Christ's being first brought to him is only mentioned in the fourth Gospel. As the disciples had all forsaken Him and fled, we can understand that they were in ignorance of what actually passed. "—Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah ; vol. 2, pp. 547-8.

High Priest Ananias, displeased at Paul's remarks, ordered someone who stood by to smite him on the mouth. Paul broke forth in angry protest: "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall" Afterward he apologized, saying that he knew not that it was the high priest who had given the command that he be smitten. High Priests and Elders must not be confused with the same designations as applied to holders of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. See Articles of Faith , xxiii, II, and Note 1 following the same lecture.

The high priest of the Jews was the presiding priest; he had to be of Aaronic descent to be a priest at all. The elders, as the name indicates, were men of mature years and experience, who were appointed to act as magistrates in the towns. The duties of Jewish high priests and elders combined both ecclesiastical and secular functions; indeed both offices had come to be in large measure political perquisites. The term "elder" as commonly used among the Jews in the days of Jesus had no closer relation to eldership in the Melchizedek Priesthood than had the title "scribe". See "Elder" in Smith's Bible Dictionary .

From the departure of Moses to the coming of Christ, the organized theocracy of Israel was that of the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood. The office of priest was confined to the lineage of Aaron, and the lesser offices of teacher and deacon, which were combined in the Levitical order. See "Orders and Offices in the Priesthood" by the author in The Articles of Faith , xi:13-24. 4. Illegalities of the Jewish Trial of Jesus.

Lemann, Jesus before the Sanhedrin; Benny,   Criminal Code of the Jews; and Walter M. Chandler, of the New York Bar, The Trial of Jesus from a Lawyer's Standpoint. Edersheim (vol. 2, pp. 556-8) contends that the night arraignment of Jesus in the house of Caiaphas was not a trial before theSanhedrin, and notes the irregularities and illegalities of the procedure. With ample citations in corroboration of the legal requirements specified, the author says: "But besides, the trial and sentence of Jesus would have outraged every principle of Jewish criminal law and procedure"

Such causes could only be tried, and capital sentence pronounced, in the regular meeting-place of the Sanhedrin. No process could take place on Sabbaths or feast-days, or even on the eves of them, although this would not have nullified proceedings. In capital causes there was a very elaborate system of warning, and cautioning witnesses.

But although Christ was not tried and sentenced in a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin, there can, alas! be no question that His condemnation and death were the work of theSanhedrin. The purpose in quoting the foregoing is to show on acknowledged and eminent authority, some of the illegalities of the night trial of Jesus, which, as shown by the above, and by the scriptural record, was conducted by the high priest and "the council" in admittedly irregular and unlawful manner. We bear in mind that the resolution to sacrifice Christ had for some time been taken. The enormity of the proceeding is, if possible, deeper and blacker than ever.

I, "The Hebrew Trial"), the record of fact in the case, and the Hebrew criminal law bearing thereon are exhaustively considered. Then follows an elaborate "Brief", in which the following points are set forth in order. The Arrest of Jesus was illegal, since it was effected by night, and through the treachery of Judas, an accomplice, both of which features were expressly forbidden in the Jewish law of that day. The private examination of Jesus before Annas or Caiaphas was illegal "; for (1) it was made by night; (2) the hearing of any cause by a'sole judge' was expressly forbidden; (3) as quoted from Salvador, 'A principle perpetually

'The Sanhedrin did not and could not originate charges; it only investigated those brought before it'—Edersheim, vol. I, p. 309. 'The evidence of the leading witnesses constituted the charge. There was no other charge; no more formal indictment' 'The only prosecutors known to Talmudic criminal jurisprudence are the witnesses to the crime. Their duty is to bring the matter to the cognizance of the court, and to bear witness against the criminal' 'In capital cases they are the legal executioners also. Of an official accuser or prosecutor there is nowhere any trace in the laws of the ancient Hebrews'

Point 4: The proceedings of the Sanhedrin against Jesus were illegal because they were conducted at night. 'Let a capital offense be tried during the day, but suspend it at night,'—Mishna, Sanhedrion 4:1. 'No session of the court could take place before the offering of the morning sacrifice,'—Talmud, Jer. San. 1:19. 'Since the morning. sacrifice was offered at the dawn of day, it was hardly possible for the San.hedrin to assemble until the hour after that time,' Mendelsohn, p. 112. 'Criminal cases can be acted upon by the various courts during daytime only, by the Lesser. Sanhed

The trial of Jesus was illegal because it was conducted on the day preceding a Jewish Sabbath; also on the first day of unleavened bread and the eve of the Passover. 'No court of justice in Israel was permitted to hold sessions on the Sabbath or any of the seven Biblical holidays' 'A criminal case resulting in the acquittal of the accused may terminate the same day on which the trial began. But if a sentence of death is to be pronounced, it cannot be concluded before the following day' '—Rabbi Wise, 'Martyrdom of Jesus', p. 67.

Point 8: The sentence of condemnation pronounced against Jesus by the Sanhedrin was illegal because it was founded upon His uncorroborated confession. 'We have it as a fundamental principle of our jurisprudence that no one can bring an accusation against himself. Should a man make confession of guilt before a legally constituted tribunal, such confession is not to be used against him unless properly attested by two other witnesses,'—Maimonides, 4:2.

'A simultaneous and unanimous verdict of guilt rendered on the day of the trial has the effect of an acquittal' 'If none of the judges defend the culprit, i.e., all pronounce him guilty, having no defender in the court, the verdict of guilty was invalid' 'After leaving the hall Gazith no sentence of death can be passed upon any one soever' 'Let the judges each in his turn absolve or condemn'

'The members of the Sanhedrin were seated in the form of a semicircle, at the extremity of which a secretary was placed' One of these secretaries recorded the votes in favor of the accused, the other those against him. 'In ordinary cases the judges voted according to seniority, the oldest commencing; in a capital case the reverse order was followed. 'Nor under any circumstances was a man known to be at enmity with the accused person permitted to occupy a position among the judges'

'The judges shall weigh the matter in the sincerity of their conscience' —Mishna, San. 4:5. 'The primary object of the Hebrew judicial system was to render the conviction of an innocent person impossible' —Benny, p. 56. "The pages of human history present no stronger case of judicial murder than the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, for the simple reason that all forms of law were outraged and trampled under foot in the proceedings instituted against Him" —Edersheim (vol. 5)

The Mishna tells us that, after the solemn washing of hands of the elders and their disclaimer of guilt, priests responded with this prayer: 'Forgive it to thy people Israel' But here, in answer to Pilate's words, came back that deep, hoarse cry: 'His blood be upon us,' and—God help us!—'on our children' Some thirty years later, and on that very spot, was judgment pronounced against some of the best in Jerusalem. Among the 3,600 victims of the governor's fury, of whom not a few were scourged and crucified right over against the Pretorium, were many of the noblest of the citizens of Jerusalem.

And still have these wanderers seemed to bear, from century to century, and from land to land, that burden of blood; and still does it seem to weigh 'on us and on our children'." 6. "We Have no King but Cæsar." —"With this cry Judaism was, in the person of its representatives, guilty of denial of God, of blasphemy, of apostasy. It committed suicide" 7. The Underlying Cause of Pilate's Surrender to the Jewish Demands. —Pilate knew what was right but lacked the moral courage to do it. He was afraid of the Jews, and more afraid of hostile influence at Rome. It was the policy of Rome to be gracious and

Pontius Pilate had violated this liberal policy from the early days of his procuratorship. In utter disregard of the Hebrew antipathy against images and heathen insignia, he had the legionaries enter Jerusalem at night, carrying their eagles and standards decorated with the effigy of the emperor. To the Jews this act was a defilement of the Holy City. In vast multitudes they gathered at Cæsarea, and petitioned the procurator that the standards and other images be removed from Jerusalem. For five days the people demanded and Pilate refused. He threatened a general slaughter, and was amazed to see the people offer themselves as victims of the sword rather than relinquish their demands. Pilate

Anticipating the public protest of the people, he had caused Roman soldiers to disguise themselves as Jews; and with weapons concealed to mingle with the crowds. At a given signal these assassins plied their weapons and great numbers of defenceless Jews were killed or wounded. On another occasion, Pilate had grossly offended the people by setting up in his official residence at Jerusalem, shields that had been dedicated to Tiberius. A petition signed by the ecclesiastical officials of the nation, and by others of influence, including four Herodian princes, was sent to the emperor, who reprimanded Pilate and directed that the shields be removed from Jerusalem to Cæsarea. These outrages on national feeling, and many minor acts

He realized that his tenure was insecure, and he dreaded exposure. Such wrongs had he wrought that when he would have done good, he was deterred through cowardly fear of the accusing past. German philosophers were among the earliest to assert that the man had been judged in unrighteousness. His real character was of brighter tint than that in which it had been painted.

Some critics hold that of all the Twelve Judas was the one most thoroughly convinced of our Lord's divinity in the flesh. We are not the invested judges of Judas nor of any other; but we are competent to frame and hold opinions as to the actions of any. In the light of the revealed word it appears that Judas Iscariot had given himself up to the cause of Satan while ostensibly serving the Christ in an exalted capacity. Such a surrender to evil powers could be accomplished only through sin. The nature and extent of the man's transgressions through the years are not told us. He had received the testimony that Jesus was the Son of God; and in the full light of that conviction he turned against his

Modern revelation is no less explicit than ancient in declaring that the path of sin is that of spiritual darkness leading to certain destruction. For his trained and skilful servants, Satan will provide opportunities of service commensurate with their evil ability. Whatever the opinion of modern critics as to the good character of Judas, we have the testimony of John, who for nearly three years had been in close companionship with him, that the man was a thief. Jesus referred to him as a devil (6:70), and as "the son of perdition" (17:12). See in this connection Doc. and Cov. 76:41-48.

The evil proclivities of Judas Iscariot were known to Christ. As the sacrificial death of the Lamb of God was foreknown and foretold so the circumstances of the betrayal were foreseen. His was the opportunity and privilege common to the Twelve, to live in the light of the Lord's immediate presence, and to receive from the source divine the revelation of God's purposes. It would be contrary to both the letter and spirit of the revealed word to say that the wretched IsCariot was in the least degree deprived of freedom or agency in the course he followed to so execrable an end.

Judas Iscariot was no victim of circumstances, no insensate tool guided by a superhuman power, except as he by personal volition gave himself up to Satan, and accepted a wage in the devil's employ. Had Judas been true to the right, other means than his perfidy would have operated to bring the Lamb to the slaughter. His ordination to the apostleship placed him in possession of opportunity and privilege above that of the uncalled and unordained. With such blessed possibility of achievement in the service of God came corresponding capability to fall. A trusted and exalted officer of the government can commit acts of treachery and treason such as are impossible to the citizen who has never learned the secrets of State.

According to the first, Judas hanged himself; the second states that he fell headlong, "and all his bowels gushed out" If both records be accurate, the wretched man probably hanged himself, and afterward fell, possibly through the breaking of the cord or the branch to which it was attached. Matthew says the Jewish rulers purchased the "field of blood"; the writer of the Acts quotes Peter as saying that Judas bought the field with the money he had received from the priests. As the ground was bought with money that had belonged to Iscariot, and as this money had never been formally taken back by the temple officials, the field bought therewith belonged technically to the estate of Judas.

The Lord has given a partial but awful account through a revelation dated February 16, 1832. They are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity. Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father—having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.

These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels. They are the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power. The end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows. Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof.

The common text of John 18:22, says that the man "struck Jesus with the palm of his hand," that is to say slapped Him. The marginal reading of the revised version is "with a rod" There is lack of agreement on this point in the early Mss. Note the accusation reported to Pilate that Jesus was guilty of "perverting the nation," Luke 23:2.

Luke 22:66-71. Mark 15:1; compare Matt. 27:1, 2; John 18:28. Luke 23:11. Revised version reads, "arraying him in gorgeous apparel" John 1:35, 40; 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20, 24.

Clarke ("Commentaries") and many other writers assume that the robe was white, that being the usual color of dress amongst the Jewish nobility. Matthew says "scarlet," Mark and John say "purple." Compare Luke 18:32. "Ecce Homo."

Pontius Pilate, having reluctantly surrendered to the clamorous demands of the Jews, issued the fatal order. Jesus, divested of the purple robe and arrayed in His own apparel, was led away to be crucified. Two convicted criminals, who had been sentenced to the cross for robbery, were led forth to death at the same time. There was to be a triple execution; and the prospective scene of horror attracted the morbidly minded, such as delight to gloat over the sufferings of their fellows. In the crowd, however, were some genuine mourners, as shall be shown.

It was the Roman custom to make the execution of convicts as public as possible, under the mistaken and anti-psychological assumption that the spectacle of dreadful punishment would be of deterrent effect. The sentence of death by crucifixion required that the condemned person carry the cross upon which he was to suffer. Jesus started on the way bearing His cross. The terrible strain of the preceding hours, the agony in Gethsemane, the barbarous treatment He had suffered in the palace of the high priest, the humiliation and cruel usage to which He had been subjected before Herod, the frightful scourging under Pilate's order, the brutal treatment by the inhuman soldiery, together with the extreme humiliation and the mental agony of it

The soldiers, impatient at the delay, peremptorily impressed into service a man whom they met coming into Jerusalem from the country, and him they compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. No Roman or Jew would have voluntarily incurred the ignominy of bearing such a gruesome burden. The man so forced to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, bearing the cross upon which the Savior of the world was to consummate His glorious mission, was Simon, a native of Cyrene.

We read of no man who ventured to raise his voice in protest or pity; but on this dreadful occasion as at other times, women were not afraid to cry out in commiseration or praise. Jesus turned to the women whose sympathizing lamentations had reached His ears, and uttered these pathetic and portentous words of admonition and warning. "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?"

It was the Lord's last testimony of the impending holocaust of destruction that was to follow the nation's rejection of her King. Although motherhood was the glory of every Jewish woman's life, yet in the terrible scenes which many of those there weeping would live to witness, barrenness would be accounted a blessing. The childless would have fewer to weep over, and at least would be spared the horror of seeing their offspring die of starvation or by violence. So dreadful would be that day that people would fain welcome the falling of the mountains upon them to end their sufferings. If Israel's oppressors could do what was then in process of doing to the "Green Tree," what would the powers of evil not do to the

The destination was a spot called Golgotha, or Calvary, meaning "the place of a skull" It was the custom to offer each a narcotic draught of sour wine or vinegar mingled with myrrh and possibly containing other anodyne ingredients. This was no Roman practise, but was allowed as a concession to Jewish sentiment. When the drugged cup was presented to Jesus He put it to His lips, but having ascertained the nature of its contents refused to drink, and so demonstrated His determination to meet death with faculties alert and mind unclouded. Then they crucified Him, on the central cross of three, and placed one of the condemned malefactors on His right hand, the

Death by crucifixion was at once the most lingering and most painful of all forms of execution. The spikes so cruelly driven through hands and feet penetrated and crushed sensitive nerves and quivering tendons. The welcome relief of death came through the exhaustion caused by intense and unremitting pain, through localized inflammation and congestion of organs incident to the strained and unnatural posture of the body.

As the crucifiers proceeded with their awful task, the agonized Sufferer voiced the first of the seven utterances delivered from the cross. In the spirit of God-like mercy he prayed: " Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" There is significance in the form in which this merciful benediction was expressed.

Moses forgave Miriam for her offense against himself as her brother. God alone could remit the penalty and remove the leprosy that had come upon her for having spoken against Jehovah's high priest. The clothes worn by a condemned person at the time of execution became the perquisites of the executioners. The four soldiers in charge of the cross distributed parts of His raiment among themselves.

To the cross above the head of Jesus was affixed a title or inscription, prepared by order of Pilate. In this instance the title was inscribed in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. The inscription was read by many, for Calvary was close to the public thoroughfare.

Comment was aroused; for, if literally construed, the inscription was an official declaration that the crucified Jesus was in fact King of the Jews. When this circumstance was brought to the attention of the chief priests, they excitedly appealed to the governor. Pilate answered, What I have written I've written.

Pilate's action in so wording the title, and his blunt refusal to permit an alteration, may have been an intended rebuff to the Jewish officials who had forced him against his judgment and will to condemn Jesus. The soldiers whose duty it was to guard the crosses, until loitering death would relieve the crucified of their increasing anguish, jested among themselves, and derided the Christ, pledging Him in their cups of sour wine in tragic mockery. But, whatever the purpose behind the writing, the inscription stands in history as testimony of a heathen's consideration in contrast with Israel's ruthless rejection of Israel's King.

Looking at the title affixed above the Sufferer's head, they bellowed forth the devil-inspired challenge: "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself" Though uttered in ribald mockery, the declaration of the rulers in Israel stands as an attestation that Christ had saved others. "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him"

The dominant note in all the railings and revilings, the ribaldry and mockery, with which the patient and submissive Christ was assailed while He hung, "lifted up" as He had said He would be. That "If" was Satan's last shaft, keenly barbed and doubly envenomed, and it sped as with the fierce hiss of a viper.

Was it possible in this the final and most dreadful stage of Christ's mission, to make Him doubt His divine Sonship, or, failing such, to taunt or anger the dying Savior into the use of His superhuman powers for personal relief? To achieve such a victory was Satan's desperate purpose. The shaft failed. Through taunts and derision, through blasphemous challenge and diabolical goading, the agonized Christ was silent. Then one of the crucified thieves, softened into penitence by the Savior's uncomplaining fortitude, rebuked his railing fellow, saying: "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due

His confession of guilt and his acknowledgment of the justice of his own condemnation led to incipient repentance, and to faith in the Lord Jesus, his companion in agony. To the appeal of penitence the Lord replied with such a promise as He alone could make: "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Among the spectators of this, the greatest tragedy in history, were some who had come in sympathy and sorrow. No mention is found of the presence of any of the Twelve, save one, and he, the disciple "whom Jesus loved," John the apostle, evangelist, and revelator.

In addition to the women named were many others, some of whom had ministered unto Jesus in the course of His labors in Galilee. First in point of consideration among them all was Mary, the mother of Jesus, into whose soul the sword had pierced even as righteous Simeon had prophesied. Jesus looking with tender compassion upon His weeping mother, as she stood with John at the foot of the cross, commended her to the care and protection of the beloved disciple. The disciple tenderly led the heart-stricken Mary away from her dying Son, and "took her unto his own home," thus immediately assuming the new relationship established by his dying Master.

The terrifying gloom continued for a period of three hours. This remarkable phenomenon has received no satisfactory explanation from science. It could not have been due to a solar eclipse, as has been suggested in ignorance. The darkness was brought about by miraculous operation of natural laws directed by divine power. It was a fitting sign of the earth's deep mourning over the impending death of her Creator. Of the mortal agony through which the Lord passed while upon the cross the Gospel-scribes are reverently reticent. At the ninth hour, or about three in the afternoon, a loud voice, surpassing the most anguished cry of physical suffering issued from the central cross, rending the dreadful darkness.

In that bitterest hour the dying Christ was alone, alone in most terrible reality. The cry from the cross, though heard by all who were near, was understood by few. That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.

The maddening thirst, which constituted one of the worst of the crucifixion agonies, wrung from the Savior's lips His one recorded utterance expressive of physical suffering. One of those who stood by, whether Roman or Jew, disciple or skeptic, we are not told, hastily saturated a sponge with vinegar, and fastened the sponge to the end of a reed, or stalk of hyssop. Some others would have prevented this one act of human response, for they said: "Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him." John affirms that Christ uttered the exclamation, "I thirst," only when He knew "that all things were now accomplished"; and the apostle saw in

Fully realizing that He was no longer forsaken, but that His atoning sacrifice had been accepted by the Father, He exclaimed in a loud voice of holy triumph: " It is finished! " In reverence, resignation, and relief, he addressed the Father saying: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" Jesus the Christ was dead. His life had not been taken from Him except as He had willed to permit. Sweet and welcome as would have been the relief of death in any of the earlier stages of His suffering from Gethsemane to the cross, He lived until all things were accomplished as had been appointed. In the latter days the voice of the Lord Jesus has been heard affirming

The death of Christ was accompanied by terrifying phenomena. There was a violent earthquake; the rocks of the mighty hills were disrupted, and many graves were torn open. The veil of the temple which hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom. The interior, which none but the high priest had been permitted to see, was thrown open to common gaze. It was the rending of Judaism, the consummation of the Mosaic dispensation, and the inauguration of Christianity under apostolic administration.

The actual death of Jesus appeared to all who were present to be a miracle, as in fact it was. This marvel, coupled with the earthquake and its attendant horrors, so impressed the centurion that he prayed to God. Others joined in fearsome averment: "Truly this was the Son of God." The terrified ones who spoke and those who heard left the place in a state of fear, beating their breasts, and bewailing what seemed to be an impending destruction. A few loving women, however, watched from a distant point, and saw all that took place until the Lord's body was laid away. It was now late in the afternoon; at sunset the Sabbath would begin.

That approaching Sabbath was held to be more than ordinarily sacred for it was a high day, in that it was the weekly Sabbath and a paschal holy day. The Jewish officials, who had not hesitated to slay their Lord, were horrified at the thought of men left hanging on crosses on such a day. So these scrupulous rulers went to Pilate and begged that Jesus and the two malefactors be summarily dispatched by the brutal Roman method of breaking their legs. The governor gave his consent, and the soldiers broke the limbs of the two thieves with cudgels. Jesus, however, was found to be already dead, so they broke not His bones. Christ, the great Passover sacrifice, of whom all altar

One of the soldiers, to make sure that Jesus was actually dead, or to surely kill Him if He was yet alive, drove a spear into His side. The withdrawal of the spear was followed by an outflow of blood and water. A man known as Joseph of Arimathea, who was at heart a disciple of Christ, but who had hesitated to openly confess his conversion through fear of the Jews, desired to give the Lord's body a decent and honorable interment. This man, Joseph, was "a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just."

It is expressly said of him that he "had not consented to the counsel and deed of them"; from which statement we infer that he was a Sanhedrist and had been opposed to the action of his colleagues in condemning Jesus to death. Joseph was a man of wealth, station, and influence. He went in boldly unto Pilate and begged the body of Christ. The governor was surprized to learn that Jesus was already dead. The unusual circumstance seems to have added to Pilate's troubled concern. He gave command and the body was delivered to Joseph. The body was removed from the cross; and in preparing it for the tomb Joseph was assisted by Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin.

Nicodemus brought a large quantity of myrrh and aloes, about a hundredweight. The odorous mixture was highly esteemed for anointing and embalming, but its cost restricted its use to the wealthy. These two revering disciples wrapped the Lord's body in clean linen, "with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury"; and then laid it in a new sepulchre, hewn in the rock. Some of the devoted women, particularly Mary Magdalene, and "the other Mary," who was the mother of James and Joses, had watched the entombment from a distance. When it was completed "they returned, and prepared spices and ointments

Chief priests and Pharisees came in a body to Pilate, saying: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again" Pilate answered with terse assent: "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can"

Simon the Cyrenian was a member of the Jewish colony in northern Africa. The colony had been established nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ by Ptolemeus Lagi. Rufus and his mother are mentioned in friendly reference by Paul over a quarter of a century after the death of Christ (Romans 16:13)

As to whether Simon had become a disciple before the crucifixion, or was converted through his compulsory service in bearing the Lord's cross, or became a member of the Church at a later date, we are not definitely told. —"The time would come, when the Old Testament curse of barrenness (Hosea 9:14) would be coveted as a blessing"

How often, these many centuries, must Israel's women have felt that terrible longing for childlessness? How often must the prayer of despair for the quick death of falling mountains and burying hills have risen to the lips of Israel's sufferers? And yet, even so, these words were also prophetic of a still more terrible future (Rev. 6:10). For, if Israel had put such flame to its 'green tree' how terribly would the divine judgment burn among the dry wood of an apostate and rebellious people? "—Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 2, p. 588.

The Aramaic Hebrew name "Golgotha", the Greek "Kranion", and the Latin "Calvaria" or, as Anglicized, "Calvary" have the same meaning, and connote "a skull" The name may have been applied with reference to topographical features, as we speak of the brow of a hill; or, if the spot was the usual place of execution, it may be so called as expressive of death, just as we call a skull a death's head.

It is probable that the bodies of executed convicts were buried near the place of death. The leaving of bodies or any of their parts unburied was contrary to Jewish law and sentiment. The origin of the name is of as little importance as are the many divergent suppositions concerning the exact location of the spot.

The place of execution was outside the city (1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:58; Heb. 13:12), often in some public road or other conspicuous place. The cross was then driven into the ground, so that the feet of the condemned were a foot or two above the earth, and he was lifted upon it. It was the custom to station soldiers to watch the cross, so as to prevent the removal of the sufferer while yet alive. "This was necessary from the lingering character of the death, which sometimes did not supervene even for three days, and was at last the result of gradual benumbing and starvation. But for this guard, the persons might have been taken down and recovered, as

No two of the Gospel-writers give the same wording of the title or inscription placed by Pilate's order above the head of Jesus on the cross. It is probable that there was actual diversity in the trilingual versions. John's version is followed in the common abbreviations used in connection with Roman Catholic figures of Christ: J. N. R. J.; or, inasmuch as "I" used to be an ordinary equivalent of "J",—I.

Mark (15:25) says: "And it was the third hour and they crucified him"; the time so specified corresponds to the hour from 9 to 10 a.m. This writer and his fellow synoptists, Matthew and Luke, give place to many incidents that occurred between the nailing of Christ to the cross and the sixth hour. From these several accounts it is clear that Jesus was crucified during the forenoon.

A discrepancy plainly appears between these records and John's statement (19:14) that it was "about the sixth hour" (noon) when Pilate gave the sentence of execution. All attempts to harmonize the accounts in this particular have proved futile because the discrepancy is real. —While, as stated in the text, the yielding up of life was voluntary on the part of Jesus Christ, for He had life in Himself and no man could take His life except as He willed to allow it to be taken, there was of necessity a direct physical cause of dissolution.

As stated also the crucified sometimes lived for days upon the cross, and death resulted, not from the infliction of mortal wounds, but from internal congestion, inflammations, organic disturbances, and consequent exhaustion of vital energy. Jesus, though weakened by long torture during the crucifixion itself, as also by intense mental agony, and particularly through spiritual suffering such as no other man has ever endured, manifested surprizing vigor, both of mind and body, to the last. The strong, loud utterance, immediately following which He bowed His head and "gave up the ghost", when considered in connection with other recorded details, points to a physical rupture of the heart as the direct cause of death.

If the soldier's spear was thrust into the left side of the Lord's body and actually penetrated the heart, the outrush of "blood and water" observed by John is further evidence of a cardiac rupture. Blood accumulates within the pericardium, and there undergoes a change by which the corpuscles separate as a partially clotted mass from the almost colorless, watery serum. Similar accumulations of clotted corpuscles and serum occur within the pleura. Dr. Abercrombie of Edinburgh, as cited by Deems ( Light of the Nations , p. 682), "gives a case of the sudden death of a man aged seventy-seven years, owing to a rupture of the

'On opening the body the pericardium was found distended with clear serum , and a very large coagulum of blood, which had escaped through a spontaneous rupture of the aorta near its origin' Many cases might be cited, but these suffice. Great mental stress, poignant emotion either of grief or joy, and intense spiritual struggle are among the recognized causes of heart rupture. The present writer believes that the Lord Jesus died of a broken heart. The psalmist sang in dolorous measure according to his inspired prevision of the Lord's passion: "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness" (Psalm 69:20, 21; see also 22

Many critics hold that the deputation called upon Pilate on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath had ended. Matthew's statement is definite—that the application was made on "the next day, that followed the day of the preparation" The preparation day extended from sunset on Thursday to the beginning of the Sabbath at sunset on Friday.

The clause "if he be the King of Israel" in verse 42 of the common text is admittedly a mistranslation. See revised version; also Edersheim, vol. 2, p. 596; compare Mark 15:32. The Gospel writers leave us in some uncertainty as to which of the last two utterances from the cross, "It is finished," and "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," was spoken first.

John 19:31-37. Deut. 21:23. Exo. 12:46; Numb. 9:12; Psa. 34:20; John 19:36; 1 Cor. 5:7. John 20:27; B. of M., 3 Nephi 11:14, 15. See "The House of the Lord," pages 59, 60. Matt. 27:51-54; Mark 15:38, 39; Luke 23:47-49. John 3:1, 2; 7:50; see pages 158, 404, and page 613, herein.

Jesus the Christ died in the literal sense in which all men die. He underwent a physical dissolution by which His immortal spirit was separated from His body of flesh and bones, and that body was actually dead. While the corpse lay in Joseph's rock-hewn tomb, the living Christ existed as a disembodied Spirit. We are justified in inquiring where He was and what were His activities during the interval between His death on the cross and His emergence from the sepulchre with spirit and body reunited, a resurrected Soul.

As heretofore shown, Jesus Christ was the chosen and ordained Redeemer and Savior of mankind. Unnumbered hosts who had never heard the gospel, lived and died upon the earth before the birth of Jesus. To them went the Christ, bearing the transcendently glorious tidings of redemption from the bondage of death, and of possible salvation from the effects of individual sin.

This labor was part of the Savior's foreappointed and unique service to the human family. The shout of divine exultation from the cross, "It is finished," signified the consummation of the Lord's mission in mortality. The spirit of Jesus and the spirit of the repentant thief left their crucified bodies and went to the same place in the realm of the departed. On the third day following, Jesus, then a resurrected Being, positively stated to the weeping Magdalene: "I am not yet ascended to my Father." He had gone to paradise but not to the place where God dwells.

Paradise, therefore, is not Heaven, if by the latter term we understand the abode of the Eternal Father and His celestialized children. Paradise is a place where dwell righteous and repentant spirits between bodily death and resurrection. Another division of the spirit world is reserved for those disembodied beings who have lived lives of wickedness and who remain impenitent even after death.

"The spirits of those who are righteous, are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise," he says. "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil," he adds, "will be cast out into outer darkness" "There shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth," he writes, "because of their own iniquity"

While divested of His body Christ ministered among the departed, both in paradise and in the prison realm where dwelt in a state of durance the spirits of the disobedient. The disobedient who had lived on earth in the Noachian period are especially mentioned as beneficiaries of the Lord's ministry in the spirit world. They had been guilty of gross offenses, and had wantonly rejected the teachings and admonitions of Noah, the earthly minister of Jehovah.

For their flagrant sin they had been destroyed in the flesh, and their spirits had endured in a condition of imprisonment, without hope, from the time of their death to the advent of Christ, who came as a Spirit amongst them. Justice demanded that the gospel be preached among the dead as it had been. Let us consider the further affirmation of Peter, as part of his pastoral admonition to the members of the Primitive Church: "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead?"

Jesus knew, while yet in the body, that His mission as the universal Redeemer and Savior of the race would not be complete when He came to die. His words to the casuistical Jews, following the Sabbath day healing at Bethesda: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God"

Isaiah was permitted to foresee the fate of the ungodly, and the state prepared for haughty and rebellious offenders against righteousness. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high," he said.

To the same mighty prophet was shown the universality of the Savior's atoning victory, as comprizing the redemption of Jew and Gentile, living and dead. David, singing the praises of the Redeemer whose dominion should extend even to the souls in hell, shouted in joy at the prospect of deliverance. "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope"

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. From these and other scriptures it is evident that the ministry of Christ among the disembodied was foreseen, predicted, and accomplished. The fact that the gospel was preached to the dead necessarily implies the possibility of the dead accepting the same and availing themselves of the saving opportunities thereof.

Paul cites the principle and practise of baptism by the living for the dead as proof of the actuality of the resurrection. Free agency, the divine birthright of every human soul, will not be annulled by death. Only as the spirits of the dead become penitent and faithful will they be benefited by the vicarious service rendered in their behalf on earth.

Missionary labor among the dead was inaugurated by the Christ. Who of us can doubt that it has been continued by His authorized servants, the disembodied, who while in the flesh had been commissioned to preach the gospel. They are called to follow in the footsteps of the Master, ministering here among the living, and beyond among thedead.

Nowhere in scripture is a distinction made in this regard between the living and the dead. All are children of the same Father, all to be judged and rewarded or punished by the same unerring justice, with the same interposition of benign mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the flesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future.

The scriptures prove that at the time of the final judgment every man will stand before the bar of God, clothed in his resurrected body. While awaiting resurrection, disembodied spirits exist in an intermediate state, of happiness and rest or of suffering and suspense. While His body reposed in the tomb, Christ was actively engaged in the further accomplishment of the Father's purposes, by offering the boon of salvation to the dead, both in paradise and in hell.

Reference to paradise as the abode of righteous spirits between the time of death and that of the resurrection is made by the prophet Nephi (2 Nephi 9:13), by a later prophet of the same name (4 Nephi 14), by Moroni (Moroni 10:34) New Testament scripture is of analogous import (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). The word "paradise" by its derivation through the Greek from the Persian, signifies a pleasant place, or a place of restful enjoyment. By many the terms "hades" and "sheol" are understood to designate the place of departed spirits, comprizing both paradise and the prison

The assumption that the gracious assurance given by Christ to the penitent sinner on the cross was a remission of the man's sins, and a passport into heaven, is wholly contrary to both the letter and spirit of scripture, reason, and justice. Confidence in the efficacy of death-bed professions and confessions on the basis of this incident is of the most insecure foundation. The crucified malefactor manifested both faith and repentance; his promised blessing was that he should that day hear the gospel preached in paradise. In the acceptance or rejection of the word of life he would be an agent unto himself. The requirement of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel as an essential to salvation was not waived, suspended, or superseded

The revised version of 1 Peter 3:18-20 reads: "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" The common version of the latter part of verse 18 and the whole of verse 19 reads "being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit" This is regarded by scholars as a closer approach to accuracy in translation than the common version.

The revised text expresses the true thought that Christ was quickened, that is to say, was active, in His own spirit state, although His body was inert and in reality dead at the time. In that disembodied state He went and preached to the disobedient spirits. The later reading fixes the time of our Lord's ministry among the departed as the interval between His death and resurrection.

An angel of the Lord descended in glory, rolled back the massive stone from the portal of the tomb, and sat upon it. His countenance was brilliant as the lightning, and his raiment was as the driven snow for whiteness. The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell to the earth as dead men. When they had partially recovered from their fright, they fled from the place in terror. Even the rigor of Roman discipline, which decreed summary death to every soldier who deserted his post, could not deter them. Moreover, there was nothing left for them to guard; the seal of authority had been broken, the sepulchre was open, and empty.

At the earliest indication of dawn, the devoted Mary Magdalene and other faithful women set out for the tomb, bearing spices and ointments. On the way as they sorrowfully conversed, they seemingly for the first time thought of the difficulty of entering the tomb. Evidently they knew nothing of the seal and the guard of soldiery. At the tomb they saw the angel, and were afraid; but he said unto them: "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified"

The women, though favored by angelic visitation and assurance, left the place amazed and frightened. Mary Magdalene appears to have been the first to carry word to the disciples concerning the empty tomb. She had failed to comprehend the gladsome meaning of the angel's proclamation "He is risen, as he said"

Peter and "that other disciple" who, doubtless, was John, set forth in haste, running together toward the sepulchre. John outran his companion, and on reaching the tomb stooped to look in, and so caught a glimpse of the linen cerements lying on the floor. The two observed the linen grave-clothes, and lying by itself, the napkin that had been placed about the head of the corpse. John frankly affirms that having seen these things, he believed, and explains in behalf of himself and his fellow apostles, "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead"

While Peter and John were within the sepulchre, she had stood without, weeping. After the men had left she stooped and looked into the rock-hewn cavern. There she saw two personages, angels in white; one sat "at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain" In accents of tenderness they asked of her: "Woman, why weepest thou?" In reply she could but voice anew her overwhelming sorrow: "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him"

"Jesus saith unto her, Mary." The voice, the tone, the tender accent she had heard and loved in the earlier days lifted her from the despairing depths into which she had sunk. "Tell me where thou hast laid him," she pleaded. It was Jesus to whom she spake, her beloved Lord, though she knew it not. One word from His living lips changed her agonized grief into ecstatic joy.

In a transport of joy she reached out her arms to embrace Him, uttering only the endearing and worshipful word, "Rabboni," meaning My beloved Master. Jesus, restrained her impulsive manifestation of reverent love, saying, "Touch me not" and adding, "but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father" To a woman, to Mary of Magdala, was given the honor of being the first among mortals to behold a resurrected Soul, and that Soul, the Lord Jesus. To other favored women did the risen Lord next manifest Himself, including Mary the mother of Joses, Joanna, and Salome theMother of the apostles James

They may have returned later, for some of them appear to have entered the sepulchre, and to have seen that the Lord's body was not there. As they stood wondering in perplexity and astonishment, they became aware of the presence of two men in shining garments. As the women "bowed down their faces to the earth" the angels said unto them: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen"

One may wonder why Jesus had forbidden Mary Magdalene to touch Him, and then, so soon after, had permitted other women to hold Him by the feet as they bowed in reverence. We may assume that Mary's emotional approach had been prompted more by a feeling of personal yet holy affection than by an impulse of devotional worship such as the other women evinced. Though the resurrected Christ manifested the same friendly and intimate regard as He had shown in the mortal state toward those with whom He had been closely associated, He was no longer one of them in the literal sense. There was about Him a divine dignity that forbade close personal familiarity.

It appears reasonable and probable that between Mary's impulsive attempt to touch the Lord, and the action of the other women who held Him by the feet as they bowed in worshipful reverence, Christ did ascend to the Father, and that later He returned to earth to continue His ministry in the resurrected state. Mary Magdalene told the wonderful story of their several experiences to the disciples, but the brethren could not credit their words. After all that Christ had taught concerning His rising from the dead on that third day, the apostles were unable to accept the actuality of the occurrence. To their minds the resurrection was some mysterious and remote event, not a present possibility.

There was neither precedent nor analogy for the stories these women told. The grief and the sense of irreparable loss which had characterized the yesterday Sabbath were replaced by profound perplexity and contending doubts on this first day of the week. But while the apostles hesitated to believe that Christ had actually risen, the women, less skeptical, more trustful, knew. They had both seen Him and heard His voice, and some of them had touched His feet.

When the Roman guardsmen had recovered from fright to make their precipitate departure from the sepulchre, they went to the chief priests, under whose orders they had been placed by Pilate. The chief priests were Sadducees, of which sect or party a distinguishing feature was the denial of the possibility of resurrection from the dead. These were told to say "His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept"; and for the falsehood they were offered large sums of money. In the spirit of the deceiving hierarchs who tried to kill Lazarus for the purpose of quelling popular interest in the miracle of his restoration to life, they now conspired to discredit the truth of Christ's resurrection by bribing

The soldiers accepted the tempting bribe, and did as they were instructed. If they were found guilty of sleeping at their posts, immediate death would be their doom. The Jews encouraged them by the promise: "If this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you" It must be remembered that the soldiers had been put at the disposal of the chief priests, and presumably therefore were not required to report the details of their doings to the Roman authorities.

Even if it were true, how could they substantiate their statement that the body was stolen and that the disciples were the grave-robbers? The mendacious fiction was framed by the chief priests and elders of the people. Not all the priestly circle were parties to it however. Some, who perhaps had been among the secret disciples of Jesus before His death, were not afraid to openly ally themselves with the Church, when, through the evidence of the Lord's resurrection, they had become thoroughly converted.

There could be but one topic of conversation between them, and on this they communed as they walked. As they went, engrossed in sorrowful and profound discourse, another Wayfarer joined them. It was the Lord Jesus, "but their eyes were holden that they should not know him." In courteous interest, He asked: "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" One of the disciples, Cleopas by name, replied with surprize tinged with commiseration for the Stranger's seeming ignorance. "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?"

The unrecognized Christ asked, "What things?" They could not be reticent. "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth," they explained, "which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people" Then, with brightening countenances, they told of certain women of their company who had astonished them that morning by saying that they had visited the sepulchre early and had discovered that the Lord's body was not there. "That they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive," they said.

Jesus chided His fellow travelers as foolish men and slow of heart in their hesitating acceptance of what the prophets had spoken. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He expounded to them the scriptures, touching upon all the prophetic utterances concerning the Savior's mission. As the Guest of honor, He took the loaf, "blessed it and brake, and gave to them"

"Their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight." In a fulness of joyful wonderment they rose from the table, surprized at themselves for not having recognized Him sooner. Straightway they started to retrace their steps and hastened back to Jerusalem to confirm by their witness what, before, the brethren had been slow to believe. "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

When Cleopas and his companion reached Jerusalem that night, they found the apostles and other devoted believers assembled in solemn and worshipful discourse within closed doors. Precautions of secrecy had been taken "for fear of the Jews." Even the apostles had been scattered by the arrest, arraignment, and judicial murder of their Master. But they and the disciples in general rallied anew at the word of His resurrection, as the nucleus of an army soon to sweep the world.

Peter's remorseful penitence over his denial of Christ in the palace of the high priest was deep and pitiful. He may have doubted that ever again would the Master call him His servant. But hope must have been engendered through the message from the tomb brought by the women, in which the Lord sent greetings to the apostles. The apostle himself maintains a reverent silence respecting the visitation, but the fact thereof is attested by Paul as one of the definite proofs of the Lord's resurrection.

"Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." They were affrighted, supposing with superstitious dread that a ghost had intruded amongst them. But the Lord comforted them, saying "Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself" Then He showed them the wounds in His hands and feet and side. "They yet believed not for joy," which is to say, they thought the reality, to which they all were witnesses, too good, too glorious to be true.

To further assure them that He was no shadowy form, no immaterial being of tenuous substance, but a living Personage, He asked "Have ye here any meat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and other food, which He took "and did eat before them" These unquestionable evidences of their Visitant's corporeity calmed and made rational the minds of the disciples.

The Lord Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples on the evening of the Resurrection Sunday, one of the apostles, Thomas, was absent. "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them"

He was informed of what the others had witnessed, but was unconvinced. Even their solemn testimony, "We have seen the Lord," failed to awaken an echo of faith in his heart. He could scarcely have doubted the well attested circumstance of the empty sepulchre. But he may have regarded the reported manifestations as a series of subjective visions. And the absence of the Lord's body may have been vaguely considered as a result of Christ's supernatural restoration to life followed by a bodily and final departure from earth.

It was the corporeal manifestation of the risen Lord, the exhibition of the wounds incident to crucifixion, the invitation to touch and feel the resurrected body of flesh and bones, to which Thomas demurred. He had no such definite conception of the resurrection as would accord with a literal acceptance of the testimony of his brethren and sisters who had seen, heard, and felt. A week later, for so the Jewish designation, "after eight days," is to be understood, therefore on the next Sunday, which day of the week afterward came to be known to the Church as the "Lord's Day" and to be observed as the Sabbath in place of Saturday, the Mosaic Sabbath.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." The skeptical mind of Thomas was instantly cleansed, his doubting heart was purified; and a conviction of the glorious truth flooded his soul. In contrite reverence he bowed before his Savior, the while exclaiming in worshipful acknowledgment of Christ's Deity: "My Lord and my God." His adoration was accepted, and the Savior said: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed"

In the afternoon of one of those days of waiting, Peter said to six of his fellow apostles, "I go a fishing"; and the others replied, "We also go with thee." Without delay they embarked on a fishing boat; and though they toiled through the night, the net had been drawn in empty after every cast. As morning approached they drew near the land, disappointed and disheartened. In the early dawn they were hailed from the shore by One who asked: "Children, have ye any meat?" They answered "No" It was Jesus who made the inquiry, though none in the boat recognized Him.

Jesus told them to bring of the fish they had just caught, to which instruction the stalwart Peter responded by dashing into the shallows and dragging the net to shore. On the land they saw a fire of coals, with fish broiling thereon, and alongside a supply of bread.

When counted, the haul was found to consist of a hundred and fifty-three great fishes. Then Jesus said "Come and dine"; and as the Host at the meal, He divided and distributed the bread and fish. Everyone knew that it was the Lord who so hospitably served; yet on this, as on all other occasions of His appearing in the resurrected state, there was about Him an awe-inspiring and restraining demeanor. They would have liked to question Him, but durst not.

John tells us that this was the "third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead" The question, however tenderly put, must have wrung Peter's heart, coupled as it was with the reminder of his bold but undependable protestation, "Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended" To the Lord's inquiry Peter answered humbly, "Yea, Lord;" then said Jesus, "Feed my lambs."

The question was repeated; and Peter replied in identical words, to which the Lord responded, "Feed my sheep." And yet the third time Jesus asked, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" Peter was pained and grieved at this reiteration, thinking perhaps that the Lord mistrusted him. But as the man had three times denied, so now was he given opportunity for a triple confession. He emphatically announced his readiness to follow his Master even to prison and death.

The Lord said to Peter, "Follow me." The command had both immediate and future significance. Peter comprehended the reference to his martyrdom, as his writings, years later, indicate. The analogy points to crucifixion, and traditional history is without contradiction as to this being the death by which Peter sealed his testimony of the Christ.

As Christ and Peter walked together, the latter, looking backward, saw that John was following, and inquired: "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Peter wished to peer into the future as to his companion's fate. The Lord replied: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me" It was an admonition to Peter to look to his own course of duty, and to follow the Master, wherever the road should lead. That John still lives in the embodied state, and shall remain in the flesh until the Lord's yet future advent, is attested by later revelation.

In company with his martyred and resurrected companions, Peter and James, the "disciple whom Jesus loved" has officiated in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship. Jesus had designated a mountain in Galilee whereon He would meet the apostles; and thither the Eleven went. When they saw Him at the appointed place, they worshiped Him. The record adds "but some doubted," by which may be implied that others beside the apostles were present, among whom were some who were unconvinced of the actual corporeity of the resurrected Christ.

To those assembled on the mount Jesus declared: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" This could be understood as nothing less than an affirmation of His absolute Godship. His authority was supreme, and those who were commissioned of Him were to minister in His name.

Much that He said and did is not written, but such things as are of record, John assures his readers. As the time of His ascension drew nigh, the Lord said unto the eleven apostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" In contrast with their earlier commission, under which they were sent only "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," they were now to go to Jew and Gentile, bond and free, of whatever nation, country, or tongue.

Salvation, through faith in Jesus the Christ, followed by repentance and baptism, was to be freely offered to all. Signs and miracles were promised to "follow them that believe," thus confirming their faith in the power divine. No intimation was given that such manifestations were to precede belief, as baits to catch the credulous wonder-seeker. Assuring the apostles anew that the promise of the Father would be realized in the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord instructed them to remain in Jerusalem, whither they had now returned from Galilee, until they would be "endued with power from on high"

In that last solemn interview, probably as the risen Savior led the mortal Eleven away from the city toward the old familiar resort on the Mount of Olives, the brethren asked of Him, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" Their duty was thus defined and emphasized: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father"

When Christ and the disciples had gone "as far as to Bethany," the Lord lifted up His hands, and blessed them. While yet He spake, He rose from their midst, and they looked upon Him as He ascended. While the apostles stood gazing steadfastly upward, two personages, clothed in white apparel, appeared by them. These spake unto the Eleven, saying: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Worshipfully and with great joy the apostles returned to Jerusalem, there to await the coming of the Comforter.

Our Lord definitely predicted His resurrection from the dead on the third day. The Jews began their counting of the daily hours with sunset. The hour before sunset and the hour following belonged to different days. Jesus died and was interred during Friday afternoon. This specification of the thirdday must not be understood as meaning after three full days.

His body lay in the tomb, dead, during part of Friday (first day), throughout Saturday, or as we divide the days, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, (second day), and part of Sunday (third day) We know not at what hour between Saturday sunset and Sunday dawn He rose. The fact that an earthquake occurred, and that the angel of the Lord descended and rolled the stone from the portal of the tomb in the early dawn of Sunday—for so we infer from Matt. 28:1, 2—does not prove that Christ had not already risen. The great stone was rolled back and the inside of the sepulchre exposed to view, so that those who came could see for themselves that the Lord

A resurrected body, though of tangible substance, is not bound to earth by gravitation, nor can it be hindered in its movements by material barriers. To us who conceive of motion only in the directions incident to the three dimensions of space, the passing of a solid, such as a living body of flesh and bones, through stone walls, is necessarily incomprehensible. But that resurrected beings move in accordance with laws making such passage possible and to them natural, is evidenced not only by the instance of the risen Christ, but by the movements of other resurrected personages.

That Moroni was a resurrected man is shown by his corporeity manifested in his handling of the metallic plates on which was inscribed the record known to us as the Book of Mormon. So also resurrected beings possess the power of rendering themselves visible or invisible to the physical vision of mortals. 2. Attempts to Discredit the Resurrection Through Falsehood. —The inconsistent assertion that Christ had not risen but that His body had been stolen from the tomb by the disciples, has been sufficiently treated in the text. The falsehood is its own refutation.

The spear-thrust of the Roman soldier would have been fatal, even if death had not already occurred. The body was taken down, handled, wrapped and buried by members of the Jewish council. A crucified person, removed from the cross before death and subsequently revived, could not have walked with pierced and mangled feet. Another theory that has had its day is that of unconscious deception on the part of those who claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ. Such persons having been victims of subjective but unreal visions conjured up by their own excited and imaginative condition.

The independence and marked individuality of the several recorded appearings of the Lord disprove the vision theory. Such subjective visual illusions as are predicated by this hypothesis, presuppose a state of expectancy on the part of those who think they see. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by evidence more conclusive than that upon which rests our acceptance of historical events in general. Yet the testimony of our Lord's rising from the dead is not founded on written pages. The foregoing instances of false and untenable theories are cited as examples of the numerous abortive attempts to explain away the greatest miracle and the most glorious fact of history.

To Mary Magdalene, near the sepulchre (Mark 16:9, 10; John 20:14). 6. To the eleven apostles at Jerusalem (John 21) 7. To five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:5) 8. To eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16). 9. To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark16:12; Luke 24:13). 10. To Peter, in or near Jerusalem (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor.15:5).

To James (1 Cor. 15:7). Note that no record of this manifestation is made by the Gospel-writers. To the eleven apostles at the time of the ascension, Mount of Olives, near Bethany (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51). The Lord's manifestations of Himself to men subsequent to the ascensions will be considered later.

The words "and of an honeycomb" (Luke 24:42) are omitted from the revised version, and by many authorities are declared to be a spurious addition to the original text. The noun of address, "Children" is equivalent to our modern use of "Sirs," "Men" or "Lads" It was quite in harmony with the vernacular.

Acts 1:5; see also Luke 24:49; and compare John 14:16, 17, 26. Acts 1:7, 8; compare Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32. Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts1:9-11.

The eleven apostles returned to Jerusalem filled with joy and thoroughly suffused with the spirit of adoring worship. Both in the temple and in a certain upper room, which was their usual place of meeting, they continued in prayer and supplication. The disciples, most of whom had been dispersed by the tragic events of that last and fateful Passover, had gathered again, with renewed and fortified faith, about the great fact of the Lord's resurrection. Christ had become "the firstfruits of them that slept," " the first begotten of the dead," and "thefirstborn" of the race to rise from death to immortality.

Many righteous ones who had slept in the tomb had been resurrected, and had appeared in Jerusalem, revealing themselves unto many. The universality of the resurrection of the dead was soon to become a prominent feature of apostolic teaching. The first official act undertaken by the apostles was the filling of the vacancy in the council of the Twelve, occasioned by the apostasy and suicide of Judas Iscariot.

Sometime between the ascension of Christ and the feast of Pentecost, when the Eleven and other disciples, in all about a hundred and twenty, were together "with one accord in prayer and supplication," Peter laid the matter before the assembled Church. Peter affirmed the necessity of completing the apostolic quorum. Two faithful disciples were nominated by the Eleven, Joseph Barsabas and Matthias.

The Eleven fully realized that on them lay the responsibility, and in them was vested the authority, to organize and develop the Church of Christ. The selection of Matthias was accomplished in a general assembly of the Primitive Church; and while the nominations were made by the apostles, all present appear by implication to have had a voice in the matter of installation.

The principle of authoritative administration through common consent of the membership was exemplified in the choosing of Matthias. A few weeks later, the selection of "seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom," who having been sustained by the vote of the Church, were set apart to a special ministry by the laying-on of the apostles' hands. "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting"

"Cloven tongues like as of fire," by which each of the Twelve was invested, was seen by those within the house, but apparently not by the gathering crowds. The apostles spoke to the multitude, and a great miracle was wrought, by which "every man heard them speak in his own language"; for the apostles, now richly gifted, spake in many tongues, as the Holy Ghost, by whom they had been endowed, gave them utterance. There were present men from many lands and of many nations, and their languages were diverse. In amazement some of them said: "Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?"

"Strong drink gives to no man wisdom; it steals away his senses and makes of him a fool," Peter said. Peter was the president of the Twelve. It was the Jewish custom, particularly on festival days, to abstain from food and drink until after the morning service in synagog, which was held about the third hour, or nine o'clock in the forenoon.

The apostle cited ancient prophecy embodying the promise of Jehovah that He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. He characterized Jesus of Nazareth as "a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know" "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain," he said.

Citing the inspired outburst of the psalmist, he showed the application of these scriptures to the Christ. Peter proclaimed as in voice of thunder: "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" The power of the Holy Ghost could not be resisted; to every earnest soul it carried conviction.

They that heard were pricked in their hearts, and in contrition cried out to the apostles: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Now that they were prepared for the message of salvation, it was given without reserve. "Repent," answered Peter, "and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" Those who repented and confessed their belief in Christ at that memorable Pentecost were received into the Church by baptism, to the number of about three thousand.

The apostles were born again through baptism into a newness of life. They endured in the faith and continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship. To them faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was of greater worth than the wealth of earth. Signs and wonders followed the apostles, "and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Through the bestowal of the Holy Ghost the apostles had become changed men.

As made clear to them by the Spirit of Truth, the scriptures constituted a record of preparation for the events to which they were special and ordained witnesses. Peter, who but a few weeks earlier had quailed before a serving-maid, now spoke openly, fearing none. Seeing once a lame beggar at the Gate Beautiful which led into the temple court, he took the afflicted one by the hand, saying: "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee"

He ascribed all praise for the miracle to the Christ whom the Jews had delivered up to be slain. In merciful recognition of the ignorance in which they had sinned, he exhorted them to expiatory penitence. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out," he said.

There was no encouragement to a belief that their sins could be annulled by wordy profession. A due season of repentance was their privilege, if so be they would believe. As Peter and John thus testified, the priests and the captain of the temple, together with the ruling Sadducees, came upon them toward evening, and put them in prison to await the action of the judges next day. On the morrow they were arraigned before Annas, Caiaphas, and other officials, who demanded of them by what power or in whose name they had healed the lame man. Peter, impelled by the power of the Holy Ghost, answered: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the

The hierarchy learned to their consternation that the work they had sought to destroy through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was spreading now as it had never spread before. In desperation they commanded the apostles, "Not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." But Peter and John answered boldly: "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye"

So abundantly was the gift of healing manifest through the ministrations of the apostles that as formerly to Christ, now to them, the people flocked, bringing their sick folk and those possessed of evil spirits; and all were healed. So great was the faith of the believers that they laid their afflicted ones on couches in the streets, "that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them." The high priest and his haughty Sadducean associates caused the apostles to be again arrested and thrown into the common prison. But that night the angel of the Lord opened the dungeon doors and brought the prisoners forth, telling them to go into the temple and further proclaim their testimony of the Christ. This the

The officers who were sent to bring the prisoners to the judgment hall returned, saying: "The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without" The high priest accused the prisoners by question and affirmation: "Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?" Yet, how recently had those same rulers led the rabble in the awful imprecation, "His blood be on us, and on our children"

Peter and the other apostles, undaunted by the august presence, and undeterred by threatening words or actions, answered with the direct counter-charge that they who sat there to judge were the slayers of the Son of God. Ponder well the solemn affirmation: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree"

Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and a noted doctor of the law, was the teacher of Saul of Tarsus. He directed that the apostles be removed from the hall, and warned his colleagues against the injustice they had in mind. Gamaliel's advice prevailed for the time being, to the extent of causing the apostles' lives to be spared. But the council, in contravention of justice and propriety, had the prisoners beaten.

Stephen was among the "seven men of honest report" who were set apart under the hands of the apostles. He was zealous in service, aggressive in doctrine, and fearless as a minister of Christ. Stephen was a man eminent in faith and good works, through whom the Lord wrought many miracles.

Some of the foreign Jews, who maintained a synagog in Jerusalem, engaged Stephen in disputation, and being unable "to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake," conspired to have him charged with heresy and blasphemy. He was brought before the council on the word of men suborned to witness against him. The perjured accusers further testified that he had repeatedly spoken blasphemously against the temple, and the law, and had even declared that Jesus of Nazareth would some day destroy the temple.

The charge was utterly false in spirit and fact, though possibly in a sense partly true in form. When the Sanhedrists looked upon him, his face was illumined, and they saw it "as it had been the face of an angel" In answer to the charge, he delivered an address, which on critical analysis appears to have been extemporaneous, nevertheless it is strikingly logical and impressive in argument. The delivery was abruptly terminated, however, by a murderous assault.

In effective epitome Stephen traced the history of the covenant people from the time of Abraham down. He pointed out that Moses had foretold the coming of a Prophet, who was none other than Jehovah. It is plain to be seen that Stephen's speech was not one of vindication, and far from a plea in his own defense. It was a proclamation of the word and purposes of God by a devoted servant who had no thought for personal consequences.

In forceful arraignment he thus addressed his judges: "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" He exclaimed in rapture: "Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" This is the first New Testament record of a manifestation of Christ to mortal eyes by vision or otherwise, subsequent to His ascension.

The priestly rulers cried aloud, and stopped their ears to what they chose to regard as blasphemous utterances. They hurried him outside the city walls and stoned him to death. True to his Master, he prayed: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" And when he had said this, he fell asleep. So died the first martyr for the testimony of the risen Christ.

The blood of Stephen the martyr proved to be rich and virile seed, from which sprang a great harvest of souls. Among the disputants who, when defeated in discussion, conspired against Stephen and brought about his death, were Jews from Cilicia. Associated with them was a young man named Saul, a native of the Cilician city of Tarsus. This man was an able scholar, a forceful controversialist, an ardent defender of what he regarded as the right, and a vigorous assailant of what to him was wrong. He was a student of the law under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the most eminent masters of the time.

Saul was a violent opponent of the apostles and the Church, and had made himself a party to the death of Stephen by openly consenting thereunto. He wrought havoc in the Church by entering private houses and haling thence men and women suspected of belief in the Christ, and these he caused to be cast into prison. The persecution in which he took so prominent a part caused a scattering of the disciples throughout Judea, Samaria, and other lands; though the apostles remained and continued their ministry in Jerusalem.

As Saul and his attendants neared Damascus they were halted by an occurrence of awe-inspiring grandeur. In the midst of the unearthly glory, a sound was heard, which to Saul alone was intelligible as an articulate voice. In trepidation he inquired: "Who art thou, Lord?" The reply sounded the heart of Saul to its depths: "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest"; and continued, as in sympathetic consideration of the persecutor's situation and the renunciation that would be required of him, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks"

The Lord told Ananias to visit Saul and minister unto him that he might be healed of his blindness. Saul was a notorious persecutor of the saints, and had come at that time to Damascus to arrest and put in bonds all believers. He sat in darkness for three days, during which period he neither ate nor drank.

Ananias laid his hands on Saul and said: "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost" The physical obstruction to vision was removed; scaly particles fell from the eyes of Saul, and his sight was restored. Without delay or hesitation, he was baptized. When strengthened by food he communed with the disciples at Damascus and straightway began to preach in the synagogs, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God.

When Saul returned to Jerusalem, the disciples were doubtful of his sincerity, they having known of him as a violent persecutor. Barnabas, a trusted disciple, brought him to the apostles, told of his miraculous conversion and testified of his valiant service in preaching the word of God. He was received into fellowship, and afterward was ordained under the hands of the apostles. His Hebrew name, Saul, was in time substituted by the Latin Paulus, or as to us, Paul.

While in Jerusalem Paul was blessed with a visual manifestation of the Lord Jesus, accompanied by the giving of specific instructions. In explanation of his rejection by the people, Paul confessed his evil past. To this the Lord replied: "Depart; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." Once again, as he lay a prisoner in the Roman castle, the Lord stood by him in the night, and said: "Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome"

Paul's personal witness that he had seen the resurrected Christ is explicit and emphatic. With his enumeration of some of the risen Lord's appearances he associates his own testimony. "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God"

The period of apostolic ministry continued until near the close of the first century of our era. In the course of that epoch the Church experienced both prosperity and vicissitude. At first the organized body increased in membership and influence in a manner regarded as phenomenal, if not miraculous. Through the agency of the Holy Ghost Christ continued to direct the affairs of His Church on the earth. His mortal representatives, the apostles, traveled and taught, healed the afflicted, rebuked evil spirits, and raised the dead to a renewal of life.

We are without record of any direct or personal appearance of Christ to mortals between the manifestations to Paul and the revelation to John on the isle of Patmos. Tradition confirms John's implication that he had been banished thither "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" The apostle gives a vivid description of the glorified Christ as seen by him. "Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead," he said.

John was commanded to write to each of the seven churches, or branches of the Church of Christ, then existing in Asia. The final ministry of John marked the close of the apostolic administration in the Primitive Church. Even while many of the apostles lived and labored, the seed of apostasy had taken root in the Church and had grown with the rankness of pernicious weeds. This condition had been predicted, both by Old Testament prophets and by the Lord Jesus.

Personal manifestations of the Lord Jesus to mortals appear to have ceased with the passing of the apostles of old, and were not again witnessed until the dawn of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. It appears that one feature of the Church organization in early apostolic days was a common ownership of material things, distribution being made according to need. As the members increased, it was found impracticable for the apostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporal matters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honest report, whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of these affairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on of hands.

The name means "fiftieth" and was applied to the Jewish feast that was celebrated fifty days after the second day of unleavened bread. It is also known as "the feast of weeks" because according to the Hebrew style, it fell seven weeks, or a week of weeks, after the Passover. Pentecost was one of the great feasts in Israel, and was of mandatory observance.

Special sacrifices were appointed for the day, as was also an offering suitable to the harvest season, comprizing two leavened loaves made of the new wheat. Because of the unprecedented events that characterized the first Pentecost after our Lord's ascension, the name has become current in Christian literature as expressive of any great spiritual awakening or unusual manifestation of divine grace. 3. Having All Things in Common. —No condition recorded of the early apostolic ministry expresses more forcefully the unity and devotion of the Church in those days than does the fact of the members establishing a system of common ownership of property (Acts 2:44, 46; 4:32-37; 6:1-4).

Over thirty centuries earlier the people of Enoch had rejoiced in a similar condition of oneness. The Nephite disciples grew in holiness, as "they had all things common among them" A system of unity in material affairs has been revealed to the Church in this current dispensation. The blessings of which the people may attain as they learn to replace selfish concern by altruism, and individual advantage by devotion to the general welfare.

Saul of Tarsus was a devoted student and observer of the law, a strict Pharisee. We find no intimation that he ever met or saw Jesus during the Lord's life in the flesh. His contact with the Christian movement appears to have been brought about through disputation with Stephen. In determining what he would call right and what wrong the young enthusiast was guided too much by mind and too little by heart.

As soon as he realized the error of his course, he turned about, without counting risk, cost, or the certainty of persecution and probable martyrdom. His repentance was as genuine as had been his persecuting zeal. It was "hard for him to kick against the pricks" of tradition, training, and education; yet he hesitated not. He was a chosen instrument for the work of the Lord (Acts 9:15); and promptly he responded to the Master's will. Whatever of error Saul of Tarsus had committed through youthful zeal, Paul the apostle gave his all—his time, talent, and life—to expiate.

In accordance with the divine and fateful purpose, Paul was called to do the work, in opposition to which he had been a participant in the martyrdom of Stephen. At the Lord's word of direction Paul was ready to preach Christ to the Gentiles. Only by a miracle could the Jewish exclusiveness of Peter and the Church generally be overcome (Acts 10; and 11:1-18). 5. Rapid Growth of the Primitive Church. Eusebius, who wrote in the early part of the fourth century, speaking of the first decade after the Savior's ascension, says: "Thus, then, under a celestial influence and cooperation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irrad

A volcanic island of the Sporades group, now nearly treeless. It is characterized by an indented coast and has a safe harbor. By the Romans it was made a place of exile for the lower class of criminals. John, the author of 'Revelation' was banished thither by Domitian, 94 A.D. According to tradition he lived there at hard labor for eighteen months.

A statement was published by the First Presidency of the Church on February 5, 1916. The answer to this question depends upon what is meant by'receiving' the Holy Ghost. If reference is made to the promise of Jesus to His apostles, then the answer is that the promise was fulfilled on Pentecost.

But the divine essence called the Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, was bestowed in former ages, and inspired the apostles in their ministry long before the day of Pentecost. We read that Jesus, after His resurrection, breathed upon His disciples and said, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost' But we also read that He said: 'Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high' (John 7:39) Thus the promise was made, but the fulfilment came after.

The revised version substitutes on a preponderance of authority "office" or, (marginal reading), "overseership," for the erroneous rendering "bishoprick" in the common version. In a better rendering than that of the common text (see revised version), Acts 2:6 reads: "And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together"

Note this exceptional application of the title, Son of Man, to Christ by anyone other than Himself. Observe that "way" here used for the first time to connote the gospel or religion of Christ, occurs frequently in Acts (16:17; 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Three versions of this manifestation and its immediate results appear in Acts. The first is the historian's narrative, while the others are given as reports of Saul's own words.

Col. 1:23; see verse 6; also "The Great Apostasy," 1:20, 21. Acts 9:36-43; see Note 6 , end of chapter. Isa. 24:1-6; Amos. 8:11, 12. Matt 24:4, 5, 10-13, 23-26. Acts 20:17-31, particularly 29, 30; 1 Tim. 4:1, 3, 4; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 7, 8.

The Lord visited His "other sheep," not of the eastern fold, whose existence He had affirmed in that impressive sermon concerning the Good Shepherd and His sheep. Those other sheep who were to hear the Shepherd's voice and eventually be made part of the united fold were the descendants of Lehi who, with his family and a few others, had left Jerusalem 600 B.C. and had crossed the great deep to what we now know as the American continent.

As already set forth in these pages, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem had been made known to the Nephite nation on the western hemisphere by divine revelation. Samuel the Lamanite, who through his faithfulness and good works had become a prophet, mighty in word and deed, duly chosen and commissioned of God, had coupled with his predictions of the glorious occurrences that were to mark Christ, prophecies of other signs—of darkness, terror, and destruction—by which the Savior's death on the cross would be signalized.

Every prophetic word concerning the phenomena that were to attend the Lord's birth had been fulfilled. Many people had been brought thereby to believe in Christ as the promised Redeemer. Many among the Nephites "began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven"

Thirty and three years had sped their course since the illumined night and the other signs of Messiah's advent. There arose a great and terrible tempest, with thunderings, lightnings, and both elevations and depressions of the earth's surface. The highways were broken up, mountains were sundered, and many cities were utterly destroyed by earthquake, fire, and the inrush of the sea. For three hours the unprecedented holocaust continued; and then thick darkness fell, in the which it was found impossible to kindle a fire. The awful gloom was like unto the darkness of Egypt, in that its clammy vapors could be felt.

This condition lasted until the third day, so that a night a day and a night were as one unbroken night, and the impenetrable blackness was rendered the more terrible by the wailing of the people. Then, piercing the darkness, came a Voice, before which the frightful chorus of human lamentation was silenced. "Wo, wo, wo unto this people" resounded throughout the land. The Voice proclaimed increasing woes except the people should repent.

The extent of the dread calamity was detailed. Cities that had been burned with their inhabitants, others that had sunk into the sea, yet others buried in the earth, were enumerated. The identity of the Voice was thus made known: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God"

The Lord commanded that the people should no longer serve Him with bloody sacrifices and burnt offerings. The only acceptable sacrifice would be the broken heart and the contrite spirit. The humble and repentant the Lord would receive as His own. "Behold," He said, "for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved"

A second time the Voice was heard, as in sorrow over those who had refused to accept the Savior's succor. On the morning of the third day the darkness dispersed, seismic disturbances ceased, and the storms abated. As the pall was lifted from the land the people saw how profound had been the convulsions of earth, and how great had been their loss of kindred and friends. In their contrition and humiliation they remembered the predictions of the prophets, and knew that the mandate of the Lord had been executed upon them.

Christ had risen; and following Him many of the righteous dead on the western continent rose from their graves, and appeared as resurrected, immortalized beings among the survivors of the land-wide destruction. The prevailing spirit of the assembly was that of contrition and reverence. While thus congregated they heard a sound as of a Voice from above; but both a first and a second utterance were to them unintelligible.

As they listened with rapt intentness, the Voice was heard a third time, and it said unto them: " Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" While gazing upward in reverent expectation, the people beheld a Man, clothed in a white robe, who descended and stood among them. The multitude prostrated themselves in adoration for they remembered that their prophets had foretold that the Lord would appear among them after His resurrection and ascension.

As He directed, the people arose, and one by one came to Him, and did see and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and the spear-wound in His side. Moved to adoring utterance, with one accord they cried: "Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God!" Then, falling at the feet of Jesus, they worshiped Him. Summoning Nephi and eleven others to approach, the Lord gave them authority to baptize the people after His departure.

The people in general, and particularly the Twelve, chosen as stated, were impressively warned against contention over matters of doctrine. The spirit of contention was declared to be of the devil, "who is the father of contention" The Twelve were warned not to "disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been"

The doctrine of Jesus Christ was set forth in simple yet comprehensive summary. Repentance, and humility akin to that of the innocent trusting child were the prerequisites for baptism, without which none could inherit the kingdom of God. "Behold, verly, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me"

With the incisiveness and simplicity that had characterized His teachings in Palestine, the Lord thus instructed His newly chosen Twelve: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine" Then, turning to the multitude, Jesus admonished them to give heed to the teachings of the Twelve, and continued with a discourse embodying the sublime principles He had taught among the Jews in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the same splendid array of ennobling precepts are set forth, in both Matthew's and Nephi's versions of this unparalleled address. But a significant difference is observed in every reference to the fulfilment of the Mosaic law. Where the Jewish scriptures record the words as pointing to a fulfilment then incomplete, the corresponding expressions in the Nephite account are in the past tense, the law having been already fulfilled in its entirety through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Many marveled over this matter, wondering what the Lord would have them do concerning the law of Moses. Jesus, conscious of their perplexity, proclaimed in plainness that He was the Giver of the law. His affirmation is particularly explicit: "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses"

"The covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled," says Jesus. "But the law which was given unto Moses, hath an end in me" "Because of stiffneckedness and unbelief," they had failed to comprehend His words, the Father had commanded Him to say no more with reference either to the Nephites or to the third fold"

Even the Jewish apostles wrongly supposed that those "other sheep" were the Gentile nations. Great, however, will be the Lord's mercies and blessings to the Gentiles who accept the truth. All of them who comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel shall be numbered in the house of Israel. Their conversion and enfoldment will be as individuals, and not as nations, tribes, or peoples.

The adoring multitude, numbering about two thousand five hundred souls, thought that Jesus was about to depart; and they tearfully yearned to have Him remain. Voicing the compassion He felt, the Lord directed the people to fetch their afflicted ones, the lame, halt, maimed, blind and deaf, the leprous, and the withered; and when these were brought He healed them, every one. Then, as He commanded, parents brought their little children, and placed them in a circle around Him.

The multitude bowed in prayer; and Jesus prayed for them; "And," wrote Nephi, "no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man" The prayer being ended, Jesus bade the multitude arise; and joyfully He exclaimed: "Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full." Jesus wept. Then He took the children, one by one, and blessed them, praying unto the Father for each. "And when he had done this he wept again, and he spake unto the multitude, and saith unto them, behold your little ones"

The Lord Jesus sent for bread and wine, and caused the people to sit down. The bread He brake and blessed, and gave thereof to the Twelve. These, having eaten, distributed bread to the multitude. The wine was blessed and all partook, the Twelve first, and afterward the people.

The Lord forbade the sacrament of bread and wine to all but the worthy. The bread is the sacred emblem of His body, the wine the token of His blood that had been shed. "For," He explained, "whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth damnation to his soul"

The people were forbidden to cast out from their assemblies those from whom the Sacrament was to be withheld, if so be they would but repent and seek fellowship through baptism. The necessity of prayer was explicitly emphasized by the Lord, the commandment to pray being given to the Twelve and to the multitude separately. Individual supplication, family devotions, and congregational worship were thus enjoined.

The Lord then touched with His hand each of the Twelve, investing them, in words unheard by others, with power to confer the Holy Ghost. On the morrow a yet greater multitude assembled in expectation of the Savior's return. A cloud overshadowed the people, so that the Lord was hidden from their sight. But the twelve disciples "saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven"

Throughout the night messengers had spread the glorious tidings of the Lord's appearing, and of His promise to again visit His people. So great was the assembly that Nephi and his associates caused the people to separate into twelve bodies, to each of which one of the disciples was assigned to impart instruction and to lead in prayer. Led by the chosen disciples the whole vast concourse approached the water's edge. Nephi, going first, was baptized by immersion; he then baptized the eleven others whom Jesus had chosen. When the Twelve had come forth out of the water, "they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and with fire"

Jesus appeared in the midst of the disciples and ministering angels. At His command the Twelve and the multitude knelt in prayer; and they prayed unto Jesus, calling Him their Lord and their God. Jesus separated himself by a little space, and in humble attitude prayed, saying in part: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen"

The disciples were yet fervently praying to Jesus when He returned to them. A second and a third time Jesus retired and prayed unto the Father. While the people comprehended the meaning of His prayer, they confessed and bare record that "so great and marvellous were the words which he prayed, that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man" The Lord rejoiced in the faith of the people, and to the disciples He said: "So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews"

Both the bread and the wine were provided without human aid. Jesus declared Himself to be that Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold, and the Christ of whom all the prophets had testified. This was followed by instructions concerning the covenant people, Israel, of whom the Nephites were a part, and of the relation they would bear to the Gentile nations in the future development of the divine purpose. The sanctity of the ordinance was thus expressed: "He that eateth this bread, eateth of my body to his soul"

The future of Lehi's descendants was pictured as a dwindling in unbelief through iniquity. The Gentiles would grow to be a mighty people on the western continent, even though that land had been given as an ultimate inheritance to the house of Israel. The establishment of the then future but now existent American nation, characterized as "a free people," was thus foretold. God's purpose therein explained: "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father"

As a sign of the time in which the gathering of the several branches of Israel from their long dispersion should take place, the Lord specified the prosperity of the Gentiles in America. It was made plain that all Gentiles who would repent, and accept the gospel of Christ through baptism, should be numbered among the covenant people. The New Jerusalem would be established on the American continent. The joyful account of gathered Israel as Jehovah had given it aforetime through the mouth of His prophet Isaiah, was repeated by the resurrected Jehovah to His Nephite flock.

Admonishing them to ponder the words of the prophets, which were of record amongst them, and to give heed to the new scriptures He had made known, the Lord informed them of the revelations given through Malachi. The prophecies so reiterated by Him who had inspired Malachi to utterance, were at that time obviously of the future, and are even yet unfulfilled in their entirety. The advent of the Lord, to which these scriptures testify, is yet future; but that the time is now near.

The personal ministry of Christ on the occasion of this second visitation lasted three days. He gave the people many scriptures, such as had been before given unto the Jews, for so the Father had commanded. He expounded the purposes of God, from the beginning until the time at which Christ shall return in His glory. In merciful ministration He healed their afflicted folk, and raised a man from the dead.

At later but unspecified times, He showed Himself among the Nephites, and "did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them." After His second ascension from among them, the spirit of prophecy was manifest among the people. The Twelve entered upon their ministry with vigor, teaching all who would hear.

On a certain occasion the Twelve were assembled in "mighty prayer and fasting," seeking instruction on a particular matter. As they supplicated the Father in the Son's name, Jesus appeared amongst them, and asked: "What will ye that I shall give unto you?" Their answer was: "Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church"; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. "And the Lord said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which

for by this name shall ye be called at the last day; and whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the end. Therefore whatsoever ye shall do,Ye shall do it in my name; therefore   - ye shall call the church in myname. And how be it my church, save it be called in my Name?

Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name. In such wise did the Lord confirm as an authoritative bestowal, the name which, through inspiration, had been assumed by His obedient children, The Church of Jesus Christ.

The Lord's explanation as to the one and only Name by which the Church could be appropriately known is cogent and convincing. It was not the church of Lehi or Nephi, of Mosiah or Alma, of Samuel or Helaman; else it should have been called by the name of the man whose church it was, even as today there are churches named after men. But being the Church established by Jesus Christ, it could properly bear none other name than His. Jesus then reiterated to the Nephite Twelve many of the cardinal principles He had before enunciated to them and to the people at large; and commanded that His words be written, excepting certain exalted communications which He forbade them to write.

The Twelve were told that they were to be the judges of their people. In view of such investiture they were admonished to diligence and godliness. The Lord was made glad by the faith and ready obedience of the Nephites. His joy, however, was mingled with sorrow because of the apostasy into which the later generations would fall. This He foresaw as a dire condition that would attain its climax in the fourth generation from that time.

In loving compassion the Lord spoke unto the twelve disciples, one by one, asking: "What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?" All but three expressed the desire that they might continue in the ministry until they had reached a goodly age, and then in due time be received by the Lord into His kingdom. To them Jesus gave blessed assurance, saying: "After that ye are seventy and two years old, ye shall come unto me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest."

He turned to the three who had reserved the request they ventured not to express. "Ye shall never taste of death, but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father," he said. The blessed three were assured that in the course of their prolonged life they should be immune to pain, and should know sorrow only as they grieved for the sins of the world.

For their desire to labor in bringing souls unto Christ as long as the world should stand, they were promised an eventual fulness of joy. The heavens were opened to their gaze; they were caught up, and saw and heard unspeakable things. Though they lived and labored as men among their fellows, preaching, baptizing, and conferring the Holy Ghost upon all who gave heed to their words, the enemies to the truth were powerless to do them injury.

Somewhat later than a hundred and seventy years after the Lord's last visitation, malignant persecution was waged against the Three. For their zeal in the ministry, they were cast into prison; but "the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain" They were incarcerated in underground dungeons; "But they did smite the earth with the word of God"

Mormon avers that in answer to his prayers the Lord had made known unto him that the change wrought upon the bodies of the Three, was such as to deprive Satan of all power over them. For nearly three hundred years, and possibly longer, the Three Nephites ministered visibly among their fellows. But as the wickedness of the people increased these special ministers were withdrawn, and thereafter manifested themselves only to the righteous few.

Moroni, the last prophet of the Nephites, wrote concerning these three disciples of the Lord, that they "did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great, that the Lord would not suffer them to remain with the people" Their ministry was to be extended to Jews and Gentiles, amongst whom they labor unrecognized as of ancient birth. They are sent unto the scattered tribes of Israel, and to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, "that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them"

The Church of Jesus Christ developed rapidly in the land of Nephi. Populous cities replaced the desolation of ruin that had befallen at the time of the Lord's crucifixion. Even the hereditary animosity between Nephites and Lamanites was forgotten; and all lived in peace and prosperity. So great was the unity of the Church that its members owned all things in common, and "therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift"

Nine of the twelve special witnesses chosen by the Lord passed at appointed times to their rest, and others were ordained in their stead. Pride displaced humility, display of costly apparel superseded the simplicity of happier days. Man-made churches multiplied, and persecution, true sister to intolerance, became rampant. The red-skinned Lamanites reverted to their degraded ways, and developed a murderous hostility against their white brothers. All manner of corrupt practises became common among both nations.

For many decades the Nephites retreated before their aggressive foes, making their way north-eastward through what is now the United States. About 400 A.D. the last great battle was fought near the hill Cumorah. The degenerate remnant of Lehi's posterity, the Lamanites or American Indians, have continued until this day. Moroni, the last of the Nephite prophets, hid away the record of his people in theHill Cumorah, whence it has been brought forth by divine direction in the current dispensation. That record is now before the world translated through the gift and power of God, and published to the edification of all nations, as the BOOK of MORMON.

The South American continent in general is called, in the Book of Mormon, the Land of Nephi. Among the Beatitudes certain differences appear, in each of which the Nephite sermon is more explicit. Instead of, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:3), we read, "And blessed are all they who do hunger, and thirst for righteousness" (Nephi 12:3)

Instead of, "for righteousness' sake," (Matt.) we have "for my name's sake" (Nephi) For the difficult passage, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" (Matt. ), we have the clearer expression, "I give unto you to be the salt" (Matt). Instead of "one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," we have, "in me it hath all been fulfilled"

Nephi: "It is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than thatYe should be cast into hell" Matthew: "Those things which were of old time, which were under the law in me, are all fulfilled" John: "I would that I should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect"

3 Nephi 13.6:25-34 was spoken inferentially to the apostles; for they and not the people were to lay aside all worldly pursuits. In the sermon delivered to the Nephites the distinction is thus made clear: "Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" etc.

Matt 7 opens with "Judge not that ye be not judged," without intimation as to its general or special application. A careful, verse-by-verse comparison between the Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Matthew, and the risen Lord's discourse to His people on the western continent is earnestly recommended to every student.

The baptism of the disciples on the morn of the Savior's second visit, was in the nature of a rebaptism, involving a renewal of covenants, and confession of faith in the Lord Jesus. It is possible that in the earlier Nephite baptisms some irregularity in mode or impropriety in the spirit of administering the ordinance may have arisen. As to second or later baptisms, the author has written elsewhere (see The Articles of Faith , vii:12-17) practically as follows.

In the Church today a repetition of the baptismal rite on an individual is allowable under certain specific conditions. In this case the apostle was evidently unconvinced that the baptism had been solemnized by due authority. When he tested the efficacy of their baptism by asking "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they answered him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Then asked he in seeming surprize, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" and they said, Unto John's baptism.

There is no ordinance of "rebaptism" in the Church distinct in nature, form, or purpose, from other baptism. In administering baptism to a subject who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony is exactly the same as in first baptisms. Bear in mind that Christ's ascension took place forty days after His resurrection.

Note 1 , end of chapter. 3 Nephi 11:7; compare Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 9:35; P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:17. See pages 234, 373, and 374 herein.

3 Nephi 21:1-7; for prophecies concerning subsequent events see remainder of chapter. Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple April 3, A.D. 1836, and committed to the Church the keys of authority for vicarious work in behalf of the dead. E.g. of Calvin, Luther, Wesley; see also "The Great Apostasy," 10:21, 22. Note the assurance of a similar commission promised the Jewish apostles: Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30. See also 1 Nephi 12:9. 3 Nephi 27:32 and references given therewith.

4 Nephi 1:3; read 1:23; see pages 705 and 718 herein. Near Manchester, Ontario county, New York. See Mormon, chapters 1-9; and Moroni, chapter 10. For more information, visit Mormon.org.

For over seventeen hundred years on the eastern hemisphere, and for more than fourteen centuries on the western, there appears to have been silence between the heavens and the earth. Of direct revelation from God to man during this long interval, we have no authentic record. As already shown, the period of apostolic ministry on theEastern continent probably terminated before the dawn of the second century of the Christian era. The passing of the apostles was followed by the rapid development of a universal apostasy as had been foreseen and predicted. In the accomplishment of this great falling away, external and internal causes cooperated. Among the disintegrating forces acting from without, the most effective was the persistent persecution to which the saints were subjected, incident to both Judaistic

Vast numbers who had professed membership and many who had been officers in the ministry deserted the Church; while a few were stimulated to greater zeal under the scourge of persecution. Judaism was the earliest oppressor of Christianity, and became the instigator and abettor of the succeeding atrocities incident to pagan persecution. Open and vigorous hostility of the Roman powers against the Christian Church became general during the reign of Nero, (beginning about 64 A.D.), and continued with occasional respites of a few months or even years at a time to the close of Diocletian's reign.

The inhuman cruelty and savage barbarity to which were subjected those who dared profess the name of Christ during these centuries of heathen domination are matters of accepted history. When Constantine the Great came to the throne in the first quarter of the fourth century, a radical change was inaugurated in the attitude of the state toward the church. The emperor straightway made the so-called Christianity of the time the religion of his realm. But the church was already in great measure an apostate institution and even in crude outline of organization and service bore but remote resemblance to the Church of Jesus Christ, founded by the Savior and builded through the instrumentality of the apostles.

The emperor, even though unbaptized, made himself the head of the church, and priestly office was more sought after than military rank or state preferment. The bishop of Rome had already asserted supremacy over his fellows in the episcopate; but when the emperor made Byzantium his capital, and renamed it in his own honor, Constantinople, the bishop of that city claimed equality with the Roman pontiff. The spirit of apostasy, by which the church had become permeated before Constantine threw about it the mantle of imperial protection and emblazoned it with the insignia of state, now was roused to increased activity as the leaven of Satan's own culture flourished under the conditions most favorable for such fung

The claim was contested; the ensuing dissension divided the church. The disruption has persisted until the present day, as is evidenced by the existing distinction between the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic churches. The arrogant assumptions of the Church of Rome were not less extravagant in spiritual than in secular administration. The Roman church became the despotic potentate of nations, and an autocrat above all secular states. Yet this church, reeking with the stench of worldly ambition and lust of dominance, audaciously claimed to be the Church established by Him who affirmed: "My kingdom is not of this world"

In her loudly asserted control over the spiritual destinies of the souls of men, she blasphemously pretended to forgive or retain individual sins, and to inflict or remit penalties both on earth and beyond the grave. She sold permission to commit sin and bartered for gold charters of indulgent forgiveness for sins already done. Her pope, proclaiming himself the vicar of God, sat in state to judge as God Himself. By such blasphemy fulfilled the prophecy of Paul following his warning in relation to the awful conditions antecedent to the second coming of the Christ. "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,

In her unrestrained abandon to the license of arrogated authority, the Church of Rome hesitated not to transgress the law of God, change the ordinances essential to salvation, and ruthlessly break the everlasting covenant, thereby defiling the earth even as Isaiah had foretold.

She altered the ordinance of baptism, destroying its symbolism and associating with it imitations of pagan rites. She promoted idolatry in most seductive and pernicious forms. She enjoined an unnatural state of celibacy upon her clergy. She revelled in unholy union with the theories and sophistries of men, and so adulterated the simple doctrines of the gospel of Christ as to produce a creed rank with superstition and heresy. She proclaimed it an act of virtue insuring rich reward to lie and deceive if thereby her own interests might be subserved. She so thoroughly departed from the original plan of Church organization as to make of herself a spectacle of ornate display, fabricated by the caprice of man.

The most important of the internal causes by which the apostasy of the Primitive Church was brought about may be summarized. The corrupting of the simple doctrines of the gospel of Christ by admixture with so-called philosophic systems. Unauthorized additions to the prescribed rites of the Church and the introduction of vital alterations in essential ordinances. Under the tyrannous repression incident to usurped and unrighteous domination by the Roman church, civilization was retarded and for centuries was practically halted in its course. The period of retrogression is known in history as the Dark Ages. The fifteenth century witnessed the movement known as the Renaissance or Revival of Learning. There was a general and significantly rapid awakening among men, and a determined effort to shake off

The revival has been regarded as an unconscious and spontaneous prompting of the "spirit of the times" It was a development predetermined in the Mind of God to illumine the benighted minds of men in preparation for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was appointed to be accomplished some centuries later. With the renewal of intellectual activity and effort in material betterment, there came, as a natural and inevitable accompaniment, protest and revolt against the ecclesiastical tyranny of the age. The Albigenses in France had risen in insurrection against churchly despotism during the thirteenth century. John Wickliffe of Oxford University had boldly denounced the corruption of the Roman church and clergy, and particularly the restrictions imposed by the pap

The Albigenses had been subjected to inhuman cruelties and unrestrained slaughter. Wickliffe was the subject of severe and persistent persecution. John Huss and Jerome of Prague were prominent on the continent of Europe in agitation against papal despotism. Both fell martyrs to the cause. A notable revolt against the papacy occurred in the sixteenth century, and is known as the Reformation. This movement was begun in 1517 by Martin Luther, a German monk; and it spread so rapidly as soon as soon to involve the whole domain of popedom.

Formal protests against the despotism of the papal church were formulated at a diet or general council held at Spires A.D. 1529. An independent church was proposed by John, Elector of Saxony, a constitution for which was prepared at his instance by Luther and his colleague, Melanchthon. The Protestants were discordant. Being devoid of divine authority to guide them in matters of church organization and doctrine, they followed the diverse ways of men, and were rent within while assailed from without. The Roman church, confronted by determined opponents, hesitated at no extreme of cruelty.

The court of the Inquisition, established in the latter part of the fifteenth century under the infamously sacrilegious name of the "Holy Office," became intoxicated with the lust of barbarous cruelty. In the early stages of the Reformation instigated by Luther, the king of England, Henry VIII, declared himself a supporter of the pope, and was rewarded by a papal bestowal of the distinguishing title "Defender of the Faith" Within a few years, this same British sovereign was excommunicated from the Roman church. The British parliament, in 1534, passed the Act of Supremacy, by which the nation was declared free from all allegiance to papal authority.

By Act of Parliament the king was made the head of the church within his own dominions. Thus was born the Church of England, a direct result of the licentious amours of a debauched and infamous king. With blasphemous indifference to the absence of divine commission, with no semblance of priestly succession, an adulterous sovereign created a church. The zeal of their respective adherents, their professed love of God and devotion to Christ's service, were chiefly signalized by the sword, the ax, and the stake.

Revelling in the realization of at least a partial emancipation from the tyranny of priestcraft, men and nations debauched their newly acquired liberty of thought, speech, and action, in a riot of abhorrent excess. The mis-called Age of Reason, and the atheistical abominations culminating in the French Revolution stand as ineffaceable testimony of what man may become when glorying in his denial of God. Is it to be wondered at, that from the sixteenth century, churches of man's contriving have multiplied with phenomenal rapidity? Churches and churchly organizations professing Christianity as their creed have come to be numbered by hundreds. On every side is heard in this day, "Lo, here is

There are sects named from the circumstances of their origin—as the Church of England. The only organization called a church existing at that time and venturing to assert claim to authority by succession was the Catholic church. If the "mother church" be without a valid priesthood, and devoid of spiritual power, how can her offspring derive from her the right to officiate in the things of God? Who would dare to affirm that man can originate a priesthood which God is bound to honor and acknowledge?

Granted that men may and do create among themselves societies, associations, sects, and even "churches" if they choose so to designate their organizations. granted that they may prescribe rules, formulate laws, and devize plans of operation, discipline, and government, and that all such laws, rules, and schemes of administration are binding upon those who assume membership. Whence can such human institutions derive the authority of the Holy Priesthood, without which there can be no Church of Christ? The apostate condition of Christendom has been frankly admitted by many eminent and conscientious representatives of the several churches, and by churches as institutions.

Even the Church of England acknowledges the awful fact in her official declaration of degeneracy. Let it not be concluded that through the night of the universal apostasy, long and dark as it was, God had forgotten the world. The Spirit of God was operative so far as the unbelief of men permitted. John the apostle, and the Three Nephite disciples, were ministering among men, though unknown.

But through the centuries of spiritual darkness men lived and died without the administration of a contemporary apostle, prophet, elder, bishop, priest, teacher, or deacon. Whatever of the form of Godliness existed in the churches of human establishment was destitute of divine power. The time foreseen by the inspired apostle had fully come. Mankind in general refused to endure sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, did they heap to themselves teachers, after their own lusts, and verily had they turned away their ears from the truth to follow after fables.

The first quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed the cumulative fulfilment of the conditions predicted through the prophet Amos. Throughout the period of apostasy the windows of heaven had been shut toward the world, so as to preclude all direct revelation from God, and particularly any personal ministration or theophany of the Christ. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east"

Mankind had ceased to know God; and had invested the utterances of prophets and apostles of old, who had known Him, with a pall of mystery and fancy. But it had been determined in the councils of heaven, that after many centuries of benighted ignorance the world should be illumined anew by the light of truth. Through the operation of the genius of intelligence, which is the Spirit of Truth, the soul of the race had been undergoing a preparation, like unto the deep plowing of a field, for the planting of the gospel afresh. The principle of the mariner's compass was revealed by the Spirit; the material embodiment thereof was invented by man; and by its aid the unknown oceans were explored.

Toward the end of the fifteenth century Columbus was led by the inspiration of God to the discovery of the New World. In due time the good ships Mayflower and Speedwell brought to the western world the Pilgrim Fathers. The coming of Columbus and the later immigration of the Puritan Pilgrims had been predicted nearly six hundred years before Christ. Their respective missions had been as truly appointed as has been the sending of any prophet with a message to deliver and a work to do.

The war between the American Colonies and the Mother Country had been foretold as further steps in preparation for the restoration of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the embodiment of liberty; it is the truth that shall make free every man and every nation who will accept and obey its precepts. It was not meet that the precious seed of the restored gospel be thrown upon unplowed soil, hardened by intolerance, and fit to produce only thorns of bigotry and rank weeds of mental and spiritual serfdom.

At the appointed time, the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus the Christ appeared to man upon the earth, and inaugurated the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. "The thoughtful student cannot fail to see in the progress of the great apostasy and its results the existence of an overruling power operating toward eventual good, however mysterious its methods" "The eastern world had lost this knowledge of the Lord earlier than the western hemisphere. Upon the land of North America, four hundred years after the birth of our Savior and Master, there stood at least one man who knew the Lord God Almighty as a distinct personality"

The heart-rending persecutions to which the saints were subjected in the early centuries of our era were foreknown to the Lord. While we cannot say or believe that such exhibitions of human depravity and blasphemy of heart were in accordance with the divine will, certainly God willed to permit full scope to the free agency of man. Not less marked is the divine permission in the revolts and rebellions, in the revolutions and reformations, that developed in opposition to the darkening influence of the apostate church. Some won the martyr's crown, and others filled the flagon of their iniquity to overflowing.

Henry VIII in his arrogant assumption of priestly authority, John Knox in Scotland, Roger Williams in America. Their efforts laid in part the foundation of the structure of religious freedom and liberty of conscience. This in preparation for the restoration of the gospel as had been divinely predicted. The Great Apostasy, 10:19, 20. 3. Declaration of a General Apostasy by the Church of England. —The Book of Homilies , from which the quotation given in the text is taken, was published about the middle of the sixteenth century. The official proclamation of a universal apostasy was made prominently current, for the Homilies were "appointed to be read in churches" in lieu of sermons under certain conditions

In the statement cited, the Church of England solemnly avers that a state of apostasy affecting all ages, sects, and degrees throughout whole Christendom, had prevailed for eight hundred years prior to the establishment of the church making the declaration. That this affirmation remains effective today, as both confession and profession, appears from the fact that the homily "Against Peril of Idolatry" and certain other homilies are specifically ratified and endorsed. See "Articles of Religion" xxxv, in current issues of Church of. England, Book of Common Prayer.

The Creed of Saint Athanasius is one of the oldest Christian dogmas. It was written in the first century of the Church of England. The creed has a place in the ritual of some of the Protestant churches. "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity," it says.

The Father is eternal, the Son eternal: and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals: but one eternal. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the son Almighty: and Holy Ghost Almighty. And Yet they areNot three Almighties: butOne Almighty. So the Father, Son, and HolyGhost are God, Lord, and Lord; but not three Lords, but one Lord. "For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity: to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholick Religion: to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords." 5. The Mission of Columbus and Its Results.

Nephi, son of Lehi, was shown the future of his people, including the degeneracy of a branch thereof, afterward known as Lamanites. The coming of a man from among the Gentiles, across the deep waters, was revealed in such plainness as to positively identify that man with Columbus. And the coming of other Gentiles to this land, out of captivity, is equally explicit. The revelation is thus recorded by Nephi to whom it was given: "And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters"

No extended account of the apostasy of the Primitive Church can be attempted here. The reader is referred to special works treating this important subject. See the author's "The Great Apostasy, considered in the Light of Scriptural and Secular History," a work of 176 pages.

The false doctrine of "transubstantiation" is to the effect that the bread and wine administered as emblems of Christ's flesh and blood in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper are transmuted by priestly consecration. See "The Great Apostasy," 8:16-19. For comprehensive treatment of the subject see chapters 6 to 9 inclusive.

Joseph Smith Jr. was profoundly affected by this intense excitement, and was particularly puzzled and troubled over the spirit of confusion and contention manifest through it all. As our present subject has to do with him specifically, and in view of the transcendent importance of his testimony to the world, his own account of what ensued is given herewith.

"Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties"

"For notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real," he writes. "I was at this time in my fifteenth year. A scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and convert against convert"; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.

My father's family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church. "During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness," he said. "My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant"

The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of either reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself, What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?"

"Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine," he said. "At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God," he added. "So, in accordance with this, my determination to Ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt"

"It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally," he writes. "I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak" "It seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction," he adds.

"Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me" "It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound" "My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join"

"No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right—and which I should join," he wrote. "I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong," he said.

"Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement," he said. "I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying, it was all of the devil"

"I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion," he said. "It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over 14 years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance"

But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice"

I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me. I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true. While they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seena vision, and who am I that I can withstand God? I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I would offend God, and come under condemnation. "I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was

I had found the testimony of James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided. In this wise was ushered in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. In the spring of A.D. 1820 there was one mortal, a boy not quite fifteen years old, who knew as well as that he lived, that the current human conception of Deity as an incorporeal essence of something possessing neither definite shape nor tangible substance was incomprehensible. The boy Joseph knew that both the Eternal Father and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, were in form and stature, perfect Men; and that in Their physical likeness mankind had been created in the flesh.

He knew further that the Father and the Son were individual Personages, each distinct from the other. This resplendent theophany confirmed the fact of a universal apostasy, with the inevitable corollary—that the Church of Christ was nowhere existent upon the earth. It effectively dissipated the delusion that direct revelation from the heavens had forever ceased; and affirmatively proved the actuality of personal communication between God and mortals. For the fourth time since the Savior's birth in the flesh, the voice of the Father had attested the Son's authority in matters pertaining to earth and man. He realized that the unity of the Godhead was a oneness of perfection in purpose, plan, and action, as the scriptures

In this latter-day revelation of Himself, as on the earlier occasions, the Father did no more than affirm the fact of the Son's identity, and command that He be obeyed. For about three and a half years following the glorious appearing of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith, the youthful revelator was left to himself, so far as further manifestations from heaven were concerned. The period was one of probation. He was subjected to the sneers of youths of his age, and to aggressive persecution on the part of older men, "who," as he very justly and somewhat accusingly remarks, "ought to have been my friends and to have treated me kindly"

He pursued his usual vocation, that of farm work in association with his father and brothers. In spite of raillery, abuse, and denunciation from the community at large he remained firm and faithful in his solemn avouchment that he had seen and heard both the Eternal Father and Jesus the Christ. On the night of the 21st of September 1823, while engaged in fervent prayer to God in the solitude of his chamber, Joseph observed the room become illuminated until the light exceeded that of a cloudless noon. A glorious personage appeared within the room, standing a little space above the floor. Both the body of the visitant and the loose robe he wore were of exquisite whiteness.

Calling Joseph by name he announced himself as Moroni, "a messenger sent from the presence of God"; and informed the young man that the Lord had a work for him to do. The angel told of a record engraven on plates of gold, which contained an account of the former inhabitants of the American continent, and the fulness of the everlasting gospel as delivered by the Savior to those ancient people. The place at which the plates and the other sacred things were deposited was shown to Joseph in vision, and so clear was the demonstration that he readily recognized the spot when he visited it next day.

The angel quoted several passages from the Old and one from the New Testament, some verbatim, and some with small variations from the Biblical version. Joseph's statement concerning the scriptures cited by Moroni is as follows: "He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles"

"He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers," he said. "In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament" He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people, but soon would come. "He also said that this was not yet fulfilled but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gent

Twice during the same night, however, the angel returned, each time repeating what had been said at his first appearing and adding words of instruction and caution. On the next day Moroni appeared to the young man again, and directed him to inform his father of the visitations and commandments he had received. Joseph then went to the locality specified by the angel, on the side of a hill called in the record Cumorah, and immediately identified the spot that had been shown him in vision. By the aid of a lever he removed a large stone, which proved to be the cover of a stone box wherein lay the plates and other articles described by Moroni. The angel appeared at the place, and forbade Joseph to remove the

Four years later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate were delivered into Joseph's keeping by the angel Moroni. On the 15th of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe in the work of translating the Nephite record, Oliver Cowdery, retired to a secluded glade to pray. That record, or, strictly speaking a part thereof, is now accessible to all; it has been translated through divine instrumentality and is now published in many languages as the Book of Mormon.

Their special purpose was to inquire of the Lord concerning the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, some account of which they had found on the plates. The angelic visitor stated that his name was John, the same who is designated in the New Testament, John the Baptist. He had acted in ordaining the two under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood.

He explained that the Aaronic Priesthood did not comprize "the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost"; but predicted that the Higher Priesthood, having this power, would be conferred later. By his express direction, Joseph baptized Oliver, and the latter in turn baptized Joseph, by immersion in water. Peter, James, and John conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained them to the Holy Apostleship.

In a later revelation the Lord Jesus specifically acknowledges the respective ordinations as having been done by His will and commandment. "Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, jun., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron"

On the sixth day of April A.D. 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized, at Fayette, Seneca county, New York, in accordance with the secular law governing the establishment of religious associations. The persons actually participating in the organization numbered but six, such being the minimum required by law in such an undertaking. Many others were present however, some of whom had already received the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins.

By revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord had previously specified the day on which the organization was to be effected. The Lord had made known His plan of Church government, with detailed instructions as to the requisite conditions for membership. The exact procedure to be followed in the administration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The order of Church discipline, and the method of transferring members from one branch to another. The manner of confirming baptized believers as members of the Church. The duties of elders, priests, teachers, and deacons.

The baptized converts present at the organization were called upon to express their acceptance or rejection of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as elders in the Church. In accordance with the unanimous vote in the affirmative the ordination or setting apart of these two men as respectively first and second elder in the new organization was performed. While the Book of Mormon had been in course of translation, particularly during the two years immediately preceding the organization of the Church, several revelations had been given through Joseph the prophet and seer, relating to the work of translation. The Author of these several revelations declared himself definitely to be Jesus Christ, God, the Son of God and the Redeemer.

As early as A.D. 1829, the calling of the Twelve Apostles was indicated, and appointment was made for the searching out of them. These were subsequently ordained to the Holy Apostleship, and the council or quorum of the 12 has been recognized. In such manner has the Church of Jesus Christ been reestablished upon the earth, with all the powers and authority. as committed by the Lord Jesus to His apostles in the period of His personal ministry. The inauguration of a new dispensation of the gospel, with a restoration of the Priesthood, was absolutely necessary.

John the Revelator saw in his vision of the last days an angel bringing anew "the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth" Such an angelic embassage would have been but a needless and empty display, and therefore an impossibility, had the everlasting gospel remained upon the earth with its powers of priesthood perpetuated by succession. The scriptural assurances of a restoration through direct bestowal from the heavens is conclusive proof of the actuality of the universal apostasy.

Moroni came to Joseph Smith as "a messenger sent from the presence of God," and delivered a record containing "the fulness of the everlasting gospel" as it had been imparted to the Lord's people in ancient times. The world-wide distribution of the Book of Mormon, and of other publications embodying the revealed word in modern times, and the ministry of thousands who labor in the authority of the Holy Priesthood combine as the loud voice addressed to every nation, crying: "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come"

A marvelous manifestation was granted to the prophet and his associate in the presidency of the Church, Sidney Rigdon, the record of which appears as follows. "By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God" "Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son" "The record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision"

Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit. While we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.

"We saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father" "The Lord showed unto His servants and proclaimed aloud the fate of the wicked and the characteristic features of the varied degrees of glory provided for the souls of mankind in the hereafter" "Several states of graded honor and exaltation pertaining to the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial kingdoms were revealed" "Ancient scriptures relating thereto were illumined with the new light of simplicity and literalness"

The temple at Kirtland stands today, a substantial and stately building; but it is no longer in possession of the people who reared it by unmeasured sacrifice of time, substance, and effort extending through years of self-denial and suffering. Be it understood that to the Latter-day Saints a temple is more than chapel, church, tabernacle, or cathedral. It is no place of common assembly even for purposes of congregational worship, but an edifice sacred to the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood—distinctively and essentially a House of the Lord.

Its corner-stones were laid July 23, 1833, and the completed structure was dedicated March 27, 1836. The dedicatory service was made ever memorable by a Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord accompanied by the visible presence of angels. The prophet Joseph and his counselor, Oliver Cowdery, retired for prayer within the veils enclosing the platform and pulpit reserved for the presiding authorities of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice.

For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice. If my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house, Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed. Amen."

After the Savior's withdrawal, the two mortal prophets were visited by glorified beings, each of whom had officiated on earth as a specially commissioned servant of Jehovah. Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. After this, Elias appeared,. and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed. This is the record: "After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us"

After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. JESUS THE CHRIST IS WITH HIS CHURCH TODAY.

Joseph, the prophet, and his brother Hyrum, the patriarch of the Church, were brutally slain as martyrs to the truth at Carthage, Illinois, June 27, 1844. In spite of persecution both mobocratic and judicially sanctioned, in spite of assaults, drivings, and slaughter, the Church has developed with marvelous rapidity and strength since the day of its organization.

But the Lord raised up others to succeed them; and the world learned in part and yet shall know beyond all question that the Church so miraculously established in the last days is not the church of Joseph Smith nor of any other man, but in literal verity, the Church of Jesus Christ. The Lord has continued to make known His mind and will through prophets, seers, and revelators whom He has successively chosen and appointed to lead His people. The voice of divine revelation is heard in the Church today. The spiritual gifts and blessings of old are again enjoyed in rich abundance.

New scriptures, primarily directed to present duties and current developments in the purposes of God, yet which illuminate and make plain in simplicity the scriptures of old, have been given to the world. The predicted gathering of Israel from their long dispersion is in progress under the commission given by the Lord through Moses. The united membership of the Church proclaims: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God"

The "mountain of the Lord's house" is already established in the top of the mountains, and all peoples flow unto it. Within sacred temples, the living are officiating vicariously in behalf of the dead. The saving gospel is offered freely to all, for so hath its Author commanded.

Through the medium of the press, and by the personal ministrations of men invested with the Holy Priesthood, this Gospel of the Kingdom is today preached throughout the world. When such witness among the nations is made complete, "then shall the end come," and the nations "shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory"

And unto Noah also was a dispensation given; for Jesus said, 'As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the times of the coming of the Son of Man' As the righteous were saved then, and the wicked destroyed, so it will be now. "—See Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 220. Limitations of the Aaronic Priesthood.

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were given the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood. The officiating angel explained that the authority he had imparted did not extend to the laying-on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost. The latter ordinance was a function of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, according to the Bible.

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been ordained to the Holy Apostleship, by Peter, James, and John. When they received the Melchizedek Priesthood from the three ancient apostles, there was no organized Church of Jesus Christ. As soon as the Church was established, officers were chosen therein and these were ordained.

It is pertinent to point out that in conferring upon Joseph and Oliver the Aaronic Priesthood, John the Baptist did not ordain them to the office of priest, teacher, or deacon. Read Doc. and Cov. 20:38-67; The Articles of Faith, xi. 4.

In the valleys of Utah the Church has erected four great temples, each more stately than the last. The temples of the present dispensation are those of Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Illinois; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City, Utah; Cardston, Canada, and Laie, Hawaii. See The House of the Lord, pp. 63-232.

The keys of the Aaronic order, comprizing authority to baptize for the remission of sins, were brought by John the Baptist. Moses conferred the authority to prosecute the work of gathering; and Elijah, who, not having tasted death, held a peculiar relation to both the living and the dead, delivered the authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. To these appointments by heavenly authority should be added that given by Elias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and "committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham"

It is evident, then, that the claims made by the Church with respect to its authority are complete and consistent as to the source of the powers professed and the channels through which such have been delivered again to earth. Scripture and revelation, both ancient and modern, support as an unalterable law the principle that no one can delegate to another an authority which the giver does not possess. The Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood was held by the patriarchs from Adam to Moses.

From the ministry of Moses to that of Jesus Christ, the Lesser Priesthood alone was operative upon the earth. Only the instances of specially delegated authority of the higher order such as is manifest in the ministrations of certain chosen prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. These prophets, seers, and revelators were individually and specially commissioned; but it appears that they had not authority to call and ordain successors. In their time the Higher Priesthood was not existent on earth in an organized state with duly officered quorums. Not so with the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood, however. The matter is made particularly plain through latter-day revelation. See Doc. and Cov. 84:

For earlier instances, see pages 126, 371, 725. See B. of M., Mormon 6:6; Moroni 10:2. P. of G.P., Joseph Smith 2:29-54, 59; also "History of the Church," vol. 1, pp. 10-16, 18. See Doc. and Cov. 20:2, 3; compare 21:11.

See "The House of the Lord," pages 114-123. See "Plan of Government in the Restored Church," in "The Articles of Faith," xi:13-32. See Isa. 2:2, 3; compare Micah 4:1, 2; see also Doc. and Cov. 29:8.

The scriptures abound in predictions of the Lord's return. By the "second advent" we understand not the personal appearing of the Son of God to a few, such as His visitation to Saul of Tarsus, to Joseph Smith in 1820, and again in the Kirtland Temple in 1836. His yet future coming in power and great glory, accompanied by hosts of resurrected and glorified beings, to execute judgment upon the earth and to inaugurate a reign of righteousness.

The prophets of both hemispheres, who lived prior to the meridian of time, said comparatively little concerning the Lord's second coming. Certain of them were permitted to behold in vision the working out of the divine purposes even to the end of time. These testified with unsurpassed fervency concerning the glorious coming of Christ in the final dispensation. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied saying, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all"

In a more extended account of the Lord's revelations to Enoch than is included in the Bible, we read that after this righteous prophet had been shown the scenes of Israel's history, he pleaded with God. And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years.

Isaiah, in rapturous contemplation of the eventual triumph of righteousness, exclaimed: "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not" The conditions specified were not realized in the earthly life of the Redeemer. The context clearly shows that the prophet's words are applicable to the last days only.

"Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," Jesus said. The apostles had been so impressed with the Master's assurance that He would return to earth in power and glory, that they eagerly questioned as to the time and signs of His coming. "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation," Jesus declared.

He stated explicitly, though at the time they failed to comprehend Him, that many great events would intervene between His departure and return. After the ascension, throughout the course of apostolic administration, the future coming of the Lord was preached with earnest emphasis. On the occasion of His appearing to the Nephites on the American continent shortly after His ascension from the Mount of Olives, Christ preached the gospel to assembled multitudes. "And he did expound all things, even from the beginning... until the time that he should come in his glory," he said.

In granting the wish of the three Nephite disciples who desired to continue their ministry in the flesh throughout the generations to come, the Lord said unto them: "Ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father, unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled" The word of the Lord has come repeatedly, declaring the actuality of His second advent and the nearness of that glorious yet dreadful event. The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored and reestablished in these the last days.

But a few months after the Church was organized, the voice of Jesus Christ was heard, admonishing the elders to vigilance and proclaiming as follows: "For the hour is nigh, and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe" "I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth"

In the month following, the Lord gave instructions to certain elders, concluding with these portentous words: "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom"

The Lord Jesus addressed a general revelation to His Church in March 1831. His earlier predictions uttered to the Twelve shortly before His betrayal were made plain. "Ye look and behold the fig-trees, and ye see them with your eyes, andYe say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet tender, that summer is now nigh at hand"

"They shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath" "They shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke" "He that watches not for me shall be cut off" "Before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood"

So near is the consummation that the intervening period is called "today" In applying this time designation in the year 1831, the Lord said: "Behold, now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of man)" The date of the future advent of Christ has never been revealed to man. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

In the present age, a similar declaration has been made by the Father: "I, the Lord God, have spoken it, but the hour and the day no man knoweth" Only through watchfulness and prayer may the signs of the times be correctly interpreted and the imminence of the Lord's appearing be apprehended. To the unwatchful and the wicked the event will be as sudden and unexpected as the coming of a thief in the night.

War shall become so general that every man who will not take arms against his neighbor must of necessity flee to the land of Zion for safety. Ephraim shall assemble in Zion on the western continent, and Judah shall be again established in the east. The cities of Zion and Jerusalem shall be the capitals of the world empire, over which Messiah shall reign in undisputed authority. The Lost Tribes shall be brought forth from the place where God has hidden them through the centuries and receive their long deferred blessings. The people of Israel shall be restored from their scattered condition.

In addressing the elders of His Church in 1832, the Lord urged upon them the imperative need of devoted diligence. For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light. And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.

A characteristic of present-day revelation is the reiteration of the fact that the event is nigh at hand, "even at the doors" The fateful time is repeatedly designated in scripture, "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" Fearful indeed will it be to individuals, families, and nations, who have so far sunk into sin as to have forfeited their claim to mercy. The time is not that of the final judgment—when the whole race of mankind shall stand in the resurrected state before the bar of God. Nevertheless it shall be a time of unprecedented blessing unto the righteous and of condemnation and vengeance upon the wicked.

With Christ shall come those who have already been resurrected. His approach shall be the means of inaugurating a general resurrection of the righteous dead. The pure and just who are still in the flesh shall be instantaneously changed from the mortal to the immortal state and shall be caught up with the newly resurrected to meet the Lord and His celestial company, and shall descend with Him. To this effect did Paul prophesy: "Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him"

The coming of Christ in the last days is to mark the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. The heathen nations shall be redeemed and have part in the first resurrection. The faithful apostles who were with Jesus in His earthly ministry are to be enthroned as judges of the whole house of Israel.

The Kingdom of God is the Church established by divine authority upon the earth. Its sceptre of power is that of the Holy Priesthood, to be used in the preaching of the gospel. The Kingdom of Heaven is the divinely ordained system of government and dominion in all matters, temporal and spiritual. This will be established on earth only when its rightful Head, the King of kings, Jesus the Christ, comes to reign. When Christ appears in His glory, and not before, will be realized a complete fulfilment of the supplication: "Thy kingdom come"

The Kingdom of God has been established among men to prepare them for the Kingdom of Heaven which shall come. In the blessed reign of Christ the King shall the two be made one. The relationship between them has been revealed to the Church in this wise: "Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men"

The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth. Yea, a voice crying—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom.

The inauguration of Christ's reign on earth is to be the beginning of a period that shall be distinct in many important particulars from all precedent and subsequent time. The righteous dead shall have come forth from their graves, while the wicked shall remain unresurrected until the thousand years be past. Men yet in the flesh shall mingle with immortalized beings. Children shall grow to maturity and then die in peace or be changed to immortality "in the twinkling of an eye"

There shall be surcease of enmity between man and beast. The venom of serpents and the ferocity of the brute creation shall be done away, and love shall be the dominant power of control. Among the earliest revelations on the subject is that given to Enoch.

In these latter days the Lord has thus spoken, requiring preparation for the Millennial era, and describing in part the glories thereof: "And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together" And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man. And there shall be no sorrow because there is no death.

The Millennium is to precede the time designated in scriptural phrase "the end of the world" When the thousand years are passed, Satan shall be loosed for a little season, and the final test of man's integrity to God shall ensue. Such as are prone to impurity of heart shall yield to temptation while the righteous shall endure to the end.

A revelation to this effect was given the Church in 1831, in part as follows: "For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come" "The wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before me in judgment" "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds." "The vanquishment of Satan and his hosts shall be complete"

The dead, small and great, all who have breathed the breath of life on earth, shall be resurrected. Every soul that has tabernacled in flesh, whether good or evil, shall stand before God, to be judged according to the record as written in the books. So shall be brought to glorious consummation the mission of the Christ. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever and ever.

The earth shall pass to its glorified and celestialized condition, an eternal abode for the exalted sons and daughters of God. Forever shall they reign, kings and priests to the Most High, redeemed, sanctified, and exalted through their Lord and God. JESUS THE CHRIST. NOTES TO CHAPTER 42.

"And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection" (Doc. and Cov. 45:54) Such is the word of the Lord with respect to those benighted peoples who live and die in ignorance of the laws of the gospel. This affirmation is sustained by other scriptures, and by a consideration of the principles of true justice according to which humanity is to be judged. Man shall be accounted blameless or guilty according to his deeds as interpreted in the light of the law under which he is required to live. It is inconsistent with our conception of a just God to believe Him capable of inflicting condemnation upon any one for non-compliance with a requirement of which

The laws of the gospel cannot be suspended even in the case of those who have sinned in darkness and ignorance. It is reasonable to believe that the plan of redemption shall afford such benighted ones an opportunity of learning the laws of God. As fast as they so learn, will obedience be required on pain of the penalty. See Articles of Faith, xxi:33. 3. Regeneration of the Earth.

This appointed change, by which the earth shall pass to the condition of a celestialized world, is referred to in numerous scriptures as the institution of "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1, 3, 4) See Acts 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 4:5; 11:26; Philip. 3: 20; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-18.

The context shows that the words are those of the Father. Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; compare Matt. 24:43, 44; 25:13; Luke 12:39, 40. See also Doc. and Cov. 49:23-28.

For a fuller treatment of this subject as also the distinction between Church and Kingdom, see "Articles of Faith," xx:16-26. Rev. 20:1-6; compare Doc. and Cov. 43:18. Doc. 63:50-51; 101:30; compare 1 Cor. 15:51-57. 1. P. of G.P., Moses 7:63-65; Doc. 101:23-32; compare Isa. 65:17-25 and 11:6-9; see also Doc. 29:11, 22; 43:30, 63:51.