,quiet ,talks about ,jesus by ,s4 ,d4 ,gordon ,author of ,quiet ,talks on ,power1 and ,quiet ,talks on ,prayer ,contents ,a ,bit ,ahead ,i4 ,the ,purpose of ,jesus4 #a4 ,the ,purpose in ,jesus' ,coming #b4 ,the ,plan for ,jesus' ,coming #c4 ,the ,tragic ,break in the ,plan #d4 ,some ,surprising ,results of the ,tragic ,break ,,ii4 ,the ,person of ,jesus4 #a4 ,the ,human ,jesus #b4 ,the ,divine ,jesus #c4 ,the ,winsome ,jesus ,,iii4 ,the ,great ,experiences or ,jesus' ,life4 #a4 ,the ,jordan3 ,the ,decisive ,start #b4 ,the ,wilderness3 ,temptation #c4 ,the ,transfiguration3 ,an ,emergency ,measure #d4 ,gethsemane3 ,the ,strange1 ,lone ,struggle #e4 ,calvary3 ,victory #f4 ,the ,resurrection3 ,gravity ,upward #g4 ,the ,ascension3 ,back ,home ,again ,until---- ,,iv4 ,study ,notes ,show me1 ,i pray thee1 ,thy glory4--,moses4 ,when ,i could not see for the glory of that light4--,paul4 ,but we all with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the ,lord are transformed into the same image from glory to glory4--,paul4 ,the light of the knowledge of the glory of ,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ4--,paul4 ,since mine eyes were fixed on ,jesus1 ,i've lost sight of all beside1 ,so enchained my spirit's vision1 ,looking at the ,crucified4 --,from ,winnowed ,hymns4 ,a ,bit ,ahead ,so far as ,i can find out1 ,i have no theory about ,jesus to make these talks fit into4 ,i have tried to find out for myself what the old ,book of ,god tells about ,him4 ,and here ,i am trying to tell to others1 as simply as ,i can1 what ,i found4 ,it was by the tedious1 twisting path of doubt that ,i climbed the hill of truth up to some of its summits of certainty4 ,i am free to confess that ,i am ignorant of the subject treated here save for the statements of that ,book1 and for the assent within my own spirit to these statements1 which has greatly deepened the impression they made1 and make4 ,there is no question raised here about that ,book itself1 but simply a taking and grouping up together of what it says4 ,most persons simply read a book4 ,a few study it1 also4 ,it is good to read4 ,it is yet better to go back over it and study1 and meditate4 ,since learning that the two books on power and prayer have been used in ,bible classes ,i have regretted not including study notes in them4 ,for those who may want to study about ,jesus there has been added at the close a simple analysis with references4 ,the reading pages have been kept free of foot-notes to make the reading smooth and easier4 ,the analysis is so arranged that one can quickly turn in reading to the corresponding paragraph or page in the study notes4 ,a great musician strikes the key-note of a great piece of music1 and can skilfully keep it ever sounding its melody through all the changes clear to the end4 ,it has been in my heart to wish that ,i could do something like that here4 ,if what has come to me has gotten out of me into these pages1 there will be found a dominant note of sweetest music--the winsomeness of ,god in ,jesus4 ,it is in my heart1 too1 to add this1 that ,i have a friend whose constant presence and prayer have been the atmosphere of this little book in its making4 ,i4 ,the ,purpose of ,jesus #a4 ,the ,purpose in ,jesus' ,coming4 #b4 ,the ,plan for ,jesus' ,coming4 #c4 ,the ,tragic ,break ,in ,the ,plan4 #d4 ,some ,surprising ,results of the ,break4 ,the ,purpose in ,jesus' ,coming u,god ,spelling ,himself out in ,jesus4_/u ,jesus is ,god spelling ,himself out in language that man can understand4 ,god and man used to talk together freely4 ,but one day man went away from ,god4 ,and then he went farther away4 ,he left home4 ,he left his native land1 ,eden1 where he lived with ,god4 ,he emigrated from ,god4 ,and through going away he lost his mother-tongue4 ,a language always changes away from its native land4 ,through going away from his native land man lost his native speech4 ,through not hearing ,god speak he forgot the sounds of the words4 ,his ears grew dull and then deaf4 ,through lack of use he lost the power of speaking the old words4 ,his tongue grew thick4 ,it lost its cunning4 ,and so gradually almost all the old meanings were lost4 ,god has always been eager to get to talking with man again4 ,the silence is hard on ,him4 ,he is hungry to be on intimate terms again with his old friend4 ,of course he had to use a language that man could understand4 ,jesus is ,god spelling ,himself out so man can understand4 ,he is the ,a and the ,z1 and all between1 of the ,old ,eden language of love4 ,naturally enough man had a good bit of bother in spelling ,jesus out4 ,this ,jesus was something quite new4 ,when ,his life spoke the simple language of ,eden again1 the human heart with selfishness ingrained said1 ,that sounds good1 but of course ,he has some selfish scheme behind it all4 ,this purity and simplicity and gentleness can't be genuine4 ,nobody yet seems to have spelled ,him out fully1 though they're all trying3 ,all on the spelling bench4 ,that is1 all that have heard4 ,great numbers haven't heard about ,him yet4 ,but many1 ah6 many could get enough1 yes1 can get enough to bring ,his purity into their lives and sweet peace into their hearts4 ,but there were in ,his days upon earth some sticklers for the old spelling forms4 ,not the oldest1 mind you4 ,jesus alone stands for that4 ,this ,jesus didn't observe the idioms that had grown up outside of ,eden4 ,these people had decided that these old forms were the only ones acceptable4 ,and so they disliked ,him from the beginning1 and quarrelled with ,him4 ,these idioms were dearer to them than life--that is1 than ,his life4 ,so having quarrelled1 they did worse1 and then--softly--worst4 ,but even in their worst1 ,jesus was ,god spelling ,himself out in the old simple language of ,eden4 ,his best came out in their worst4 ,some of the great nouns of the ,eden tongue--the ,god tongue--,he spelled out big4 ,he spelled out purity1 the natural life of ,eden2 and obedience1 the rhythmic harmony of ,eden2 and peace1 the sweet music of ,eden2 and power1 the mastery and dominion of ,eden2 and love1 the throbbing heart of ,eden4 ,it was in biggest1 brightest letters that love was spelled out4 ,he used the biggest capitals ever known1 and traced each in a deep dripping red1 with a new spelling--s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e4 u,jesus is ,god1 following us up4_/u ,you see1 the heart of ,god had been breaking--is breaking over the ways things have been going down on this planet4 ,folk fail to understand ,him4 ,worse yet1 they misunderstand ,him1 and feel free to criticize ,him4 ,nobody has been so much slandered as ,god4 ,many are utterly ignorant of ,him4 ,many others who are not ignorant yet ignore ,him4 ,they turn their faces and backs4 ,some give ,him the cut direct4 ,the great crowd in every part of the world is yearning after ,him3 piteously1 pathetically1 most often speechlessly yearning1 blindly groping along1 with an intense inner tug after ,him4 ,they know the yearning4 ,they feel the inner1 upward tug4 ,they don't understand what it is for which they yearn1 nor what will satisfy4 ,for man was made to live in closest touch with ,god4 ,that is his native air4 ,out of that air his lungs are badly affected4 ,this other air is too heavy4 ,it's malarial1 and full of gases and germy dust4 ,in it he chokes and gasps4 ,yet he knows not why4 ,he gropes about in the night made by his own shut eyes4 ,he doesn't seem to know enough to open them4 ,and sometimes he will not open them4 ,for the hinge of the eyelid is in the will4 ,and having shut the light out1 he gets tangled up in his ideas as to what is light4 ,he puts darkness for light1 and light for darkness4 ,once man knew ,god well2 close up4 ,and that means loved1 gladly1 freely4 ,for here to know is to love4 ,but one day a bad choice was made4 ,and the choice made an ugly kink in his will4 ,the whole trouble began there4 ,a man sees through his will4 ,that is his medium for the transmission of light4 ,if it be twisted1 his seeing1 his understanding1 is twisted4 ,the twist in the will regulates the twist in the eye4 ,both ways1 too1 for a good change in the will in turn changes the eyes back to seeing straight4 ,he that is willing to do the right shall clearly see the light4 ,but that first kink seems to have been getting worse kinked ever since4 ,and so man does not see ,god as ,he is4 ,man is cross-eyed ,godward1 but doesn't know it4 ,man is color-blind toward ,god4 ,the blue of ,god's truth is to him an arousing1 angering red4 ,the soft1 soothing green of ,his love becomes a noisy1 irritating yellow4 ,nobody has been so much misunderstood as ,god4 ,he has suffered misrepresentation from two quarters3 ,his enemies and ,his friends4 ,more from--which8 ,hard to tell4 ,jesus is ,god trying to tell men plainly what ,he is really like4 ,the world turned down the wrong lane1 and has been going that way pell-mell ever since4 ,yet so close is the wrong lane to the right that a single step will change lanes4 ,though many results of being in the wrong lane will not be changed by the change of lanes4 ,it takes time to rest up the feet made sore by the roughness of the wrong lane4 ,and some of the scars1 where men have measured their length1 seem to stay4 ,the result of that wrong turning has been pitiable4 ,separation from ,god1 so far as man could make separation4 ,there is no separation on ,god's part4 ,he has never changed4 ,he remains in the world1 but because of man's turning his face away1 ,he remains as a stranger1 unrecognized4 ,he remains just where man left ,him4 ,and any one going back to that point in the road will find ,him standing waiting with an eager light glistening in ,his eyes4 ,no6 ,that's not accurate4 ,he is a bit nearer than ever ,he was4 ,he is following us up4 ,he is only a step off4 ,jesus is ,god eagerly following us up4 u,the ,early ,eden ,picture4_/u ,but one will never get to understand this ,jesus until he gets a good look at man as he was once1 and as he is now4 ,the key to understanding ,jesus is man1 even as ,jesus is the key to ,god4 ,one must use both keys to get into the inner heart of ,god4 ,to get hold of that first key one must go back to the start of things4 ,the old ,book of ,god opens with a picture that is fascinating in its simplicity and strength4 ,there is an unfallen man4 ,he is fresh from the hand of ,god1 free of scar and stain and shrivelling influence4 ,he is in a garden4 ,he is walking hand in hand with ,god1 and working side by side with ,god3 friendship and partnership4 ,friends in spirit3 partners in service4 ,the distinctive thing about the man is that he is like ,god4 ,he and ,god are alike4 ,in this he differs from all creation4 ,he is ,god's link between ,himself and ,his ,creation4 ,particular pains is taken by repetition and change of phrase to make clear and emphatic that it was in the very image of ,god that man was made4 ,just what does it mean that we men were made in ,god's likeness8 ,well1 the thing has been discussed back and forth a good bit4 ,probably we will not know fully till we know as we are known4 ,in the morning when we see ,him we shall be like ,him fully again4 ,then we'll know4 ,that morning's sun will clear up a lot of fog4 ,but a few things can be said about it now with a positiveness that may clear the air a bit1 and help us recognize the dignity of our being1 and behave accordingly4 ,man came into being by the breath of ,god4 ,god breathed ,himself into man4 ,the breath that ,god breathed out came into man as life4 ,the very life of man is a bit of ,god4 ,man is of the essence of ,god4 ,every man is the presence-chamber of ,god4 ,god is a ,spirit4 ,man is a spirit4 ,he lives in a body4 ,he thinks through a mind4 ,he is a spirit1 using the body as a dwelling-place1 and the mind as his keenest instrument4 ,all the immeasurable possibilities and capacities of spirit being are in man4 ,god is an infinite spirit4 ,that is1 we cannot understand ,him fully4 ,he is very close to us4 ,the relationship is most intimate1 and tender1 yet ,his fulness is ever beyond our grasp and our ken4 ,man is infinite in that he knows that ,god is infinite4 ,only like can appreciate like4 ,he can appreciate that he cannot appreciate ,god1 except in part4 ,he understands that he does not understand ,god save in smaller part4 ,he knows enough to love passionately4 ,and through loving as well as through knowing he knows that there is infinitely more that he does not know4 ,only man of all earth's creation knows this4 ,in this he is like ,god4 ,the difference between ,god and man here is in the degree of infinity4 ,that degree of difference is an infinite degree4 ,yet this is the truth4 ,but more yet3 man has this same quality manward4 ,he is infinite in that he cannot be fully understood in his mental processes and motives4 ,he is beyond grasp fully by his fellow4 ,even one's most intimate friend who knows most and best must leave unknown more than is known4 ,god is an eternal spirit4 ,he has always lived4 ,he will live always4 ,he knows no end1 at either end4 ,all time before there was time1 and after the time-book is shut1 is to ,him a passing present4 ,man is an eternal spirit1 because of ,god4 ,he will know no end4 ,he will live always because the breath of ,god is his very being4 ,god is love4 ,he yearns for love4 ,he loves4 ,and more1 ,he is love4 ,man is like ,god in his yearning for love1 in his capacity for love1 and in his lovableness4 ,man must love4 ,he lives only as he loves4 ,true love1 and only that1 is the real life4 ,he will give up everything for love4 ,he is satisfied only as he loves and finds love4 ,to love is greater than to be loved4 ,one cannot always have both4 ,god does not4 ,but every one may love4 ,every one does love4 ,and only as there is love1 pure and true--however overlaid with what is not so--only so is there life4 ,god is holy4 ,that word seems to include purity and righteousness4 ,there is utter absence of all that should not be4 ,there is in ,him all that should be1 and that in fulness beyond our thinking4 ,man was made holy4 ,there is in the ,genesis picture of ,eden a touch that for simplicity and yet for revealing the whole swing of moral action is most vivid4 ,in the presence of conditions where man commonly1 universally1 the world around1 and time through1 has been and is most sensitive to suggestion of evil there is with this first man the utter absence of any thought of evil4#a ,in the light of after history there could be no subtler1 stronger statement than this of his holiness1 his purity1 at this stage4 ,and in his capacity for holiness1 in that intensest longing for purity1 and loathing of all else1 that comes as the ,spirit of ,god is allowed sway1 is revealed again the capacity for ,god-likeness4 ,it is the prophetic dawn within of that coming ,eden when again we shall see ,his face1 and have the original likeness fully restored4 ,god is wise1 all-wise4 ,among the finest passages of the' ,christian's classic are those that represent ,god as personified wisdom4 ,and here wisdom includes all knowledge and justice4 ,that the ,spirit of ,god breathed into man ,his own mental life is stated most keenly by the man who proverbially embodied in himself this quality of wisdom4 ,the spirit of man is the lamp of the ,lord searching out the innermost parts4 ,the allusion is clearly to intellectual powers4 ,there is in man the same quality of mental keenness that searches into things as is in ,god4 ,it is often dulled1 gripped by a sort of stupor1 so overlaid you would hardly guess it was there4 ,but1 too1 as we all know1 it often shines out with a startling brilliance4 ,it is less in degree than with ,god1 but it is the same thing1 a bit of ,god in man4 ,this explains man's marvellous achievements in literature1 in invention1 in science1 and in organization4 ,two light master-strokes of the etching point in the ,eden picture reveal the whole mental equipment of the man4 ,the only sayings of ,adam's preserved for us are when ,god brought to him the woman4 ,she is the occasion for sayings that reveal the mental powers of this first man4 ,fittingly it is so4 ,woman1 when true to herself1 has ever been the occasion for bringing out the best in man4 ,and the man said1 this time it is bone of my bones1 and flesh of my flesh2 this shall be called woman1 because out of man was this one taken4 ,therefore doth a man leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife1 and they become one flesh4 444 ,and the man called his wife's name ,eve2 because she was the mother of all living4 ,here is revealed at a glance the keen mental powers at work4 ,here is the simplicity of statement that marks the speech of strong men4 ,the whole forest is in a single acorn4 ,the whole of a human life is in the primal cell4 ,the chemist knows the whole body by looking into one drop of blood4 ,here is revealed in one glance the whole man4 ,mark the keen sense of fitness in the naming of woman--the last and highest creation4 ,adam was a philologist4 ,his mind was analytical4 ,inferentially the same keen sense of fitness guided in all the names he had chosen4 ,here is recognition of the plan for the whole race1 a simple unlabored foresight into its growth4 ,a man's relation to his wife1 his ,god-chosen friend1 as being the closest of life1 and above all others is recognized1 together with the consequent obligation upon him4 ,she comes first of all4 ,she becomes the first of all his relationships4 ,the man and the woman--one man and one woman--united1 make the true unit of society4 ,any disturbance of that strikes at the very vitals of society4 ,and ,god is a ,sovereign--the sovereign of the vast swing of worlds4 ,man likewise is a sovereign in the realm of nature1 and over all the lower creation4 ,he was given dominion1 kingship1 over all the earth-creation4 ,man is a king4 ,he is of the blood royal4 ,he was made to command1 to administrate1 to reign4 ,he is the judge of last appeals on the bench of earth4 ,but there is more here4 ,the chief characteristic of an absolute sovereign is the imperial power to choose1 to decide4 ,man was made an absolute sovereign in his own will4 ,god is the absolute sovereign4 ,he has made man an absolute sovereign in one realm1 that of his will1 his power of choice4 ,there is one place where man reigns alone1 an absolute autocrat1 where not even ,god can come save as the autocrat desires it1 that is in his will4 ,and if that can bother you1 remember that it was ,god's sovereign act that made it so4 ,so that ,god remains sovereign in making man a sovereign in the realm of his will4 ,there every man sits in imperial solitude4 ,here then is the picture of man fresh from the hand of ,god4 ,a spirit1 in a body1 with an unending life1 partly infinite1 like ,god in his capacity for love1 for holiness1 and wisdom1 with the gift of sovereignty over the lower creation1 and in his own will4 ,like ,him too in his capacity for fellowship with ,god4 ,for only like can have fellowship with like4 ,it is only in that in which we are alike that we can have fellowship4 ,these two1 ,god and man1 walking side by side1 working together1 friendship in spirit2 partnership in service4 ,this man is in a garden of trees and bushes1 with fruit and flowers and singing birds1 roses with no pricking thorns1 soft green with no weeds1 and no poison ivy1 for there is no hate4 ,and he is walking with ,god1 talking familiarly as chosen friend with choicest friend4 ,together they work in the completion of creation4 ,god brings ,his created beings one by one to man to be catalogued and named1 and accepts his decisions4 ,what a winsome picture4 ,these two1 ,god and a man in ,his likeness1 walking and working side by side2 likeness in being2 friendship1 fellowship in spirit2 partnership1 comradeship in service4 ,and this is ,god's thought for man6 u,man's ,bad ,break4_/u ,then come the climax and the crisis4 ,a climax is the climbing to the top rung of the ladder4 ,a crisis is the meeting place of possible victory and possible disaster4 ,a single step divides between the two--the precipice-height1 and the canon's yawning gulf4 ,it was a climax of opportunity2 and a crisis of action4 ,god's climax of opportunity to man4 ,man's crisis of action4 ,god made man sovereign in his power of choice4 ,now ,he would go the last step and give him the opportunity of using that power and so reaching the topmost levels4 ,god led man to the hill of choice4 ,the man must climb the hill if he would reach its top4 ,only the use of power gives actual possession of the power4 ,what we do not use we lose4 ,the pressure of the foot is always necessary to a clear title4 ,to him that hath possible power shall be given actual power through use4 ,this opportunity was the last love-touch of ,god in opening up the way into the fulness of ,his image4 ,with ,his ideal for man ,god went to ,his limit in giving the power4 ,he could give the power of choice4 ,man must use the power given4 ,only so could he own what had been given4 ,god could open the door4 ,man must step over the door-sill4 ,action realizes power4 ,the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the tree of choice4 ,obedience to ,god was the one thing involved4 ,that simply meant1 as it always means1 keeping in warm touch with ,god4 ,all good absolutely is bound up in this--obeying ,god1 keeping in warm touch4 ,to obey ,him is the very heart of good4 ,all evil is included in disobeying ,him4 ,to disobey1 to fail to obey is the seeded core of all evil4 ,whichever way he chose he would exercise his ,god-like power of choice4 ,whichever way he chose1 the knowledge would come4 ,if he chose to obey he would know good by choosing it1 and evil by rejecting it4 ,he knew neither good nor evil1 for he had not yet had the contact of choice4 ,knowledge comes only through experience4 ,in choosing not to obey1 choosing to disobey1 he would know evil with a bitter intimacy by choosing it4 ,he would become acquainted with the good which he had shoved ruthlessly away4 ,with the opportunity came the temptation3 ,god's opportunity2 ,satan's temptation4 ,satan is ever on the heels of ,god4 ,two inclined planes lead out of every man's path4 ,two doors open into them side by side4 ,god's door up1 the tempter's door down1 and only a door-jamb between4 ,here the split hoof can be seen sticking from under the cloak's edge at the very start4 ,satan hates the truth4 ,he is afraid of it4 ,yet he sneaks around the sheltering corner of what he fears and hates4 ,the sugar coating of his gall pills he steals from ,god4 ,the devil bare-faced1 standing only on his own feet1 would be instantly booted out at first approach4 ,and right well he knows it4 ,a cunning half lie opens the way to a full-fledged lie1 but still coupled with a half-truth4 ,the suggestion that ,god was harshly prohibiting something that was needful leads to the further suggestion that ,he was arbitrarily1 selfishly holding back the highest thing1 the very thing ,he was supposed to be giving1 that is1 likeness to ,himself4 ,eve was getting a course in suggestion4 ,this was the first lesson4 ,the school seems to be in session still4 ,the whole purpose is to slander ,god1 to misrepresent ,him4 ,that has been ,satan's favorite method ever since4 ,god is not good4 ,he makes cruel prohibitions4 ,he keeps from us what we should have4 ,it is passing strange how every one of us has had that dust in his eyes4 ,some of us might leave the had out of that sentence4 ,see how cunningly the truth and the lie are interwoven by this old past-master in the sooty art of lying4 ,your eyes shall be opened1 and ye shall be as ,god knowing good and evil4 ,it was true because by the use of this highest power of choice he would become like ,god1 and through choosing he would know4 ,it is cunningly implied with a sticky1 slimy cunning that1 by not eating1 that likeness and knowledge would not come4 ,that was the lie4 ,the choice either way would bring both this element of likeness to ,god in the sovereign power of choice1 and the knowledge4 ,then came the choice4 ,the step up was a step down3 up into the use of his highest power2 down by the use of that power4 ,in that wherein he was most like ,god in power1 man became most unlike ,god in character4 ,first the woman chose3 then the man4 ,satan subtly begins his attack upon the woman4 ,because she was the weaker8 ,certainly not4 ,because she was the stronger4 ,not the leader in action1 but the stronger in influence4 ,he is the leader in action3 she in influence4 ,the greater includes the less4 ,satan is a master strategist1 bold in his cunning4 ,if the citadel can be gotten1 all is won4 ,if he could get the woman he would get the man4 ,she includes him4 ,she who was included in him now includes him4 ,the last has become first4 ,she was deceived4 ,he was not deceived4 ,the woman chose unwarily for the supposed good4 ,the man chose with open eyes for the woman's sake4 ,could the word gallantry be used8 ,was it supposed friendship8 ,he would not abandon her8 ,yet he proved not her friend that day1 in stepping down to this new low level4 ,man's habit of giving smoothly spoken words to woman1 while shying sharp-edged stones at her1 should in all honesty be stopped4 ,man can throw no stones at woman4 ,if the woman failed ,god that day1 the man failed both ,god and the woman4 ,if it be true that through her came the beginning of the world's sin1 through her1 too1 be it gratefully and reverently remembered1 came that which was far greater--the world's ,saviour4 ,the choice was made4 ,the act was done4 ,tremendous act6 ,bring your microscope and peer with awe into that single act4 ,no fathoming line can sound its depth4 ,no measuring rod its height nor breadth4 ,no thought can pierce its intensity4 ,that reaching arm went around a world4 ,millenniums in a moment4 ,a million miles in a step4 ,an ocean in a drop4 ,volumes in a word4 ,a race in a woman4 ,a hell of suffering in an act4 ,the depths of woe in a glance4 ,the first chapter of ,romans in ,genesis three1 six4 ,sharpest pain in softest touch4 ,god mistrusted--distrusted4 ,satan embraced4 ,sin's door open4 ,eden's gate shut4 ,mark keenly the immediate result that came with that intense rapidity possible only to mental powers4 ,at once they were both conscious of something that had not entered their thoughts before4 ,to the pure all things are pure4 ,to the imagination hurt by breaking away from ,god1 the purest things can bring up suggestions directly opposite4 ,through the open door of disobedience came with lightning swiftness the suggestion of using a pure1 holy function of the body in a way and for a purpose not intended4 ,making an end of that which was meant to be only a means to a highest end4 ,degrading to an animal pleasure that which held in its pure hallowed power the whole future of the race4 ,there is absolutely no change save in the inner thought4 ,but what a horrid heredity in that one flash of the imagination6 ,every sin lives first in the imagination4 ,the imagination is sin's brooding and birth-place4 ,an inner picture1 a lingering glance1 a wrong desire1 an act--that is the story of every sin4 ,the first step was disobedience4 ,that opened the door4 ,the first suggestion of wrong-doing that followed hot on the heels of that first step1 through that open door1 struck at the very vitals of the race--both its existence and its character4 ,that first suggested unnatural action1 with its whole brood1 has become the commonest and slimiest sin of the race4 ,here1 in the beginning1 the very thought shocked them4 ,in that lay their safety4 ,shame is the recoil of ,god's image from the touch of sin4 ,shame is sin's first checkmate4 ,it is man's vantage for a fresh pull up4 ,there are only two places where there is no shame3 where there is no sin2 where sin is steeped deepest in4 ,the extremes are always jostling elbows4 ,instantly the sense of shame suggested a help4 ,a simple bit of clothing was provided4 ,it was so adjusted as to help most4 ,clothing is man's badge of shame4 ,the first clothing was not for the body1 but for the mind4 ,not for protection1 but for concealment1 that so the mind might be helped to forget its evil suggestions4 ,it is one of sin's odd perversions that draws attention by color and cut to the race's badge of shame4 ,it would seem strongly suggestive of moral degeneracy1 or of bad taste1 or1 let us say in charity1 of a lapse of historical memory4 ,mark the sad soliloquy of ,god3 ,behold the man has become as one of us3 ,he has exercised his power of choice4 ,he tenderly refrains from saying1 and has chosen wrong6 so pitiably wrong6 ,that was plain enough4 ,he would not rub in the acid truth4 ,he would not make the scar more hideous by pointing it out4 ,and now lest he put forth his hand and take of the tree of life4 ,lest6 ,there is a further danger threatening4 ,in his present condition he needs guarding for his own sake in the future4 ,lest--wrong choice limits future action4 ,sin narrows4 ,with man's act of sin came ,god's act of saving4 ,satan is ever on the heels of ,god to hurt man4 ,but ,god is ever on the heels of ,satan to cushion the hurt and save the man4 ,it is a nip-and-tuck race with ,god a head and a heart in the lead4 ,something had to be done4 ,man had started sin in himself by his choice4 ,the taint of disobedience1 rebellion1 had been breathed out into the air4 ,he had gotten out of sorts with his surroundings4 ,his presence would spoil his own heaven4 ,the stain of his sin would have been upon his eternal life4 ,the zero of selfishness would have been the atmosphere of his home4 ,the touch of his unhallowed hand must be taken away for his own sake4 ,that unhallowed touch has been upon every function and relationship of life outside those gates4 ,nothing has escaped the slimy contact4 ,sin could not be allowed to stay there4 ,its presence stole heaven away from heaven4 ,yet sin had become a part of the man4 ,the man and the wrong were interwoven4 ,they were inseparable4 ,sin has such a tenacious1 gluey1 sticky touch6 ,each included the other4 ,it could not be put out without his being put out4 ,so man had to be driven out for his own sake to rid his home-spot of sin4 ,the man was driven out that he might come back--changed4 ,love drove him out that later it might let him in4 ,the tree of life was kept from him for a time that it might be kept for him for an eternity4 ,when he had changed his spirit1 and changed sides in the fight with evil started that day1 and gotten victory over the spirit now dominant within himself1 those gates would swing again4 ,when the stain of his choice would be taken out of his fibre it would be his right eagerly to retrace these forced steps1 and the coming back would find more than had been left4 ,love has been busy planning the home-coming4 ,the tree of life has been grown in his absence to a grove of trees4 ,the life has become life more abundant4 u,outside the ,eden ,gate4_/u ,the story of what took place outside that guarded gate makes clear the love1 the wise farsighted love that showed the man the way out that day4 ,to tell the story one must use a pen made of the iron that has entered his own soul1 and though the pen be eased with ball point1 it scratches and sticks in the paper for sheer reluctance4 ,and only the tears of the heart will do for ink4 ,that was a costly meal4 ,that first bite must have been a big one4 ,its taste is still in the mouth of the race4 ,if that fruit were an apple it must have been a crab4 ,there has been a bad case of indigestion ever since4 ,if you think there were no crab-apples in ,eden1 then the touch of those thickening lips must have soured it in the eating--man's teeth are still on edge4 ,the fruit became tough in the chewing4 ,it's not digested yet4 ,that ,garden of ,eden must have been on a hill1 with lowlands below1 and high hills above1 and roads both ways4 ,the man seems to have gotten into the lowland road1 and after a bit1 struck some marshes and swamps1 with a good bit of thick gray fog4 ,the first result of the break with ,god was in the man himself4 ,man has two doors opening into himself from ,god--the eye and the ear4 ,through these ,god comes into the man and makes ,himself known4 ,through these comes all man knows of ,god4 ,both have their hinges in the will1 the heart4 ,man gave both doors a slam shut that day in ,eden4 ,yet they went shut gradually4 ,that was the ,god-side of their shutting4 ,he quickly slipped in an air cushion so the shutting might be softened and delayed1 and meanwhile ,his presence be appealing to the man4 ,refusing to obey ,god was equal to hearing without being willing to listen4 ,it was the same thing as looking with that reluctance that won't see1 and then doesn't see4 ,hearing and seeing lie deeper than ears and eyes1 down in the purpose1 the will1 the desire of the heart4 ,unwillingness dulls1 and then deafens the ears4 ,it blurs1 and then blinds the eye4 ,an earnest1 loving purpose gives peculiar keenness to the ears1 and opens the eye of the eye4 ,ears and eyes are very sensitive organs4 ,if their messages be not faithfully attended to they sulk and pout and refuse to transmit messages4 ,it is a remarkable fact that habitual inattention to a sound or sight makes one practically deaf or blind to it2 and that close attention persisted in makes one's ears and eyes almost abnormally keen and quick4 ,love's ears and eyes are proverbially acute4 ,one may be so wholly absorbed in something that he absolutely does not see the thing on which his eyes are turned4 ,he does not hear the sounds that are plainly coming to his ear because his thought1 back of that his heart1 is elsewhere4 ,hearing1 seeing is with the heart back of ears and eyes4 ,god is spoken of as silent4 ,yet ,his silence may be simply our deafness4 ,the truth is ,he is speaking all the time1 but we are so absorbed that we do not hear4 ,he is ever looking into our faces with ,his great1 tender1 deep eyes1 but we are so wrapped up in something else that the gaze out of our eyes is vacant to that ,face1 and with keenest disappointment1 so often repeated1 ,he gets no answering glance4 ,let anybody in doubt about the strict accuracy of this do some experimenting on himself1 either with outer things or regarding ,god4 ,let him obey the inner voice in some particular that may perhaps cut straight across some fixed habit1 and then watch very quietly for the result4 ,it will come with surprising sureness and quickness4 ,and the reason why is simple4 ,the man is simply moving back into his native air1 and of course all the powers work better4 ,this truth about the nerves of the ears and eyes running down into the heart is constantly being sounded out in the old ,book4 ,a famous bit in ,isaiah puts it very clearly1 and becomes a sort of pivot passage of all others of this sort4 ,that fine-grained1 intense-spirited young ,hebrew was caught in the temple one day by a sight of ,god4 ,that wondrous sight held him with unyielding grip through all the after years4 ,with the sight came the voice1 and the message for the nation3 ,tell these people--you are continually hearing1 but you do not listen1 nor take in what you hear4 ,your eyes are open1 they look1 but they do not see4 ,then the voice said1 ,make their heart fat1 and their ears heavy1 and their eyes shut4 ,that is to say1 by continually telling them what they will continually refuse to hear because it does not suit the habit of their lives1 he would be setting in motion the action that would bring these results4 ,the ears that won't hear by and by can't hear4 ,the heart that will not love and obey gets into a state of fatty degeneration4 ,the valves that refuse to move in loving obedience will get too heavy with fat to move at all4 ,the fat clogs the hinges4 ,there is the touch of a soft irony in the form of the message4 ,as though ,isaiah's talking would affect their ears1 whereas it is their refusal to hear that stupefies the hearing organ4 ,in faithfulness ,god insists on telling them the truth even though ,he knows that their refusal to do will make things worse4 ,but then ,god is never held back from good by the possible bad that may work out of it4 ,when ,jesus came1 the ,jews1 to whom ,his messages to the world were directly spoken1 were in almost the last stages of that sort of thing4 ,so ,jesus1 with the fine faithfulness of love blending with the keenest tact1 spoke in language veiled by parable to overcome the intense prejudice against plainly spoken truth4 ,they were so set against what ,he had to tell that the only way to get anything into them at all was so to veil its form as to befool them into thinking it truer4 ,toward the close1 ,his keenness1 for which they were no match1 joining with the growing keenness of their hate1 made them see at once that the sharp edge of some of those last parables was turned toward themselves4 ,in explaining to ,his puzzled disciples about this form of teaching1 with a sad irony that reveals both ,his heart's yearning and ,his mental keenness1 ,he uses more than once with variations this famous bit from ,isaiah4 ,he makes the truth stand out more sharply by stating the opposite of what ,he desires1 making the contrast between ,his words and ,his known desires so strong as not only to make plain the meaning intended1 but to give it a sharper emphasis4 ,the result that began with ears and eyes quickly affected the tongue4 ,that is nature's path4 ,the inner road from ear and eye is straight to the tongue4 ,the tongue is the index of man's whole being4 ,while through ear and eye he receives all that ever gets in1 through the tongue his whole being is revealed4 ,of course his personality reveals itself very much otherwise4 ,in the carriage of the body4 ,strikingly so in the look of the eye4 ,the body itself1 especially the face1 becomes in time the mould of the spirit within4 ,yet the tongue--what is said1 how it is said1 what is not said1 the tone of voice--the tongue is the index of the spirit4 ,there is no stronger indication of mastery over one's powers than in control of the tongue4 ,when ,god would break up man's first great ambitious scheme of a self-centred monopoly on the ,shinar plains1 ,he simply touched his tongue4 ,the first evidence of ,god's touch in the re-making of man on that memorable ,pentecost day was upon his tongue4 ,the effect upon his tongue of the break with ,god has been radical and strange4 ,dumbness1 and slowness or thickness of speech alternate with an unnatural sharpness4 ,sometimes the spittle has a peculiar oiliness that results in a certain slipperiness of statement4 ,sometimes it has a bitter1 poisonous1 acid quality that eats its way into the words4 ,there is a queer backward movement in biting sometimes4 ,withal a strange looseness of speech regarding the holiest things1 and the most awesome truths1 and the ,holy ,one ,himself4 ,the moment a man gets a vision of ,god he is instantly conscious of something the matter with his tongue4 ,the sight that comes to his eyes1 the sound to his ears makes him painfully self-conscious regarding the defect in his tongue4 ,moses found himself slow-tongued4 ,isaiah felt the need of the cleansing coal for his tongue4 ,but man's whole inner mental process was affected4 ,a peculiar sense of fear1 of dread1 is woven inextricably into the very fibre of man's being4 ,his first reported word after that break was1 ,i was afraid4 ,that sense of fear--a horrid1 haunting1 nightmare thing--has affected all his thinking and planning and every-day speech4 ,no phrase is oftener on man's tongue than ,i'm afraid4 ,isaiah's classic utterance about ears and eyes has a counterpart equally classic from ,paul's pen1 about the effect of sin upon man's mental processes4 ,a few lines in the letter to the ,ephesian circle of churches give a sort of bill of details of the mental steps down that slope from the ,eden gate4 ,paul is urging these friends to live no longer as they1 in common with all the races1 had been living1 in the vanity of their mind1 being darkened in their understanding1 alienated from the life of ,god1 because of the ignorance that is in them1 because of the hardening of their hearts2 who1 being past feeling1 gave themselves up to lasciviousness to make a greedy trade of all uncleanness4 ,here are seven steps down4 ,the first five are put in reverse order4 ,beginning where they have been1 he traces the five steps back to the starting point1 and then adds the two likely to follow with any who persist past this point4 ,the start of all sin is in the setting of one's self against ,god4 ,choosing some other way than ,his4 ,it is called here hardening of the heart4 ,the native juices of the heart are drawn away from ,god and dry up4 ,in this ,book the heart is the seat of both affection and will4 ,it is the pivotal organ of life4 ,any trouble there quickly and surely affects the whole being4 ,then follows ignorance4 ,of course4 ,the heart controls both ear and eye1 the two great channels inward of knowledge4 ,the hardening of the heart locks both doors4 ,and hard on the heels of that comes ,alienated from the life of ,god4 ,that is1 cut off1 shut out of fellowship and intimacy4 ,life is union with ,god4 ,through union ,god's life flows into us4 ,union is rooted in knowledge and in sympathy1 fellow-feeling1 a common desire and purpose4 ,the man snapping that tying cord cuts himself off4 ,the next step is peculiarly pathetic--darkened in their understanding4 ,the man has shut the shutters close1 and pulled the shades down tight4 ,of course it's dark inside4 ,he is unable to see4 ,first unwilling1 now unable4 ,if the only thing that can be gotten for use as light be darkness1 how intense is that darkness6 ,then comes the pitiable result of acting as if darkness were man's native air--the vanity of the mind4 ,that word vanity means aimlessness4 ,the mind is still keen1 even brilliant1 but the guiding star is shut out1 and that keen mind goes whirring aimlessly around4 ,sometimes a very earnest aimlessness4 ,the man's on a foggy sea without sun or star4 ,the compass on board is useless4 ,but more pitiable and pathetic yet2 indeed utterly laughable if it were not so terribly serious and pathetic3--this man in the dark proceeds gravely to decide that this darkness of his own making is a superior sort of light1 and bows low in worship of its maker4 ,he has even been known to write brilliant essays on the light-giving power of blinding darkness1 with earnest protests at the evil of this thing commonly called light4 ,sometimes having carefully cottoned up the shutters that no scrap of sun light or sun warmth may get in1 he strikes a friction match1 and sits warming himself1 and eloquently sets forth his own greatness as shown by the match1 friction match4 ,most of this sort of light and heat is of the friction sort4 ,then with reluctant hand1 one who knows ,paul's tender heart can well believe1 the curtain is drawn aside for the last two stages2 the grosser1 gutter1 animal stages1 which1 not always by any means1 but all too commonly follow4 ,past feeling6 ,the delicate sense of feeling about right and purity dulls and goes4 ,the fine inner judgment blunts and leaves4 ,the shrinking sensitiveness toward the dishonorable and impure loses its edge and departs4 ,then--pell mell1 like a pack of dogs down a steep hill1 follows the last--lasciviousness1 the purest1 holiest things in the gutter-slime1 and then1 cold-blooded1 greedy trading in these things4 ,that's the picture painted in shadows of ,rembrandt blackness1 newly blackened1 of the effect in man himself of turning away from ,god4 ,now ,jesus is the music of ,god's heart sounding in man's ears anew1 that he may be wooed back the old road to the ,eden life4 ,jesus is the face of ,god1 close up1 looking tenderly1 yearningly1 into man's face1 that his eye may be caught and held1 and his heart be enchained4 u,sin's ,brood4_/u ,the second great result of that ,eden break has been in the growth of sin4 ,in the seventeenth century after that it was said that man's heart was a breeding place of thoughts whose pictured forms were bad1 only bad1 with no spots of good1 nor spurts of good4 ,a thousand years later1 ,moses giving the ,hebrew tribes the ten commandments1 adds a crowd of particulars1 some of them very grewsome1 which serve as mirrors to reveal the common practice of his age4 ,the slant down of those first centuries has evidently been increasing in its downward pitch4 ,more than a thousand years later yet1 there is a summary made by ,paul that reveals the stage reached by sin in his day4 ,probably no one knew the world of his time1 which has proved to be the world's crisis time1 as did ,paul the scholar and philosopher of ,tarsus4 ,himself a city man1 well bred and well schooled1 a world traveller1 with acute1 disciplined powers of observation1 and a calm scholarly judgment1 he had studied every phase of life cultured and lowly4 ,he pitched upon the great city centres in his active campaigning1 and worked out into the country districts4 ,he was a world-bred man4 ,he knew the three over-lapping worlds of his time3 the ,hebrew1 with its ideals of purity and religion2 the ,greek1 with its ideals of culture2 and the ,roman1 with its ideals of organization and conquest4 ,he is writing from ,corinth1 then the centre of ,greek life1 to ,rome1 the centre of the world's life4 ,his letter is the most elaborate of any of his writings preserved to us4 ,in its beginning he speaks of man1 universally1 morally1 as he had come to know him4 ,his arraignment is simply terrific in its sweep and detail4 ,let me pause and be measuring the words cautiously and then put this down3--the description of the latter half of the first chapter of ,romans is a true description of man to-day4 ,at first flush that sounds shocking1 as indeed it is4 ,it seems as if this description can apply only to degraded savages and to earth's darkest corners4 ,but the history of ,paul's day1 and before1 and since1 and an under view of the social fabric to-day1 only serve to make clear that ,paul's description is true for all time1 and around the world4 ,there is a cloak of conventionality thrown over the blacker tints of the picture to-day in advanced ,christian lands4 ,it is considered proper to avoid speaking of certain excesses1 or1 if speech must be used1 modestly to say unnamable4 ,and it is a distinct gain for morality that it is so4 ,better a standard recognized1 even though broken4 ,but commonly the conditions are not changed4 ,the differences found in different civilizations to-day are differences only of degree4 ,in the most advanced cities of ,christendom to-day may be found every bit of this chapter's awful details1 but properly cloaked4 ,in ,european lands the cloaks are sewed with the legal-stitch1 which is considered the proper finish4 ,in lands where our ,christian standards are not recognized the thing is as open as in this chapter4 ,in four short paragraphs containing sixty-six lines in the ,american ,revision1 ,paul packs in his terrific philippic4 ,he swings over the ground four times4 ,nowhere does he reveal better his own fidelity to truth1 with the fineness of his own spirit4 ,here1 delicacy of expression is rarely blended with great plainness4 ,no one can fail to understand1 and yet that sense of modesty native to both man and woman is not improperly disturbed1 even though the recital be shocking4 ,here is paragraph one3 ,man knew ,god both through nature and by the direct inner light4 ,but he did not want ,him as ,god4 ,it bothered the way he wanted to live4 ,the core of all sin is there4 ,all its fruitage grows about that core4 ,he became vain in his reasonings4 ,he gave himself up to keen1 brilliant speculation4 ,having cut the cord that bound him to ,god1 unanchored1 uncompassed1 on a shoreless1 starless sea1 he drifts brilliantly about in the dense gray fog4 ,then he befooled himself further by thinking himself wise4 ,he preferred somebody else to ,god4 ,whom8 ,himself6 ,then--birds2 then-beasts on all fours with backbone on a line with the earth1 nose and mouth close to the ground2 then--gray-black1 slimy1 crawling1 creeping things4 ,he traded off the truth of ,god for a lie2 the sweet purity of ,god for rank impurity4 ,he dethroned ,god1 and took the seat himself4 ,he bartered ,god for beasts and grew like that he preferred4 ,god's gracious restraint is withdrawn when he gets down to the animal stage4 ,only here man out-animalled the animals4 ,the beasts are given points on beastliness4 ,the life he chose to live held down by the throat the truth he knew so well4 ,that's the first summary4 ,the next two paragraphs are devoted to that particular sort of unnatural sin first suggested to man after his disobedience1 and which in all time and all lands has been and is the worst1 the most unnatural1 the most degrading1 and the most common4 ,it came first in the imagination4 ,it came early in the history of actual sin4 ,it is put first by ,paul in his arraignment here4 ,he gives it chief place by position and by particularity of description4 ,first was the using of a pure1 natural function to gratify unnatural desires4 ,then with strange cunning and lustful ingenuity changing the natural functions to uses not in the plan of nature4 ,let it all be said in lowest1 softest voice1 so sadly awful is the recital4 ,yet let that soft voice be very distinct1 that the truth may be known4 ,then lower down yet the commercializing of such things4 ,unconcerned barter and trade in man's holy1 most potent function4 ,putting highest price on most ingenious impurity4 ,then follows the longest of these paragraphs running up and down the grimy gamut of sin4 ,beginning with all unrighteousness1 he goes on to specify depravity1 greedy covetousness1 maliciousness4 ,oozing out of every pore there are envy1 murder1 strife1 deceit1 malignity4 ,men are whisperers1 backbiters1 ,god-haters1 and self-lovers1 in that they are insolent1 haughty1 boastful4 ,they are inventors of evil things1 without understanding1 breakers of faith1 without natural affection1 ruthlessly merciless4 ,the climax is reached in this1 that though they know ,god1 and what ,he has set as the right rule of life1 they not only do these things named1 but they delight in the fellowship of those who habitually practise them4 ,the stage of impulsiveness is wholly gone4 ,they have settled down to this as the deliberate choice and habit of life4 ,man is still a king1 but all bemired4 ,he is the image and glory of ,god1 but how shrivelled and withered2 obscured1 all overgrown with ugly poison vines4 ,let it be remembered at once that this is a composite picture of the race4 ,many different sorts of men must be put together to get such a view4 ,sin works out differently in different persons4 ,a man's activities take on the tinge of his personality4 ,so sin in a man takes on the color and tone of his individuality4 ,one man has the inner disposition against ,god1 accompanied by no excesses at all4 ,these things disgust him4 ,he is refined in his tastes1 perhaps scholarly and intellectual in his thinking4 ,that inner disposition may be a sort of refined ignoring of ,god either defiant or indifferent4 ,in another1 the animal nature swings to the front1 stronger perhaps by heredity1 and1 yielded to1 it runs to the excess of riot4 ,then there is the man with the strange yellow fever1 whose love for the bright-colored precious metal burns in his blood and controls every impulse and purpose4 ,and the man with intense love of power1 of controlling men and things for the sake of the immense power involved1 with himself as the centre of all4 ,there is every imaginable degree of each of these1 and every sort of combination among them4 ,the lines cross and re-cross at every possible angle in various persons4 ,a man is apt to get money-drunk then society-drunk 7with a special definition for the word society in this connection71 then lust-drunk4 ,or1 he may swing direct from money-intoxication into power-intoxication4 ,please notice keenly that each of these four grows up out of a perfectly normal1 natural desire4 ,sin always follows nature's grooves4 ,there is nothing wrong in itself4 ,the sin is in the wrong motive underneath1 or the wrong relationship round about an act4 ,or1 it is in excess1 exaggeration1 pushing an act out of its true proportion4 ,exaggeration floods the stream out of its channel4 ,wrong motive or wrong relationship sends a bad stream into a good channel4 ,but sift down under the surface and always is found the same thing4 ,the upper growth is varied by what it finds on the surface to mingle with1 but the sub-stuff is ever the same4 ,the root always is self4 ,the whole seed of sin is in preferring one's own way to ,god's way2 one's self to ,god4 ,the stream of life is turned the wrong way4 ,it is turned in4 ,its true direction is up4 ,the true centre of gravity for man is not downward1 nor inward1 but upward and outward4 u,god's ,treatment of ,sin4_/u ,god's treatment of sin lets in a flood of light on the sort of thing it is4 ,three times over in this summary ,paul says that ,god gave them up4 ,as they cast out all acknowledgment of ,god1 ,he gave them up to an outcast mind4 ,when they turned ,god out-of-doors1 ,god left them indoors to themselves4 ,it was the worst thing ,he could do1 and the best4 ,worst--to be left alone with sin4 ,best1 because the sin would get so vile that the man in ,god's image would want to turn it out1 and get ,god back4 ,man never turns from sin until he feels its vileness to the sickening point4 ,when things get to the acute stage1 and a sharp crisis is on1 then as a rule there will be an eager turning to the ,one who can cleanse and make over new2 but usually not until then4 ,sin has a terrific gait4 ,give it a loose rein and man will get winded and ready to drop4 ,only then is he ready to drop it4 ,sin can't be patched up or mended4 ,nursing only helps it to its feet for a fresh start4 ,the whole trouble is in the nature of the thing4 ,the heart pumps the hot blood of rebellion4 ,its lungs can breathe only self-willed air4 ,the worst punishment of sin is that left alone it breeds more sin1 and worse sin4 ,the worst of sin is in its brood4 ,it is very prolific4 ,every sin is a seed-sin4 ,the breeding process gets the sort more refined in its coarseness4 ,this is the very curse of evil deed1 ,that of new sin it becomes the seed4#b ,and the plain statements of the ,book1 and the inevitable working of man's nature1 reveal all the bad results of sin intensifying indefinitely in the after-life4 ,jesus is ,god letting sin do its worst1 upon ,himself1 that man might see its utter1 stubborn damnableness1 and eagerly turn from it1 and back to ,him4 u,a ,bright ,gleam of ,light4_/u ,yet be it keenly marked1 there is a very bright gleam of light across this dark picture4 ,in going over the story of sin with its terrific results now and afterward1 one needs to be very tender1 for he is talking about men--his brothers4 ,and to be very careful not to say things that are not so4 ,some good1 earnest people have been thinking that the whole race except a small minority were given over to eternal misery4 ,the vast majority of men has never heard the name of ,jesus4 ,and some very godly people have seemed to think that these are lost forever4 ,yet the old ,book of ,god speaks very plainly here4 ,its meaning can be gotten without any twisting of words4 ,neither the ,jewish nation nor the ,christian ,church can be regarded as favorites of ,god4 ,god has no favorites for salvation4 ,the ,jewish nation was chosen for service' sake4 ,through it there came a special after-revelation of ,god4 ,through it came the world's new ,man4 ,the ,church is the repository of ,god's truth to-day1 with its window panes not always quite clear4 ,its great mission is to tell the whole race of ,jesus4 ,both were chosen for service4 ,every nation knew ,god directly at the first4 ,and be it said thoughtfully1 every man has enough of revelation and of inner light to lead him back to ,god4 ,a man's choice in this life is his choice always4 ,any student of the ordinary working of man's mind can certify that4 ,whatever sort of being a man deliberately1 persistently chooses to be here and now1 he will be always4 ,the only change possible in the after-life will be in the degree4 ,never in the sort4 ,the ,gospels speak of believing on ,jesus1 and of the bad results for those who decline or refuse to have anything to do with ,him4 ,of course it is speaking of those who have heard of ,him4 ,there can be no believing on ,jesus without hearing1 and of course in simple fairness no condemning on any such grounds4 ,the gospel message is wholly concerned with those who hear4 ,but there is clear and plain teaching about the great outside majority of past generations and of our own who have never heard4 ,it was a member of both ,jewish nation and ,christian ,church1 whose tongue1 touched by the ,spirit of ,god1 said1 ,god is no respecter of persons3 but in every nation he that feareth ,him and worketh righteousness is acceptable to ,him4 ,that is a simple standard1 yet a searching one4 ,anybody1 anywhere1 with a truly reverential thought upward1 and a controlling purpose to be right in his life1 will find the door swinging wide4 ,no other badges or tickets required4 ,this would include that remarkable woman of ,india1 ,chundra ,lelah1#c all those weary years before the simple story of ,jesus brought its flood of light and peace1 and all of her innumerable class4 ,paul puts it as simply and a little more fully in the letter to the ,romans1 that careful treatise which sums up with marvellous fulness and brevity the gospel he preached to the world4 ,in chapter two1 he says1 to them who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption 7,he will give7 eternal life4 ,note that in his review thus far he has not yet gotten to ,jesus the ,saviour4 ,these people of whom he is now speaking have never heard of ,jesus4 ,they are the great majority4 ,mark keenly the simple description of them4 ,it is a description1 not of an achievement1 but of a purpose4 ,the absorbing aim in their lives is seeking upward4 ,the seeking controls the life4 ,the mastering spirit of these seekers is patience1 steadfastness4 ,they are seeking for the highest thing4 ,they are doing what seems to them to be right1 while seeking4 ,they are doing right patiently4 ,patience6 ,what a world of conflicting experiences in a word6 ,misunderstandings1 breaks1 slips1 stumblings1 failures1 falls2 but in all1 through all1 patience1 steadfastness4 ,taking a fresh hold at every turn4 ,and the gripping fingers ever learning a new tenacity4 ,pulling steadily up a steep mountain side1 in a blazing hot sun1 blinded by dust1 struck by loosened rocks above rolling down1 but--patiently1 steadily1 with dust-blinded eyes1 tugging up4 ,to such is given the heart's desire--eternal life4 ,ah6 ,god judges a man by his direction1 by the set of his face4 ,he may not be far up1 but his face is turned up4 ,his heels show their backs4 ,his toes point toward the top4 ,that reveals the purpose1 the desire of the man inside4 ,his choice is to be up4 ,and it is choice that makes character as well as revealing it4 ,and the one thing that concerns ,god is the character as revealed in the purpose4 ,there is a simple1 pathetic story from mission lands1 variously told1 and well vouched for1 of a missionary pausing long enough in a village to tell the story of ,jesus to the crowd that gathered1 and then pushing on4 ,this was the first visit of a missionary to this place and so the first news of ,jesus4 ,the crowd listened eagerly with various results4 ,there was one listener1 an old man1 held in repute for his wisdom1 who at once accepted the missionary's story1 and announced his acceptance of ,jesus4 ,his neighbors expressed their surprise at his prompt acceptance of such a new thing4 ,the old man's quiet answer in effect was this3 ,oh1 ,i have long trusted this ,jesus1 but ,i never knew ,his name before4 ,there was no change of purpose with this man1 but1 in the story of ,jesus1 the burst of light that brought unspeakable peace as he kept on in his upward tug4 ,yet all this will not hold back from glad sacrifice1 from free giving1 from eager going to foreign mission lands a single man or woman who has been caught by ,jesus' ,spirit4 ,the ,master said1 ,go ye4 ,that's enough4 ,for the largest wealth that may be given1 for the keenest sacrifice that may be endured1 for the strongest life that may be devoted--that is quite enough4 ,and if more were needed--then to go1 to give1 to sacrifice for the sake of helping our struggling brothers yonder know ,jesus1 and ,his wondrous sacrifice and ,his great peace4 ,to make them conscious of the disgustingness of sin1 to bring to them a vision of ,jesus' face to allure1 and enchain1 to give a man's will an earnest boost1 when he -would choose1 but cannot seem to for the suction of sin1 inherited and ever growing upon his choosing powers4 ,god sent ,his best4 ,jesus sacrificed ,his all in going4 ,we'll gladly follow in such a train4 ,jesus is ,god sending ,his best1 sacrificing ,his dearest1 giving ,his most1 going ,himself to get men started up the hill out of the bog4 u,the ,broken ,tryst4_/u ,man's break back in ,eden was very hard on ,god4 ,that evening early1 in the twilight1 ,god came walking in the garden to have the usual talk with ,his friend4 ,he came to keep tryst4 ,it was the usual trysting place and trysting hour1 and ,god had the trysting spirit4 ,we may think ,he came early for this bit of fellowship4 ,he was prompt4 ,nothing would be allowed to disturb this appointment4 ,but ,god was disappointed4 ,it was ,his first disappointment4 ,the first one to be disappointed on this earth was ,god4 ,adam had always met ,him before4 ,we may easily think met ,him eagerly1 jubilantly1 with glad1 free1 open face and clinging hands4 ,but the man was not there this time4 ,he failed ,god4 ,he broke tryst4 ,he stayed away4 ,indeed he had gone away4 ,god didn't fail4 ,he was there4 ,the man failed4 ,they had a long distance talk4 ,god called ,adam4 ,he was not content to come to the trysting place4 ,he must find the missing tryster4 ,some folk would make ,god a sort of hard and dry keeper of ,his word3 ,a sort of trim syllogism1 dry as punk4 ,some seem to think ,him to be as they seem to be4 ,how our poor ,god has been slandered by ,his supposed defenders6 ,god was not satisfied to keep the appointment4 ,he wanted the man4 ,he hungered for ,his friend1 upon whom ,he had imprinted ,his own image4 ,his heart was hungry for fellowship4 ,he wanted the comfort of a bit of talk4 ,so ,he starts at once eagerly1 insistently to find the man4 ,that voice of ,god spoke out1 tender1 gentle1 plaintive1 pleading4 ,you can just hear the soft1 very soft woodsman's cry1 ,hello-alo1 hello1 ,adam1 ,a-a-dam--here ,i am--waiting for you--,i've kept my tryst--where are you8--hello-o--hello--where--are--you8 ,the voice that spoke worlds into being1 that brought life and beauty to all creation1 that brought instant reverence and adoration from myriads of the upper world1 that voice now speaks to one1 two3 two who were one4 ,all the heart of ,god1 all the power of ,god1 in the soft voice talking to one man4 ,god has always been after the one man1 and still is4 ,and the breezes hushed to hear that voice with its new pleading tone4 ,the birds stilled their song for this new music in minor mellowing tone4 ,silence for a moment1 the breezes hushed1 the birds stilled1 the creation near by held its breath1 ,god held ,his heart still1 that ,he might catch the first response to its cry4 ,the twilight of that day had a pathetic sight4 ,it saw a broken tryst2 a lonely ,god2 words of fellowship unspoken4 ,a man and woman hiding4 ,skulking behind trees4 ,trees served a new purpose that evening1 not a good purpose4 ,they never were meant to hide behind4 ,sin perverts the use of all things4 ,all these weary years ,god has been standing wherever men are3 standing1 waiting1 calling man back to his tryst4 ,among the trees1 in the crowded city of man's making1 ,he is ever calling1 and eagerly1 wondrously1 helping every one who answers4 ,he is so near that a reaching hand always touches ,him4 ,the voice of the heart never misses ,his ear4 ,but ,his love and grief shine out most on that bit of a hill1 outside a city wall1 on the east coast of the middle-of-the-earth sea4 ,that is earth's tallest hill4 ,it can be seen farthest away of any4 ,jesus up on that hill is ,god calling man back to his broken tryst4 u,god's ,wooing4_/u ,god seems to have fairly outdone ,himself to get man to turn toward the old trysting place4 ,for when a man will turn around enough to get even a glimpse of that ,god-,face1 and a whisper of that ,god-,voice1 he can withstand no longer4 ,god has taxed all the ingenuity of ,his love to let man know about ,himself4 ,he revealed ,himself directly to the whole race at the start4 ,he has in every generation1 and in every clime1 on every hilltop and valley1 in every village and crowded city1 been revealing ,himself to the heart of every man4 ,there cannot be found one anywhere who has not heard the quiet inner voice drawing up1 and away from wrong4 ,in this world of wondrous beauty ,god is speaking4 ,the glory-telling heavens1 the winsome coloring of trees and all growing things1 the soft round hills1 the sublime mountains1 the sea with its ever-changing mood but never-changing beneficence upon the life of the whole earth1 the great blue and gray above1 the soothing green below1 the brighter colors in their artistic proportion1 the wondrous blendings--surely every bush and other green thing1 every bright twinkler in the blue1 everything is aflame with the presence that burns but in great love consumes not4 ,his eyes are indeed badly bothered that cannot see2 his ears in queer fix that do not hear4 ,yet sometimes the empty shoes seem few enough4 ,but they are ever increasing1 and will yet more and more1 by retail method1 with wholesale result4 ,but ,god comes closer yet in ,his wooing4 ,the web of life's daily run1 with its strange mixing and blending1 shadings and tints1 is of ,his weaving4 ,he sits at life's loom ever watching and weaving4 ,were ,he but recognized oftener and ,his hand allowed to guide the skein1 how different the weaving6 ,children of yesterday1 ,heirs of to-morrow1 ,what are you weaving-- ,labor and sorrow8 ,look to your looms again2 ,faster and faster ,fly the great shuttles ,prepared by the ,master4 ,life's in the loom1 ,room for it--room6 ,children of yesterday1 ,heirs of to-morrow1 ,lighten the labor ,and sweeten the sorrow3 ,now--while the shuttles fly ,faster and faster1 ,up and be at it-- ,at work with the ,master4 ,he stands at your loom1 ,room for ,him--room6 ,children of yesterday1 ,heirs of to-morrow1 ,look at your fabric ,of labor and sorrow4 ,seamy and dark ,with despair and disaster1 ,turn it--and lo1 ,the design of the ,master4 ,the ,lord's at the loom1 ,room for ,him--room4#d ,when men's eyes seemed unable to see clearly these revelations of ,himself1 ,god picked out a small tribe1 and through long1 patient1 painstaking discipline1 gave to it1 for the whole world1 a special revelation of ,himself4 ,in it1 in the ,book which preserves its records1 in the ,man who came through it1 ,god came nearer yet4 ,in ,jesus1 ,god told out ,his greatness most1 and ,his love most tenderly4 ,man is the fairest flower of earth's creation4 ,it was love's fine touch that to him ,god should reveal ,himself best and most in the fairest flower of the eternal creation4 ,only man could fully appreciate ,jesus1 ,god's ,man1 and man's ,brother4 ,but ,jesus was known only to one generation--,his own generation--to one narrow strip of country1 one peculiarly exclusive tribe1 the very small majority of all to whom ,he had come4 ,so there came to be a ,book that all after-generations might know ,him too4 ,we of later generations know of ,jesus through the ,book1 in some shape or other1 before we can come to know ,himself direct4 ,and so we prize the ,book above all others4 ,not for the ,book's sake1 at all1 of course1 but because through it we come to know ,jesus4 ,with loving reverence we handle it1 for it tells of ,him1 our ,god-brother4 ,some learned folk have been much taken up with the make-up of the ,book1 its paper and type1 and punctuation1 and binding4 ,and they have done good service in clearing away a lot of dust and cobwebs that had been gathering on it for a long time4 ,but we plain folk1 absorbed in getting things done1 do not need to wait on their conclusions4 ,if in those pages we have found ,jesus1 and ,god in ,jesus1 the ,book has fulfilled its mission to us4 ,to all directly1 in nature's voice1 and in our common daily life2 to a nation chosen for the special purpose1 and through that nation and its books2 through ,jesus to those who knew ,him1 and1 by a ,book telling of ,him1 to all following1 ,god came1 comes in ,his wooing1 and looked1 looks tenderly into man's face4 ,each of these paths leads straight to ,god1 and each comes to include the others4 ,but chiefly in ,jesus ,god came4 ,jesus is ,god going out in the cold black night1 over the mountains1 down the ravines and gullies1 eagerly hunting for ,his lost man1 getting hands1 and face1 and more1 torn on the brambly thorn bushes1 and losing ,his life1 in the darkness1 on a tree thrust in ,his path1 but saving the man4 ,the ,plan for ,jesus' ,coming u,the ,image of ,god4_/u ,man is ,god's darling--the king and crown of creation4 ,the whole creation was made for him to develop and rule over and enjoy4 ,he is in a class by himself4 ,when he made his bad break there was just one thing left to do4 ,god must get a new leader for ,his man to lead him back into all the original plan for himself4 ,of the whole earth man stood next to ,god ,himself4 ,god could not find that leader lower down4 ,so ,he went higher4 ,jesus is ,god giving the race a new ,leader who would withstand the lure of temptation and realize the ambition of ,god's heart for ,his darling4 ,the man was made in the image of ,god1 for self-mastery1 and through self-mastery for dominion over all of ,god's creation4 ,that was the plan for the man4 ,that1 too1 is the plan for the new ,man4 ,there is only one place to go to find ,god's plan for the coming ,one4 ,that is in the ,hebrew half of the ,bible4 ,one can hardly believe1 unless he has been through the thing1 how hard it is to get out of the ,old ,testament its vision of the coming ,one without any coloring from the ,new getting into his eyes4 ,we have been reading the ,old ,testament through the events of the ,new for so long that it gives a severe mental wrench to try to do anything else4 ,yet only so1 be it sharply marked1 can the plan for the coming of ,jesus be gotten1 and1 further1 only so can ,jesus be understood4 ,one must attempt to do just that to understand at all fairly what a reverent ,hebrew in prophetic times expected2 what such earnest ,hebrews as ,simeon and ,anna were looking for4 ,i have tried to make a faithful effort to shut severely out of view the familiar facts of the gospel story for my own sake1 to try to understand ,god's plan as it stood before there was a gospel story4 ,this old ,hebrew picture is so full of details that are found in the reality that one who has not actually gone studiously over the ,old separately will be very likely to think that the ,new ,testament details are being read into the ,old4 ,if that be so1 it is urgently requested that such an opinion be held off until the old ,hebrew pages have been carefully examined as outlined in the study notes1 that you may get the refreshment of a great surprise4 ,it must be kept keenly in mind that there is a difference between ,god's plan and that which ,he knows ahead will occur4 ,sovereignty does not mean that everything ,god plans comes to pass4 ,nor that everything that comes to pass is ,god's plan4 ,clearly it has not been so4 ,it does mean that through very much that is utterly contrary to ,his plan ,he works out1 in the long run1 ,his great purpose4 ,he works ,his own purpose out of a tough tangled network of contrary purposes2 but in doing it never infringes upon man's liberty of action4 ,he yields and bends1 and1 with a patience beyond our comprehension1 waits1 that in the end ,he may win through our consent4 ,and so not only is ,his purpose saved1 but man is saved and character is made in the process4 ,the plan is a detail of the purpose4 ,there is one unfailing purpose through continual breakings of the plan4 ,god's purpose remains unchanging through all changes4 ,yet here not only is ,his purpose unbroken1 but ,his plan is to work out in the end unbroken too1 though suffering a very serious break midway4 ,the plan goes back to the first broken plan4 ,there was dominion or kingship of the earth by a masterful man bearing the image and imprint of ,god4 ,all this was lost4 ,through loss of contact with ,god came the blurring of the image and the loss of self-mastery4 ,through loss of these came loss of dominion4 ,these are to be restored--all three4 ,this is the key to the plan for the coming of ,jesus4 ,a universal dominion1 under the lead of a ,master-,man1 in ,god's image1 and through these a restoration of blessing to all the earth of men4 ,this is the one continuous theme of the old ,hebrew writings4 ,the emphasis swings now to one aspect1 now to another1 but through all the one thought is a king1 a world-wide kingdom bringing blessing to all creation4 ,but if ,jesus was to lead man back ,he must first get alongside1 close up1 on the same level4 ,this was the toughest part of the whole thing4 ,the hardest part in saving a man is getting the man's consent to be saved4 ,there is no task tougher than trying to help a man who thinks he doesn't need help1 even though his need may be extreme4 ,you may throw a blanket over a horse's head and get it out of a burning stable or barn2 or a lasso over a bull's head to get it where you want1 but man cannot be handled that way4 ,he must be led4 ,the tether that draws must be fastened inside1 his will4 ,he must be lifted from inside4 ,that is a bit of the ,god-image in him4 ,and so ,god's most difficult task was getting inside the man that had shut ,him out4 u,fastening a ,tether ,inside4_/u ,and a long time it took4 ,that it took so long1 measured by the calendar1 suggests how great was the resistance to be overcome4 ,a long round-about road it does seem that ,god took4 ,yet it was the shortest4 ,the circle route is always the shortest4 ,it is nature's way4 ,nature always follows the line of least resistance4 ,the eagle1 descending1 comes in circles1 the line of least resistance4 ,water running out of a bowl through the hole in the bottom follows the circuitous route--the easiest4 ,god's longest way around was the shortest way into man's heart4 ,standards had to be changed4 ,new standards made4 ,yet in making a standard there must be a starting point4 ,god's bother was to get a starting point4 ,when man was too impure in his ingrained ideas to receive any idea of what purity meant1 things were in bad shape4 ,when he was grubbing content in the gutter1 how was he ever to be gotten up to the highlands1 when you couldn't even lift his eyes over the curbstone8 ,all the prohibitions of the ,mosaic code are but faithful mirrors of man's condition4 ,a wholly new standard had to be set up4 ,that was ,god's task4 ,it must be set up through men if they were to be attracted to it4 ,so ,god started on ,his longest-way-around-shortest road into man's heart4 ,a man is chosen4 ,through this man1 by the slow processes of generations1 a nation is grown4 ,yet a nation only in numbers at first2 in no other sense2 a mob of men4 ,then this mob is worked upon4 ,they are led through experiences that will make them soft to new impressions4 ,then slowly1 laboriously1 by child-training methods1 the new standard is brought to them4 ,yet after centuries the best attained is only that their tenacious fingers have hold of a form1 not yet the spirit4 ,yet this is an immense gain4 ,by and by this is the pedigree3 ,a man1 a family1 tribes1 a nation1 a strong nation1 a broken nation1 a literature1 ragged remnants of a nation1 an ideal the like of which could not be found anywhere on earth1 and a book embodying that ideal written as with acid-point in metal1 as with sharpest chisel in hardest stone4 ,at last a start was made4 ,god had gotten a hook inside man's will to which ,he could tie ,his tether1 and draw1 lovingly1 tenderly1 tenaciously1 persistently1 draw up out of the mire1 toward the highlands1 toward ,himself4 u,the ,first ,touches on the ,canvas4_/u ,this old ,hebrew picture is found to be a mosaic made up of bits gathered here and there1 scattered throughout the ,book4 ,some of the bits are of very quiet sober colors found in obscure corners4 ,others are bright4 ,when brought together all blend into one with wondrous1 fine beauty4 ,the first bit is of grave hue4 ,it comes at the very beginning4 ,there is to be sharp enmity1 then a crisis1 resulting in a fatal wound for the head of evil1 with scars for the victor4 ,after this earliest general statement there are three distinct groups or periods of prediction regarding the coming ,one4 ,during the making of the nation1 during its high tide of strength and glory under ,david and his son1 during the time of its going to pieces4 ,as the national glory is departing1 the vision takes on its most glorious coloring4 ,the first of these is during the making of the nation4 ,as the man who is to be father of the chosen family is called away from his kinfolk to a preparatory isolation1 he is cheered with the promise that his relationship is to be a relationship of leadership and of great blessing to the whole earth4 ,this is repeated to his son and to his grandson1 as each in turn becomes head of the family4 ,as his grandson1 the father of the twelve men whose names become the tribe names1 is passing away he prophetically sees the coming leadership narrowed to ,judah1 through whom the great ,leader is to come4 ,later yet1 in a story of divination and superstition characteristic of the time1 a strange prophet is hired by an enemy to pronounce a curse upon the new nation4 ,this diviner is taken possession of by the ,spirit of ,god1 and forced to utter what is clearly against his own mercenary desires4 ,he sees a coming ,one1 in the future1 who is to smite ,israel's enemies and rule victoriously4 ,during the last days of ,moses that man1 great to the whole race1 speaks a word that sinks in deep4 ,in his good-bye message he says there is some ,one coming after him1 who will be to them as he had been1 one of their own kin1 a deliverer1 king1 lawgiver1 a wise1 patient1 tender judge and teacher4 ,the nation never forgot that word4 ,when ,john the ,baptist came1 they asked1 ,art thou the prophet8 ,the second group of predictions is found during the nation's strength and glory4 ,to ,david comes the promise that the royal house he has founded is to be forever1 in contrast with ,saul's1 even though his successors may fail to keep faith with ,god4 ,it is most striking to note how much this meant to ,david4 ,he accepts it as meaning that the nation's ,messiah and the world's ,king is to be of his own blood4 ,thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come4 ,then follows this very significant sentence3 ,and this is 7or1 must be7 the law of the man 7or1 the ,adam74 ,this promise must refer to the plan of ,god concerning the woman's seed1 the man1 the ,adam4 ,at the close1 when the tether of life is slipping its hold1 this vision of the coming greater ,heir promised by ,god evidently fills his eye4 ,he says3 ,there shall lie ,one that ruleth over men2 ,a righteous ,one1 that ruleth in the fear of ,god4 ,and it shall be then as the light of the morning1 ,when the sun ariseth1 ,a morning without clouds1 ,the tender grass springing out of the earth through clear shining after rain4 ,verily1 my own house has not been so with ,god2 ,yet hath ,he made with me an everlasting covenant1 ,ordered in all things and sure4 ,for this covenant is now all my comfort and all my desire1 ,although he has not yet brought it to pass4 ,this seems to be the setting of those psalms of his referring to the coming ,one4 ,it was to be expected that his poetical fire would burn with such a promise and conception4 ,in the ,second ,psalm he sees this coming ,heir enthroned as ,god's own ,son1 and reigning supremely over the whole earth despite the united opposition of enemies4 ,in the ,one ,hundred and ,tenth ,psalm this ,heir is sharing rule at ,god's right hand while waiting the subduing of all enemies4 ,he is to be divine1 a king1 and more1 a priest-king4 ,surrounded by a nation of volunteers full of youthful vigor ,he will gain a decisive victory over the head of the allied enemies1 and yet be ,himself undisturbed in the continual freshness of ,his vigor4 ,and all this rests upon the unchanging oath of ,jehovah4 ,david's immediate heir found his father's pen1 and in the ,seventy-second ,psalm repeats1 with his own variations1 his father's vision of the coming greater ,heir4 ,while there is repetition of the kingdom being world-wide and unending1 with all nations in subjection1 the chief emphasis is put upon the blessing to that great majority--the poor4 ,they are to be freed from all oppression1 to have full justice done them1 with plenty of food to eat1 and increased length of life4 ,that ,david's expectation had thoroughly permeated his circle is shown in the joyous ,forty-fifth ,psalm1 written by one of the court musicians4 ,it addresses the coming ,one as more than human1 having great beauty and graciousness1 reigning in righteousness1 victoriously1 with a queen of great beauty1 and a princely posterity for unending generations4 u,a ,full-length ,picture in ,colors4_/u ,these are but the beginnings4 ,it is in the prophetic books1 the third of the groups1 that the full picture with its brightest coloring is found4 ,the picture is not only winsome beyond all comparison and glorious1 but stupendous in its conception and its sweep4 ,it is most notable that1 as the flood-tide of the nation's prosperity ebbs from its highest mark1 the vision to the prophetic eye of a coming glory grows steadily in brightness and in distinctness4 ,as the great kings go1 the great prophets come4 ,it is to them we must turn for the full-length picture4 ,the one continuous subject of the prophets is the coming ,king and kingdom and attendant events4 ,immediate historical events furnish the setting1 but with a continual swinging to the coming future greatness4 ,the yellow glory light of the coming day is never out of the prophetic sky4 ,its reflection is never out of the prophetic eye4 ,jeremiah is the one most absorbed in the boiling of the political pot of his own strenuous time1 but even he at times lifts his head and gets such glimpses of the coming glory as make him mix some rose tincture with the jet black ink he uses4 ,the common thread running through the fabric of the prophetic books clear from ,isaiah to ,malachi is the phrase in that day4 ,sometimes it thickens into the day of the ,lord1 the great day of the ,lord1 ,jehovah hath a great day1 at that time4 ,about this thread is woven in turn the whole series of stirring scenes and events that are to mark the coming time4 ,sometimes it is of local application2 most times of the future time1 and a few times the meaning slides from one to the other1 touching both4 ,over all of these pages is the shadow of ,somebody coming down the aisle of the ages1 who is to be the world's ,master4 ,the figure of a man1 large to gigantic size1 majestic1 yet kindly as well as kingly1 looms out through these lines before the reader's face4 ,the old idea of ,god ,himself dwelling in the midst of the people1 sharing their life1 made familiar by ,eden1 by the flame-tipped mount and the glory-filled tent1 comes out again4 ,for this coming ,one is said to be ,god ,himself4 ,but more than that ,he is to be a man1 and a son of man2 man bred of man4 ,the blending of the two1 ,god and man1 is pointed to in the unprecedented thing of a pure virgin birth for this one4 ,god and a pure maiden join themselves in ,his coming4 ,he is to be of native ,hebrew stock1 in direct descent from the great ,david1 and born in ,david's native village4 ,of course ,he is to be a king as was ,david1 but unlike that ancestor1 to be not only a king1 but a priest1 and a preacher and teacher4 ,the kingdom he will set up will be like ,himself in its blending of the human and divine4 ,its origin is not human1 but divine4 ,the capital is to be ,zion or ,jerusalem4 ,it will be marked by the glorious presence of ,god ,himself visibly present to all eyes4 ,the characteristics of the kingdom are of peculiar attractiveness1 at any time1 to any people of this poor old blood-stained1 gun-ploughed battle-field of an earth4 ,the stronger traits that men commonly think of as desirable are combined with traits that have been reckoned by men of all generations as absurdly1 unpractically idealistic4 ,there will be vengeance upon all enemies1 who have been using ,israel as a common football1 and great victory4 ,yet1 strangely1 these will be gotten without the use of violent force1 and will be followed by great peace4 ,the kingdom is to be established in loving-kindness and marked to an unparalleled degree by a sense of right and justice to all4 ,this feature is emphasized over and over again1 with refreshing frequency to those so eager for such a revolutionary change in their affairs4 ,absolute gentle fairness and impartiality will decide all difficulties arising4 ,even the most friendless and the most obnoxious thing will be fairly judged4 ,that great universal majority1 the poor1 will be especially guarded and cared for4 ,there will be no hungry people1 nor cold1 nor poorly clad2 no unemployed1 begging for a chance to earn a dry crust1 and no workers fighting for a fair share of the fruit of their sweat-wet toil4 ,but there are tenderer touches yet upon this canvas4 ,broken hearts will be healed up1 prison doors unhung1 broken family circles complete again4 ,it is to be a time of great rejoicing by the common people4 ,yet all this will be brought about1 not immediately1 but gradually1 following the natural law of growth2 though the beginning will be marked by a great crisis1 coming suddenly4 ,the effect upon ,israel nationally is to be tremendous1 sweepingly reversing the conditions under which most of these predictions are made4 ,israel is to become a ,spirit-baptized nation1 wholly swayed by the ,spirit of ,god1 and that gracious sway never to be withdrawn4 ,all judgments for her sins are removed and all impurity thoroughly cleansed away4 ,possession of their own land is assured4 ,and the capital city is to become a holy place from which1 in common with the whole land1 all impurity has been cleansed away4 ,all weakness and disability are gone1 and full freedom from the exactions of her former enemies to be enjoyed4 ,not only is ,israel to be at peace with all nations1 but1 far more1 is to have the leadership of the nations of the earth1 and leadership of the highest sort--in a world-wide spiritual movement1 in the day when the ,spirit of ,god is to be poured out upon all flesh4 ,this leadership is to be a glorious and absolute supremacy among all the nations of the earth4 ,and yet this is not to be by man's method of conquest1 but of their own earnest accord all nations will come a-running eagerly1 voluntarily1 with all their wealth and resources for the upbuilding and service of ,israel4 ,in that time the ,hebrew capital ,jerusalem will likewise be the capital of the earth4 ,no less radical and sweeping will be the changes in ,israel personally1 individually4 ,the people are to be made over new within4 ,the modern word for this sort of thing is regeneration4 ,the old-fashioned word is a new heart--a new spirit4 ,the change is to be at the core2 a change of the sort4 ,with this will come a marked spirit of devotion to ,god1 and a peculiar open-mindedness to the truth4 ,there will be an absence of all sickness and a decided increase in length of life and great increase in numbers4 ,there will be no longer any disappointment in plans1 and the sense of slavish fear1 which is universal1 not only with all the race1 but through all time1 will be utterly absent4 ,israel is to be a nation of persons with thrilled hearts and radiant faces4 u,back to ,eden4_/u ,the effect upon all the nations of the earth is a large part of the background of the picture4 ,through ,israel's advancement under the new order1 every other nation is to come back to ,god4 ,the outpouring of the ,spirit upon ,israel is to be followed by an outpouring upon all flesh4 ,there are the two outpourings of ,god's ,spirit in these old prophetic pages4 ,this will be followed by a universal1 voluntary coming to ,israel for religious instruction4 ,she becomes the teacher of the nations regarding ,god1 until by and by the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the only ,god4 ,her influence upon them for good will be as the heavy fertilizing eastern dews and the life-giving showers are to vegetation4 ,but further yet1 ,israel is to be the only medium of ,god's blessing upon the nations--the only channel4 ,those refusing her leadership will1 for lack of vital sap1 die of dry rot4 ,the wondrous blessing enjoyed by this central nation1 the unhingeing of dungeon doors1 the opening of blind eyes1 the mellowing of all the hard conditions of life1 the reign of simple1 full justice to all1 is to be shared with all the nations4 ,israel's peace with all nations is to become a universal peace between and among all nations4 ,but there's still more4 ,there are to follow certain radical changes in the realm of nature4 ,splendid rivers of water are to flow through ,jerusalem1 necessitating changes in the formation of the land there4 ,the fortress capital of the ,jews strongly entrenched among the ,judean hills is to become1 as the world's metropolis1 a mighty city1 with rivers to float the earth's commerce4 ,the light of the sun and moon will be greatly increased1 and yet this greatly intensified light will become at ,jerusalem a shadow cast by the greater light of the presence of ,god4 ,a devout ,hebrew would associate this back with the light of the ,presence-cloud in the ,arabian barrens4 ,while the devout ,christian will likely1 quickly think forward from that to the light that was one time as the sun1 and1 again1 above the sun's brightness4 ,naturally1 with this comes a renewed fertility of the earth's soil1 and the removal of the curse upon vegetation4 ,before the healing light and heat the poisonous growth1 the blight of drought and of untempered heat disappear4 ,there is to be a new earth and above it a new heaven4 ,to complete the picture1 the animal creation is to undergo changes as radical as these4 ,beasts dangerous because of ferocity and because of treachery and poisonous qualities will be wholly changed4 ,meat-eating beasts will change their habit of diet1 and eat grain and herbs4 ,there will be a mutual cessation of cruelty to animals by man and of danger to man from animals1 for all violence will have ceased4 ,and then the climax is capped by repeated assurances that this marvellous kingdom will be as extensive as the earth and absolutely unending4 ,the whole thing1 be it keenly noticed1 is simply a return to the original condition4 ,in the ,eden garden was the presence of ,god1 a masterful man in the likeness of ,god1 with full dominion over all creation4 ,there was full accord in all nature1 and perfect fellowship between man and nature4 ,all this is to come to pass through the coming ,one4 ,he is the key that unlocks this wondrous future4 ,through all1 above all1 growing ever bigger1 is the shadowy majestic figure of a ,man coming4 ,his personal characteristics make ,him very attractive and winsome4 ,he will be of unusual mental keenness both in understanding and in wisdom1 combined with courage of a high order1 and1 above all1 dominated by a deep reverential1 a keenly alert1 love for ,god4 ,he will be beautiful in person and1 in sharp contrast with earth's kings1 while marked personally with that fine dignity and majesty unconscious of itself1 will be gentle and unpretentious in ,his bearing4 ,his relations with ,god are direct and very intimate1 being personally trained and taught by ,him4 ,backed by all of ,his omnipotence1 ,he will be charged with the carrying out of ,his great plans for the chosen people and through them for the world4 ,in a fine touch it is specially said that ,he will judge the poor4 ,poor folk1 who haven't money to employ lawyers to guard their interests1 and haven't time for much education to know better how to protect themselves against those who would take advantage of them--the poor1 that's the overwhelming majority of the whole world--,he will be their judge4 ,they will have a friend on the bench4 ,but ,he will have this enormous advantage in judging all men1 poor and otherwise1 that ,he will not need to decide by what folk tell ,him1 nor by outside things4 ,he will be able to read down into the motives and back into the life4 ,such is the plan for the coming ,one outlined in these old pages4 ,to many a modern all this must seem like the wildest dream of an utterly unpractical enthusiast4 ,yet1 mark it keenly1 this is the conception of this old ,hebrew book that has been1 and is1 the world's standard of morals and of wisdom4 ,the book revered above all others by the most thoughtful men1 of all shades of belief4 ,it is striking how the parts of this stupendous conception fit and hold together4 ,there is a mature symmetry about the whole scheme4 ,for instance1 the changes in the light of sun and moon run parallel with the changes in growth and in the healthfulness and longer lives of man4 ,increased light removes both disease and its cause1 and gives new life and lengthened life4 ,surely these ,hebrews are a great people in their visions4 ,and a vision is an essential of greatness4 ,yet this sublime conception of their future is not regarded as a visionary dream1 but calmly declared to be the revealed plan of ,god for them1 and through them for the earth4 ,and that1 too1 not by any one man1 but successively through many generations of men4 ,the prophetic spirit of the nation in the midst of terrible disaster and of moral degradation never loses faith in its ultimate greatness1 through the fulfilling of its mission to the nations of the earth4 ,is it to be wondered at that the devout ,israelite1 who believed in his book and its vision1 pitched his tent on the hilltop1 with his eye ever scanning the eastern horizon1 for the figure of the coming ,one8 ,and when eyes grown dim for the long looking believed that at last that figure was seen1 the heart breathed out its grateful relief in ,now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace1 for my eyes have seen4 u,strange ,dark ,shadowings4_/u ,but1 too1 there is in this vision of glory something very different1 so mixed in that it won't come out4 ,there are dark shadows from the first touch upon the canvas4 ,always there is a bitter1 malignant enemy4 ,there is decisive victory1 but it comes only after sharp1 hard1 long-continued fighting4 ,but in the latter parts1 that is1 in ,david's time1 and intensifying in the later pages1 there is something darker yet4 ,through these lines run forebodings1 strange1 weird1 sad forebodings of evil4 ,there are dark gray threads1 inky black threads1 that do not harmonize with the pattern being woven4 ,and the weavers notice it1 and wonder1 and yet are under a strange impulse to weave on without understanding4 ,their coming ,one is to be a king1 but there is the distinct consciousness that there would be for ,him terrible experiences through which ,he must pass1 and to which ,he would yield on ,his way to the throne4 ,the very conception seems to involve a contradiction which puzzles these men who write them down4 ,like a lower minor strain running through some great piece of music are the few indications of what ,god foreknew1 though ,he did not foreplan1 would happen to ,jesus4 ,a sharp line must always be drawn between what ,god plans and what ,he knows will happen4 ,the soft sobbing of what ,god could see ahead runs as a minor sad cadence through the story of ,his plans4 ,sometimes these forebodings are acted out4 ,in the light of the ,gospels we can easily see very striking likenesses between the experiences in which keen suffering precedes great victory1 of such national leaders as ,joseph and ,david1 and the experiences of ,jesus4 ,here is ,god's plan of atonement by blood1 involving suffering1 but with no such accompaniments of hatred and cruelty as ,jesus went through4 ,read backward1 ,jesus' experience on the cross is seen to bear striking resemblances1 in part1 to this old scheme of atonement2 yet only in part3 the parts concerning ,his character and the results2 but not the manner of his death1 nor the spirit of the actors4 ,then there are the few direct specific passages predicting a stormy trip for the king before the haven is reached4 ,there is a vividness of detail in the very language here1 that catches us1 familiar with after events1 as it could not those who first heard4 ,there is the ,twenty-second ,psalm1 with its broken sentences1 as though blurted out between heart-breaking sobs2 and then the wondrous change1 in the latter part1 to victory through this terrible experience4 ,and the scanty but vivid lines in the ,sixty-ninth ,psalm4 ,there is that great throbbing fifty-third of ,isaiah1 with its beginning back in the close of the fifty-second1 and the striking ahead of its key-note in the fiftieth chapter4 ,daniel listens with awe deepening ever more as ,gabriel tells him that the coming ,prince is to be cut off4 ,to the returned exiles rebuilding the temple ,zechariah acts out a parable in which ,jehovah is priced at thirty pieces of silver1 the cost of a common slave4 ,and a bit later ,god speaks of a time when they shall look upon ,me 7or ,him7 whom they have pierced4 ,and later yet1 a still more significant phrase is used1 as identifying the divine character of the sufferer1 where ,god speaks of a sword being used against the man that is ,my ,fellow1 adding1 ,strike the shepherd1 and the sheep shall be scattered4 ,it is ,god's ,fellow--one on a par with ,himself--against whom the opposition is directed4 ,such is the great vision in these ,hebrew pages of the plan for the coming ,one4 ,there is a throne on a high mountain peak bathed in wondrous sublime glory1 but the writers are puzzled at a dark valley of the shadow of death through which the king seems to be obliged to pick ,his way up to the throne4 ,jesus is to be ,god's new ,man leading man back on the road into the divine image again1 with full mastery of his masterly powers1 and through mastery into full dominion again2 but the road back seems to be contested1 and the new ,man gets badly scarred as ,he fights through and up to victory4 ,the ,tragic ,break in the ,plan u,the ,jerusalem ,climate4_/u ,then ,jesus came4 ,his coming was greeted with great gladness above1 and great silence below4 ,above1 the stars sent a special messenger to bid ,him welcome to the earth they lightened and brightened4 ,below1 the rusty hinges of earth's inn refused to swing for ,him4 ,so man failing1 the lower creation shared room with ,him4 ,above1 was the sweetest music1 the music of heaven4 ,three times the music of heaven is mentioned3 at the creation1 at this coming of ,jesus1 at the coming crowning of ,jesus in ,john's ,revelation4 ,below1 the only music was that of the babe's holy young mother1 ,god's chosen one to mother ,his ,son1 crooning to her babe2 and the gentle lowing in minor key of the oxen whose stall ,he shared4 ,above1 the great glory shining1 the messenger of ,god speaking a message of peace and love4 ,below1 only darkness and silence4 ,among the cultured leaders of the city of ,david1 and of ,solomon1 and of ,god's once glorified temple1 there were no ears for the message1 nor eyes for the glory4 ,they had gone deaf and blind ,godward long before4 ,to them came no message1 for no door was open4 ,to simple men of nature who lived with the stars and the hills and the sheep1 came the new shining of the glory1 and the wondrous messenger and message4 ,their doors were open4 ,they practised looking up4 ,of course neither city nor country mattered1 nor matters4 ,god always speaks into the upturned ear and looks into the upturned face4 ,and so ,jesus came4 ,with all of its contrasts it was a winsome coming4 ,a pure young mother nursing her babe2 the babe with its sweet wondrous face1 a fresh act of ,god indeed2 the simple unselfish cattle2 the bright stars2 the ,glory shining2 the sudden flood of music2 the ,lord's messenger2 the message--a very winsome coming4 ,he came into the peculiar climate of ,jerusalem4 ,jerusalem is ,judea4 ,out of the ,babylonian remnant of ,israel had come great men1 true leaders1 with great zeal for the city1 and the temple1 and the temple service1 and for the law4 ,they made the mould in which this later ,jerusalem was cast4 ,but that mould retaining its old form1 had now become filled with the baser metals4 ,the high ideals of the new makers of the city had shrunk into mere ideas4 ,the small1 strongly entrenched ruling circle were tenacious sticklers for traditions as interpreted by themselves4 ,that fine old word conservative 7with an underneath meaning of what we prefer7 was one of their sweetest morsels4 ,underneath their great pride as ,moses' successors1 the favored custodians of the nation's most sacred treasures1 was a passionate love for gold4 ,the temple service was secretly organized on the profit-sharing plan1 with the larger share1 as usual1 for the organizers4 ,that hardest thing in the whole range of human action to overcome1 either by ,god or man or the devil--prejudice--they had1 in the ,simon-pure form1 superlatively refined4 ,the original treasure of ,god's ,word was about as much overlaid and hidden away by writings about it as--it has been in some other times4 ,of course they were looking for a ,messiah1 the one hope of their sacredly guarded literature4 ,but ,he must be the sort that they wanted1 and--could use4 ,herod the ,king was a man of great ability1 great ambition1 great passion1 and great absence of anything akin to conscience4 ,but the virtual ruler was the high priest4 ,his office was bargained for1 bought and sold for the money and power it controlled in the way all too familiar to corrupt political life in all times1 and not wholly unknown in our own4 ,the old spiritual ideals of ,moses1 and ,samuel1 preached amid degeneracy by ,elijah and ,isaiah1 were buried away clear out of sight by mere formalism1 though still burning warm and tender in the hearts of a few4 ,this was the atmosphere of the old national capital into which ,jesus came4 u,the ,bethlehem ,fog4_/u ,then it was that ,jesus came4 ,strange to say1 there is a shadow over ,his coming from the beginning4 ,a gray chilling shadow of the sort of gray that a stormy sky sometimes shows1 gray tingeing into slaty black4 ,yet it was the coming that made the shadow4 ,it takes light1 and some thick thing like a block1 and some distance for perspective1 to make a shadow4 ,the nearer the light to the block thing the blacker the shadow4 ,here the light came close to some thick blocks2 of stupid thickness2 human blocks grown more toughly thick by the persistent resisting of any such transparent thing as light4 ,this was a foggy shadow4 ,a fog is always made by influences from below4 ,a lowering temperature chills the air1 and brings down its moisture in the shape of a gray subtle pervasive mist1 that blurs the outlook1 and often gathers and holds black smoke1 and mean poisonous odors and gases from bog and swamp4 ,such a fog endangers both health and life4 ,this was just such a shadowing fog4 ,there was a decided drop in the temperature1 a sudden chill1 a fog formed that sucked up the poison of the marshes1 and threatened to stifle the baby breath of the new-born ,king4 ,a subtle1 intangible1 but terribly sure something haunts and hunts the ,king from the first4 ,his virgin mother is suspected by the one nearest her of the most serious offense that can be charged against a woman4 ,the shadow that later grew to inky blackness came ahead of the man1 and1 under the stable eaves1 waited grimly ,his arrival4 ,the feverish green of ,herod's eyes will be content with nothing but a new1 bright1 running red1 and plenty of it4 ,satan's plan of killing was started early4 ,he was not particular about the way it was done4 ,the first attempt was at ,bethlehem4 ,the venomous spittle oozed out there first4 ,but he must move along natural channels3 just now1 a murderous king's jealous dread of a possible rival4 ,the first hint of the actual coming of the long expected ,one is from the star-students of the east4 ,their long journey and eager questioning bring the birth of ,jesus before the official circle of the nation4 ,it is most significant that ,his birth causes at once a special meeting of the nation's ruling body4 ,herod was troubled1 of course4 ,but--all ,jerusalem was troubled with him4 ,here is a surprising sympathy4 ,it reflects at once vividly the situation4 ,it was strangely suggestive that news of their ,king coning should trouble these national leaders4 ,these devout star-watchers are wise in the source of information they came to4 ,these leaders knew4 ,they quickly pointed out the spot where the coming ,one should be born4 ,a pure virgin under cruel suspicion1 a roomless inn1 a village filled with heart-broken mothers1 a quick flight on a dark night to a foreign land by a young mother and her babe1 the stealthy retirement into a secluded spot away from his native province1 a fellow feeling between a red-handed king and the nation's leaders--ugh6 an ugly1 deadly fog4 u,the ,man ,sent ,ahead4_/u ,a high fence of silence shuts out from view the after years4 ,just one chink of a crack appears in the fence1 peering through which1 one gets a suggestion of beautiful simplicity1 of the true1 natural human growing going on beyond the fence4 ,when mature years are reached1 the royal procession is formed4 ,a man is sent ahead to tell of the ,king's coming4 ,john was ,jesus' diplomatic representative1 ,his plenipotentiary extraordinary2 that is1 the one man specifically sent to represent ,him to the nation whose ,king ,he was4 ,treatment of ,john was treatment of ,jesus4 ,a slight done him was slighting his sovereign ,master4 ,if ,sir ,henry ,mortimer ,durand were to be slighted or treated discourteously by the ,american authorities1 it would be felt at ,london as a slight upon the ,king1 the government1 and the nation they represent4 ,any indignity permitted to be done on ,american soil to von ,stuckenburg would be instantly resented by ,kaiser ,william as personal to himself4 ,john was ,jesus' ,durand1 ,his von ,stuckenburg1 ,his ,whitelaw ,reid4 ,and no diplomat ever used more tactful language than this ,john when questioned about his ,master4 ,in ,jesus' own simile1 ,john was ,his best man4 ,jesus was a bridegroom4 ,john stood by ,his side as ,his most intimate friend4 ,jesus and ,john are constantly interwoven in the events of ,jesus' career4 ,we moderns1 who do everything by the calendar1 have been puzzled in the attempt to piece together these events into an exact calendar arrangement4 ,and the beautiful mosaic of the ,gospels has been cut up to make a new1 modern1 calendar mosaic4 ,but these writers see things by events1 not by dates4 ,they have in mind four great events1 and about these their story clusters4 ,and in these ,jesus and ,john are inextricably interwoven4 ,first is ,john's wilderness ministry1 heading up in his presenting ,jesus to the nation4 ,then ,john's violent seizure1 and ,jesus' withdrawal from the danger zone4 ,then ,john's death1 and ,jesus' increased caution in ,his movements4 ,then ,jesus' death4 ,john comes1 points to ,jesus1 and goes4 ,jesus comes1 walks a bit with ,john1 reaches beyond him and then goes1 too4 ,john baptized4 ,that is1 he used a purifying rite in connection with his preaching4 ,it helps to remember the distinction between baptism as practised in the ,christian ,church1 and as practised by ,john1 and by ,jesus in ,his early ministry4 ,in the church1 baptism has come to be regarded as a dedicatory rite by some1 and by others an initial and confessional rite4 ,but in the first use of it1 by ,john and ,jesus1 it was a purifying rite4 ,it was a confession too1 but of sin1 and the need of cleansing1 not1 as later1 of faith in a person1 or a creed1 although it did imply acceptance of a man's leadership4 ,to a ,hebrew mind it was preaching by symbol as well as by word4 ,the official deputation sent from ,jerusalem to look ,john up asked why he should be using a purifying rite if he were neither the ,christ1 nor ,elijah1 nor the prophet4 ,they could understand the appropriateness of either of these three persons using such a rite in connection with his preaching as indicating the national need of cleansing4 ,and in the beginning ,jesus for a time1 through ,his disciples1 joined in ,john's plan of baptizing those who confessed sorrow for sin4 ,jesus acknowledged ,john as ,his own representative1 and honored him as such1 from first to last4 ,he gives him the strongest approval and backing4 ,the national treatment of ,john always affects ,jesus' movements4 ,when1 toward the close1 ,his authority is challenged1 ,he at once calls attention to the evident authority of ,his forerunner and refuses to go farther4 ,a trace of that ominous1 puzzling foreboding noticed in the ,old ,testament vision of the coming ,one creeps in here4 ,pointing to ,jesus1 ,john says1 ,behold the lamb of ,god1 who beareth 7away7 the sin of the world4 ,why did ,john say that8 ,we read his words backward in the light of ,calvary4 ,but he could not do that1 and did not4 ,he knew only a ,king coming4 ,why8 ,even as ,isaiah fifty-third1 and ,psalm twenty-second were written1 the writers there1 the speaker here1 impelled to an utterance1 the meaning of which1 was not clear to themselves4 ,this relation and intimacy between these two1 ,john and ,jesus1 must be steadily kept in mind4 u,the ,contemptuous ,rejection4_/u ,from the very first1 though ,jesus was accepted by individuals of every class1 ,he was rejected by the nation4 ,this is the twin-fact standing out in boldest outline through the ,gospel stories4 ,the nation's rejection began with the formal presentation of ,him to it by ,john4 ,first was the simple refusal to accept1 then the decision to reject1 then the determination that everybody else should reject too4 ,first1 that ,he should not be admitted to their circle1 then that ,he should be kept out of their circle1 and then that ,he should be kept out of every circle4 ,there are these three distinct stages in the rejection from the ,jordan waters to the ,calvary ,hill4 ,first came the contemptuous rejection4 ,john was a great man4 ,made of the same rugged stuff as the old prophets1 he was more than they in being the ,king's own messenger and herald4 ,in his character he was great as the greatest1 though not as great in privilege as those living in the kingdom4 ,he preached and baptized4 ,with glowing eyes of fire1 deep-set under shaggy brows1 and plain vigorous speech which1 if pricked1 would ooze out red life1 he told of the sin that must be cleaned out as a preparation for the coming ,one4 ,and to all who would1 he applied the cleansing rite4 ,he had great drawing power4 ,away from cultured ,jerusalem on the hilltops down to the river bottoms1 and the stony barrens of the ,jordan2 from the ,judean hill country1 away from the stately temple service with its music and impressive ritual1 to his simple open-air1 plain1 fervid preaching1 he drew men4 ,all sorts came1 the proud ,pharisee1 the cynical ,sadducee1 the soldiers1 the publicans1 farmers1 shepherds1 tradespeople--all came4 ,his daily gatherings represented the whole people4 ,the nation came to his call4 ,it was the unconscious testimony of the nation to his rugged greatness and to his divine mission4 ,they were impelled to come1 and listen1 and do1 and questioningly wonder if this can be the promised national leader4 ,one day a committee came from the ,jewish ,senate to make official inquiry as to who he claimed to be4 ,with critical1 captious questions they demand his authority4 ,true to his mission and his ,master1 he said1 ,i am not the ,one1 but sent to tell you that ,he's coming1 and so near that it's time to get ready4 ,then the next day1 as ,jesus walks quietly through the crowd1 probably just back from the wilderness1 he finishes his reply to the deputation4 ,with glowing eyes intently riveted upon ,jesus1 and finger pointing1 before the alert eyes of his hundreds of hearers--,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 official committee1 ,roman soldiers1 and common folk--he said in clear1 ringing tones1 ,that is ,he3 the coming ,one6 ,no more dramatic1 impressive presentation could have been made of ,jesus to the nation4 ,to their ,oriental minds it would be peculiarly significant1 ,mark keenly the result4 ,on the part of the leaders utter silence ,there could be no more cutting expression of their contempt4 ,with eyebrows uplifted1 eyes coldly questioning1 their lips slightly curling1 or held close together and pursed out1 and shoulders shrugging1 their contempt1 utter disgusted contempt1 could not be more loudly expressed4 ,if they had had the least disposition to believe ,john's words about ,jesus1 even so far as to investigate patiently and thoroughly1 how different would their conduct have been6 ,but--only silence4 ,and silence long continued4 ,jesus gave them plenty of time before the next step was taken4 ,no silence ever spoke in louder voice4 ,that same day five thoughtful men of that same throng did investigate1 and were satisfied1 and gave at once loyal1 loving allegiance4 ,a few months later1 the ,passover ,feast drew crowds from everywhere to ,jerusalem4 ,jesus coming into the temple areas1 with the crowds1 one day1 is struck at once with the strange scene4 ,instead of reverent1 holy quiet1 as worshippers approached the dwelling-place of ,god1 with their offerings of penitence and worship1 the busy bustle of a market-place greets ,his ears4 ,the noise of cattle and sheep being driven here and there1 the pavement like an unkempt barnyard1 loud1 discordant voices of men handling the beasts and bargaining over exchange rates at the brokers' tables--strange scene4 ,is it surprising that ,his ear and eye and heart1 perhaps fresh from a bit of quiet morning talk with ,his ,father1 were shocked8 ,here1 where everything should have called to devotion1 everything jarred4 ,quietly and quickly putting some bits of knotted string together1 ,he started the stock out1 doubtless against the protests of the keepers4 ,with flashing light out of those keen eyes1 ,he tipped over the tables1 spilling out their precious greedy coins1 and ordered the crates of pigeons removed4 ,but all with no suggestion of any violence used toward anybody4 ,reluctantly1 perhaps angrily1 wholly against their plans and wishes1 the crowd1 impelled by something in this unknown ,man1 with no outer evidence of authority1 goes4 ,it is a remarkable tribute1 both to the power of ,his personal presence and to ,his executive faculty4 ,of course the thing made trouble4 ,it was the talk of the town1 and of all the foreigners for days after4 ,the leaders were aroused and angered1 deeply angered4 ,this stranger had kicked up a pretty muss with ,his inconvenient earnestness and inconsiderate quoting of ,scripture4 ,it was a practical assumption of superior authority over them4 ,it was an assumption of the truth of ,john's ignored claim that ,he was the promised ,king4 ,was not this arrangement in the temple area a great convenience for the many strangers1 who were their brothers and guests2 a real kindly act of hospitality8 ,yes--and was it not1 too1 a finely organized bit of business for profiting by these strangers1 a using of their proper authority over the temple territory to transfer their brothers' foreign coins safely over to their own purses8 ,aye1 it was a transmuting of their holy offices into gold by the alchemy of their coarse1 greedy touch4 ,jesus' conduct was the keenest sort of criticism of these rulers1 before the eyes of the nation and of the thousands of pilgrims present4 ,these leaders never forgave this humiliating rebuke of themselves4 ,it made their nerves raw to ,his touch ever after4 ,here is the real reason of all their after bitter dislike4 ,they had a sensitive pocket-nerve4 ,it was a sort of pneumogastric nerve so close did it come to their lives4 ,jesus touched it roughly4 ,it never quit aching4 ,scratch all their later charges against ,him and under all is this sore spot4 ,the tree of the cross began growing its wood that day4 ,their hot1 captious demand for authority1 meant as much for the ears of the crowd as for ,his1 brought from ,jesus1 who read ,his future in their hearts1 a reply which they could not understand4 ,they asked their question for the crowd to hear1 ,he replied for ,his disciples to remember in the after years4 ,there could be no evidence of authority more significant than this temple incident4 ,his first public work was done at this time4 ,the great throng of pilgrims from around the world1 attracted to ,him by this simple daring act of leadership1 witnessed a group of mighty acts during these ,passover days4 ,the angry leaders had critically asked for signs of ,his authority4 ,he gave them in abundance1 not in response to their captious demand1 but doubtless1 as always1 in response to pressing human needs4 ,the result was that many persons accepted ,him1 but the nation in its rulers1 maintained their attitude of angered1 contemptuous silence4 ,but underneath that surface the pot is beginning to boil4 ,of all the members of the national ,senate1 one1 just one1 comes to make personal inquiry1 and sift this man's claim sincerely and candidly4 ,and he1 be it marked1 chooses a darkened hour for that visit4 ,that night hour speaks volumes of the smouldering passion under their contempt4 ,that ,jesus recognized fully their attitude and just what it meant comes out in that quiet evening talk4 ,to that sincere inquirer1 ,he frankly ,jays1 ,you people won't receive the witness that ,john and ,i have brought you4 ,he was pleading before a court that stubbornly refuses testimony of fact4 ,and to this honest seeker1 whom we must all love for his sincerity1 ,he reveals ,his inner consciousness of a tragic break coming1 with a pleading word for personal trust1 and a saddened men love darkness4 ,with the going away of the ,passover crowds1 ,jesus leaves the national capital1 and assists in the sort of work ,john was doing4 ,his power to draw men1 and men's eagerness for ,him1 stand out sharply at once4 ,john had drawn great crowds of all classes4 ,jesus drew greater crowds4 ,multitudes eagerly accepted ,john's teaching and accepted baptism from him4 ,as it turned out1 greater multitudes of people1 under the very eyes of these ignoring1 contemptuous leaders1 accepted ,jesus' leadership4 ,john baptized4 ,jesus baptized through ,his disciples4 ,these leaders in their questioning of ,john had tacitly acknowledged the propriety of the ,christ using such a rite4 ,jesus follows the line of least resistance1 and fitted into the one phase of ,his work which they had recognized as proper4 ,the pitiable fact stands out that the only result with them is a wordy strife about the relative success of these two1 ,jesus and ,john4 ,the most that their minds1 steeped in jealousies and rivalries1 ever watching with badger eyes to undercut some one else1 could see1 was a rivalry between these two men4 ,john's instant open-hearted disclaimer made no impression upon them4 ,they seemed not impressionable to such disinterested loyalty4 ,a little later1 probably not much1 ,john's ruggedly honest preaching against sin came too close home to suit ,herod4 ,he promptly shuts up the preacher in prison1 with no protest from the nation's leaders4 ,these leaders had developed peculiar power in influencing their civil rulers by the strenuousness of their protests4 ,that they permitted the imprisonment of ,john with no word of protest1 was a tacit throwing overboard of ,john's own claims1 of ,john's claims for ,jesus1 and of ,jesus' own claim4 ,here is the first sharp crisis4 ,from the first1 the circle of national leaders characterized by ,john1 the writer of the ,gospel1 as the ,jews1 including the inner clique of chief priests and the ,pharisees1 ignored ,jesus2 with silent contempt1 coldly1 severely ignored4 ,this was before the temple-cleansing affair4 ,that intensified their attitude toward the next stage4 ,they had to proceed cautiously1 because the crowd was with ,jesus4 ,and full well these keen leaders knew the ticklishness of handling a fanatical ,oriental mob1 as subsequent events showed4 ,now ,john is imprisoned1 with the consent of these leaders1 possibly through their connivance4 ,jesus keenly and quickly grasps the situation4 ,first ignored1 then made the subject of evil gossip1 the temple clash1 and now ,his closest friend subjected to violence1 ,his own rejection is painfully evident4 ,he makes a number of radical changes4 ,his place of activity is changed to a neighboring province under different civil rule2 ,his method1 to preaching from place to place2 ,his purpose1 to working with individuals4 ,there's a peculiar word used here by ,matthew to tell of ,jesus' departure from ,judea to a province under a different civil ruler2 ,he withdrew4 ,the word used implies going away because of danger threatening4 ,we will run across it again and each time at a crisis point4 ,the leaders refused ,jesus because ,he was not duly labelled4 ,it seems to be a prevailing characteristic to want men labelled1 especially a characteristic of those who make the labels4 ,there is always an eager desire regarding a stranger to learn whom he represents1 who have put their stamp upon him and accepted him4 ,and if the label is satisfactory1 he is acccepted in the degree in which the label is accepted4 ,others are marked with a large interrogation point4 ,inherent worth has a slow time4 ,but sure8 ,yes1 but slow4 ,jesus bore no label whose words they could spell out or wanted to4 ,they were a bit rusty in the language of worth4 ,how knoweth this man letters1 having never learned6 ,he seems to know1 to know surprisingly well4 ,he seems keenly versed in the law1 able quickly to turn the tables upon their catch questions4 ,but then it can't be the real article of learning1 because ,he hasn't been in our established schools4 ,he has no sheepskin in a dead language with our learned doctors' names learnedly inscribed4 ,how indeed6 ,an upstart66 ,yet always to the earnest1 sincere inquirer there was authority enough4 ,in ,his acts1 an open-minded doctor of the law could read the stamp of ,god's approval4 ,the ear open to learn1 not waxed up by self-seeking plans1 or filled with gold dust1 heard the voice of divine approval out of the clouds1 or in ,his presence and acts4 u,the ,aggressive ,rejection4_/u ,then came the second stage1 the aggressive rejection4 ,this is the plotting stage4 ,their hot passion is cooling now into a hardening purpose4 ,this has been shaping itself under the surface for months4 ,now it is open4 ,this was a crowded year for ,jesus1 and a year of crowds4 ,the ,galileans had been in ,his southern audiences many a time and seen ,his miracles4 ,the news of ,his coming up north to their country swiftly spread everywhere4 ,the throngs are so great that the towns and villages are blockaded1 and ,jesus has recourse to the fields1 where the people gather in untold thousands4 ,an ominous incident occurs at the very beginning of this ,galilean work4 ,it is a fine touch of character that ,jesus at once pays a visit to ,his home village4 ,one always thinks more of ,him for that4 ,he never forgot the home folk4 ,the synagogue service on the ,sabbath day gathers the villagers together4 ,jesus takes the teacher's place1 and reads1 from ,isaiah1 a bit of the prophecy of the coming ,one4 ,then with a rare graciousness and winsomeness that wins all hearts1 and fastens every eye upon ,himself1 ,he begins talking of the fulfilment of that word in ,himself4 ,then there comes a strange1 quick revulsion of feeling4 ,had some ,jerusalem spy gotten in and begun his poisoning work already8 ,eyes begin to harden and jaws become set4 ,why1 that is the man that made our cattle-yoke4--,yes1 and fixed our kitchen table4--,he--the ,messiah6 ,then words of rebuke gently spoken1 but with truth's razor edge4 ,then a hot burst of passion1 and ,he is hustled out to the jagged edge of the hill to be thrown over4 ,then that wondrous presence awing them back1 as their hooked hands lose hold1 and their eyes again fasten with wonder1 and ,he passed quietly on ,his way undisturbed4 ,surely that was the best evidence of the truth of ,his despised word4 ,seven outstanding incidents here reveal the ever-hardening purpose of the leaders against ,jesus4 ,first comes another clash in the temple4 ,their ideas of what was proper on the ,sabbath day receive a shock because a man enslaved by disease for years was healed with a word from ,jesus' lips4 ,could there be a finer use of a ,sabbath day6 ,we can either think them really shocked1 or hunting for a religious chance to fight ,him4 ,jesus' reply seems so to enrage that a passion to kill ,him grips them4 ,it is notable that they had no doubt of the extent of ,jesus' claim2 ,he called ,god ,his own ,father1 making ,himself equal with ,god4 ,on these two things1 ,his use of the ,sabbath1 and ,his claim of divinity1 is based the aggressive campaign begun that day4 ,the incident draws from ,him the marvellous words preserved by ,john in his fifth chapter4 ,in support of ,his claim ,he quietly brings forward five witnesses1 ,john ,his herald1 ,his own miraculous acts1 ,his ,father1 the ,scriptures entrusted to their care1 and ,moses1 the founder of the nation4 ,that was a great line of testimony4 ,this first thought of killing ,him seems to have been a burst of hot1 passionate rage1 but gradually we shall find it cooled into a hardened1 deliberate purpose4 ,at once ,jesus returns to the northern province4 ,and now they begin to follow ,him up1 and spy upon ,his movements and words4 ,in ,capernaum1 ,his northern headquarters1 a man apparently at unrest in soul about his sins1 and palsied in body1 is first assured of forgiveness1 and then made bodily whole4 ,their criticism of ,his forgiving sins is silenced by the power evidenced in the bodily healing4 ,but their plan of campaign is now begun in earnest1 and is evident at once4 ,later criticism of ,his personal conduct and habits with the despised classes is mingled with an attempt to work upon ,his disciples and undermine their loyalty4 ,the ,sabbath question comes up again through the disciples satisfying their hunger in the grain fields1 and brings from ,jesus the keen comment that man wasn't made for the ,sabbath1 but to be helped through that day1 and then the statement that must have angered them further that ,he was ,lord of the ,sabbath4 ,another ,sabbath day in the synagogue they were on hand to see if ,he would heal a certain man with a whithered hand whom they had gotten track of1 that they might accuse ,him4 ,they were spying out evidence for the use of the ,jerusalem leaders4 ,to ,his grief they harden their hearts against ,his plea for saving a man1 a life1 as against a tradition4 ,and as the man with full heart and full eyes finds his chance of earning a living restored1 they rush out1 and with the fire spitting from their eyes1 and teeth gritting1 they plan to get their political enemies1 the ,herodians1 to help them kill ,jesus4 ,a number of these incidents give rise to these passionate outbursts to kill1 which seem to cool off1 but to leave the remnants that hardened into the cool purpose most to be dreaded4 ,a second time occurs that significant word1 withdrew4 ,jesus withdrew to the sea1 followed by a remarkable multitude of ,galileans1 and others from such distant points as ,tyre and ,sidon on the north1 ,idumea on the extreme south1 beyond the ,jordan on the east1 and from ,jerusalem4 ,he was safe with this sympathizing crowd4 ,the crowds were so great1 and the days so crowded1 that ,jesus' very eating was interfered with4 ,his friends remonstrate1 and even think ,him unduly swayed by holy enthusiasm4 ,but it is a man come down from ,jerusalem who spread freely among the crowds the ugly charge that ,he was in league with the devil1 possessed by an unclean spirit1 and that that explained ,his strange power4 ,no uglier charge could be made4 ,it reveals keenly the desperate purpose of the ,jerusalem leaders4 ,clearly it was made to influence the crowds4 ,they were panic-stricken over these crowds4 ,what could ,he not do with such a backing1 if ,he chose6 ,such a rumor would ,spread like wildfire4 ,jesus shows ,his leadership4 ,he at once calls the crowds about ,him1 speaks openly of the charge1 and refutes it1 showing the evident absurdity of it4 ,then a strange occurrence takes place4 ,while ,he is teaching a great crowd one day1 there is an interruption in the midst of ,his speaking ,oddly1 it comes from ,his mother and her other sons4 ,they send in a message asking to see ,him at once4 ,this seems very strange4 ,it would seem probable from the narrative that they had access to ,him constantly4 ,why this sudden desire by the one closest to ,him by natural ties to break into ,his very speaking for a special interview8 ,had these ,jerusalem men been working upon the fears of her mother heart for the safety of her ,son8 ,she would use her influence to save ,him from possible danger threatening8 ,there is much in the incident to give color to such a supposition4 ,perhaps a man of such fineness as ,he could be checked back by consideration for ,his mother's feelings4 ,they were quite capable of pulling any wire to shut ,him up1 however ignorant they showed themselves of the simple sturdiness of true character4 ,but the same man who so tenderly provides for ,his mother in the awful pain of hanging on a cross reminds her now that a divine errand is not to be hindered by nature's ties2 that clear vision of duty must ever hold the reins of the heart4 ,then comes the most terrible1 and most significant event1 up to this time1 in the whole gospel narrative--the murder of ,john4 ,this marks the sharpest crisis yet reached4 ,for a year or so ,john had been kept shut up in a prison dungeon1 evidence of his own faithfulness1 and of the low moral tone1 or absence of moral tone1 of the time4 ,then one night there is a prolonged1 debased debauchery in a magnificent palace2 the cunning1 cruel scheme of the woman whose wrong relation to ,herod ,john had honestly condemned4 ,the dancing young princess1 the drunken oath1 the terrible request1 the glowing-coal eyes closed1 the tongue that held crowds with its message of sin1 and of the coming ,one stilled1 the ,king's herald headless--the whole horrible1 nightmare story comes with the swiftness of aroused passion1 the suddenness of a lightning flash1 the cold cruelty of indulged lust4 ,instantly on getting the news ,jesus withdrew--for the third time withdrew to a retired desert place4 ,this had tremendous personal meaning for ,him4 ,nothing has occurred thus far that spells out for ,him the coming tragic close so large1 so terribly large1 as does this4 ,he stays away from the ,passover ,feast occurring at this time1 the only one of the four of ,his public career ,he failed to attend4 u,the ,murderous ,rejection4_/u ,this crisis leads at once into the final stage1 the murderous rejection4 ,jesus is now a fugitive from the province of ,judea1 because the death plot has been deliberately settled upon4 ,the southern leaders begin a more vigorous campaign of harrying ,him up in ,galilee4 ,a fresh deputation of ,pharisees come up from ,jerusalem to press the fighting4 ,they at once bring a charge against ,jesus' disciples of being untrue to the time-honored traditions of the national religion4 ,yet it is found to be regarding such trivial things as washing their hands and arms clear up to the elbows each time before eating1 and of washing of cups and pots and the like4 ,jesus sharply calls attention to their hypocrisy and cant1 by speaking of their dishonoring teachings and practices in matters of serious moment4 ,then ,he calls the crowd together and talks on the importance of being clean inside1 in the heart and thought4 ,before all the crowds ,he calls them hypocrites4 ,it's a sharp clash and break4 ,jesus at once withdrew4 ,it is the fourth time that significant danger word is used4 ,this time ,his withdrawal is clear out of the ,jewish territory1 far up north to the vicinity of ,tyre and ,sidon1 on the seacoast1 and there ,he attempts to remain unknown4 ,after a bit ,he returns again1 this time by a round-about way1 to the ,sea of ,galilee4 ,quickly the crowds find out ,his presence and come2 and again many a life and many a home are utterly changed by ,his touch4 ,with the crowd come the ,pharisees1 this time in partnership with another group1 the ,sadducees1 whom they did not love especially4 ,they hypocritically beg a sign from heaven1 as though eager to follow a divinely sent messenger4 ,but ,he quickly discerns their purpose to tempt ,him into something that can be used against ,him4 ,the sign is refused4 ,jesus never used ,his power to show that ,he could1 but only to help somebody4 ,the fall of that year found ,him boldly returning to the danger zone of ,jerusalem for attendance on the harvest-home festival called by them the ,feast of ,tabernacles4 ,it was the most largely attended of the three annual gatherings1 attracting thousands of faithful ,jews from all parts of the world4 ,the one topic of talk among the crowds was ,jesus1 with varying opinions expressed2 but those favorable to ,him were awed by the keen purpose of the leaders to kill ,him4 ,when the festival was in full swing1 one morning1 ,jesus quietly appears among the temple crowds1 and begins teaching4 ,the leaders tried to arrest ,him1 but are held back by some hidden influence1 nobody seeming willing to take the lead4 ,then the clique of chief priests send officers to arrest ,him4 ,but they are so impressed by ,his presence and ,his words1 that they come back empty-handed1 to the disgust of their superiors4 ,great numbers listening believe on ,him1 but some of the leaders1 mingling in the crowd1 stir up discussion so sharp that with hot passion1 and eyes splashing green light1 they stoop down and pick up stones to hurl at ,him and end ,his life at once4 ,it is the first attempt at personal violence in ,jerusalem4 ,but again that strange restraining power1 and ,jesus passes out untouched4 ,as he quietly passes through and out1 ,he stops to give sight to a blind man4 ,interestingly enough it occurs on a ,sabbath day4 ,instantly the leaders seize on this1 and have a time of it with the man and his parents in turn1 with this upshot1 that the man for his bold confession of faith in ,jesus is shut out from all synagogue privileges1 in accordance with a decision already given out4 ,he becomes an outcast1 with all that that means4 ,it's a fine touch that ,jesus hunts up this outcast and gives him a free entrance into ,his own circle4 ,after this feast-visit to ,jerusalem1 ,jesus probably returns to ,galilee1 as after previous visits there1 and then one day leads ,his band of disciples up to the neighborhood of snow-capped ,hermon4 ,here probably occurs the transfiguration1 the purpose of which was to tie up these future leaders of ,his1 against the events now hurrying on with such swift pace4 ,from this time begins the preparation of this inner circle for the coming tragedy so plain to ,his eyes4 ,then begins that memorable last journey from ,galilee toward ,jerusalem through the country on the east of the ,jordan4 ,with marvellous boldness and courage ,he steadfastly set ,his face toward ,jerusalem4 ,the ever-tightening grip of ,his purpose is in the set of ,his face4 ,the fire burning so intensely within is in ,his eye as ,he tramps along the road alone1 with the disciples following1 awestruck and filled with wondering fear4 ,thirty-five deputations of two each are sent ahead into all the villages to be visited by ,him4 ,what an intense campaigner was ,jesus6 ,he was thoroughly1 systematically stumping the whole country for ,god4 ,as ,he approaches nearer to the ,jerusalem section the air gets tenser and hotter4 ,the leaders are constantly harrying ,his steps1 tempting with catch questions1 seeking signs1 poisoning the crowds--mosquito warfare6 ,he moves steadily1 calmly on4 ,some of the keenest things ,he said flashed out through the friction of contact with them4 ,a tempting lawyer's question brings out the beautiful ,samaritan parable4 ,the old ,sabbath question provokes a fresh tilt with a synagogue ruler4 ,there is a cunning attempt by the ,pharisees to get ,him out of ,herod's territory into their own4 ,how intense the situation grew is graphically told in ,luke's words1 they began to set themselves vehemently against ,him1 and to provoke ,him to speak many things2 laying wait for ,him to catch something out of ,his mouth4 ,though unmoved by the cunning effort of the ,pharisees to get ,him over from ,herod's jurisdiction into ,judea1 despite their threatening attitude1 the winter ,feast of ,dedication finds ,him again in ,jerusalem walking in one of the temple areas4 ,instantly ,he is surrounded by a group of these ,jerusalem ,jews who1 with an air of apparent earnest inquiry1 keep prodding ,him with the request to be told plainly if ,he is really the ,christ4 ,his patient reply brings a storm of stones--almost4 ,held in check for a while by an invisible power1 or by the power of ,his presence shown under such circumstances so often1 again they attempt to seize ,his person1 and again ,he seems invisibly to hold their hands back1 as ,he quietly passes on ,his way out of their midst4 ,then comes the stupendous raising of ,lazarus1 which brings faith in ,him to great numbers1 and results in the formal official decision of the national council to secure ,his death4 ,he is declared a fugitive with a price set upon ,his head4 ,anybody knowing of ,his whereabouts must report the fact to the authorities4 ,this decides ,him not to show ,himself openly among them4 ,in a few weeks the pilgrims are crowding ,jerusalem for the ,passover4 ,jesus' name is on every tongue4 ,the rumor that ,he was over the hills in ,bethany takes a crowd over there1 not simply to see ,him1 but to see the resurrected ,lazarus4 ,then it was determined to kill ,lazarus off1 too4 ,that tremendous last week now begins4 ,jesus is seen to be the one masterly figure in the week's events4 ,in comparison with ,his calm steady movements1 these leaders run scurrying around1 here and there1 like headless hens4 ,the week begins with the most public1 formal presentation of ,himself in a kingly fashion to the nation4 ,it is their last chance4 ,how wondrously patient and considerate is this ,jesus6 ,and how sublimely heroic6 ,into the midst of those men ravenous for ,his blood ,he comes4 ,seated with fine1 unconscious majesty on a kingly beast1 surrounded by ever-increasing multitudes loudly singing and speaking praises to ,god1 over paths bestrewed with garments and branches of living green1 slowly ,he mounts the hill road toward the city4 ,at a turn in the road all of a sudden the city lies spread out before ,him4 ,he saw the city and wept over it4 ,he sat upon the ass's colt and rode ,toward ,jerusalem4 ,beside ,him walked ,closely and silently the faithful twelve1 ,and on before ,him went a multitude ,shouting hosannas1 and with eager hands ,strewing their garments thickly in the way4 ,th' unbroken foal beneath ,him gently stepped1 ,tame as its patient dam2 and as the song ,of ',welcome to the ,son of ,david' burst ,forth from a thousand children1 and the leaves ,of the waving branches touched its silken ears1 ,it turned its wild eye for a moment back1 ,and then1 subdued by an invisible hand1 ,meekly trod onward with its slender feet4 ,the dew's last sparkle from the grass had gone ,as ,he rode up ,mount ,olivet4 ,the woods ,threw their cool shadows directly to the west2 ,and the light foal1 with quick and toiling step1 ,and head bent low1 kept up its unslackened way ,till its soft mane was lifted by the wind ,sent o'er the mount from ,jordan4 ,as ,he reached ,the summit's breezy pitch1 the ,saviour raised ,his calm blue eye--there stood ,jerusalem6 ,eagerly ,he bent forward1 and beneath ,his mantle's passive folds a bolder line ,than the wont slightness of ,his perfect limbs ,betrayed the swelling fulness of ,his heart4 ,there stood ,jerusalem6 ,how fair she looked-- ,the silver sun on all her palaces1 ,and her fair daughters 'mid the golden spires ,tending their terrace flowers2 and ,kedron's stream ,lacing the meadows with its silver band ,and wreathing its mist-mantle on the sky ,with the morn's exhalation4 ,there she stood1 ,jerusalem1 the city of ,his love1 ,chosen from all the earth3 ,jerusalem1 ,that knew ,him not1 and had rejected ,him2 ,jerusalem for whom ,he came to die6 ,the shouts redoubled from a thousand lips ,at the fair sight2 the children leaped and sang ,louder hosannas2 the clear air was filled ,with odor from the trampled olive leaves ,but ',jesus wept6' ,the loved disciple saw ,his ,master's tear1 and closer to ,his side ,he came with yearning looks1 and on his neck ,the ,saviour leaned with heavenly tenderness1 ,and mourned1 ',how oft1 ,jerusalem6 would ,i ,have gathered you1 as gathereth a hen ,her brood beneath her wings--but ye would not6' ,he thought not of the death that ,he should die-- ,he thought not of the thorns ,he knew must pierce ,his forehead--of the buffet on the cheek-- ,the scourge1 the mocking homage1 the foul scorn6 ,gethsemane stood out beneath ,his eye ,clear in the morning sun2 and there1 ,he knew1 ,while they who 'could not watch with ,him one hour' ,were sleeping1 ,he should sweat great drops of blood1 ,praying the cup might pass6 ,and ,golgotha ,stood bare and desert by the city wall2 ,and in its midst1 to ,his prophetic eye ,rose the rough cross1 and its keen agonies ,were numbered all--the nails were in ,his feet-- ,th' insulting sponge was pressing on ,his lips-- ,the blood and water gushed from ,his side-- ,the dizzy faintness swimming in ,his brain-- ,and1 while ,his own disciples fled in fear1 ,a world's death agonies all mixed in ,his6 ,ah6--,he forgot all this4 ,he only saw ,jerusalem--the chosen--the loved--the lost6 ,he only felt that for her sake ,his life ,was vainly given1 and in ,his pitying love ,the sufferings that would clothe the heavens in black ,were quite forgotten4 ,was there ever love1 ,in earth or heaven1 equal to this8#e ,and so the ,king entered ,his capital4 ,it was a royal procession4 ,mark keenly the result4 ,again that utter1 ominous1 loud silence1 that greeted ,his ears first1 more than three years before4 ,he had come to ,his own home4 ,his own kinsfolk received ,him not6 ,then each day ,he came to the city1 and each night1 homeless1 slept out in the open1 under the trees of ,olivet1 and the blue4 ,now1 ,he rudely shocks them by clearing the temple areas of the market-place rabble and babble1 and now ,he is healing the lame and maimed in the temple itself1 amid the reverent praise of the multitude1 the songs of the children1 and the scowling1 muttered protests of the chief priests4 ,calmly1 day by day1 ,he moves among them1 while their itching fingers vainly clutch for a hold upon ,him1 and as surely are held back by some invisible force4 ,by every subtle device known to cunning1 crafty men1 they lay question-traps1 and lie in wait to catch ,his word4 ,he foils them with ,his marvellous1 simple answers1 lashes them with ,his keen1 cutting parables and finally ,himself proposes a question about their own scriptures which they admit themselves unable to answer1 and1 utterly defeated1 ask no more questions4 ,then follows that most terrific arraignment of these leaders1 with its infinitely tender1 sad1 closing lament over ,jerusalem4 ,that is the final break4 ,then occurs that pathetic ,greek incident that seems to agitate ,jesus so4 ,this group of earnest seekers1 from the outside1 non-,jewish world brings to ,jesus a vision of the great hungry heart of the world1 and of an open-mindedness to truth such as was to ,him these days as a cool1 refreshing drink to a dusty mouth on a dry hot day4 ,but--no--the ,father's will--simple obedience--only that was right4 ,the harvest can come only through the grain giving out its life in the cold ground4 ,before the final act in the tragedy ,jesus retires from sight1 probably for prayer4 ,some dear friends of ,bethany in whose home ,he had rested many a time1 where ,he ever found sweet-sympathy1 arranged a little home-feast for ,him where a few congenial friends might gather4 ,while seated there in the quiet atmosphere of love and fellowship so grateful to ,him after those ,jerusalem days1 one of the friends present1 a woman1 ,mary1 takes a box of exceeding costly ointment1 and anoints ,his head4 ,to the strange protests made1 ,jesus quietly explains her thought in the act4 ,she alone understood what was coming4 ,alone of all others it was a woman1 the simple-hearted ,bethany ,mary1 who understood ,jesus4 ,as none other did she perceive with her keen love-eyes the coming death1 and--more--its meaning4 ,it is one of the disciples1 ,judas1 who protests indignantly against such waste4 ,this ointment would have brought at least seventy-five dollars1 and how much such a sum would have done for the poor6 ,thoughtless1 improvident woman6 ,strange the word didn't blister on his canting lips4 ,john keenly sees that his fingers are clutching the treasure bag as he speaks the word1 and that his thoughts are far from the poor4 ,jesus gently rebukes ,judas4 ,but ,judas is hot tempered1 and sullenly watches for the first chance to withdraw and carry out the damnable purpose that has been forming within4 ,he hurries over the hill1 through the city gate1 up to the palace of the chief priest4 ,within there was a company of the inner clique of the leaders1 discussing how to get hold of ,jesus most easily4 ,they sit heavily in their seats1 with shut fists1 set jaws1 and that peculiar yellow-green light spitting out from under their lowering1 knit brows4 ,these bothersome crowds had to be considered4 ,the feast-day wouldn't do4 ,the crowd would be greatest then1 and hardest to handle4 ,back and forth they brew their scheme4 ,then a knock at the door4 ,startled1 they look alertly up to know who this intruder may be4 ,the door is opened4 ,in steps a man with a hangdog1 guilty1 but determined look4 ,it is one of the men they have seen with ,jesus6 ,what can this mean8 ,he glances furtively from one to another4 ,then he speaks3 ,how much'll you give if ,i get ,jesus into your hands8 ,of all things this was probably the last they had thought might happen4 ,their eyes gleam4 ,how much indeed--a good snug sum to get their fingers securely on his person4 ,but they're shrewd bargainers4 ,that's one of their specialties4 ,how much did he want8 ,poor ,judas6 ,he made a bad bargain that day4 ,thirty pieces of silver6 ,he could easily have gotten a thousand4 ,judas did love money greedily1 and doubtless was a good bargainer too1 but anger was in the saddle now1 and drove him hard4 ,without doubt it was in a hot fit of temper that he made this proposal4 ,his descendants have been coining money out of ,jesus right along3 exchanging ,him for gold4 ,only a little later1 and the ,master is closeted with ,his inner circle in the upper room of a faithful friend's house in one of the ,jerusalem streets1 for the ,passover supper4 ,a word from ,him and ,judas withdraws for his dark errand4 ,then those great heart-talks of ,jesus1 in the upper room1 along the roadway1 under the full moon1 maybe passing by the massive temple structure1 then under the olive trees4 ,then the hour grows late1 the disciples are drowsy1 the ,master is off alone among those trees1 then weird uncertain lights of torches1 a rabble of soldiers and priests1 a man using friendship's cloak1 and friendship's greeting--then the ,king is in the hands of ,his enemies4 ,an awful night1 followed by a yet more awful day1 and the plan of the kingdom is broken by the tragic killing of the ,king4 u,suffering the ,birth-pains of a ,new ,life4_/u ,why did ,jesus die8 ,it's a pretty old question4 ,it's been threshed out no end of times4 ,yet every time one thinks of the gospel1 or opens the ,book1 it looks out earnestly into his face4 ,and nothing is better worth while than to have another serious prayerful go at it4 ,the whole nub of the gospel is here4 ,it clears the ground greatly not to have any theory about ,jesus' death1 but simply to try thoughtfully to gather up all the statements and group them1 regardless of where it may lead1 or how it may knock out previous ideas4 ,it can be said at once that ,his dying was not ,god's own plan4 ,it was a plan conceived somewhere else1 and yielded to by ,god4 ,god had a plan of atonement by which men who were willing could be saved from sin and its effects4 ,that plan is given in the old ,hebrew code4 ,to the tabernacle1 or temple1 under prescribed regulations1 a man could bring some live animal which he owned4 ,the man brought that which was his own4 ,it represented him4 ,through his labor the beast or bird was his4 ,he had transferred some of his life and strength into it4 ,he identified himself with it further by close touch at the time of its being offered4 ,he offered up its life4 ,in his act he acknowledged that his own life was forfeited4 ,in continuing to live he acknowledged the continued life as belonging to ,god4 ,he was to live as belonging to another4 ,he made1 in effect1 the statement made long after by ,paul3 ,i am offering up my life on this altar for my sin2 nevertheless ,i am living3 yet the life ,i live is no longer mine1 but another's4 ,mine has been taken away by sin4 ,there was no malice or evil feeling in the man's act1 but only penitence1 and an earnest1 noble purpose4 ,the act revealed the man's inner spirit4 ,it acknowledged his sin1 that life is forfeited by sin1 his desire to have the sin difficulty straightened out1 and to be at one again with ,god4 ,he expressed his hatred of sin and his earnest desire to be free of it4 ,i am not saying at all that this was true of every ,hebrew coming with his sacrifice4 ,i may not say it of all who approach ,god to day through ,jesus4 ,but clearly enough1 all of this is in the old ,hebrew plan devised by ,god4 ,it was the new choice that brought the man back to ,god1 even as the first choice had separated him from ,god4 ,and the explicit statement made over and over is this1 and it shall make atonement4 ,clearly ,jesus' dying does not in any way fit into the old ,hebrew form of sacrifice1 nor into the spirit of the man who caused the death of the sacrifice1 though in spirit1 in requirement it far more than fills it out4 ,the ,old ,testament scheme is ,jewish4 ,the manner of ,jesus' death is not ,jewish1 but ,roman4 ,as a priest ,he was not of the ,jewish order1 but of an order non-,jewish and antedating the other by hundreds of years4 ,in no feature does ,he fit into the old custom4 ,but every truth taught by the old is brilliantly exemplified and embodied in ,him4 ,the epistle to the ,hebrews was written to ,jews who had become ,christians1 but through persecution and great suffering were sorely tempted to go back to the old ,jewish faith4 ,they seemed to be saying that ,jesus filled out neither the kingdom plan1 nor the ,mosaic scheme of sacrifice4 ,the writer of the epistle is showing with a masterly sweep and detail the immense superiority of what ,jesus did over the old ,mosaic plan4 ,read backward1 these provisions are seen to be vivid illustrations of what ,jesus did do1 not in form1 not actually1 but in fact1 in spirit1 in a way vastly ahead of the ,hebrew ritual4 ,the truth underneath the old was fully fulfilled in ,jesus1 though the form was not4 ,one needs always to keep sharply in mind the difference between ,god's plan and that which ,he clearly saw ahead1 and into which ,he determined to fit in carrying out ,his purpose4 ,there is no clearer1 stronger statement of this than that found in ,peter's ,pentecost sermon3 ,him being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of ,god1 ye by the hands of men without law did crucify and slay4 ,god knew ahead what would come4 ,there was a conference held4 ,the whole matter talked over4 ,with full knowledge of the situation1 the obstinate hatred of men1 the terrific suffering involved1 it was calmly1 resolutely advised and decided upon that when the time came ,jesus should yield ,himself up pliantly into their hands4 ,that is ,peter's statement4 ,this in no way affects the fact that ,jesus dying as ,he did is the one means of salvation4 ,it does not at all disturb any of ,paul's statements1 in their plainest1 first-flush meaning4 ,it does explain the kingdom plan1 and the necessity for ,jesus finishing up the kingdom plan some day4 ,for though ,god's plan may be broken1 and retarded1 it always is carried through in the end4 ,it explains too that evil is never necessary to good4 ,hatred1 evil never helps ,god's plans4 ,the good that ,god brought out of the cross is not through the bad1 but in spite of the bad4 ,the preaching of the ,acts is absorbed with the astounding1 overshadowing1 appalling fact of the killing of the nation's ,king4 ,but through it all runs this strain of reasoning3 the kingdom plan has been broken by the murder of the ,king4 ,he has been raised from the dead in vindication of ,his claim4 ,this marvellous power that is so evident to all eyes and ears is the ,holy ,spirit whom the killed ,king has sent down4 ,it proves that ,he is now enthroned in glory at ,god's right hand4 ,he is coming back to carry out the kingdom plan4 ,now the thing to do is to repent1 and so there will come blessing now1 and by and by the ,king again4 ,when the first church council is held to discuss the matter of letting non-,jewish outsiders into their circle1 the clear-headed1 judicial-tempered ,james1 in the presiding chair1 puts the thing straight4 ,he says3 ,peter has fully told us how ,god first visited the outside nations to take out of them a people for ,himself4 ,and this fits into the prophetic plan as outlined by ,amos1 that after that the kingdom will be set up and then all men will come4 ,this brings out in bold relief the fact that the horrible features of ,jesus' dying1 the hatred and cruelty1 were no part of the plan of salvation1 and not necessary to the plan4 ,the cross was the invention of hate4 ,there is no cross in ,god's plan of atonement4 ,it is the superlative degree of hate1 brooded and born1 and grown lusty in hell4 ,it was ,god's master touch that1 through yielding1 it becomes to all men for all time the superlative degree of love4 ,the ages have softened all its sharp jagged edges with a halo of glory4 ,it is perfectly clear1 too1 that ,jesus died of ,his own accord4 ,he chose the time of ,his death and the manner of it4 ,he had said it was purely voluntary on ,his part1 and the record plainly shows that it was4 ,all attempts to kill ,him failed until ,he chose to yield4 ,there are ten separate mentions of their effort1 either to get hold of ,his person or to kill ,him at once before they finally succeeded4 ,he was killed in intent at least three times1 once by being dashed over a precipice1 and twice by stoning1 before ,he was actually killed by crucifixion4 ,each time surrounded by a hostile crowd1 apparently quite capable of doing as they pleased1 yet each time ,he passes through their midst1 and their hooked fingers are restrained against their will1 and their gnashing teeth bite only upon the spittle of their hate4 ,this makes ,jesus' motive in yielding explain ,his death4 ,the cross means just what ,his purpose in dying puts into it4 ,if we read the facts of the gospel stories apart from ,jesus' words1 the cross spells out just one word--in large1 pot-black capitals--,,hate4 ,what was ,jesus' motive or purpose in dying8 ,his own words give the best answer4 ,the earlier remarks are obscure to those who heard1 not understood4 ,and we can understand that they could not4 ,at the first ,passover ,he speaks of their destroying this temple1 and ,his raising it in three days4 ,naturally they think of the building of stone1 but ,he is thinking of ,his body4 ,to ,nicodemus ,he says that the ,son of ,man must be lifted up3 and to some critics that when the bridegroom is taken away there will be fasting among ,his followers4 ,later1 ,he speaks much more plainly4 ,after ,john has gone home by way of ,herod's red road1 at the time of the feeding of the #e1jjj there is the discussion about bread1 and the true bread4 ,jesus speaks a word that perplexes the crowd much1 and yet ,he goes on to explain just what ,he means4 ,it is in ,john1 sixth chapter1 verses fifty-three to fifty-seven inclusive1 ,he says that if a man eat ,his flesh and drink ,his blood he shall have eternal life4 ,the listening crowd takes the words literally and of course is perplexed4 ,clearly enough it is not meant to be taken literally4 ,read in the light of the after events it is seen to be an allusion to ,his coming death4 ,such a thing as actually eating ,his flesh and drinking ,his blood would necessitate ,his death4 ,we men are under doom of death written in our very bodies1 assured to us by the unchangeable fact of bodily death4 ,now if a man take ,jesus into his very being so that they become one in effect1 then clearly if ,jesus die the man is freed from the necessity of dying4 ,through ,jesus dying there is for such a man life4 ,that is the statement ,jesus makes4 ,in five distinct sentences ,he attempts to make ,his meaning simple and clear4 ,the first sentence puts the negative side3 there is no life without ,jesus being taken into one's being4 ,then the positive side3 through this sort of eating there is life4 ,and with this is coupled the inferential statement that they are not to be spared bodily death1 because they are to be raised up4 ,the third sentence1 that ,jesus is the one true food of real life4 ,the fourth sentence gives a parallel or interchangeable phrase for eating and drinking1 i4e41 abideth in me and ,i in ,him4 ,a mutual abiding in each other4 ,the food abides in the man eating it4 ,the man abides in the strength of the food ,he has taken in4 ,eating ,my flesh means abiding in ,me4 ,the last sentence gives an illustration4 ,this living in ,jesus1 having ,him live in us as closely as though actually eaten1 is the same as ,jesus' own life on earth being lived in ,his ,father1 dependent upon the ,father4 ,and when the crowds take ,his words literally and complain that none can understand such statements1 ,he at once explains that1 of course1 ,he does not mean literal eating--,the flesh profiteth nothing 7even if you did eat it73 it is the ,spirit that gives life3 the words 444 are ,spirit and life4 ,the taking of ,jesus through ,his words into one's life to dominate--that is the meaning4 ,a few months later1 in ,jerusalem1 ,he speaks again of ,his purpose1 in ,john's tenth chapter1 ,the good shepherd layeth down ,his life for the sheep4 ,i lay down my life for the sheep4 ,the death was for others because of threatening danger4 ,other sheep ,i have which are not of this fold3 them also ,i must lead4 ,here is clear foresight of the wide sweep of influence through ,his death4 ,i lay down my life that ,i may take it again4 ,the death was one step in a plan4 ,there is something beyond4 ,i lay it down of myself4 ,i have the right to lay it down1 and ,i have the right to take it again4 ,this commandment ,i received from my ,father4 ,the dying was voluntary and was agreed to between the ,father and ,himself4 ,to the disciples ,he speaks of the need of taking up a cross in order to be followers1 and to the critical ,pharisee asking a sign1 ,he alludes to ,jonah's three days and nights in the belly of the sea monster4 ,neither of these allusions conveyed any definite idea to those listening4 ,then the last week when the ,greeks came2 ,except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die1 it abideth by itself alone2 but if it die1 it beareth much fruit4 ,the dying was to have great influence upon others4 ,and ,i if ,i be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto myself4 ,the dying was to be for others1 and to exert tremendous influence upon the whole race4 ,in that last long talk with the eleven1 that the world may know that ,i love the ,father and as the ,father gave me commandment even so ,i do4 ,the dying was in obedience to ,his ,father's wish1 and was to let men know of the great love between ,father and ,son4 ,greater love hath no man than this1 that a man lay down his life for his friends4 ,this dying was for these friends4 ,and in that great prayer that lays ,his heart bare1 for their sakes ,i sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified in truth4 ,the dying is for others1 and is for the securing in these others of a certain spirit or character4 ,the reference to the dying being in accord with the ,father's wish comes out again at the arrest1 ,the cup that the ,father hath given me1 shall ,i not drink it8 ,to these quotations from ,jesus' lips may be added a significant one from the man who stood closest to ,jesus4 ,referring to a statement about ,jesus made by ,caiaphas1 ,john adds3 being high priest that year he prophesied that ,jesus should die for the nation2 and not for the nation only1 but that ,he might gather together into one the children of ,god that are scattered abroad4 ,as ,john understood the matter1 the death was not simply for others1 but for the ,jewish nation as a nation1 and beyond that for a gathering into one of all of ,god's children4 ,jesus was to be ,god's magnet for attracting together all that belong to ,him4 ,the death was to be a roadway through to something beyond4 ,from ,his own words1 then1 ,jesus saw a necessity for ,his dying4 ,he must be lifted up4 ,that must spells out the desperateness of the need and the strength of ,his love4 ,sin contains in itself death for man as a logical result4 ,and by death is not meant the passing of life out of the body4 ,that is a mere incident of death4 ,death is separation from ,god4 ,it is gradual until finally complete4 ,love would plan nothing less radical than a death that would be for man the death of death4 ,his death was to be for others1 it was purely voluntary1 it was by agreement with ,his ,father1 in obedience to ,his wishes1 and an evidence of ,his filial love4 ,the death is a step in a plan4 ,there is something beyond1 growing out of the death4 ,jesus plans not merely a transfer of the death item1 but a new life1 a new sort of life1 in its place4 ,the dying is but a step4 ,it is a great step1 tremendously great1 indispensable1 the step that sets the pace4 ,yet but one step of a number4 ,beyond the dying is the living1 living a new life4 ,he works out in ,himself the plan for them--a dying1 and after that a new life1 and a new sort of life4 ,then according to ,his other teaching there is the sending of some ,one else to men to work out in ,his name in each of them this plan4 ,that plan is to be worked out in each man choosing to receive ,him into his life4 ,he will send down ,his other self1 the ,holy ,spirit1 to work this out in each one4 ,jesus' death released ,his life to be re-lived in us4 ,jesus plans to get rid of the sin in a man1 and put in something else in its place4 ,the sin must be gotten out1 first washed out1 then burned out4 ,then a new seed put in that will bear life4 ,what a chemist and artist in one is this ,jesus6 ,he uses bright red1 to get a pure white out of a dead black4 ,in addition to the plan for man individually1 the dying is to produce the same result in the ,jewish nation4 ,there is to be a national new-birth4 ,a new ,jewish people4 ,and then the dying is to have a tremendous influence upon all men4 ,on the cross ,jesus would suffer the birth-pains of a new life for man and for the world4 ,such1 in brief1 seems to be the grouping of ,jesus' own thought about ,his dying4 ,its whole influence is manward4 ,the value of ,jesus' dying lies wholly in its being voluntary4 ,of deliberate purpose ,he allowed them to put ,him to death4 ,otherwise they could not1 as is fully proven by their repeated failures4 ,and the purpose as well as the value of the death lies entirely in ,his motive in yielding4 ,if they could have taken ,his life without ,his consent1 then that death would have been an expression of their hate1 and only that4 ,but as it is1 it forever stands an expression of two things4 ,on their part of the intensest1 hottest hate2 on ,his part of the finest1 strongest love4 ,it makes new records for both hate and love4 ,sin put ,jesus to death4 ,in yielding to these men ,jesus was yielding to sin1 for they personified sin4 ,and sin yielded to quickly brought death1 its logical outcome4 ,jesus' dying being ,his own act1 controlled entirely by ,his own intention1 makes it sacrificial4 ,there are certain necessary elements in such a sacrifice4 ,it must be voluntary4 ,it must involve pain or suffering of some sort4 ,the suffering must be undeserved1 that is1 in no way or degree a result of one's own act1 else it is not sacrifice1 but logical result4 ,it must be for others4 ,and the suffering must be of a sort that would not come save for this voluntary act4 ,it must be supposed to bring benefit to the others4 ,each of these elements must be in to make up fully a sacrifice4 ,there are elements of sacrifice in much noble suffering by man4 ,but in no one do all of these elements perfectly combine and blend1 save in ,jesus4 ,to this agree the words of the philosopher of the ,new ,testament writers4 ,it would be so1 of course1 for the ,spirit of ,jesus swayed ,paul4 ,the epistle to the ,romans contains a brief packed summary of his understanding of the gospel plan4 ,there is in it one remarkable statement of the ,father's1 purpose in ,jesus' death4 ,in the third chapter1 verse twenty-six1 freely translated1 that ,he might be reckoned righteous in reckoning righteous the man who has faith4 ,that ,he might be reckoned righteous--that is1 in ,his attitude toward sin4 ,that in allowing things to go on as they were1 in holding back sin's logical judgment1 ,he was not careless or indifferent about sin or making light of it4 ,he was controlled by a great purpose4 ,god's great difficulty was to make clear at once both ,his love and ,his hate3 ,his love for man3 ,his hate for the sin that man had grained in so deep that they were as one4 ,for the man's sake ,he must show ,his love to win and change him4 ,for man's sake ,he must show ,his hate of sin that man1 too1 might know its hatefulness and learn to hate it with intensest hate4 ,his love for man is to be the measure of man's hate for sin4 ,the death of ,jesus was ,god's master-stroke4 ,at one stroke ,he told man ,his estimate of man and ,his estimate of man's sin2 ,his love and ,his hate4 ,it was the measureless measure of ,his hate for sin1 and ,his love for man4 ,it was a master-stroke too1 in that ,he took sin's worst--the cross--and in it revealed ,his own best4 ,out of what was meant for ,god's defeat1 came sin's defeat1 and ,god's greatest victory4 ,and the one simple thing that transfers to a man all that ,jesus has worked out for him is what is commonly called faith4 ,that is1 trusting ,god1 turning the heart ,godward1 yielding to the inward upward tug1 letting the pleasing of ,god dominate the life4 ,this1 be it keenly marked1 has ever been the one simple condition in every age and in every part of the earth4 ,abraham believed ,god and it was reckoned to him for righteousness4 ,the devout ,hebrew1 reverently1 penitently standing with his hand on the head of his sacrifice1 at the tabernacle door1 believed ,god and it was reckoned to him for righteousness4 ,the devout heathen with face turned up to the hill top1 and feet persistently toiling up1 patiently seeking glory and honor and incorruption believes ,god1 though he may not know ,his name1 and it is reckoned to him for righteousness4 ,the devout ,christian1 with his hand in ,christ's1 believes ,god1 and it is counted to him for righteousness4 ,the devout ,hebrew1 the earnest heathen1 and the more enlightened believer in ,jesus group themselves here by the common purpose that grips them alike4 ,the ,hebrew with his sacrifice1 the heathen with his patient continuance1 and the ,christian who knows more in knowing ,jesus1 stand together under the mother wing of ,god4 ,some ,surprising ,results of the ,tragic ,break u,the ,surprised ,jew4_/u ,god proposes4 ,man disposes4 ,god proposed a king1 and a world-wide kingdom with great prosperity and peace4 ,man disposed of that plan for the bit of time and space controlled by his will1 and in its place interposed for the king1 a cross4 ,out of such a radical clashing of two great wills have come some most surprising results4 ,the first surprise was for the ,jew4 ,within a few weeks after ,jesus' final departure1 ,jerusalem1 and afterward ,palestine1 was filled with thousands of people believing in ,him4 ,a remarkable campaign of preaching starts up and sweeps everything before it4 ,jesus' name was on every tongue as never before4 ,but there were earnest ,jews who could not understand how ,jesus could be the promised ,messiah4 ,he had not set up a kingdom4 ,their ,scriptures were full of a kingdom4 ,the ,jew1 whether in their largest colony in ,babylon1 or in ,jerusalem1 or in ,rome1 or ,alexandria1 or the smaller colonies everywhere1 was full of the idea1 the hope1 of a kingdom4 ,he was absorbed with more or less confused and materialized1 unspiritual ideas of a coming glory for his nation through a coming king4 ,but among the followers of this ,jesus there is something else coming into being1 a new organization never even hinted at in their ,scriptures4 ,it is called the church4 ,it is given a name that indicates that it is to be made up of persons taken out from among all nations4 ,there comes to be now a three-fold division of all men4 ,there had been with the ,jews1 always1 a two-fold division1 the ,jew and the ,gentiles1 or outside nations4 ,now three1 the ,jew1 the outsiders1 and the church4 ,the church is an eclectic society1 a chosen out body4 ,its principle of organization is radically different from that of the ,hebrew nation4 ,there membership was by birthright4 ,here it is by individual choice and belief4 ,foreigners coming in were not required to become ,jews1 as under the old1 but remained essentially as they have been in all regards1 except the one thing of relationship to ,jesus in a wholly spiritual sense4 ,there is constant talk about the gospel of the kingdom1 but the kingdom itself seems to have quite slipped away1 and the church is in its place4 ,such a situation must have been very puzzling to any ,jew4 ,his horizon was full of a kingdom--a ,jew kingdom4 ,anything else was unthinkable4 ,these intense ,orientals could not conceive of anything else4 ,it had taken a set of visions to swing ,peter and the other church leaders into line even on letting outsiders into the church4 ,this ,jesus does not fill out this old ,hebrew picture of a king and a kingdom4 ,how can ,he be the promised ,messiah8 ,this was to thousands a most puzzling question1 and a real hinderance to their acceptance of ,jesus1 even by those profoundly impressed with the divine power being seen4 ,this was the very question that had puzzled ,john the ,baptist those weary months1 till finally he sends to ,jesus for some light on his puzzle4 ,jesus fills out part of the plan1 and splendidly1 but only part1 and may be what seems to some the smaller part4 ,can it be1 ,john asks1 that there is to be another one coming to complete the picture8 ,to him ,jesus does not give an answer1 except that he must wait and trust4 ,he would not in words anticipate the nation's final rejection1 though so well ,he knew what was coming4 ,their chance was not yet run out for the acceptance of ,jesus that would fill out ,john's picture4 ,god never lets ,his foreknowledge influence one whit man's choice4 ,it was a most natural and perplexing difficulty1 both for ,john and later for these thousands4 ,the answer to all this has its roots down in that tragic break4 ,in the old picture of the ,messiah there are two distinct groups of characteristics of the coming king1 personal and official4 ,he was to have a direct personal relation to men and an official relation to the nation1 and through it to the world4 ,the personal had in it such matters as healing the sick1 relieving the distressed1 raising the dead1 feeding the hungry1 easing heart strains1 teaching and preaching4 ,it was wholly a personal service4 ,the official had1 of course1 to do with establishing the great kingdom and bringing all other nations into subjection4 ,now1 it was a bit of the degeneracy of the people and of the times1 that when ,jesus came the blessings to the individual had slipped from view1 and that the national conception1 grown gross and coarse1 had seized upon the popular imagination1 and was to the fore4 ,jesus filled in perfectly with marvellous fulness the individual details of the prophetic picture4 ,of course filling in the national depended upon national acceptance1 and failure there meant failure for that side4 ,and1 of course1 ,he could not fill out the national part except through the nation's acceptance of ,him as its king4 ,rejection there meant a breaking1 a hindering of that part4 ,and so ,jesus does not fill out the old ,hebrew picture of the ,messiah4 ,he could not without the nation's consent4 ,man would have used force to seize the national reins4 ,but1 of course1 ,god's man could not do that4 ,it would be against ,god's plan for man4 ,everything must be through man's consent4 ,out of this perplexity there came to be the four ,gospels4 ,they grew up out of the needs of the people4 ,mark seems to have written his first4 ,he makes a very simple recital1 setting down the group of facts and sayings as ,he had heard ,peter telling them in many a series of talks4 ,it is the simplest of the four1 aiming to tell what he had gotten from another4 ,but it offers no answer to these puzzling questions4 ,matthew writes his account of the gospel for these great numbers of perplexed1 earnest ,jewish questioners4 ,they are ,palestinian ,jews1 thoroughly familiar with ,jewish customs and places4 ,sitting backward on the edge of the ,hebrew past1 thoroughly immersed in its literature and atmosphere1 but with his face fastened on ,jesus1 he composes out of the facts about ,jesus and the old prophetic scriptures a perfect bit of mosaic4 ,there is the fascination of a serpent's eye in turning from the prophetic writings to the ,gospel of ,matthew4 ,let a man become immersed and absorbed in the vision of the ,hebrew prophetic books and then turn to ,matthew to get the intense impression that this promised ,one has come1 at last has actually come1 and--tragedy of tragedies--is being rejected4 ,this is the gap gospel4 ,it bridges the gap between the prophetic books and the book of ,acts1 between the kingdom which has slipped out and the church which has come in4 ,it explains the adjournment of the kingdom for a specified time1 the church filling a sort of interregnum in the kingdom4 ,the kingdom is to come later when the church mission is complete4 ,it tells with great care and with convincing power that ,jesus filled perfectly the prophecy of the ,messiah in every detail personally1 and did not fill out the national features because of the nation's unwillingness4 ,that is the ,matthew ,gospel4 ,paul was the apostle to the outside nations4 ,his great work was outside of ,palestine4 ,he dealt with three classes1 ,jews1 outsiders who in religious matters had allied themselves with the ,jews1 but without changing their nationality1 and then the great outside majority1 chiefly the great crowds of other nationalities4 ,these people needed a gospel of their own4 ,their standpoint is so wholly different from the ,jews' that ,matthew's gospel does not suit1 nor ,mark's4 ,paul1 through ,peter and ,barnabas and others1 has absorbed the leading facts and teachings of those three years1 and works them over for his non-,jewish crowds4 ,he omits much that would appeal peculiarly to ,jews1 and gives the setting and coloring that would be most natural to his audiences4 ,his studious companion1 ,doctor ,luke1 undertakes to write down this account of ,jesus' life as ,paul tells it1 and for ,paul's audience and territory1 especially these great outside non-,jewish crowds of people4 ,he goes to ,palestine1 and carefully studies and gathers up all the details and facts available4 ,he adds much that the two previous writers had not included4 ,one can easily understand his spending several days with ,mary1 the now aged mother of ,jesus1 in ,john's home in ,jerusalem1 and from her lips gleaning the exquisite account of the nativity of her divinely conceived ,son4 ,he largely omits names of places1 for they would be unknown and not of value or interest4 ,when needed1 he gives explanation about places4 ,these three gospels follow one main line2 they tell the story of the rejection of ,jesus4 ,then there arose a generation that did not know ,jesus1 the ,jesus that had tramped ,jerusalem's streets and ,galilee's roads4 ,some were wondering1 possibly1 how it was that these gospels are absorbed in telling of ,jesus' rejection4 ,there surely was a reason for it if ,he was so sweepingly rejected4 ,so ,john in his old age writes4 ,his chief thought is to show that from the first ,jesus was accepted by individuals as well as rejected by the nation4 ,these two things run neck and neck through his twenty-one chapters1 along the pathway he makes of witnessed1 established facts regarding ,jesus4 ,the nation--the small1 powerfully entrenched group of men who held the nation's leadership in their tenacious fingers--the nation rejects4 ,it's true4 ,but the ugly reason is plain to all1 even the ,roman who gave final sentence4 ,from the first1 ,jesus was accepted by men of all classes1 including the most thoughtful and scholarly4 ,he is writing to the generation that has grown up since ,jesus has gone1 and so to all after generations that knew of ,him first by hearing of ,him4 ,he is writing after the ,jewish capital has been leveled to the ground1 and the nation utterly destroyed as a nation1 and to people away from ,palestine4 ,so he explains ,jewish usages and words as well as places in ,palestine1 to make the story plain and vivid to all4 ,and the one point at which he drives constantly is to make it clear to all after generations that men of every sort of ,jesus' own generation believed2 questioned1 doubted1 examined1 weighed1 believed1 with whole-hearted loving loyalty followed this ,jesus4 ,this decides the order in which1 with such rare wisdom1 the churchmen later arranged the four gospels in grouping the ,new ,testament books4 ,the order is that of the growth of the new faith of the church from the ,jewish outward4 ,next to the ,hebrew pages lies the gap gospel1 then the earliest1 simplest telling1 then the outsiders' gospel1 and then the gospel for after generations4 u,the ,surprised ,church4_/u ,man proposes4 ,god disposes4 ,man may for a time set aside ,god's plan1 but through any series of contrary events ,god holds steadily to ,his own plan4 ,temporary defeat is only adjournment1 paving the way for later and greater victory4 ,another surprise is for the church1 that is1 the church of later generations1 including our own4 ,the old ,jew saw only a triumphant king1 not a suffering king4 ,he saw only a kingdom4 ,there was no hint of any such thing as a church4 ,the church to-day1 and since the day of ,constantine1 sees only a church4 ,the kingdom has merged into the church or slipped out of view4 ,there seems to be a confused mixing of church and kingdom1 but always with the church the big thing1 and the kingdom a sort of vague1 indefinite--folks don't seem to know just what--an ideal1 a spiritual conception1 or something like that4 ,the church is supposed to have taken the place of the kingdom4 ,its mission seems to be supposed to be the doing for the world what the kingdom was to do1 but1 being set aside1 failed to do4 ,in reading the old ,book there is a handy sort of explanation largely in use that applies all that can be fitted into the theory in hand1 and calmly ignores or conveniently adjusts the rest4 ,the ,old ,testament blessings for the ,jewish kingdom are appropriated and applied to the church4 ,the curses there are handed over to the ,jews or ignored4 ,there seems to be a plan of interpreting one part of the ,bible one way and another part in a different way4 ,this part is to be taken literally4 ,this other not literally1 spiritually1 the only guiding principle being the man's preconceived idea of what should be4 ,the air seems quite a bit foggy sometimes4 ,a man has to go off for a bit of fresh air and get straightened out with himself inside4 ,a whiff of keen1 sharp air seems needed to clear the fog and bring out the old outlines--a whiff8--a gale6 ,yet it must needs blow1 like ,god's wind of grace always blows1 as a soft gentle breeze4 ,the common law among folk in all other matters for understanding any book or document is that some one rule of interpretation be applied consistently to all its parts4 ,if we attempt to apply here the rule of first-flush1 common sense meaning1 as would be done to a house lease or an insurance policy1 it brings out this surprising thing4 ,the church is distinct from the kingdom4 ,it came through the kingdom failing to come4 ,it fits into a gap in the kingdom plan4 ,it has a mission quite distinct from that of the kingdom4 ,the church is to complete its mission and go4 ,the kingdom1 in the plain meaning of the word kingdom1 is to come1 and be the dominant thing before the eyes of all men4 ,the church goes up and out4 ,the kingdom comes in and down4 ,later the church is to be a part of the executive of the kingdom4 ,this seems to be the simple standpoint of the ,book4 ,the tragic break does not hinder the working of the plan4 ,it simply retards it awhile4 ,a long while8 ,yes--to man1 who counts time by the bulky measurement of years1 and can't seem to shake off the time idea2 who gets absorbed in moments and hours and loses the broad swing of things4 ,to ,god8--,no4 ,he lives in eternities1 and reckons things by events4 ,his eye never loses the whole1 nor a single detail of the whole4 ,but yet more4 ,that break leads to an enriching of the plan4 ,out of hate ,god reveals love4 ,not a greater love1 but a greater opportunity for greatly revealing love4 ,man's unwillingness and opposition may delay ,god's plan1 but cannot hinder it4 ,a man can hinder it for his own self if he so insist4 ,but for others he can only delay1 not hinder4 ,though ,god may patiently yield ,his own plan1 for a time1 to something else1 through which meanwhile ,his main purpose is being served1 yet ,he never loses sight of ,his own plan--the highest expression of ,his love4 ,and when ,he does so yield1 it is that through the interruption ,he may in the long run work out the higher and the highest4 ,and so in the fulfilment of ,god's plan as given by ,his ,hebrew spokesmen1 there is a sort of sliding scale4 ,a partial fulfilment takes place1 leaving the full fulfilment for the full working out of the plan4 ,the fulfilment takes place in two stages1 the first being only less full than the final4 ,thus ,elijah is to come4 ,but first comes ,john1 a man with most striking resemblance to ,elijah4 ,the outpouring of the ,holy ,spirit prophesied in ,joel is to be upon all flesh4 ,but before that takes place1 comes the ,pentecost outpouring1 filling out the ,joel prophecy in spirit1 but not in the full measure4 ,as a matter of good faith the ,king must come back and carry out the kingdom plan in full4 ,and judging simply by the character of ,god and of ,jesus1 ,i haven't a bit of doubt that ,he will do it4 ,no amount of disturbance ever alters the love of ,god1 nor ,his love-plan in the long run1 however patiently ,he may bear with breaks4 ,even this phase is in the minor strain of the old ,hebrew4 ,they shall look upon ,him whom they have pierced2 and they shall mourn for ,him1 as one mourneth for his only son4 ,there is a future meeting of the rejected ,king and ,his rejecting people1 and this time with sorrow for their former conduct1 which implies different conduct at this meeting time4 ,and to this agrees the whole swing of the ,new ,testament teaching4 ,peter says the going away of ,jesus is to be until the restitution of all things4 ,he is to return and carry out the old plan4 ,it's a bit unfortunate that some earnest1 lovable people have pushed this phase of truth so much to the front as to get it out of its proportion in the whole circle of truth4 ,truth must always be kept in its place in the circle of truth4 ,truth is fact in right proportion4 ,out of that it begins to breed misstatement and error4 ,jesus' coming back is not to wind things up4 ,it is to begin things anew4 ,there will be certain phases of judgment1 doubtless1 a clearing of the deck for action1 but no general judgment till long after4 ,the kingdom is to swing to the front1 and bring a new life to the earth for a very long time4 ,then after that the wind-up4 ,the gospel preached in the ,acts is the gospel of the kingdom4 ,they are always expecting it to come4 ,paul constantly alludes to the ,master's return as the great thing to look forward to1 as distinctly at the close as at the beginning of his ministry4 ,the book of ,revelation is distinctly a kingdom book1 and however it may1 with the versatility of ,scripture to serve a double purpose1 foreshadow the characteristics of history for the centuries since its writing1 plainly its first meaning has to do with the time when the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our ,lord and of ,his ,christ4 ,the ,king is coming back to straighten matters out1 and organize a new running of things4 ,this is the church's surprise1 and a great surprise it will apparently be to a great many folks1 though not to all4 u,the ,surprising ,jew4_/u ,there is a third surprise growing out of this tragic break1 the greatest of all--the ,jew4 ,the first surprises were for the ,jew1 the later surprise for the church2 this surprise has been and is for all the world4 ,the ,jew has been the running puzzle of history4 ,a strange1 elusive1 surprising puzzle he has been to historians and all others4 ,not a nation1 only a people1 flagless1 countryless1 without any semblance of organization1 they have been mixed in with all the peoples of the earth1 yet always distinctly separate4 ,they have been persecuted1 bitterly1 cruelly1 persistently persecuted1 as no other people has ever been1 yet with a power of recovery of none other too4 ,with an astonishing vitality1 resourcefulness1 and leadership1 they have taken front rank in every circle of life and every phase of activity1 in art1 music1 science1 commerce1 philanthropy1 statesmanship2 holding the keys of government for great nations1 of treasure boxes1 and of exclusive social circles2 making their own standards regardless of others1 and with the peculiarity of strongest leadership1 pushing on1 whether followed or not4 ,and now the past few years comes a new thing4 ,this surprising ,jew is surprising us anew4 ,from all corners of the earth they are gathering as not since the scattering to the ,assyrian plains1 gathering to discuss and plan for the getting into shape as a nation again on the old home soil4 ,jews of every sort1 utterly diverse in every other imaginable way1 except this of being ,jews1 men who hate each other intensely because of divergent beliefs in other matters1 yet brushing elbows in annual gatherings to plan with all their old time intensity a new ,jewish nation4 ,along the highways of earth1 made and controlled by ,christian peoples1 they come4 ,what does it mean8 ,they continue to be1 as they have been1 the puzzle of history4 ,this tragic break of the kingdom and the persistency of the ,king's plan regardless of the break hold the key to the puzzle4 ,the ,jew has been preserved1 divinely preserved1 against every attempt at his destruction4 ,for he is the keystone in the arch of the ,king's plan for a coming world-wide dominion4 ,jesus is ,god's spirit-magnet for the ,jew and for all men4 ,around ,him they will yet gather1 with the new ,jewish nation in the lead1 the church closest to the person of the king1 and all men drawn4 ,jesus is ,god's organizer of the social fabric of the world4 ,in response to ,his presence and touch1 each in his own place will swing into line and make up a perfect social fabric4 ,with the new zeal for pure1 holy living now in the church1 the clearer vision coming to her of the ,lord's purpose of evangelizing the world1 the evidence in all parts of the world of men turning their thought anew to ,god1 this remarkable ,jewish movement toward national life1 it is a time for earnest men to get off alone on bent knees1 and with new1 quietly deep fervor1 to pray ,thy kingdom come4 ,even so come1 ,lord ,jesus4 ,,ii4 ,the ,person of ,jesus #a4 ,the ,human ,jesus4 #b4 ,the ,divine ,jesus4 #c4 ,the ,winsome ,jesus4 ,the ,human ,jesus u,god's ,meaning of ,human4_/u ,jesus is ,god becoming man's fellow4 ,he comes down by his side and says1 ,let's pull up together4 ,jesus was a man4 ,he was as truly human as though only human4 ,we are apt to go at a thing from the outside4 ,god always reaches within1 and fastens ,his hook there4 ,he finds the solution of every problem within itself4 ,when ,he would lead man back the ,eden road to the old trysting place under the tree of life ,he sent a man4 ,jesus takes ,his place as a man and refuses to be budged from the human level with ,his brothers4 ,that word human has come to have two meanings4 ,the first true meaning1 and a second1 that has grown up through sin1 and sin's taint and trail4 ,the second has become the common popular meaning2 the first1 the forgotten meaning4 ,it will help us live up to our true possible selves to mark keenly the distinction4 ,the first is ,god's meaning1 the true4 ,the second is sin's1 the hurt meaning4 ,constantly we read the effect and result of sin into ,god's thought as though that were the real thing4 ,this is grained in deep1 woven into the adages of the race4 ,for instance1 ,to err is human1 to forgive divine4 ,yet this catchy statement is not true1 save in part4 ,to forgive is human--,god's human--as well as divine4 ,not to forgive is devilish4 ,it is not human to err4 ,it is possible to the human being to err1 as it is with angels1 but1 in erring1 man is leaving the human level and going lower down4 ,to understand what it means to say that ,jesus is human we must recall what human meant originally1 and has properly come to mean4 ,man as made by ,god before the hurt of sin came had certain powers and limitations4 ,his powers1 briefly1 were1 mastery of his body1 of his mental faculties1 and powers in the spirit realm so lost to us now that we cannot even say definitely what they are4 ,and mastery means poised1 mature control1 not misuse1 nor abuse1 nor lack of use1 but full proper use4 ,possibly there were powers of communication between men in addition to speech unknown to us4 ,then1 too1 he had dominion over nature1 over all the animal creation1 over all the forces of nature1 and not only dominion1 but fellowship with the animal creation and with the forces of nature3 dominion through fellowship4 ,he had certain limitations4 ,having a body was a limitation4 ,the necessity for food1 sleep1 rest1 and for exertion in order to move through space acted as a constant check upon his movements and achievements4 ,he could not go into a building except through some opening4 ,the law of growth1 of such infinite value to man under his conditions1 was likewise a check4 ,only by slow laborious effort and application would there come the discipline of mental powers and the knowledge necessary to life's work4 u,the ,hurt of ,sin4_/u ,now1 in addition to these natural limitations sin has made other changes4 ,it has lessened the powers and increased the limitations4 ,there has been immense loss in the power over the forces of nature1 though now1 by slow and very laborious efforts1 after centuries1 much is being regained4 ,instead of fellowship there has been an estrangement between man and the lower animals and between man and the forces of nature4 ,all of this has immensely added to man's limitations1 though it is true that most men do not know of what has been lost1 so complete has the loss been4 ,the natural limitations have been added to4 ,sin affects the judgment4 ,it brings ignorance and passion1 and they affect the judgment4 ,there results lack of care of the body1 improper use of the strength1 and ignorant and improper use of the bodily functions4 ,then come weakness and disease and shortened life1 not to speak of the misery included in these and the enjoyment missed4 ,in the chain of results comes the toil that is drudgery4 ,not work1 but excessive work1 more than one should do1 with less strength than one should have4 ,work itself under natural conditions is always a delight4 ,but through sin has come strain1 tugging1 friction1 unequal division4 ,the changes wrought in nature by sin call for greater effort with less return4 ,toil becomes slavish and grinding4 ,then poverty adds its tug4 ,and sorrow comes to sap the strength and take away the buoyancy4 ,and then man's inhumanity to his brothers and sisters4 ,these are some of the limitations added by sin and ever increasing4 u,our ,fellow4_/u ,now1 ,jesus was human2 truly naturally human1 ,god's human1 and then more because of the conditions ,he found4 ,the love act of creation brought with it self-imposed limitations to ,god4 ,and now the love act of saving brings still more4 ,god made man in ,his own image4 ,in ,his humanity ,jesus was in the image of ,god1 even as we are4 ,adam was an unfallen man4 ,jesus was that and more1 a tested and now matured unfallen man1 and by the law of growth ever growing more4 ,adam was an innocent1 unfallen man up to the temptation4 ,jesus was a virtuous unfallen man4 ,the test with ,him changed innocence to virtue4 ,in ,his experiences1 ,his works1 ,his temptations1 ,his struggles1 ,his victories1 ,jesus was clearly human4 ,in ,his ability to read men's thoughts and know their lives without finding out by ordinary means1 ,his knowledge ahead of coming events1 ,his knowledge of and control over nature1 ,he clearly was more than the human we know4 ,yet until we know more than we seem to now of the proper powers of an unfallen man matured and growing in the use and control of those powers we cannot draw here any line between human and divine4 ,but the whole presumption is in favor of believing that in all of this ,jesus was simply exercising the proper human powers which with ,him were not hurt by sin but ever increasing in use4 ,jesus insisted on living a simple true human life1 dependent upon ,god and upon others4 ,he struck the key-note of this at the start in the wilderness4 ,everything ,he taught ,he put through the test of use4 ,he was what ,he taught4 ,as a man ,he has gone through all ,he calls us to4 ,he blazed the way into every thicket and woods1 and then stands ahead1 softly1 clearly calling1 ,come along after ,me4 ,he was a normal man1 ,god's pattern unchanged4 ,all the powers of body and mind and spirit were developed naturally and held in poise1 no lack of development1 no over development of some part1 no misuse of any power1 nor abuse1 but each part perfectly fitting in and working naturally with each other part4 ,he experienced all the proper limitations of human life4 ,he needed food and sleep and rest and needed to give ,his body proper thought and care4 ,he was under the human limitations regarding space and material construction4 ,he got from one place to another by the slow process of using ,his strength or joining it with nature or that of a beast4 ,he entered a building through an opening as we do4 ,both of these are in sharp contrast with the conditions after the resurrection4 ,his stock of knowledge came by the law of increase1 the natural way2 some1 and then more1 and the more gaining more yet4 ,but there's more than this4 ,there's a bit of a pull inside as one thinks of this1 as though ,jesus in ,his humanity after all is on a level above us1 hardly alongside giving us a hand4 ,ah6 there is more4 ,he had fellowship with us in the limitation that sin has brought4 ,he shared the experiences that men were actually having4 ,he knew the bitterness of having one's life plan utterly broken and something else--a rude jagged something else--thrust in its place4 ,but the bitterness of the experience never got into ,his spirit or affected ,his conduct4 ,the emergency ,he found down here wrought by sin affected ,him4 ,he was hungry sometimes without food at hand to satisfy ,his hunger4 ,he always showed a peculiar tender sympathy with hungry people4 ,he couldn't bear the sight of the hungry crowds without food4 ,he would go out of ,his way any time to feed a man4 ,he makes the caring for hungry folks a test question for the judgment time4 ,there's a great note of sympathy here with the race4 ,every night hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters go hungry to bed4 ,it was said at one time that the death rate of ,london rises and falls with the price of bread4 ,if true when said it probably is more intensely true to-day4 ,jesus ate the bread of the poor1 the coarsest1 plainest bread4 ,but then1 that may have been simply ,his good common sense4 ,jesus got tired4 ,could there be a closer touch6 ,he fell asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat one day crossing the lake4 ,and the sleep was like that of a very tired man1 so sound that the wild storm did not wake ,him up4 ,it was ,his tiredness that made ,him wait at ,jacob's well while the disciples push on to the village to get food4 ,he wouldn't have asked them to go if they were too tired1 too4 ,was ,he ever too tired--over-tired--like we get8 ,i wonder4 ,there was the temptation to be so ever tugging4 ,probably not1 for ,he was wise1 and had good self-control1 and then ,he trusted ,his ,father4 ,yet ,he probably went to the full limit of what was wise4 ,certainly ,he lived a strenuous life those three and a half years4 ,jesus knew the pinch of poverty4 ,he was the eldest in a large family1 with the father probably dead1 and so likely was the chief breadwinner1 earning for ,himself and for the others a living by ,his trade4 ,he was the village carpenter up in ,nazareth1 an obscure country village4 ,i do not mean abject grinding poverty1 of course4 ,that cannot exist with frugality and honest toil4 ,but the pinch of constant management1 rigid economy1 counting the coins carefully1 studying to make both ends meet1 and needing to stretch a bit to get them together4 ,it is not unlikely that house rent was one of the items4 ,the ceaselessness of ,his labors those public years suggests habits of industry acquired during those long ,nazareth years4 ,he was used to working hard and being kept busy4 ,it would seem that ,he had the care of ,his mother after the home was broken up4 ,at the very end ,he makes provision for her4 ,john understands the allusion and takes her to his own home4 ,he must have thought a great deal of ,john to trust ,his mother to his care4 ,could there be finer evidence of friendship than giving ,his friend ,john such a trust8 ,jesus was a homeless man4 ,forced from the home village by ,his fellow townsmen1 for those busy years he had no quiet home spot of ,his own to rest in4 ,and ,he felt it4 ,how ,he would have enjoyed a home of ,his own1 with ,his mother in it with him6 ,no more pathetic word comes from ,his lips than that touching ,his homelessness--foxes have holes1 and the birds of the air nests1 but the ,son of ,man hath neither hole nor nest1 burrowed or built1 in ground or tree4 ,and ,jesus knew the sharp discipline of waiting4 ,he knew what it meant to be going a commonplace1 humdrum1 tread-mill round while the fires are burning within for something else4 ,he knew1 and forever cast a sweet soft halo over all such labor as men call drudgery1 which never was such to ,him because of the fine spirit breathed into it4 ,drudgery1 commonplaceness is in the spirit1 not the work4 ,nothing could be commonplace or humdrum when done by ,one with such an uncommon spirit4 u,there's ,more of ,god ,since ,jesus ,went ,back4_/u ,i have tried to think of ,him coming into young manhood in that ,nazareth home4 ,he is twenty now1 with a daily round something like this3 up at dawn likely--,he was ever an early riser--chores about the place1 the cow1 maybe1 and the kindling and fuel for the day1 helping to care for the younger children1 then off down the narrow street1 with a cheery word to passers-by1 to the little low-ceilinged carpenter shop1 for--eight hours8--more likely ten or twelve4 ,then back in the twilight2 chores again1 the evening meal1 helping the children of the home in difficulties that have arisen to fill their day's small horizon1 a bit of quiet talk with ,his mother about family matters1 maybe1 then likely off to the hilltop to look out at the stars and talk with the ,father2 then back again1 slipping quietly into the bedroom1 sharing sleeping space in the bed with a brother4 ,and then the sweet rest of a laboring man until the gray dawn broke again4 ,and that not for one day1 every day1 a year of days--years4 ,he's twenty-five now1 feeling the thews of his strength2 twenty-seven1 twenty-nine1 still the old daily round4 ,did no temptation come those years to chafe a bit and fret and wonder and yearn after the great outside world8 ,who that knows such a life1 and knows the tempter1 thinks he missed those years1 and their subtle opportunity8 ,who that knows ,jesus thinks that ,he missed such an opportunity to hallow forever1 fragantly hallow1 home1 with its unceasing round of detail1 and to cushion1 too1 its every detail with a sweet strong spirit8 ,who thinks ,he missed that chance of fellowship with the great crowd of ,his race of brothers8 ,in the shop of ,nazareth ,pungent cedar haunts the breath4 ',tis a low ,eastern room1 ,windowless1 touched with gloom4 ,workman's bench and simple tools ,line the walls4 ,chests and stools1 ,yoke of ox1 and shaft of plow1 ,finished by the ,carpenter ,lie about the pavement now4 ,in the room the ,craftsman stands1 ,stands and reaches out ,his hands4 ,let the shadows veil ,his face ,if you must1 and dimly trace ,his workman's tunic1 girt with bands ,at ,his waist4 ,but ,his hands-- ,let the light play on them2 ,marks of toil lay on them4 ,paint with passion and with care ,every old scar showing there ,where a tool slipped and hurt2 ,show each callous2 be alert ,for each deep line of toil4 ,show the soil ,of the pitch2 and the strength ,grip of helve gives at length4 ,when night comes1 and ,i turn ,from my shop where ,i earn ,daily bread1 let me see ,those hard hands2 know that ,he ,shared my lot1 every bit3 ,was a man1 every whit4 ,could ,i fear such a hand ,stretched toward me8 ,misunderstand ,or mistrust8 ,doubt that ,he ,meets me full in sympathy8 ,carpenter' hard like ,thine ,is this hand--this of mine2 ,i reach out1 gripping ,thee1 ,son of ,man1 close to me1 ,close and fast1 fearlessly4#f ,to-day up yonder on the throne there's a ,man--kin to us1 bone of our bone1 heart of our heart1 toil of our toil4 ,he--knows4 ,if you'll listen very quietly1 you'll hear ,his voice reaching clear down to you saying1 with a softness that thrills1 ,steady--steady--,i know it all4 ,i'm watching and feeling and helping4 ,up yonder is the hill top and the glory sun and the wondrous air4 ,steady a bit4 ,stay up with ,me on the glory side of your cloud1 though your feet scratch the clay4 ,surely there's more of ,god since ,jesus went back6 ,the ,divine ,jesus u,jehovah--,jesus4_/u ,of all the men who knew ,jesus intimately ,john stands first and highest4 ,he misunderstood for a time4 ,he failed to understand1 as did the others4 ,he did not approach the keen insight into ,jesus' being and purpose that ,mary of ,bethany did4 ,but1 then1 she was a woman4 ,he was a man4 ,other things being equal 7though they almost never are71 woman has keener insight into the spirit and motives than has man4 ,but ,john stood closer to ,jesus than any other4 ,jesus drew him closer4 ,and that speaks volumes for ,john's fineness of spirit4 ,he alone of the inner twelve did not forsake in the hardest hour that ,thursday night1 but went in with ,jesus4 ,how grateful must ,jesus have been for the presence of ,his sympathetic friend that black night1 with its long intense shadows6 ,now ,john writes about ,jesus4 ,and what this closest friend says will be of intensest interest to all lovers of ,jesus4 ,but it is of even intenser interest to note keenly when ,john writes4 ,he waits until the end4 ,he gets the longest range on ,jesus that his lengthening years will permit4 ,distance is essential to perspective4 ,you must get far away from a big thing to see it4 ,the bigger the thing to be seen1 the longer the distance needed for good perspective4 ,john shows his early appreciation of the size of ,jesus by waiting so long4 ,when all his mental faculties are most matured1 when any heat of mere youthful attachment has cooled off1 when the eye of the spirit is clearest and keenest1 when the facts through long sifting have fallen into right place and relation in the whole circle of truth1 then the old man settles to his loving task4 ,he had been looking long4 ,his perspective has steadily lengthened with the looking years4 ,the object has been getting bigger and bigger to his eyes4 ,he is getting off as far as possible within his earthly span4 ,at last he feels that he has approximately gotten the range4 ,and with the deep glow of his heart gleaming up out of his eyes1 he picks up a freshly-sharpened quill to tell folk about ,jesus4 ,as he starts in he takes a fresh1 long1 earnest look4 ,and so he writes1 like a portrait artist working1 with his eyes ever gazing at the vision of that glorified ,face4 ,he seems to say to himself1 ,how shall ,i--how can ,i ever begin to tell them--about ,him6 ,then with a master's skill he sets out to find the simplest words he can find1 put together in the simplest sentences he can make1 so simple folk everywhere may read and get something of a glimpse of this ,jesus1 whose glory is filling his eyes and flooding his face and spilling out all over the pages as he writes4 ,he is seeing back so far that he is getting beyond human reach4 ,so he fastens his line into the farthest of the far-reaches of human knowledge1 the creation1 and then flings the line a bit farther back yet4 ,he must use a human word1 if human folk are to understand4 ,so he says beginning4 ,in the beginning1 the beginningless beginning1 away back of the ,genesis beginning1 the earliest known to man4 ,then he recalls the tremendous fact that when1 in the later beginning man knew about1 the worlds came into existence1 it was by a word being spoken1 a creative1 outspoken word4 ,the power that created things revealed itself in a few simple words4 ,then he searches into the depths of language for the richest word he knew to express thought outspoken4 ,and taking that word he uses it as a name for this ,one of whom he is trying to tell4 ,the scholars seem unable to sound the depths of the word that ,john in his own language uses4 ,it means this1 and beyond that1 it means this1 deeper yet1 and then this4 ,and then all of these together1 and more4 ,that is ,john's word4 ,in the beginning was the ,word4 ,then with a few swift touches of his pen he says1 ,this was ,jesus before ,he came among men1 the man ,jesus whom we know4 ,in the earliest beginning the whole heart and thought of ,god toward man was outspoken in a person4 ,this person1 this outspeaking ,god1 it was ,he who later became known to us as ,jesus4 ,jesus1 away back before the farthest reach of our human knowledge1 was ,god speaking out of ,his inner heart to us4 ,this ,jesus is ,god speaking out ,his innermost heart to man4 ,did you ever long to hear ,god speak8 ,look at ,jesus4 ,he's ,god's speech4 ,this ,one was with ,god4 ,he was ,god4 ,it was ,he who spoke things into being1 that creative span of time4 ,only through ,him could anything come into being4 ,all life was in ,him1 and this life was man's light4 ,it is ,he who came into our midst1 shining in the darkness that could neither take ,him in nor hold ,him down from shining out4 ,every now and then as he writes ,john's heart seems near the breaking point1 and a sob shakes his pen a bit1 as it comes over him all anew1 and almost overcomes him1 how this wondrous ,jesus1 this throbbing heart of ,god1 was treated4 ,listen3 ,he came to ,his own possessions1 and they who were ,his--own--kinsfolk--and the quiver of ,john's heart-sob seems to make the type move on the page--,his own kinsfolk received him not into their homes1 but left ,him outside in the cold night2 but--a glimpse of that glorious ,face steadies him again--as many as did receive ,him1 whether ,his own kinsfolk or not1 to them ,he gave the right to become kinsfolk of ,god1 the oldest family of all4 u,god's ,spokesman4_/u ,john has a way of reaching away back1 and then by a swift use of pen coming quickly to his own time1 and then he keeps swinging back over the ground he has been over1 but each time with some added touch1 like the true artist he is4 ,john's statement1 the world was made by ,him1 takes one back at once to the early ,genesis chapters4 ,there the creating ,one1 who1 by a word1 brings things into existence is called ,god4 ,and then1 that we may identify ,him1 is called by a name1 ,jehovah4 ,the creator is ,god named ,jehovah4 ,and this ,jehovah1 ,john says1 was the ,one who afterward became a ,man1 and pitched ,his tent among men4 ,and as one reads the old chapters through1 this is the ,god1 the ,jehovah1 who appears in varying ways to these ,old ,testament men1 one after another4 ,he talked and walked and worked with ,adam in completing the work of creation1 and then broken-hearted led him out of the forfeited garden4 ,then to make his standpoint unmistakably plain to every one1 before starting in on the witness borne by the herald1 he makes a summary4 ,all that he has been saying he now sums up in these tremendous words1 ,god--no one ever yet has seen2 the only begotten ,god1#g in the bosom of the ,father1 this ,one has been the spokesman4 ,in what ,he was1 and in what ,he did as well as in what ,he said1 ,he hath been the spokesman4 ,here is a difference made between the ,father ,god1 whom no one has seen1 and the only begotten ,god1 who has been telling the ,father out4 ,now ,god revealed ,himself to men in the ,old ,testament times4 ,repeatedly in the ,old ,testament it distinctly speaks of men seeing ,god in varying ways and talking with ,him4 ,adam walked with ,him1 and ,enoch1 and ,noah4 ,abraham had a vision1 and talked with the three men whose spokesman speaks as ,god4 ,isaac has a night-vision and ,jacob a dream and a night meeting with a mysterious wrestler4 ,moses spoke with ,him face to face and mouth to mouth1 and is said to have seen ,his form4 ,yet after that first forty days on the mount when ,moses hungrily asks for more1 ,he is told that no man could endure the sight of that great glory of ,god's face4 ,and he is put in to a cleft of the rock1 and ,god's hand put over the opening 7in the simple language of the record71 and then only the hinder part of ,god passing is seen1 while the wondrous voice speaks4 ,yet the impression so made upon ,moses far exceeds anything previous and completely overawes and melts him down4 ,the elders of ,israel saw ,god1 yet the most distinct impression of anything seen is of the beautiful pavement under ,his feet4 ,isaiah's most definite impression1 when the great vision came to him1 was of a train of glory1 seraphim and smoke and a voice4 ,ezekiel has rare power in detailed description4 ,he has overpowering visions of the glory of ,jehovah4 ,yet the most definite that he can make the description is a storm gathering1 a cloud1 a fire1 a centre spot of brightness1 a clearness as of amber1 and four very unusual living creatures4 ,these men saw ,god4 ,he appeared to them4 ,evidently that means many different things1 yet the word is always honestly used4 ,it never means as we gaze into another man's face4 ,but always there is that profound impression of having been in ,god's own presence4 ,they met ,him4 ,they saw ,him4 ,they heard ,his voice4 ,yet ,john says here1 ,god--no one ever yet at any time has seen2 the only begotten ,god1 in the bosom of the ,father--this ,one has been the spokesman4 ,clearly ,john1 sweeping the whole range of past time1 means this3 they saw ,him whom we call ,jesus4 ,jesus is ,jehovah1 the only begotten ,god4 ,to all these men the only begotten ,god was the spokesman of the ,father4 ,sometimes it was a voice that came with softness but unmistakable clearness to the inner spirit of man1 a soundless voice4 ,sometimes in a dream1 a more realistic vision of the night or of the day time2 again1 in the form of a man1 thus foreshadowing the future great coming4 ,this ,one who came to them in various ways1 this ,jehovah has come to men as ,jesus4 ,this is ,john's statement4 ,this is the setting of ,his gospel4 ,the setting becomes a part of the interpretation of what the gospel contains4 ,it explains what this that follows meant to ,john4 ,is it surprising that ,john's ,gospel has been pitched upon as the critics' chief battle-field of the ,new ,testament8 ,battle-field is a good word4 ,the fire has been thick and fast1 needle-guns--sharp needles--and machine-guns--,gatling guns and rattling--but no smokeless powder4 ,the cloud of smoke of a beautiful scholarly gray tinge has quite filled the air4 ,men have been swinging away from a man1 the ,man to a book4 ,but no critic's delicately shaded and shadowing cloud of either dust or smoke1 or both1 can hide away the ,man4 ,he's too tall and big4 ,the simple hearted man who will step aside from the smoke and noise to the shade of a quiet tree1 or the quiet of some corner1 with this marvellous bit of manuscript from ,john's pen for his keen1 ,spirit-cleared eye1 will be enraptured to find a ,man1 the ,man1 the ,god-,man4 u,whom ,moses ,saw4_/u ,what did ,jesus say about ,himself8 ,the critics of the world1 including the skeptical1 infidel critics1 seem to agree fully and easily on a few things about this ,jesus on whose dissection they have expended so much time and strength4 ,they agree that in the purity of ,his life1 the moral power of ,his character1 the wisdom of ,his teachings1 the rare poise of ,his conduct and judgment1 the influence exerted upon men1 ,he clear over-tops the whole race4 ,surely ,his own opinion of ,himself is well worth having4 ,and it is easy to get1 and tremendous when gotten4 ,it fits into ,john's conception with unlabored simplicity and naturalness4 ,according1 then1 to ,jesus' own words1 ,he had come down out of heaven1 and1 by and by1 would go back again to where ,he was before4 ,he had come on an errand for the ,father down into the world1 and when the errand was finished ,he would go back home to the ,father again4 ,he had seen the ,father1 and ,he was the only one who had ever seen ,him4 ,he was the ,son of ,god in a sense that nobody else was1 a begotten ,son1 and the only ,son who had been begotten4 ,therefore ,he naturally called ,god ,his ,father1 and not only that1 but ,his own ,father1 making ,himself equal with the ,father4 ,this statement it was that swung the leaders over from silent contempt to aggression in their treatment of ,him4 ,the ,jews understood this perfectly and instantly4 ,they refused to accept it4 ,reckoning it blasphemous1 they attempted to stone ,him4 ,they were partly right4 ,if it were not true1 it was blasphemous1 and their law required stoning4 ,yet they were fools in their thought1 and not even keen fools4 ,for no blasphemous man could have revealed the character and moral glory that ,jesus constantly revealed before their eyes4 ,then follows one of ,john's exquisite reports of ,jesus' words in reply4 ,in it run side by side the essential unity of spirit between ,father and ,son1 with the absolute life-giving or creative power invested in the ,son4 ,a sweet1 loving1 loyal unity of spirit is between the two4 ,it is love unity4 ,there can be none closer4 ,in this unity the ,son has full control of life for all the race of men1 and final adjustment of the character wrought out by each4 ,at ,his word all who have gone down under death's touch will come into life again1 and each by the character he has developed will go by a moral gravitation to his natural place4 ,and then follows the bringing forward of witnesses1 ,john1 the ,father1 the works1 the ,scriptures1 and the climax is reached in the one whose name was ever on their lips--,moses4 ,and this is the significant reference to ,moses1 ,he wrote of ,me4 ,sift into that phrase a bit4 ,it cannot mean1 he wrote of me in the sacrifices provided for with such minute care4 ,for ,moses clearly had had no such thought4 ,it might be supposed to mean that unconsciously to himself there was1 in his writings about the sacrifices1 that which would be seen later to refer to ,jesus in ,his dying4 ,and there is the resemblance in purity between ,moses' sacrifices and the great ,sacrifice4 ,yet where there is so much plain meaning lying out on the face of the thing1 this obscure meaning may be dropped or checked in as an incidental4 ,there is a single allusion in ,moses' writing to a prophet coming like himself4 ,but ,moses is ever absorbed in writing about a wondrous ,one who revealed ,himself to him in the burning bush1 the pillar of cloud and fire1 the little peaked tent off by itself on the outskirts of the camp1 and the soft distinct voice4 ,there was the ,one with whom ,he had twice spent forty days in the mount1 and whose great glory left its traces in his face4 ,ever ,moses is writing of this wondrous ,jehovah4 ,jesus quietly says1 ,he wrote of ,me4 ,another time ,he said1 ,i and the ,father are one1 provoking another stoning4 ,invisibly holding back their hands ,he said1 ,the ,father is in ,me1 and ,i in the ,father1 and again they are aroused4 ,in connection with this word ,father1 it may be noted that the ,old ,testament has been called the dispensation of the ,father4 ,but this seems scarcely accurate4 ,god speaking1 appearing there is spoken of as ,father very rarely1 and then chiefly in the great promises of the future glory4 ,the common name for ,him is ,jehovah4 ,jesus practically gives us the name ,father for ,god4 ,he constantly refers to ,god as ,his ,father4 ,it was ,he who taught us to call ,god ,father4 ,he never speaks of ,jehovah1 but of the ,father4 ,his language in this always fits in perfectly1 as of course it would1 with ,john's standpoint1 that ,jesus is the ,jehovah of the ,old ,testament times4 ,a little later ,jesus says1 ,moses gave you not the manna from heaven1 but--my ,father giveth 7note the change in the time element of the word7--giveth you the true bread4 ,it is a sort of broken1 readjusted sentence1 as though ,he was going to say who it was that gave the manna1 and then changes to speaking of the ,father and the present4 ,he does not say who it was that did give that manna4 ,it is plain enough from ,john's standpoint what he understands ,jesus to mean as he puts the incident into his story4 u,jesus is ,god ,wooing ,man4_/u ,during the autumn before ,his death1 while in attendance on one of the ,jerusalem feasts1 the leaders are boasting of their direct descent from ,abraham1 and attacking ,jesus4 ,on their part the quarrel of words gets very bitter4 ,they ask sharply1 ,who do you pretend to be8 ,nobody can be as great as ,abraham2 yet your words suggest that you think you are4 ,then came from ,jesus' lips the words1 spoken in all probability very quietly1 ,your father ,abraham exulted that he might see my day1 and he saw it1 and was glad4 ,it is a tremendous statement1 staggering to one who has not yet grasped it4 ,in attempting to find its meaning1 some of our writing friends have supposed it means that1 after ,abraham's death1 when he was in the other world1 at the time of ,jesus being on the earth1 he was conscious of ,jesus having come and was glad4 ,but this hardly seems likely1 else it would read1 ,he sees1 and is glad4 ,the seeing and gladness were both in a day gone by4 ,others have supposed that it refers to the scene on ,moriah's top1 when the ram used as a sacrifice instead of ,isaac enabled ,abraham to see ahead by faith1 not actually1 the coming ,one4 ,but this1 too1 seems a bit far-fetched1 because ,abraham was surprised by the occurrences of that day4 ,he fully expected to sacrifice his son1 apparently1 so there could be no exultant looking forward to that day for him4 ,and deeper yet1 the coming ,one was not expected to be a sacrifice1 but a king4 ,the natural meaning seems to lie back in ,abraham's own life4 ,abraham was ,israel's link with the idolatrous heathen1 as well as the beginning of the new life away from idolatry4 ,he grew up among an idolatrous people1 yet in his heart there was a yearning for the true ,god4 ,back in his old home there came to him one day the definite inner voice to cut loose from these people1 his own dear kinsfolk1 and go out to a strange unknown land1 with what seemed an indefinite goal1 and there would come to him a vision of the true ,god4 ,it was a radical step for a man of seventy-five years to take4 ,he was living among his own kinsfolk4 ,his nest was feathered4 ,it meant leaving a certainty for an uncertainty4 ,it meant breaking his habit of life1 a very hard thing to do1 and starting out on a wandering roaming life4 ,not unlikely his neighbors thought it a queer thing1 a wild goose chase1 this going off to a strange land in response to a call of ,god that he might see a vision of the true ,god4 ,decidedly visionary4 ,but the old man was clear about the voice4 ,the fire burned within to know ,god1 the real true ,god4 ,all else counted as nothing against that4 ,he would see ,god4 ,and a warming glow filled his heart and shone in his eyes and kept him steady during the break1 the good-byes1 the start away1 the journeying among strangers4 ,into the strange land he came1 and pitched his tent4 ,and--one night--in his tent--among these strange ,canaanites1 there came the promised vision4 ,jehovah appeared unto ,abraham1 and tied up there anew with him the promise made back in his native land4 ,this seems to be the simple explanation of these words about ,abraham4 ,he exulted that he might see my day4 ,he saw 444 and was glad4 ,with a contemptuous curl of the lip instantly they come back with3 ,thou art not yet fifty years old1 and hast thou seen ,abraham8 ,more quietly than ever1 with the calmness of conscious truth1 come those tremendous words1 emphasized with the strongest phrase ,he ever used1 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 before ,abraham was born1 ,i am4 ,the common version omits born1 and so the sharp contrast is not made clear4 ,abraham was born4 ,he came into existence4 ,jesus says ,i am4 ,that ,i am is meant to mean absolute existence4 ,an eternal now without beginning or ending4 ,their ,jewish ears are instantly caught by that short sentence4 ,jesus was identifying ,himself with the ,one who uttered that sentence out of the burning bush6 ,again stones for speech4 ,again the invisible power holds their feverish impotent hands4 ,that ,i am explains the meaning of the expression my day4 ,it stretches it out backward beyond ,abraham's day4 ,it lengthens it infinitely at both ends4 ,this is ,jesus' point of view1 this marvellous ,jesus4 ,he is the ,jehovah in ,genesis' first chapters4 ,it is with ,him that ,adam broke tryst that day1 and with ,him that ,enoch renewed the tryst after such a long wait1 and took those long walks4 ,it is ,his voice and presence in the black topped1 flaming mount that awed the ,israel crowd so4 ,his voice it was that won and impressed so winsomely the man waiting in the hand-covered cleft of the rock that early morning1 and long after1 that other rugged1 footsore man1 standing with face covered in the mouth of a cave4 ,isaiah saw ,his glory that memorable day in the temple4 ,it was ,he who rode upon the storm before ,ezekiel's wondering eyes and who walks with ,his faithful ones on the seven times heated coals1 and reveals to ,daniel's opened ears the vision of his people's future4 ,jehovah--,he comes as ,jesus4 ,jesus--,he is ,jehovah4 ,no sending of messengers for this great work of winning ,his darling back to the original image and mastery and dominion will do for our ,god4 ,he comes ,himself4 ,jesus is ,god coming down to woo man up to ,himself again4 ,the ,winsome ,jesus u,the ,face of ,jesus_/u ,jesus was ,god letting man see the beauty of ,his face and listen to the music of ,his voice1 and feel the irresistibly gentle drawing power of ,his presence4 ,jesus was very winsome4 ,he drew men4 ,he said that if ,he were lifted up ,he would draw men4 ,they who heard that could believe it1 for ,he drew them before ,he was lifted up4 ,he drew the crowds4 ,yet many a leader that has drawn the crowds has led them astray4 ,he drew men--men of strongest mentality1 scholarly1 cultured1 thoughtful men1 and every other sort4 ,yet men have often been befooled in their leaders4 ,he drew women4 ,here is a great test4 ,men may be deceived in a man4 ,but woman1 true strong woman1 pure womanly woman1 because of her keen discernment into spirit and motive1 cannot be deceived1 when true to her inner conviction4 ,he drew children4 ,this was the highest test4 ,the child1 fresh from the hand of ,god1 before it is appreciably hurt by parents or surroundings1 is drawn to the pure and good4 ,they are repelled by selfishness and badness4 ,they draw out the best4 ,they are drawn only by the true and beautiful and good4 ,that is1 in the early years1 before the warping of a selfish1 sinful atmosphere has hurt them4 ,this is an infallible test4 ,this told most ,his winsomeness4 ,bad people were drawn to ,him4 ,that is1 bad in their lives4 ,rarely indeed is a human so wholly bad as to be untouched by true goodness1 by sincere love4 ,here is the touchstone of service4 ,he touched that spot in the lowest1 and by ,his presence increased the hunger of their hearts for purity and for sympathy up toward purity4 ,his enemies--a very small group1 but in a position of great power1 holding the national reins--,his enemies were drawn to ,him1 by a drawing they fought1 but could not resist4 ,they admired ,him while hating ,him4 ,his presence disturbed because it accused the opposite in them4 ,they recognized the purity1 the love1 the rugged honesty1 the keen insight1 the poised wisdom1 and they hated ,him the more intensely1 so committed were they in the practice of their lives to the opposite of these4 ,jesus was very winsome4 ,it was to be expected of ,him1 for ,he was a man unstained and unhurt by sin4 ,man1 ,god's sort of man1 is winsome1 for he is in the image of ,god4 ,it was to be expected of ,him1 for ,he was ,god4 ,and ,god is winsome4 ,did men but know ,god they would throw themselves at ,his feet in the utter abandon of strong love4 ,jesus' personality must have been very attractive1 because of the man living within4 ,he found expression in it4 ,the spirit of a man finds expression in his presence4 ,he goes out to others through his presence4 ,from what we know of ,jesus ,his presence must have had something distinctly impressive about it4 ,he would have a gently majestic bearing4 ,he walked upright like the king ,he was4 ,he had the true dignity that is not conscious of its dignity4 ,jesus must have had a remarkable face4 ,one's presence centers peculiarly in the face4 ,it comes to bear the imprint of the man inside4 ,a man cannot keep out of his face the dominant spirit of his life4 ,the sin of the life1 the purity of the heart1 is always stamped on the face4 ,the finer the nature the plainer is the facial index4 ,that is the reason women's faces reveal the inner spirit more than men's4 ,quite apart from ,his features1 the inner spirit of ,jesus must have made ,his face beautiful with a manly fascinating beauty4 ,yet in all likelihood those features were finely chiselled and the skin clear1 and with the transfiguring power of the spirit within1 that face must have been a great face in its beauty4 ,jesus' face must have borne the impress of ,his experiences4 ,the early home experience would bring out patience and simplicity and sympathy4 ,those forty days in the wilderness would intensify the purity and strength1 and bring evidence of struggle and of victory4 ,the ,jordan waters1 with the voice of approval1 would deepen the mark of peace4 ,constant contact with the sick and suffering would bring out yet more the tenderness and gentleness4 ,constant teaching of undisciplined folk would intensify the patience4 ,constant contact with sin would intensify the unflinching sternness of purity4 ,the ,transfiguration would deepen the spirituality1 with possibly an added glory-touch4 ,gethsemane wrote in the deep lines of intense suffering1 with the intangible spirituality of victory and great peace4 ,and1 at the last1 ,calvary with its scars marked in a beauty of suffering and of spirituality refined beyond description4 ,a marvellous face that human face of ,jesus4 ,indeed1 the glory of ,god was in the face of ,jesus as ,he walked quietly among men4 ,looking into that face men saw ,god4 ,that simple1 gentle1 patient1 pure face1 with its deep peace and victory and yet its yearning--that was ,god looking out into men's faces4 u,the ,music of ,god in the ,voice of ,jesus4_/u ,the face of that face was the eye4 ,the eye is the soul of the face4 ,through it the man looks out and shows himself4 ,through it we look in and see him4 ,where the fires of self-ambition burn the flame is always in the eye4 ,only where those fires are out or never lit does the real beauty-light of ,god come into the eye4 ,great leaders have ever been noted for their eyes1 before whose glance strong men have cowed and quailed1 or eagerly coveted the privilege of service4 ,those must have been matchless eyes of ,jesus1 keen1 kindly1 flashing out blinding lightning1 sending out softest subdued light4 ,the ,nazareth mob couldn't stand the look of those eyes1 nor the bolder ,jerusalem mob reaching down for the stones1 nor the deputation sent to arrest1 nor even the reckless ,roman soldiers at the garden gate4 ,the disciples who were closest sometimes followed him afraid and amazed because of the look of those eyes4 ,and yet the little children put their arms around ,his neck1 and looked up fearlessly and lovingly4 ,and the crowd listened by the hour with their eyes fastened upon ,his4 ,the voice of ,jesus must have been music itself4 ,it speaks once of ,his singing a hymn4 ,how we would all have loved to hear ,him sing6 ,but that voice was music at all times1 whether in song or speech4 ,low1 modulated1 rhythmic1 gentle1 rich1 resonant--wondrous music4 ,those who have heard ,spurgeon and ,gladstone almost always speak of the rare musical quality in their voices4 ,so1 and more would it be with this ,jesus4 ,it has been said that the personality reveals itself in the speech4 ,it reveals itself yet more1 and more subtly1 in the sound of the voice4 ,the power or weakness of a man is felt in the sound of his voice4 ,the blind have unusual skill in reading character in the voice4 ,were we wiser we could read men's character much more quickly in the voice4 ,children and animals do4 ,the voice that stilled the waves and spoke forgiveness of sins1 that drew the babes1 and talked out to thousands at once1 must have been full of sweetest music and thrilling with richest power4 ,jesus made much of the personal touch1 another means whereby a man's power goes out to his fellow4 ,he believed in close personal touch4 ,he drew men into close contact with ,himself4 ,he promised that when gone ,himself1 ,somebody else was to come1 and live as ,he had done right with us in close touch4 ,he touched those whom ,he helped1 regardless of conditions4 ,there was power in ,his touch4 ,some of ,himself went out through that touch of ,his4 ,the fever1 the weakness1 the disease fled before ,his touch4 ,is it to be wondered at that everywhere1 in the temple yards1 on ,judean hills or ,galilean1 by the blue waters of ,galilee or the brown waters of the ,jordan1 men crowded to ,jesus8 ,they couldn't help it4 ,he was irresistible in ,his presence1 ,his face1 ,his eye1 and voice and touch4 ,it could not be otherwise4 ,he was ,god on a wooing errand after man4 ,moses' request of ,jehovah1 ,show me 444 ,thy glory1 was being granted now to the whole nation4 ,in ,jesus they were gazing on the glory of ,god4 ,a veiled glory8 ,yes1 much veiled1 doubtless1 yet not as much as when ,moses looked and listened4 ,jesus draws men4 ,all classes1 all nations1 all peoples are drawn to ,him4 ,it is remarkable how all classes in ,christendom quote ,jesus1 and claim ,him as the leader of their own particular views4 ,they will selfishly claim ,him who will not follow ,him4 ,jesus draws us4 ,let us each yield to ,his drawing4 ,that is the sincerest homage and honor we can give ,him4 ,that will draw out in us to fullest measure the original ,god-likeness obscured by sin4 ,let us lift this drawing ,jesus up by our lives of loyalty to ,him1 by our modest1 earnest testimony for ,him1 by our unselfish love for the men ,he loved so4 ,up let us lift ,him before men's eyes2 up on the cross1 transfigured by ,his love2 up on the ,olives' ,mount1 ,victor over all the forces of sin and death2 up at the ,father's right hand in glory1 waiting the fullness of time for the completion of ,his plan for man4 ,thou great winsome ,god1 we have seen ,thy beauty in this ,jesus4 ,we have heard ,thy music in ,his voice4 ,we feel the strong pull upon our hearts and wills of ,thy presence in ,him4 ,we cannot resist ,thee if we would4 ,we would not if we could4 ,we are coming a-running to keep tryst with ,thee under the tree of life thou art planting down in our midst4 ,we will throw ourselves at ,thy feet in the utter abandon of our strongest love1 ,thy volunteer slaves4 ,,iii4 ,the ,great ,experiences of ,jesus' ,life #a4 ,the ,jordan3 ,the ,decisive ,start4 #b4 ,the ,wilderness3 ,temptation4 #c4 ,the ,transfiguration3 ,an ,emergency ,measure4 #d4 ,gethsemane3 ,the ,strange1 ,lone ,struggle4 #e4 ,calvary3 ,victory4 #f4 ,the ,resurrection3 ,gravity ,upward4 #g4 ,the ,ascension3 ,back ,home ,again ,until---- ,the ,jordan3 ,the ,decisive ,start u,the ,anvil of ,experience4_/u ,experience is going through a thing yourself1 and having it go through you4 ,and through here means not as a spear is thrust through a man's body1 piercing it1 but as fire goes through that which it takes hold of1 permeating2 as an odor goes through a house1 pervading it4 ,a man knows only what he experiences2 what he goes through2 what goes through him4 ,he knows only what he is certain of4 ,and he is certain of only that which he experiences4 ,it is one of the natural limitations of our humanity that it is so4 ,even the primary knowledge of space1 and time1 and so on comes in this way4 ,a man knows space only by seeing or thinking through space4 ,he knows time only by living consciously through some moments of time4 ,such knowledge is primary only in point of time4 ,experience is weaving fact into the fabric of your life4 ,the swift drive of the double-pointed shuttle1 the hard push of the loom back and forth goes through you4 ,experience is sowing truth in actual personal occurrences4 ,the cutting1 upturning edge of the plow1 the tearing teeth of the harrow1 go on inside your very being1 while perhaps the moments drag themselves by1 slow as snails4 ,experience is hammering truth into shape upon the anvil of your life1 while the pounding of the lightning trip-hammer is upon your own quivering flesh4 ,it is seeing that which is most precious to you1 so dear as to be your very life1 seeing that in a furnace1 seven times heated1 while you1 standing helplessly by1 hope and trust perhaps1 and yet wonder1 even while trusting1 wonder if--7shall ,i say it the way your heart talks it out within871 or1 at most1 wonderingly watch with heart almost stopped1 and eyes big1 to see if the form of the ,fourth will intervene in your case1 or whether something else is the ,father's will4 ,experience is the three young ,hebrews stepping with quiet1 full1 heel-to-toe tread into the hotly flaming furnace1 not sure but it meant torture and death1 only sure that it was the only right thing to do4 ,it is the old ,babylonian premier actually lowering nearer and nearer to those green eyes1 and yawning jaws1 and ivories polished on many a bone1 clear of duty though not clear of anything else4 ,a man having a financial understanding with his church1 or a contract with his employer1 or a comfortable business1 may be an earnest ,christian1 living a life of prayer and realizing ,god's power in his life1 but he cannot know the meaning of the word trust as ,george ,mueller knew it when he might waken in the morning with not enough food in hand for the breakfast1 only an hour off1 of the two thousand orphans under his care1 and in answer to his waiting prayer have them all satisfied at the usual breakfast hour4 ,george ,mueller himself did not know the meaning of trust before such experiences as he did afterwards4 ,no one can4 ,we know only what we experience4 ,now ,jesus became a perfect man by means of the experiences ,he went through4 ,he is an older ,brother to us1 for ,he has gone through ahead where we are now going1 and where we are yet to go4 ,he was perfectly human in this1 that ,he did not know our human experiences1 save as ,he ,himself went through those experiences4 ,with full reverence be it said of the divine ,jesus1 it was necessarily so1 because ,he was so truly human4 ,the whole diapason of human experience1 with its joyous majors and its sobbing minors1 ,he knew4 ,except1 of course1 the experiences growing out of sin4 ,these ,he could not know4 ,they belong to the abnormal side of life4 ,and there was nothing abnormal about ,him4 ,it was fitting that ,jesus1 coming as a man to save brother men1 should develop the full human character through experience4 ,and so ,he did4 ,and forever ,he has a fellow-feeling with each of us1 at every point1 for ,he ,himself has felt our feelings4 ,jesus' experiences brought ,him suffering2 keen1 cutting pain2 real suffering4 ,where there is possible danger or pain in an approaching experience there is shrinking4 ,it is a normal human trait to shrink from pain and danger4 ,jesus' experiences in the suffering they brought to ,him far outreach what any other human has known4 ,he shrank in spirit over and over again as the expected experiences approached4 ,he shrank back as none other ever has1 for ,he was more keenly alive to the suffering involved4 ,he suffered doubly3 in the shrinking beforehand2 in the actual experience4 ,but1 be it keenly remembered1 shrinking does not mean faltering4 ,neither suffering in anticipation nor actually ever held ,him back for a moment1 nor an inch's length1 nor in the spirit of full-tilted obedience to ,his ,father's plan4 ,this makes ,jesus' experiences the greatest revealers of ,his character4 ,he was sublime in ,his character1 ,his teachings1 ,his stupendous conceptions4 ,he was most sublime in that wherein ,he touches us most closely--,his experiences4 ,with a new1 deep meaning it can be said1 knowledge is power4 ,we humans enter into knowledge and so into power only through experience4 ,experiences are sent1 or when not directly sent are allowed to come1 that through these may come knowledge1 through knowledge power1 through both the likeness of ,god1 and so1 true service in helping men back to ,god4 ,let us1 you and ,i1 go through our experiences graciously1 not grudgingly1 not balking1 cheerily1 aye1 with a bit of joy in the voice and a gleam of light in the eye4 ,and remember1 and not forget1 that alongside is ,one who knows the experience that just now is ours1 and1 knowing1 sympathizes4 ,there were with ,jesus the commoner experiences and the great outstanding ones3 the mountain range with the foot-hills below and the towering peaks above4 ,from ,his earliest consciousness until the cross was reached1 ,jesus ran the whole gamut of human experiences common to us all1 with some greater ones1 which are the same as come to all men1 but with ,him intensified clear beyond our measurements4 ,these greater experiences were tragic until the great tragedy was past4 ,each has in it the shadow of the greatest4 ,the ,jordan waters meant turning from a kingdom down another path to a cross4 ,the ,wilderness fight pointed clearly to successive struggles1 and the greatest4 ,the ,transfiguration mount meant turning from the greatest glory of ,his divinity which any earthly eye had seen to the little hill of death1 which was to loom above the mount4 ,gethsemane is ,calvary in anticipation4 ,calvary was the tragedy when love yielded to hate and1 yielding1 conquered4 ,there love held hate's climax1 death1 by the throat1 extracted the sting1 drew the fang tooth1 and drained the poison sac underneath4 ,love's surgery4 ,and the tinge of the tragedy remains in the ,resurrection and ,ascension in lingering scars4 ,they are still in that face4 ,it is a scale ascending from the first4 ,in each is seen the one thing from a different angle4 ,the cross in advance is in each experience1 growing in intensity till itself is reached1 and casting its shadow as it is left behind4 u,our ,brother4_/u ,through the crowds at the ,jordan ,river1 there quietly walked one morning a ,man who came up to where ,john stood4 ,he took a place in the line of those waiting to be baptized1 so indicating ,his own intention4 ,john is absorbed in his work1 but as he faces this ,man1 next in order1 he is startled4 ,this is no ordinary man4 ,that face6 ,its wondrous purity6 ,that intangible something revealing the man6 ,that spirit looking through those eyes into his own6 ,in that presence he feels his own impurity4 ,it is the instant unpremeditated recognition by this fine-grained ,spirit-taught ,john of his ,master1 his ,chief4 ,the remonstrance that instinctively springs to his lips is held in check by the obedience he at once feels is due this ,one4 ,whatever ,he commands is right1 however unexpected it may be1 or however strange it may seem4 ,why did ,jesus go to ,john for baptism8 ,the rite was a purifying one4 ,it meant confession of sin1 need of cleansing1 a desire for cleansing1 a purpose to turn from wrong and sin and lead a new life4 ,how could ,jesus accept such a rite for ,himself8 ,why did ,he8 ,read in the light of the whole story of ,jesus the answer seems simple4 ,jesus was stepping down into the ranks of man as ,his ,brother4 ,the kingdom ,he was to establish among men was to be set up and ruled over by man's ,brother4 ,the salvation was to be by ,one1 close up1 alongside4 ,the ,king will brush elbows with ,his subjects1 for they are brothers too4 ,no long-range work for ,jesus1 but personal touch4 ,in accepting ,john's baptism1 ,jesus was allying ,himself with the race of men ,he had come to lead up1 and out1 as ,king4 ,he was allying ,himself with them where they were4 ,it was not the path always trodden by man in climbing to a throne4 ,but it was the true path of fellowship with them in their needs4 ,he was getting hold of hands1 that ,he might be their leader up to the highlands of a new life4 ,he steps to their level4 ,he would lift from below4 ,he would get by the side of the man lowest down4 ,it was clear evidence at the start that ,he was the true ,messiah1 the ,king4 ,he was their ,brother4 ,he would get down alongside1 and pull up with them side by side out of the ditch of sticky mud up to good footing4 ,and mark keenly--and the heart glows a bit at the thought--the point ,he chooses for getting into that contact with ,his brothers4 ,it is the point where they are turning from sin4 ,john's baptism meant turning from sin4 ,it is at that point that ,jesus comes forward4 ,a man can always be live-sure of ,jesus meeting him there1 close up1 with outstretched hand4 ,he is waiting eagerly1 and steps up quickly to a man's side as in his heart he turns from sin4 ,but there's more yet4 ,read in the after light cast upon it there is much more4 ,this was the voluntary path away from the kingdom4 ,it was the beginning of all that came after4 ,the road up the hill of the cross not far away led out of those waters4 ,this was the starting point4 ,jesus calmly turned ,his face for the time being--a long time it has proved--away from the promised ,kingdom of ,his ,father and toward the planned cross of ,satan4 ,it meant much1 for it was the first step into the path marked out4 ,what the ,father had chosen for ,him1 ,he now chooses out for ,himself4 ,so every bit of service1 every plan1 must be twice chosen3 by ,god for a man2 by the man for himself as from ,god4 ,he entered eagerly1 for this was ,his ,father's plan4 ,that itself was enough for ,jesus4 ,but1 too1 it was the path where ,his needy brothers were4 ,that would quicken ,his pace4 ,it was the road wherein ,he would meet the enemy4 ,and with a fresh prayer in ,his heart and a quiet confidence in ,his eye ,he steps into the road with that calmness that strong purpose gives4 ,as it proved there was danger here for ,him4 ,this was not the way approved by man's established ideals for starting a kingdom4 ,he was driving straight across the carefully marked out roads of man's usage4 ,he was disregarding the ,no trespassing signs4 ,there was danger here4 ,a man cutting a new path right across old ones meets stubborn undergrowth1 and ugly thorn hedges4 ,jesus struck the thorns early1 and right along to the last getting sharper4 ,and they tore ,his face badly1 as ,he cut the way through for ,his brothers4 ,yes1 there were dangers as ,he pushed ,his way through the undergrowth down to the water4 ,poison ivy thick1 and fanged snakes darting guiltily aside from fear even while wanting to strike in1 tangled1 gnarly roots hugging the ground close1 and bad odors and gases1 and the light obscured--dangers thick6 ,and these ,jordan waters prove chill and roily4 ,his stepping in stirs the mud4 ,the storm winds sweep down the valley4 ,a bit of a hill up above to the west casts a long sinister shadow out over the water4 ,and ,he must have known the dangers4 ,no need of supernatural knowledge here4 ,his familiarity with ,david and ,jeremiah and other ,hebrew writers1 ,his knowledge of human nature as it had grown to be1 ,his knowledge of a foe subtler than human1 the fine sensitiveness of ,his finely organized sensitive spirit--these would lead ,him to scent the danger4 ,but ,he falters not4 ,the calmness of ,his will gives steadiness to ,his step down the river's bank4 ,aye1 the dangers lured ,him on4 ,he had a keen scent for danger1 for it was danger to ,his race of men1 whose ,king ,he was in right and would prove ,himself in fact4 ,he would draw the thorn points by ,his own flesh that men might be saved their stinging prod and slash4 ,he would neutralize the burning acid poison of the undergrowth by the red alkaline from ,his own veins4 ,he would use the thorns to draw the healing salve for the wounds they had caused4 ,he would put ,his firm foot on the serpent's head that ,his brothers might safely come along after4 ,this was the meaning of ,his plunge into the swift waters by ,john's side4 ,the intense significance of this decisive step by ,jesus is brought out strikingly by what follows4 ,what followed is ,god's comment upon it4 ,quick as the act was done came the ,father's approval4 ,john's crowds were not the only intent lookers-on that day4 ,jesus stands praying4 ,since ,he is going this road it must be a-knee4 ,then the rift in the upper blue1 the ,holy ,spirit straight from the ,father's presence comes upon the waiting ,man and the voice of pleased approval4 ,and the heart of ,jesus thrilled with the sound of that approving voice4 ,he could go any length1 down any steep1 if ,he might only ever hear that voice in approval4 ,then the ,holy ,spirit took possession of ,him for the earth-mission4 ,in the pathway of obedience down that rough steep came the coveted power of ,god upon ,him4 ,three times in ,his life the ,father's voice came1 and each time at a crisis4 ,now at the plunge into the ,jordan waters1 which meant brotherhood with the race1 and meant1 too1 a frostier chill of other waters later on4 ,at the opening of the ,greek door through which led an easy path to a great following1 and away from a cross1 when ,jesus1 with an agony intensified by the intensified nearing of those crossed logs1 turned ,his step yet more steadily in the path ,he had chosen that first ,jordan day4 ,and between these two1 on the mountain top1 when the whole fabric of the future beyond the cross hung upon three poor wobbling1 spiritually stupid1 mentally untrained ,galilean fishermen4 ,this is the meaning of that step into the ,jordan4 ,it was the decisive start4 ,the ,wilderness3 ,temptation u,the ,university of ,arabia4_/u ,the ,jordan led to the ,wilderness by a straight road4 ,a first step without slipping leads to the second4 ,victory opens the way to fresh struggles for higher victories4 ,the perfect naturalness of ,jesus is revealed here1 ,his human naturalness4 ,he had taken the decisive step into the ,jordan waters4 ,and while absorbed in prayer had become conscious of a new experience4 ,the ,spirit of ,god came upon ,him in unusual measure4 ,the effect of that always is to awaken to new alertness and vigor every mental power1 as well as to key up every moral resolve4 ,jesus is caught at once by the grasp1 the grip of this new experience of the wondrous ,spirit's control4 ,keenly alive to its significance1 awakened anew to the part ,he was to perform1 and to a consciousness of ,his peculiar relation to ,god and to man1 ,he becomes wholly absorbed in this newly intensified world of thought4 ,under the ,spirit's impulse1 ,he goes off into the solitude of the wilderness to think4 ,and in this mood of deep absorption1 with every faculty fully awake and every high moral impulse and purpose in full throb1 came the temptation with the recorded climax at the close4 ,there came an intensifying of all ,his former consciousness1 and convictions1 regarding ,his own personality and ,his mission to mankind1 as absorbed from the ,hebrew parchments1 with the undercurrent1 lying away down1 of a tragedy to be met on the way up to the throne4 ,jesus was a man of great intensity4 ,he could become so absorbed as to be unconscious of other things4 ,as a boy of twelve1 when first ,he caught fire1 ,he was so taken up with the flood of thoughts poured into ,his mind by the temple visit1 that for three days and two nights ,he remained away from ,his parents1 simply absorbed in the world of thought awakened by that visit4 ,he could remain forty days in the wilderness without being conscious of hunger4 ,the impress of that forty days mentally remain with ,him during the remainder of ,his human life4 ,intensity is possible only to strong mentality4 ,the child's mind1 the undisciplined mind1 the mind weakened by sickness or fatigue goes quickly from one thing to another4 ,the finest mental discipline is revealed in the greatest intensity1 while yet all the faculties remain at normal1 not heated1 nor disturbed by the discoloration of heat4 ,he withdrew into the wilderness to think and pray4 ,he wanted to get away from man that ,he might realize ,god4 ,with the near flaming footlights shut out1 ,he could see clearly the quiet upper lights1 ,his sure guides4 ,these forty days gave ,him the true perspective4 ,things worked into proportion4 ,he never lost this wilderness perspective4 ,the wilderness means to ,him alone with ,god1 the false perspective1 the flaming of near lights1 the noise of men's shuffling feet all gone4 ,and when ,he went out among men for work1 that wilderness atmosphere went with ,him4 ,and when the crowds thickened1 and work piled up1 and dangers intensified1 off ,he would go for a fresh bit of improvised wilderness4 ,the temptation follows the natural lines of man's powers4 ,man was made with mastery of himself1 kingship over nature and all its forces1 and utter dependence1 even for his very breath1 upon ,god4 ,while made perfect in these1 he would know them fully only through growth4 ,he had three relationships1 to ,god1 his fellows1 and himself4 ,his relation to ,god would keep true the relation to himself1 and adjust the relation to his fellows4 ,keeping ,god in proper proportion in the perspective keeps one's self in its true place always4 ,utter dependence by every man upon ,god would make perfect harmony with his fellows4 ,the dominion of nature was through self-mastery1 and this in turn would be only through the practice of utter dependence upon ,god4 ,now all sin comes under this grouping1 the relation to ,god1 the relation to others1 within one's self4 ,temptation follows the line of exaggeration1 misuse1 misadjustment1 wrong motive4 ,it pushes trust over into unwarranted presumption4 ,dominion over nature crosses the line into the relation to other men4 ,fellow-feeling gives way to an ambition to get ahead of the other man and to boss him4 ,proper appetite and desire become lust and passion4 ,the dominion that man was to have over nature1 he seeks also to have over his brothers1 so crossing the line of his own proper dominion and trespassing on ,god's4 ,only ,god is to have dominion over all men4 ,where a man is lifted to eminence of rule among his fellows he is simply acting for ,somebody else4 ,he is not a superior4 ,he is a servant of ,god1 in ruling over his fellows4 ,john's famous grouping of all sin as the lust of the flesh1 lust of eye and pride of life1 refers to what is out in the world4 ,it touches only two of these three3 sin in one's self and in relation to his fellows1 with the dominion line out of adjustment4 ,out in the world ,god has been left clean out1 so the phase of trust isn't touched upon by ,john4 ,jesus' temptation follows these natural lines4 ,improper use of power for the sake of the bodily appetite2 to presume on ,god's care in doing something unwarranted2 to cross the line of dominion over nature and seek to control men4 ,for1 be it remembered1 ,jesus was here as a man4 ,the realm of the body1 the realm of religion1 the realm of wrong ambition1 these were the temptation lines followed then1 and before1 and ever since4 ,the going into the wilderness was planned by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,he was in charge of this campaign of ,jesus to win back the allegiance of man and the dominion of the earth4 ,jesus yielded ,himself to the control of the ,holy ,spirit for ,his earthly mission1 even as later the ,holy ,spirit yielded ,himself wholly to the control of the exalted ,jesus for ,his earthly mission4 ,here the ,spirit proves ,himself a keen strategist4 ,he drives hard at the enemy4 ,he forces the fighting4 ,a decided victory over the chief at the start would demoralize all the forces4 ,it would be decisive of the whole conflict1 and prophetic of the final outcome4 ,every demon possessing a man on the earth heard of his chief's rout that day1 and recognized his ,victor1 and feared ,him1 and knew of his own utter defeat in that of his chief4 ,having gotten the chief devil on the run1 every sub-devil fled at ,jesus' approach4 ,the ,spirit would show to man the weakness of the devil4 ,the devil can do nothing with the man who is calmly set in his loyalty to ,god4 ,this new ,leader of the race was led up to the dreaded devil that men might know for all time his weak spot4 ,the poison of those fangs is completely neutralized by simple1 steady loyalty to ,god4 ,but the rattles do make a big scary noise4 ,it is safe to go where the ,spirit of ,god leads1 and not safe to go anywhere else4 ,the wilderness1 any wilderness1 becomes a place of victory if the ,spirit of ,god be leading there4 ,any temptation is a chance for a victory when the ,spirit leads the way4 ,a man's controlling motive determines the attractiveness or ugliness of any place4 ,to ,jesus this wilderness barren was one of the mountain peaks4 ,its forbidding chasms and ugly gullies and darting snakes ever afterwards speak to ,him of sweet victory4 ,the first great victory was here4 ,he made the wilderness to blossom with the rose of ,his unswerving loyalty to ,his ,father4 ,and its fragrance has been felt by all who have followed ,him there4 ,to the tempter it was a wilderness indeed1 barren of anything he wanted4 ,he quit it the first chance he could make4 ,he would remember the beasts and serpents and dreary waste4 ,for here he received his first death-thrust4 ,every man whom ,god has used has been in the wilderness4 ,the two great leaders before ,jesus1 and the great leader after ,him1 had each a post-graduate course in the ,university of ,arabia4 ,a degree in that school is required for those who would do valiant service for ,god4 ,only so can the eyes and ears be trained away from the glare and blare of the crowd4 ,they needed it1 we need it1 for discipline4 ,he1 the matchless ,man1 for that too1 and that ,he might make it a place of sure victory for us4 u,earth's ,ugliest1 ,deepest ,scar4_/u ,jesus is the only ,one of whom we are told that ,he was led up to be tempted4 ,he was the leader of the race for the regaining of the blurred image1 the lost mastery and dominion4 ,he ,himself bade us pray not to be so tempted4 ,he out-matched the tempter4 ,any one of us1 alone1 is clearly out-matched by that tempter4 ,but we may always rest secure in the victory ,he achieved that day4 ,only so are we safe4 ,it is noteworthy that the place of the temptation was chosen by the ,spirit1 and what place it is ,he chooses4 ,mark keenly1 the tempter did not choose it4 ,he was obliged to start in there1 but he seized the first chance to get away to scenes more congenial to himself4 ,the wilderness is one of the most marked spots on the earth's crust4 ,that remarkable stretch of land going by swift1 steep descents almost from ,jerusalem's very door down to the ,dead ,sea4 ,it was once described as the garden of ,god1 that is1 as ,eden1 for beauty and fertility1 like the fertile ,egyptian bottoms4 ,for long centuries no ghastlier bit of land can be found1 haggard1 stripped bare1 its strata twisted out of all shape1 blistering peeling rocks1 scorching furnace-heat reflected from its rocks1 swept by hot desert winds1 it is the land of death1 an awful death2 no life save crawling scorpions and vipers1 with an occasional hyena and jackal4 ,here sin had a free line and ran riot4 ,it ran to its logical conclusion1 till a surgical operation--a cauterization--was necessary to save the rest4 ,earth's fairest became earth's ugliest4 ,it is the one spot where sin's free swing seamed its mark deepest in4 ,the story of sin's worst is burned into the crust of the earth with letters over a thousand feet deep4 ,this is sin's scar3 earth's hell-scar4 ,there is no talk of the glory of the kingdom here4 ,yet there had been once4 ,this is the very spot where that proposition on smaller scale was made to a man in a crisis of his life1 and where1 lured by the attractive outlook1 he had chosen selfishly4 ,this is the wilderness1 sin's wilderness1 whither the ,holy ,spirit led ,jesus for the tempter's assault4 ,no man does great service for ,god till he gets sin into its proportion in his perspective4 ,jesus was tempted4 ,temptation1 the suggestion to wrong1 must find some point of contact within4 ,therein consists the temptation to the man4 ,without doubt there was a response within to the temptations that came to ,jesus4 ,satan always throws his line to catch on a hook inside4 ,the physical sense of hunger responded to the suggestion of getting hold of a loaf4 ,the unfailing breath of ,jesus' life was trusting ,his ,father4 ,for the way a thing should be done1 as well as for getting the result1 ,he trusted ,his ,father4 ,this trust1 underlying and permeating ,his whole life1 furnishes the point of contact for the second temptation4 ,the ruling of a world righteously--not for the glory of reigning1 ingrained in us1 but for the world's good and betterment--was ingrained in ,jesus by ,his birth1 and fostered by ,his study of the ,hebrew scriptures1 and by the consciousness of ,his mission4 ,here is the point of contact with the third temptation4 ,at once it is plain that there is nothing wrong here in the inward response4 ,for instantly it was clear that a response of ,his will to these outer propositions would not be right1 would be wrong1 and so these points of contact were instantly held in check by ,his will4 ,every temptation was brought1 we are told3 tempted in all points4 ,this does not mean that every particular temptation came to ,jesus1 but the heart1 the essential1 of every temptation4 ,every temptation that comes to us is along the line of the three that came to ,him4 ,by rejecting the first of each line ,he shut out its successors4 ,by accepting the first of a series of temptations a man opens the way for the next1 and so on4 ,temptations come on a scale descending4 ,there are the first1 the initial temptations1 and then all that follow in their train4 ,rejecting the first stops the whole line4 ,not only that1 but stops also the momentum1 terrific1 downward momentum of the whole line4 ,the first temptation is the door through which must pass all other temptations of that sort4 ,if that door be opened these other temptations have a chance4 ,if that door be kept shut1 all these others are kept waiting4 ,temptation is always standing with its pointed toe at the crack of the door1 waiting the slightest suggestion of an opening4 ,this first temptation is always the likeliest of its class to get in4 ,it is not always the same1 of course4 ,it is subtly chosen to suit the man4 ,jesus kept these doors rigidly shut1 key turned1 bolts pushed1 bar up1 chain hooked4 ,so may we4 ,the tempting is to be done by the devil4 ,that is his strong point1 tempting people4 ,it is one way of recognizing some of his kin4 ,it is a mean1 contemptible sort of thing4 ,he had fallen into a hole of his own digging1 and would pull in everybody else4 ,he is never constructive in his work1 always destructive4 ,best at tearing down4 ,never builds up4 ,his allies can often be told by their resemblance to him here4 ,jesus is to be tempted by this master-tempter4 ,he is going to prove to all his brothers that the tempter has no power without the consent of the tempted4 ,the door into a man has only the one knob4 ,and that's on the inside4 u,waiting the ,father's ,word4_/u ,quite likely the form of the tempter's words suggests the upper current of ,jesus' thought4 ,if thou be the ,son of ,god4 ,jesus was likely absorbed with ,his peculiar relation to ,his ,father1 with all that that involved4 ,the tempter cunningly seeks to sweep ,him off of ,his feet by working on ,his mood4 ,it is ever a favorite method with the tempter to rush a man4 ,a flush of feeling1 the mood of an intense emotion tipped over the balance with a quick motion of his1 has swept many a man off his feet4 ,but ,jesus held steady4 ,there was no unholy heat of ambition to disturb the calm working of ,his mind4 ,why if8 ,did ,satan doubt it8 ,is he asking proof8 ,he gets it4 ,jesus did not need to prove ,his divinity except by continuing to be divine4 ,he proved best that ,he was ,son of ,god by being true to ,his ,sonship4 ,he naturally acted the part4 ,we prove best that we are right by being right1 not by accepting captious1 critical propositions4 ,the stars shine4 ,we know they are stars by their shine4 ,satan would have ,jesus use ,his divinity in an undivine way4 ,he was cunning4 ,but ,jesus was keener than the tempter was cunning4 ,get a loaf out of this stone4 ,don't go hungry4 ,be practical and sensible4 ,the cold cruelty of ,satan6 ,he makes no effort to relieve the hunger4 ,the hunger asked for bread and he gave it a stone4 ,that is the best he has4 ,he is a bit short on bread4 ,he would use the physical need to break down the moral purpose4 ,he has ever been doing just that4 ,sometimes he induces a man to break down his strength in religious activity4 ,and then he takes advantage of his weakened condition4 ,even religious activity should be refused save at the leading of ,god's ,spirit4 ,it will not do simply to do good4 ,the only safe thing is to do ,god's will1 to be tied fast to the tether of the ,spirit's leading4 ,jesus could have made a loaf out of the stone4 ,he did that sort of thing afterwards4 ,it was not wrong to do it1 since1 under other circumstances1 ,he did it4 ,but it is wrong to do anything1 even a good thing1 at the devil's suggestion4 ,he would shun the counsel of the ungodly4 ,the tempter attacks first the neediest point1 the hunger1 and in so far the weakest1 the likeliest to yield4 ,yet it was the strongest1 too1 for ,jesus could make bread4 ,the strongest point may become the weakest because of the very temptation the possession of strength gives to use it improperly4 ,strength used properly remains strength2 used improperly it becomes weakness4 ,the strong points always need guarding1 that the balance be not tipped over and lost4 ,strength is never greater than when used rightly2 never greater than when refused to the improper use4 ,the essence of sin is in the improper use of a proper thing4 ,the first step toward victory over temptation is to recognize it4 ,jesus' quick1 quiet reply here touches the human heart at once1 and touches it at its neediest and most sensitive point1 the need of sympathy1 of a fellow feeling4 ,he said1 ,man shall not live4 ,the tempter said1 ,god4 ,jesus promptly said1 ,man4 ,he came to be man1 the ,son of man1 and the ,brother of man4 ,he took ,his place as a man that day in the ,jordan water4 ,he will not be budged from man's side4 ,he will stay on the man level in full touch with ,his fellows at every step of the way4 ,he was giving to every man1 everywhere in the world1 under stress of every temptation2 with every rope tugging at its fastenings1 and threatening every moment to slip its hold1 and the man be lost in the storm1 to every man the right1 the enormous staying power to say1 ,jesus--a man --such a one as ,i--was here1 and as a man resisted--and won4 ,he is at my side4 ,i'll lean on ,him and resist too1--and win too--in the strength of ,his winning4 ,jesus says here1 ,my life1 my food1 the supplying of my needs is in the hands of my ,father4 ,when ,he gives the word1 ,i'll do3 not before4 ,i'll starve if ,he wishes it1 but ,i'll not mistrust ,him2 nor do anything save as ,he leads and suggests4 ,i'll not act at your suggestion1 nor anybody's else but ,his4 ,starving doesn't begin to bother me like failing to trust would do4 ,but ,i haven't the faintest idea of starving with such a ,father4 ,not by bread alone1 but by every word 444 of ,god4 ,not by a loaf1 but by a word4 ,when a man is where ,god would have him1 he can afford to wait patiently till ,god gives the word4 ,a man is never unsteadier on his feet than when he has gone where he was not led4 ,i go at my ,father's word4 ,i wait for my ,father's word4 ,jesus' study of the parchment rolls in ,nazareth was standing ,him in good stead now4 ,through many a prayerful hour over that ,word had come the trained ear1 the waiting spirit1 the doing of things only at the ,father's initiative4 ,he could make bread1 but ,he wouldn't1 unless the ,father gave the word4 ,it was not simply that ,he would not act at the tempter's suggestion1 but ,he would not act at all except at the ,father's word4 ,and to this ,jesus remained true1 whether the request for evidence came from the tempter direct1 or from sneering ,pharisee at the temple's cleansing1 or from unbelieving brothers4 ,life comes not through what a man can make1 but through the ,father's controlling presence3 not through our effort1 but through the ,father's power transmitted through the pipe line of our ready obedience4 ,just to let thy ,father do ,as ,he will4 ,just to know that ,he is true1 ,and be still4 ,just to follow hour by hour ,as ,he leadeth4 ,just to draw the moment's power ,as it needeth4 ,just to trust ,him4 ,this is all4 ,then the day will surely be ,peaceful1 whatsoe'er befall1 ,bright and blessd1 calm and free4#h ,jesus held every activity1 every power subject to the ,father's bidding4 ,not only obedient1 but nothing else4 ,waiting the ,father's send-off at every turn3 this is the message from ,jesus that first tug1 and first victory4 ,jesus had held true in the realm of the body1 in ,his relationship to ,himself4 u,love ,never ,tests4_/u ,satan shifts the scene4 ,these wilderness surroundings grate on his nerves4 ,the setting of this place1 once first class1 is now rather worn4 ,he's famous at that4 ,it's a favorite device of ,his2 quick scene-shifting4 ,a man wins a victory over temptation1 but a quick change of surroundings finds him unprepared if he isn't ever alert for it1 and down he goes before the new1 unexpected rush1 before he can get his wind4 ,the tempter is not a fool1 as regards man4 ,that is1 as a rule he is not4 ,in the light of all facts obtainable about his career1 that word might be thought of4 ,yet no man of us may apply the word to him4 ,not one of us is a match for him4 ,we're not in the same class4 ,in his keen subtlety and cunning he can outmatch the keenest of us2 outwit and befool without doing any extra thinking4 ,i am not using the word wisdom of him4 ,we are safe only in the wisdom of our big ,brother who drew his fangs in the wilderness that day4 ,he chooses shrewdly the spot for each following temptation4 ,he's a master stage manager4 ,he always works for an atmosphere that will help his purpose4 ,he took ,jesus up to one of the wings of the temple in the holy city4 ,the holy city1 and especially its temple1 would awaken holiest emotions4 ,here it was that ,jesus1 as a boy1 years before1 had probably first caught fire4 ,it is likely that ,he never forgot that first visit4 ,here everything spoke to ,him of ,his ,father4 ,the tempter is skilfully following the leading of ,jesus' reply4 ,jesus had given a religious answer4 ,so ,he is given a religious atmosphere1 and taken to a religious place4 ,he would trust the ,father implicitly4 ,here is an opportunity to let men see that beautiful spirit of trust4 ,here is a chance for a master-stroke4 ,a single simple act will preach to the crowds4 ,you'll come down in the midst of an open-mouthed1 admiring crowd4 ,the devil loves the spectacular1 the theatrical4 ,he is always working for striking1 stagy effects4 ,how many a man has yielded to the religious temptation6 ,he is taken up in the air1 and seems to float among ethereal clouds4 ,it is better for us to live in the strength of ,somebody else's victory1 and keep good hard earth close to the soles of our feet1 or we may come into contact with it suddenly with feet and head changing places4 ,the devil taketh ,jesus4 ,how could he8 ,he could do it only by ,jesus' consent4 ,jesus yields to his taking4 ,he has a strong purpose in it4 ,he was going for the sake of ,his brothers4 ,the tempter cannot take anybody anywhere except with his full consent4 ,he tries to1 and often befools men into thinking he can4 ,it's a lie4 ,he cannot4 ,every man is an absolute sovereign in his will1 both as regards ,god and ,satan4 ,god will not do anything with us without our ready consent4 ,and be it keenly remembered that the tempter cannot4 ,here ,jesus gave consent for ,his brothers' sake4 ,the tempter acts his part like an old hand4 ,the proper thing here is some scripture1 repeated earnestly in unctuous tones4 ,was it from this tempter that all of us religious folks and everybody else have gotten into the inveterate habit of quoting verse and sentence entirely out of connection8 ,any devil's lie can be proven from the ,scriptures on that plan4 ,if it was he who set the pace1 certainly it has been followed at a lively rate4 ,it was a cunning quotation1 cunningly edited4 ,the angels are ministering spirits4 ,on their hands they do bear us up4 ,it is all true1 blessedly true4 ,but it is only true for the man who is living in the first verse of that ninety-first psalm1 in the secret place of the most ,high4 ,the tempter threads his way with cautious skill among those unpleasant allusions to the serpent1 and the dragon1 and getting them under our feet1 and then twisting and trampling with our hard heels4 ,he knew his ground well1 and avoids such rough1 rude sort of talk4 ,it was a cunning temptation1 cunningly staged and worded and backed4 ,he was doing his best4 ,one wonders if he really thought ,jesus could be tripped up that way4 ,so many others have been1 and are1 even after ,jesus has shown us the way4 ,a dust cloth would help some of us--for our ,bibles--and a little more exercise at the knee-joint1 and a bit of the hard common sense ,god has given every one of us4 ,did ,jesus' wondrous1 quiet calm nettle the tempter8 ,was ,he ever keener and quieter8 ,he would step from the substantial boat-deck to the yielding water1 ,he would cut ,himself off from ,his ,nazareth livelihood and step out without any resources1 ,he would calmly walk into ,jerusalem when there was a price upon ,his head1 for so ,he was led by that ,spirit to whose sovereignty ,he had committed ,himself4 ,but ,he would do nothing at the suggestion of this tempter4 ,jesus never used ,his power to show ,he had it1 but to help somebody4 ,he could not4 ,it is against the nature of power to attempt to prove that you have it by using it4 ,power is never concerned about itself1 but wrapped up in practical service4 ,there were no theatricals about ,jesus4 ,he was too intensely concerned about the needs of men4 ,there are none in ,god-touched men4 ,elisha did not smite the waters to prove that ,elijah's power rested upon him1 but to get back across the ,jordan to where his work was needing him and waiting his touch4 ,jesus would wear ,himself out bodily in ministering to men's needs1 but ,he wouldn't turn a hair nor budge a step to show that ,he could4 ,this is the touch-stone by which to know all ,jesus-men4 ,he rebukes this quotation by a quotation that breathes the whole spirit of the passage where it is found4 ,thou shalt not test ,god to see if ,he will do as ,he promises4 ,these ,israelites had been testing1 criticizing1 questioning1 doubting ,god4 ,that's the setting of ,his quotation4 ,jesus says that love never tests4 ,it trusts4 ,love does not doubt1 for it knows4 ,it needs no test4 ,it could trust no more fully after a test1 for it trusts fully now4 ,aye1 it trusts more fully now1 for it is trusting ,god1 not a test4 ,every test of ,god starts with a question1 a doubt1 a misgiving of ,god4 ,jesus' answer to the second temptation is3 love never tests4 ,it trusts4 ,jesus keeps true in ,his relation to ,his ,father4 u,the ,devil ,acknowledges the ,king4_/u ,another swift shift of the scene4 ,swiftness is a feature now4 ,in a moment of time1 all the kingdoms1 and all the glory of all the earth4 ,rapid work6 ,this is an appeal to the eye4 ,first the palate1 then the emotions1 now the eye4 ,first the appetites1 then the religious sense1 now the ambition4 ,the tempter comes now to the real thing he is after4 ,he would be a god4 ,it is well to sift his proposition pretty keenly1 on general principles4 ,his reputation for truthfulness is not very good1 which means that it is very bad4 ,who wants to try a suspicious egg8 ,he could have quite a number of capitals after his name on the score of mixing lies and the truth4 ,he has a distinct preference for the flavor of mixed lies4 ,here are the three statements in his proposal4 ,all these things have been delivered unto me4 ,i may give them to whom ,i will4 ,i will give them to you4 ,the first of these is true4 ,he is the prince of this world4 ,the second is not true1 because through breach of trust he has forfeited his rule1 though still holding to it against the ,sovereign's wish4 ,the third is not true4 ,clearly he hadn't any idea of relinquishing his hold1 but only of swamping ,jesus4 ,two parts lie3 one part truth--a favorite formula of his4 ,the lie gets the vote4 ,a bit of truth sandwiched in between two lies4 ,he asks for worship4 ,did he really think that possibly ,jesus would actually worship him8 ,the first flush answer is1 surely not4 ,yet he is putting the thing in a way that has secured actual worship from many a'one who would be horrified at such a blunt putting of his conduct4 ,we must shake off the caricature of a devil with pointed horns1 and split hoof1 and forked tail1 and see the real1 to understand better4 ,from all accounts he must be a being of splendor and beauty1 of majestic bearing1 and dignity4 ,his appeal in effect is this3--,these things are all mine4 ,you have in you the ingrained idea of a world-wide dominion over nature1 and of ruling all men as ,god's ,king4 ,now1 can't we fix this thing up between us8 ,let's be friendly4 ,don't let's quarrel over this matter of world dominion4 ,you acknowledge me as your sovereign4 ,you rule over all this under me4 ,i'll stand next to ,god1 and you stand next to me4 ,it's a mere technical distinction1 after all4 ,it'll make no real change in your being a world-wide ruler1 and it will make none with me either4 ,each will have a fair share and place4 ,let's pull together4--,the thing sounds a bit familiar4 ,it seems to me ,i have heard it since somewhere1 if ,i can jog up my memory4 ,it has raised a cloud of dust in many a man's road1 and blurred the clear outlines of the true plan--has raised8--is raising4 ,jesus' answer is imperative4 ,it is the word of an imperative4 ,he is the ,king already in ,his ,father's plan4 ,he replies with the sharp1 imperial brevity of an emperor1 a king of kings1 ,get thee hence6 ,begone6 ,the tempter obeys4 ,he knows his master4 ,he goes4 ,biting his teeth upon his hot spittle1 utterly cowed1 he slinks away4 ,only one ,sovereign1 ,jesus says4 ,all dominion held properly only by direct dependence upon ,him1 direct touch with ,him1 full obedience to ,him4 ,no compromise here4 ,no mixing of issues4 ,simple1 direct relation to ,god1 and every other relation through that4 ,no short cuts for ,jesus4 ,they do but cut with deep gashes the man who cuts4 ,the short describes the term of his power1 a short shrift4 ,when the devil has used up all his ammunition--4 ,that's a comfort4 ,there is an end to the devil if we will but quietly hold on4 ,every arrow shot4 ,not a cartridge left4 ,yet he is not entirely through with ,jesus4 ,he has retired to reform the broken lines4 ,he'll melt up the old bullets into different shape4 ,they have been badly battered out of all shape by striking on this hard rock4 ,he's a bit shaken himself4 ,this ,jesus is something new4 ,when he can get his wind he will come back4 ,he came back many times4 ,once through ignorant ,peter with the loaf temptation in new shape1 once through ,his mother's loving fears with the emotional temptation1 and through the earnest1 hungry ,greeks1 and the bread-full thousands with the kingdom temptation4 ,yet the edge of ,his sword is badly nicked1 and never regains its old edge4 ,but now he goes4 ,he obeys ,jesus4 ,the tempter resisted goes1 weakened4 ,he is a coward now4 ,he fights only with those weaker than himself4 ,he doesn't take a man of his own size4 ,temptation resisted strengthens the man4 ,there is a new resisting power4 ,there is the fine fettle that victory gives4 ,jesus is ,victor4 ,the ,jordan experience has left its impress4 ,every act of obedience is to the tempter's disadvantage4 ,in ,jesus we are victors1 too4 ,but only in ,him4 ,through ,jesus we meet a fangless serpent4 ,the old glare is in the eye1 the rattles are noisy1 but the sting's out4 ,he is still there4 ,he still can scare2 but can do not even that to the man arm-in-arm with ,jesus4 ,jesus keeps true the relationship to all men and to nature by keeping true the relationship to ,his ,father4 ,our ,father1 lead us not into temptation as ,jesus was led4 ,we're no match for the tempter4 ,help us to keep arm-in-arm with ,jesus1 and live ever in the power of ,his victory4 ,the ,transfiguration3 ,an ,emergency ,measure u,god in ,sore ,straits4_/u ,the darkest hour save only one has now come in ,jesus' life4 ,and that one which was actually darkest1 in every way1 from every view-point darkest1 had in it some gleams of light that are not here4 ,jesus is now a fugitive from the province of ,judea4 ,the death plot has been settled upon4 ,there's a ban in ,jerusalem on ,his followers4 ,already one man has been cut off from synagogue privileges1 and become a religious and social outcast4 ,the southerners are pushing the fight against ,jesus up into ,galilee4 ,four distinct times that significant danger word withdrew has been used in describing ,jesus' departure from where the ,judean leaders had come4 ,first from ,judea to ,galilee1 then from ,galilee to distant foreign points ,he had gone1 for a time1 till the air would cool a bit4 ,the bold return to ,jerusalem at the fall ,feast of ,tabernacles had been attended1 first by an official attempt to arrest1 and then by a passionate attempt to stone ,jesus to death4 ,and now the ,galilean followers begin to question1 and to leave4 ,his enemies' northern campaign1 together with ,his own plain teaching1 has affected the ,galilean crowds4 ,they come in as great numbers as ever to hear and to be healed4 ,but many that had allied themselves as ,jesus' followers decide that ,he is not the leader they want4 ,he is quite too unpractical4 ,the kingdom that the ,galileans are eager for1 that the ,roman yoke may be shaken off1 seems very unlikely to come under such a leader4 ,many desert ,him4 ,jesus felt the situation keenly4 ,the kingdom plan in ,jerusalem had failed4 ,and now the winning of individuals as a step in another plan is slipping its hold4 ,these people are glad of bread and the easing of bodily distress1 but the tests of discipleship they pull away from4 ,he turns to the little band of ,his own choosing1 with a question that reveals the keen disappointment of ,his heart4 ,there's a tender yearning in that question1 ,will ye also go away8 ,and ,peter's instant1 loyal answer does not blind ,his keen eyes to the extremity4 ,with sad voice ,he says1 ,one of you1 my own chosen friends1 one of you is a--devil4 ,things are in bad shape1 and getting worse4 ,it was a time of dire extremity4 ,god was in sore straits4 ,the kingdom plan was clearly gone for the present4 ,the rub was to save enough out of the wreckage to get a sure starting-point for the new plan1 through which1 by and by1 the other original plan would work out4 ,there can be no stronger evidence of ,god's need of men than this transfiguration scene4 ,just because ,he had made man a sovereign in his will1 ,god must work out all of ,his plans through that sovereign will4 ,he would not lower one whit ,his ambition for a man free in his own will4 ,he ,himself would do nothing to mar the divine image in man4 ,for man's sake1 and through man's will--that is ever ,god's law of dealing4 u,fire and ,anvil for ,leaders4_/u ,the great need just now was not simply for men who would be loving and loyal1 but men who would be leaders4 ,it has ever been the sorest need4 ,men are not so scarce1 true-hearted men1 willing to endure sacrifice1 but leaders have always been few1 and are4 ,nothing seems to be less understood than leadership2 and nothing so quickly recognized when the real thing appears4 ,peter was a leader among these men4 ,he had dash and push4 ,he was full of impulse4 ,he was always proposing something4 ,he acted as spokesman4 ,he blurted out whatever came4 ,the others followed his lead4 ,there were the crude elements of leadership here4 ,but not true leadership of the finer1 higher kind4 ,the whole purpose of the transfiguration was to get and tie up leaders4 ,it was an emergency measure1 out of the regular run of things4 ,goodness makes character4 ,it takes goodness plus ability to make true leadership4 ,the heart can make a loving follower4 ,it takes a heart1 warm and true1 plus brains to make a leader4 ,character is the essential for life4 ,for true leadership1 there needs to be character plus ability3 the ability to keep the broad sweep of things1 and not be lost in details1 nor yet to lose sight of details2 to discern motive and drifts2 to sift through the incidentals which may be spectacular and get to the essential which may be in ,quaker garb4 ,there are two sorts of leadership1 of action1 and of thought4 ,by comparison with the other1 leaders of action are many1 leaders of thought few4 ,peter was the leader in action of the disciples1 and in the earlier church days4 ,john became the leader in thought of the later years of the early church4 ,paul was both1 a very unusual combination4 ,leaders are born1 it is true4 ,but the finest and truest and highest leaders must be both born leaders1 and then born again as leaders4 ,there needs to be the original stuff1 and then that stuff hammered into shape under hard blows on the anvil of experience4 ,the fire must burn out the clay and dirt1 and then the hammer shape up the metal4 ,leaders must have convictions driven in clear through the flesh and bone1 and riveted on the other side4 ,simon loved ,jesus1 but there needed to be more before ,peter would arrive4 ,it took the transfiguration to put into the impulsive1 unsteady1 wobbling ,simon the metal that would later become steel in ,peter4 ,yet it took much more1 and finally the fire of ,pentecost1 to get the needed temper into the steel4 ,these same lips could give that splendid statement that has become the church's foundation2 and1 a bit later1 utter boldly foolish1 improper words to ,jesus2 and1 later yet1 utter vulgar profanity1 and words far worse1 aye1 the worst that could be said about a friend1 and in that friend's need1 too4 ,this was a fair sample of the clay and iron1 the ,simon and the ,peter in this man4 ,yet it was with painful slowness that he had been brought up to where he is now4 ,two years of daily contact with ,jesus4 ,slow work6 ,no1 rapid work4 ,nobody but ,jesus could have done it in such a short time4 ,nobody but ,jesus could have done it at all4 ,and1 mark you keenly1 this man is the leader of the band of men that stand closest to ,jesus4 ,this is the setting of the great transfiguration scene4 u,an ,irresistible ,plan4_/u ,jesus goes off1 away from the crowds1 to have a bit of quiet time with this inner band of ,his4 ,here is the strategic point1 now4 ,the key to the future plan is in this small group4 ,if that key can be filed into shape1 cleaned of rust1 and gotten to fit and turn in the lock1 all may yet be well4 ,the nub of all future growth is here4 ,with simple1 keen tact ,he begins ,his questionings1 leading on1 until ,peter responds with his splendid declaration for which the church has ever been grateful to him4 ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god4 ,it comes to ,jesus' ears as a grateful drink of cold water to a thirsty man on a hot day in a dusty road4 ,then to this leader and to the inner circle1 ,he reveals the changed plan4 ,for the first time the word church is used1 that peculiar word which later becomes the name of the new organization1 a company of persons called out4 ,he is going to build up a church upon this statement of faith from ,peter's lips1 and this church will hold the relation to the kingdom of key-holder1 administrator4 ,the church is to be a part of the administration of the coming kingdom4 ,and so ,jesus begins ,his difficult1 sad task of preparing this band for the event six months off in ,jerusalem4 ,there is to be a tragedy before the building of the church which will hold the kingdom keys4 ,so thoroughly does ,peter fail to understand ,jesus1 that with stupid boldness he attempts to rebuke ,him4 ,peter took ,jesus4 ,a great sight surely6 ,he slips his hand in ,jesus' arm and takes ,him off to one side to--straighten--,him--out4 ,this ,jesus is being swept off ,his feet by undue emotional enthusiasm4 ,peter would fix it up and save the day4 ,it would take ,peter to do that4 ,and this is a sample of the best leadership in this inner group4 ,things were in bad shape4 ,all the machinery hung upon a little pin holding two parts together4 ,that pin threatens to bend and break for lack of temper4 ,the ,son of ,god leaves all else and turns aside to attend to a pin4 ,the future of the kingdom hung upon three undisciplined country fishermen4 ,the transfiguration spells out ,god's dire extremity in getting a footing in human hearts and brains for ,his plans4 ,something must be done4 ,mark what that something was to be3 so simple in itself1 so tremendous in its results4 ,they were to be allowed to see ,jesus4 ,that would be enough4 ,the ,jesus within would look out through the body ,he was using4 ,the real ,jesus within looked out through the ,jesus they knew4 ,he let these men see ,himself a few moments2 simply that4 ,all of that1 yet simply that4 ,they were ,his lovers4 ,they were to be sorely tried by coming events4 ,they were to be the leaders4 ,to love1 for a time of sore need1 for service's sake1 for the sake of the multitudes whose leaders they were to be1 for the saving of the church plan1 and beyond of the kingdom plan1 the ,jesus within looked out for a few moments into their faces4 ,it was the same plan used later in getting another leader4 ,jesus had to go outside these men for a man with qualifications needed by the situation that these men did not have4 ,the human element again in evidence4 ,paul says1 ,when ,i could not see for the glory of that light4 ,that light bothered his eyes4 ,the old ambitions were blurred4 ,he couldn't see them4 ,the outlines dimmed1 the old pedigree and plans faded out4 ,they could no longer be seen for the glory of that light4 ,it is the plan the ,master has ever used1 and still does4 ,it is irresistible4 u,the ,glory of that ,light4_/u ,it was six days1 or eight counting both ends1 after the first telling of the coming tragedy that shook them so4 ,here is a bit of practical psychology4 ,jesus lets the brain impression made by that strange announcement deepen before making the next impression4 ,jesus went up into the mountain to pray4 ,prayer never failed ,him4 ,it was equal to every need with ,jesus4 ,it was while praying that the wondrous change came4 ,changed while praying4 ,when ,moses came down from that long time alone with ,god1 his face was full of the glory reflected from ,god's presence4 ,stephen's face caught the light of another ,face into which he was intently looking4 ,jesus was changed from within4 ,it was ,his own glory that these men saw4 ,he had wrapped ,himself up in a bit of human tapestry so ,he could move among men without blinding their eyes4 ,now ,he looks out through the strands4 ,they are astonished and awed to find that face they know so well now shining as the sun1 and the garments made transparent as light1 glistening like snow1 by reason of the great brilliance of the light within4 ,yet ,jesus let out only a part of the glory4 ,when ,paul saw1 on the ,damascus road1 the light was above the shining of the sun4 ,when their eyes get over the first daze1 the disciples come to see that besides ,jesus there are two others1 two of the old ,hebrew leaders4 ,there is ,moses1 the great maker of the nation1 the greatest leader of all4 ,and rugged ,elijah1 who had boldly stood in the breach and saved the day when the nation's king was proposing to replace the worship of ,jehovah with demon-worship4 ,they are talking earnestly together1 these three1 about--what8 ,the great sacrifices ,jesus had been enduring8 ,the disappointment in the kingdom plan8 ,the suffering and shame to be endured8 ,the bitter obstinacy of the opposition8 ,the chief priests' plotting8 ,listen6 ,they are talking about the departure1 the exodus1 the going out and up1 ,jesus is about to accomplish4 ,they are absorbed in ,jesus4 ,he was about to execute a master-stroke4 ,he is going to accomplish a great move4 ,they are wholly absorbed in ,him1 this ,moses1 and ,elijah1 and in this great move of ,his for men4 ,meanwhile these men lying on the ground are waking up and rubbing their eyes4 ,the only jarring note is a human note4 ,john and ,james look with awe1 reverent awe4 ,it is an insight into their character that nothing is said about them4 ,their sense of reverence and power of control are to the front4 ,it is dear1 impulsive old ,peter who can't keep still1 even amid such a scene4 ,his impulsive heart is just back of his lips1 with no check-valves between4 ,he must offer a few remarks4 ,this great vision must be duly recognized4 ,what a sensation it would make in ,jerusalem to get these two men to stay and come down and address a meeting6 ,that would turn the tide surely4 ,luke graciously explains that he did not know what he was saying4 ,no1 probably not4 ,the tongue seemed to be going mechanically1 rather than by the controlling touch of the will4 ,peter seems to have a large posterity1 some of whom abide with us to this day4 ,then the vision is shut out by the intervening cloud4 ,this human interference disturbs the atmosphere4 ,for ,peter's sake1 the glory is hidden that the impression of it may not be rubbed out even slightly by his own speech4 ,we blur and lose the impression ,god would make upon us1 by our speech1 sometimes4 ,a bit of divine practical psychology1 this movement of the cloud4 ,then the quiet voice that thrilled them with the message of the ,jordan1 ,this is ,my ,son2 ,my ,chosen ,one3 hear ye ,him4 ,then it is all over4 ,it is most striking that this wondrous vision of glory is for these three obscure1 untutored men1 of lowly station4 ,not for the nation's leaders4 ,yet the reason is plain4 ,they had gladly accepted what light had come4 ,to them came more4 ,their door was open4 ,it is these men who had obeyed light that now received more4 ,to him that hath received what light has come shall be given more4 ,from him that hath no light1 because he won't let it in1 shall be taken away even what light he has4 ,shut fists will stifle what is already held1 and the life of it oozes out between the fingers4 ,in each of the three ,gospels recording this scene it is introduced by the same quotation from ,jesus' lips4 ,there were some persons in ,his presence who would not die until they had seen the kingdom of ,god4 ,the writers' reference is clearly to the vision that follows4 ,it is said to be a vision of the coming kingdom4 ,jesus1 with the divine glory within1 no longer concealed1 but shining out with an indescribable splendor1 up above the earth1 with two godly men1 one of whom had died1 and the other had been caught up from the earth without death1 talking earnestly about men and affairs on the earth1 and in direct communication with the ,father--that is the vision here of the kingdom4 u,a ,vision of ,jesus4_/u ,and so the darkest hour save only one was filled with the brightest light4 ,the after1 darker hour of ,calvary had gleams of light from this transfiguration scene4 ,there was faithful ,john's sympathetic presence all through the trial4 ,john never flinched4 ,and ,peter had tears that caught the light from ,jesus' eyes1 and reflected their glistening rays within4 ,those tears of ,peter's were a great comfort to ,jesus that night and the next day4 ,the two greatest leaders were sure4 ,the transfiguration served its purpose fully4 ,the memory of it saved ,peter out of the wreckage of ,simon1 else ,judas' hemp might have had double use that night4 ,under the leadership of these men1 the little band hold together during that day1 so awful to them in the killing of their leader and the dashing of all their fondest hopes on which they had staked everything4 ,two nights later finds them gathered in a room4 ,could it have been the same upper room where they had eaten with ,him that never-to-be-forgotten night1 and listened to ,his comforting words8 ,only ,thomas does not come4 ,everybody swings in but one4 ,that shows good work by these leaders4 ,but another week's work brings him1 too1 into the meeting and into the light4 ,these three men never forgot the sight of that night4 ,john writes his ,gospel under the spell of the transfiguration4 ,we beheld ,his glory he says at the start1 and understands ,isaiah's wondrous writings1 because he1 too1 saw ,his glory4 ,the impression made upon ,peter deepened steadily with the years4 ,the first impression of garments glistening beyond any fuller's skill has grown into an abiding sense of the majesty of ,jesus and the majestic glory4 ,i think it wholly likely1 too1 that this vision of glory was in ,james' face1 and steadied his steps1 as so early in the history he met ,herod's swordsman4 ,it was a vision of ,jesus that turned the tide4 ,there's nothing to be compared with that4 ,a man's life and service depend wholly on the vision of ,jesus that has come1 that is coming4 ,when that comes1 instinctively he finds himself ever after saying1 without planning to1 ,since mine eyes were fixed on ,jesus1 ,i've lost sight of all beside4 ,so enchained my spirit's vision1 ,looking at the ,crucified4 ,with the ,damascus traveller he will be saying1 ,when ,i could not see for the glory of that light4 ,may we each with face open1 uncovered1 all prejudice and self-seeking torn away1 behold the glory of ,jesus1 even though for the sake of our eyes it come as a reflected glory4 ,then we shall become1 as were ,moses and ,stephen1 unconscious reflectors of that glory4 ,and the crowd on the road shall find ,jesus in us and want ,him4 ,then1 too1 we ourselves shall be changing from glory to glory1 by the inner touch of ,jesus' ,spirit1 as we continue gazing4 ,gethsemane3 ,the ,strange1 ,lone ,struggle u,the ,pathway ,in4_/u ,great events always send messengers ahead4 ,there is a movement in the spirit currents4 ,a sort of tremor of expectancy affects the finer currents of air4 ,the more sensitively organized one is1 that is to say1 the more the spirit part of a man dominates body and mind1 the more conscious will he be of the something coming4 ,jesus was keenly conscious ahead of the coming of ,calvary4 ,apart from the actual knowledge1 there was a painful thrill of expectancy1 intensifying as the event came nearer4 ,the cross cast long1 dark shadows ahead4 ,the darkest is ,gethsemane4 ,it would be1 for it was nearest4 ,but there were other shadows before that of the olive grove4 ,jesus plainly reveals in ,his behavior1 in ,his appearance1 that ,he felt keenly1 into the very fibre1 so sensitively woven1 of ,his being1 that the experience of the cross would be a terrific one for ,him4 ,it was deliberately chosen by ,him1 and the time of its coming chosen in the full knowledge that it would be an awful ordeal4 ,it would establish the earth's record for suffering1 never approached before or since4 ,as ,he turns ,his face for the last time away from ,galilee1 and to ,judea1 it is with the calmness of strong deliberation4 ,yet the intenseness of the inner spirit1 in its look ahead1 is shown in ,his face1 ,his demeanor4 ,as ,he comes to a certain ,samaritan village on the road south1 the usual invitation to stop for rest and a bit of refreshment is withheld out of respect to ,his evident purpose4 ,it is clear to these villagers that ,his face is set to go to ,jerusalem4 ,in ,luke's striking language1 ,his face was going to ,jerusalem4 ,what going to ,jerusalem meant to ,him had no meaning to them4 ,they saw only that face1 and were so caught by the strong1 stern determination plainly written there that they felt impelled not to offer the usual hospitality4 ,they were ,samaritans1 it is true1 a half-breed race1 hated by ,jews1 and hating them1 but invariably they had been friendly to ,jesus4 ,that must have been a marked face that held back these homely country people from pressing their small attentions upon ,jesus4 ,they are keener to read the meaning of that face than are these disciples who are more familiar with the sight of it4 ,the impress already made upon the inner spirit by the great event toward which ,jesus had determinedly set ,himself was even thus early marked in ,his face4 ,later1 on that journey south1 as the time and place are nearing1 ,he strides along the road1 with such a look in ,his face as makes these men1 who had lived in closest touch1 amazed1 that is1 awed and frightened4 ,and as they followed behind1 they were afraid4 ,it is the only time it is said that the sight of ,his face made them afraid4 ,then ,he explains to them what is in ,his thoughts1 with full details of the indignities to be heaped upon ,his person4 ,the sternness of ,his purpose1 perhaps not only the terrible experience of knowing sin at such close range1 but1 not unlikely1 an anger1 a hot indignation against sin and its ravages1 which ,he was going to stab to death1 flashed blinding lightning out of those eyes4 ,it was1 not unlikely1 something of the same feeling as made ,him shake with indignation as ,he realized ,his dear friend ,lazarus in the cold1 clinging embrace of death1 sin's climax4 ,the determination to conquer sin1 give it a death thrust1 mingled with ,his acute consciousness of that through which ,he must go in the doing of it1 wrote deep marks on ,his face4 ,it is the beginning already of ,gethsemane1 as that1 in turn1 is of ,calvary4 ,earlier in the last week occurs the incident which agitates ,jesus so1 of the ,greeks' request for an interview4 ,these earnest seekers for truth1 from outside the ,jewish nation1 seem to bring up to ,his mind the great outside world1 so hungry for ,him1 and for which ,he was so hungry4 ,but1 quick as a flash1 there falls over that the inky black shadow of a cross in ,his path1 and the instant realization that only through it could ,he get out to these great outside crowds4 ,as though unaware of the presence of the crowds1 ,he begins talking with ,himself1 out of ,his heart1 saying words which none understand4 ,now is my innermost being agitated1 all shaken up2 and what decisive word shall ,i speak8 ,shall ,i say1 ',father1 save me from this experience'8 ,he can4 ,no1 ,i cannot say that1 for for this purpose ,i have deliberately come to it4 ,this is what ,i will say--and the agitation within ,his spirit issues in the victorious tightening of every rivet in ,his purpose--',father1 glorify ,thy name4' ,this is ,gethsemane already1 both in the struggle and in the victory through loyalty to the ,father's will4 u,the ,climax of ,jesus' ,suffering4_/u ,and now comes ,gethsemane4 ,both hat and shoes quickly go off here1 for this is holiest ground4 ,one looks with head bowed and breath held in1 and reverential awe ever deepening4 ,the shadow of the cross so long darkening ,his path is now closing in and enveloping ,jesus4 ,the big trees cast black shadows against the brilliance of the full moon4 ,yet they are as bright lights beside this other shadow1 this inky shadow cast by the tree up yonder1 just outside the ,jerusalem wall1 with the huge limb sitting sharply astride the trunk4 ,the scene under these trees has been spoken of by almost all1 if not by all1 as a strange struggle4 ,with a great variety of explanations men have wondered why ,he agonized so4 ,it was a strange struggle1 and ever will be1 not understood1 strange to angels and to men and to demons4 ,it is strange to angels of the upper world1 for they do not know1 and cannot1 the terrific meaning of sin as did ,jesus4 ,it is strange to all other men except ,jesus1 for we do not know the meaning of purity as ,jesus did4 ,and it was strange to demons1 for in the event of the morrow sin was working out a new degree of itself1 a new superlative1 in its final attack on ,jesus4 ,sin was trying to strangle ,god4 ,even demons stared4 ,purity refined beyond what angels knew1 and sin coarsened beyond what demons knew were coming together4 ,purity's finest and sin's coarsest were coming together in the closest touch thus far1 in this ,man under those old brown-barked gray-leaved1 gnarly trees4 ,the shock of such extremes meeting would be terrific4 ,it was terrific here under the trees4 ,it was yet more so on the morrow4 ,here was the cross in anticipation4 ,calvary was in ,gethsemane4 ,man never will understand the depth of ,gethsemane4 ,we are incapable of sympathizing with ,jesus here4 ,yet it is true that as the ,holy ,spirit within a man increases the purity1 and the horror of sin1 there comes an increasing sense of sympathy with ,him1 and an increasing appreciation that we cannot go into the depths of what ,he knew here4 ,in the best of us sin is ingrained4 ,jesus was wholly free from taint or twist of sin4 ,he knew it only in others4 ,now ,he1 the pure ,one1 purity personified1 was coming into closest contact with sin1 and sin at its worst4 ,he had been in contact with sin in others4 ,he had seen its cruel ravages and been indignant against it4 ,now1 on the morrow1 ,he is to know sin by a horrid intimacy of contact1 and sin at a new worst4 ,he was yielding to its tightest hold4 ,sin at its ugliest would stretch out its long1 bony arms and gaunt hands1 and fold ,him to itself in closest embrace and hold ,him there4 ,and ,he was allowing this1 that so when sin's worst was done1 ,he might seize it by the throat and strangle it4 ,he would put death to death4 ,yet so terrific is the struggle that ,he must accept in ,himself that which ,he thereby destroys4 ,this is the agony of ,gethsemane4 ,it may be told1 but not understood4 ,only one as pure as ,he could understand1 and then only under circumstances that never will come again4 ,the horror of this contact with sin is intensified clear out of our reach by this3 it meant separation from ,his ,father4 ,the ,father was the life of ,jesus4 ,the ,father's presence and approving smile were ,his sunshine4 ,from the earliest consciousness revealed to us was that consciousness of ,his ,father4 ,only let that smile be seen1 that voice heard1 that presence felt by this ,one so sensitive to it1 and all was well4 ,no suffering counted4 ,the ,father's presence tipped the scales clear down against every hurting thing4 ,but--now on the morrow that would be changed4 ,the ,father's face be--hidden--,his presence not felt4 ,that was the climax of all to ,jesus4 ,do you say it was for a short time only8 ,in minutes y-e-s4 ,as though experiences were ever told by the clock6 ,what bulky measurements of time we have6 ,will we never get away from the clocks in telling time8 ,no clock ever can tick out the length to ,jesus of that time the ,father's face was hidden4 ,this hiding of the ,father's face was the climax of suffering to ,jesus4 u,alone4_/u ,it was a very full evening for ,jesus4 ,in the upper room of a friend's house they meet for the eating of the ,passover meal4 ,there is the great act of washing ,his disciples' feet1 the eating of the old ,hebrew prophetic meal1 the going out of ,judas into the night of his dark purpose1 the new simple memorial meal4 ,then come those long quiet talks1 in which ,jesus speaks out the very heart of ,his heart1 and that marvellous prayer so simple and so bottomless4 ,very likely ,he is talking1 as they move quietly along the ,jerusalem streets1 out of the gate leading toward the ,kedron brook1 and then over the brook toward the enclosed spot1 full of the great old olive trees4 ,the moon is at the full4 ,this is one of ,his favorite praying places4 ,he is going off for a bit of prayer4 ,so ,he approaches this great crisis4 ,there is a friendly word spoken to these men that they be keenly alert1 and pray1 lest they yield to temptation4 ,it is significant1 this word about temptation4 ,then into the woods ,he goes1 the disciples being left among the trees1 while ,he goes in farther with the inner three1 then farther yet1 quite alone4 ,intense longing for fellowship mingles with intense longing to be alone4 ,he would have a warm hand-touch1 yet they cannot help ,him here1 and may do something to jar4 ,now ,he is on ,his knees1 now prone1 full length1 on ,his face4 ,the agony is upon ,him4 ,snatches of ,his prayer are caught by the wondering three ere sleep dulls their senses4 ,my ,father--if it be possible--let--this--cup--pass--from--me --,yet--,thy--will--be done4 ,the words used to tell of ,his mental distress are so intense that the translators are puzzled to find ,english words strong enough to put in their place4 ,a frenzy of fright1 a nightmare horror1 a gripping chill seizes ,him with a terrible clutch4 ,it is as though some foul1 poisonous gas is filling the air and filling ,his nostrils and steadily choking ,his gasping breath4 ,the dust of death is getting into ,his throat4 ,the strain of spirit is so great that the life tether almost slips its hold4 ,and angels come1 with awe stricken faces1 to minister4 ,even after that1 some of the life1 that on the morrow is to be freely spilled out1 now reddens the ground4 ,the earth is beginning to feel the fertilizing that by and by is to bring it a new life4 ,by and by the mood quiets1 the calm returns and deepens4 ,the changed prayer reveals the victory3 ,my ,father1 if this cup cannot pass away except ,i drink it--if only through this experience can ,thy great love-plan for the race be worked out--,thy--will--slowly1 distinctly1 with the throbbing of ,his heart and the iron of ,his will in them1 come the words--,thy--will--be--done4 ,in between times ,he returns to the drowsy disciples with the earnest advice again about being awake1 and alert1 and praying because of temptation near by4 ,and gentle reproach mingles in the special word spoken to ,peter4 ,simon1 are you sleeping8 ,could you not be watching with me one hour8 ,yes1 this was ,simon now1 the old ,simon4 ,jesus' new ,peter was again slipping from view4 ,then the great love of ,his heart excuses their conduct4 ,what masterly control in the midst of unutterable agitation6 ,back again for a last bit of prayer1 and then ,he turns ,his face with a great calm breathing all through those deep lines of suffering1 and with steady step turns toward the cross4 ,calvary3 ,victory u,yielding to ,arrest4_/u ,it is probably close to midnight when ,jesus steps out from among the trees to meet the crowds headed by the traitor4 ,he knew they were coming1 and quietly goes to meet them4 ,there is a great rabble that the chief priests had drummed up1 a city rabble with ,roman soldiers1 some of the chief priests' circle1 and in the lead of all1 ,judas4 ,judas keeps up the pretense of friendship1 and1 advancing ahead of his crowd1 greets ,jesus with the usual kiss4 ,jesus dispels the deception at once with ,his question of reproach1 ,betrayest thou with a kiss8 ,damnable enough to betray1 but to use love's token in hate's work made it so much worse4 ,then ,he yields to ,judas' lips4 ,it was the beginning of the indignities ,he was to suffer that night4 ,jesus quietly adds1 ,friend1 do what you have planned4 ,let there be no more shamming4 ,but ,judas' work is done4 ,the silver secured under his belt is earned4 ,he drops back into the crowd4 ,jesus steps out into the clear moonlight1 and faces the crowd pressing eagerly up4 ,his is the one masterly1 majestic presence4 ,quietly ,he asks1 ,whom are you hunting for8 ,back comes the reply1 ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,jesus at once replies1 ,i am ,he4 ,again1 that strange power of ,jesus' presence is felt1 but now more marked than ever before4 ,the crowd falls backward and down to the ground4 ,soldiers1 priests1 crowds1 ,judas lying prone before ,jesus6 ,again the question and the answer1 and then the word spoken on behalf of ,his followers4 ,this manifestation of power is for others this time4 ,recovering themselves1 the crowds press forward4 ,the bewildered ,peter makes an awkward stroke with a sword he had secured and cuts off the right ear of a man in the front of the crowd4 ,jesus gently stops the movement with a word4 ,the ,father would even then send twelve legions of angels if ,he were but to give the word4 ,but ,he was not giving words of that sort1 but doing what the ,father wished4 ,with a word of apology for ,his impetuous follower1 the man's ear is restored with a touch4 ,surely he never forgot ,jesus4 ,the leaders1 now satisfied that ,jesus will not use ,his power on ,his own behalf1 seize ,him and begin to bind ,his hands4 ,as ,he yields to their touch1 ,jesus1 looking into the faces of the ,jewish leaders1 said1 ,you hunt me and treat me as though ,i were a common robber4 ,i have never tried to get away from you4 ,but now for a while things are in your control1 the control of the powers of night4 ,meanwhile the disciples forsook ,him and fled1 except two1 ,john and ,peter4 ,peter followed at what he thought a safe distance4 ,john kept along with the crowd1 and went in with ,jesus4 ,mark tells about the attempted arrest of a young man who seemed friendly to ,jesus1 but in the struggle he escaped1 leaving his garments behind4 ,and so they make their way1 a torch-light procession through the darkness of the night1 back across the brook1 up the steep slope to the city gate1 and through the narrow streets to the palace of the high priest4 u,the ,real ,jewish ,ruler4_/u ,here ,jesus is expected4 ,late as it is ,he is at once brought before ,annas4 ,annas was an old man who had been high priest himself once1 years before1 and who had afterwards absolutely controlled that office through the successive terms of his sons and now of his son-in-law4 ,he was the real leader of the inner clique that held the national reins in a clutching grip4 ,caiaphas was the nominal high priest4 ,the old man ,annas was the real leader4 ,he controlled the inner finances and the temple revenues4 ,to him first ,jesus is taken4 ,he begins a quizzical1 critical examination of ,jesus about disciples and teaching4 ,possibly he is trying to overawe this young ,galilean4 ,jesus calmly answers4 ,i have taught openly1 never secretly2 everybody knows what my teaching has been4 ,why ask ,me8 ,these people all around have heard all my teaching4 ,he was ever in the open1 in sharp contrast with these present proceedings4 ,one of the underlings of the high priest--struck--,jesus--in the face1 saying1 ,answerest thou the high priest so8 ,jesus quietly replies1 ,if ,i have spoken something wrong tell me what it is1 but if not1 why do you strike ,me8 ,annas ignores the gross insult by one of his own men1 and1 probably with an exultant sneer that the disturber of the temple revenues is in his power at last1 gives order that ,jesus be bound and taken to his chief underling1 ,caiaphas4 ,this is the first phase of the condemnation determined upon beforehand1 and the real settling of the ,jewish disposition of ,jesus4 ,still the forms had to be gone through4 ,so ,jesus is sent with the decision of ,annas in the thongs on ,his hands to ,caiaphas1 high priest that year by the grace of the old intriguer ,annas1 and by ,roman appointment4 ,the thing must be done up in proper shape4 ,these folks are great sticklers for proper forms4 ,probably it is across a courtyard they go to another part of the same pile of buildings or palace4 ,caiaphas1 too1 is ready1 unusual though the hour is4 ,with him are several members of the senate1 the official body in control of affairs4 ,the plans have been carefully worked out4 ,this night work will get things in shape before the dreaded crowds of the morrow can be aroused4 ,now begins the examination here4 ,these plotters have been so absorbed in getting ,jesus actually into their power that they seem to have over-looked the details of making out a strong case against ,him4 ,they really didn't need a case to secure their end1 yet they seem to want to keep up the forms1 probably not because of any remnants of supposed conscience left unseared1 but to swing the bothersome1 fanatical crowds that must always be reckoned with4 ,now they deliberately try to find men who will lie about ,jesus' words1 and swear to it4 ,they find some willing enough--money would fix that--but not bright enough to make their stories hang together4 ,at last some one brings up a remark made three years before by ,jesus about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days4 ,it is hard to see how they might expect to make anything out of that1 for in the remark1 as they understood it1 ,he had proposed to undertake the rebuilding of the famous structure if they should destroy it4 ,and then they can't even agree here4 ,clearly they're hard pushed4 ,something must be done4 ,precious time is slipping away4 ,the thing must be in shape by dawn if they are to get it through before the crowds get hold of it4 ,all this time ,jesus stands in silence1 doubtless with those eyes of ,his turned now upon ,caiaphas1 now on the others4 ,his presence disturbed them in more ways than one4 ,that great calm1 pure face must have been an irritant to their jaded consciences4 ,suddenly the presiding officer stands up and dramatically cries out1 as though astonished1 ,answerest thou nothing8 ,canst thou not hear these charges against ,thee8 ,still that silence of lip1 and those great eyes looking into ,his enemies' faces4 ,then comes the question lurking underneath all the time1 put in the form of a solemn oath to the prisoner1 ,i adjure ,thee by the living ,god1 that ,thou tell us whether ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of ,god4 ,thus appealed to1 ,jesus at once replies1 ,i am4 ,and then1 knowing full well the effect of the reply1 ,he adds1 ,nevertheless--notwithstanding your evident purpose regarding ,me--the ,son of ,man will be sitting at the right hand of ,power1 and coming in the clouds of heaven1 and ye shall see it4 ,in supposed righteous horror ,caiaphas tore his garments1 and cried1 ,what further need is there of witnesses8 ,behold you have heard ,his blasphemy4 ,what verdict do you give8 ,back come the eager cries1 ,he deserves death--,guilty4 ,so the second session closes with the verdict of guilty agreed upon4 ,yet this was not official4 ,the senate could meet only in daylight hours4 ,the propriety of form they were so eager for requires them to wait until dawn should break1 and then they could technically give the decisive verdict now agreed upon4 ,while they are waiting1 the intense hatred of ,jesus in their hearts and their own cruel thirstings find outlet upon ,jesus' person4 ,they--spat--in--,his--face1 and struck ,him1 with open hand and shut fist4 ,he is blind-folded1 and then struck by one and another with derisive demands that ,he use ,his prophetic skill to tell who had been hitting ,him4 ,and this goes on for possibly a couple of hours before dawn permits the next step1 soldiers vying with senators in doing ,him greatest insult4 u,held ,steady by ,great ,love4_/u ,meanwhile a scene is being enacted within ear-shot of ,jesus that hurts ,him more than these vulgar insults4 ,peter is getting into bad shape4 ,john was acquainted in the high priest's house-hold1 and1 going directly in without striking his colors1 is not disturbed4 ,peter gets as far as the gateway1 leading through a sort of alley into the open courtyard1 around which on the four sides the palace was built4 ,here1 as a stranger1 he was refused admittance1 until ,john comes to speak a word for him4 ,in the center of the open court a fire was burning to relieve the cold of the night1 and about this was gathered a mixed crowd of soldiers and servants and attendants4 ,peter goes over to the fire1 and1 mingling with the others1 sits warming himself1 probably with a studied carelessness4 ,the maid who let him in1 coming over to the fire1 looks intently into his face1 and then says1 ,you belong to the ,nazarene1 too4 ,peter stammers out an embarrassed1 mixed up denial1 ,i don't know what you mean--,i don't understand--what do you say8 ,taken unawares1 poor ,peter mingles a lie with the denial4 ,as soon as possible he moves away from the fire toward the entrance4 ,it's a bit warm there--for him4 ,he remembered afterwards that just then the crowing of a cock fell upon his ear4 ,again one of the serving-maids notices him and says to those standing about1 ,this man was with ,jesus4 ,this time the denial comes sharp and fiat1 ,i don't know the man4 ,and to give good color to his words1 and fit his surroundings1 he adds a bit of profanity to it4 ,an hour later1 as he moves uneasily about1 he is standing again by the fire4 ,something about him seems to make him a marked man4 ,evidently he has been talking1 too4 ,for now a man looking at him1 said1 ,you belong to this ,jesus4 ,i can tell by the twist of your tongue4 ,peter promptly says1 ,no4 ,lying comes quicker now4 ,but at once another speaks up1 who was kin to the man that temporarily lost his ear through ,peter's sword4 ,why1 he said1 certainly ,i saw you with ,him in the garden4 ,again the denial that he knew ,jesus mingled freely with curses and oath4 ,and even as he spoke the air was caught again with the cock's shrill cry4 ,and then ,jesus1 in the midst of the vulgarity being vented upon ,him1 turned those wondrous eyes upon ,peter4 ,what a look must that have been of sorrow1 of reproach1 and of tenderest love4 ,it must surely have broken ,peter's heart4 ,the hot tears rushing up for vent were his answer4 ,those tears caught the light of love in that look1 as he goes away into the night and weeps bitterly4 ,those bitter tears were as small1 warm rain to a new growth within4 u,an ,obstinate ,roman4_/u ,and now the impatient leaders detect the first streaks of gray coming up in the east4 ,the national council can now properly meet4 ,like their two chiefs1 these men are prompt4 ,the whips had been out over the city drumming up the members for this extraordinary session4 ,there seems to have been a full attendance4 ,jesus1 still bound1 is led through the streets2 followed by the mixed rabble1 to the meeting hall1 probably in the neighborhood of the temple4 ,he is brought in and faces these men4 ,how some of those eyes must have gloated out their green leering6 ,here are the men ,he had not hesitated to denounce openly with the severest invective ever spoken4 ,some time is spent in consultation4 ,the difficulty here is to fix upon a charge upon which they can themselves agree1 and which will also be sufficient for the desired action by the ,roman governor4 ,it was a tough task4 ,they fail in it4 ,these men divided into groups that were ever at swords' points4 ,there were utter opposites in beliefs and policies4 ,but their common hate of ,jesus rises for the time above their hatred for each other4 ,the charge must appeal to ,pilate1 for only he has power of capital punishment1 and nothing but ,jesus' blood will quench their thirst4 ,their consultation results in another attempt to question ,jesus in the hope of getting some word that can be used4 ,the president goes back to his former question1 ,if ,thou art the ,christ1 tell us4 ,jesus reminds them of the lack of sincerity in their questionings4 ,they would not believe ,him1 nor answer ,his questions4 ,then ,he repeats the solemn words spoken in the night session1 ,from henceforth shall the ,son of ,man be seated at the right hand of the power of ,god4 ,eagerly they all blurt out1 ,art ,thou then the ,son of ,god8 ,back comes the quiet1 steady reply1 ,ye say that ,i am1 equal to a strong yes4 ,instantly they decide fully and formally upon ,his condemnation4 ,so closes the third phase of the ,jewish examination4 ,the death sentence is fixed upon4 ,the thing has been formally fixed up4 ,the ground is now cleared for taking ,him to ,pilate for ,his death sentence4 ,it is still early morning when ,jesus is taken to ,pilate4 ,it was an imposing procession of the leading men of the nation1 headed very likely by ,caiaphas1 that now led ,jesus across the city1 through its narrow streets1 up to the palace of the ,roman governor4 ,jesus is conducted into ,pilate's hall of judgment within1 but1 with their scrupulous regard for the letter of their law1 these principals would not enter his palace on that day1 but remained without4 ,they seem to be expecting ,pilate to send the prisoner back at once with their death sentence endorsed4 ,to their surprise and disgust1,a ,pilate comes out himself and wants to know the charge against the prisoner4 ,they are not prepared for this4 ,it is their weak point1 and has been from the first4 ,their bold1 sullen answer evades the question1 while insisting on what they want1 ,if ,he were not a criminal we would not have brought ,him to thee4 ,they didn't want his opinion1 but his power1 his consent to their plot4 ,but ,pilate doesn't propose to be used as such a convenience4 ,with scorn he tells them that if they propose to judge the case they may4 ,this wrings from them the humiliating reminder that the power of capital punishment is withheld from them by their ,roman rulers1 and nothing less will satisfy them here4 ,then they begin a series of verbal charges4 ,they are all of a political nature1 for only such would this ,roman recognize4 ,this man had been perverting the nation1 forbidding tribute to ,caesar and calling ,himself a ,king4 ,it takes no keenness for ,pilate to see the hollowness of this sudden loyalty to ,caesar4 ,he returns to the beautiful marble judgment hall1 and has ,jesus brought to him again4 ,he looks into ,jesus' face4 ,he is keen enough to see that here is no political schemer4 ,at most probably a religious enthusiast1 or reformer1 or something as harmless from his standpoint4 ,art ,thou the ,king of the ,jews8 he asks4 ,jesus' answer suggests that there was a kindliness in that face4 ,if there be a desire for truth here ,he will satisfy it4 ,this political charge had been made outside while ,he was within4 ,do you really want to know about ,me1 or are you merely repeating something you have heard8 ,he asks1 with a gentle earnestness4 ,but ,pilate at once repudiates any personal interest4 ,am ,i a ,jew8 he asks1 with plain contempt on that word4 ,thine own people are accusing thee4 ,what hast ,thou done8 ,then comes that great answer1 ,my kingdom is not of this world1 if so ,i would be resisting these leaders and these present circumstances would all be different4 ,but my kingdom is not of your sort or theirs4 ,again there likely came a bit of softening and curious interest in ,pilate's face1 as he asks1 ,art ,thou really a ,king then8 ,jesus replies1 ,to this end have ,i been born1 and to this end am ,i come into the world1 that ,i should bear witness to the truth4 ,every one that is of the truth heareth my voice4 ,pilate wonders what this has to do with being a king4 ,with a weary1 impatient contempt1 he says1 ,truth8 ,what is that8 ,the accused seems to be an enthusiast1 a dreamer1 yet withal there certainly was a fine nobility about ,him4 ,certainly ,he was quite harmless politically4 ,leaving ,him there1 again he goes to the leaders waiting impatiently outside4 ,to their utter astonishment and rage he says1 ,i find no fault in this man4 ,it is the judgment of a keen1 critical1 worldly ,roman2 an acquittal1 the first acquittal4 ,the waiting crowd bursts out at once in a hot1 fanatical tumult of shouted protests4 ,is all their sleepless planning to be disturbed by this ,roman heathen8 ,the prisoner was constantly stirring up the people all through ,judea and ,galilee4 ,he was a dangerous man4 ,looking and listening1 with his contempt for them plainly in his face1 and yet a dread of their wild fanaticism in his heart1 ,pilate's ear catches that word ,galilee4 ,is the man a ,galilean8 ,yes4 ,well1 here's an easy way of getting rid of the troublesome matter4 ,herod1 the ruler of ,galilee1 was in the city at his palace1 come to attend the festival4 ,it would be a bit of courtesy that he might appreciate to refer the case to him1 and so it would be off his own hands4 ,and so the order is given4 u,a ,savage ,duel4_/u ,once more ,jesus is led through these narrow streets1 with the jeering rabble ever increasing in size and the national heads in the lead4 ,they are having a lot of wholly unexpected trouble1 but they are determined not to be cheated of their prey4 ,and now they are before ,herod4 ,this is the murderer of ,john4 ,he is glad to see ,jesus4 ,there has been an eager curiosity to see the man of whom so much was said1 and he hoped to have his morbid appetite for the sensational satisfied with a display of ,jesus' power4 ,he plies ,him with questions1 while the chief priests with fierce vehemence stand accusing ,him1 and asking for ,his condemnation4 ,but for this red-handed man ,jesus has no word4 ,to him rare light had come and been recognized1 and then had been deliberately put out beyond recall4 ,he has gone steadily down into slimiest slush since that4 ,now1 with studied insolence1 he treats this silent man with utmost contempt4 ,his soldiers and retainers mock and deride1 dressing ,him in gorgeous apparel in mockery of ,his kingly claims4 ,when they weary of the sport ,he is again dismissed to ,pilate1 acquitted4 ,it is the second mocking and the second acquittal4 ,again the weary tramping of the streets1 with the chief priests' rage burning to the danger point4 ,twice they have been foiled4 ,now the matter must be forced through1 and quickly1 too1 ere the crowd that are friendly have gotten the news4 ,they hurry ,jesus along and make all haste back to ,pilate4 ,now begins the sixth and last phase of that awful night4 ,things now hasten to a climax4 ,the character of ,pilate comes out plainly here4 ,he really feared these wildly fanatical ,jews whom he ruled with a contemptuous disgust undisguised4 ,three times since his rule began their extreme fanaticism had led to open riot and bloodshed1 and once to an appeal to the emperor1 by whose favor he held his position4 ,his hold of the office was shaky indeed if the emperor must be bothered with these superstitious details about their religion4 ,the policy he pursued here was but a piece of the whole ,roman fabric4 ,yet had he but had the rugged strength to live up to his honest conviction----4 ,but then1 that is the one question of life everywhere and always4 ,he failed in the test1 as do thousands4 ,unconsciously he was touching the quivering center of a whole world's life1 and so his action stands out in boldest outline4 ,he comes out now and sums up the case4 ,he had examined the prisoner and found no fault touching their charges of perverting the people4 ,herod1 their own native ruler1 who was supposed to know thoroughly their peculiar views1 had also fully acquitted ,him4 ,now1 as a concession to them1 he will disgrace this man by a public scourging and let him go as harmless4 ,instantly the air is filled with their fierce shrill cries1 ,away with ,him3 ,away with ,him4 ,but ,pilate seems determined to do the best he can for ,jesus1 without risking an actual break with these fanatical ,orientals such as might endanger his own position4 ,it was usual at feast times to release to the people some one who had been imprisoned for a political offense4 ,the crowds1 prompted by the chief priests1 doubtless1 begin to ask for the usual favor4 ,pilate brings forward a man named ,barabbas1 who was a robber and murderer and charged with leading an insurrection against ,roman rule4 ,meanwhile1 as he waits1 a messenger comes up to him and repeats a message from his wife4 ,she has been suffering much in dreams and urges that he have nothing to do with that righteous man4 ,apparently ,pilate brings forward the two men1 the one a robber and murderer1 the other with purity and goodness stamped on every line of ,his face4 ,it is a dramatic moment4 ,which of the two will you choose8 he asks4 ,it is the appeal of a heathen to the better nature of these ,jews1 called the people of ,god4 ,quick as a flash of lightning the word shot from their lips and into his face1 ,barabbas6 ,what1 then1 shall ,i do with ,jesus1 who is called ,christ8 ,he is weakening now4 ,his question shows it4 ,they are keen to see it and push their advantage4 ,again the words shoot out as bullets from their hot lips1 ,crucify ,him3 crucify ,him4 ,still he withstands them4 ,why8 ,what evil has ,he done8 ,i find no fault in ,him4 ,to please you ,i will chastise ,him and release ,him4 ,but they have him on the run now4 ,at once the air is filled with a confused jangle of loud shrill voices1 ,away with ,him6 ,give us ,barabbas6 ,crucify6 ,crucify4 ,apparently he yields4 ,barabbas is released4 ,jesus is led away to be scourged by the soldiers4 ,his clothing is removed1 and ,he is bent over1 with thongs on the wrists drawn down1 leaving the bare back uppermost and tense4 ,the scourging was with bunches of leather strips with jagged pieces of bone and lead fastened in the ends4 ,the blows meant for the back1 even if laid on by a reluctant hand1 would strike elsewhere1 including the face4 ,but reluctance seems absent here4 ,then occurs another1 a third of those scenes of coarse vulgarity1 horrid mockings1 based on ,his kingly claims4 ,the whole band of soldiers is called4 ,some old garments of royal purple are put upon ,jesus4 ,one man plaits a crown of the thorns that grow so large in ,palestine1 and with no easy gesture places it upon ,his head4 ,a reed is placed in ,his hand4 ,then they bow the knee in turn1 with ,hail6 ,king of the ,jews1 and spit in ,his face1 and rain blows down upon the thorn-crown4 ,all the while their coarse jests and shouts of derisive laughter fill the air4 ,surely one could never tell the story were he not held in the grip of a strong purpose4 ,but now ,pilate springs a surprise4 ,the scourging might be preliminary to crucifixion or a substitute4 ,again ,jesus is brought forward1 as arrayed by the mocking soldiers4 ,there must have been an unapproachable majesty in that great face1 as so bedecked1 with the indescribable suffering lines ever deepening1 ,he stands before them with that wondrous calm still in those sleepless eyes4 ,pilate seems caught by the great spirit of ,jesus dominant under such treatment4 ,he points to ,him and says1 ,behold the ,man6 ,surely this utter humiliation will satisfy their strange hate4 ,realizing that their fight is not yet won as they had thought1 they make the air hideous with their shouts1 ,crucify--crucify--crucify4 ,anger and disgust crowd for place in ,pilate1 as1 with a contemptuous sneer1 he says1 ,you crucify ,him4 ,i find no fault in ,him4 ,it would be illegal1 but it would not be the first illegal thing4 ,but these men are bound to get all they want from their weakening governor4 ,one of the leaders sharply spoke up1 ,we have a law1 and by our law ,he ought to die because ,he pretends to be the ,son of ,god4 ,the ,roman custom was to respect the laws of their subject-peoples4 ,all pretense of a political charge is now gone4 ,pilate is startled4 ,the sense of fear that has been strong with him intensifies4 ,that face of ,jesus had impressed him4 ,his wife's message disturbed him4 ,now that inward feeling that this man was being wronged grips him anew4 ,at once he has ,him led into his judgment hall for another private interview4 ,looking into that face again with strangely mingling emotions1 he puts the question1 ,whence art ,thou8 ,but those lips refuse an answer4 ,the time for speech is past4 ,angered by the silence on the part of the man he had been moved to help1 ,pilate hotly says1 ,speakest ,thou not to ,me8 ,knowest ,thou not ,i have the power to release or to crucify8 ,then this strangely masterful ,man speaks in very quiet tones1 as though pitying ,his judge1 ,thou wouldst have no power against ,me1 except it were given thee from above3 therefore he that delivered ,me unto thee hath greater sin4 ,again ,pilate comes out to the waiting crowd more determined than ever to release ,jesus4 ,but the leaders of the mob take a new tack4 ,they know the governor's sensitive nerve4 ,if thou release this man thou art not ,caesar's friend4 ,every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against ,caesar4 ,that word ,caesar was a magic word4 ,its bur catches and sticks at once4 ,it was their master-stroke4 ,yet it cost them dear4 ,pilate instantly brings ,jesus out and sits down on the judgment seat4 ,the thing must be settled now once for all4 ,as ,jesus again faces them he says1 ,behold6--your ,king4 ,again the hot shouts1 ,away--,away--,crucify--,crucify4 ,and again the question4 ,shall ,i crucify your ,king8 ,now comes the answer1 wrung out by the bitterness of their hate1 that throws aside all the traditional hopes of their nation1 ,we have no king but ,caesar4 ,having forced that word from their lips1 ,pilate quits the prolonged duelling4 ,yet to appease that inner voice that would not be stilled--maybe1 too1 for his wife's sake1 he indulges in more dramatics4 ,he washes his hands in a basin of water1 with the words1 ,i am innocent of the blood of this righteous man4 ,see ye to it4 ,back come the terrible words1 ,his blood be on us and on our children4 ,surely it has been6 ,then ,jesus is surrendered to their will4 ,they have gotten what they asked1 but at the sacrifice of their most fondly cherished national tradition and with an awful heritage4 ,pilate has yielded1 but held them by the throat in doing it to compel words that savagely wounded their pride to utter4 ,the savage duel is over4 u,victory4_/u ,jesus is turned over to the soldiers for the execution of the sentence4 ,his own garments are replaced1 and once more ,he is the central figure in a street procession1 this time carrying the cross to which ,he has been condemned4 ,his physical strength seems in danger of giving way under the load1 after the terrible strain of that long night4 ,the soldiers seize a man from the country passing by and force him to carry the cross4 ,as they move along1 the crowd swells to a great multitude1 including many women4 ,these give expression to their pitying regard for ,jesus4 ,turning about1 ,jesus speaks to them in words that reveal the same clear mind and masterly control as ever4 ,daughters of ,jerusalem1 be weeping for yourselves and your babes1 rather than for ,me4 ,the days are coming when it shall be said1 ',blessed are the barren1 and the womb that never bare1 and the breasts that never gave suck4' ,if they have done these things while the sap of national life still flows1 what will be done to them when the dried-up1 withered stage of their national life is reached6 ,now the chosen place is reached1 outside the city wall1 probably a rise of ground1 like a mound or small hill4 ,and the soldiers settle down to their work4 ,there are to be two others crucified at the same time4 ,a drink of stuff meant to stupefy and so ease the pain of torture was offered ,jesus1 but refused4 ,and now the cross is gotten ready4 ,the upright beam is laid upon the ground handy to the hole in which the end of it will slip1 and the cross-piece is nailed in place4 ,jesus is stripped and laid upon the cross with ,his arms1 outstretched on the cross-piece4 ,a sharp-pointed spike is driven through the palm of each hand and through the feet4 ,the hands are also tied with ropes as additional security4 ,there is a small piece half-way up the upright where some of the body's weight may be supported4 ,as the soldiers drive the nails1 ,jesus' voice is heard in prayer1 ,father1 forgive them2 they know not what they do4 ,then strong arms seize the upper end1 and1 lifting1 shift the end of the cross into the hole1 and so steady it into an upright position4 ,it is nine o'clock1 and the deed has been done4 ,the soldiers1 having finished their task1 now go after their pay4 ,jesus' garments are divided up among them1 but when the outer coat is reached it is found to be an unusually good garment1 woven in one piece4 ,it was the love gift of some friend likely4 ,so they pitch dice1 and in a few moments one of them is clutching it greedily as his own4 ,as quickly as the cross is in position the crowds are reading the inscription which has been nailed to the top to indicate the charge against the man4 ,it was in three languages1 ,latin the official tongue1 ,greek the world tongue1 and ,aramaic the native tongue4 ,every man there read in one or other of these tongues1 ,the ,king of the ,jews4 ,instantly the ,jewish leaders object1 but ,pilate contemptuously dismisses their objection4 ,this inscription was his last fling at them4 ,and so ,jesus was crucified as a ,king4 ,there ,he is up above them all1 while the great multitude stands gazing4 ,now begins the last1 coarse1 derisive jeering4 ,some of the crowd call out to ,jesus1 ,thou that destroyest the temple1 and buildest it in three days1 save ,thyself2 if ,thou art the ,son of ,god1 come down from the cross4 ,the chief priests have dignified the occasion with their presence4 ,now they mockingly sneer out their taunts1 ,he saved others2 but ,he can't save ,himself4 ,he is the ,king of ,israel4 ,let ,him come down from the cross and we will believe on ,him4 ,the two others hanging by ,his side1 in their pain and distress1 join in the taunting cries1 and the soldiers add their jibes4 ,but through it all ,jesus is silent4 ,there ,he hangs with those eyes watching the people to whom ,his great heart was going out1 for whom ,his great life was going out1 calm1 majestic1 masterful1 tender4 ,the sight affects at least one of those before unfriendly4 ,the man hanging by ,his side is caught by this face and spirit4 ,he rebukes the other criminal1 reminding him that they were getting their just deserts1 but ,this ,man hath done nothing amiss4 ,then turning so far as he could to ,jesus1 he said1 with a simplicity of faith that must have been so grateful to ,jesus1 ,jesus1 remember me when ,thou comest in ,thy kingdom4 ,instantly comes the reply1 ,verily1 ,i say unto thee1 to-day shalt thou be with ,me in ,paradise4 ,in the crowds were many of ,jesus' personal acquaintances1 including women from ,galilee4 ,close by the cross stood ,his mother and aunt and faithful ,john and a few others of those dear to ,him4 ,most likely ,john is supporting ,jesus' mother with his arms4 ,turning ,his eyes toward the group1 ,jesus speaks to ,his mother in tones revealing ,his love1 ,woman1 behold thy son2 and then to ,john1 ,behold thy mother4 ,so ,he gives ,his mother a son to take ,his own place in caring for her1 and to ,his friend ,john this heritage of love4 ,john understands1 and from that hour the ties between these two were of the closest and tenderest sort4 ,so the hours drag along until noon4 ,and now a strange thing occurs that must have had a startling effect4 ,at the time of day when the sunlight is brightest a strange darkness came over all the scene1 the sun's light being obscured or failing wholly4 ,and for three hours this strange1 weird spectacle continues4 ,then the hushed silence is broken by an agonizing cry from the lips of ,jesus1 ,my ,god--,my ,god--why--didst--,thou--forsake--,me8 ,one of the bewildered bystanders thinks ,he is calling for ,elijah1 and another wonders if something startling will yet occur4 ,jesus speaks again--,i--thirst and some one near by with sponge and stick reaches up to moisten ,his lips4 ,then a shout1 a loud cry of victory bursts in one word from those lips1 ,it is finished4 ,then softly breathing out the last words1 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend ,my spirit1 and bowing ,his head1 ,jesus1 masterful1 kingly to the last1 yielded up ,his spirit4 ,the ,resurrection3 ,gravity ,upward u,a ,new ,morning4_/u ,it was near the dawning of a new morning1 the morning of a new day destined to be a great day4 ,while yet dark there come a number of women out of the city gate toward the tomb where ,jesus' body had been laid4 ,they carry spices and ointment4 ,with woman's ever tender thoughtfulness they are bent upon some kindly service for that precious body4 ,they had followed up the burial and noted the arrangements with a view to this morning's early service4 ,their whole thought is absorbed with a tomb and a body and a bit of loving attention4 ,they wonder as they come along whom they can get to roll the heavy stone over into its groove at the side of the opening4 ,mary ,magdalene is in the lead4 ,with her in the darkness is her friend ,mary1 the mother of ,john and ,james4 ,others come along a little behind1 in small groups4 ,as they get near to the place the keen eyes of ,mary ,magdalene notice at once with a quick start that the stone is rolled away4 ,somebody has been tampering with the tomb in the night4 ,leaving her companion1 she starts back on a run into the city and finds ,peter1 and tells him that the ,lord has been taken away1 and they don't know where ,he has been laid4 ,peter1 too1 is startled4 ,he gets ,john1 and the two start back on a run4 ,meanwhile the other women have gone on toward the tomb4 ,as they approach they are startled and awed to find a man there1 with the glorious appearance of an angel1 sitting upon the stone4 ,to these awe-stricken women this angel being quietly said1 ,do not be afraid4 ,i know you are looking for ,jesus who was crucified4 ,he is not here4 ,he is risen1 as ,he told you4 ,come and see the place where ,he lay4 ,and as they gaze with wide open eyes1 he adds1 ,go quickly and tell ,his disciples1 and be sure you tell ,peter1 that ,he is risen from the dead1 and lo1 ,he goeth before you into ,galilee4 ,you will meet ,him there4 ,lo1 ,i have told you4 ,but the women were panic-stricken1 and ran away down the road1 and told no one except some of the apostles4 ,and to them their story seemed ridiculous4 ,they refused to believe such talk4 ,and now ,peter and ,john come breathless to the tomb4 ,john is in the lead4 ,either he is younger or swifter of foot4 ,as he comes up he stops at the opening of the tomb1 and1 with a bit of reverential awe1 gazes within4 ,he can see the linen cloths lying2 but the body they had encased is clearly not in them4 ,peter comes up1 and steps at once inside for a closer inspection4 ,there the linen cloths are1 just as they had enswathed the body1 but flattened down1 showing the absence of anything inside their folds4 ,the napkin that had been about the head was folded up neatly and laid over to one side4 ,then ,john enters1 and as he continues looking conviction comes to him that ,jesus has indeed risen4 ,wondering greatly at this thing1 wholly unexpected by them1 they go off to their homes in the city4 ,and now another little group of the women come up1 and are perplexed in turn as the others1 the stone away1 the body of ,jesus not there4 ,as they stand with staring eyes and fearing hearts1 two men unexpectedly appear in clothing that dazzles the women's eyes4 ,frightened1 they bow down before these men1 who seem to be angels4 ,but the men quickly reassure them with their words4 ,why were they seeking a living ,one in a tomb8 ,jesus was not there4 ,he was risen4 ,and they remind the women of ,jesus' own words about being killed and then rising again4 ,as the men talk the women remember the ,master's words1 and wonderingly see their meaning now1 and hurry away to tell their friends the great news4 u,jesus ,seeking ,out ,peter4_/u ,and now ,mary ,magdalene has gotten back to the tomb4 ,in her zeal for the safety of that precious body1 she had made quite a journey into the city and back4 ,her zeal took her quickly to ,peter4 ,her sorrow makes the way back longer4 ,she had been first to come1 but had not heard the news that came to her companions4 ,now she stands at the open tomb weeping4 ,she stoops and looks in to see if it can be really true that ,he is not there4 ,to her surprise two angel beings are seated1 one at each end of where ,jesus' body had been lying4 ,they say to her1 ,why are you weeping8 ,she replies1 ,because they have taken away my ,lord1 and ,i know not where they have laid ,him4 ,turning back in her grief as the words are spoken1 she sees some one else standing4 ,again the same question by this ,one4 ,why was she weeping8 ,whom was she looking for8 ,her eyes are blinded with the rain of tears4 ,this is likely the man in charge of the garden wherein this family tomb was4 ,with earnest tones she says1 ,sir1 if thou didst carry ,him away1 tell me where thou didst lay ,him and ,i will have ,him taken away4 ,then that one word came to her ears1 her name1 in that unmistakable voice1 ,mary4 ,quicker than a flash came the response1 ,oh1 my ,master6 ,that same wondrous1 quiet voice continues1 ,do not continue to be clinging to ,me4 ,i am not yet ascended to my ,father4 ,be going to my brethren and tell them ,i ascend to ,my ,father and your ,father1 ,my ,god and your ,god4 ,and ,mary quickly departs on her glad errand for ,him4 ,she was the first to see ,his face and hear ,his voice1 and have her hand upon ,his person1 and do something at ,his bidding4 ,and now the other women who had been at the tomb in the garden and fled away are on the road approaching the city4 ,as they hurry along1 to their utter amazement--here is ,jesus in the road approaching them4 ,with a glad smile in ,his eyes1 the old1 sweet voice speaks out in rich tones the usual simple salutation of greeting1 ,good morning4 ,at once they are down on their knees and faces1 holding ,his feet and worshipping4 ,and ,jesus softly says1 ,do not be afraid4 ,go tell my brethren to meet ,me in ,galilee1 up by the old blue waters of the sea4 ,while these incidents were occurring1 all in such short time1 something else is going on of a different sort4 ,the ,roman soldiers guarding that tomb had had a great shock4 ,they had been suddenly displaced by another guard4 ,the sacred ,roman seal had been ruthlessly broken1 the stone rolled back from the opening1 and some one sat upon it4 ,their bewildered1 stupefied senses heard the movements and were aware of a strange1 blinding light4 ,then they knew that the body they were to guard was no longer within4 ,that was about as much as they could get together4 ,they hurry to town and tell the chief priests4 ,quickly the chief priests gather their clique to confer about this new phase4 ,was there ever such mulish obstinacy8 ,no thought of candid investigation seems to enter their mind4 ,the way of covering this new difficulty is after all easy4 ,money will buy the soldiers1 and they will do as they are bid4 ,it took a good bit of gold4 ,the soldiers probably were keen to know how to work so good a mine4 ,and the story was freely circulated that the body was stolen while the soldiers slept4 ,peter has gone down the road from the garden toward the city after having satisfied ,himself that ,jesus was not in the tomb4 ,he was wondering what all this meant4 ,john1 lighter of foot1 had hurried ahead to his home in the city1 very likely to tell the news to ,jesus' mother1 his own new mother4 ,peter plods slowly along4 ,there is no need of haste now4 ,he is thinking1 wondering1 thinking4 ,it was still early morning1 with the sweet dew on the ground1 and the air so still4 ,down past some big trees maybe he was walking1 deeply absorbed1 when--,somebody is by his side4 ,it is the ,master6 ,but we must leave them alone together4 ,that was a sacred interview1 meant only for ,peter4 u,made ,known in the ,breaking of ,bread4_/u ,the news now quickly spread2 the two stories1 that of the soldiers1 that of the disciples4 ,folks listened to the one they preferred4 ,everybody was discussing this new startling appendix to the crucifixion4 ,a bit later in the day two others were walking along one of the country roads leading out of the city1 toward a village a few miles away4 ,they jog along slowly as men who are heavy footed with disappointment4 ,they are intently absorbed in conversation1 eagerly discussing and questioning about something that clearly puzzled them4 ,a ,stranger1 unrecognized1 overtakes them and joins in their conversation4 ,he asks1 ,what is this that you are so concerned about8 ,so absorbed are they with their thoughts1 that at ,his question they stand still1 looking sad and unable for a moment to answer4 ,where would they begin where there was so much8 ,then one of them says1 ,do you lodge by yourself in the city1 and even then do not know the things that have been going on there8 ,the ,stranger draws them out4 ,what things8 ,he says4 ,thus encouraged1 they find relief in unburdening their hearts4 ,it was all about ,jesus1 a man of great power in word and deed1 before ,god and all the people2 the great cruelty with which the rulers had secured a sentence of death for ,him--and--crucified--,him4 ,we were1 however1 hoping1 they said1 that ,he was the ,one who was about to redeem the nation4 ,and now it is the third day since these things occurred4 ,and most surprising word was brought by certain women that has greatly stirred us4 ,they went early to the tomb1 and did not find ,his body1 but saw a vision of angels who positively said that ,he was alive4 ,and some of our party went there and found it true as the women said4 ,but--they did not see ,him4 ,then the ,stranger began speaking in a quiet1 earnest way that caught them at once4 ,o foolish men1 so slow you are in heart to believe the messages of the old prophets6 ,was it not needful that the ,christ should suffer these very things and to enter into ,his glory8 ,then ,he began freely to quote passages from all through their sacred writings4 ,as they walk along listening to this wonderful explanation1 which now sounds so simple from this ,man's lips1 they come up to their home in the village4 ,the ,stranger seemed inclined to go on4 ,but they earnestly urge ,him to come in and get some refreshment and stay over night4 ,he may talk more4 ,they have heard no such winsome talk since ,jesus was with them4 ,he yields4 ,and1 as they gather over the simple evening meal1 the ,stranger picks up the loaf1 and looking up repeats the simple grace1 and breaking the loaf reaches the pieces over4 ,but as their hands go out for the bread1 their eyes turn toward the ,stranger's face4 ,instantly they are spell-bound--that face--why--it is the ,master66 ,then ,he is not there4 ,and they said to each other1 ,did you ever hear such talking8 ,my heart was burning all the time ,he was talking4 ,and mine1 too4 ,then they hasten back to the city4 ,those miles are so much shorter now6 ,they go straight to the house where they have been meeting4 ,even ,so ,send ,i ,you4 ,here were gathered most of the apostles and several others4 ,eagerly they were discussing the exciting news of the day4 ,some know that ,jesus has risen4 ,mary ,magdalene1 with eyes dancing1 says1 ,i saw ,him4 ,but some are full of doubt and questionings4 ,how could it be8 ,the door is guarded1 for if the frenzy of the national leaders should spread1 they come next4 ,there's a knock at the door4 ,cautiously it is opened4 ,two dusty but radiant faces appear4 ,the ,lord is risen indeed1 they exclaim4 ,and then they tell the story of the afternoon and ,his wondrous explanation and of that meal4 ,as they are talking1 all at once--who's that8--right in their midst4 ,it looks like ,jesus4 ,there is that face with those unmistakable marks4 ,and you can see their eyes quickly searching between the sandal straps4 ,yes1 it looks like ,him4 ,but it can't be4 ,their eyes befool them4 ,it's been a hard day for them4 ,it must be a spirit4 ,as they start back1 there comes in that voice they can never forget1 the old quiet ,good evening4--,peace unto you4 ,then ,he holds out ,his hands and feet1 saying1 ,do not be troubled--it is ,i ,myself--handle ,me1 and make sure4 ,a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that ,i have4 ,then ,he said1 ,have you something to eat8 and ,he ate a bit of broiled fish4 ,reassured by such simple practical evidence1 a glad peace fills their hearts and faces4 ,they talk together a bit4 ,then ,jesus rising1 said again1 ,peace unto you--as the ,father hath sent ,me1 even so send ,i you4 ,then ,he breathed strongly upon them1 saying in very quiet1 solemn tones1 ,receive ye the ,holy ,spirit--,whosesoever sins ye forgive they are forgiven4 ,whosesoever ye retain they are retained4 ,and again1 as they look1 ,he is not there4 ,but one man was absent that new ,sabbath evening hour4 ,thomas simply could not believe1 and would not1 without the most sane1 common-sense evidence4 ,he missed much by not being at that meeting4 ,the next ,sabbath evening he is present with the others4 ,again the ,master comes as before1 unexpectedly standing in their midst1 as they talk together about ,him4 ,and now ,thomas is fully satisfied after his week of doubting4 ,some of us folks will always be grateful for ,thomas4 ,some time later1 there occurs that second wondrous draught of fishes1 at the command of the unrecognized ,stranger1 one morning at the breaking of the day1 and the talk with ,peter and the others as they walk along the old shore of the sea4 ,and to ,james1 who seems to have been a leader by dint of a strong personality1 ,he appears4 ,and one day when there was an unusually large meeting of ,his followers1 as many as five hundred1 ,he came as before and was recognized4 ,and then at the last upon ,olives' top came the goodbye meeting and message4 ,it is surely worthy of remark that the ,bethany home is not represented at either cross or tomb4 ,many of ,his dear friends are named in connection with both1 but not these4 ,here are some of those dearest to ,him1 and to whom ,he is most dear4 ,here is one1 a woman1 who had discerned more keenly ahead than any other that ,he was to die and why4 ,she had understood the minor strains of the old ,hebrew oratorio as none other4 ,she had learned at ,his feet4 ,and here1 too1 was one who knew death1 and the life beyond1 and then a return again to this life4 ,it was not indifference that kept them away4 ,they loved tenderly1 and were tenderly loved4 ,their absence is surely most significant4 ,mary's ointment had already been used4 ,this morning in glad ecstasy of spirit she and her brother and sister wait4 ,they know4 u,gravity ,upward4_/u ,two things stand out very clearly about ,jesus' resurrection4 ,it was not expected by these followers1 but received at first with incredulity and doubt and stubborn unwillingness to accept it without clear undisputable proof4 ,and then that they were thoroughly satisfied that ,he was actually back again with them1 with ,his personal identity thoroughly established2 so satisfied that their lives were wholly controlled by the consciousness of a risen ,jesus4 ,sacrifice1 suffering1 torture1 and violent death were yielded to gladly for ,his sake4 ,a new morning broke that morning1 the morning of a new day1 a new sort of day4 ,that resurrection day became a new day to them and to all ,jesus' followers4 ,the old ,sabbath day was a rest-day4 ,god ,sabbathed from ,his work of creation4 ,this new day is more1 it is a victory-day4 ,every new coming of it spells out ,jesus' victory over sin and death and our victory in ,him4 ,the old ,hebrew rest-day came at the week's close4 ,the new victory-day comes at the week's beginning4 ,with the fine tingle of victory in our spirits we are ever at the beginning of a new life and new victory and great things to come4 ,did ,jesus rise8 ,or1 was ,he raised8 ,both are said of ,him4 ,both are true4 ,he was raised by the power of the ,father4 ,every bit of ,his human life was under the direction and control of ,his ,father4 ,every act of ,his from first to last was in the strength of the ,father4 ,this last act was so4 ,the ,father's vindication of ,his ,son was seen in the power that raised ,him up from out of the domain of death4 ,he was raised4 ,jesus rose from the dead4 ,the action was in accord with the law of ,his life4 ,he rose at will by the moral gravity of ,his character4 ,he had gone down1 now ,he lets ,himself rebound up4 ,the language used of ,his death is very striking4 ,no one of the four descriptions of the death upon the cross says that ,he died4 ,the words commonly used to describe the death of others are not used of ,jesus4 ,very different language is used4 ,matthew says1 ,he dismissed ,his spirit4 ,mark and ,luke each say1 ,he breathed out ,his life4 ,john says1 ,he delivered up ,his spirit4 ,his dying was voluntary4 ,not only the time of it and the manner of it1 but the fact of it was of ,his own choosing4 ,the record never suggests that death overcame ,him4 ,he yielded to it of ,his own strong accord4 ,he was not overcome by death4 ,he could not be1 for sin having no hold within ,his being1 death could have none4 ,physical death is one of the logical results of the sin within4 ,jesus yielded up ,his spirit4 ,it was a free1 voluntary act4 ,he had explained months before that so it would be4 ,i lay down ,my life that ,i may take it again4 ,no man taketh it from ,me1 but ,i lay it down of ,myself4 ,i have the power to lay it down1 and ,i have the power to take it again4 ,this commandment ,i received from ,my ,father4 ,this being so1 the return to life followed the same voluntary course4 ,having accomplished the purpose in dying1 ,he now recalled ,his spirit into the body and rises by ,his own choice4 ,man's true gravity is toward a center upward4 ,sin's gravity is toward a center downward4 ,when an ordinary man1 a sinful man1 dies1 he is overcome by the logical result of the sin in himself4 ,he is overcome by the moral gravity downward of ,his sin4 ,he has no choice4 ,his own moral gravity apart from sin is upward4 ,but that is overbalanced by the downward pull of the sin ingrained in his very being4 ,and this quite apart from his attitude toward the sin4 ,in ,jesus there was no sin4 ,being free of it1 ,he rose at will4 ,it was not possible that ,he should be held by death1 for it had no hold upon ,him4 ,his gravity was upward4 ,for a purpose1 a great strong purpose1 ,he yielded to death's embrace4 ,now that purpose being achieved1 ,he quietly lets ,himself up toward the natural center of gravity of ,his life4 u,the ,life ,side of ,death4_/u ,clearly ,jesus' body had undergone changes through death and resurrection4 ,it is the same to outer appearance1 so far as personal identity is concerned4 ,the doubting1 questioning disciples handle ,his person1 they know ,his face1 they recognize ,his voice4 ,he eats with them and talks with them and moves in their midst as before4 ,even the doubter1 stubborn in his demand for tangible1 physical evidence1 is convinced by the feel of his hands that this is indeed ,jesus back again4 ,further1 ,he moves about among them unrecognized till ,he chooses to be known4 ,yet this may have been ,his power over them rather than any changed quality in ,his person4 ,but mark that the limitations of space and of material obstructions are gone after the resurrection4 ,he no longer needs to get that body through space by physical strength or management1 but seems to go where ,he will by choosing to be there4 ,he is no longer affected in ,his movements by the walls of a building or other such material obstruction1 but comes and goes at will4 ,the arrangement of the linen cloths in the tomb1 as marked so keenly by ,peter and ,john1 is significant4 ,they are found lying as they were when enfolding that body1 as though ,he had in rising risen up through them4 ,clearly the body is the same so far as personal identity is concerned4 ,but the limitations are gone4 ,the control of spirit over body seems full1 without any limitations4 ,as one of us can1 in spirit1 be in a place far removed as quick as thought1 so ,he seems to have been able to be actually1 bodily1 where ,he wanted to be as quickly4 ,all the old powers remain4 ,all the old limitations are gone1 never to return4 ,jesus had moved over to the life side of death4 ,he had gone down into death's domain1 given it a death blow1 and then risen up into a new ,eden life1 where neither sin nor death had power to touch4 ,those forty days were sample days of the new ,eden life on earth4 ,jesus has become the leader of a new sort of life lived on the earth1 mingling in its activities1 but free of its power1 controlled from above4 ,he asks every one who will to come along after ,him4 ,we can1 for ,he has4 ,it is possible1 because of ,him4 ,we may1 for ,he asks us to4 ,it is our privilege4 ,let us go4 ,the ,ascension3 ,back ,home ,again ,until---- u,tarry ,ye--,go ,ye4_/u ,one day the disciples and followers of ,jesus had met in ,jerusalem1 when ,jesus ,himself came again in their midst and talked with them quite a bit4 ,he said particularly that they were not to leave ,jerusalem1 but wait there4 ,in a few days the ,holy ,spirit would come upon them1 and they were to wait until ,he came4 ,then ,he asked them to go with ,him for a walk4 ,and they walk together along those old ,jerusalem streets1 out the gate and off past ,gethsemane toward the top of ,olives over against ,bethany4 ,on the way they ask ,him if it was ,his plan to set up the kingdom then4 ,he turns their thought away from ,palestine toward the world1 away from times and seasons toward telling a race about ,himself4 ,and now they are standing together on the ,mount of ,olives4 ,there is ,peter1 the new man of rock1 and ,john and ,james1 the sons of thunder1 and little ,scotch ,andrew1 and the man in whom is no guile1 and the others4 ,but one's eyes quickly go by these to the ,man in the center of the group4 ,these men stand gazing on that face1 listening for ,his words4 ,there is a consciousness that the goodbye word is about to be spoken4 ,yonder they can see the bit of a depression and the tops of some old trees4 ,that is ,gethsemane4 ,and over beyond that is the city wall and the little knoll near by outside4 ,that is ,calvary4 ,with memories such as these suggest they listen with eyes as well as ears4 ,ye shall receive power1 the ,master is saying1 and ye shall be ,my witnesses here in ,jerusalem and in all ,judea1 your brothers1 and in ,samaria1 the nearby people you don't like1 and unto the uttermost part of the earth1 everybody else4 ,they are held by the words and by that face4 ,then ,he lifts up ,his hands in blessing upon them4 ,and as they gaze they notice ,he is rising1 ,his feet are off the earth1 then higher and higher4 ,then a shining glory cloud sweeps down out of the blue1 and now they see ,him no more4 u,coming ,again4_/u ,they continue gazing1 held spellbound by the sight1 thinking maybe they may get another look4 ,then two men in white apparel are in their midst and speak to them3 ,men of ,galilee1 why do you stand gazing up into the heavens8 ,this ,jesus who was received up into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld ,him going into heaven4 ,that word at once sends them back to the waiting-place of which the ,master had spoken4 ,from that time they never lost the upward glance1 but they were ever absorbed in obeying the ,master's command4 ,jesus' ascension was a continuation of the resurrection movement4 ,the resurrection was the beginning of the ascension4 ,having finished the task involved in dying1 ,jesus responded to the natural upward movement of ,his life4 ,on ,his way up from the tomb to ,his ,father's home and throne1 ,he tarried awhile on the earth for the sake of these disciples and leaders1 then yielded again to the upward movement4 ,the two men in white apparel give the key to the ascension4 ,jesus will remain above until the next great step in the kingdom plan4 ,then ,he will return to carry out in full the ,father's great love-plan for man and for the earth4 ,his last act with these men was conducting them to the ,mount of ,olives4 ,that is ever to be the point of outlook for ,his follower4 ,yonder in full view is ,gethsemane and ,calvary4 ,following the line of ,his eyes and pointing finger1 as the last word is spoken1 leads us ever to the man nearest by1 to the uttermost parts of the earth1 and to all between4 ,following ,his disappearing figure keeps us ever looking upward to ,himself and forward to ,his return4 ,study ,notes ,analysis and ,references ,the spirit-key to an understanding of ,god's ,word is surrender of will and life to ,his mastery4 ,he that is willing to do ,his will will know of the teaching4 ,the mental-key to a grasp of the contents of that ,book is habitual broad reading4 ,it cannot be too insistently insisted upon that wide reading from end to end of the ,book1 and from end to end of the year1 is the simple essential to a clear understanding and a firm grasp of the ,bible4 ,it is the only possible salvation from the piece-meal1 microscopic study of sentences and verses that has been in common use clear out of all proportion4 ,such disproportionate study steals away very largely the historical setting1 and the simple meaning in the mind of speaker and writer4 ,wide reading habitually indulged in should come first1 and out of that will naturally grow the closer study4 ,this is the true order4 ,in giving references it is needful to mark particular verses4 ,yet this is to be regretted because of our inveterate habit of reading only the marked verses instead of getting the sweep of their connection4 ,the connection is a very large part of the interpretation of any passage4 ,the references here are meant to be indices to the whole passage in connection4 ,they are not meant to be full1 but simply to start one going4 ,they should be supplemented by others suggested by one's own reading1 by marginal references 7those of the ,american ,revision are specially well selected71 and by concordance and topical text-book4 ,what a student digs out for himself is in a peculiar sense his own4 ,it is woven into his fibre4 ,it helps make him the man he comes to be4 ,those who may want a course to follow rigidly without independent study will find these notes disappointing4 ,for those who want a daily scheme of study the allotment for the day can be by certain designated pages of reading with the corresponding paragraphs in the ,study ,notes4 ,the paragraphing will be found to be in some measure1 though not wholly1 a sub-analysis4 ,the ,american ,revision is used here4 ,i4 ,the ,purpose of ,jesus4 #a4 ,the ,purpose in the ,coming of ,jesus4 ,god ,spelling ,himself out in ,jesus3 change in the original language--bother in spelling ,jesus out--sticklers for the old forms--,jesus' new spelling of old words4 ,jesus is ,god following us up3 ,god heart-broken--man's native air--bad choice affected man's will--the wrong lane--,god following us up4 ,the ,early ,eden ,picture1 ,genesis #a3bf-ca4 #b3g-be3 unfallen man--like ,god--the breath of ,god in man--a spirit1 infinite1 eternal--love--holy--wise--sovereign over creation1 ,psalm #h3e-h--;in his own will--summary--,god's thought for man4 ,man's ,bad ,break1 ,genesis #c4 the climax of opportunity--the tree of choice--the temptation--blended lies--the tempter's strategy--the choice made--the immediate result--safety in shame--the danger of staying in ,eden--guarding man's home--the return1 ,rev4 #b3g4 #bb3ad1 #b4 ,john #aj3aj4 ,outside the ,eden ,gate3 a costly meal--result in the man himself--ears and eyes affected--looking without seeing--a personal test--,isaiah's famous passage1 ,isaiah #f3i-aj1 see ,isaiah #db3ah1 #bj1 #bc4 #dc3h4 #bi3aj4 ,jeremiah #e3ba4 #f3aj4 #g3bf4 ,ezekiel #ab3b4 ,psalm #fi3bc4 ,micah #c3f4 ,acts #g3ea4--;,jesus' use of parables--,jesus' irony--,matthew #ac3aj-ae4 ,mark #d3aj-ab4 ,luke #h3i-aj4 ,see ,john #ab3dj4 ,acts #bh3bf1 #bg4 ,romans #aa3h4 ,john #i3ci-da--tongue affected--the tongue man's index--effect of seeing ,god--whole mental process affected--sense of dread--- ,paul's seven steps down in mental process1 ,ephesians #d3ag-ai--;,jesus the music of ,god1 the face of ,god4 ,sin's ,brood3 result in the growth of sin--three stages1 flood1 ,moses1 ,paul--,paul's ,summary1 ,romans ,i3#ah-cb1 see ,matthew #ae3ai4 ,galatians #e3ai-ba4 #b ,timothy #c3b-e4--,paul's ,outlook--a summary of to-day--the conventional cloak--four great paragraphs--man still a king1 ,genesis #i3f4 #a ,corinthians #aa3g4 ,james #c3i4--;a composite picture--analysis of sin--the root of sin4 ,god's ,treatment of ,sin3 gave them up1 ,romans #a3bd1 #bf1 #bh4 see ,job #h3d4 #a ,kings #ad3af4 ,psalms #ha3ab4 ,acts #g3db1 ,romans #i3bb 7endured74--the worst thing and the best--sin's gait--,jesus is ,god letting sin do its worst upon ,himself4 ,a ,bright ,gleam of ,light3 the non-,christian world--,god has no favorites--all know ,god directly1 ,romans #a3bj1 #cb4 ,john #a3i--;believing on ,jesus--the outside majority--,peter's statement1 ,acts #aj3cd1 #ce4--,paul's statement1 ,romans #b3g4--persistent climbers--trusting the unknown ,jesus--the ,master's command--to help our brothers--,jesus is ,god sacrificing ,his best4 ,the ,broken ,tryst1 ,genesis #c3h-i3 ,god keeping tryst--man not there--,god's search--a lonely ,god--still calling--,jesus is ,god calling man back to the broken tryst4 ,god's ,wooing3 direct revelation to all--the inner light1 ,john #a3i4 ,acts #ag3bf-bh4 ,job #ab3aj4 ,psalms #aci3a-af4--through nature1 ,psalms #ai3a-f4--;in the daily weave of life1 ,acts #ag3bh4--,the ,lord's at the loom--a special revelation1 ,romans #c3b4 ,deuteronomy #d3h4--;in ,jesus1 ,heb4 #a3a-c4--the ,book--the mission of the ,book1 ,john #bj3ca4--summary--chiefly ,jesus4 #b4 ,the ,plan for the ,coming of ,jesus4 ,god's ,darling1 ,psalms #h3e-h4--the plan for the new man--the ,hebrew picture by itself--difference between ,god's plan and actual events--one purpose through breaking plans--the original plan--a starting point--getting inside4 ,fastening a ,tether inside3 the longest way around--the pedigree--the start4 ,first ,touches on the ,canvas3 the first touch1 ,genesis #c3ae4--three groups of prediction--first group3 to ,abraham1 ,genesis #ab3a-c2 to ,isaac1 ,genesis #bf3a-e2 to ,jacob1 ,genesis #bh3aj-ae2 through ,jacob1 ,genesis #di3i-aa4 through ,balaam1 ,numbers #bd3ag-ai2 through ,moses1 ,deuteronomy #ah3ae-ai1 see ,matthew #ba3aa4 ,john #a3ba4 #f3ad4 ,acts #c3bb4 #g3cg4--second group3 ,david1 #b ,samuel #g3af1 #ah1 #ai4 #bc3c-e4 ,psalms #bnd1 #aajth4 ,solomon in #gbnd ,psalm4 ,forty-fifth ,psalm4 ,a ,full ,length ,picture in ,colors3 third group in prophetic books--one continuous subject--day of the ,lord1 #acd times1--,somebody coming--,his ,person2 divine1 ,isaiah #g3ad4 #i3f4 #cc3bb4 ,micah #d3g4 #e3b4 ,haggai #b3i4 human1 ,isaiah #cb3b4 ,daniel #g3ac4 manner of birth1 ,isaiah #g3ad4 of native stock1 ,isaiah #i3f4 ,ezekiel #bi3ba4 of ,david's line1 ,isaiah #i3g4 #aa3a4 #af3e4 ,jeremiah #bc3e4 #cc3ae1 #ag1 #ba1 #bf4 ,amos #i3aa4 ,zechariah #c3h4 #f3ab4 a branch of ,jehovah1 ,isaiah #d3b4 a ,king1 ,isaiah #i3f4 #cb3a4 #cc3ag4 ,jeremiah #bc3e4 ,zechariah #f3ac4 #i3i4 called ,david1 ,jeremiah #cj3i4 ,ezekiel #cg3bd1 #be4 ,hosea #c3e4 a priest-king1 ,zechariah #f3ac4 a preacher1 ,isaiah #fa3a-c4 a teacher1 ,isaiah #i3f 7counsellor74--the kingdom1 ,daniel #b3cd1dd4 ,obadiah3#ba 7,jehovah's74--the capital1 ,isaiah #b3c4 #d3e4 #cc3bj1ba4 #ei3bj4 #fe3ah1 #ai4 ,joel #c3af1 #ag1 #bj1 #ba4 ,micah #d3g1 #h4--the presence of ,god1 ,ezekiel #cg3bg4 ,joel #c3ba4 ,zechariah #b3aj1 #aa4 ,zephaniah #c3ag4--visibly present1 ,isaiah #d3e1 #f4--;characteristics1 vengeance1 ,isaiah #fa3b4 #fc3a-f4 ,zephaniah #c3ai4--;great victory1 ,zechariah #i3i4--- but without force1 ,isaiah #aa3d4 ,zechariah #i3aj4--peace1 ,isaiah #b3d4 #i3f1 #g4--;established in loving kindness1 ,isaiah #af3e4--;justice and right1 ,isaiah #i3g4 #af3e4 #cb3a4 ,jeremiah #bc3e4 #cc3ae4--the poor and meek1 ,isaiah #aa3d1 #e4--;broken-hearted1 poor and imprisoned1 ,isaiah #fa3a-c4--protection from all ills1 ,isaiah #cb3b4--;impartiality in judging even the most weak and obnoxious1 ,isaiah #db3c1 #d4--;gradual increase1 ,isaiah #i3g4 #db3d4 a great crisis1 ,zephaniah #d3a4 ,habakkuk #c3a-ae4 with unexpected suddenness1 ,malachi #c3a--;effect upon ,israel nationally2 ,spirit-baptized1 ,isaiah #dd3b4 ,ezekiel #cg3i-ad4 #ci3bi4--never withdrawn1 ,isaiah #ei3ba4--;judgments removed1 ,zephaniah #c3ad1 #ae4--;impurity cleansed1 ,isaiah #d3d4 ,malachi #c3b1 #c4--possession of land1 ,zephaniah #b3g4--;capital holy1 ,joel #c3ag4--weakness gone1 ,micah #d3f1 #g4 freedom from enemies1 ,isaiah #cc3ah1 #ai4--;,jeremiah #cj3h-aj4 ,joel #c3ag4 ,zechariah #ad3aa4 ,micah #e3f4--;at peace1 ,isaiah #cc3bj4 ,micah #e3e4--leadership1 ,isaiah #b3b4 ,micah #d3a1 #c4 #e3h4--spiritual leadership1 ,joel #b3bh1 #bi4--supremacy1 etc41 ,isaiah #fj3a-bb4 #aa3aj4 #b3b4 ,micah #d3a1 #c4 #e3h4 ,zechariah #b3aj4--;,jerusalem center1 ,isaiah #fj3aj-ad4 ,zechariah #ad3af4 effect upon ,israel personally2 made over new1 ,ezekiel #aa3ag-bj4 #cf3be-bg4 ,jeremiah #ca3ca-cd4 ,isaiah #d3c4--;devotion and open-mindedness1 ,isaiah #cb3c-d4 #dd3e4--sickness absent1 ,isaiah #cc3bd4--longer lives1 ,isaiah #fe3bj4--;increase in numbers1 ,jeremiah #cc3bb4 ,ezekiel #cg3bf4 ,isaiah #dd3d4--no disappointed plans1 ,isaiah #fe3ba-bc4 ,amos #i3ad4--;fear gone1 ,micah #d3d4--thrilled hearts1 ,isaiah #fj3e4 effect upon other nations2 to come back to ,god1 ,micah #e3c 7see ,john #aj3af74--,spirit upon all1 ,joel #b3bh4--voluntary coming to ,israel for instruction1 ,isaiah #b3c4 ,micah #d3b4--;earth filled with knowledge1 ,isaiah #aa3i4--;her influence as the dew1 ,micah #e3g4--the only medium1 ,isaiah #fj3ab4 wondrous blessings shared with all1 ,isaiah #db3a1 #f1 #g4 #di3f4 #ea3d4 #fa3a4--universal peace1 ,micah #d3c-d4 ,zechariah #i3aj4 changes in nature2 at ,jerusalem1 ,isaiah #cc3ba4 ,joel #c3ah l4c4 ,zechariah #ad3h4 ,ezekiel #dg3a-e4 ,zechariah #ad3d4--;increased light1 ,isaiah #cj3bf4--overshadowed by presence of ,god1 ,isaiah #fj3ai 7,presence cloud1 ,exodus2 as sun1 ,matthew #ag3b with parallels2 above sun ,acts #bf3ac74--renewed fertility1 ,ezekiel #cf3bi1 #cj4 ,hosea #b3ba4 ,joel #c3ah4 ,amos #i3ac4 ,zechariah #ad3aj4 ,isaiah #d3b4--removal of curse upon earth1 ,zechariah #ad3aa4 ,isaiah #fe3ag4--the animal creation1 ,isaiah #aa3f-i4 #fe3be4 ,hosea #b3ah 7see ,romans #h3bj-bb74--without limit1 ,isaiah #b3b4 #i3g4 ,daniel #b3dd4 #g3ad4 ,micah #d3a4 #e3d4 ,zephaniah #c3bj4 ,zechariah #i3aj4 ,joel #c3bj4--;a return to original conditions--characteristics of the coming ,one--mental equipment1 ,isaiah #aa3b4 #db3a4 #fa3a4--personal beauty and dignity1 ,isaiah #d3b4 #cc3ag4 ,daniel #g3ad4 ,micah #e3ad4--unpretentious1 ,zechariah #i3i4--;direct touch with ,god1 ,isaiah #di3a-c4 #ej3d4--;backed by power of ,god1 etc41 ,isaiah #db3a1 #f4 #di3c4 #eb3ac4 #ec3aa4 #ei3bj4 ,zechariah #c3h4 ,malachi #c3a4--the poor cared for righteously1 ,isaiah #aa3c-e4--;divine insight1 ,isaiah #aa3c4 ,back to ,eden3 a wild dream--the ,hebrew ,book's conception--,simeon and ,anna1 ,luke #b3be-ch4 ,strange ,dark ,shadowings3 weird forebodings--acted out1 ,joseph and ,david--,psalms #bb4 #fi3bj1 #ba4 ,isaiah #ej3f1 #g4 #eb3ac-ec3ab4 ,daniel #i3bd-bf4 ,zechariah #aa3d-ad4 #ab3aj4 #ac3g4 a valley-road to the throne4 #c4 ,the ,tragic ,break in the ,plan4 ,the ,jerusalem ,climate3 the contrasting receptions1 ,luke #b4 the music of heaven1 ,job #ch3f1 #g4 ,luke #b3ac1 #ad4 pick out the choruses of ,revelation1 the crowning book4--the after-captivity leaders1 see ,ezra and ,nehemiah--ideals and ideas--present leaders--,herod--the high priest--the faithful few1 ,luke #b3be1 #ch4 #bc3ea4 ,the ,bethlehem ,fog3 ,matthew #a and #b4 ,luke #b4 a foggy shadow--suspicion of ,mary--a stable cradle--murder of babes--star-students--senate meeting--a troubled city-flight--,galilee4 ,the ,man ,sent ,ahead3 the growing boy--,john's relation to ,jesus--trace passages in gospels referring to ,john4 ,the ,contemptuous ,rejection3 accepted by individuals1 rejected by nation--,john's drawing power--a dramatic presentation4 ,john #a3ai-cd4--ominous silence--five satisfied seekers1 ,john #a3ce-ea4--;cleansing of temple1 ,john #b3ac-bb4--;first public work1 ,john #b3bc-be4--,nicodemus1 ,john #c3a-ba4--;helping ,john1 ,john #c3bb1 #bc4 #d3a with ,matthew #c3e-g4 ,luke #c3g-ad4 the dispute about the two men1 ,john #c3be-cj 7note ,american ,revision7--,john's arrest--effect upon ,jesus1 ,matthew #d3ab-be4--withdrew4 ,the ,aggressive ,rejection3 the second stage--,nazareth1 ,luke #d3af-cj4--seven incidents1 i4e4 7i7 healing at pool of ,bethesda1 ,john #e3a-dg4 7#b7 forgiving and healing palsied man1 ,matthew #i3b-h with parallels4 7#c7 criticizing ,jesus' personal conduct1 ,matthew #i3aj-ag with parallels4 7#d7 grain fields on the ,sabbath1 ,matthew #ab3a-h with parallels4 7#e7 healing whithered hand1 ,matthew #ab3i-ad with parallels4--second withdrew1 ,mark #c3g-ab with parallels4 7#f7 charge of having an unclean spirit1 ,mark #c3bj-cj with parallels4 7#g7 interruption by his mother1 ,matthew #ab3df-ej with parallels4--the murder of ,john1 ,matthew #ad3a-ab with parallels4--third withdrew1 ,matthew #ad3ac with parallels4--staying in ,galilee during fourth ,passover1 ,john #f3d1 #e4 ,the ,murderous ,rejection3 a fugitive from ,judea1 ,john #g3a4--;fresh attack by southern leaders1 ,matthew #ae3a-bj with parallel in ,mark4--fourth withdrew--outside national lines1 ,matthew1 #ae3ba with parallel in ,mark4--return to ,sea of ,galilee and request for sign1 ,matthew #ae3bi-af3d with parallel in ,mark4--,feast of ,tabernacles1 ,john #g3 #b-h3ei4--the blind man cured1 ,john #i3a-dj4--,transfiguration1 ,matthew #ag3a-h with parallels4--the beginning of the last journey1 ,luke #i3ea4 ,mark #aj3a1 #cb4 ,matthew #ai3a4--the ,seventy1 ,luke #aj3a-ag4--;getting nearer to ,jerusalem1 divorce question1 ,mark #aj3b-ab4 ,matthew #ai3c-ab4--;,good ,samaritan1 ,luke #aj3be-cg4 ,beelzebub1 vehemently1 ,luke #aa4 fresh tilt over ,sabbath question1 ,luke #ac3aj-ag4--;cunning attempt to get ,him into ,judea1 ,luke #ac3ca4--;,feast of ,dedication1 ,john #aj3bb-dj4--,lazarus1 ,john #aa3a-df4 formal decision against ,him1 ,john #aa3dg-ec4 a fugitive1 ,john #aa3eg4 no more openly1 ,john #aa3ed4 crowding pilgrims1 ,john #aa3ee1 #ef4 ,lazarus again1 ,john #ab3i-aa4 the last week2 triumphal entry1 ,matthew #ba3a-ag with parallels1 daily visits and return to ,olivet1 ,luke #ba3cg-ch2 cleansing temple1 ,matthew #ba3ab-ag with parallels2 duel of questionings1 ,matthew #bb4 ,mark #aa3bg-ab3cd4 ,luke #bj3a-dd2 ,his terrific arraignment1 ,matthew #bc3a-ci with parallels2 ,greeks1 ,john #ab3bj-cf4 ,bethany feast1 ,matthew #bf3f-ac with parallels1 ,judas1 ,matthew #bf3ad-af with parallels2 with the inner circle1 ,matthew #bf3ag-df with parallels4 ,suffering the ,birih-pains of a ,new ,life3 why did ,jesus die8--,god's plan of atonement1 ,leviticus #a3c-i--,paul's statement in effect1 ,galatians #b3bj4--;,jesus' dying does not fit into ,hebrew ritual--standpoint of ,hebrews--what ,god counselled1 ,acts #b3bc4--this affects only the form not the virtue of ,jesus' death--preaching of ,acts1 #b3ad-cf1 #ch1 #ci4 #c3ab-bf4 #d3h-ab4 #e3bi-cb1 and on1 first church council1 ,acts #ae4ac-ah with ,amos #i3aa-ab4--the superlative of hate--,jesus' death voluntary1 ,john #aj3ag1 #ah--ten attempts before the cross2 three to kill at once1 ,luke #d3cj4 ,john #h3ei4 #aj3ca4 other attempts1 ,matthew #ab3ad4 ,john #e3ah4 #g3a1 #cj1 #cb4 #aj3ci4 #aa3ec ,jesus' own explanation3--the temple1 ,john #b3ai4 lifted up1 #c3ae4 ,matthew #i3ae with parallels4 ,his flesh1 ,john #f3ec-eg4 with ,jesus' own interpretation1 good ,shepherd1 ,john #aj3aa2 for the sheep1 #aj3ae2 other sheep1 #aj3af2 take it again1 #aj3ag2 of ,myself1 #aj3ah4 cross1 ,matthew #aj3ch with parallels4 ,jonah1 ,matthew #ab3ci1 #dj4 #af3d with parallel in ,luke4 ,greeks1 ,john #ab3bd-cc4 the ,father's command1 ,john #ad3ca4 for friends1 ,john #ae3ac4 sanctified1 ,john #ag3ai4 the ,father's cup1 ,john #ah3aa4 ,john's comment1 ,john #ab3dg-eb4--the necessity for dying--a step in a wider plan--for the nation--wholly voluntary--six elements in a perfect sacrifice--,jesus alone is a perfect sacrifice--,paul's comment1 ,romans #c3bf4--;,god's master-stroke--faith--,hebrew heathen and ,christian grouped4 #d4 ,some ,surprising ,results of the ,break4 ,the ,surprised ,jew3 a clash of wills--thousands of believing ,jews--the church displacing kingdom--two-fold division of men formerly--now three-fold--church different in organization from kingdom--the ,baptist puzzled--,jesus did not fill out ,hebrew prophecy--two characteristics1 personal and official--personal details fulfilled--official not because of rejection--out of situation grew four gospels--,mark--,matthew's the gap gospel--,paul's audiences--,luke's gospel--these three tell of rejection mainly--,john's gospel--the order of the gospels in canon4 ,the ,surprised ,church3 ,god holds to ,his plan--mixed ideas of kingdom and church--a handy principle of interpretation--one law consistently applied--the church to fulfil its mission and go--the kingdom simply retarded1 yet to come--the plan enriched--sliding scale of fulfilment--the ,king must come--- even this in ,hebrew picture1 ,zechariah #ab3aj4 ,new ,testament teaching4 ,peter1 ,acts #c3ba4--keeping truth in proportion--the gospel of the kingdom--,paul1 #a ,thessalonians #a4aj4 #b3ai4 #c3ac4 #d3ac-ah4 #e3aj-bc4 #b ,thessalonians #a3g-aj4 #b3a-i4 #a ,corinthians #a3g1 #h4 #c3ac4 #e3e4 #ae3bc1 #be1 #ea1 #eb4 #af3bb4 #b ,corinthians #a3ad4 #e3b-d4 ,romans #h3ah1 #ai1 #bc4 #aa3ab-bi4 #ac3aa1 #ab4 #af3bj4 ,colossians #c3d4 ,ephesians #a3aj1 #ad1 #ah4 #d3d1 #cj4 #e3bg4 ,philippians #a3f1 #aj4 #b3af4 #c3bj4 #d3e4 #a ,timothy #a3a 7note ,paul's use of hope throughout74 #f3ad4 ,titus #b3ac4 #b ,timothy #a3ab1 #ah4 #b3ab4 #d3a1 #h4--,the ,book of ,revelation--the coming surprise4 ,the ,surprising ,jew3 greatest surprise--for all--the puzzle of history--divinely preserved--the keystone of the coming kingdom--,jesus the spirit magnet for ,jew and all4 ,,ii4 ,the ,person of ,jesus4 #a4 ,the ,human ,jesus4 ,god's meaning of ,human3 man's fellow--two meanings of word human--original meaning--natural limitations4 ,the ,hurt of sin3 sin's added limitations4 ,our ,fellow3 ,jesus truly human--up to first standard--,his insistence--perfect in ,his humanness--fellowship in sin's limitations--hungry1 ,matthew #af3e4 ,john #d3f-h4--tired1 ,john #d3f4 ,mark #d3ch4--poverty1 ,matthew #ac3ee4 ,mark #f3c4--;hard toil1 ,john #ai3be-bg4--;homeless1 ,luke #d3af-cj4 ,matthew #h3bj4 ,luke #i3eh4--;discipline of waiting4 ,there's ,more of ,god since ,jesus ,went ,back3 the ,nazareth home--fellowship with ,his brothers--,in the shop of ,nazareth--a ,man on the throne4 #b4 ,the ,divine ,jesus4 ,jehovah-,jesus3 ,john #a3a-ah4 the intimacy of ,john1 ,john #ac3bc4 #ai3bf4 #bj3b4 #ba3g1 #bj4 with ,jesus1 ,john #ah3ae4--;,john writes of ,jesus--- when he wrote--getting the range--his literary style--the beginning--the ,word--this was ,jesus--the tragic tone4 ,god's ,spokesman3 the ,creator was ,jehovah--- ,jehovah is ,jesus--the ,spokesman--,old ,testament revelations1 ,adam1 ,enoch1 ,noah1 ,abraham1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 ,moses1 the elders of ,israel1 ,isaiah1 ,ezekiel1--,whom these saw--various ways of speaking--,john's ,gospel a battlefield--finding the ,man4 ,whom ,moses ,saw3 ,jesus' own standpoint--down from heaven1 ,john #c3ac1 #ca4 #f3ch4 #h3db4 would go back again1 ,john #f3fb4 ,john #af3e1 #aj4 #ac3a4 come on an errand1 then going back1 ,john #af3bh #ac3c4 ,he only had seen the ,father1 ,john #f3df4 only begotten ,son1 ,john #c3af1 #ah4 ,his own ,father1 ,john #e3ag1 #ah4 #aj3cb-cc4 #ai3g4--;,jesus' answer to ,jews' objection1 ,john #e3ai-dg4--;,he wrote of ,me1 the true meaning--,i and the ,father one1 ,john #aj3cj4--the ,father in ,me1 ,john #aj3ch4 the name ,father in ,old ,testament1 #b ,samuel #g3ad4 #a ,chronicles #ag3ac4 #bb3aj4 ,psalm #fh3e4 #hi3bf4 #ajc3ac4 ,isaiah #fc3af4 #fd3h4 ,jeremiah #c3d1 #ai4 ,malachi #c3ag4--;,jehovah the common name--trace ,jesus' use of ,father about #ahj times--manna1 ,john #f3cb4 ,jesus is ,god ,wooing ,man3 ,abraham--saw and was glad1 ,john #h3cc-ei--supposed meanings--natural meaning--,i am--,jesus is ,jehovah come ,himself to woo man4 #c4 ,the ,winsome ,jesus4 ,the ,face of ,jesus3 ,jesus drew crowds1 men1 women1 children1 bad people1 enemies--,his personality--face--impress of experiences--the glory of ,god in that face1 #b ,corinthians #d3f4 ,hebrews #a3c4 ,the ,music of ,god in the ,voice of ,jesus3 the eye--,jesus' eyes1 ,luke #d3af-cj4 ,john #h3ei4 #aj3ca4 #g3cb1 #de1 #df4 #ah3f4 ,mark #aj3cb4 #i3cf4 #aj3ac-af4 ,luke #ai3dh4--;,his voice1 ,matthew #bf3cj4 personal touch1 ,matthew #h3c1 #ae4 #i3bi4 #ag3g4 #bj3cd4 ,mark #a3da4 #g3cc4 ,luke #e3ac4 #bb3ea4 7,john #ad3af-bj74 ,his presence irresistible4 ,moses' request1 ,exodus #cc3ah4 ,jesus draws men--yielding to ,his power4 ,,iii4 ,the ,great ,experiences of ,jesus' ,life4 #a4 ,the ,jordan3 ,the ,decisive ,start4 ,matthew #c3ac-ag4 ,mark #a3i-aa4 ,luke #c3ba-bb4 ,the ,anvil of ,experience3 knowledge only through experience--the ,fourth1 ,daniel #c3be4--three ,hebrews1 ,daniel #c4--;,babylonian premier1 ,daniel #f3af-bc4--;,george ,mueller--,jesus made perfect through experience1 ,hebrews #b3aj4 #e3h1 #i4 #g3bh1 l4c4--all our experiences1 ,hebrews #b3ad-ah4 ,philippians #b3g4 ,hebrews #d3ae1 except through sin1 ,hebrews #d3ae1 l4c4 #g3bf4 #b ,corinthians #e3ba1 f4c4 #a ,peter #b3bb4 #a ,john #c3e1 l4c4--,jesus' suffering1 ,philippians #b3f-h4 ,hebrews #b3i1 #ag1 #ah4 #d3ae4 ,his obedience1 ,luke #b3ea4 ,matthew #bf3ci4 ,john #aj3ah4 #ad3ca4 ,philippians #b3h4 ,romans #e3ai4 ,hebrews #e3h4 knowledge through experience--common experiences--mountain peaks--the tragic in each4 ,our ,brother3 ,jesus coming for baptism--,john's objection--why baptized--getting in touch--the point of contact--choosing for ,himself the ,father's choice--the dangers--,his strong purpose--the ,father's approval--three times the voice1 here1 transfiguration1 ,matthew #ag3e4 ,mark #i3g4 ,luke #i3ce4 ,greeks1 ,john #ab3bh4 the decisive start4 #b4 ,the ,wilderness3 ,temptation4 ,matthew #d3a-aa4 ,mark #a3ab1 #ac4 ,luke #d3a-ac4 ,the ,university of ,arabia3 ,jesus' naturalness--the ,spirit's presence--intensity1 ,luke #b3de-ea4--;a true perspective--- the temptation's path--sin's path--,john's grouping1 #a ,john #b3af4--the ,spirit's plan--why--the devil's weakness--the ,spirit's leading--a wilderness for every ,god-used man1 ,moses1 ,elijah1 ,paul4 ,earth's ,ugliest1 ,deepest ,scar3 ,jesus the only one led up to be tempted--the wilderness--its history1 ,genesis #ac3aj-ac4 #ah3af-ai3ch4--;,jesus really tempted--no wrong here in inner response--every temptation--by the devil4 ,waiting the ,father's ,word3 the tempter's skill--acting divinely--a stone for hunger--not wrong in itself--recognizing temptation--man--waiting the ,father's word--the trained inner ear--not our power but ,god's through our obedience4 ,love never tests3 a more agreeable setting--touching tender chords--the religious temptation--only through consent--bad scripture quoting1 ,psalm #ia--;a helpful dust-cloth--using power only to help--a true quotation1 ,deuteronomy #f3af4 ,the ,devil acknowledges the ,king3 a dazzling scene--analyzing the tempter's proposition--a common cunning trap--,jesus' kingly conduct--the devil obeys ,him--but to return--a coward--our safety in ,jesus--lead us not into temptation4 #c4 ,the ,transfiguration3 ,an ,emergency ,measure4 ,matthew #af3bh-ag3a-h4 ,mark #i3a-h4 ,luke #i3bg-cf4 ,god in ,sore ,straits3 the darkest hour save one1 fugitive1 ,john #g3a4 ban1 ,john #i3bb1 #cd4 pushing1 ,matthew #ae3a4 ,mark #g3a4--the danger zone1 withdrew1 ,matthew #d3ab4 #ab3ae4 #ad3ac4 #ae3ba4 ,tabernacles1 ,john #g3cb4 #h3ei4--;,galileans desert1 ,john #f3fj-ff4--the inner circle infected1 ,john #f3fg-ga4--;,god needs men4 ,fire and anvil for ,leaders3 mental strength--seasoned leadership--,simon and ,peter4 ,an ,irresistible ,plan3 alone with the twelve--the changed plan1 ,matthew #af3ah-ba4--,peter's stupid boldness1 ,matthew #af3bb1 with ,mark #h3cb4--the best available stuff--to see the ,jesus within--getting ,paul1 ,acts #i3a-i4 #bb3f-aa4 #bf3ab-ah4 ,the ,glory of that ,light3 while praying--changed from within--absorbed with ,jesus' master-stroke--the jarring human note--the glory obscured--through an opened door--the kingdom4 ,a ,vision of ,jesus3 gleams of light--the purpose secured1 ,john #bj3ai1 #bd1 #bf-bi4--;an indelible impress1 ,john #a3ad4 #ab3da4 ,mark #i3c with #a ,peter #a3af-ag4 ,acts #ab3b4--;changed while looking1 ,acts #bb3aa4 #b ,corinthians #c3ah4 #d4 ,gethsemane3 ,the ,strange1 ,lone ,struggle4 ,matthew #bf3cf-df4 ,mark #ad3cb-db4 ,luke #bb3ci-df4 ,hebrews #e3g4 ,the ,pathway in3 messengers ahead--,jesus felt the cross drawing near--the look of ,his face1 ,luke #i3ea-ee4--;,his disciples afraid1 ,mark #aj3cb4--;indignation against sin1 ,john #aa3cc1 #ch4 marginal reading ,american ,revision4--the ,greeks1 ,john #ab3bj-bh4 ,the ,climax of ,suffering3 the darkest shadow--why the struggle is strange--shock of extremes--,his purpose in yielding--separation from the ,father--,matthew #bg3df4 ,mark #ae3cd margin4--the superlative degree of suffering4 ,alone3 a full evening1 ,matthew #bf3ag-ai with parallels4 ,john1 chapters #ac to #ag4--;for prayer--on knees and face--the changed prayer--ready for the worst4 #e4 ,calvary3 ,victory4 ,matthew #bf3dg-bg3fa4 ,mark #ad3 #dc-ae3dg4 ,luke #bb3dg-bc3ef4 ,john #ah3a-ai3db4 ,yielding to ,arrest3 the betrayal--protecting the disciples--checking ,peter's violence--the arrest--the disciples forsake ,him--except two1 ,john #ah3ae1 #af4 ,the ,real ,jewish ,ruler3 ,annas the intriguer--an unrebuked insult--the case settled at once--before ,caiaphas--difficulty in fixing a charge--the dramatic question and solemn answer--second condemnation--gross insults4 ,held ,steady by ,great ,love3 ,peter gains entrance through ,john1 ,john #ah3af4--the stammering denial--the bolder--with oaths and curses--,jesus' look--,peter's tears4 ,an ,obstinate ,roman3 before the senate--trying to make a case--the formal condemnation--before ,pilate--an unexpected set-back--alone with ,pilate--acquitted--shrill protests--off to ,herod4 ,a ,savage ,duel3 before ,herod--no word for him--more insults--a second acquittal--back to ,pilate--his character--his summing up--their protests--his wife's message--,barabbas or ,jesus--,pilate weakening--the scourging and coarse mocking--,pilate's surprise--a new charge--the governor startled--alone again with ,pilate--the use of ,caesar's name--renunciation of national hopes--the defeated governor's small revenge--the duel over4 ,victory3 out to ,calvary--the pitying women--crucified--praying for the soldiers--pitching dice for ,his clothes--the inscription--coarse taunts and jests--winning a man at the very last--providing for ,his mother the darkness--the agonizing cry--the shout of victory4 #f4 ,the ,resurrection3 ,gravity ,upward4 ,matthew #bh3a-ae4 ,mark #af3a-h4 ,luke #bd3a-di4 ,john #bj3a-ba3be4 #a ,corinthians #ae3d-g4 ,a ,new ,morning3 early visit to the tomb--,mary ,magdalene's alarmed call for ,peter--the message of the angels--,peter and ,john come--another group of women get an angelic message4 ,jesus seeking out ,peter3 ,mary ,magdalene meets ,jesus--,he meets other women--the soldiers' story--alone with ,peter4 ,made ,known in the ,breaking of ,bread3 the ,emmaus travellers--the ,stranger's explanation--the evening meal--the ,master6 ,even so ,send ,i you3 the meeting in ,jerusalem--the ,master's unexpected presence--the sure proofs--breathing on them--,thomas' stubborn doubts--a week later--a second great catch of fish--to ,james--to five hundred--on ,olives' top--the ,bethany home not represented4 ,gravity ,upward3 the resurrection not expected--fully assured--the new victory-day--,jesus was raised--,he rose at will--,his dying voluntary1 so the rising--man's true gravity--sin's gravity--,jesus' gravity upward4 ,the ,life ,side of ,death3 bodily changes in ,jesus--personal identity unchanged--limitations gone--the ,leader of a new sort of life4 #g4 ,the ,ascension3 ,back ,home ,again ,until---- ,tarry ye--,go ye3 the ,jerusalem meeting--the walk to ,olives--not ,palestine only1 but a world--the last word--upward--seen no more4 ,coming again3 gazing upward1 ,acts #a3aj1 #aa4--;a continuation upward--the ,olivet outlook4 ,footnotes #a ,genesis #b3 #be4 #b ,schiller4 #c ,an ,indian ,priestess4 ,published by ,hodder ,stoughton4 #d ,mary ,a4 ,lathbury4 #e ,nathaniel ,parker ,willis4 #f ,arthur ,peirce ,vaughn4 #g ,so the best manuscripts4 #h ,frances ,ridley ,havergal4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,a ,original text read disguest4