,personal ,friendships  of ,jesus   ,,by
  ,j4 ,r4 ,,miller1 ,d4 ,d4             
,,author ,,of ,,silent ,,times1 ,,making
 ,,the ,,most ,,of ,,life1   ,,things   
,,to ,,live ,,for1 ,,blessing ,,of      
,,cheerfulness1 ,,etc4      ,one friend 
in that path shall be1     ,to secure my
 steps from wrong2   ,one to count night
 day for me1     ,patient through the   
watches long1   ,serving most with none 
to see4                                 
,,browning4    ,new ,york  ,,thomas ,y4 
,,crowell  ,,co4  ,,publishers          
,,copyright1 #ahig1  ,,by ,,thomas ,y4  
,,crowell  ,,company4  ,,eighth         
,,thousand     ,,preface4  ,george      
,mac,donald said in an address1 ,the    
longer ,i live1 the more ,i am assured  
that the business of life is to         
understand the ,lord ,christ4 ,if this  
be true1 whatever sheds even a little   
light on the character or life of       
,christ is worth while4  ,nothing       
reveals a man's heart better than his   
friendships4  ,the kind of friend he is1

 tells the kind of man he is4  ,the     
personal friendships of ,jesus reveal   
many tender and beautiful things in his 
character4  ,they show us also what is  
possible for us in divine friendship2   
for the heart of ,jesus is the same     
yesterday1 and to-day1 and forever4     
,these chapters are only suggestive1 not
 exhaustive4  ,if they make the way into
 close personal friendship with ,jesus  
any plainer for those who hunger for    
such blessed intimacy1 that will be     
reward enough4  ,j4 ,r4 ,m4             
,,philadelphia4     ,,contents4         
,,chapter      ,i4  ,,the               
,,humanheartedness ,,of ,,jesus    ,,ii4
  ,,jesus ,,and ,,his ,,mother   ,,iii4 
,,jesus ,,and ,,his ,,forerunner        
,,iv4  ,,jesus' ,,conditions ,,of       
,,friendship     ,v4  ,,jesus ,,choosing
 ,,his ,,friends    ,,vi4  ,,jesus ,,and
 ,,the ,,beloved ,,disciple   ,,vii4    
,,jesus ,,and ,,peter  ,,viii4  ,,jesus 
,,and ,,thomas    ,,ix4  ,,jesus'       
,,unrequited ,,friendships     ,x4      

,,jesus ,,and ,,the ,,bethany ,,sisters 
,,xi4  ,,jesus ,,comforting ,,his       
,,friends   ,,xii4  ,,jesus ,,and ,,his 
,,secret ,,friends  ,,xiii4  ,,jesus'   
,,farewell ,,to ,,his ,,friends   ,,xiv4
  ,,jesus' ,,friendships ,,after ,,he   
,,arose    ,,xv4  ,,jesus ,,as ,a       
,,friend       ,all ,i could never be1  
,all men ignored in me1   ,this ,i was  
worth to ,god4               ,,browning4
           ,but lead me1 ,man divine1   
,where'er ,thou will'st1 only that ,i   
may find   ,at the long journey's end   
,thy image there1   ,and grow more like 
to it4  ,for art not ,thou   ,the human 
shadow of the infinite ,love   ,that    
made and fills the endless universe8    
,the very ,word of ,him1 the unseen1    
unknown1   ,eternal ,good that rules the
 summer flower   ,and all the worlds    
that people starry space4               
,,richard ,,watson ,,gilder4     ,,the  
,,friendships ,,of ,,jesus4   ,,chapter 
,i4  ,,the ,,humanheartedness ,,of      
,,jesus4    ,o ,god1 ,o kinsman loved1  

but not enough1     ,o man with eyes    
majestic after death1   ,whose feet have
 toiled along our pathways rough1       
,whose lips drawn human breath2    ,by  
that one likeness which is ours and     
thine1     ,by that one nature which    
doth hold us kin1   ,by that high heaven
 where sinless thou dost shine1     ,to 
draw us sinners in2    ,by thy last     
silence in the judgment hall1     ,by   
long foreknowledge of the deadly tree1  
,by darkness1 by the wormwood and the   
gall1     ,i pray thee visit me4        
,,jean ,,ingelow4   ,there is a natural 
tendency to think of ,jesus as different
 from other men in the human element of 
his personality4  ,our adoration of him 
as our divine ,lord makes it seem almost
 sacrilege to place his humanity in the 
ordinary rank with that of other men4   
,it seems to us that life could not have
 meant the same to him that it means to 
us4  ,it is difficult for us to conceive
 of him as learning in childhood as     
other children have to learn4  ,we find 

ourselves fancying that he must always  
have known how to read and write and    
speak4  ,we think of the experiences of 
his youth and young manhood as          
altogether unlike those of any other boy
 or young man in the village where he   
grew up4  ,this same feeling leads us to
 think of his temptation as so different
 from what temptation is to other men as
 to be really no temptation at all4  ,so
 we are apt to think of all the human   
life of ,jesus as being in some way     
lifted up out of the rank of ordinary   
experiences4  ,we do not conceive of him
 as having the same struggles that we   
have in meeting trial1 in enduring      
injury and wrong1 in learning obedience1
 patience1 meekness1 submission1 trust1 
and cheerfulness4  ,we conceive of his  
friendships as somehow different from   
other men's4  ,we feel that in some     
mysterious way his human life was       
supported and sustained by the deity    
that dwelt in him1 and that he was      
exempt from all ordinary limiting       

conditions of humanity4  ,there is no   
doubt that with many people this feeling
 of reverence has been in the way of the
 truest understanding of ,jesus1 and    
ofttimes those who have clung most      
devoutly to a belief in his deity have  
missed much of the comfort which comes  
from a proper comprehension of his      
humanity4  ,yet the story of ,jesus as  
told in the ,gospels furnishes no ground
 for any confusion on the subject of his
 human life4  ,it represents him as     
subject to all ordinary human conditions
 excepting sin4  ,he began life as every
 infant begins1 in feebleness and       
ignorance2 and there is no hint of any  
precocious development4  ,he learned as 
every child must learn4  ,the lessons   
were not gotten easily or without       
diligent study4 ,he played as other boys
 did1 and with them4  ,the more we think
 of the youth of ,jesus as in no marked 
way unlike that of those among whom he  
lived1 the truer will our thought of him
 be4  ,millais the great artist1 when he

 was a young man1 painted an unusual    
picture of ,jesus4  ,he represented him 
as a little boy in the home at          
,nazareth4  ,he has cut his finger on   
some carpenter's tool1 and comes to his 
mother to have it bound up4  ,the       
picture is really one of the truest of  
all the many pictures of ,jesus1 because
 it depicts just such a scene as        
ofttimes may have been witnessed in his 
youth4  ,evidently there was nothing in 
his life in ,nazareth that drew the     
attention of his companions and         
neighbors to him in any striking way4   
,we know that he wrought no miracles    
until after he had entered upon his     
public ministry4  ,we can think of him  
as living a life of unselfishness and   
kindness4  ,there was never any sin or  
fault in him2 he always kept the law of 
,god perfectly4  ,but his perfection was
 not something startling4 ,there was no 
halo about his head1 no transfiguration1
 that awed men4 ,we are told that he    
grew in favor with men as well as with  

,god4  ,his religion made his life      
beautiful and winning1 but always so    
simple and natural that it drew no      
unusual attention to itself4  ,it was   
richly and ideally human4  ,so it was   
unto the end4  ,through the years of his
 public ministry1 when his words and    
works burned with divine revealing1 he  
continued to live an altogether natural 
human life4  ,he ate and drank2 he grew 
weary and faint2 he was tempted in all  
points like as we are1 and suffered1    
being tempted4  ,he learned obedience by
 the things that he endured4  ,he       
hungered and thirsted1 never ministering
 with his divine power to any of his own
 needs4  ,in all things it behooved him 
to be made like unto his brethren4  ,in 
nothing else is this truth more clearly 
shown than in the humanheartedness which
 was so striking a feature of the life  
of ,jesus among men4  ,when we think of 
him as the ,son of ,god1 the question   
arises1 ,did he really care for personal
 friendships with men and women of the  

human family8  ,in the home from which  
he came he had dwelt from all eternity  
in the bosom of the ,father1 and had    
enjoyed the companionship of the highest
 angels4  ,what could he find in this   
world of imperfect1 sinful beings to    
meet the cravings of his heart for      
fellowship8  ,whom could he find among  
earth's sinful creatures worthy of his  
friendship1 or capable of being in any  
real sense his personal friend8  ,what  
satisfaction could his heart find in    
this world's deepest and holiest love8  
,what light can a dim candle give to the
 sun8  ,does the great ocean need the   
little dewdrop that hides in the bosom  
of the rose8  ,what blessing or         
inspiration of love can any poor1       
marred1 stained life give to the soul of
 the ,christ8  ,yet the ,gospels abound 
with evidences that ,jesus did crave    
human love1 that he found sweet comfort 
in the friendships which he made1 and   
that much of his keenest suffering was  
caused by failures in the love of those 

who ought to have been true to him as   
his friends4  ,he craved affection1 and 
even among the weak and faulty men and  
women about him made many very sacred   
attachments from which he drew strength 
and comfort4  ,we must distinguish      
between ,christ's love for all men and  
his friendship for particular           
individuals4  ,he was in the world to   
reveal the ,father1 and all the divine  
compassion for sinners was in his heart4
 ,it was this mighty love that brought  
him to earth on the mission of          
redemption4  ,it was this that impelled 
and constrained him in all his seeking  
of the lost4  ,he had come to be the    
,saviour of all who would believe and   
follow him4  ,therefore he was          
interested in every merest fragment or  
shred of life4  ,no human soul was so   
debased that he did not love it4  ,but  
besides this universal divine love      
revealed in the heart of ,jesus1 he had 
his personal human friendships4  ,a     
philanthropist may give his whole life  

to the good of his fellow-men1 to their 
uplifting1 their advancement1 their     
education2 to the liberation of the     
enslaved2 to work among and in behalf of
 the poor1 the sick1 or the fallen4     
,all suffering humanity has its interest
 for him1 and makes appeal to his       
compassion4  ,yet amid the world of     
those whom he thus loves and wishes to  
help1 this man will have his personal   
friends2 and through the story of his   
life will run the golden threads of     
sweet companionships and friendships    
whose benedictions and inspirations will
 be secrets of strength1 cheer1 and help
 to him in all his toil in behalf of    
others4  ,jesus gave all his rich and   
blessed life to the service of love4    
,power was ever going out from him to   
heal1 to comfort1 to cheer1 to save4    
,he was continually emptying out from   
the full fountain of his own heart      
cupfuls of rich life to reinvigorate    
other lives in their faintness and      
exhaustion4  ,one of the sources of his 

own renewing and replenishing was in the
 friendships he had among men and women4
  ,what friends are to us in our human  
hunger and need1 the friends of ,jesus  
were to him4  ,he craved companionship1 
and was sorely hurt when men shut their 
doors in his face4  ,there are few more 
pathetic words in the ,new ,testament   
than that short sentence which tells of 
his rejection1 ,he came unto his own1   
and his own received him not4  ,another 
pathetic word is that which describes   
the neglect of those who ought to have  
been ever eager to show him hospitality3
 ,the foxes have holes1 and the birds of
 the air have nests2 but the ,son of man
 hath not where to lay his head4  ,even 
the beasts of the field and the birds of
 the heaven had warmer welcome in this  
world than he in whose heart was the    
most gentle love that earth ever knew4  
,another word which reveals the deep    
hunger of the heart of ,jesus for       
friendship and companionship was spoken 
in view of the hour when even his own   

apostles would leave him3 ,behold1 the  
hour cometh1 yea1 is now come1 that ye  
shall be scattered1 every man to his    
own1 and shall leave me alone4  ,the    
experience of the garden of ,gethsemane 
also shows in a wonderful way the       
,lord's craving for sympathy4  ,in his  
great sorrow he wished to have his best 
friends near him1 that he might lean on 
them1 and draw from their love a little 
strength for his hour of bitter need4   
,it was an added element in the sorrow  
of that night that he failed to get the 
help from human sympathy which he       
yearned for and expected4 ,when he came 
back each time after his supplication1  
he found his apostles sleeping4  ,these 
are some of the glimpses which we get in
 the ,gospel story of the longing heart 
of ,jesus4  ,he loved deeply1 and sought
 to be loved4  ,he was disappointed when
 he failed to find affection4  ,he      
welcomed love wherever it came to       
him1--the love of the poor1 the         
gratitude of those whom he had helped1  

the trusting affection of little        
children4  ,we can never know how much  
the friendship of the beloved disciple  
was to ,jesus4  ,what a shelter and     
comfort the ,bethany home was to him1   
and how his strength was renewed by its 
sweet fellowship6  ,how even the        
smallest kindnesses were a solace to his
 heart6  ,how he was comforted by the   
affection and the ministries of the     
women-friends who followed him6  ,in the
 chapters of this book which follow1 the
 attempt is made to tell the story of   
some of the friendships of ,jesus1      
gathering up the threads from the       
,gospel pages4  ,sometimes the material 
is abundant1 as in the case of ,peter   
and ,john2 sometimes we have only a     
glimpse or two in the record1 albeit    
enough to reveal a warm and tender      
friendship1 as in the case of the       
,bethany sisters1 and of ,andrew1 and of
 ,joseph4  ,it may do us good to study  
these friendship stories4  ,it will at  
least show us the humanheartedness of   

,jesus1 and his method in blessing and  
saving the world4  ,the central fact in 
every true ,christian life is a personal
 friendship with ,jesus4  ,men were     
called to follow him1 to leave all and  
cleave to him1 to believe on him1 to    
trust him1 to love him1 to obey him2 and
 the result was the transformation of   
their lives into his own beauty4  ,that 
which alone makes one a ,christian is   
being a friend of ,jesus4  ,friendship  
transforms--all human friendship        
transforms4  ,we become like those with 
whom we live in close1 intimate         
relations4  ,life flows into life1 heart
 and heart are knit together1 spirits   
blend1 and the two friends become one4  
,we have but little to give to ,christ2 
yet it is a comfort to know that our    
friendship really is precious to him1   
and adds to his joy1 poor and meagre    
though its best may be--but he has      
infinite blessings to give to us4  ,i   
call you friends4  ,no other gift he    
gives to us can equal in value the love 

and friendship of his heart4  ,when     
,cyrus gave ,artabazus1 one of his      
courtiers1 a gold cup1 he gave          
,chrysanthus1 his favorite1 only a kiss4
  ,and ,artabazus said to ,cyrus1 ,the  
cup you gave me was not so good gold as 
the kiss you gave ,chrysanthus4  ,no    
good man's money is ever worth so much  
as his love4  ,certainly the greatest   
honor of this earth1 greater than rank  
or station or wealth1 is the friendship 
of ,jesus ,christ4  ,and this honor is  
within the reach of every one4          
,henceforth ,i call you not servants 444
 ,i have called you friends4 ,ye are my 
friends1 if ye do whatsoever ,i command 
you4  ,the stories of the friendships of
 ,jesus when he was on the earth need   
cause no one to sigh1 ,i wish that ,i   
had lived in those days1 when ,jesus    
lived among men1 that ,i might have been
 his friend too1 feeling the warmth of  
his love1 my life enriched by contact   
with his1 and my spirit quickened by his
 love and grace6  ,the friendships of   

,jesus1 whose stories we read in the    
,new ,testament1 are only patterns of   
friendships into which we may enter1 if 
we are ready to accept what he offers1  
and to consecrate our life to           
faithfulness and love4  ,the friendship 
of ,jesus includes all other blessings  
for time and for eternity4  ,all things 
are yours1 and ye are ,christ's4  ,his  
friendship sanctifies all pure human    
bonds--no friendship is complete which  
is not woven of a threefold cord4  ,if  
,christ is our friend1 all life is made 
rich and beautiful to us4  ,the past1   
with all of sacred loss it holds1 lives 
before us in him4  ,the future is a     
garden-spot in which all life's sweet   
hopes1 that seem to have perished on the
 earth1 will be found growing for us4   
,fields of the past to thee shall be no 
more    ,the burialground of friendships
 once in bloom1   ,but the seed-plots of
 a harvest on before1    ,and prophecies
 of life with larger room       ,for    
things that are behind4    ,live thou in

 ,christ1 and thy dead past shall be    
,alive forever with eternal day2   ,and 
planted on his bosom thou shall see     
,the flowers revived that withered on   
the way         ,amid the things behind4
     ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,jesus ,,and     
,,his ,,mother4      ,sleep1 sleep1 mine
 ,holy ,one6   ,my flesh1 my            
,lord6--what name8  ,i do not know   ,a 
name that seemeth not too high or low1  
,too far from me or heaven4   ,my       
,jesus1 that is best6       99      99  
99   ,sleep1 sleep1 my saving ,one4     
,,mrs4 ,,browning4   ,the first friend a
 child has in this world is its mother4 
,it comes here an utter stranger1       
knowing no one2 but it finds love       
waiting for it4  ,instantly the little  
stranger has a friend1 a bosom to nestle
 in1 an arm to encircle it1 a hand to   
minister to its helplessness4  ,love is 
born with the child4  ,the mother       
presses it to her breast1 and at once   
her heart's tendrils twine about it4    
,it is a good while before the child    

becomes conscious of the wondrous love  
that is bending over it1 yet all the    
time the love is growing in depth and   
tenderness4  ,in a thousand ways1 by a  
thousand delicate arts1 the mother seeks
 to waken in her child a response to her
 own yearning love4  ,at length the     
first gleams of answering affection     
appear--the child has begun to love4    
,from that hour the holy friendship     
grows4 ,the two lives become knit in    
one4  ,when ,god would give the world a 
great man1 a man of rare spirit and     
transcendent power1 a man with a lofty  
mission1 he first prepares a woman to be
 his mother4  ,whenever in history we   
come upon such a man1 we instinctively  
begin to ask about the character of her 
on whose bosom he nestled in infancy1   
and at whose knee he learned his life's 
first lessons4  ,we are sure of finding 
here the secret of the man's greatness4 
,when the time drew nigh for the        
incarnation of the ,son of ,god1 we may 
be sure that into the soul of the woman 

who should be his mother1 who should    
impart her own life to him1 who should  
teach him his first lessons1 and prepare
 him for his holy mission1 ,god put the 
loveliest and the best qualities that   
ever were lodged in any woman's life4   
,we need not accept the teaching that   
exalts the mother of ,jesus to a place  
beside or above her divine ,son4  ,we   
need have no sympathy whatever with the 
dogma that ascribes worship to the      
,virgin ,mary1 and teaches that the ,son
 on his throne must be approached by    
mortals through his more merciful1 more 
gentle-hearted mother4  ,but we need not
 let these errors concerning ,mary      
obscure the real blessedness of her     
character4  ,we remember the angel's    
greeting1 ,blessed art thou among women4
  ,hers surely was the highest honor    
ever conferred upon any woman4    ,say  
of me as the ,heavenly said1 ',thou art 
,the blessedest of women6'--blessedest1 
,not holiest1 not noblest1--no high     
name1   ,whose height misplaced may     

pierce me like a shame1   ,when ,i sit  
meek in heaven6   ,we know how other    
men1 men of genius1 rarely ever have    
failed to give to their mothers the     
honor of whatever of greatness or worth 
they had attained4  ,but somehow we     
shrink from saying that ,jesus was      
influenced by his mother as other good  
men have been2 that he got from her much
 of the beauty and the power of his     
life4  ,we are apt to fancy that his    
mother was not to him what mothers      
ordinarily are to their children2 that  
he did not need mothering as other      
children do2 that by reason of the      
,deity indwelling1 his character        
unfolded from within1 without the aid of
 home teaching and training1 and the    
other educational influences which do so
 much in shaping the character of       
children in common homes4  ,but there is
 no ,scriptural ground for this feeling4
  ,the humanity of ,jesus was just like 
our humanity4  ,he came into the world  
just as feeble and as untaught as any   

other child that ever was born4  ,no    
mother was ever more to her infant than 
,mary was to ,jesus4  ,she taught him   
all his first lessons4  ,she gave him   
his first thoughts about ,god1 and from 
her lips he learned the first lispings  
of prayer4  ,jewish mothers cared very  
tenderly for their children4  ,they     
taught them with unwearying patience the
 words of ,god4  ,one of the rabbis     
said1 ,god could not be everywhere1 and 
therefore he made mothers4  ,this saying
 shows how sacred was the ,jewish       
thought of the mother's work for her    
child4  ,every true mother feels a sense
 of awe in her soul when she bends over 
her own infant child2 but in the case of
 ,mary we may be sure that the awe was  
unusual1 because of the mystery of the  
child's birth4  ,in the annunciation the
 angel had said to her1 ,that which is  
to be born shall be called holy1 the    
,son of ,god4  ,then the night of her   
child's birth there was a wondrous      
vision of angels1 and the shepherds who 

beheld it hastened into the town2 and as
 they looked upon the baby in the       
manger1 they told the wondering mother  
what they had seen and heard4  ,we are  
told that ,mary kept all these things1  
pondering them in her heart4 ,while she 
could not understand what all this      
meant1 she knew at least that hers was  
no common child2 that in some wonderful 
sense he was the ,son of ,god4  ,this   
consciousness must have given to her    
motherhood an unusual thoughtfulness and
 seriousness4  ,how close to ,god she   
must have lived6 ,how deep and tender   
her love must have been6  ,how pure and 
clean her heart must have been kept6    
,how sweet and patient she must have    
been as she moved about at her tasks1 in
 order that no harsh or bitter thought  
or feeling might ever cast a shadow upon
 the holy life which had been intrusted 
to her for training and moulding4  ,only
 a few times is the veil lifted to give 
us a glimpse of mother and child4  ,on  
the fortieth day he was taken to the    

temple1 and given to ,god4  ,then it was
 that another reminder of the glory of  
this child was given to the mother4  ,an
 old man1 ,simeon1 took the infant in   
his arms1 and spoke of him as ,god's    
salvation4  ,as he gave the parents his 
parting blessing he lifted the veil1 and
 showed them a glimmering of the future4
  ,this child is set for the fall and   
rising again of many in ,israel2 and for
 a sign which shall be spoken against4  
,then to the mother he said solemnly1   
,yea1 a sword shall pierce through thine
 own soul also4  ,this was a foretelling
 of the sorrow which should come to the 
heart of ,mary1 and which came again and
 again1 until at last she saw her son on
 a cross4  ,the shadow of the cross     
rested on ,mary's soul all the years4   
,every time she rocked her baby to      
sleep1 and laid him down softly1        
covering his face with kisses1 there    
would come into her heart a pang as she 
remembered ,simeon's words4  ,perhaps1  
too1 words from the old prophets would  

come into her mind1--,he is despised and
 rejected of men2 a man of sorrows2 ,he 
was bruised for our iniquities1--and the
 tears would come welling into her eyes4
  ,every time she saw her child at play1
 full of gladness1 all unconscious of   
any sorrow awaiting him1 a nameless fear
 would steal over her as she remembered 
the ominous words which had fallen upon 
her ear1 and which she could not forget4
  ,soon after the presentation in the   
temple came the visit of the magi4      
,again the mother must have wondered as 
she heard these strangers from the ,east
 speak of her infant boy as the ,king of
 the ,jews1 and saw them falling down   
before him in reverent worship1 and then
 laying their offerings at his feet4    
,immediately following this came the    
flight into ,egypt4  ,how the mother    
must have pressed her child to her bosom
 as she fled with him to escape the     
cruel danger6  ,by and by they returned1
 and from that time ,nazareth was their 
home4  ,only once in the thirty years do

 we have a glimpse of mother and child4 
,it was when ,jesus went to his first   
,passover4  ,when the time came for     
returning home the child tarried behind4
  ,after a painful search the mother    
found him in one of the porches of the  
temple1 sitting with the rabbis1 an     
eager learner4  ,there is a tone of     
reproach in her words1 ,son1 why hast   
thou thus dealt with us8 behold1 thy    
father and ,i have sought thee          
sorrowing4  ,she was sorely perplexed4  
,all the years before this her son had  
implicitly obeyed her4  ,he had never   
resisted her will1 never withdrawn from 
her guidance4  ,now he had done         
something without asking her about      
it--as it were1 had taken his life into 
his own hand4  ,it was a critical point 
in the friendship of this mother and her
 child4  ,it is a critical moment in the
 friendship of any mother and her child 
when the child begins to think and act  
for himself1 to do things without the   
mother's guidance4  ,the answer of      

,jesus is instructive3 ,i must be about 
my ,father's business4  ,there was      
another besides his mother to whom he   
owed allegiance4  ,he was the ,son of   
,god as well as the son of ,mary4       
,parents should remember this always in 
dealing with their children1--their     
children are more ,god's than theirs4   
,it is interesting to notice what       
follows that remarkable experience of   
mother and child in the temple4  ,jesus 
returned with his mother to the lowly   
,nazareth home1 and was subject to her4 
,in recognizing his relation to ,god as 
his heavenly ,father1 he did not become 
any less the child of his earthly       
mother4  ,he loved his mother no less   
because he loved ,god more4  ,obedience 
to the ,father in heaven did not lead   
him to reject the rule of earthly       
parenthood4  ,he went back to the quiet 
home1 and for eighteen years longer     
found his ,father's business in the     
common round of lowly tasks which made  
up the daily life of such a home4  ,it  

would be intensely interesting to read  
the story of mother and son during those
 years1 but it has not been written for 
us4  ,they must have been years of      
wondrous beauty4  ,few things in this   
world are more beautiful than such      
friendships as one sometimes sees       
between mother and son4  ,the boy is    
more the lover than the child4  ,the two
 enter into the closest companionship4  
,a sacred and inviolable intimacy is    
formed between them4  ,the boy opens all
 his heart to his mother1 telling her   
everything2 and she1 happy woman1 knows 
how to be a boy's mother and to keep a  
mother's place without ever startling or
 checking the shy confidences1 or       
causing him to desire to hide anything  
from her4  ,the boy whispers his inmost 
thoughts to his mother1 and listens to  
her wise and gentle counsels with loving
 eagerness and childish faith--         
,her face his holy skies2   ,the air he 
breathes his mother's breath1     ,his  
stars his mother's eyes4   ,not always  

are mother and boy such friends4  ,some 
mothers do not think it worth while to  
give the time and thought necessary to  
enter into a boy's life in such         
confidential way4  ,but we may be sure  
that between the mother of ,jesus and   
her son the most tender and intimate    
friendship existed4  ,he opened his soul
 to her2 and she gave him not a mother's
 love only1 but also a mother's wise    
counsel and strong1 inspiring sympathy4 
,it is almost certain that sorrow       
entered the ,nazareth home soon after   
the visit to ,jerusalem4  ,joseph is not
 mentioned again2 and it is supposed    
that he died1 leaving ,mary a widow4    
,on ,jesus1 as the eldest son1 the care 
of the mother now rested4  ,knowing the 
deep love of his heart and his wondrous 
gentleness1 it is easy for us to        
understand with what unselfish devotion 
he cared for his mother after she was   
widowed4 ,he had learned the carpenter's
 trade2 and day after day1 early and    
late1 he wrought with his hands to      

provide for her wants4  ,very sacred    
must have been the friendship of mother 
and son in those days4  ,her gentleness1
 quietness1 hopefulness1 humility1 and  
prayerfulness1 must have wrought        
themselves into the very tissue of his  
character as he moved through the days  
in such closeness4  ,unto the end he    
carried in his soul the benedictions of 
his mother's life4  ,the thirty silent  
years of preparation closed1 and ,jesus 
went out to begin his public ministry4  
,the first glimpse we have of the mother
 is at the wedding at ,cana4  ,jesus was
 there too4  ,the wine failed1 and ,mary
 went to ,jesus about the matter4  ,they
 have no wine1 she said4 ,evidently she 
was expecting some manifesting of       
supernatural power4 ,all the years since
 his birth she had been carrying in her 
heart a great wonder of expectation4    
,now he had been baptized1 and had      
entered upon his work as the ,messiah4  
,had not the time come for              
miracle-working8  ,the answer of ,jesus 

startles us3 ,woman1 what have ,i to do 
with thee8 mine hour is not yet come4   
,the words seem to have in them a tone  
of reproof1 or of repulse1 unlike the   
words of so gentle and loving a son4    
,but really there is in his reply       
nothing inconsistent with all that we   
have learned to think of the gentleness 
and lovingness of the heart of ,jesus4  
,in substance he said only that he must 
wait for his ,father's word before doing
 any miracle1 and that the time for this
 had not yet come4  ,evidently his      
mother understood him4  ,she was not    
hurt by his words1 nor did she regard   
them as a refusal to help in the        
emergency4 ,her words to the servants   
show this3 ,whatsoever he saith unto    
you1 do it4  ,she had learned her lesson
 of sweet humility4  ,she knew now that 
,god had the highest claim on her son's 
obedience1 and she quietly waited for   
the divine voice4  ,the holy friendship 
was not marred4  ,there is another long 
period in which no mention is made of   

,mary4 ,probably she lived a secluded   
life4  ,but one day at ,capernaum1 in   
the midst of his popularity1 when ,jesus
 was preaching to a great crowd1 she and
 his brothers appeared on the outside of
 the throng1 and sent a request that    
they might speak with him4  ,it seems   
almost certain that the mother's errand 
was to try to get him away from his     
exhausting work2 he was imperilling his 
health and his safety4  ,jesus refused  
to be interrupted4  ,but it was really  
only an assertion that nothing must come
 between him and his duty4  ,the        
,father's business always comes first4  
,human ties are second to the bond which
 binds us to ,god4  ,no dishonor was    
done by ,jesus to his mother in refusing
 to be drawn away by her loving interest
 from his work4  ,the holiest human     
friendship must never keep us from doing
 the will of ,god4  ,other mothers in   
their love for their children have made 
the same mistake that the mother of     
,jesus made1--have tried to withhold or 

withdraw their children from service    
which seemed too hard or too costly4    
,the voice of tenderest love must be    
quenched when it would keep us from     
doing ,god's will4  ,the next mention of
 the mother of ,jesus is in the story of
 the cross4 ,ah1 holy mother-love1      
constant and faithful to the end6  ,at  
length ,simeon's prophecy is            
fulfilled1--a sword is piercing the     
mother's soul also4  ,jesus was         
crucified on the cross2 ,mary was       
crucified at the foot of the cross4     
,note only one feature of the           
scene1--the mother-love there is in it4 
,the story of clinging mother-love is a 
wonderful one4  ,a mother never forsakes
 her child4  ,mary is not the only      
mother who has followed a son to a      
cross4  ,here we have the culmination of
 this mother's friendship for her son4  
,she is watching beside his cross4  ,o  
friendship constant1 faithful1 undying1 
and true6  ,but what of the friendship  
of the dying son for his mother8  ,in   

his own anguish does he notice her8     
,yes2 one of the seven words spoken     
while he hung on the cross told of      
changeless love in his heart for her4   
,mary was a woman of more than fifty1   
with years before her too many for      
remembering1 too few for forgetting4    
,the world would be desolate for her    
when her son was gone4  ,so he made     
provision for her in the shelter of a   
love in which he knew she would be safe4
  ,as he saw her led away by the beloved
 disciple to his own home1 part of the  
pain of dying was gone from his own     
heart4  ,his mother would have tender   
care4  ,the story of this blessed       
friendship should sweeten forever in    
,christian homes the relation of mother 
and child4  ,it should make every mother
 a better woman and a better mother4    
,it should make every child a truer1    
holier child4  ,every home should have  
its sacred friendships between parents  
and children4  ,thus something of heaven
 will be brought down to our dull earth2

 for1 as ,mrs4 ,browning says1--    ,in 
the pure loves of child and mother      
,two human loves make one divine4       
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,jesus ,,and ,,his   
,,forerunner4      ,where is the lore   
the ,baptist taught1   ,the soul        
unswerving and the fearless tongue8     
,the much-enduring wisdom1 sought   ,by 
lonely prayer the haunted rocks among8  
,who counts it gain         ,his light  
should wane1   ,so the whole world to   
,jesus throng8             ,,keble4     
,the two ,johns appear in many          
devotional pictures1 one on each side of
 ,jesus4  ,yet the two men were vastly  
unlike4  ,the ,baptist was a wild1      
rugged man of the desert2 the apostle   
was the representative of the highest   
type of gentleness and spiritual        
refinement4  ,the former was the        
consummate flower of ,old ,testament    
prophecy2 the latter was the ripe fruit 
of ,new ,testament evangelism4  ,they   
appear in history one really on each    
side of ,jesus2 one going before him to 

prepare the way for him1 and the other  
coming after him to declare the meaning 
of his mission4  ,they were united in   
,jesus2 both of them were his friends4  
,it seems probable that ,jesus and the  
,baptist had never met until the day    
,jesus came to be baptized4  ,this is   
not to be wondered at4  ,their childhood
 homes were not near to each other4     
,besides1 ,john probably turned away at 
an early age from the abodes of men to  
make his home in the desert4  ,he may   
never have visited ,jesus1 and it is not
 unlikely that ,jesus had never visited 
him4  ,yet their mothers are said to    
have been cousins4  ,the stories of     
their births are woven together in an   
exquisite way1 in the opening chapters  
of the ,gospels4  ,to the same high     
angel fell the privilege of announcing  
to the two women1 in turn1 the tidings  
which in each case meant so much of     
honor and blessedness4  ,it would have  
seemed natural for the boys to grow up  
together1 their lives blending in       

childhood association and affection4    
,it is interesting to think what the    
effect would have been upon the         
characters of both if they had been     
reared in close companionship4  ,how    
would ,john's stern1 rugged1 unsocial   
nature have affected the gentle spirit  
of ,jesus8  ,what impression would the  
brightness1 sweetness1 and              
affectionateness of ,jesus have made on 
the temper and disposition of ,john8    
,when at last the two men met1 it is    
evident that a remarkable effect was    
produced on ,john4  ,there was something
 in the face of ,jesus that almost      
overpowered the fearless preacher of the
 desert4  ,john had been waiting and    
watching for the ,coming ,one1 whose    
herald and harbinger he was4  ,one day  
he came and asked to be baptized4  ,john
 had never before hesitated to          
administer the rite to any one who stood
 before him2 for in every one he saw a  
sinner needing repentance and remission 
of sins4 ,but he who now stood before   

him waiting to be baptized bore upon his
 face the light of an inner holiness    
which awed the rugged preacher4  ,i have
 need to be baptized of thee1 said      
,john2 but ,jesus insisted1 and the rite
 was administered4  ,john's awe must    
have been deepened by what now took     
place4  ,jesus looked up in earnest     
prayer1 and then from the open heaven a 
white dove descended1 resting on the    
head of the ,holy ,one4  ,an ancient    
legend tells that from the shining light
 the whole valley of the ,jordan was    
illuminated4  ,a divine voice was heard 
also1 declaring that this ,jesus was the
 ,son of ,god4  ,thus it was that the   
friendship between ,jesus and the       
,baptist began4 ,it was a wonderful     
moment4  ,for centuries prophets had    
been pointing forward to the ,messiah   
who was to come2 now ,john saw him4  ,he
 had baptized him1 thus introducing him 
to his great mission4  ,this made ,john 
the greatest of the prophets2 he saw the
 ,messiah whom his predecessors had only

 foretold4  ,john's rugged nature must  
have been wondrously softened by this   
meeting with ,jesus4  ,brief was the    
duration of the friendship of the       
forerunner and the ,messiah2 but there  
are evidences that it was strong1 deep1 
and true4 ,there were several occasions 
on which this friendship proved its     
sincerity and its loyalty4  ,reports of 
the preaching of ,john1 and of the      
throngs who were flocking to him1       
reached ,jerusalem2 and a deputation was
 sent by the ,sanhedrin to the desert to
 ask him who he was4  ,they had begun to
 think that this man who was attracting 
such attention might be the ,messiah for
 whom they were looking4  ,but ,john was
 careful to say that he was not the     
,christ4  ,art thou ,elias8 444  ,art   
thou that prophet8  ,he answered        
,no4--,who art thou1 then8 they asked1  
that we may give an answer to them that 
sent us4  ,what sayest thou of thyself8 
,this gave ,john an opportunity to claim
 the highest honor for himself if he had

 been disposed to do so4  ,he might have
 admitted that he was the ,messiah1 or  
quietly permitted the impression to be  
cherished2 and in the state of feeling  
and expectation then prevailing among   
the people1 there would have been a     
great uprising to carry him to a throne4
  ,but his loyalty to truth and to the  
,messiah whose forerunner he was1 was so
 strong that he firmly resisted the     
opportunity1 with whatever of temptation
 it may have had for him4  ,i am a      
voice1 he answered--nothing but a voice4
  ,thus he showed an element of         
greatness in his lowly estimate of      
himself4  ,true1 a voice may do great   
things4  ,it may speak words which shall
 ring through the world with a blessing 
in every reverberation4  ,it may arouse 
men to action1 may comfort sorrow1 cheer
 discouragement1 start hope in          
despairing hearts4  ,if one is only a   
voice1 and if there be truth and love   
and life in the voice1 its ministry may 
be rich in its influence4  ,much of the 

,bible is but a voice coming out of the 
depths of the past4 ,no one knows the   
names of all the holy men who1 moved by 
the ,spirit1 wrote the wonderful words4 
,many of the sweetest of the ,psalms are
 anonymous4  ,yet no one prizes the     
words less1 nor is their power to       
comfort1 cheer1 inspire1 or quicken any 
less1 because they are only voices4     
,after all1 it is a great thing to be a 
voice to which men and women will       
listen1 and whose words do good wherever
 they go4  ,yet ,john's speaking thus of
 himself shows his humility4  ,he sought
 no earthly praise or recognition4  ,he 
was not eager to have his name sounding 
on people's lips4  ,he knew well how    
empty such honor was4  ,he wished only  
that he might be a voice1 speaking out  
the word he had been sent into the world
 to speak4  ,he knew that he had a      
message to deliver1 and he was intent on
 delivering it4  ,it mattered not who or
 what he was1 but it did matter whether 
his word or two were spoken faithfully  

or not4  ,every one of us has a message 
from ,god to men4  ,we are in this world
 for a purpose1 with a mission1 with    
something definite to do for ,god and   
man4  ,it makes very little difference  
whether people hear about us or not1    
whether we are praised1 loved1 and      
honored1 or despised1 hated1 and        
rejected1 so that we get our word spoken
 into the air1 and set going in men's   
hearts and lives4  ,john was a worthy   
voice1 and his tones rang out with      
clarion clearness for truth and for     
,god's kingdom4 ,it was his mission to  
go in advance of the ,king1 and tell men
 that he was coming1 calling them to    
prepare the way before him4  ,this he   
did2 and when the ,king came1 ,john's   
work was done4  ,the deputation asked   
him also why he was baptizing if he was 
neither the ,christ nor ,elijah4  ,again
 ,john honored his friend by saying1 ,i 
baptize with water3 but there standeth  
one among you1 whom ye know not2 he it  
is1 who coming after me is preferred be 

fore me1 whose shoe's latchet ,i am not 
worthy to unloose4  ,john set the       
pattern for friendship for ,christ for  
all time4  ,it is1--    ,none of self1  
and all of thee4   ,it is pitiable to   
see how some among the ,master's        
followers fail to learn this lesson4    
,they contend for high places1 where    
they may have prominence among men1     
where their names shall have honor4     
,the only truly great in ,christ's sight
 are those who forget self that they may
 honor their ,lord4  ,john said he was  
not worthy to unloose the shoe-latchet  
of his friend1 so great1 so kingly1 so  
worthy was that friend4  ,he said his   
own work was only external1 while the   
,one standing unrecognized among the    
people had power to reach their hearts4 
,it were well if every follower of      
,christ understood so perfectly the     
place of his own work with relation to  
,christ's4  ,another of ,john's         
testimonies to ,jesus was made a little 
later1 perhaps as ,jesus returned after 

his temptation4  ,pointing to a young   
man who was approaching1 he said1       
,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which taketh 
away the sin of the world4  ,it was a   
high honor which in these words ,john   
gave to his friend4  ,that friend was   
the bearer of the world's sin and of its
 sorrow4  ,it is not likely that at this
 early stage ,john knew of the cross on 
which ,jesus should die for the world4  
,in some way1 however1 he saw a vision  
of ,jesus saving his people from their  
sin1 and so proclaimed him to the circle
 that stood round him4  ,he proclaimed  
him also as the ,son of ,god1 thus      
adding yet another honor to his friend4 
,a day or two later ,john again pointed 
,jesus out to two of his own disciples  
as the ,lamb of ,god1 and then bade them
 leave him and go after the ,messiah4   
,this is another mark of ,john's noble  
friendship for ,jesus1--he gave up his  
own disciples that they might go after  
the new ,master4  ,it is not easy to do 
this4  ,it takes a brave man to send his

 friends away1 that they may give their 
love and service to another master4     
,there is further illustration of       
,john's loyal friendship for ,jesus4    
,it seems that ,john's disciples were   
somewhat jealous of the growing fame and
 influence of ,jesus4  ,the throngs that
 followed their master were now turning 
after the new teacher4  ,in their great 
love for ,john1 and remembering how he  
had witnessed for ,jesus1 and called    
attention to him1 before he began his   
ministry and after1 they felt that it   
was scarcely right that ,jesus should   
rise to prosperity at the expense of him
 who had so helped him rise4  ,if ,john 
had been less noble than he was1 and his
 friendship for ,jesus less loyal1 such 
words from his followers would have     
embittered him4  ,there are people who  
do irreparable hurt by such flattering  
sympathy4  ,a spark of envy is often    
fanned into a disastrous flame by       
friends who come with such appeals to   
the evil that is in every man4  ,but    

,john's answer shows a soul of wondrous 
nobleness4  ,he had not been hurt by    
popularity1 as so many men are4  ,not   
all good people pass through times of   
great success1 with its attendant       
elation and adulation1 and come out     
simple-hearted and lowly4  ,then even a 
severer test of character is the time of
 waning favor1 when the crowds melt     
away1 and when another is receiving the 
applause4  ,many a man1 in such an      
experience1 fails to retain sweetness of
 spirit1 and becomes soured and         
embittered4  ,john stood both tests4    
,popularity did not make him vain4  ,the
 losing of his fame did not embitter    
him4  ,he kept humble and sweet through 
it all4  ,the secret was his unwavering 
loyalty to his own mission as the       
harbinger of the ,messiah4  ,a man can  
receive nothing1 except it be given him 
from heaven1 he said4  ,the power over  
men which he had wielded for a time had 
been given to him4  ,now the power had  
been withdrawn1 and given to ,jesus4    

,it was all right1 and he should not    
complain of what ,heaven had done4      
,then ,john reminded his friends that he
 had distinctly said that he was not the
 ,christ1 but was only one sent before  
him4  ,in a wondrously expressive way he
 explained his relation to ,jesus4      
,jesus was the bridegroom1 and ,john was
 only the bridegroom's friend1 and he   
rejoiced in the bridegroom's honor4  ,it
 was meet that the bridegroom should    
have the honor1 and that his friend     
should retire into the background1 and  
there be forgotten4  ,thus ,john showed 
his loyalty to ,jesus by rejoicing in   
his popular favor1 when the effect was  
to leave ,john himself deserted and     
alone after a season of great fame4  ,he
 must increase1 but ,i must decrease1   
said the noble-hearted forerunner4      
,john's work was done1 and the work of  
,jesus was now beginning4  ,john        
understood this1 and with devoted       
loyalty1 unsurpassed in all the bright  
story of friendship1 he rejoiced in the 

success that ,jesus was winning1 though 
it was at his own cost4  ,this is a     
model of noble friendship for all time4 
,envy poisons much human friendship4    
,it is not easy to work loyally for the 
honor and advancement of another when he
 is taking our place1 and drawing our   
crowds after him4  ,but in any          
circumstances envy is despicable and    
most undivine4  ,then even in our       
friendship for ,christ we need to be    
ever most watchful lest we allow self to
 creep in4  ,we must learn to care only 
for his honor and the advancement of his
 kingdom1 and never to think of         
ourselves4  ,so much for the friendship 
of ,john for ,jesus4  ,on several       
occasions we find evidences of very warm
 friendship in ,jesus for ,john4        
,john's imprisonment was a most pathetic
 episode in his life4  ,it came from his
 fidelity as a preacher of              
righteousness4  ,in view of all the     
circumstances1 we can scarcely wonder   
that in his dreary prison he began      

almost to doubt1 certainly to question1 
whether ,jesus were indeed the ,messiah4
  ,but it must be noted that even in    
this painful experience ,john was loyal 
to ,jesus4  ,when the question arose in 
his mind1 he sent directly to ,jesus to 
have it answered4  ,if only all in whose
 minds spiritual doubts or questions    
arise would do this1 good1 and not evil1
 would result in every case2 for ,christ
 always knows how to reassure perplexed 
faith4  ,it was after the visit of the  
messengers from ,john that ,jesus spoke 
the strong words which showed his warm  
friendship for his forerunner4  ,john   
had not forfeited his place in the      
,master's heart by his temporary        
doubting4  ,jesus knew that his         
disciples might think disparagingly of  
,john because he had sent the messengers
 with the question2 and as soon as they 
were gone he began to speak about ,john1
 and to speak about him in terms of     
highest praise4  ,it is an evidence of  
true friendship that one speaks well of 

one's friend behind his back4  ,some    
professed friendship will not stand this
 test4  ,but ,jesus spoke not a word of 
censure concerning ,john after the      
failure of his faith4  ,on the other    
hand1 he eulogized him in a most        
remarkable way4  ,he spoke of his       
stability and firmness2 ,john was not a 
reed shaken with the wind1 he was not a 
self-indulgent man1 courting ease and   
loving luxury2 he was a man ready for   
any self-denial and hardship4  ,jesus   
added to this eulogy of ,john's         
qualities as a man1 the statement that  
no greater soul than his had ever been  
born in this world4  ,this was high     
praise indeed4  ,it illustrates the     
loyalty of ,jesus to the friend who had 
so honored him and was suffering now    
because of faithfulness to truth and    
duty4  ,there is another incident which 
shows how much ,jesus loved ,john4  ,it 
was after the foul murder of the        
,baptist4  ,the record is very brief4   
,the friends of the dead prophet        

gathered in the prison1 and1 taking up  
the headless body of their master1 they 
carried it away to a reverent1 tearful  
burial4  ,then they went and told       
,jesus4  ,the narrative says1 ,when     
,jesus heard of it1 he departed thence  
by ship into a desert place apart4  ,his
 sorrow at the tragic death of his      
faithful friend made him wish to be     
alone4  ,when the ,jews saw ,jesus      
weeping beside the grave of ,lazarus    
they said1 ,behold how he loved him6    
,no mention is made of tears when ,jesus
 heard of the death of ,john2 but he    
immediately sought to break away from   
the crowds1 to be alone1 and there is   
little doubt that when he was alone he  
wept4  ,he loved ,john1 and grieved over
 his death4  ,the story of the          
friendship of ,jesus and ,john is very  
beautiful4 ,john's loyalty and          
faithfulness must have brought real     
comfort to ,jesus4  ,then to ,john the  
friendship of ,jesus must have been full
 of cheer4  ,as we read the story of the

 ,baptist's life1 with its tragic       
ending1 we are apt to feel that he died 
too soon4  ,he began his public work    
with every promise of success4  ,for a  
few months he preached with great power1
 and thousands flocked to hear him4     
,then came the waning of his popularity1
 and soon he was shut up in a prison1   
and in a little while was cruelly       
murdered to humor the whim of a wicked  
and vengeful woman4  ,was it worth while
 to be born1 and to go through years of 
severe training1 only for such a        
fragment of living8  ,to this question  
we can answer only that ,john had       
finished his work4  ,he came into the   
world--a man sent from ,god--to do just 
one definite thing1--to prepare the way 
for the ,messiah4  ,when the ,messiah   
had come1 ,john's work was done4  ,as   
the friend of ,christ he went home2 and 
elsewhere now1 in other realms perhaps1 
he is still serving his ,lord4          
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,jesus' ,,conditions  
,,of ,,friendship4    ,but if himself he

 come to thee1 and stand       99       
99      99   ,and reach to thee himself 
the ,holy ,cup1       99      99      99
   ,pallid and royal1 saying1 ,drink    
with me1   ,wilt thou refuse8  ,nay1 not
 for paradise6   ,the pale brow will    
compel thee1 the pure hands   ,will     
minister unto thee2 thou shalt take     
,of that communion through the solemn   
depths   ,of the dark waters of thine   
agony1   ,with heart that praises him1  
that yearns to him   ,the closer through
 that hour4                             
,ugo ,bassi's ,sermon4   ,every         
thoughtful reader of the ,gospels notes 
two seemingly opposing characteristics  
of ,christ's invitations1--their        
wideness and their narrowness4  ,they   
were broad enough to include all men2   
yet by their conditions they were so    
narrowed down that only a few seemed    
able to accept them4  ,the gospel was   
for the world4  ,it was as broad as the 
love of ,god1 and that is absolutely    
without limit4  ,god loved the world4   

,when ,jesus went forth among men his   
heart was open to all4  ,he was the     
patron of no particular class4  ,for him
 there were no outcasts whom he might   
not touch1 with whom he might not speak 
in public1 or privately1 or who were    
excluded from the privileges of         
friendship with him4  ,he spoke of      
himself as the ,son of man--not the son 
of a man1 but the ,son of man1 and      
therefore the brother of every man4     
,whoever bore the image of humanity had 
a place in his heart4  ,wherever he     
found a human need it had an instant    
claim on his sympathy1 and he was eager 
to impart a blessing4  ,no man had      
fallen so low in sin that ,jesus passed 
him by without love and compassion4  ,to
 be a man was the passport to his heart4
  ,the invitations which ,jesus gave all
 bear the stamp of this exceeding       
broadness4  ,come unto me1 all ye that  
labor and are heavy laden1 and ,i will  
give you rest4  ,him that cometh to me  
,i will in no wise cast out4  ,if any   

man thirst1 let him come unto me1 and   
drink4  ,such words as these were ever  
falling from his lips4  ,no man or      
woman1 hearing these invitations1 could 
ever say1 ,there is nothing there for   
me4  ,there was no hint of possible     
exclusion for any one4  ,not a word was 
ever said about any particular class of 
persons who might come1--the righteous1 
the respectable1 the cultured1 the      
unsoiled1 the well-born1 the well-to-do4
  ,jesus had no such words in his       
vocabulary4 ,whoever labored and was    
heavy laden was invited4  ,whoever would
 come should be received--would not in  
any wise be cast out4  ,whoever was     
athirst was bidden to come and drink4   
,some teachers are not so good as their 
teachings4  ,they proclaim the love of  
,god for every man1 and then make       
distinctions in their treatment of men4 
,professing love for all1 they gather   
their skirts close about them when      
fallen ones pass by4  ,but ,jesus lived 
out all of the love of ,god that he     

taught4  ,it was literally true in his  
case1 that not one who came to him was  
ever cast out4  ,he disregarded the     
proprieties of righteousness which the  
religious teachers of his own people had
 formulated and fixed4  ,they read in   
the synagogue services1 ,thou shalt love
 thy neighbor as thyself1 but they      
limited the word neighbor until it      
included only the circle of the socially
 and spiritually lite4  ,jesus taught   
that a man's neighbor is a fellow-man in
 need1 whoever he may be4  ,then1 when  
the lost and the outcast came to him    
they found the love of ,god indeed      
incarnate in him4  ,at one time we read 
that all the publicans and sinners drew 
near unto him to hear him4  ,the        
religious teachers of the ,jews found   
sore fault with him1 saying1 ,this man  
receiveth sinners1 and eateth with them4
 ,but he vindicated his course by       
telling them that he had come for the   
very purpose of seeking the lost ones4  
,on another occasion he said that he was

 a physician1 and that the physician's  
mission was not to the whole1 but to the
 sick4  ,he had come not to call the    
righteous1 but sinners1 to repentance4  
,a poor woman who was a sinner1 having  
heard his gracious invitation1 ,come    
unto me1 all ye that labor and are heavy
 laden1 came to his feet1 at once       
putting his preaching to the test4 ,she 
came weeping1 and1 falling at his feet1 
wet them with her tears1 and then wiped 
them with her dishevelled hair and      
kissed them4  ,then she took an         
alabaster box1 and breaking it1 poured  
the ointment on his feet4  ,it was a    
violation of all the proprieties to     
permit such a woman to stay at his feet1
 making such demonstrations4  ,if he had
 been a ,jewish rabbi1 he would have    
thrust her away with execrations1 as    
bringing pollution in her touch4  ,but  
,jesus let the woman stay and finish her
 act of penitence and love1 and then    
spoke words which assured her of        
forgiveness and peace4    ,she sat and  

wept1 and with her untressed hair       
,still wiped the feet she was so blest  
to touch2   ,and he wiped off the       
soiling of despair   ,from her sweet    
soul1 because she loved so much4   ,this
 is but one of the many proofs in       
,jesus' life of the sincerity of the    
wide invitations he gave4  ,continually 
the lost and fallen came to him1 for    
there was something in him that made it 
easy for them to come and tell him all  
the burden of their sin and their       
yearning for a better life4  ,even one  
whom he afterward chose as an apostle   
was a publican when ,jesus called him to
 be his disciple4  ,he took him in among
 his friends1 into his own inner        
household2 and now his name is on one of
 the foundations of the heavenly city1  
as an apostle of the ,lamb4  ,thus we   
see how broad was the love of ,christ1  
both in word and in act4 ,toward every  
human life his heart yearned4  ,he had a
 blessing to bestow upon every soul4    
,whosoever would might be a friend of   

,jesus1 and come in among those who     
stood closest to him4  ,not one was shut
 out4  ,then1 there is another class of 
words which appear to limit these wide  
invitations and this gracious love4     
,again and again ,jesus seems to        
discourage discipleship4  ,when men     
would come1 he bids them consider and   
count the cost before they decide4  ,one
 passage tells of three aspirants for   
discipleship1 for all of whom he seems  
to have made it hard to follow him4     
,one man came to him1 and with glib and 
easy profession said1 ,i will follow    
thee whithersoever thou goest4  ,this   
seemed all that could have been asked4  
,no man could do more4  ,yet ,jesus     
discouraged this ardent scribe4  ,he saw
 that he did not know what he was       
saying1 that he had not counted the     
cost1 and that his devotion would fail  
in the face of the hardship and         
self-denial which discipleship would    
involve4  ,so he answered1 ,the foxes   
have holes1 and the birds of the air    

have nests2 but the ,son of man hath not
 where to lay his head4  ,that is1 he   
painted a picture of his own poverty and
 homelessness1 as if to say1 ,that is   
what it will mean for you to follow me2 
are you ready for it8  ,then ,jesus     
turned to another1 and said to him1     
,follow me4  ,but this man asked time4  
,lord1 suffer me first to go and bury my
 father4 ,this seemed a reasonable      
request4  ,filial duties stand high in  
all inspired teaching4  ,yet ,jesus     
said1 ,no2 leave the dead to bury their 
own dead2 but go thou and publish abroad
 the kingdom of ,god4 ,discipleship     
seems severe in its demands if even a   
sacred duty of love to a father must be 
foregone that the man might go instantly
 to his work as a missionary4  ,there   
was a third case4  ,another man1        
overhearing what had been said1 proposed
 also to become a disciple--but not yet4
  ,i will follow thee2 but first suffer 
me to bid farewell to them that are at  
my house4 ,that1 too1 appeared only a   

fit thing to do2 but again the answer   
seems stern and severe4  ,no man1 having
 put his hand to the plough1 and looking
 back1 is fit for the kingdom of ,god4  
,even the privilege of running home to  
say ,good-by must be denied to him who  
follows ,jesus4  ,these incidents show1 
not that ,jesus would make it hard and  
costly for men to be his disciples1 but 
that discipleship must be unconditional1
 whatever the cost1 and that even the   
holiest duties of human love must be    
made secondary to the work of ,christ's 
kingdom4  ,another marked instance of   
like teaching was in the case of the    
young ruler who wanted to know the way  
of life4  ,we try to make it easy for   
inquirers to begin to follow ,christ1   
but ,jesus set a hard task for this rich
 young man4 ,he must give up all his    
wealth1 and come empty-handed with the  
new ,master4  ,why did he so discourage 
this earnest seeker8  ,he saw into his  
heart1 and perceived that he could not  
be a true disciple unless he first won a

 victory over himself4  ,the issue was  
his money or ,jesus--which8  ,the way   
was made so hard that for that day1 at  
least1 the young man turned away1       
clutching his money1 leaving ,jesus4    
,really1 a like test was made in every  
discipleship4  ,those who followed him  
left all1 and went empty-handed with    
him4  ,they were required to give up    
father and mother1 and wife and         
children1 and lands1 and to take up     
their cross and follow him4  ,why were  
the broad invitations of the heart of   
,jesus so narrowed in their practical   
application8  ,the answer is very       
simple4  ,jesus was the revealing of    
,god--,god manifest in the flesh4  ,he  
had come into this world not merely to  
heal a few sick people1 to bring back   
joy to a few darkened homes by the      
restoring of their dead1 to formulate a 
system of moral and ethical teachings1  
to start a wave of kindliness and a     
ministry of mercy and love2 he had come 
to save a lost world1 to lift men up out

 of sinfulness into holiness4  ,there   
was only one way to do this1--men must  
be brought back into loyalty to ,god4   
,jesus astonishes us by the tremendous  
claims and demands he makes4  ,he says  
that men must come unto him if they     
would find rest2 that they must believe 
on him if they would have everlasting   
life2 that they must love him more than 
any human friend2 that they must obey   
him with absolute1 unquestioning        
obedience2 that they must follow him as 
the supreme and only guide of their     
life1 committing all their present and  
eternal interests into his hands4  ,in a
 word1 he puts himself deliberately into
 the place of ,god1 demanding for       
himself all that ,god demands1 and then 
promising to those who accept him all   
the blessings that ,god promises to his 
children4  ,this was the way ,jesus     
sought to save men4  ,as the human      
revealing of ,god1 coming down close to 
humanity1 and thus bringing ,god within 
their reach1 he said1 ,believe on me1   

love me1 trust me1 and follow me1 and ,i
 will lift you up to eternal            
blessedness4  ,while the invitation was 
universal1 the blessings it offered     
could be given only to those who would  
truly receive ,christ as the ,son of    
,god4  ,if ,jesus seemed to demand hard 
things of those who would follow him1 it
 was because in no other way could men  
be saved4  ,no slight and easy bond     
would bind them to him1 and only by     
their attachment to him could they be   
led into the kingdom of ,god4  ,if he   
sometimes seemed to discourage          
discipleship1 it was that no one might  
be deceived as to the meaning of the new
 life to which ,jesus was inviting men4 
,he would have no followers who did not 
first count the cost1 and know whether  
they were ready to go with him4 ,men    
could be lifted up into a heavenly life 
only by a friendship with ,jesus which  
would prove stronger than all other     
ties4  ,religion1 therefore1 is a       
passion for ,christ4  ,i have only one  

passion1 said ,zinzendorf1 and that is  
he4  ,love for ,christ is the power that
 during these nineteen centuries has    
been transforming the world4  ,law could
 never have done it1 though enforced by 
the most awful majesty4  ,the most      
perfect moral code1 though proclaimed   
with supreme authority1 would never have
 changed darkness to light1 cruelty to  
humaneness1 rudeness to gentleness4     
,what is it that gives the gospel its   
resistless power8  ,it is the ,person at
 the heart of it4  ,men are not called  
to a religion1 to a creed1 to a code of 
ethics1 to an ecclesiastical            
system1--they are called to love and    
follow a ,person4  ,but what is it in   
,jesus that so draws men1 that wins     
their allegiance away from every other  
master1 that makes them ready to leave  
all for his sake1 and to follow him     
through peril and sacrifice1 even to    
death8 ,is it his wonderful teaching8   
,no man ever spake like this man4  ,is  
it his power as revealed in his         

miracles8  ,is it his sinlessness8  ,the
 most malignant scrutiny could find no  
fault in him4  ,is it the perfect beauty
 of his character8  ,not one nor all of 
these will account for the wonderful    
attraction of ,jesus4  ,love is the     
secret4  ,he came into the world to     
reveal the love of ,god--he was the love
 of ,god in human flesh4 ,his life was  
all love4  ,in a most wonderful way     
during all his life did he reveal love4 
,men saw it in his face1 and felt it in 
his touch1 and heard it in his voice4   
,this was the great fact which his      
disciples felt in his life4  ,his       
friendship was unlike any friendship    
they had ever seen before1 or even      
dreamed of4  ,it was this that drew them
 to him1 and made them love him so      
deeply1 so tenderly4  ,nothing but love 
will kindle love4  ,power will not do   
it4  ,holiness will not do it4 ,gifts   
will not do it--men will take your      
gifts1 and then repay you with hatred4  
,but love begets love2 heart responds to

 heart4  ,jesus loved4  ,but the love he
 revealed in his life1 in his tender    
friendship1 was not the supremest       
manifesting of his love4  ,he crowned it
 all by giving his life4  ,i am the good
 shepherd3 the good shepherd giveth his 
life for the sheep4  ,this was the most 
wonderful exhibition of love the world  
had ever seen4  ,now and then some one  
had been willing to die for a choice and
 prized friend2 but ,jesus died for a   
world of enemies4  ,it was not for the  
beloved disciple and for the brave      
,peter that he gave his life1--then we  
might have understood it1--but it was   
for the race of sinful men that he      
poured out his most precious blood1--the
 blood of eternal redemption4  ,it is   
this marvellous love in ,jesus which    
attracts men to him4  ,his life1 and    
especially his cross1 declares to every 
one3 ,god loves you4  ,the ,son of ,god 
gave himself for you4  ,jesus himself   
explained the wonderful secret in his   
words3 ,i1 if ,i be lifted up from the  

earth1 will draw all men unto me4  ,it  
is on his cross that his marvellous     
power is most surpassingly revealed4    
,the secret of the attraction of the    
cross is love4  ,he loved me1 and he    
gave himself for me4  ,thus we find     
hints of what ,jesus is as a            
friend--what he was to his first        
disciples1 what he is to-day4  ,his is  
perfect friendship4  ,the best and      
richest human friendships are only      
little fragments of the perfect ideal4  
,even these we prize as the dearest     
things on earth4 ,they are more precious
 than rarest gems4  ,we would lose all  
other things rather than give up our    
friends4  ,they bring to us deep joys1  
sweet comforts1 holy inspirations4      
,life without friendship would be empty 
and lonely4  ,love is indeed the        
greatest thing4  ,nothing else in all   
the world will fill and satisfy the     
heart4  ,even earth's friendships are   
priceless4  ,yet the best and truest of 
them are only fragments of the perfect  

friendship4  ,they bring us only little 
cupfuls of blessing4  ,their gentleness 
is marred by human infirmity1 and       
sometimes turns to harshness4  ,their   
helpfulness at best is impulsive and    
uncertain1 and ofttimes is inopportune  
and ill-timed4  ,but the friendship of  
,jesus is perfect4  ,its touch is always
 gentle and full of healing4  ,its      
helpfulness is always wise4  ,its       
tenderness is like the warmth of a      
heavenly summer1 brooding over the life 
which accepts it4  ,all the love of ,god
 pours forth in the friendship of       
,jesus4  ,to be his beloved is to be    
held in the clasp of the everlasting    
arms4  ,i and my ,father are one1 said  
,jesus2 his friendship1 therefore1 is   
the friendship of the ,father4  ,those  
who accept it in truth find their lives 
flooded with a wealth of blessing4      
,creeds have their place in the         
,christian life2 their articles are the 
great framework of truth about which the
 fabric rises and from which it receives

 its strength4  ,worship is important1  
if it is vitalized by faith and the     
,holy ,spirit4  ,rites have their sacred
 value as the channels through which    
divine grace is communicated4  ,but that
 which is vital in all spiritual life is
 the friendship of ,jesus1 coming to us 
in whatever form it may4  ,to know the  
love of ,christ which passeth knowledge 
is living religion4  ,creeds and        
services and rites and sacraments bring 
blessing to us only as they interpret to
 us this love1 and draw us into closer  
personal relations with ,christ4        
,behold him now where he comes6     ,not
 the ,christ of our subtile creeds1     
,but the light of our hearts1 of our    
homes1     ,of our hopes1 our prayers1  
our needs1   ,the brother of want and   
blame1   ,the lover of women and men4   
,the friendship of ,jesus takes our poor
 earthly lives1 and lifts them up out of
 the dust into beauty and blessedness4  
,it changes everything for us4  ,it     
makes us children of ,god in a real and 

living sense4  ,it brings us into       
fellowship with all that is holy and    
true4  ,it kindles in us a friendship   
for ,christ1 turning all the tides of   
our life into new and holy channels4    
,it thus transforms us into the likeness
 of our ,friend1 whose we are1 and whom 
we serve4  ,thus ,jesus is saving the   
world by renewing men's lives4  ,he is  
setting up the kingdom of heaven on the 
earth4  ,his subjects are won1 not by   
force of arms1 not by a display of      
,sinaitic terrors1 but by the force of  
love4  ,men are taught that ,god loves  
them2 they see that love first in the   
life of ,jesus1 then on his cross1 where
 he died as the ,lamb of ,god1 bearing  
the sin of the world4  ,under the mighty
 sway of that love they yield their     
hearts to heaven's ,king4  ,thus love's 
conquests are going on4  ,the friendship
 of ,jesus is changing earth's sin and  
evil into heaven's holiness and beauty4 
,,chapter ,v4  ,,jesus ,,choosing ,,his 
,,friends4      ,he seeks not thine1 but

 thee1 such as thou art1   ,for lo1 his 
banner over thee is love4               
,,christina ,g4 ,,rossetti4    ,if you  
loved only what were worth your love1   
,love were clear gain1 and wholly well  
for you4     ,make the low nature better
 by your throes6   ,give earth yourself1
 go up for gain above4                  
,,browning4   ,nothing in life is more  
important than the choosing of friends4 
,many young people wreck all by wrong   
choices1 taking into their life those   
who by their influence drag them down4  
,many a man's moral failure dates from  
the day he chose a wrong friend4  ,many 
a woman's life of sorrow or evil began  
with the letting into her heart of an   
unworthy friendship4  ,on the other     
hand1 many a career of happiness1 of    
prosperity1 of success1 of upward       
climbing1 may be traced to the choice of
 a pure1 noble1 rich-hearted1 inspiring 
friend4  ,mrs4 ,browning asked ,charles 
,kingsley1 ,what is the secret of your  
life8  ,tell me1 that ,i may make mine  

beautiful too4  ,he replied1 ,i had a   
friend4  ,there are many who have       
reached eminence of character or        
splendor of life who could give the same
 answer4  ,they had a friend who came   
into their life at the right time1 sent 
from ,god1 and inspired in them whatever
 is beautiful in their character1       
whatever is worthy and noble in their   
career4  ,we may not put our ,lord's    
choice of his apostles on precisely the 
same plane as our selecting of friends1 
as those men were to be more than       
ordinary friends2 he was to put his     
mantle upon them1 and they were to be   
the founders of his ,church4            
,nevertheless1 we may take lessons from 
the story for ourselves4  ,jesus chose  
his friends deliberately4  ,his         
disciples had been gathering about him  
for months4  ,it was at least a year    
after the beginning of his public       
ministry that he chose the ,twelve4  ,he
 had had ample time to get well         
acquainted with the company of his      

followers1 to test them1 to study their 
character1 to learn their qualities of  
strength or weakness4  ,many fatal      
mistakes in the choosing of friends come
 from unfit haste4 ,we would better take
 time to know our possible friends1 and 
be sure that we know them well1 before  
making the solemn compact that seals the
 attachment4  ,jesus made his choice of 
friends a subject of prayer4  ,he spent 
a whole night in prayer with ,god1 and  
then came in the morning to choose his  
apostles4  ,if ,jesus needed thus to    
pray before choosing his friends1 how   
much more should we seek ,god's counsel 
before taking a new friendship into our 
life6  ,we cannot know what it may mean 
to us1 whither it may lead us1 what     
sorrow1 care1 or pain it may bring to   
us1 what touches of beauty or of marring
 it may put upon our soul1 and we dare  
not admit it unless ,god gives it to us4
  ,in nothing do young people need more 
the guidance of divine wisdom than when 
they are settling the question of who   

shall be their friends4  ,at the ,last  
,supper ,jesus said in his prayer1      
referring to his disciples1 ,thine they 
were1 and thou gavest them me4  ,it     
makes a friendship very sacred to be    
able to say1 ,god gave it to me4  ,god  
sent me this friend4  ,in choosing his  
friends1 ,jesus thought not chiefly of  
the comfort and help they would be to   
him1 but far more of what he might be to
 them4 ,he did crave friendship for     
himself4  ,his heart needed it just as  
any true human heart does4  ,he welcomed
 affection whenever any one brought the 
gift to him4  ,he accepted the          
friendship of the poor1 of the children1
 of those he helped4  ,we cannot        
understand how much the ,bethany home   
was to him1 with its confidence1 its    
warmth1 its shelter1 its tender         
affection4  ,one of the most pathetic   
incidents in the whole ,gospel story is 
the hunger of ,jesus for sympathy in the
 garden1 when he came again and again to
 his human friends1 hoping to find them 

alert in watchful love1 and found them  
asleep4  ,it was a cry of deep          
disappointment which came from his lips1
 ,could ye not watch with me one hour8  
,jesus craved the blessing of friendship
 for himself1 and in choosing the       
,twelve expected comfort and strength   
from his fellowship with them4  ,but his
 deepest desire was that he might be a  
blessing to them4  ,he came not to be   
ministered unto1 but to minister2 not to
 have friends1 but to be a friend4  ,he 
chose the ,twelve that he might lift    
them up to honor and good2 that he might
 purify1 refine1 and enrich their lives2
 that he might prepare them to be his   
witnesses1 the conservators of his      
gospel1 the interpreters to the world of
 his life and teachings4  ,he sought    
nothing for himself1 but every breath he
 drew was full of unselfish love4  ,we  
should learn from ,jesus that the       
essential quality in the heart of       
friendship is not the desire to have    
friends1 but the desire to be a friend2 

not to get good and help from others1   
but to impart blessing to others4  ,many
 of the sighings for friendship which we
 have are merely selfish longings1--a   
desire for happiness1 for pleasure1 for 
the gratification of the heart1 which   
friends would bring4  ,if the desire    
were to be a friend1 to do others good1 
to serve and to give help1 it would be a
 far more ,christlike longing1 and would
 transform the life and character4  ,we 
are surprised at the kind of men ,jesus 
chose for his friends4  ,we would       
suppose that he1 the ,son of ,god1      
coming from heaven1 would have gathered 
about him as his close and intimate     
companions the most refined and         
cultivated men of his nation1--men of   
intelligence1 of trained mind1 of wide  
influence4  ,instead of going to        
,jerusalem1 however1 to choose his      
apostles from among rabbis1 priests1    
scribes1 and rulers1 he selected them   
from among the plain people1 largely    
from among fishermen of ,galilee4  ,one 

reason for this was that he must choose 
these inner friends from the company    
which had been drawn to him and were    
already his followers1 in true sympathy 
with him2 and there were none of the    
great1 the learned1 the cultured1 among 
these4  ,but another reason was1 that he
 cared more for qualities of the heart  
than for rank1 position1 name1 worldly  
influence1 or human wisdom4  ,he wanted 
near him only those who would be of the 
same mind with him1 and whom he could   
train into loyal1 sympathetic apostles4 
,jesus took these untutored1            
undisciplined men into his own          
household1 and at once began to prepare 
them for their great work4  ,it is      
worthy of note1 that instead of         
scattering his teachings broadcast among
 the people1 so that who would might    
gather up his words1 and diffusing his  
influence throughout a mass of          
disciples1 while distinctly and         
definitely impressing none ineffaceably1
 ,jesus chose twelve men1 and           

concentrated his influence upon them4   
,he took them into the closest relations
 to himself1 taught them the great      
truths of his kingdom1 impressed upon   
them the stamp of his own life1 and     
breathed into them his own spirit4  ,we 
think of the apostles as great men2 they
 did become great4  ,their influence    
filled many lands--fills all the world  
to-day4 ,they sit on thrones1 judging   
all the tribes of men1 ,but all that    
they became1 they became through the    
friendship of ,jesus4  ,he gave them all
 their greatness4  ,he trained them     
until their rudeness grew into refined  
culture4  ,no doubt he gave much time to
 them in private4  ,they were with him  
continually4  ,they saw all his life4   
,it was a high privilege to live with   
,jesus those three years1--eating with  
him1 walking with him1 hearing all his  
conversations1 witnessing his patience1 
his kindness1 his thoughtfulness4  ,it  
was almost like living in heaven2 for   
,jesus was the ,son of ,god--,god       

manifest in the flesh4  ,when ,philip   
said to ,jesus1 ,lord1 show us the      
,father1 and it sufficeth us1 ,jesus    
answered1 ,he that hath seen me hath    
seen the ,father4  ,living with ,jesus  
was1 therefore1 living with ,god--his   
glory tempered by the gentle humanity in
 which it was veiled1 but no less divine
 because of this4  ,for three years the 
disciples lived with ,god4 ,no wonder   
that their lives were transformed1 and  
that the best that was in them was wooed
 out by the blessed summer weather of   
love in which they moved4  ,he chose    
twelve4  ,probably this was because     
there were twelve tribes of ,israel1 and
 the number was to be continued4  ,one  
evangelist says that he sent them out   
two and two4  ,why by two and two8      
,with all the world to evangelize1 would
 it not have been better if they had    
gone out one by one8  ,then they would  
have reached twice as many points4  ,was
 it not a waste of force1 of power1 to  
send two to the same place8  ,no doubt  

,jesus had reasons4  ,it would have been
 lonely for one man to go by himself4   
,if there were two1 one would keep the  
other company4 ,there was opposition to 
the gospel in those days1 and it would  
have been hard for one to endure        
persecution alone4  ,the handclasp of a 
brother would make the heart braver and 
stronger4  ,we do not know how much we  
owe to our companionships1 how they     
strengthen us1 how often we would fail  
and sink down without them4  ,one of the
 finest definitions of happiness in     
literature is that given by ,oliver     
,wendell ,holmes4  ,happiness1 said the 
,autocrat1 is four feet on the fender4  
,when his beloved wife was gone1 and an 
old friend came in to condole with him1 
he said1 shaking his gray head1 ,only   
two feet on the fender now4  ,congenial 
companionship is wonderfully inspiring4 
,aloneness is pain4  ,you cannot kindle 
a fire with one coal4 ,a log will not   
burn alone4  ,but put two coals or two  
logs side by side1 and the fire kindles 

and blazes and burns hotly4  ,jesus     
yoked his apostles in twos that mutual  
friendship might inspire them both4     
,there was another reason for mating the
 ,twelve4  ,each of them was only a     
fragment of a man--not one of them was  
full-rounded1 a complete man1 strong at 
every point4  ,each had a strength of   
his own1 with a corresponding weakness4 
,then ,jesus yoked them together so that
 each two made one good man4  ,the      
hasty1 impetuous1 self-confident ,peter 
needed the counterbalancing of the      
cautious1 conservative ,andrew4 ,thomas 
the doubter was matched by ,matthew the 
strong believer4  ,it was not an        
accidental grouping by which the ,twelve
 fell into six parts4 ,jesus knew what  
was in man2 and he yoked these men      
together in a way which brought out the 
best that was in each of them1 and by   
thus blending their lives1 turned their 
very faults and weaknesses into beauty  
and strength4  ,he did not try to make  
them all alike4  ,he made no effort to  

have ,peter grow quiet and gentle like  
,john1 or ,thomas become an             
enthusiastic1 unquestioning believer    
like ,matthew1  ,he sought for each     
man's personality1 and developed that4  
,he knew that to try to recast ,peter's 
tremendous energy into staidness and    
caution would only rob him of what was  
best in his nature4  ,he found room in  
his apostle family for as many different
 types of temperament as there were men1
 setting the frailties of one over      
against the excessive virtues of the    
other4  ,it is interesting to note the  
method of ,jesus in training his        
apostles4 ,the aim of true friendship   
anywhere is not to make life easy for   
one's friend1 but to make something of  
the friend4  ,that is ,god's method4    
,he does not hurry to take away every   
burden under which he sees us bending4  
,he does not instantly answer our prayer
 for relief1 when we begin to cry to him
 about the difficulty we have1 or the   
trial we are facing1 or the sacrifice we

 are making4  ,he does not spare us     
hardship1 loss1 or pain4  ,he wants not 
to make things easy for us1 but to make 
something of us4  ,we grow under        
burdens4  ,it is poor1 mistaken         
fathering or mothering that thinks only 
of saving a child from hard tasks or    
severe discipline4  ,it is weak         
friendship that seeks only pleasure and 
indulgence for a loved one4  ,the chief 
want in life is somebody who shall make 
us do the best we can4  ,jesus was the  
truest of friends4  ,he never tried to  
make the burden light1 the path smooth1 
the struggle easy4  ,he wished to make  
men of his apostles1--men who could     
stand up and face the world2 men whose  
character would reflect the beauty of   
holiness in its every line2 men in whose
 hands his gospel would be safe when    
they went out as his ambassadors4  ,he  
set for each apostle a high ideal1 and  
then helped him to work up to the ideal4
  ,he taught them that the law of the   
cross is the law of life1 that the      

saving of one's life is the losing of   
it1 and that only when we lose our life1
 as men rate it1 giving it out in love's
 service1 do we really save it4  ,it is 
not easy to make a man4  ,it is said    
that the violin-makers in distant lands1
 by breaking and mending with skilful   
hands1 at last produce instruments      
having a more wonderful capacity than   
ever was possible to them when new1     
unbroken and whole4  ,whether this be   
true or not of violins1 it certainly is 
true of human lives4  ,we cannot merely 
grow into strength1 beauty1 nobleness1  
and power of helpfulness1 without       
discipline1 pain1 and cost4  ,it is     
written even of ,jesus himself that he  
was made perfect through suffering4     
,there was no sin in him2 but his       
perfectness as a sympathizing ,friend1  
as a helpful ,saviour1 came through     
struggle1 trial1 pain1 and sorrow4  ,not
 one of the apostles reached his royal  
strength as a man1 as a helper of men1  
as a representative of ,jesus1 without  

enduring loss and suffering4  ,no man   
who ever rises to a place of real worth 
and usefulness in the world walks on a  
rose-strewn path4  ,we never can be made
 fit for anything beautiful and worthy  
without cost of pain and tears4  ,always
 it is true that--    ,things that hurt 
and things that mar     ,shape the man  
for perfect praise2   ,shock and strain 
and ruin are     ,friendlier than the   
smiling days4   ,how about ourselves8   
,life is made very real to our thought  
when we remember that in all the        
experiences of joy and sorrow1 pleasure 
and pain1 success and failure1 health   
and sickness1 quiet or struggle1 ,god is
 making men of us4  ,then he watches us 
to see if we fail4  ,here is a man who  
is passing through sore trial4  ,for    
many months his wife has been a great   
sufferer4  ,all the while he has been   
carrying a heavy burden1--a financial   
burden1 a burden of sympathy2 for every 
moment's pain that his wife has suffered
 has been like a sword in his own       

heart1--burdens of care1 with broken    
nights and weary days4  ,we may be sure 
of ,god's tender interest in the wife   
who suffers in the sick-room2 but his   
eye is even more intently fixed upon him
 who is bearing the burden of sympathy  
and care4  ,he is watching to see if the
 man will stand the test1 and grow      
sweeter and stronger4  ,everything hard 
or painful in a ,christian's life is    
another opportunity for him to get a new
 victory1 and become a little more a    
man4  ,it is remarkable how little we   
know about the apostles4  ,a few of them
 are fairly prominent4  ,peter and      
,james and ,john we know quite well1 as 
their names are made familiar in the    
inspired story4  ,matthew we know by the
 ,gospel he wrote4  ,thomas we remember 
by his doubts4  ,another ,judas1 not    
,iscariot1 probably left us a little    
letter4  ,of the rest we know almost    
nothing but their names4  ,indeed1 few  
,bible readers can give even the names  
of all the ,twelve4  ,no doubt one      

reason why no more is told us about the 
apostles is that the ,bible magnifies   
only one name4  ,it is not a book of    
biographies1 but the book of the ,lord  
,jesus ,christ4  ,each apostle had a    
sacred friendship all his own with his  
,master1 a friendship with which no     
other could intermeddle4  ,we can       
imagine the quiet talks1 the long walks 
with the deep communings1 the openings  
of heart1 the confessions of weakness   
and failure1 the many prayers together4 
,we may be very sure that through those 
three wonderful years there ran twelve  
stories of holy friendship1 with their  
blessed revealings of the ,master's     
heart to the heart of each man4  ,but   
not a word of all this is written in the
 ,new ,testament4  ,it was too sacred to
 be recorded for any eye of earth to    
read4  ,we may be sure1 too1 that each  
man of the ,twelve did a noble work     
after the ,ascension1 but no pen wrote  
the narratives for preservation4  ,there
 are traditions1 but there is in them   

little that is certainly history4 ,the  
,acts is not the acts of the apostles4  
,the book tells a little about ,john1 a 
little more about ,peter1 most about    
,paul1 and of the others gives nothing  
but a list of their names in the first  
chapter4  ,yet we need not trouble      
ourselves about this4  ,it is the same  
with the good and the useful in every   
age4  ,a few names are preserved1 but   
the great multitude are forgotten4      
,earth keeps scant record of its        
benefactors4  ,but there is a place     
where every smallest kindness done in   
the name of ,christ is recorded and     
remembered4  ,long1 long ages ago a     
beautiful fern grew in a deep vale1     
nodding in the breeze4  ,one day it     
fell1 complaining as it sank away that  
no one would remember its grace and     
beauty4  ,the other day a geologist went
 out with his hammer in the interest of 
his science4  ,he struck a rock2 and    
there in the seam lay the form of a     
fern--every leaf1 every fibre1 the most 

delicate traceries of the leaves4  ,it  
was the fern which ages since grew and  
dropped into the indistinguishable mass 
of vegetation4 ,it perished2 but its    
memorial was preserved1 and to-day is   
made manifest4  ,so it is with the      
stories of the obscure apostles1 and of 
all beautiful lives which have wrought  
for ,god and for man and have vanished  
from earth4  ,nothing is lost1 nothing  
is forgotten4  ,the memorials are in    
other lives1 and some day every touch   
and trace and influence and impression  
will be revealed4  ,in the book of ,the 
,revelation we are told that in the     
foundations of the heavenly city are the
 names of the twelve apostles of the    
,lamb4  ,the ,new ,testament does not   
tell the story of their worthy lives1   
but it is cut deep in the eternal rock1 
where all eyes shall see it forever4    
,on the lives of these chosen friends   
,jesus impressed his own image4 ,his    
blessed divine-human friendship         
transformed them into men who went to   

the ends of the world for him1 carrying 
his name4  ,it was a new and strange    
influence on the earth--this holy       
friendship of ,jesus ,christ started in 
the hearts and lives of the apostles4   
,at once it began to make this old world
 new4  ,those who believed received the 
same wonderful friendship into their own
 hearts4  ,they loved each other in a   
way men had never loved before4         
,christians lived together as one       
family4  ,ever since the day of         
,pentecost this wonderful friendship of 
,jesus has been spreading wherever the  
gospel has gone4  ,it has given to the  
world its ,christian homes with their   
tender affections2 it has built         
hospitals and asylums1 and established  
charitable institutions of all kinds in 
every place where its story has been    
told4  ,from the cross of ,jesus a wave 
of tenderness1 like the warmth of       
summer1 has rolled over all lands4  ,the
 friendship of ,jesus1 left in the      
hearts of his apostles1 as his legacy to

 the world1 has wrought marvellously2   
and its ministry and influence will     
extend until everything unlovely shall  
cease from earth1 and the love of ,god  
shall pervade all life4     ,,chapter   
,,vi4  ,,jesus ,,and ,,the ,,beloved    
,,disciple4    ,my ,lord1 my ,love6 in  
pleasant pain     ,how often have ,i    
said1   ,blessed that ,john who on thy  
breast     ,laid down his head4   ,it   
was that contact all divine             
,transformed him from above1   ,and made
 him amongst men the man     ,to show   
forth holy love4                        
,,christina ,g4 ,,rossetti4   ,love is  
regenerating the world4  ,it is the love
 of ,god that is working this mighty    
transformation4  ,the world was cold and
 loveless before ,christ came4  ,of     
course there always was love in the     
race1--father-love1 mother-love1 filial 
love1 love for country4  ,there have    
always been human friendships which were
 constant1 tender1 and true1 whose      
stories shine in bright lustre among the

 records of life4 ,natural affection    
there has always been1 but ,christian   
love was not in the world till ,christ  
came4  ,the incarnation was the breaking
 into this world of the love of ,god4   
,for three and thirty years ,jesus      
walked among men1 pouring out love in   
every word1 in every act1 in all his    
works1 and in every influence of his    
life4  ,then on the cross his heart     
broke1 spilling its love upon the earth4
  ,as ,mary's ointment filled all the   
house where it was emptied out1 so the  
love of ,god poured out in ,christ's    
life and death is filling all the world4
  ,jesus put his love into human hearts 
that it might be carried everywhere4    
,instantly there was a wondrous change4 
,the story of the ,church after the day 
of ,pentecost shows a spirit among the  
disciples of ,christ which the world had
 never seen before4  ,they had all      
things common4  ,the strong helped the  
weak4  ,they formed a fellowship which  
was almost heavenly4  ,from that time to

 the present the leaven of love has been
 working4  ,it has slowly wrought itself
 into every department of life1--into   
art1 literature1 music1 laws1 education1
 morals4  ,every hospital1 orphanage1   
asylum1 and reformatory in the world has
 been inspired by the love of ,christ4  
,christian civilization is a product of 
this same divine affection working      
through the nations4  ,perhaps no other 
of the ,master's disciples has done so  
much in the interpreting and the        
diffusing of the love of ,christ in the 
world as the beloved disciple has done4 
,peter was the mightiest force at the   
beginning in the founding of the        
,church4  ,then came ,paul with his     
tremendous missionary energy1 carrying  
,christianity to the ends of the earth4 
,each of these apostles was greatest in 
his own way and place4 ,but ,john has   
done more than either of these to bless 
the world with love4  ,his influence is 
everywhere4  ,he is likest ,jesus of all
 the disciples4  ,his influence is      

slowly spreading among men4  ,we see it 
in the enlarging spirit of love among   
,christians1 in the increase of         
philanthropy1 in the growing sentiment  
that war must cease among ,christian    
nations1 all disputes to be settled by  
arbitration1 and in the feeling of      
universal brotherhood which is softening
 all true men's hearts toward each      
other4  ,it cannot but be intensely     
interesting to trace the story of the   
friendship of ,jesus and ,john1 for it  
was in this hallowed friendship that    
,john learned all that he gave the world
 in his life and words4  ,we are able to
 fix its beginning--when ,jesus and     
,john met for the first time4  ,one day 
,john the ,baptist was standing by the  
,jordan with two of his disciples4  ,one
 of these was ,andrew2 and the other we 
know was ,john--we know it because in   
,john's own ,gospel1 where the incident 
is recorded1 no name is given4  ,the two
 young men had not yet seen ,jesus2 but 
the ,baptist knew him1 and pointed him  

out as he passed by1 saying1 ,behold the
 ,lamb of ,god6  ,the two young men went
 after ,jesus1 no doubt eager to speak  
with him4 ,hearing their footsteps      
behind him1 he turned1 and asked them   
what they sought4  ,they asked1 ,rabbi1 
where abidest thou8  ,he said1 ,come1   
and ye shall see4  ,they gladly accepted
 the invitation1 went with him to his   
lodgings1 and remained until the close  
of the day4  ,we have no account of what
 took place during those happy hours4   
,it would be interesting to know what   
,jesus said to his visitors1 but not a  
word of the conversation has been       
preserved4  ,we may be sure1 however1   
that the visit made a deep impression on
 ,john4  ,most days in our lives are    
unmarked by any special event4  ,there  
are thousands of them that seem just    
alike1 with their common routine4 ,once 
or twice1 however1 in the lifetime of   
almost every person1 there is a day     
which is made forever memorable by some 
event or occurrence1--the first meeting 

with one who fills a large place in     
one's after years1 a compact of sacred  
friendship1 a revealing of some new     
truth1 a decision which brought rich    
blessing1 or some other experience which
 set the day forever apart among all    
days4  ,john lived to be a very old man2
 but to his latest years he must have   
remembered the day when he first met    
,jesus1 and began with him the          
friendship which brought him such       
blessing4  ,we may be sure that as at   
their first meeting the soul of         
,jonathan was knit with the soul of     
,david1 and ,jonathan loved him as his  
own soul1 so at this first meeting the  
soul of ,john was knit with the soul of 
,jesus in a holy friendship which       
brought unspeakable good to his life4   
,there was that in ,jesus which at once 
touched all that was best in ,john1 and 
called out the sweetest music of his    
soul4    ,thou shall know him when he   
comes   ,not by any din of drums1   ,nor
 the vantage of his airs2   ,neither by 

his crown1   ,nor by his gown1   ,nor by
 anything he wears4   ,he shall only    
well-known be   ,by the holy harmony    
,that his coming makes in thee6   ,john 
calls himself the disciple whom ,jesus  
loved4  ,this designation gives him a   
distinction even among the ,master's    
personal friends4 ,jesus loved all the  
apostles1 but there were three who      
belonged in an inner circle4  ,then1 of 
these three1 ,john was the best beloved4
  ,we are not told what it was in ,john 
that gave him this highest honor4  ,he  
was probably a cousin of ,jesus1 as it  
is thought by many that their mothers   
were sisters4  ,this blood relationship1
 however1 would not account for the     
strong love that bound them together4   
,there must have been certain qualities 
in ,john which fitted him in a peculiar 
way for being the closest friend of     
,jesus4  ,we know that ,john's          
personality was very winning4  ,he was  
only a fisherman1 and in his youth      
lacked opportunities for acquiring      

knowledge or refinement4  ,if ,mary and 
,salome were sisters1 the blood of      
,david's line was in ,john as well as in
 ,jesus4  ,it is something to have back 
of one's birth a long and noble descent4
  ,besides1 ,john was one of those rare 
men who appear to be formed of finer    
clay than their neighbors1 and cast in a
 gentler mould4  ,evidently he was by   
nature a man of sympathetic spirit1 one 
born to be a friend4  ,the study of     
,john's writings helps us to answer our 
question4  ,not once in all his ,gospel 
does he refer to himself by name2 yet as
 one reads the wonderful chapters1 one  
is aware of a spirit1 an atmosphere1 of 
sweetness4  ,there are fields and       
meadows in which the air is laden with  
fragrance1 and yet no flowers can be    
seen4  ,but looking closely1 one finds1 
low on the ground1 hidden by the tall   
grasses1 a multitude of little lowly    
flowers4  ,it is from these that the    
perfume comes4  ,in every community     
there are humble1 quiet lives1 almost   

unheard of among men1 who shed a subtle 
influence on all about them4  ,thus it  
is in the chapters of ,john's ,gospel4  
,the name of the writer nowhere appears1
 but the charm of his spirit pervades   
the whole book4  ,in the designation    
which he adopts for himself1 there is a 
fine revealing of character4  ,there is 
a beautiful self-obliteration in the    
hiding away of the author's personality 
that only the name and glory of ,jesus  
may be seen4  ,there are some good men1 
who1 even when trying to exalt and honor
 their ,lord1 cannot resist the         
temptation to write their own name      
large1 that those who see the ,master   
may also see the ,master's friend4  ,in 
,john there is an utter absence of this 
spirit4  ,as the ,baptist1 when asked   
who he was1 refused to give his name1   
and said he was only a voice proclaiming
 the coming of the ,king1 so ,john spoke
 of himself only as one whom the ,master
 loved4  ,we must note1 too1 that he    
does not speak of himself as the        

disciple who loved ,jesus1--this would  
have been to boast of himself as loving 
the ,master more than the other         
disciples did1--but as the disciple whom
 ,jesus loved4  ,in this distinction    
lies one of the subtlest secrets of     
,christian peace4  ,our hope does not   
rest in our love for ,jesus1 but in his 
love for us4  ,our love at the best is  
variable in its moods4 ,to-day it glows 
with warmth and joy1 and we say we could
 die for ,christ2 to-morrow1 in some    
depression1 we question whether we      
really love him at all1 our feeling     
responds so feebly to his name4  ,a     
peace that depends on our loving ,christ
 is as variable as our own              
consciousness4  ,but when it is         
,christ's love for us that is our       
dependence1 our peace is undisturbed by 
any earthly changes4  ,thus we find in  
,john a reposeful spirit4  ,he was      
content to be lowly4 ,he knew how to    
trust4  ,his spirit was gentle4  ,he was
 of a deeply spiritual nature4  ,yet we 

must not think of him as weak or        
effeminate4 ,perhaps painters have      
helped to give this impression of him2  
but it is one that is not only untrue1  
but dishonoring4  ,john was a man of    
noble strength4  ,in his soul1 under his
 quietness and sweetness of spirit1     
dwelt a mighty energy4  ,but he was a   
man of love1 and had learned the lesson 
of divine peace2 thus he was a          
self-controlled man4  ,these are hints  
of the character of the disciple whom   
,jesus loved1 whom he chose to be his   
closest friend4  ,he was only a lad when
 ,jesus first met him1 and we must      
remember that the ,john we chiefly know 
was the man as he developed under the   
influence of ,jesus4  ,what ,jesus saw  
in the youth who sat down beside him in 
his lodging-place that day1 drank in his
 words1 and opened his soul to him as a 
rose to the morning sun1 was a nature   
rich in its possibilities of noble and  
beautiful character4 ,the ,john we know 
is the man as he ripened in the summer  

of ,christ's love4  ,he is a product of 
pure ,christ-culture4  ,his young soul  
responded to every inspiration in his   
,master1 and developed into rarer       
loveliness every day4  ,doubtless one of
 the qualities in ,john that fitted him 
to be the closest friend of ,jesus was  
his openness of heart1 which made him   
such an apt learner1 so ready to respond
 to every touch of ,christ's hand4  ,it 
would be interesting to trace the story 
of this holy friendship through the     
three years ,jesus and ,john were       
together1 but only a little of the      
wonderful narrative is written4  ,some  
months after the first meeting1 there   
was another beside the sea4  ,for some  
reason ,john and his companions had     
taken up their fishing again4  ,jesus   
came by in the early morning1 and found 
the men greatly discouraged because they
 had been out all night and had caught  
nothing4  ,he told them to push out1 and
 to cast their net again1 telling them  
where to cast it4  ,the result was a    

great draught of fishes4  ,it was a     
revealing of divine power which mightily
 impressed the fishermen4  ,he then bade
 them to follow him1 and said he would  
make them become fishers of men4        
,immediately they left the ship1 and    
went with ,jesus4  ,thus ,john had now  
committed himself altogether to his new 
,master4  ,from this time he remained   
with ,jesus1 following him wherever he  
went4  ,he was in his school1 and was an
 apt scholar4  ,a little later there    
came another call4  ,jesus chose twelve 
men to be apostles1 and among them was  
the beloved disciple4  ,this choice and 
call brought him into yet closer        
fellowship with ,jesus4  ,now the       
transformation of character would go on 
more rapidly because of the constancy   
and the closeness of ,john's association
 with his ,master4  ,a peculiar         
designation is given to the brothers    
,james and ,john4  ,jesus surnamed them 
,boanerges1 the sons of thunder4  ,there
 must have been a meaning in such a name

 given by ,jesus himself4  ,perhaps the 
figure of thunder suggests capacity for 
energy--that the soul of ,john was      
charged1 as it were1 with fiery zeal4   
,it appears to us1 as we read ,john's   
writings1 that this could not have been 
true4  ,he seems such a man of love that
 we cannot think of him as ever being   
possessed of an opposite feeling4  ,but 
there is evidence that by nature he was 
full of just such energy held in        
reserve4  ,we see ,john chiefly in his  
writings2 and these were the fruit of   
his mellow old age1 when love's lessons 
had been well learned4  ,it seems likely
 that in his youth he had in his breast 
a naturally quick1 fiery temper4  ,but  
under the culture of ,jesus this spirit 
was brought into complete mastery4  ,we 
have one illustration of this earlier   
natural feeling in a familiar incident4 
,the people of a certain village refused
 to receive the ,master1 and ,john and  
his brother wished to call down fire    
from heaven to consume them4 ,but ,jesus

 reminded them that he was not in the   
world to destroy men's lives1 but to    
save them4  ,we know not how often this 
lesson had to be taught to ,john before 
he became the apostle of love4  ,it was 
well on in ,st4 ,paul's old age that he 
said he had learned in whatsoever state 
he was therein to be content4  ,it is a 
comfort to us to know that he was not   
always able to say this1 and that the   
lesson had to be learned by him just as 
it has to be learned by us4  ,it is a   
comfort to us also to be permitted to   
believe that ,john had to learn to be   
the loving1 gentle disciple he became in
 later life1 and that the lesson was not
 an easy one4  ,it is instructive also  
to remember that it was through his     
friendship with ,jesus that ,john       
received his sweetness and lovingness of
 character4  ,an old ,persian apologue  
tells that one found a piece of fragrant
 clay in his garden1 and that when asked
 how it got its perfume the clay        
replied1 ,one laid me on a rose4  ,john 

lived near the heart of ,jesus1 and the 
love of that heart of gentleness entered
 his soul and transformed him4  ,there  
is no other secret for any who would    
learn love's great lesson4  ,abiding in 
,christ1 ,christ abides also in us1 and 
we are made like him because he lives in
 us4  ,john's distinction of being one  
of the ,master's closest friends brought
 him several times into experiences of  
peculiar sacredness4  ,he witnessed the 
transfiguration1 when for an hour the   
real glory of the ,christ shone out     
through his investiture of flesh4  ,this
 was a vision ,john never forgot4  ,it  
must have impressed itself deeply upon  
his soul4 ,he was also one of those who 
were led into the inner shadows of      
,gethsemane1 to be near ,jesus while he 
suffered1 and to comfort him with love4 
,this last experience especially        
suggests to us something of what the    
friendship of ,john was to ,jesus4      
,there is no doubt that this friendship 
brought to ,john immeasurable comfort   

and blessing1 enriching his life1 and   
transforming his character4  ,but what  
was the friendship to ,jesus8  ,there is
 no doubt that it was a great deal to   
him4  ,he craved affection and sympathy1
 as every noble heart does just in the  
measure of its humanness4  ,one of the  
saddest elements of the ,gethsemane     
sorrow was the disappointment of ,jesus1
 when1 hungry for love1 he went back to 
his chosen three1 expecting to find a   
little comfort and strength1 and found  
them sleeping4  ,the picture of ,john at
 the ,last ,supper1 leaning on ,jesus'  
breast1 shows him to us in the posture  
in which we think of him most4  ,it is  
the place of confidence2 the bosom is   
only for those who have a right to      
closest intimacy4  ,it is the place of  
love1 near the heart4  ,it is the place 
of safety1 for he is in the clasp of the
 everlasting arms1 and none can snatch  
him out of the impregnable shelter4  ,it
 was the darkest night the world ever   
saw that ,john lay on the bosom of      

,jesus4  ,that is the place of comfort  
for all sorrowing believers1 and there  
is abundance of room for them all on    
that breast4  ,john leaned on ,jesus'   
breast1--weakness reposed on strength1  
helplessness on almighty help4 ,we      
should learn to lean1 to lean our whole 
weight1 on ,christ4  ,that is the       
privilege of ,christian faith4  ,there  
was one occasion when ,john seems to    
have broken away from his usual         
humility4  ,he joined with his brother  
in a request for the highest places in  
the new kingdom4  ,this is only one of  
the evidences of ,john's                
humanness1--that he was of like passions
 with the rest of us4 ,jesus treated the
 brothers with gentle pity--,ye know not
 what ye ask4 ,then he explained to them
 that the highest places must be reached
 through toil and sorrow1 through the   
paths of service and suffering4 ,later  
in life ,john knew what the ,master's   
words meant4  ,he found his place       
nearest to ,christ1 but it was not on   

the steps of an earthly throne2 it was a
 nearness of love1 and the steps to it  
were humility1 self-forgetfulness1 and  
ministry4  ,it must have given          
immeasurable comfort to ,jesus to have  
,john stay so near to him during the    
last scenes4  ,if he fled for a moment  
in the garden when all the apostles     
fled1 he soon returned2 for he was close
 to his ,master during his trial4       
,then1 when he was on the cross1 ,jesus 
saw a group of loving friends near by1  
watching with breaking hearts2 and among
 these was ,john4  ,it lifted a heavy   
burden off the heart of ,jesus to be    
able then to commit his mother to ,john1
 and to see him lead her away to his own
 home4  ,it was a supreme expression of 
friendship1--choosing ,john from among  
all his friends for the sacred duty of  
sheltering this blessedest of women4    
,the story of this beautiful friendship 
of ,jesus and ,john shows us what is    
possible in its own measure to every    
,christian discipleship4  ,it is not    

possible for every ,christian to be a   
,st4 ,john1 but close friendship with   
,jesus is the privilege of every true   
believer2 and all who enter into such a 
friendship will be transformed into the 
likeness of their ,friend4     ,,chapter
 ,,vii4  ,,jesus ,,and ,,peter4    ,as  
the mighty poets take     ,grief and    
pain to build their song1   ,even so for
 every soul1     ,whatsoe'er its lot may
 be1--   ,building1 as the heavens roll1
     ,something large and strong and    
free1--   ,things that hurt and things  
that mar     ,shape the man for perfect 
praise1   ,shock and strain and ruin are
     ,friendlier than the smiling days4 
,our first glimpse of ,simon in the ,new
 ,testament is as he was being          
introduced to ,jesus4  ,it was beside   
the ,jordan4  ,his brother had brought  
him2 and that moment a friendship began 
which not only was of infinite and      
eternal importance to ,simon himself1   
but which has left incalculable blessing
 in the world4  ,jesus looked at him    

intently1 with deep1 penetrating gaze4  
,he saw into his very soul4  ,he read   
his character2 not only what he was     
then1 but the possibilities of his      
life1--what he would become under the   
power of grace4  ,he then gave him a new
 name4  ,when ,jesus beheld him1 he     
said4 ,thou art ,simon3 444 thou shalt  
be called ,cephas1 which is by          
interpretation1 a stone4  ,in a gallery 
in ,europe there hang1 side by side1    
,rembrandt's first picture1 a simple    
sketch1 imperfect and faulty1 and his   
great masterpiece1 which all men admire4
  ,so in the two names1 ,simon and      
,peter1 we have1 first the rude         
fisherman who came to ,jesus that day1  
the man as he was before ,jesus began   
his work on him2 and second1 the man as 
he became during the years when the     
friendship of ,jesus had warmed his     
heart and enriched his life2 when the   
teaching of ,jesus had given him wisdom 
and kindled holy aspirations in his     
soul2 and when the experiences of       

struggle and failure1 of penitence and  
forgiveness1 of sorrow and joy1 had     
wrought their transformations in him4   
,thou art ,simon4  ,that was his name   
then4  ,thou shalt be called ,cephas4   
,that was what he should become4  ,it   
was common in the ,east to give a new   
name to denote a change of character1 or
 to indicate a man's position among men4
  ,abram's name was changed to          
,abraham--,father of a multitude--when  
the promise was sealed to him4  ,jacob's
 name1 which meant supplanter1 one who  
lived by deceit1 was changed to ,israel1
 a prince with ,god1 after that night   
when the old nature was maimed and      
defeated while he wrestled with ,god1   
and overcame by clinging in faith and   
trust4  ,so ,simon received a new name  
when he came to ,jesus1 and began his   
friendship with him4  ,thou shalt be    
called ,cephas4  ,this did not mean that
 ,simon's character was changed         
instantly into the quality which the new
 name indicated4  ,it meant that ,jesus 

saw in him the possibilities of         
firmness1 strength1 and stability1 of   
which a stone is the emblem4  ,it meant 
that this should be his character by and
 by1 when the work of grace in him was  
finished4  ,the new name was a prophecy 
of the man that was to be1 the man that 
,jesus would make of him4  ,now he was  
only ,simon--rash1 impulsive1           
self-confident1 vain1 and therefore weak
 and unstable4  ,some of the processes  
in this making of a man1 this           
transformation of ,simon into ,cephas1  
we may note as we read the story4       
,there were three years between the     
beginning of the friendship of ,jesus   
and ,simon and the time when the man was
 ready for his work4  ,the process was  
not easy4  ,simon had many hard lessons 
to learn4  ,self-confidence had to be   
changed into humility4  ,impetuosity had
 to be chastened and disciplined into   
quiet self-control4  ,presumption had to
 be awed and softened into reverence4   
,thoughtfulness had to grow out of      

heedlessness4  ,rashness had to be      
subdued into prudence1 and weakness had 
to be tempered into calm strength4  ,all
 this moral history was folded up in the
 words1 ,thou shalt be called ,cephas--a
 stone4  ,the meeting by the ,jordan was
 the beginning4  ,a new friendship      
coming into a life may color all its    
future1 may change its destiny4  ,we    
never know what may come of any chance  
meeting4  ,but the beginning of a       
friendship with ,jesus has infinite     
possibilities of good4  ,the giving of  
the new name must have put a new thought
 of life's meaning into ,simon's heart4 
,it must have set a new vision in his   
soul1 and kindled new aspirations within
 his breast4  ,life must have meant more
 to him from that hour4  ,he had        
glimpses of possibilities he had never  
dreamed of before4  ,it is always so    
when ,jesus truly comes into any one's  
life4 ,a new conception of character    
dawns on the soul1 a new ideal1 a       
revelation which changes all thoughts of

 living4  ,the friendship of ,jesus is  
most inspiring4  ,some months passed1   
and then came a formal call which drew  
,simon into close and permanent         
relations with ,jesus4  ,it was on the  
,sea of ,galilee4  ,the men were        
fishing4  ,there had been a night of    
unsuccessful toil4  ,in the morning     
,jesus used ,simon's boat for a pulpit1 
speaking from its deck to the throngs on
 the shore4  ,he then bade the men push 
out into deep water and let down their  
net4  ,simon said it was not worth      
while--still he would do the ,master's  
bidding4  ,the result was an immense    
haul of fishes4  ,the effect of the     
miracle on ,simon's mind was            
overwhelming4  ,instantly he felt that  
he was in the presence of divine        
revealing1 and a sense of his own       
sinfulness and unworthiness oppressed   
him4  ,depart from me2 for ,i am a      
sinful man1 ,o ,lord1 he cried4  ,jesus 
quieted his terror with his comforting  
,fear not4  ,then he said to him1 ,from 

henceforth thou shalt catch men4  ,this 
was another self-revealing4  ,simon's   
work as a fisherman was ended4  ,he     
forsook all1 and followed ,jesus1       
becoming a disciple in the full sense4  
,his friendship with ,jesus was         
deepening4 ,he gave up everything he    
had1 going with ,jesus into poverty1    
homelessness1 and--he knew not what4    
,living in the personal household of    
,jesus1 ,simon saw his ,master's life in
 all its manifold phases1 hearing the   
words he spoke whether in public on in  
private conversation1 and witnessing    
every revealing of his character1       
disposition1 and spirit4  ,it is        
impossible to estimate the influence of 
all this on the life of ,simon4  ,he was
 continually seeing new things in       
,jesus1 hearing new words from his lips1
 learning new lessons from his life4    
,one cannot live in daily companionship 
with any good man without being deeply  
influenced by the association4  ,to live
 with ,jesus in intimate relations of   

friendship was a holy privilege1 and its
 effect on ,simon's character cannot be 
estimated4  ,an event which must have   
had a great influence on ,simon was his 
call to be an apostle4  ,not only was he
 one of the ,twelve1 but his name came  
first--it is always given first4  ,he   
was the most honored of all1 was to be  
their leader1 occupying the first place 
among them4  ,a true-hearted man is not 
elated or puffed up by such honoring as 
this4 ,it humbles him1 rather1 because  
the distinction brings with it a sense  
of responsibility4  ,it awes a good man 
to become conscious that ,god is        
intrusting him with place and duty in   
the world1 and is using him to be a     
blessing to others4  ,he must walk      
worthy of his high calling4  ,a new     
sanctity invests him--the ,lord has set 
him apart for holy service4  ,another   
event which had a marked influence on   
,simon was his recognition of the       
,messiahship of ,jesus4  ,just how this 
great truth dawned upon his             

consciousness we do not know1 but there 
came a time when the conviction was so  
strong in him that he could not but give
 expression to it4  ,it was in the      
neighborhood of ,caesarea ,philippi4    
,jesus had led the ,twelve apart into a 
secluded place for prayer4  ,there he   
asked them two solemn questions4  ,he   
asked them first what the people were   
saying about him--who they thought he   
was4  ,the answer showed that he was not
 understood by them2 there were         
different opinions about him1 none of   
them correct4  ,then he asked the       
,twelve who they thought he was4  ,simon
 answered1 ,the ,christ1 the ,son of the
 living ,god4  ,the confession was      
wonderfully comprehensive4  ,it declared
 that ,jesus was the ,messiah1 and that 
he was a divine being--the ,son of the  
living ,god4  ,it was a great moment in 
,simon's life when he uttered this      
wonderful confession4  ,jesus replied   
with a beatitude for ,simon1 and then   
spoke another prophetic word3 ,thou art 

,peter1 using now the new name which was
 beginning to be fitting1 as the new man
 that was to be was growing out of the  
old man that was being left behind4     
,thou art ,peter1 and upon this rock ,i 
will build my church4  ,it was a further
 unveiling of ,simon's future4  ,it was 
in effect an unfolding or expansion of  
what he had said when ,simon first stood
 before him4  ,thou shalt be called     
,cephas4  ,as a confessor of ,christ1   
representing all the apostles1 ,peter   
was thus honored by his ,lord4  ,but the
 ,messianic lesson was yet only partly  
learned4  ,simon believed that ,jesus   
was the ,messiah1 but his conception of 
the ,messiah was still only an earthly  
one4  ,so we read that from that time   
,jesus began to teach the apostles the  
truth about his mission1--that he must  
suffer many things1 and be killed4      
,then it was that ,simon made his grave 
mistake in seeking to hold his ,master  
back from the cross4  ,be it far from   
thee1 ,lord3 this shall never be unto   

thee1 he said with great vehemence4     
,quickly came the stern reply1 ,get thee
 behind me1 ,satan3 thou art a          
stumbling-block unto me4  ,simon had to 
learn a new lesson4 ,he did not get it  
fully learned until after ,jesus had    
risen again1 and the ,holy ,spirit had  
come1--that the measure of rank in      
spiritual life is the measure of        
self-forgetting service4  ,we get a     
serious lesson here in love and         
friendship4  ,it is possible for us to  
become ,satan even to those we love the 
best4  ,we do this when we try to       
dissuade them from hard toil1 costly    
service1 or perilous missions to which  
,god is calling them4  ,we need to      
exercise the most diligent care1 and to 
keep firm restraint upon our own        
affections1 lest in our desire to make  
the way easier for our friends we tempt 
them to turn from the path which ,god   
has chosen for their feet4  ,thus lesson
 after lesson did ,simon have to learn1 
each one leading to a deeper humility4  

,less of self and more of thee--none of 
self and all of thee4  ,thus we reach   
the last night with its sad fall4  ,the 
denial of ,peter was a terrible         
disappointment4  ,we would have said it 
was impossible1 as ,peter himself said4 
,he was brave as a lion4  ,he loved     
,jesus deeply and truly4  ,he had       
received the name of the rock4  ,for    
three years he had been under the       
teaching of ,jesus1 and he had been     
received into special honor and favor   
among the apostles4  ,he had been       
faithfully forewarned of his danger1 and
 we say1 ,forewarned is forearmed4  ,yet
 in spite of all1 this bravest1 most    
favored disciple1 this man of rock1 fell
 most ignominiously1 at a time1 too1    
when friendship to his ,master ought to 
have made him truest and most loyal4    
,it was the loving gentleness of ,jesus 
that saved him4  ,what intense pain     
there must have been in the heart of the
 ,master when1 after hearing ,peter's   
denial1 he turned and looked at ,peter6 

,i think the look of ,christ might seem 
to say1--   ',thou ,peter6 art thou then
 a common stone   ,which ,i at last must
 break my heart upon1   ,for all ,god's 
charge to his high angels may   ,guard  
my foot better8  ,did ,i yesterday      
,wash thy feet1 my beloved1 that they   
should run   ,quick to deny me 'neath   
the morning sun8   ,and do thy kisses   
like the rest betray8   ,the cock crows 
coldly4  ,go and manifest   ,a late     
contrition1 but no bootless fear6   ,for
 when thy final need is dreariest1      
,thou shalt not be denied1 as ,i am     
here4   ,my voice1 to ,god and angels1  
shall attest1   ,because ,i know this   
man1 let him be clear4'  ,it was after  
this look of wondrous love that ,peter  
went out and wept bitterly4  ,at last he
 remembered4  ,it seemed too late1 but  
it was not too late4  ,the heart of     
,jesus was not closed against him1 and  
he rose from his fall a new man4  ,what 
place had the denial in the story of the
 training of ,peter8  ,it had a very    

important place4  ,up to that last      
night1 there was still a grave blemish  
in ,simon's character4  ,his            
self-confidence was an element of       
weakness4  ,perhaps there was no other  
way in which this fault could be cured  
but by allowing him to fall4  ,we know  
at least that1 in the bitter experience 
of denial1 with its solemn repenting1   
,peter lost his weakness4  ,he came from
 his penitence a new man4  ,at last he  
was disinthralled4  ,he had learned the 
lesson of humility4  ,it was never again
 possible for him to deny his ,lord4  ,a
 little later1 after a heart-searching  
question thrice repeated1 he was        
restored and recommissioned--,feed my   
lambs2 feed my sheep4  ,so the work was 
completed2 the vision of the new man had
 been realized4 ,simon had become       
,cephas4  ,it had been a long and costly
 process1 but neither too long nor too  
costly4  ,while the marble was wasting1 
the image was growing4  ,you say it was 
a great price that ,simon had to pay to 

be fashioned into ,peter4  ,you ask     
whether it was worth while1 whether it  
would not have been quite as well for   
him if he had remained the plain1       
obscure fisherman he was when ,jesus    
first found him4  ,then he would have   
been only a fisherman1 and after living 
among his neighbors for his allotted    
years1 he would have had a quiet funeral
 one day1 and would have been laid to   
rest beside the sea4  ,as it was1 he had
 a life of poverty and toil and hard    
service4  ,it took a great deal of      
severe discipline to make out of him the
 strong1 firm man of rock that ,jesus   
set out to produce in him4  ,but who    
will say to-day that it was not worth   
while8 ,the splendid ,christian manhood 
of ,peter has been now for nineteen     
centuries before the eyes of the world  
as a type of character which ,christian 
men should emulate--a vision of life    
whose influence has touched millions    
with its inspiration4  ,the price which 
had to be paid to attain this nobleness 

of character and this vastness of holy  
influence was not too great4  ,but how  
about ourselves8  ,it may be quite as   
hard for some of us to be made into the 
image of beauty and strength which the  
,master has set for us4  ,it may require
 that we shall pass through experiences 
of loss1 trial1 temptation1 and sorrow4 
,life's great lessons are very long1 and
 cannot be learned in a day1 nor can    
they be learned easily4  ,but life1 at  
whatever cost1 is worth while4  ,it is  
worth while for the gold to pass through
 the fire to be made pure and clean4    
,it is worth while for the gem to endure
 the hard processes necessary to prepare
 it for shining in its dazzling         
splendor4  ,it is worth while for a life
 to submit to whatever of severe        
discipline may be required to bring out 
in it the likeness of the ,master1 and  
to fit it for noble doing and serving4  
,poets are said to learn in suffering   
what they teach in song4 ,if only one   
line of noble1 inspiring1 uplifting song

 is sung into the world's air1 and      
started on a world-wide mission of      
blessing1 no price paid for the         
privilege is too much to pay4  ,david   
had to suffer a great deal to be able to
 write the ,twenty-,third ,psalm1 but he
 does not now think that psalm cost him 
too much4  ,william ,canton writes3--   
,a man lived fifty years--joy dashed    
with tears2     ,loved1 toiled2 had wife
 and child1 and lost them2 died2   ,and 
left of all his long life's work one    
little song4     ,that lasted--naught   
beside4    ,like the monk ,felix's bird1
 that song was heard2     ,doubt prayed1
 ,faith soared4  ,death smiled itself to
 sleep2   ,that song saved souls4  ,you 
say the man paid stiffly8  ,nay4        
,god paid--and thought it cheap4        
,,chapter ,,viii4  ,,jesus ,,and        
,,thomas4    ,i have a life in ,christ  
to live1     ,i have a death in ,christ 
to die2   ,and must ,i wait till science
 give     ,all doubts a full reply8     
,nay1 rather while the sea of doubt     

,is raging wildly round about1          
,questioning of life and death and sin1 
,let me but creep within   ,thy fold1 ,o
 ,christ6 and at thy feet   ,take but   
the lowest seat4                        
,,principal ,,shairp4   ,there is no    
record of the beginning of the          
friendship of ,jesus and ,thomas4  ,we  
do not know when ,thomas became a       
disciple1 nor what first drew him to    
,jesus4  ,did a friend bring him8  ,did 
he learn of the new rabbi through the   
fame of him that went everywhere1 and   
then come to him without solicitation8  
,did he hear him speak one day1 and find
 himself drawn to him by the power of   
his gracious words8  ,or did ,jesus seek
 him out in his home or at his work1 and
 call him to be a follower8  ,we do not 
know4  ,the manner of his coming is     
veiled in obscurity4  ,the first mention
 of his name is in the list of the      
,twelve4  ,as the apostles were chosen  
from the much larger company of those   
who were already disciples1 ,thomas must

 have been a follower of ,jesus before  
he was an apostle4  ,he and ,jesus had  
been friends for some time1 and there is
 evidence that the friendship was a very
 close and tender one4  ,even in the    
scant material available for the making 
up of the story1 we find evidence in    
,thomas of strong loyalty and unwavering
 devotion1 and in ,jesus of marvellous  
patience and gentleness toward his      
disciple4  ,we have in the ,new         
,testament many wonderfully lifelike    
portraits4 ,occurring again and again1  
they are always easily recognizable4    
,in every mention of ,peter1 for        
example1 the man is indubitably the     
same4 ,he is always active1 speaking or 
acting2 not always wisely1 but in every 
case characteristically1--impetuous1    
self-confident1 rash1 yet ever          
warm-hearted4  ,we would know him       
unmistakably in every incident in which 
he appears1 even if his name were not   
given4  ,john1 too1 whenever we see him1
 is always the same1--reverent1 quiet1  

affectionate1 trustful1 the disciple of 
love4  ,andrew appears only a few times1
 but in each of these cases he is       
engaged in the same way1--bringing some 
one to ,jesus4  ,mary of ,bethany comes 
into the story on only three occasions2 
but always we see her in the same       
attitude1--at ,jesus' feet1--while      
,martha is ever active in her serving4  
,the character of ,thomas also is       
sketched in a very striking way4  ,there
 are but three incidents in which this  
apostle appears2 but in all of these the
 portrait is the same1 and is so clear  
that even ,peter's character is scarcely
 better known than that of ,thomas4  ,he
 always looks at the dark side4  ,we    
think of him as the doubter2 but his    
doubt is not of the flippant kind which 
reveals lack of reverence1 ofttimes     
ignorance and lack of earnest thought2  
it is rather a constitutional tendency  
to question1 and to wait for proof which
 would satisfy the senses1 than a       
disposition to deny the facts of        

,christianity4  ,thomas was ready to    
believe1 glad to believe1 when the proof
 was sufficient to convince him4  ,then 
all the while he was ardently a true and
 devoted friend of ,jesus1 attached to  
him1 and ready to follow him even to    
death4  ,the first incident in which    
,thomas appears is in connection with   
the death of ,lazarus4  ,jesus had now  
gone beyond the ,jordan with his        
disciples4  ,the ,jews had sought to    
kill him2 and he escaped from their     
hands1 and went away for safety4  ,when 
news of the sickness of ,lazarus came1  
,jesus waited two days1 and then said to
 his disciples1 ,let us go into ,judea  
again4  ,the disciples reminded him of  
the hatred of the ,jews1 and of their   
recent attempts to kill him4  ,they     
thought that he ought not to venture    
back again into the danger1 even for the
 sake of carrying comfort to the        
sorrowing ,bethany household4  ,jesus   
answered with a little parable about    
one's security while walking during the 

day4  ,the meaning of the parable was   
that he had not yet reached the end of  
his day1 and therefore could safely     
continue the work which had been given  
him to do4  ,every man doing ,god's will
 is immortal till the work is done4     
,jesus then announced to his disciples  
that ,lazarus was dead1 and that he was 
going to waken him4  ,it is at this     
point that ,thomas appears4  ,he said to
 his fellow-disciples1 ,let us also go1 
that we may die with him4  ,he looked   
only at the dark side4  ,he took it for 
granted that if ,jesus returned to      
,judea he would be killed4  ,he forgot  
for the time the divine power of ,jesus1
 and the divine protection which        
sheltered him while he was doing the    
,father's will4  ,he failed to          
understand the words ,jesus had just    
spoken about his security until the     
hours of his day were finished4  ,he    
remembered only the bitterness which the
 ,jews had shown toward ,jesus1 and     
their determination to destroy his life4

 ,he had no hope that if ,jesus returned
 they would not carry out their wicked  
purpose4  ,there was no blue in the sky 
for him4  ,he saw only darkness4        
,thomas represents a class of good      
people who are found in every community4
  ,they see only the sad side of life4  
,no stars shine through their           
cypress-trees4  ,in the time of danger  
they forget that there are divine       
refuges into which they may flee and be 
safe4  ,they know the promises1 and     
often quote them to others2 but when    
trouble comes upon them1 all these words
 of ,god fade out of their minds4  ,in  
sorrow they fail to receive any true and
 substantial comfort from the           
,scriptures4 ,hope dies in their hearts 
when the shadows gather about them4     
,they yield to discouragement1 and the  
darkness blots out every star in their  
sky4  ,whatever the trouble may be that 
comes into their life1 they see the     
trouble only1 and fail to perceive the  
bright light in the cloud4  ,this habit 

of mind adds much to life's hardness4   
,every burden is heavier because of the 
sad heart that beats under it4  ,every  
pain is keener because of the           
dispiriting which it brings with it4    
,every sorrow is made darker by the     
hopelessness with which it is endured4  
,every care is magnified1 and the       
sweetness of every pleasure is lessened1
 by this pessimistic tendency4  ,the    
beauty of the world loses half its charm
 in the eyes which see all things in the
 hue of despondent feeling4  ,slightest 
fears become terrors1 and smallest      
trials grow into great misfortunes4     
,our heart makes our world for us2 and  
if the heart be without hope and cheer1 
the world is always dark4 ,we find in   
life just what we have the capacity to  
find4  ,one who is color-blind sees no  
loveliness in nature4  ,one who has no  
music in his soul hears no harmonies    
anywhere4  ,when fear sits regnant on   
the throne1 life is full of alarms4  ,on
 the other hand1 if the heart be full of

 hope1 every joy is doubled1 and half of
 every trouble vanishes4  ,there are    
sorrows1 but they are comforted4  ,there
 are bitter cups1 but the bitterness is 
sweetened4 ,there are heavy burdens1 but
 the songful spirit lightens them4      
,there are dangers1 but cheerful courage
 robs them of terror4  ,all the world is
 brighter when the light of hope shines 
within4  ,but we have read only half the
 story of the fear of ,thomas4  ,he saw 
only danger in the ,master's return to  
,judea4  ,the ,jews will kill him2 he   
will go back to certain death1 he said4 
,but ,thomas would not forsake ,jesus1  
though he was going straight to         
martyrdom4  ,let us also go1 that we may
 die with him4  ,thus1 mingled with his 
fear1 was a noble and heroic love for   
,jesus4  ,the hopelessness of ,thomas as
 he thought of ,jesus going to ,bethany 
makes his devotion and his cleaving to  
him all the braver and nobler4  ,he was 
sure it was a walk to death1 but he     
faltered not in his loyalty4  ,this is a

 noble spirit in ,thomas1 which we would
 do well to emulate4 ,it is the true    
soldier spirit4  ,its devotion to       
,christ is absolute1 and its following  
unconditional4  ,it has only one        
motive1--love2 and one rule1--obedience4
  ,it is not influenced by any question 
of consequences2 but though it be to    
certain death1 it hesitates not4 ,this  
is the kind of discipleship which the   
,master demands4  ,he who loves father  
or mother more than him is not worthy of
 him4  ,he who hates not his own life   
cannot be his disciple4  ,a follower of 
,jesus must be ready and willing to     
follow him to his cross4  ,thomas proved
 his friendship for his ,master by a    
noble heroism4  ,it is the highest test 
of courage to go forward unfalteringly  
in the way of duty when one sees only   
personal loss and sacrifice as the      
result4  ,the soldier who trembles1 and 
whose face whitens from constitutional  
physical fear1 and who yet marches      
steadily into the battle1 is braver far 

than the soldier who without a tremor   
presses into the engagement4  ,the      
second time at which ,thomas appears is 
in the upper room1 after the ,holy      
,supper had been eaten4  ,jesus had     
spoken of the ,father's house1 and had  
said that he was going away to prepare a
 place for his disciples1 and that then 
he would come again to receive them unto
 himself4  ,thomas could not understand 
the ,master's meaning1 and said1 ,lord1 
we know not whither thou goest2 and how 
can we know the way8 ,he would not say  
he believed until he saw for himself4   
,that is all that his question in the   
upper room meant--he wished the ,master 
to make the great teaching a little     
plainer4  ,it were well if more         
,christians insisted on finding the     
ground of their faith1 the reasons why  
they are ,christians4  ,their faith     
would then be stronger1 and less easily 
shaken4  ,when trouble comes1 or any    
testing1 it would continue firm and     
unmoved1 because it rests on the rock of

 divine truth4  ,the last incident in   
the story of ,thomas is after the       
resurrection4 ,the first evening the    
apostles met in the upper room to talk  
over the strange things which had       
occurred that day4  ,for some reason    
,thomas was not at this meeting4  ,we   
may infer that his melancholy           
temperament led him to absent himself4  
,he had loved ,jesus deeply1 and his    
sorrow was very great4  ,there had been 
rumors all day of ,christ's             
resurrection1 but ,thomas put no        
confidence in these4  ,perhaps his      
despondent disposition made him         
unsocial1 and kept him from meeting with
 the other apostles1 even to weep with  
them4  ,that evening ,jesus entered     
through the closed doors1 and stood in  
the midst of the disciples1 and greeted 
them as he had done so often before1    
,peace be unto you6  ,they told ,thomas 
afterwards that they had seen the ,lord4
  ,but he refused to believe them2 that 
is1 he doubted the reality of what they 

thought they had seen4  ,he said that   
they had been deceived2 and he asserted 
that he must not only see for himself1  
but must have the opportunity of        
subjecting the evidence to the severest 
test4  ,he must see the print of the    
nails1 and must also be permitted to put
 his finger into the place4  ,it is     
instructive to think of what this       
doubting disposition of ,thomas cost    
him4  ,first1 it kept him from the      
meeting of the disciples that evening1  
when all the others came together4  ,he 
shut himself up with his gloom and      
sadness4  ,his grief was hopeless1 and  
he would not seek comfort4  ,the        
consequence was1 that when ,jesus       
entered the room1 and showed himself to 
his friends1 ,thomas missed the         
revealing which gave them such          
unspeakable gladness4  ,from that hour  
their sorrow was changed to joy2 but for
 the whole of another week ,thomas      
remained in the darkness in which the   
crucifixion had infolded him4  ,doubt is

 always costly4  ,it shuts out heavenly 
comfort4  ,there are many ,christian    
people who1 especially in the first     
shock of sorrow1 have an experience     
similar to that of ,thomas4  ,they shut 
themselves up with their grief1 and     
refuse to accept the comfort of the     
gospel of ,christ4 ,they turn away their
 ears from the voices of love which     
speak to them out of the ,bible1 and    
will not receive the divine             
consolations4  ,the light shines all    
about them2 but they close doors and    
windows1 and keep it from entering the  
darkened chamber where they sit4  ,the  
music of peace floats on the air in     
sweet1 entrancing strains1 but no gentle
 note finds its way to their hearts4    
,too many ,christian mourners fail to   
find comfort in their sorrow4  ,they    
believe the great truths of             
,christianity1 that ,jesus died for them
 and rose again2 but their faith fails  
them for the time in the hour of sorest 
distress4  ,meanwhile they walk in      

darkness as ,thomas did4  ,on the other 
hand1 those who accept1 and let into    
their hearts the great truths of        
,christ's resurrection and the immortal 
life in ,christ1 feel the pain of       
parting no less sorely1 but they find   
abundant consolation in the hope of     
eternal life for those whom they have   
lost for a time4  ,we have an           
illustration of the deep1 tender1       
patient1 and wise friendship of ,jesus  
for ,thomas in the way he treated this  
doubt of his apostle4  ,he did not say  
that if ,thomas could not believe the   
witness of the apostles to his          
resurrection he must remain in the      
darkness which his unbelief had made for
 him4  ,he treated his doubt with       
exceeding gentleness1 as a skilful      
physician would deal with a dangerous   
wound4  ,he was in no haste4  ,a full   
week passed before he did anything4     
,during those days the sad heart had    
time to react1 to recover something of  
its self-poise4  ,thomas still persisted

 in his refusal to believe1 but when a  
week had gone he found his way with the 
others to their meeting4  ,perhaps their
 belief in the ,lord's resurrection made
 such a change in them1 so brightened   
and transformed them1 that ,thomas grew 
less positive in his unbelief as he saw 
them day after day4  ,at least he was   
ready now to be convinced4  ,he wanted  
to believe4  ,that night ,jesus came    
again into the room1 the doors being    
shut1 and standing in the midst of his  
friends1 breathed again upon them his   
benediction of peace4  ,then he turned  
to ,thomas2 and holding out his hands1  
with the print of the nails in them1 he 
asked him to put the evidences of his   
resurrection to the very tests he had   
said he must make before he could       
believe4  ,now ,thomas was convinced4   
,he did not make the tests he had       
insisted that he must make4  ,there was 
no need for it4  ,to look into the face 
of ,jesus1 to hear his voice1 and to see
 the prints of the nails in his hands1  

was evidence enough even for ,thomas4   
,all his doubts were swept away4        
,falling at the ,master's feet1 he      
exclaimed1 ,my ,lord and my ,god6  ,thus
 the gentleness of ,jesus in dealing    
with his doubts saved ,thomas from being
 an unbeliever4  ,it is a great thing to
 have a wise and faithful friend when   
one is passing through an experience of 
doubt4 ,many persons are only confirmed 
in their scepticism by the well-meant   
but unwise efforts that are made to     
convince them of the truth concerning   
which they doubt4  ,it is not argument  
that they need1 but the patience of     
love1 which waits in silence till the   
right time comes for words1 and which   
then speaks but little4  ,thomas was    
convinced1 not by words1 but by seeing  
the proofs of ,christ's love in the     
prints of the nails4  ,we may be glad   
now that ,thomas was hard to convince of
 the truth of ,christ's resurrection4   
,it makes the proofs more indubitable to
 us that one even of the apostles       

refused at first to believe1 and yet at 
length was led into triumphant faith4   
,if all the apostles had believed       
easily1 there would have been no comfort
 in the gospel for those who find it    
hard to believe1 and yet who sincerely  
want to believe4  ,the fact that one    
doubted1 and even refused to accept the 
witness of his fellow-apostles1 and then
 at length was led into clear1 strong   
faith1 forever teaches that doubt is not
 hopeless4  ,ofttimes it may be but a   
process in the development of faith4    
,the story of ,thomas shows1 too1 that  
there may be honest doubt4  ,while he   
doubted1 he yet loved2 perhaps no other 
one of the apostles loved ,jesus more   
than did ,thomas4  ,he never made any   
such bold confession as ,peter did1 but 
neither did he ever deny ,christ4       
,thomas has been a comfort to many      
because he has shown them that they can 
be true ,christians1 true lovers of     
,christ1 and yet not be able to boast of
 their assurance of faith4  ,no doubt   

faith is better than questioning1 but   
there may be honest questioning which   
yet is intensely loyal to ,christ4      
,questioning1 too1 which is eager to    
find the truth and rest on the rock1 may
 be better than easy believing1 that    
takes no pains to know the reason of the
 hope it cherishes1 and lightly recites 
the noble articles of a creed it has    
never seriously studied4  ,tennyson1 in 
,in ,memoriam1 tells the story of a     
faith that grew strong through its      
doubting4    ,you say1 but with no touch
 of scorn1     ,sweet-hearted1 you1     
whose light-blue eyes     ,are tender   
over drowning flies1   ,you tell me1    
doubt is devil-born4    ,i know not3 one
 indeed ,i knew     ,in many a subtle   
question versed1     ,who touched a     
jarring lyre at first1   ,but ever      
strove to make it true3    ,perplext in 
faith1 but pure in deeds1     ,at last  
he beat his music out4     ,there lives 
more faith in honest doubt1   ,believe  
me1 than in half the creeds4    ,he     

fought his doubts and gathered strength2
     ,he would not make his judgment    
blind1     ,he faced the spectres of the
 mind   ,and laid them3 thus he came at 
length    ,to find a stronger faith his 
own2     ,and power was with him in the 
night1     ,which makes the darkness and
 the light1   ,and dwells not in the    
light alone1    ,but in the darkness and
 the cloud1     ,as over ,sinai's peaks 
of old1     ,while ,israel made their   
gods of gold1   ,although the trumpet   
blew so loud4   ,that which saved       
,thomas was his deep1 strong friendship 
for ,christ4 ,the characteristic of     
,thomas1 says ,ian ,maclaren1 is not    
that he doubted1--that were an easy     
passport to religion1--but that he      
doubted and loved4  ,his doubt was the  
measure of his love2 his doubt was      
swallowed up in love4  ,if friendship   
for ,christ be loyal and true1 we need  
not look upon questioning as disloyalty2
 it may be but love finding the way up  
the rugged mountain-side to the sunlit  

summit of a glorious faith4  ,there is a
 scepticism whose face is toward        
wintriness and death2 but there is a    
doubt which is looking toward the sun   
and toward all blessedness4  ,thomas    
teaches us that one may look on the dark
 side and yet be a ,christian1 an ardent
 lover of ,jesus1 ready to die for him4 
,but we must admit that this is not the 
best way to live4  ,no one would say    
that ,thomas was the ideal among the    
apostles1 that his character was the    
most beautiful1 his life the noblest and
 the best4  ,faith is better than doubt1
 and confidence better than questioning4
  ,it is better to be a sunny           
,christian1 rejoicing1 songful1 happy1  
than a sad1 gloomy1 despondent          
,christian4  ,it makes one's own life   
sweeter and more beautiful4  ,then it   
makes others happier4  ,a gloomy        
,christian casts dark shadows wherever  
he goes2 a sunny ,christian is a        
benediction to every life he touches4   
,,chapter ,,ix4  ,,jesus' ,,unrequited  

,,friendships4    ,friend1 my feet      
bleed4   ,open thy door to me and       
comfort me4   ,i will not open2 trouble 
me no more4   ,go on thy way footsore2  
,i will not rise and open unto thee4    
,then it is nothing to thee8  ,open1 see
   ,who stands to plead with thee4      
,open1 lest ,i should pass thee by1 and 
thou   ,one day entreat my face   ,and  
howl for grace1   ,and ,i be deaf as    
thou art now4   ,open to me4            
,,christina ,g4 ,,rossetti4   ,there is 
a great deal of unrequited love in this 
world4  ,there are hearts that love with
 all the strength of purest and holiest 
affection1 whose love seems to meet no  
requital4  ,there is much unrequited    
mother-love and father-love4  ,parents  
live for their children4  ,in helpless  
infancy they begin to pour out their    
affection on them4  ,they toil for them1
 suffer for them1 deny themselves to    
provide comforts for them1 bear their   
burdens1 watch beside them when they are
 sick1 pray for them1 and teach them4   

,parent-love is likest ,god's love of   
all earthly affections4  ,it is one of  
the things in humanity which at its best
 seems to have come from the ,fall      
almost unimpaired4  ,much parent-love is
 worthily honored and fittingly         
requited4  ,few things in this world are
 more beautiful than the devotion of    
children to parents which one sees in   
some homes4  ,but not always is there   
such return4 ,too often is this almost  
divine love unrequited4  ,much          
philanthropic love also is unrequited4  
,there are men who spend all their life 
in doing good1 and then meet no return4 
,men have served their country with     
loyalty and disinterestedness1 and have 
received no reward--perhaps have been   
left to suffering1 and have died in     
poverty1 neglected and forgotten2 too   
often have lain in prison1 or been put  
to death1 or exiled by the country which
 was indebted to their patriotism and   
loyal service for much of its glory and 
greatness4  ,many hearts break because  

of men's ingratitude4  ,jesus was the   
world's greatest benefactor4  ,no other 
man ever loved the race1 or could have  
loved it1 as he did4  ,he was the divine
 messenger who came to save the world4  
,his whole life was a revealing of love4
 ,it was the love of ,god too1--a love  
of infinite depth and strength and      
tenderness1 and not any merely human    
love1 however rich and faithful it might
 be1 that was manifested in ,jesus      
,christ4  ,yet much of his wonderful    
love was unrequited4  ,he was in the    
world1 and the world was made by him1   
and the world knew him not4  ,he came   
unto his own1 and his own received him  
not4  ,a few individuals recognized him 
and accepted his love2 but the great    
masses of the people paid him no heed1  
saw no beauty in him1 rejected the      
blessings he bore and proffered to all1 
and let his love waste itself in        
unavailing yearnings and beseechings4   
,then one cruel day they nailed him on a
 cross1 thinking to quench the affection

 of his mighty heart4  ,there are many  
illustrations of the unrequiting of the 
holy friendship of ,jesus4  ,the        
treatment he received at ,nazareth was  
one instance4  ,he had been brought up  
among the people4  ,they had seen his   
beautiful life during the thirty years  
he had lived in the village4  ,they had 
known him as a child when he played in  
their streets4  ,they had known him as a
 youth and young man in his noble       
strength4  ,they had known him as a     
carpenter when day after day he wrought 
among them in humble toil4  ,it is      
interesting to think of the sinless life
 of ,jesus all these years4  ,there was 
no halo about his head but the shining  
of manly character4  ,there were no     
miracles wrought by his hands but the   
miracles of duty1 faithful service1 and 
gentle kindness4  ,yet we cannot doubt  
that his life in ,nazareth was one of   
rare grace and beauty1 marked by perfect
 unselfishness and great helpfulness4   
,by and by he went away from ,nazareth  

to begin his public ministry as the     
,messiah4  ,from that time the people   
saw him no more4  ,the carpenter shop   
was closed1 and the tools lay unused on 
the bench4  ,the familiar form appeared 
no more on the streets4  ,a year or more
 passed1 and one day he came back to    
visit his old neighbors4  ,he stayed a  
little while1 and on the ,sabbath was at
 the village church as had been his wont
 when his home was at ,nazareth4  ,when 
the opportunity was given him1 he       
unrolled the ,book of ,isaiah1 and read 
the passage which tells of the anointing
 of the ,messiah1 and gives the         
wonderful outline of his ministry4      
,when he had finished the reading1 he   
told the people that this prophecy was  
now fulfilled in their ears4  ,that is1 
he said that he was the ,messiah whose  
anointing and work the prophet had      
foretold4 ,for a time the people        
listened spellbound to his gracious     
words1 and then they began to grow      
angry1 that he whom they knew as the    

carpenter of their village should make  
such an astounding claim4  ,they rose up
 in wrath1 thrust him out of the        
synagogue1 and would have hurled him    
over the precipice had he not eluded    
them and gone on his way4  ,he had come 
to them in love1 bearing rich blessings2
 but they drove him away with the       
blessings4  ,he had come to heal their  
sick1 to cure their blind and lame1 to  
cleanse their lepers1 to comfort their  
sorrowing ones2 but he had to go away   
and leave these works of mercy          
unwrought1 while the sufferers continued
 to bear their burdens4  ,his friendship
 for his old neighbors was unrequited4  
,another instance of unrequited         
friendship in the life of ,jesus was in 
the case of the rich young man who came 
to him4  ,he had many excellent traits  
of character1 and was also an earnest   
seeker after the truth4 ,we are         
distinctly told that ,jesus loved him4  
,thus he belongs with ,martha and ,mary 
and ,lazarus1 of whom the same was said4

  ,but here1 again1 the love was        
unrequited4  ,the young man was deeply  
interested in ,jesus1 and wanted to go  
with him2 but he could not pay the      
price1 and turned and went away4  ,it is
 interesting to think what might have   
been the result if he had chosen ,christ
 and gone with him4  ,he might have     
occupied an important place in the early
 church1 and his name might have lived  
through all future generations4  ,but he
 loved his money too much to give it up 
for ,christ1 and rejected the way of the
 cross marked out for him4  ,he refused 
the friendship of ,jesus1 and thus threw
 away all that was best in life4  ,in   
shutting love out of his heart1 he shut 
himself out from love4  ,of all the     
examples of unrequited friendship in the
 story of ,jesus1 that of ,judas is the 
saddest4  ,we do not know the beginning 
of the story of his discipleship1 when  
,judas first came to ,jesus1 or who     
brought him4  ,but he must have been a  
follower some time before he was chosen 

to be an apostle4  ,jesus thought over  
the names of those who had left all to  
be with him4  ,then after a night of    
prayer he chose twelve of these to be   
his special messengers and witnesses4   
,he loved them all1 and took them into  
very close relations4  ,think what a    
privilege it was for these men to live  
with ,jesus4  ,they heard all his words4
  ,they saw every phase of his life4    
,some friends it is better not to know  
too intimately4  ,they are not as good  
in private as they are in public4       
,their life does not bear too close     
inspection4  ,we discover in them       
dispositions1 habits1 ways1 tempers1    
feelings1 motives1 which dim the lustre 
we see in them at greater distance4     
,intimacy weakens the friendship4  ,but1
 on the other hand1 there are those who1
 the more we see of their private life1 
the more we love them4  ,close          
association reveals loveliness of       
character1 fineness of spirit1 richness 
of heart1 sweetness of                  

disposition--habits1 feelings1 tempers1 
noble self-denials1 which add to the    
attractiveness of the life and the charm
 of our friend's personality4  ,we may  
be sure that intimacy with ,jesus only  
made him appear all the more winning and
 beautiful to his friends4  ,judas lived
 in the warmth of this wondrous love1   
under the influence of this gracious    
personality1 month after month4  ,he    
witnessed the pure and holy life of     
,jesus in all its manifold phases1 heard
 his words1 and saw his works4          
,doubtless1 too1 in his individual      
relation with the ,master1 he received  
many marks of affection and personal    
friendship4  ,a careful reading of the  
,gospels shows that ,judas was          
frequently warned of the very sin which 
in the end wrought his ruin4            
,continually ,jesus spoke of the danger 
of covetousness4  ,in the ,sermon on the
 ,mount he exhorted his disciples to lay
 up their treasure1 not upon earth1 but 
in heaven1 and said that no one could   

serve ,god and mammon4  ,it was just    
this that ,judas was trying to do4  ,in 
more than one parable the danger of     
riches was emphasized4  ,can we doubt   
that in all these reiterations and      
warnings on the one subject1 ,judas was 
in the ,master's mind8  ,he was trying  
in the faithfulness of loyal friendship 
to save him from the sin which was      
imperilling his very life4  ,but ,judas 
resisted all the mighty love of ,christ4
  ,it made no impression upon him2 he   
was unaffected by it4  ,in his heart    
there grew on meanwhile1 unchecked1     
unhindered1 his terrible greed for      
money4 ,first it made him a thief4  ,the
 money given to ,jesus by his friends to
 provide for his wants1 or to use for   
the poor1 ,judas1 who was the treasurer1
 began at length to purloin for himself4
  ,this was the first step4  ,the next  
was the selling of his ,master for      
thirty pieces of silver4  ,this was a   
more fearful fruit of his nourished     
greed than the purloining was4  ,it is  

bad enough to steal4  ,it is a base form
 of stealing which robs a church        
treasury as ,judas did4  ,but to take   
money as the price of betraying a       
friend--could any sin be baser8  ,could 
any crime be blacker than that8  ,to    
take money as the price of betraying a  
friend in whose confidence one has lived
 for years1 at whose table one has eaten
 day after day1 in the blessing of whose
 friendship one has rested for months   
and years--are there words black enough 
to paint the infamy of such a deed8     
,all the participators in the crime of  
that ,good ,friday wear a peculiar brand
 of infamy as they are portrayed on the 
pages of history2 but among them all1   
the most despicable1 the one whose name 
bears the deepest infamy1 is ,judas1 an 
apostle turned traitor1 for a few       
miserable coins betraying his best      
friend into the hands of malignant foes4
  ,this is the outcome of the friendship
 of ,jesus for ,judas2 this was the     
fruit of those years of affection1      

cherishing1 patient teaching4  ,think   
what ,judas might have been4  ,he was   
chosen and called to be an apostle4     
,there was no reason in the heart of    
,jesus why ,judas might not have been   
true and worthy4  ,sin is not ,god's    
plan for any life4  ,treachery and      
infamy were not in ,god's purpose for   
,judas4  ,jesus would not have chosen   
him for one of the ,twelve if it had not
 been possible for him to be a good and 
true man4  ,judas fell because he had   
never altogether surrendered himself to 
,christ4  ,he tried to serve ,god and   
mammon2 but both could not stay in his  
heart1 and instead of driving out       
mammon1 mammon drove out ,christ4  ,this
 suggests to us what a battlefield the  
human heart sometimes is--a ,waterloo   
where destinies are settled4  ,god or   
mammon--which8  ,that is the question   
every soul must answer4  ,how goes the  
battle in your soul8 ,who is winning on 
your field--,christ or money8  ,christ  
or pleasure8 ,christ or sin8  ,christ or

 self8  ,judas lost the battle2 the     
,devil won4  ,a picture in ,brussels    
represents ,judas wandering about the   
night after the betrayal4  ,by chance he
 comes upon the workmen who have been   
preparing the cross for ,jesus4  ,a fire
 burning close by throws its weird light
 on the faces of the men who are now    
sleeping4  ,the face of ,judas is       
somewhat in the shade2 but one sees on  
it remorse and agony1 as the traitor's  
eyes fall upon the cross and the tools  
which have been used in making it1--the 
cross to which his treason had doomed   
his friend4  ,but though suffering in   
the torments of a guilty conscience1 he 
still tightly clutches his money-bag as 
he hurries on into the night4  ,the     
picture tells the story of the fruit of 
,judas's sin1--the money-bag1 with      
eighteen dollars and sixty cents in it1 
and even that soon to be cast away in   
the madness of despair4  ,unrequited    
friendship6  ,yes2 and in shutting out  
that blessed friendship1 ,judas shut out

 hope4  ,longfellow puts into his mouth 
the despairing words3--    ,lost1 lost1 
forever lost6  ,i have betrayed     ,the
 innocent blood 444       99      99    
99   ,too late6 too late6  ,i shall not 
see him more   ,among the living4  ,that
 sweet1 patient face   ,will nevermore  
rebuke me1 nor those lips   ,repeat the 
words1 ',one of you shall betray me4'   
,the great lesson from all this is the  
peril of rejecting the friendship of    
,jesus ,christ4  ,in his friendship is  
the only way to salvation1 the only way 
of obtaining eternal life4  ,he calls   
men to come to him1 to follow him1 to be
 his friends2 and thus alone can they   
come unto ,god1 and be received into his
 family4  ,there is something appalling 
in the revealing which this truth       
teaches1--the power each soul possesses 
of shutting out all the love of ,god1 of
 resisting the infinite blessing of the 
friendship of ,christ4 ,it is possible  
for us to be near to ,christ through all
 our life1 with his grace flowing about 

us like an ocean1 and yet to have a     
heart that remains unblessed by divine  
love4  ,we may make ,god's love in vain1
 wasted1 as sunshine is wasted that     
falls upon desert sands1 so far as we   
are concerned4  ,the love that we do not
 requite with love1 that does not get   
into our heart to warm1 soften1 and     
enrich it1 and to mellow and bless our  
life1 is love poured out in vain4  ,it  
is made in vain by our unbelief4  ,we   
may make even the dying of ,jesus for us
 in vain1--a waste of precious life1 so 
far as we are concerned4  ,it is in vain
 for us that ,jesus died if we do not   
let his love into our heart4  ,ofttimes 
the unrequiting of human love makes the 
heart bitter4  ,when holy friendship has
 been despised1 rejected1 and cast away1
 when one has loved1 suffered1 and      
sacrificed in vain1 receiving only      
ingratitude and wrong in return for     
love's most sacred gifts freely         
lavished1 the danger is that the heart  
may lose its sweetness1 and grow cold1  

hard1 and misanthropic4  ,but not thus  
was the heart of ,jesus affected by the 
unrequiting of his love and friendship4 
,one ,judas in the life of most men     
would have ended the whole career of    
generous kindness1 drying up the        
fountains of affection1 thus robbing    
those who would come after of the wealth
 of tenderness which ought to have been 
theirs4  ,but through all the           
unrequiting and resisting of its love1  
the heart of ,jesus still remained      
gentle as a mother's1 rich in its power 
to love1 and sweet in its spirit4  ,this
 is one of the great problems of true   
living1--how to keep the heart warm1    
gentle1 compassionate1 kind1 full of    
affection's best and truest helpfulness1
 even amid life's hardest experiences4  
,we cannot live and not at some time    
suffer wrong4  ,we will meet injustice1 
however justly we ourselves may live4   
,we will find a return of ingratitude   
many a time when we have done our best  
for others4  ,favors rendered are too   

easily forgotten by many people4  ,there
 are few of us who do not remember      
helping others in time of great need and
 distress1 only to lose their friendship
 in the end1 perhaps1 as a consequence  
of our serving them in their need4      
,sometimes the only return for costly   
kindness is cruel unkindness4  ,it is   
easy to allow such unrequiting1 such ill
 treatment of love1 to embitter the     
fountain of the heart's affection2 but  
this would be to miss the true end of   
living1 which is to get good and not    
evil to ourselves from every experience 
through which we pass4  ,no ingratitude1
 injustice1 or unworthiness in those to 
whom we try to do good1 should ever be  
allowed to turn love's sweetness into   
bitterness in us4  ,like fresh-water    
springs beside the sea1 over which the  
brackish tide flows1 but which when the 
bitter waters have receded are found    
sweet as ever1 so should our hearts     
remain amid all experiences of love's   
unrequiting1 ever sweet1 thoughtful1    

unselfish1 and generous4     ,,chapter  
,x4  ,,jesus ,,and ,,the ,,bethany      
,,sisters4    ,her eyes are homes of    
silent prayer1     ,nor other thought   
her mind admits   ,but1 he was dead1 and
 there he sits1     ,and he that brought
 him back is there4    ,then one deep   
love doth supersede     ,all other1 when
 her ardent gaze   ,roves from the      
living brother's face1     ,and rests   
upon the ,life indeed4                  
,,tennyson4   ,the story of ,jesus and  
the ,bethany home is intensely          
interesting4 ,every thoughtful          
,christian has a feeling of gratitude in
 his heart when he remembers how much   
that home added to the comfort of the   
,master by means of the hospitality1 the
 shelter1 and the love it gave to him4  
,one of the legends of ,brittany tells  
us that on the day of ,christ's         
crucifixion1 as he was on his way to his
 cross1 a bird1 pitying the weary       
sufferer bearing his heavy burden1 flew 
down1 and plucked away one of the thorns

 that pierced his brow4  ,as it did so1 
the blood spurted out after the thorn1  
and splashed the breast of the bird4    
,ever since that day the bird has had a 
splash of red on its bosom1 whence it is
 called robin-redbreast4  ,certainly the
 love of the ,bethany home drew from the
 breast of ,jesus many a thorn1 and     
blessed his heart with many a joy4  ,we 
have three glimpses within the doors of 
this home when the loved guest was      
there4  ,the first shows us the ,master 
and his disciples one day entering the  
village4  ,it was ,martha who received  
him4  ,martha was the mistress of the   
house4  ,she had a sister called ,mary1 
a younger sister4  ,then we have a      
picture as if some one had photographed 
the scene4  ,we see ,mary drawing up a  
low stool1 and sitting down at the      
,master's feet to listen to his words4  
,we see ,martha hurrying about the      
house1 busy preparing a meal for the    
visitors who had come in suddenly4      
,this was a proper thing to do2 it was  

needful that hospitality be shown4      
,there is a word in the record1 however1
 which tells us that ,martha was not    
altogether serene as she went about her 
work4  ,martha was cumbered about much  
serving4  ,a marginal reading gives1 was
 distracted4  ,perhaps there are many   
modern ,christian housekeepers who would
 be somewhat cumbered1 or distracted    
too1 if thirteen hungry men dropped in  
suddenly some day1 and they had to      
entertain them1 preparing them a meal4  
,still1 the lesson unmistakably is that 
,martha should not have been fretted2   
that she should have kept sweet amid all
 the pressure of work that so burdened  
her4  ,it was not quite right for her to
 show her impatience with ,mary as she  
did4  ,coming into the room1 flushed and
 excited1 and seeing ,mary sitting      
quietly and unconcernedly at the        
,rabbi's feet1 drinking in his words1   
she appealed to ,jesus1 ,lord1 dost thou
 not care that my sister did leave me to
 serve alone8 bid her therefore that she

 help me4  ,i am not sure that ,martha  
was wrong or unreasonable in thinking   
that ,mary should have helped her4      
,jesus did not say she was wrong2 he    
only reminded ,martha that she ought not
 to let things fret and vex her4        
,martha1 ,martha1 thou art anxious and  
troubled about many things4  ,it was not
 her serving that he reproved1 but the  
fret that she allowed to creep into her 
heart4  ,the lesson is1 that however    
heavy our burdens may be1 however       
hurried or pressed we may be1 we should 
always keep the peace of ,christ in our 
heart4  ,this is one of the problems of 
,christian living1--not to live without 
cares1 which is impossible1 but to keep 
quiet and sweet in the midst of the most
 cumbering care4  ,at the second mention
 of the ,bethany home there is sore     
distress in it4 ,a beloved one is very  
sick1 sick unto death4  ,few homes are  
entire strangers to the experience of   
those days when the sufferer lay in the 
burning fever4  ,love ministered and    

prayed and waited4  ,jesus was far away1
 but word was sent to him4  ,he came at 
length1 but seemed to have come too     
late4  ,if thou hadst been here6 the    
sisters said1 each separately1 when they
 met the ,master4  ,but we see now the  
finished providence1 not the mere       
fragment of it which the sisters saw2   
and we know he came at the right time4  
,he comforted the mourners1 and then he 
blotted out the sorrow1 bringing back   
joy to the home4#a  ,the third picture  
of this home shows us a festal scene4   
,a dinner was given in honor of ,jesus4 
,it was only a few days before his      
death4 ,here1 again1 the sisters appear1
 each true to her own character4 ,martha
 is serving1 as she always is2 and again
 ,mary is at ,jesus' feet4 ,this time   
she is showing her wonderful love for   
the friend who has done so much for her4
  ,the ointment she pours upon him is an
 emblem of her heart's pure affection4  
,mary's act was very beautiful4  ,love  
was the motive4  ,without love no       

service1 however great or costly1 is of 
any value in heaven's sight4 ,the world 
may applaud1 but angels turn away with  
indifference when love is lacking4  ,if 
,i bestow all my goods to feed the poor 
444 but have not love1 it profiteth me  
nothing4  ,but love makes the smallest  
deed radiant as angel ministry4  ,we    
need not try doing things for ,christ   
until we love him4  ,it would be like   
putting rootless rods in a garden-bed1  
expecting them to grow into blossoming  
plants4  ,love must be the root4  ,it   
was easy for ,mary to bring her         
alabaster box1 for her heart was full of
 overmastering love4  ,service is the   
fruit of love4  ,it is not all of its   
fruit4  ,character is part too4  ,if we 
love ,christ1 we will have ,christ's    
beauty in our soul4  ,mary grew         
wondrously gentle and lovely as         
,christ's words entered her heart4      
,friendship with ,christ makes us like  
,christ4  ,but there will be service    
too4  ,love is like light1 it cannot be 

hid4  ,it cannot be shut up in the      
heart4  ,it will not be imprisoned and  
restrained4  ,it will live and speak and
 act4  ,love in the heart of ,jesus     
brought him from heaven down to earth to
 be the lost world's ,redeemer4  ,love  
in his apostles took them to the ends of
 the earth to tell the gospel story to  
the perishing4  ,it is not enough to try
 to hew and fashion a character into the
 beauty of holiness1 until every feature
 of the image of ,christ shines in the  
life1 as the sculptor shapes the marble 
into the form of his vision4 ,the most  
radiant spiritual beauty does not make  
one a complete ,christian4  ,it takes   
service to fill up the measure of the   
stature of ,christ4  ,the young man said
 he had kept all the commandments from  
his youth4  ,one thing thou lackest1    
said the ,master2 sell all that thou    
hast1 and give to the poor4  ,service of
 love was needed to make that morally   
exemplary life complete4  ,the lesson is
 needed by many ,christian people4      

,they are good1 with blameless life1    
flawless character1 consistent conduct2 
but they lack one thing1--service4      
,love for ,christ should always serve4  
,there is a story of a friar who was    
eager to win the favor of ,god1 and set 
to work to illuminate the pages of the  
,apocalypse1 after the custom of his    
time4  ,he became so absorbed in his    
delightful occupation that he neglected 
the poor and the sick who were suffering
 and dying in the plague4  ,he came at  
last1 in the course of his work1 to the 
painting of the face of his ,lord in the
 glory of his second coming2 but his    
hand had lost its skill4  ,he wondered  
why it was1 and realized that it was    
because1 in his eagerness to paint his  
pictures1 he had neglected his duty of  
serving4  ,rebuffed and humiliated by   
the discovery1 the friar drew his cowl  
over his head1 laid aside his brushes1  
and went down among the sick and dying  
to minister to their needs4  ,he wrought
 on1 untiringly1 until he himself was   

smitten with the fatal plague4  ,then he
 tottered back to his cell and to his   
easel1 to finish his loved work before  
he died4  ,he knelt in prayer to ask    
help1 when1 lo6 he saw that an angel's  
hand had completed the picture of the   
glorified ,lord1 and in a manner far    
surpassing human skill4  ,it is only a  
legend1 but its lesson is well worthy   
our serious thought4 ,too many people in
 their life as ,christians1 while they  
strive to excel in character1 in        
conduct1 and in the beautiful graces of 
disposition1 and to do their work among 
men faithfully1 are forgetting meanwhile
 the law of love which bids every       
follower of ,christ go about doing good 
as the ,master did4  ,to be a ,christian
 is far more than to be honest1         
truthful1 sober1 industrious1 and       
decorous2 it is also to be a            
cross-bearer after ,jesus2 to love men1 
and to serve them4  ,ofttimes it is to  
leave your fine room1 your favorite     
work1 your delightful companionship1    

your pet self-indulgence1 and to go out 
among the needy1 the suffering1 the     
sinning1 to try to do them good4  ,the  
monk could not paint the face of the    
,lord while he was neglecting those who 
needed his ministrations and went       
unhelped because he came not4  ,nor can 
any ,christian paint the face of the    
,master in its full beauty on his soul  
while he is neglecting any service of   
love4  ,we may follow a little the story
 of what happened after ,mary brought   
her alabaster box4  ,some of the        
disciples of ,jesus were angry4  ,there 
always are some who find fault with the 
way other people show their love for    
,christ4  ,it is so even in ,christian  
churches4  ,one member criticises what  
another does1 or the way he does it4    
,it will be remembered that it was      
,judas who began this blaming of ,mary4 
,he said the ointment would better have 
been sold1 and the proceeds given to the
 poor4  ,st4 ,john tells us very sadly  
the real motive of this pious           

complaining2 not that ,judas cared for  
the poor1 but that he was a thief1 and  
purloined the money given for the poor4 
,jesus came to ,mary's defence very     
promptly1 and in a way that must have   
wonderfully comforted her hurt heart4   
,it is a grievous sin against another to
 find fault with any sweet1 beautiful   
serving of ,jesus which the other may   
have done4  ,christ's defence and       
approval of ,mary should be a comfort to
 all who find their deeds of love       
criticised or blamed by others4  ,let   
her alone2 why trouble ye her8 she hath 
wrought a good work on me4  ,the        
disciples had said it was a waste4      
,that is what some persons say about    
much that is done for ,christ4  ,the    
life is wasted1 they say1 which is      
poured out in self-denials and          
sacrifices to bless others4 ,but really 
the wasted lives are those which are    
devoted to pleasure and sin4  ,those who
 live a merely worldly life are wasting 
what it took the dying of ,jesus to     

redeem4  ,oh1 how pitiful much of       
fashionable1 worldly life must appear to
 the angels6  ,she hath done what she   
could4  ,that was high praise4  ,she had
 brought her best to her ,lord4         
,perhaps some of us make too much of our
 little acts and trivial sacrifices4    
,little things are acceptable if they   
are really our best4  ,but ,mary's deed 
was not a small one4  ,the ointment she 
brought was very costly4  ,she did not  
use just a little of this precious nard1
 but poured it all out on the head and  
feet of ,jesus4 ,what she could was the 
best she had to give4  ,we may take a   
lesson4  ,do we always give our best to 
,christ8  ,he gave his best for us1 and 
is ever giving his best to us4  ,do we  
not too often give him only what is left
 after we have served ourselves8  ,then 
we try to soothe an uneasy conscience by
 quoting the ,master's commendation of  
,mary1 ,she hath done what she could4   
,ah1 ,mary's what she could was a most  
costly service4  ,it was the costliest  

of all her possessions that she gave4   
,the word of ,jesus about her and her   
gift has no possible comfort for us if  
our little is not our best4  ,the       
widow's mites were her best1 small      
though the money value was--she gave all
 she had4  ,the poor woman's cup of cold
 water was all she could give4  ,but if 
we give only a trifle out of our        
abundance1 we are not doing what we     
could4  ,it is worthy of notice that the
 alabaster box itself was broken in this
 holy service4  ,nothing was kept back4 
,broken things have an important place  
in the ,bible4  ,gideon's pitchers were 
broken as his men revealed themselves to
 the enemy4  ,paul and his companions   
escaped from the sea on broken pieces of
 the ship4  ,it is the broken heart that
 ,god accepts4 ,the body of ,jesus was  
broken that it might become bread of    
life for the world4  ,out of sorrow's   
broken things ,god builds up radiant    
beauty4 ,broken earthly hopes become    
ofttimes the beginnings of richest      

heavenly blessings4  ,we do not get the 
best out of anything until it is broken4
    ,they tell me ,i must bruise        
,the rose's leaf   ,ere ,i can keep and 
use     ,its fragrance brief4    ,they  
tell me ,i must break     ,the skylark's
 heart   ,ere her cage song will make   
,the silence start4    ,they tell me    
love must bleed1     ,and friendship    
weep1   ,ere in my deepest need     ,i  
touch that deep4    ,must it be always  
so     ,with precious things8   ,must   
they be bruised1 and go     ,with beaten
 wings8    ,ah1 yes6  ,by crushing days1
     ,by caging nights1 by scar   ,of   
thorns and stony ways1     ,these       
blessings are4   ,even sorrow is not too
 great a price to pay for the blessings 
which can come only through grief and   
pain4  ,we must not be afraid to be     
broken if that is ,god's will2 that is  
the way ,god would make us vessels meet 
for his service4  ,only by breaking the 
alabaster vase can the ointment that is 
in it give out its rich perfume4  ,she  

hath anointed my body aforehand for the 
burying4  ,i like the word aforehand4   
,nicodemus1 after ,jesus was dead1      
brought a large quantity of spices and  
ointments to put about his body when it 
was laid to rest in the tomb4  ,that was
 well2 it was a beautiful deed4  ,it    
honored the ,master4  ,we never can     
cease to be grateful to ,nicodemus1     
whose long-time shy love at last found  
such noble expression1 in helping to    
give fitting burial to him whom we love 
so deeply4  ,but ,mary's deed was       
better2 she brought her perfume         
aforehand1 when it could give pleasure1 
comfort1 and strengthening1 to the      
,master in his time of deepest sorrow4  
,we know that his heart was gladdened by
 the act of love4  ,it made his spirit a
 little stronger for the events of that 
last sad week4 ,she hath wrought a good 
work on me4  ,we should get a lesson in 
friendship's ministry4  ,too many wait  
until those they love are dead1 and then
 bring their alabaster boxes of         

affection and break them4  ,they keep   
silent about their love when words would
 mean so much1 would give such cheer1   
encouragement1 and hope1 and then1 when 
the friend lies in the coffin1 their    
lips are unsealed1 and speak out their  
glowing tribute on ears that heed not   
the laggard praise4  ,many persons go   
through life1 struggling bravely with   
difficulty1 temptation1 and hardship1   
carrying burdens too heavy for them1    
pouring out their love in unselfish     
serving of others1 and yet are scarcely 
ever cheered by a word of approval or   
commendation1 or by delicate tenderness 
of friendship2 then1 when they lie      
silent in death1 a whole circle of      
admiring friends gathers to do them     
honor4  ,every one remembers a personal 
kindness received1 a favor shown1 some  
help given1 and speaks of it in grateful
 words4  ,letters full of appreciation1 
commendation1 and gratitude are written 
to sorrowing friends4  ,flowers are sent
 and piled about the coffin1 enough to  

have strewn every hard path of the long 
years of struggle4  ,how surprised some 
good men and women would be1 after lives
 with scarcely a word of affection to   
cheer their hearts1 were they to awake  
suddenly in the midst of their friends1 
a few hours after their death1 and hear 
the testimonies that are falling from   
every tongue1 the appreciations1 the    
grateful words of love1 the rememberings
 of kindness6  ,they had never dreamed  
in life that they had so many friends1  
that so many had thought well of them1  
that they were helpful to so many4      
,after a long and worthy life1 given up 
to lowly ministry1 a good clergyman was 
called home4  ,soon after his death1    
there was a meeting of his friends1 and 
many of them spoke of his beautiful     
life4 ,incidents were given showing how 
his labors had been blessed4  ,out of   
full hearts one after another gave      
grateful tribute of love4  ,the         
minister's widow was present2 and when  
all the kindly words had been spoken1   

she thanked the friends for what they   
had said4  ,then she asked1 amid her    
tears1 ,but why did you never tell him  
these things while he was living8  ,yes1
 why not8  ,he had wrought for forty    
years in a most unselfish way4 ,he had  
poured out his life without stint4  ,he 
had carried his people in his heart by  
day and by night1 never sparing himself 
in any way when he could be of use to   
one of ,god's children4  ,his people    
were devoted to him1 loved him1 and     
appreciated his labors4  ,yet rarely1   
all those years1 had any of them told   
him of the love that was in their hearts
 for him1 or of their gratitude for     
service given or good received4  ,he was
 conscious of the ,master's approval1   
and this cheered him1--it was the       
commendation he sought2 but it would    
have comforted him many a time1 and made
 the burdens seem lighter and the toil  
easier and the joy of serving deeper1 if
 his people--those he loved and lived   
for1 and helped in so many ways--had    

sometimes told him how much he was to   
them4  ,all about us move1 these common 
days1 those who would be strengthened   
and comforted by the good cheer which we
 could give4  ,let us not reserve all   
the flowers for coffin-lids4  ,let us   
not keep our alabaster boxes sealed and 
unbroken till our loved ones are dead4  
,let us show kindness when kindness will
 do good4  ,it will make sorrow all the 
harder to bear if we have to say beside 
our dead1 ,i might have brightened the  
way a little if only ,i had been kinder4
  ,it was wonderful honoring which      
,jesus gave to ,mary's deed1 when he    
said that wherever the gospel should be 
preached throughout the whole world the 
story of this anointing should be told4 
,so1 right in among the memorials of his
 own death1 this ministry of love is    
enshrined4  ,as the odor of the ointment
 filled all the room where the guests   
sat at table1 so the aroma of ,mary's   
love fills all the ,christian world     
to-day4  ,the influence of her deed1    

with the ,master's honoring of it1 has  
shed a benediction on countless homes1  
making hearts gentler1 and lives sweeter
 and truer4   #a ,for a fuller treatment
 of this incident1 see ,chapter ,,xi4   
,,chapter ,,xi4  ,,jesus ,,comforting   
,,his ,,friends4    ,not all regret1 the
 face will shine     ,upon me while ,i  
muse alone2     ,and that dear voice1 ,i
 once have known1   ,still speak to me  
of me and mine3    ,yet less of sorrow  
lives in me     ,for days of happy      
commune dead2     ,less yearning for the
 friendship fled1   ,than some strong   
bond which is to be4                    
,,tennyson4   ,a gospel with no comfort 
for sorrow would not meet the deepest   
needs of human hearts4  ,if ,jesus were 
a friend only for bright hours1 there   
would be much of experience into which  
he could not enter4  ,but the gospel    
breathes comfort on every page2 and     
,jesus is a friend for lonely hours and 
times of grief and pain1 as well as for 
sunny paths and days of gladness and    

song4  ,he went to a marriage feast1 and
 wrought his first miracle to prolong   
the festivity2 but he went also to the  
home of grief1 and turned its sorrow    
into joy4  ,it is well worth our while  
to study ,jesus as a comforter1 to learn
 how he comforted his friends4  ,for one
 thing1 it will teach us how to find    
consolation when we are in trouble4     
,this is a point at which1 with many    
,christians1 the gospel seems oftenest  
to fail4  ,in the days of the unbroken  
circle and of human gladness1 the       
friends of ,jesus rejoice in his love1  
and walk in his light with songs2 but   
when ties are broken1 and grief enters  
the home1 the hearts that were so full  
of praise refuse to take the consolation
 of the gospel4  ,this ought not so to  
be4 ,if we knew ,christ as a comforter1 
we would sing our songs of trust even in
 the night4  ,another help that we may  
get from such a study of ,jesus will be 
power to become a true comforter of     
others4  ,this every ,christian should  

seek to be1 but this very few           
,christians really are4  ,most of us    
would better stay away altogether from  
our friends in their times of sorrow1   
than go to them as we do4  ,instead of  
being comforters to make them stronger  
to endure1 we only make their grief seem
 bitterer1 and their loss more          
unendurable1 doing them harm instead of 
good4  ,this is because we have not     
learned the art of giving comfort4  ,our
 ,master should be our teacher2 and if  
we study his method1 we shall know how  
to be a blessing to our friends in their
 times of loss and pain4  ,much of the  
ministry of ,jesus was with those who   
were in trouble4 ,there was one special 
occasion1 however1 when there was a     
great sorrow in the circle of his best  
friends4  ,we may learn many lessons if 
we read over thoughtfully the story of  
the way ,jesus comforted them4  ,it was 
the ,bethany home4  ,before the sorrow  
came1 ,jesus was a familiar guest1 a    
close and intimate friend of the members

 of the household4  ,he always had      
kindly welcome and generous hospitality 
when he came to their door4  ,they did  
not make his acquaintance for the first 
time when their hearts were broken4     
,they had known him for a long time1 and
 had listened to his gracious words when
 there was no grief in their home4 ,this
 made it easy to turn to him and to     
receive his comfort when the dark days  
of sorrow came4  ,there are some who    
think of ,christ only as a friend whom  
they will need in trouble4  ,in their   
time of unbroken gladness they do not   
seek his friendship4  ,then1 when       
trouble comes suddenly1 they do not know
 how or where to find the ,comforter4   
,wiser far are they who take ,christ    
into their life in the glad days when   
the joy is unbroken4  ,he blesses their 
joy4  ,a happy home is all the happier  
because ,jesus is a familiar guest in   
it4  ,love is all the sweeter because of
 his benediction4  ,then1 when sorrow's 
shadow falls1 there is light in the     

darkness4  ,there seems to be no need of
 the stars in the daytime1 for the      
sunshine then floods all earth's paths4 
,but when the sun goes down1 and ,god's 
great splendor of stars appears hanging 
over us1 dropping their soft1 quiet     
light upon us1 how glad we are that they
 were there all the while1 waiting to be
 revealed6  ,so it is that the          
friendship of ,jesus in the happy years 
hangs above our heads the stars of      
heavenly comfort4 ,we do not seem to    
need them at the time1 and we scarcely  
know that they are there2 we certainly  
have no true realization of the blessing
 that hides in the shining words4  ,but 
when1 one sad day1 the light of human   
joy is suddenly darkened1 then the      
divine comforts reveal themselves4 ,we  
do not have to hasten here and there in 
pitiable distress1 trying to find       
consolation1 for we have it already in  
the love and grace of ,christ4  ,the    
,friend we took into our life in the    
joy-days stands close beside us now in  

our sadness1 and his friendship never   
before seemed so precious1 so tender1 so
 divine4  ,when ,lazarus fell sick1     
,jesus was in another part of the       
country4  ,as the case grew hopeless1   
the sisters sent a message to ,jesus to 
say1 ,he whom thou lovest is sick4  ,the
 message seems remarkable4  ,there was  
no urgency expressed in it1 no wild1    
passionate pleading that ,jesus would   
hasten to come4  ,its few words told of 
the quietness and confidence of trusting
 hearts4  ,we get a lesson concerning   
the way we should pray when we are in   
distress4  ,your ,father knoweth what   
things ye have need of1 and there is no 
need for piteous clamor4  ,far better is
 the prayer of faith1 which lays the    
burden upon the divine heart1 and leaves
 it there without anxiety4  ,it is      
enough1 when a beloved one is lying low1
 to say1 ,lord1 he whom thou lovest is  
sick4  ,we are surprised1 as we read the
 narrative1 that ,jesus did not respond 
immediately to this message from his    

friends4  ,but he waited two days before
 he set out for ,bethany4  ,we cannot   
tell why he did this1 but there is      
something very comforting in the words  
that tell us of the delay4  ,now ,jesus 
loved ,martha1 and her sister1 and      
,lazarus4  ,when1 therefore1 he heard   
that ,lazarus was sick1 he abode at that
 time two days in the place where he    
was4  ,in some way the delay was because
 of his love for all the household4     
,perhaps the meaning is that through the
 dying of ,lazarus blessing would come  
to them all4  ,at length he reached     
,bethany4  ,lazarus had been dead four  
days4  ,the family had many friends2 and
 their house was filled with those who  
had come1 after the custom of the times1
 to console them4  ,jesus lingered at   
some distance from the house1 perhaps   
not caring to enter among those who in  
the conventional way were mourning with 
the family4  ,he wished to meet the     
sorrowing sisters in a quiet place      
alone4  ,so he tarried outside the      

village1 probably sending a message to  
,martha1 telling her that he was coming4
  ,soon ,martha met him4  ,we may think 
of the eagerness of her heart to get    
into his presence when she heard that he
 was near4  ,what a relief it must have 
been to her1 after the noisy grief that 
filled her home1 to get into the quiet1 
peaceful presence of ,jesus6  ,he was   
not disturbed4  ,his face was full of   
sympathy1 and it was easy to see there  
the tokens of deep and very real grief1 
but his peace was not broken4  ,he was  
calm and composed4 ,martha must have    
felt herself at once comforted by his   
mere presence4 ,it was quieting and     
reassuring4  ,the first thing to do when
 we need comfort is to get into the     
presence of ,christ4  ,human friendship 
means well when it hastens to us in our 
sorrow4  ,it feels that it must do      
something for us1 that to stay away and 
do nothing would be unkindness4  ,then1 
when it comes1 it feels that it must    
talk1 and must talk about our sorrow4   

,it feels that it must go over all the  
details1 questioning us until it seems  
as if our heart would break with        
answering4  ,our friends think that they
 must explore with us all the depths of 
our grief1 dwelling upon the elements   
that are specially poignant4  ,the      
result of all this comforting is that   
our burden of sorrow is made heavier    
instead of lighter1 and we are less     
brave and strong than before to bear it4
  ,if we would be truly comforted we    
would better flee away to ,christ2 for  
in his presence we shall find           
consolation1 which gives peace and      
strength and joy4  ,it is worth our     
while to note the comfort which ,jesus  
gave to these sorrowing sisters4        
,first1 he lifted the veil1 and gave    
them a glimpse of what lies beyond      
death4  ,thy brother shall rise again4  
,i am the resurrection1 and the life3 he
 that believeth on me1 though he die1   
yet shall he live3 and whosoever liveth 
and believeth on me shall never die4    

,thus he opened a great window into the 
other world4  ,it is plainer to us than 
it could be to ,martha and ,mary2 for a 
little while after he spoke these words1
 ,jesus himself passed through death1   
coming again from the grave in immortal 
life4  ,it is a wonderful comfort to    
those who sorrow over the departure of a
 ,christian friend to know the true     
teaching of the ,new ,testament on the  
subject of dying4  ,death is not the    
end2 it is a door which leads into      
fulness of life4  ,perhaps many in      
bereavement1 though believing the       
doctrine of a future resurrection1 fail 
to get present comfort from it4  ,jesus 
assured ,martha that her brother should 
rise again4  ,yes1 ,i know that he shall
 rise again in the resurrection at the  
last day4  ,her words show that this    
hope was too distant to give her much   
comfort4  ,her sense of present loss    
outweighed every other thought and      
feeling4  ,she craved back again the    
companionship she had lost4  ,who that  

has stood by the grave of a precious    
friend has not experienced the same     
feeling of inadequateness in the        
consolation that comes from even the    
strongest belief in a far-off rising    
again of all who are in their graves8   
,the reply of ,jesus to ,martha's hungry
 heart-cry was very rich in its comfort4
  ,i am the resurrection4  ,this is one 
of the wonderful present tenses of      
,christian hope4  ,martha had spoken of 
a resurrection far away4  ,i am the     
resurrection1 ,jesus declared4  ,it was 
something present1 not remote4  ,his    
words embrace the whole blessed truth of
 immortal life4  ,whosoever liveth and  
believeth on me shall never die4 ,there 
is no death for those who are in        
,christ4  ,the body dies1 but the person
 lives on4  ,the resurrection may be in 
the future1 but really there is no break
 in the life of a believer in ,christ4  
,he is not here2 our eyes see him not1  
our ears hear not his voice1 we cannot  
touch him with our hands1 but he still  

lives and thinks and feels and loves4   
,no power in his being has been quenched
 by dying1 no beauty dimmed1 no faculty 
destroyed4  ,this is a part of the      
comfort which ,jesus gave to his friends
 in their bereavement4  ,he assured them
 that there is no death1 that all who   
believe in him have eternal life4       
,there remains for those who stay here  
the pain of separation and of           
loneliness1 but for those who have      
passed over we need have no fear4  ,how 
does ,jesus comfort his friends who are 
left8  ,as we read over the story of the
 sorrow of the ,bethany home we find the
 answer to our question4  ,you say1 ,he 
brought back their dead1 thus comforting
 them with the literal undoing of the   
work of death and grief4  ,if only he   
would do this now1 in every case where  
love cries to him1 that would be comfort
 indeed4  ,but we must remember that the
 return of ,lazarus to his home was only
 a temporary restoration4  ,he came back
 to the old life of mortality1 of       

temptation1 of sickness and pain and    
death4  ,he came back only for a season4
  ,it was not a resurrection to immortal
 life2 it was only a restoration to     
mortal life4  ,he must pass again       
through the mystery of dying1 and his   
sisters must a second time experience   
the agony of separation and loneliness4 
,we can scarcely call it comfort2 it was
 merely a postponement for a little     
while of the final separation4  ,but    
,jesus gave the sisters true consoling  
besides this4  ,his mere presence       
brought them comfort4  ,they knew that  
he loved them4  ,many times before when 
he had entered their home he had brought
 a benediction4  ,they had a feeling of 
security and peace in his presence4     
,even their inconsolable grief lost     
something of its poignancy when the     
light of his face fell upon them4       
,every strong1 tender1 and true human   
love has a wondrous comforting power4   
,we can pass through a sore trial if a  
trusted friend is beside us4  ,the      

believer can endure any sorrow if ,jesus
 is with him4  ,another element of      
comfort for these sorrowing sisters was 
in the sympathy of ,jesus4  ,he showed  
this sympathy with them in coming all   
the way from ,perea1 to be with them in 
their time of distress4  ,he showed it  
in his bearing toward them and his      
conversation with them4  ,there is a    
wonderful gentleness in his manner as he
 receives first one and then the other  
sister4  ,mary's grief was deeper than  
,martha's2 and when ,jesus saw her      
weeping1 and her friends who were with  
her weeping1 he groaned in the spirit   
and was troubled4  ,then1 in the        
shortest verse in the ,bible1 we have a 
window into the very heart of ,christ1  
and find there most wonderful sympathy4 
,jesus wept4  ,it is a great comfort in 
time of sorrow to have even human       
sympathy1 to know that somebody cares1  
that some one feels with us4  ,the      
measure of the comfort in such cases is 
in proportion to the honor in which we  

hold the person4  ,it would have had    
something--very much--of comfort for the
 sisters1 if ,john or ,peter or ,james  
had wept with them beside their         
brother's grave4  ,but the tears of     
,jesus meant incalculably more2 they    
told of the holiest sympathy that this  
world ever saw--the ,son of ,god wept   
with two sisters in a great human       
sorrow4  ,this shortest verse was not   
written merely as a fragment of a       
narrative--it contains a revealing of   
the heart of ,jesus for all time4       
,wherever a friend of ,jesus is         
sorrowing1 ,one stands by1 unseen1 who  
shares the grief1 whose heart feels     
every pang of the sorrow4  ,there is    
immeasurable comfort in this thought    
that the ,son of ,god suffers with us in
 our suffering1 is afflicted in all our 
affliction4  ,we can endure our trouble 
more quietly when we know that ,god     
understands all about it4  ,there is yet
 another thing in the manner of         
,christ's comforting his friends which  

is very suggestive4  ,his sympathy was  
not a mere sentiment4  ,too often human 
sympathy is nothing but a sentiment4    
,our friends cry with us1 and then pass 
by on the other side4  ,they tell us    
they are sorry for us1 but they do      
nothing to help us4  ,the sympathy of   
,jesus at ,bethany was very practical4  
,not only did he show his love to his   
friends by coming away from his work in 
another province1 to be with them in    
their sore trouble2 not only did he     
speak to them words of divine comfort1  
words which have made a shining track   
through the world ever since2 not only  
did he weep with them in their          
grief1--but he wrought the greatest of  
all his many miracles to restore the joy
 of their hearts and their home4  ,it   
was a costly miracle1 too1 for it led to
 his own death4  ,yet1 knowing well what
 would come from this ministry of       
friendship1 he hesitated not4  ,for some
 reason he saw that it would be indeed a
 blessing to his friends to bring back  

the dead4  ,it was because he loved the 
sisters and the brother that he         
lingered1 and did not hasten when the   
message reached him beyond the river4   
,we may be sure1 therefore1 that the    
raising of ,lazarus1 though only to a   
little more of the old life of weakness1
 had a blessing in it for the family4   
,this was the best way in which ,jesus  
could show his sympathy1 the best       
comfort he could give his friends4  ,no 
doubt thousands of other friends of     
,jesus in the sorrow of bereavement have
 wished that he would comfort them in   
like way1 by giving back their beloved4 
,ofttimes he does what is in effect the 
same1--in answer to the prayer of faith 
he spares the lives of those who are    
dear4  ,when we pray for our sick       
friends1 we only ask submissively that  
they may recover4  ,not my will1 but    
thine be done1 is the refrain of our    
pleading4  ,even our most passionate    
longing we subdue in the quiet          
confidence of our faith4  ,if it is not 

best for our dear ones2 if it would not 
be a real blessing2 if it is not ,god's 
way1--then ,thy will be done4  ,if we   
pray the prayer of faith1 we must       
believe that the issue1 whatever it may 
be1 is ,god's best for us4  ,if our     
friend is taken away after such         
committing of faith to ,god's wisdom and
 love1 there is immeasurable comfort at 
once in the confidence that it was      
,god's will4  ,then1 while no miracle is
 wrought1 bringing back our dead1 the   
sympathy of ,christ yet brings practical
 consolation4  ,the word comfort means  
strengthening4  ,we are helped to bear  
our sorrow4  ,the teaching of the       
,scriptures is that when we come with   
our trials to ,god1 he either relieves  
us of them1 or gives us the grace we    
need to endure them4  ,he does not      
promise to lift away the burden that we 
cast upon him1 but he will sustain us in
 our bearing of the burden4  ,when the  
human presence is taken from us1 ,christ
 comes nearer than before1 and reveals  

to us more of his love and grace4  ,the 
problem of sorrow in a ,christian life  
is a very serious one4  ,it is important
 that we have a clear understanding upon
 the subject1 that we may receive       
blessing and not hurt from our          
experience4  ,every sorrow that comes   
into our life brings us something good  
from ,god2 but we may reject the good1  
and if we do1 we receive evil instead4  
,the comfort ,god gives is not the      
taking away of the trouble1 nor is it   
the dulling of our heart's sensibilities
 so that we shall not feel the pain so  
keenly4  ,god's comfort is strength to  
endure in the experience4  ,if we put   
our life into the hands of ,christ in   
the time of sorrow1 and with quiet faith
 and sweet trust go on with our duty1   
all shall be well4  ,if we resist and   
struggle and rebel1 we shall not only   
miss the blessing of comfort that is    
infolded for us in our sorrow1 but we   
shall receive hurt in our own life4     
,when one is soured and embittered by   

trial1 one has received hurt rather than
 blessing2 but if we accept our sorrow  
with love and trust1 we shall come out  
of it enriched in life and character1   
and prepared for better work and greater
 usefulness4  ,there is a picture of a  
woman sitting by the sea in deep grief4 
,the dark waters have swallowed up her  
heart's treasures1 and her sorrow is    
inconsolable4  ,close behind her is an  
angel striking his harp1--the ,angel of 
,consolation4  ,but the woman in her    
stony grief sees not the angel's shining
 form1 nor hears the music of his harp4 
,too often this is the picture in       
,christian homes4  ,with all the        
boundlessness of ,god's love and mercy1 
the heart remains uncomforted4  ,this   
ought not so to be4  ,there is in ,jesus
 ,christ an infinite resource of        
consolation1 and we have only to open   
our heart to receive it4  ,then we shall
 pass through sorrow sustained by divine
 help and love1 and shall come from it  
enriched in character1 and blessed in   

every phase of life4  ,the griefs of our
 life set lessons for us to learn4  ,in 
every pain is the seed of a blessing4   
,in every tear a rainbow hides4  ,dr4   
,babcock puts it well in his lines3--   
,the dark-brown mould's upturned   ,by  
the sharp-pointed plough--   ,and ,i've 
a lesson learned4    ,my life is but a  
field1   ,stretched out beneath ,god's  
sky1   ,some harvest rich to yield4     
,where grows the golden grain8   ,where 
faith8  ,where sympathy8   ,in a furrow 
cut by pain4     ,,chapter ,,xii4       
,,jesus ,,and ,,his ,,secret ,,friends4 
,how many souls--his loved ones--       
,dwell lonely and apart1   ,hiding from 
all but ,one above     ,the fragrance of
 their heart4                           
,,procter4   ,not all the friends of    
,jesus were open friends4  ,no doubt    
many believed on him who had not the    
courage to confess him4  ,two of his    
secret friends performed such an        
important part at the close of his life1
 boldly honoring him1 that the story of 

their discipleship is worthy of our     
careful study4  ,one of these is        
mentioned several times2 the other we   
meet nowhere until he suddenly emerges  
from the shadows of his secret          
friendship1 when the body of ,jesus hung
 dead on the cross1 and boldly asks     
leave to take it away1 and with due     
honor bury it4  ,several facts          
concerning ,joseph are given in the     
,gospels4  ,he was a rich man4  ,thus an
 ancient prophecy was fulfilled4        
,according to ,isaiah1 the ,messiah was 
to make his grave with the rich4  ,this 
prediction seemed very unlikely of      
fulfilment when ,jesus hung on the cross
 dying4  ,he had no burying-place of his
 own1 and none of his known disciples   
could provide him with a tomb among the 
rich4  ,it looked as if his body must be
 cast into the ,potter's ,field with the
 bodies of the two criminals who hung   
beside him4  ,then came ,joseph1 a rich 
man1 and buried ,jesus in his own new   
tomb4  ,he made his grave with the rich4

  ,joseph was a member of the           
,sanhedrin4  ,this gave him honor among 
men1 and he must have been of good      
reputation to be chosen to so exalted a 
position4  ,we are told also that he was
 a good man and devout1 and had not     
consented to the counsel and deed of the
 court in condemning ,jesus4 ,perhaps he
 had absented himself from the meeting  
of the ,sanhedrin when ,jesus was before
 the court4  ,if he were present1 he    
took no part in the condemning of the   
prisoner4  ,then it is said further that
 he was a disciple of ,jesus1 but       
secretly1 for fear of the ,jews4  ,that 
is1 he was one of the friends of ,jesus1
 believing in his ,messiahship4  ,we    
have no way of knowing how long he had  
been a disciple1 but it is evident that 
the friendship had existed for some     
time4  ,we may suppose that ,joseph had 
sought ,jesus quietly1 perhaps by night1
 receiving instruction from him1        
communing with him1 drinking in his     
spirit2 but he had never yet openly     

declared his discipleship4  ,the reason 
for this hiding of his belief in ,jesus 
is frankly given1--for fear of the      
,jews4  ,he lacked courage to confess   
himself one of this man's friends4  ,we 
cannot well understand what it would    
have cost ,joseph1 in his high place as 
a ruler1 to say1 ,i believe that ,jesus 
of ,nazareth is our ,messiah4  ,it is   
easy for us to condemn him as wanting in
 courage1 but we must put ourselves back
 in his place when we think of what he  
failed to do4  ,this was before ,jesus  
was glorified4 ,he was a lowly man of   
sorrows4  ,many of the common people had
 followed him2 but it was chiefly to see
 his miracles1 and to gather benefit for
 themselves from his power4  ,there was 
only a little band of true disciples1   
and among these were none of the rulers 
and great men of the people4  ,there is 
no evidence that one rabbi1 one member  
of the ,sanhedrin1 one priest1 one      
aristocratic or cultured ,jew1 was among
 the followers of ,jesus during his     

life4  ,it would have taken sublime     
courage for one of these to confess     
,jesus as the ,messiah1 and the cost of 
such avowal would have been             
incalculable4  ,a number of years later1
 when ,christianity had become an       
acknowledged power in the world1 ,st4   
,paul tells us that he had to suffer the
 loss of all things in becoming a       
,christian4  ,for ,joseph1 a member of  
the highest court of the ,jews1 to have 
said to his fellow-members in those     
days1 before the death of ,jesus1 ,i    
believe in this ,nazarene whom you are  
plotting to kill1 and ,i am one of his  
disciples and friends1 would have taken 
a courage which too few men possess4    
,however1 one need not apologize for    
,joseph4  ,the record frankly admits his
 fault1 his weakness2 for it is never a 
noble or a manly thing to be afraid of  
man or devil when duty is clear4  ,yet  
we are told distinctly that he was      
really a disciple of ,jesus2 though it  
was secretly1 and though the reason for 

the secrecy was an unworthy one1--fear  
of the ,jews4  ,jesus had not refused   
his discipleship because of its         
impairment4  ,he had not said to him1   
,unless you rise up in your place in the
 court-room1 and tell your associates   
that you believe in me1 and are going to
 follow me1 you cannot be my disciple1  
and ,i will not have you as my friend4  
,evidently ,jesus had accepted ,joseph  
as a disciple1 even in the shy way he   
had come to him2 and it seems probable  
that a close and deep friendship existed
 between the two men4  ,possibly it may 
have existed for many months2 and no    
doubt ,joseph had been a comfort to     
,jesus in many ways before his death1   
although the world did not know that    
this noble and honorable councillor was 
his friend at all4  ,the other secret   
friend of ,jesus who assisted in his    
burial was ,nicodemus4  ,it was during  
the early weeks or months of our ,lord's
 public ministry that he came to ,jesus 
for the first time4  ,it is specially   

mentioned that he came by night4        
,nicodemus also was a man of            
distinction1--a member of the ,sanhedrin
 and a ,pharisee1 belonging thus to the 
class highest in rank among his people4 
,a great deal of blame has been charged 
against ,nicodemus because he came to   
,jesus by night1 but again we must put  
ourselves back into his circumstances   
before we can judge intelligently and   
fairly of his conduct4  ,very few       
persons believed in ,jesus when         
,nicodemus first sought him by night4   
,besides1 may not night have been the   
best time for a public and prominent man
 to see ,jesus8  ,his days were         
filled--throngs were always about him1  
and there was little opportunity then   
for earnest and satisfactory            
conversation4  ,in the evening          
,nicodemus could sit down with ,jesus   
for a long1 quiet talk without fear of  
interruption4  ,then ,nicodemus came    
first only as an inquirer4  ,he was not 
then ready to be a disciple4  ,rabbi1 we

 know that thou art a teacher come from 
,god1 was all he could say that first   
night4  ,he did not concede ,jesus'     
,messiahship4  ,he knew him then only by
 what he had heard of his miracles4  ,he
 was not ready yet to declare that the  
son of the carpenter was the ,christ1   
the ,son of ,god4  ,when we remember the
 common ,jewish expectations regarding  
the ,messiah1 and then the lowliness of 
,jesus and the high rank of ,nicodemus1 
we may understand that it required      
courage and deep earnestness of soul for
 this master in ,israel to come at all  
to the peasant rabbi from ,galilee as a 
seeker after truth and light4  ,it is   
scarcely surprising1 therefore1 that he 
came by night4  ,then1 at that time the 
teaching and work of ,jesus were only   
beginning4 ,there had been some         
miracles1 and it is written that because
 of these many had believed in the name 
of ,jesus4  ,already1 however1 there had
 been a sharp conflict with the priests 
and rulers4  ,jesus had driven out those

 who were profaning the temple by using 
it for purposes of trade4  ,this act had
 aroused intense bitterness against     
,jesus among the ruling classes to which
 ,nicodemus belonged4  ,this made it    
specially hard for any one of the rulers
 to come among the friends of ,jesus1 or
 to show even the least sympathy with   
him4  ,no doubt ,nicodemus in some      
degree lacked the heroic quality4  ,he  
was not a ,john ,knox or a ,martin      
,luther4  ,each time his name is        
mentioned he shows timidity1 and a      
disposition to remain hidden4  ,even in 
the noble deed of the day ,jesus died1  
it is almost certain that ,nicodemus was
 inspired to his part by the greater    
courage of ,joseph4  ,yet we must mark  
that ,jesus said not one word to chide  
or blame ,nicodemus when he came by     
night4  ,he accepted him as a disciple1 
and at once began to teach him the great
 truths of his kingdom4  ,we are not    
told that the ruler came more than once2
 but we may suppose that whenever ,jesus

 was in ,jerusalem1 ,nicodemus sought   
him under the cover of the night1 and   
sat at his feet as a learner4           
,doubtless ,jesus and he were friends   
all the three years that passed between 
that first night when they talked of the
 new birth1 and the day when this noble 
councillor assisted his fellow-member of
 the ,sanhedrin in giving honorable and 
loving burial to this ,teacher come from
 ,god4  ,once we have a glimpse of      
,nicodemus in his place in the          
,sanhedrin4 ,jesus has returned to      
,jerusalem1 and multitudes follow him to
 hear his words4  ,many believe on him4 
,the ,pharisees and priests are filled  
with envy that this peasant from        
,galilee should have such tremendous    
influence among the people4  ,they feel 
that the power is passing out of their  
hands1 and that they must do something  
to silence the voice the people so love 
to hear4  ,a meeting of the ,great      
,council is called to decide what to do4
 ,officers are sent to arrest ,jesus1   

and bring him to the bar of the court4  
,the officers find ,jesus in the temple1
 in the midst of an eager throng1 to    
whom he is speaking in his gracious1    
winning way4  ,that was the day he said1
 ,if any man thirst1 let him come unto  
me1 and drink4 ,the officers listen as  
the wonderful words fall from his lips1 
and they1 too1 become interested2 their 
attention is enchained2 they come under 
the same spell which holds all the      
multitude4  ,they linger till his       
discourse is ended2 and then1 instead of
 arresting him1 they go back without    
him1 only giving to the judges as reason
 for not obeying1 ,never man spake like 
this man4  ,the members of the court    
were enraged at this failure of their   
effort4 ,even their own police officers 
had proved untrue4  ,are ye also        
deceived or led astray8 they cry in     
anger4  ,then they ask1 ,have any of the
 rulers or of the ,pharisees believed on
 him8  ,but this multitude which knoweth
 not the law1 are accursed4  ,they would

 have it that only the ignorant masses  
had been led away by this delusion2 none
 of the great men1 the wise men1 had    
accepted this ,nazarene as the ,messiah4
 ,they did not suspect that at least one
 of their own number1 possibly two1 had 
been going by night to hear this young  
rabbi4  ,it was a serious moment for    
,nicodemus4  ,he sat there in the       
council1 and saw the fury of his brother
 judges4  ,in his heart he was a friend 
of ,jesus4  ,he believed that he was the
 ,messiah4  ,loyalty to his friend1 to  
the truth1 and to his own conscience1   
demanded that he should cast away the   
veil he was wearing1 and reveal his     
faith in ,jesus4  ,at least he must say 
some word on behalf of the innocent man 
whom his fellow-members were determined 
to destroy4  ,it was a testing-time for 
,nicodemus1 and sore was the struggle   
between timidity and a sense of duty4   
,the storm in the court-room was ready  
to burst2 the council was about taking  
violent measures against ,jesus4  ,we   

know not what would have happened if no 
voice had been lifted for fair trial    
before condemnation4  ,but then         
,nicodemus arose1 and in the midst of   
the terrible excitement spoke quietly   
and calmly his few words1--  ,doth our  
law judge a man1 except it first hear   
from himself and know what he doeth8    
,it was only a plea for fairness and for
 justice2 but it showed the working of a
 heart that would be true to itself1 in 
some measure at least1 in spite of its  
shyness and shrinking1 and in spite of  
the peril of the hour4  ,the question at
 first excited anger and contempt       
against ,nicodemus himself2 but it      
checked the gathering tides of violence1
 probably preventing a public outbreak4 
,we may note progress in the friendship 
of this secret disciple4  ,during the   
two years since he first came to ,jesus 
by night the seed dropped into his heart
 that night had been growing silently4  
,nicodemus was not yet ready to come out
 boldly as a disciple of ,jesus2 but he 

proved himself the friend of ,jesus1    
even by the few words he spoke in the   
council when it required firm courage to
 speak at all4  ,he who at the first    
could come to ,jesus only by night1 now 
stands by him in open day1 and in the   
face of the most formidable opposition1 
before which the courage of the         
strongest might have quailed4  ,it is   
beautiful to see young ,christians1 as  
the days pass1 growing more and more    
confident and heroic in their confession
 of ,christ4  ,at first they are shy1   
retiring1 timid1 and disposed to shrink 
from public revealing of themselves4    
,but if1 as they receive more of the    
,spirit of ,god in their heart1 they    
grow more courageous in speaking for    
,christ and in showing their colors1    
they prove that they are true disciples1
 learners1 growing in grace4  ,the only 
other mention of ,nicodemus is some     
months after the heroic word spoken in  
the council4  ,what has been going on in
 his experience1 meanwhile1 we do not   

know4  ,there is no evidence that he has
 yet declared himself a follower of     
,jesus4  ,he is still a secret disciple4
 ,but the hidden life in his heart has  
still been growing4  ,one day a terrible
 thing happened4  ,jesus was crucified4 
,in their fright and panic all his      
friends at first forsook him1 some of   
them1 however1 gathering back1 with     
broken hearts1 and standing about his   
cross4  ,but never was there a more     
hopeless company of men in this world   
than the disciples of ,jesus that ,good 
,friday1 when their ,master hung upon   
the cross4  ,they did not understand the
 meaning of the cross as we do          
to-day1--they thought it meant defeat   
for all the hopes they had cherished4   
,they stood round the cross in the      
despair of hopeless grief4  ,they were  
also powerless to do anything to show   
their love1 or to honor the body of     
their ,friend4  ,they were poor and     
unknown men1 without influence4  ,none  
of them had a grave in which the body   

could be laid4 ,nor had they power to   
get leave to take the body away2 it     
required a name of influence to get this
 permission4  ,their love was equal to  
anything1 but they were helpless4  ,in  
the dishonor of that day all the friends
 of ,jesus shared4  ,what could be done8
  ,soon the three bodies on the crosses 
would be taken down by rude hands of    
heartless men1 and cast into the        
,potter's ,field in an indistinguishable
 heap4  ,no2 there is a friend at       
,pilate's door4  ,he is a man of rank   
among the ,jews--a rich man too4  ,he   
makes a strange request1--he asks leave 
to take the body of ,jesus away for     
burial4  ,doubtless ,pilate was         
surprised that a member of the court    
which had condemned ,jesus should now   
desire to honor his body1 but he granted
 the request2 perhaps he was glad thus  
to end a case which had cost him so much
 trouble4  ,joseph took charge of the   
burial of the body of ,jesus4  ,then    
came another rich man and joined        

,joseph4  ,there came also ,nicodemus1  
he who at the first came to him by      
night1 bringing a mixture of myrrh and  
aloes1 about a hundred pound weight4    
,so they took the body of ,jesus1 and   
bound it in linen cloths with the       
spices1 as the custom of the ,jews is to
 bury4  ,it certainly is remarkable that
 the two men who thus met in honoring   
the body of ,jesus had both been his    
secret disciples1 hidden friends1 who   
until now had not had courage to avow   
their friendship and discipleship4  ,no 
doubt there were many other secret      
friends of ,jesus who during his life   
did not publicly confess him4  ,the     
great harvest of the day of ,pentecost  
brought out many of these for the first 
time4  ,no doubt there always are many  
who love ,christ1 believe on him1 and   
are following him in secret4  ,they come
 to ,jesus by night4  ,they creep to his
 feet when no eye is looking at them4   
,they cannot brave the gaze of their    
fellowmen4  ,they are shy and timid4    

,we may not say one harsh word regarding
 such disciples4  ,the ,master said not 
one word implying blame of his secret   
disciples4  ,yet it cannot be doubted   
that secret discipleship is incomplete4 
,it is not just to ,christ himself that 
we should receive the blessings of his  
love and grace1 and not speak of him to 
the world4  ,we owe it to him who gave  
himself for us to speak his name        
wherever we go1 and to honor him in     
every way4  ,secret discipleship does   
not fulfil love's duty to the world4    
,if we have found that which has blessed
 us richly1 we owe it to others to tell 
them about it4  ,to hide away in our own
 heart the knowledge of ,christ is to   
rob those who do not know of him4  ,it  
is the worst selfishness to be willing  
to be saved alone4  ,further1 secret    
discipleship misses the fulness of      
blessing which comes to him who         
confesses ,christ before men4  ,it is he
 who believes with his heart and        
confesses with his mouth1 who has       

promise of salvation4  ,confession is   
half of faith4  ,secret discipleship is 
repressed1 restrained1 confined1 and is 
therefore hampered1 hindered1 stunted   
discipleship4  ,it never can grow into  
the best possible strength and richness 
of life4  ,it is only when one stands   
before the world in perfect freedom1    
with nothing to conceal1 that one grows 
into the fullest1 loveliest             
,christlikeness4 ,to have the friendship
 of ,christ1 and to hide it from men is 
to lose its blessing out of our own     
heart4    ,to lie by the river of life  
and see it run to waste1   ,to eat of   
the tree of heaven while the nations go 
unfed1   ,to taste the full             
salvation--the only one to taste--   ,to
 live while the rest are lost--oh1      
better by far be dead6    ,for to share 
is the bliss of heaven1 as it is the joy
 of earth2   ,and the unshared bread    
lacks savor1 and the wine unshared1     
lacks zest2   ,and the joy of the soul  
redeemed would be little1 little worth  

,if1 content with its own security1 it  
could forget the rest4   ,in the case of
 ,nicodemus and ,joseph1 ,jesus was very
 gentle with timidity2 but under the    
nurture of his gentleness timidity grew 
into noble courage4  ,yet1 beautiful as 
was their deed that day1 who will not   
say that it came too late for fullest   
honoring of the ,master8  ,it would have
 been better if they had shown their    
friendship while he was living1 to have 
cheered him by their love4  ,mary's     
ointment poured upon the tired feet of  
,jesus before his death was better than 
the spices of ,nicodemus piled about his
 body in the grave4     ,,chapter       
,,xiii4  ,,jesus' ,,farewell ,,to ,,his 
,,friends4    ,what meaneth it that we  
should weep     ,more for our joys than 
for our fears1--   ,that we should      
sometimes smile at grief1     ,and look 
at pleasure's show through tears8       
,alas6 but homesick children we1        
,who would1 but cannot1 play the while  
,we dream of nobler heritage1     ,our  

,father's house1 our ,father's smile4   
,at last the end came4  ,the end comes  
for every earthly friendship4  ,the     
sweetest life together of loved ones    
must have its last walk1 its last talk1 
its last hand-clasp1 when one goes1 and 
the other stays4  ,one of every two     
friends must stand by the other's grave1
 and drop tears all the hotter because  
they are shed alone4  ,the friendship of
 ,jesus with his disciples was very     
sweet2 it was the sweetest friendship   
this world ever knew1 for never was     
there any other heart with such capacity
 for loving and for kindling love as the
 heart of ,jesus4  ,but even this holy  
friendship in its earthly duration was  
but for a time4  ,jesus' hour came at   
last4  ,to-morrow he was going back to  
his ,father4  ,very tender was the      
farewell4  ,the place chosen for it was 
the upper room--almost certainly in the 
house of ,mary1 the mother of ,john     
,mark4 ,so full is the narrative of the 
evangelists that we can follow it       

through its minutest details4  ,in the  
afternoon two of the closest friends of 
,jesus came quietly into the city from  
,bethany to find a room1 and prepare for
 the ,passover4  ,all was done with the 
utmost secrecy4  ,no inquiry was made   
for a room2 but a man appeared at a     
certain point1 bearing a pitcher of     
water1--a most unusual occurrence1--and 
the messengers silently followed him1   
and thus were led to the house in which 
was the guest-chamber which ,jesus and  
his friends were to use4  ,there the two
 disciples made the preparations        
necessary for the ,passover4  ,toward   
the evening ,jesus and the other        
apostles came1 and found their way to   
the upper room4  ,first there was the   
,passover feast1 observed after the     
manner of the ,jews4  ,then followed the
 institution of the new memorial--the   
,lord's ,supper4  ,this brought the     
,master and his disciples together in   
very sacred closeness4  ,judas1 the one 
discordant element in the communion1 had

 gone out1 and all who remained were of 
one mind and one heart4  ,then began the
 real farewell4  ,jesus was going away1 
and he longed to be remembered4  ,this  
was a wonderfully human desire4 ,no one 
wishes to be forgotten4  ,no thought    
could be sadder than that one might not 
be remembered after he is gone1 that in 
no heart his name shall be cherished1   
that nowhere any memento of him shall be
 preserved4 ,we all hope to live in the 
love of our friends long after our faces
 have vanished from earth4  ,the deeper 
and purer our love may have been1 and   
the closer our friendship1 the more do  
we long to keep our place in the hearts 
of those we have loved4  ,there are many
 ways in which men seek to keep their   
memory alive in the world4  ,some build 
their own tomb3 few things are more     
pathetic than such planning for earthly 
immortality4  ,some seek to do deeds    
which will live in history4  ,some      
embalm their names in books1 hoping thus
 to perpetuate them4  ,love's enshrining

 is the best way4  ,the institution of  
the ,last ,supper showed the craving of 
the heart of ,jesus to be remembered4   
,do not forget me when ,i am gone1 he   
said4 ,that he might not be forgotten1  
he took bread and wine1 and1 breaking   
the one and pouring out the other1 he   
gave them to his friends as mementos of 
himself4  ,he associated this farewell  
meal with the great acts of his         
redeeming love4  ,this bread which ,i   
break1 let it be the emblem of my body  
broken to be bread for the world4  ,this
 wine which ,i empty out1 let it be the 
emblem of my blood which ,i give for    
you4 ,whatever else the ,lord's ,supper 
may mean1 it is first of all a          
remembrancer2 it is the expression of   
the ,master's desire to be remembered by
 his friends4  ,it comes down to        
us--,christ's friends of to-day--with   
the same heart-craving4  ,remember me2  
do not forget me2 think of my love for  
you4  ,jesus' farewell was thus made    
wondrously sacred2 its memories have    

blessed the world ever since by their   
warmth and tenderness4  ,no one can ever
 know the measure of the influence of   
that last night in the upper room upon  
the life of these nineteen ,christian   
centuries4  ,the ,lord's ,supper was not
 all of the ,master's farewell4  ,there 
were also words spoken which have been  
bread and wine1 the body and blood of   
,jesus1 to believers ever since4  ,to   
the eleven men gathered about that table
 these words were inexpressibly         
precious4  ,one of them1 one who leaned 
his head upon the ,master's breast that 
night1 remembered them in his old age1  
and wrote them down1 so that we can read
 them for ourselves4  ,it is impossible 
in a short chapter to study the whole of
 this wonderful farewell address2 only a
 few of its great features can be       
gathered together4  ,it began with an   
exhortation1 a new commandment1--,that  
ye love one another4  ,we cannot        
understand how really new this          
commandment was when given to the       

,master's friends4 ,the world had never 
before known such love as ,jesus brought
 into its wintry atmosphere4  ,he had   
lived out the divine love among men2 now
 his friends were to continue that love4
  ,as ,i have loved you1 that ye also   
love one another4  ,very imperfectly    
have the friends of the ,master learned 
that love2 yet wherever the gospel has  
gone1 a wave of tenderness has rolled4  
,next was spoken a word of comfort whose
 music has been singing through the     
world ever since4  ,let not your heart  
be troubled3 ye believe in ,god1 believe
 also in me4  ,unless it be the         
,twenty-,third ,psalm1 no other passage 
in all the ,bible has had such a        
ministry of comfort as the first words  
of the fourteenth chapter of ,st4       
,john's ,gospel4  ,they told the        
sorrowing disciples that their ,master  
would not forget them1 that his work for
 them would not be broken off by his    
death1 that he was only going away to   
prepare a place for them1 and would come

 again to receive them unto himself1 so 
that where he should be they might be   
also4  ,he assured them1 too1 that while
 he was going away1 something better    
than his bodily presence would be given 
them instead1--another ,comforter would 
come1 so that they should not be left   
orphans4  ,part of the ,master's        
farewell words were answers to questions
 which his friends asked him1--a series 
of conversations with one and another4  
,these men had their difficulties2 and  
they brought these to ,jesus1 and he    
explained them4  ,first1 ,peter had a   
question4  ,jesus had spoken of going   
away4  ,peter asked him1 ,lord1 whither 
goest thou8  ,jesus told him that where 
he was going he could not follow him    
then1 but he should follow him by and   
by4  ,peter was recklessly bold1 and he 
would not have it said that there was   
any place he could not follow his       
,master4  ,he declared that he would    
even lay down his life for his sake4    
,wilt thou lay down thy life for my     

sake8 answered the ,master4  ,wilt thou1
 indeed8  ,then he foretold ,peter's    
sad1 humiliating fall--that1 instead of 
laying down his life for his ,lord4     
,after the words had been spoken about  
the ,father's house and the coming again
 of ,jesus for his friends1 ,thomas had 
a question4  ,jesus had said1 ,whither  
,i go ye know1 and the way ye know4     
,thomas was slow in his perceptions1 and
 was given to questioning4  ,he would   
take nothing for granted4  ,he would not
 believe until he could understand4     
,lord1 we know not whither thou goest2  
and how can we know the way8  ,we are   
glad ,thomas asked such a question1 for 
it brought a wonderful answer4  ,jesus  
himself is the way and the truth and the
 life4  ,that is1 to know ,christ is to 
know all that we need to know about     
heaven and the way there2 to have       
,christ as ,saviour1 ,friend1 and ,lord1
 is to be led by him through the darkest
 way--home4  ,not only is he the door or
 gate which opens into the way1 but he  

is the way4  ,he is the guide in the    
way2 he has gone over it himself2       
everywhere we find his footprints4      
,more than that2 he is the very way     
itself1 and the very truth about the    
way1 and the life which inspires us in  
the way4  ,to be his friend is enough2  
we need ask neither whither he has gone1
 nor the road2 we need only abide in    
him4    ,thank ,god1 thank ,god1 the    
,man is found1   ,sure-footed1 knowing  
well the ground4   ,he knows the road1  
for this the way   ,he travelled once1  
as on this day4   ,he is our ,messenger 
beside1   ,he is our ,door and ,path and
 ,guide4   ,then ,philip had a question4
  ,he had heard the ,master's reply to  
,thomas4 ,philip was slow and dull1     
loyal-hearted1 a man of practical       
common-sense1 but without imagination1  
unable to understand anything spiritual1
 anything but bare1 cold1 material      
facts4  ,the words of ,jesus about      
knowing and seeing the ,father caught   
his ear4  ,that was just what he        

wanted1--to see the ,father4  ,so in his
 dulness he said1 ,lord1 show us the    
,father1 and it sufficeth us4  ,he was  
thinking of a theophany1--a glorious    
vision of ,god4  ,jesus was wondrously  
patient with the dulness of his         
disciples2 but this word pained him1 for
 it showed how little ,philip had       
learned after all his three years of    
discipleship4  ,have ,i been so long    
time with you1 and yet hast thou not    
known me8  ,then ,jesus told him that he
 had been showing him the ,father1 the  
very thing ,philip craved1 all the      
while4  ,jesus went on with his gracious
 words for a little while1 and was      
speaking of manifesting himself to his  
disciples1 when he was interrupted by   
another question4  ,this time it was    
,judas who spoke4 ,not ,iscariot1 ,st4  
,john is careful to say1 for the name of
 ,iscariot was now blotted with the     
blotch of treason4  ,he had gone out    
into the night1 and was of the disciple 
family no more4  ,judas could not       

understand in what special and exclusive
 manner ,jesus would manifest himself to
 his own4  ,perhaps he expected some    
setting apart of ,christ's followers    
like that which had fenced off ,israel  
from the other nations4 ,but ,jesus     
swept away his disciple's thought of any
 narrow manifestation4  ,there was only 
one condition--love4  ,to every one who 
loved him and obeyed his words he would 
reveal himself4  ,the manifesting would 
not be any theophany1 as in the ancient 
,shekinah1 but the spiritual in-dwelling
 of ,god4  ,after these questions of his
 disciples had all been answered1 ,jesus
 continued his farewell words4  ,he left
 several bequests to his friends1       
distributing among them his possessions4
  ,we are apt to ask what he had to     
leave4  ,he had no houses or lands1 no  
gold or silver4  ,while he was on his   
cross the soldiers divided his clothes  
among themselves4  ,yet there are real  
possessions besides money and estates4  
,one may have won the honor of a noble  

name1 and may bequeath this to his      
family when he goes away4  ,one may have
 acquired power which he may transmit4  
,it seemed that night in the upper room 
as if ,jesus had neither name nor power 
to leave to his friends4  ,to-morrow he 
was going to a cross1 and that would be 
the end of everything of hope or beauty 
in his life4  ,yet he quietly made his  
bequests1 fully conscious that he had   
great possessions1 which would bless the
 world infinitely more than if he had   
left any earthly treasure4  ,one of     
these bequests was his peace4 ,peace ,i 
leave with you2 my peace ,i give unto   
you4  ,it was his own peace2 if it had  
not been his own he could not have      
bequeathed it to his friends4  ,a man   
cannot give to others what he has not   
himself4  ,it was his own because he had
 won it4  ,peace is not merely ease1 the
 absence of strife and struggle2 it is  
something which lives in the midst of   
the fiercest strife and the sorest      
struggle4  ,jesus knew not the world's  

peace1--ease and quiet2 but he had      
learned a secret of heart-quietness     
which the world at its worst could not  
disturb4  ,this peace he left to his    
disciples1 and it made them richer than 
if he had given them all the world's    
wealth4  ,another of his possessions    
which he bequeathed was his joy4  ,we   
think of ,jesus as the ,man of sorrows1 
and we ask what joy he had to give4  ,it
 seemed a strange time1 too1 for him to 
be speaking of his joy2 for in another  
hour he was in the midst of the         
,gethsemane anguish1 and to-morrow he   
was on his cross4  ,yet in the upper    
room he had in his heart a most blessed 
joy4  ,even in the terrible hours that  
came afterwards1 that joy was not       
quenched2 for we are told that for the  
joy set before him he endured the cross1
 despising the shame4  ,this joy also he
 bequeathed to his friends4  ,these     
things have ,i spoken unto you1 that my 
joy may be in you4  ,we remember1 too1  
that they really received this legacy4  

,the world wondered at the strange      
secret of joy those men had when they   
went out into the world4  ,they sang    
songs in the darkest night4  ,their     
faces shone as with a holy inner light  
in the deepest sorrow4  ,christ's joy   
was fulfilled in them4  ,he also put    
within the reach of his friends1 as he  
was about to leave them1 the whole of   
his own inheritance as the only begotten
 ,son of ,god4 ,he gave into their hands
 the key of heaven4  ,he told them they 
should have power to do the works which 
they had seen him do1 and even greater  
works than these4  ,he told them that   
whatsoever they should ask the ,father  
in his name the ,father would give to   
them4  ,the whole power of his name     
should thus be theirs1 and they might   
use it as they would4 ,nothing they     
might ask should be refused to them2 all
 the heavenly kingdom was thrown open to
 them4  ,these are mere suggestions of  
the farewell gifts which ,jesus left to 
his friends when he went away1--his     

peace1 his joy1 the key to all the      
treasures of his kingdom4  ,he had      
blessed them in wonderful ways during   
his life2 but the best and richest      
things of his love were kept to the     
last1 and given only after he was gone4 
,indeed1 the best things were given     
through his death1 and could be given in
 no other way4  ,other men live to do   
good2 they hasten to finish their work  
before their sun sets4  ,god's plan for 
them is something they must do before   
death comes to write ,finis at the end  
of their days4  ,but the plan of ,god   
for ,jesus centred in his death4  ,it   
was the blessings that would come       
through his dying that were set forth in
 the elements used in the ,last         
,supper1--the body broken1 the blood    
shed4  ,the great gifts to his friends1 
of which he spoke in his farewell words1
 would come through his dying4  ,he must
 be lifted up in order to draw all men  
to him4  ,he must shed his blood in     
order that remission of sins might be   

offered4 ,it was expedient for him to go
 away in order that the ,comforter might
 come4  ,his peace and his joy were     
bequests which could be given only when 
he had died as the world's ,redeemer4   
,his name would have power to open      
heaven's treasures only when the        
atonement had been made1 and the        
,intercessor was at ,god's right hand in
 heaven4  ,there was one other act in   
this farewell of ,jesus4  ,after he had 
ended his gracious words1 he lifted up  
his eyes in prayer to his ,father4  ,the
 pleading is full of deep and tender    
affection4  ,it is like that of a mother
 about to go away from earth1 and who is
 commending her children to the care of 
the heavenly ,father1 when she must     
leave them without mother-love and      
mother-shelter among unknown and        
dangerous enemies4  ,every word of the  
wonderful prayer throbs with love1 and  
reveals a heart of most tender          
affection4  ,while he had been with his 
friends1 ,jesus had kept them in the    

shelter of his own divine strength4     
,none of them had been lost1 so faithful
 had been his guardianship over         
them--none but the son of perdition4    
,he1 too1 had received faithful care2 it
 had not been the ,good ,shepherd's     
fault that he had perished4 ,he had been
 lost because he resisted the divine    
love1 and would not accept the divine   
will4  ,there must have been a pang of  
anguish in the heart of ,jesus as he    
spoke to his ,father of the one who had 
perished4 ,but the others all were safe4
  ,jesus had guarded them through all   
the dangers up to the present moment4   
,but now he is about to leave them4  ,he
 knows that they must encounter great   
dangers1 and will not have him to       
protect them4  ,the form of his         
intercession for them is worthy of note4
  ,he does not ask that they should be  
taken out of the world4  ,this would    
have seemed the way of tenderest love4  
,but it is not the divine way to take us
 out of the battle4  ,these friends of  

,jesus had been trained to be his       
witnesses1 to represent him when he had 
gone away4  ,therefore they must stay in
 the world1 whatever the dangers might  
be4  ,the prayer was that they should be
 kept from the evil4  ,there is but one 
evil4  ,they were not to be kept from   
persecution1 from earthly suffering and 
loss1 from pain or sorrow3 these are not
 the evils from which men's lives need  
to be guarded4  ,the only real evil is  
sin4  ,our danger in trouble or         
adversity is not that we may suffer1 but
 that we may sin4  ,the pleading of     
,jesus was that his friends might not be
 hurt in their souls1 in their spiritual
 life1 by sin4  ,if enemies wrong or    
injure us1 the peril is not that they   
may cause us to suffer injustice1 but   
that in our suffering we may lose the   
love out of our heart1 and grow angry1  
or become bitter4  ,in time of sickness1
 trial1 or bereavement1 that which we   
should fear is not the illness or the   
sorrow1 but that we shall not keep      

sweet1 with the peace of ,god in our    
breast4  ,the only thing that can do us 
real harm is sin4  ,so the intercession 
on our behalf ever is1 not that we may  
be kept from things that are hard1 from 
experiences that are costly or painful1 
but that we may be kept pure1 gentle1   
and submissive1 with peace and joy in   
our heart4  ,there was a pleading also  
that the disciples might be led into    
complete consecration of spirit1 and    
that they might be prepared to go out   
for their ,master1 to be to the world   
what he had been to them4  ,this was not
 a prayer for a path of roses2 rather it
 was for a cross1 the utter devotion of 
their lives to ,god4  ,before the prayer
 closed1 a final wish for his friends   
was expressed1--that when their work on 
earth was done1 they might be received  
home2 that where he should be they might
 be also1 to behold his glory4  ,surely 
there never has been on earth another   
gathering of such wondrously deep and   
sacred meaning as that farewell meeting 

in the upper room4  ,there the          
friendship of ,jesus and his chosen ones
 reached its holiest experience4  ,his  
deep human love appears in his giving up
 the whole of this last evening to this 
tryst with his own4  ,he knew what was  
before him after midnight1--the bitter  
agony of ,gethsemane1 the betrayal1 the 
arrest1 the trial1 and then the terrible
 shame and suffering of tomorrow4  ,but 
he planned so that there should be these
 quiet1 uninterrupted hours alone with  
his friends1 before the beginning of the
 experiences of his passion4  ,he did it
 for his own sake2 his heart hungered   
for communion with his friends2 with    
desire he desired to eat the ,passover1 
and enjoy these hours with them before  
he suffered4  ,we may be sure1 too1 that
 he received from the holy fellowship   
comfort and strength1 which helped him  
in passing through the bitter hours that
 followed4  ,then1 he did it also for   
the sake of his disciples4  ,he knew how
 their hearts would be broken with      

sorrow when he was taken from them1 and 
he wished to comfort them and make them 
stronger for the way4  ,the memory of   
those holy hours hung over them like a  
star in all the dark night of their     
sorrow1 and was a benediction to them as
 long as they lived4  ,then1 who can    
tell what blessings have gone out from  
that farewell into the whole ,church of 
,christ through all the centuries8  ,it 
is the holy of holies of ,christian     
history4  ,the ,lord's ,supper1         
instituted that night1 and which has    
never ceased to be observed as a        
memorial of the ,master's wonderful love
 and great sacrifice1 has sweetened the 
world with its fragrant memories4  ,the 
words spoken by the ,master at the table
 have been repeated from lip to heart   
wherever the story of the gospel has    
gone1 and have given unspeakable comfort
 to millions of hearts4  ,the petitions 
of the great intercessory prayer have   
been rising continually1 like holy      
incense1 ever since they were first     

uttered1 taking into their clasp each   
new generation of believers4 ,this      
farewell has kept the ,christian hearts 
of all the centuries warm and tender    
with love toward him who is the         
unchanging ,friend the same yesterday   
and to-day and forever4     ,,chapter   
,,xiv  ,,jesus' ,,friendships ,,after   
,,he ,,arose4    ,our own are our own   
forever--,god taketh not back his gift2 
,they may pass beyond our vision1 but   
our soul shall find them out   ,when the
 waiting is all accomplished1 and the   
deathly shadows lift1     ,and the glory
 is given for grieving1 and the surety  
of ,god for doubt4   ,we cannot but ask 
questions about the after life4  ,what  
is its character8  ,what shall be the   
relations there of those who in the     
present life have been united in        
friendship8  ,what effect has dying on  
the human affections8  ,does it dissolve
 the bonds which here have been so      
strong8  ,or do friendships go on       
through death1 interrupted for a little 

time only1 to be taken up again in the  
life beyond8  ,surely ,god will not     
blame us for our eagerness to know all  
we can learn about the world to which we
 are going4  ,true1 we cannot learn much
 about this blessed life while we stay  
in this world4  ,human eyes cannot      
penetrate into the deep mystery4  ,we   
are like men standing on the shore of a 
great sea1 wondering what lies on the   
other side4  ,no one has come back to   
tell us what he found in that far       
country4  ,we bring our questions to the
 word of ,god1 but it avails little2    
even inspiration does not give us       
explicit revealings concerning the life 
of the blessed4  ,we know that the ,son 
of ,god had dwelt forever in heaven     
before his incarnation1 and we expect   
that he will shed light upon the subject
 of life within the gates of heaven4    
,but he is almost silent to our         
questions4  ,indeed1 he seems to tell us
 really nothing4  ,he gives us no       
description of the place from which he  

came1 to which he returned1 and to which
 he said his disciples shall be         
gathered4  ,he says nothing about the   
occupations of those who dwell there4   
,he satisfies no human yearnings to know
 the nature of friendship after death4  
,we are likely to turn away from our    
quest for definite knowledge1 feeling   
that even ,jesus has told us nothing4   
,yet he has told us a great deal4       
,there is one wonderful revelation of   
which perhaps too little has been made4 
,after ,jesus had died1 and lain in the 
grave for three days1 he rose again1 and
 remained for forty days upon the earth4
  ,during that time he did not resume   
the old relations4  ,he was not with his
 disciples as he had been during the    
three years of his public ministry1     
journeying with them1 speaking to them1 
working miracles2 yet he showed himself 
to them a number of times4  ,the        
remarkable thing in these appearances of
 ,jesus during the forty days is that we
 see in him one beyond death4  ,lazarus 

was brought back to earth after having  
died1 but it was only the old life to   
which he returned4  ,the human relations
 between him and his sisters and friends
 were restored1 but probably they were  
not different from what they had been in
 the past4  ,lazarus was the same mortal
 being as before1 with human frailties  
and infirmities4  ,jesus1 however1 after
 his return from the grave1 was a man   
beyond death4  ,he was the same person  
who had lived and died1 and yet he was  
changed4  ,he appeared and disappeared  
at will4  ,he entered rooms through     
closed and barred doors4  ,at last his  
body ascended from the earth1 and passed
 up to heaven1 subject no longer to the 
laws of gravitation4  ,we see in ,jesus1
 therefore1 during the forty days1 one  
who has passed into what we call the    
other life4  ,what he was then his      
people will be when they have emerged   
from death with their spiritual bodies1 
for he was the first-fruits of them that
 are asleep4  ,as we study ,jesus in the

 story of those days1 we are surprised  
to see how little he was changed4       
,death had left no strange marks upon   
him4 ,nothing beautiful in his life had 
been lost in the grave4  ,he came back  
from the shadows as human as he was     
before he entered the valley4 ,dying had
 robbed him of no human tenderness1 no  
gentle grace of disposition1 no charm of
 manner4  ,as we watch him in his       
intercourse with his disciples1 we      
recognize the familiar traits which     
belonged to his personality during the  
three years of his active ministry4  ,we
 may rightly infer that in our new life 
we shall be as little changed as ,jesus 
was4  ,we shall lose our sin1 our       
frailties and infirmities1 all our      
blemishes and faults4  ,the             
long-hindered and hampered powers of our
 being shall be liberated4  ,hidden     
beauties shall shine out in our         
character1 as developed pictures in the 
photographer's sensitized plate4  ,there
 will be great changes in us in these   

and other regards1 but our personality  
will be the same4  ,jesus was easily    
recognized by his friends2 so shall we  
be by those who have known us4          
,whatever is beautiful and good in us   
here1--the fruits of spiritual conquest1
 the lessons learned in earth's         
experiences1 the impressions made upon  
us by the ,word of ,god1 the silver and 
golden threads woven in our life-web by 
pure friendships1 the effects of sorrow 
upon us1 the work wrought in us by the  
,holy ,spirit1--all this shall appear in
 our new life4  ,we shall have          
incorruptible1 spiritual1 and glorious  
bodies1 no longer mortal and subject to 
the limitations of matter2 death will   
rob us of nothing that is worthy and    
true1 and fit for the blessed life4     
,we are quite sure   ,that he will give 
them back--   ,bright1 pure1 and        
beautiful4         99      99      99   
,he does not mean--though heaven be     
fair--   ,to change the spirits entering
 there   ,that they forget   ,the eyes  

upraised and wet1   ,the lips too still 
for prayer1   ,the mute despair4   ,he  
will not take   ,the spirits which he   
gave1 and make   ,the glorified so new  
,that they are lost to me and you4      
99      99      99   ,i do believe that 
just the same sweet face1   ,but        
glorified1 is waiting in the place      
,where we shall meet4         99      99
      99   ,god never made   ,spirit for
 spirit1 answering shade for shade1     
,and placed them side by side--   ,so   
wrought in one1 though separate1        
mystified1   ,and meant to break   ,the 
quivering threads between4   ,it is     
interesting1 too1 to study the          
friendships of ,jesus after he came from
 the grave4  ,he did not take up again  
the public life of the days before his  
death4  ,he made no more journeys       
through the country4  ,he spoke no more 
to throngs in the temple courts or by   
the ,seaside4  ,he no more went about   
healing1 teaching1 casting out demons1  
and raising the dead4  ,he made no      

appearances in public4  ,only his       
disciples saw him4 ,we have but few     
details of his intercourse with         
individuals1 but such glimpses as we    
have are exceedingly interesting4  ,they
 show us that no tender tie of          
friendship had been hurt by his         
experience of dying4  ,the love of his  
heart lived on through death1 and       
reappeared during the forty days in     
undiminished gentleness and kindness4   
,he did not meet his old friends as     
strangers1 but as one who had been away 
for a few days1 and had come again4     
,the first of his friends to whom he    
showed himself after he arose was ,mary 
,magdalene4  ,her story is pathetic in  
its interest4  ,the traditions of the   
centuries have blotted her name1 but    
there is not the slightest evidence in  
the ,new ,testament that she was ever a 
woman of blemished character4  ,there is
 no reason whatever for identifying her 
with the woman that was a sinner1 who   
came to ,jesus in ,simon's house4  ,all 

that is said of ,mary's former condition
 is that she was possessed of seven     
demons1 and that ,jesus freed her from  
this terrible bondage4  ,in gratitude   
for this unspeakable deliverance ,mary  
followed ,jesus1 leaving her home1 and  
going with him until the day of his     
death4  ,she was one of several women   
friends who accompanied him and         
ministered to him of their substance4   
,mary's devotion to ,jesus was          
wonderful4  ,when the tomb was closed   
she was one of the watchers who         
lingered1 loath to leave it4  ,then1 at 
the dawn of the first day morning she   
was again one of those who hurried      
through the darkness to the tomb1 with  
spices for the anointing of the         
body--last at his cross1 and earliest at
 his tomb4  ,mary's devotion was        
rewarded2 for to her first of all his   
friends did ,jesus appear1 as she stood 
weeping by the empty grave4  ,she did   
not recognize him at once4 ,she was not 
expecting to see him risen4  ,then1 her 

eyes were blinded with her tears4  ,but 
the moment he spoke her name1 ,mary1 she
 knew him1 and answered1 ,rabboni4  ,he 
was not changed to her4  ,he had not    
forgotten her4  ,the love in his heart  
had lost none of its tenderness4 ,he was
 as accessible as ever4  ,dying had made
 him no less a friend1 and no less      
sympathetic1 than he was before he died4
  ,soon after ,mary had met ,jesus1 and 
rejoiced to find him her friend just as 
of old1 he appeared to the other women  
of the company who had followed him with
 their grateful ministries4  ,they also 
knew him1 and he knew them2 and their   
hearts suffered no wrench at the        
meeting1 for they found the same sweet  
friendship they thought they had lost1  
just as warm and tender as ever4  ,that 
same day ,jesus appeared to ,peter4  ,a 
veil is drawn by the evangelists over   
the circumstances of this meeting4  ,the
 friendship of ,jesus and ,peter had    
continued for three years4  ,he had     
often given his ,master pain and trouble

 through his impulsive ways4  ,but the  
culmination of it all came on the night 
of the betrayal1 when1 in the hall of   
the high priest's palace1 ,peter denied 
being a disciple of ,jesus1 denied even 
knowing him4  ,while for the third time 
the base and cowardly words were on his 
lips1 ,jesus turned and looked upon his 
faithless disciple with a look of       
grieved love1 and then ,peter remembered
 the forewarning the ,master had given  
him4  ,his heart was broken with        
penitence1 and he went out and wept     
bitterly4  ,but he had no opportunity to
 seek forgiveness2 for the next morning 
,jesus was on his cross1 and in the     
evening was in his grave4  ,peter's     
sorrow was very deep1 for his love for  
his ,master was very strong4  ,we can   
imagine that when the truth of the      
resurrection began to be believed that  
morning1 ,peter wondered how ,jesus     
would receive him4  ,but he was not long
 kept in suspense4  ,the women who came 
first to the tomb1 to find it empty1    

received a message for the disciples and
 ,peter4  ,this singling out of his name
 for special mention must have given    
unspeakable joy to ,peter4  ,it told him
 that the love of ,jesus was not only   
stronger than death1 but also stronger  
than sin4  ,then1 sometime during the   
day1 ,jesus appeared to ,peter alone4   
,no doubt then1 in the sacredness of    
love1 the disciple made confession1 and 
the ,master granted forgiveness4        
,several times during the forty days    
,jesus and ,peter met again4  ,the      
friendship had not been marred by death4
  ,the risen ,lord loved just as he had 
loved in the days of common human       
intercourse4  ,one of the most          
interesting of the after resurrection   
incidents is that of the walk to        
,emmaus4  ,cleophas and his friend were 
journeying homeward with sad hearts1    
when a stranger joined them4  ,his      
conversation was wonderfully tender as  
he walked with them and explained the   
,scriptures4  ,then followed the evening

 meal1 and the revealing of the risen   
,jesus in the breaking of bread4  ,again
 it was the same sweet friendship which 
had so warmed their hearts in the past1 
resumed by the ,master on the other side
 of death4  ,it was the same with all   
the recorded appearances of ,jesus4     
,those who had been his friends previous
 to his death found him the same friend 
as before4  ,he took up with each of    
them the threads of affection just where
 they had been dropped when the betrayal
 and arrest wrought such panic among his
 disciples1 scattering them away1 and   
went on with the weaving4  ,may we not  
conclude that it will be with us even as
 it was with ,jesus8 ,his resurrection  
was not only a pledge of what that of   
believers will be1 carrying within      
itself the seed and potency of a blessed
 immortality1 but it was also a sample  
of what ours will be4  ,death will      
produce far less change in us than we   
imagine it will do4  ,we shall go on    
with living very much as if nothing had 

happened4  ,dying is an experience we   
need not trouble ourselves about very   
much if we are believers in ,christ4    
,there is a mystery in it2 but when we  
have passed through it we shall probably
 find that it is a very simple and      
natural event--perhaps little more      
serious than sleeping over night and    
waking in the morning4  ,it will not    
hurt us in any way4  ,it will blot no   
lovely thing from our life4  ,it will   
end nothing that is worth while4 ,death 
is only a process in life1 a phase of   
development1 analogous to that which    
takes place when a seed is dropped in   
the earth and comes up a beautiful      
plant1 adorned with foliage and         
blossoms4  ,life would be incomplete    
without dying4  ,the greatest misfortune
 that could befall any one would be that
 he should not die4  ,this would be an  
arresting of development which would be 
death indeed4            ,death is the  
crown of life2   ,were death denied1    
poor man would live in vain2   ,were    

death denied1 to live would not be life2
   ,were death denied1 e'en fools would 
wish to die4   ,death wounds to cure3 we
 fall2 we rise2 we reign2   ,spring from
 our fetters2 hasten to the skies1      
,where blooming ,eden withers in our    
sight4   ,death gives us more than was  
in ,eden lost2   ,the king of terrors is
 the prince of peace4   ,there is need  
for a reconstruction of the prevalent   
thoughts and conceptions of heaven4  ,we
 have trained ourselves to think of life
 beyond the grave as something          
altogether different from what life is  
in this world4  ,it has always been     
pictured thus to us4  ,we have been     
taught that heaven is a place of rest1 a
 place of fellowship with ,god1 a place 
of ceaseless praise4  ,the human element
 has been largely left out of our usual 
conceptions of the blessed life4  ,not  
much is made of the relations of        
believers to one another4  ,that which  
is emphasized in ,christian hymns and in
 most books about heaven is the ,godward

 side4 ,much is made of the glory of the
 place as suggested by the visions of   
,st4 ,john in the ,apocalypse4  ,in many
 of these conceptions the chief thought 
of heavenly blessedness is that it is a 
release from earth and from earthly     
conditions4  ,there is no sorrow1 no    
trouble1 no pain1 no struggle1 no toil1 
in the home to which we are going4  ,we 
shall sit on the green banks of         
beautiful rivers1 amid unfading flowers1
 and sing forever4  ,we shall lie       
prostrate before the throne1 and gaze   
and gaze on the face of ,god4  ,but this
 is not the kind of heaven and heavenly 
life which the teachings of ,jesus      
,would lead us to imagine4  ,true1 he   
speaks of the place to which he is      
going1 and where1 by and by1 he would   
gather all his disciples1 as my         
,father's house4  ,this suggests home   
and love2 and the thought is in harmony 
with what we have seen in the life of   
,jesus during the forty days1--the      
continuance of the friendships formed   

and knit in earthly fellowships4  ,but  
the vision of home life thus suggested  
need not imply a heaven of inaction4    
,indeed1 no life could be more natural  
and beautiful than that which the       
thought of home suggests4  ,we have no  
perfect homes on earth2 but every true  
home has in it fragments of heaven's    
meaning1 and always the idea is of      
love's service rather than of blissful  
indolence4  ,we may get many thoughts of
 the heavenly life from other teachings 
of ,jesus4  ,life is continuous4        
,whosoever liveth and believeth shall   
never die4  ,there is no break1 no      
interruption of life1 in what we call   
dying4  ,we think of eternal life as the
 life of heaven1 the glorified life4    
,so it is2 but we have its beginnings   
here4  ,the moment we believe1 we have  
everlasting life4  ,the ,christian      
graces we are enjoined1 to cultivate are
 heavenly lessons set for us to learn4  
,if we would conceive of the life of    
heaven1 we have but to think of ideal   

,christian life in this world1 and then 
lift it up to its perfect realization4  
,heaven is but earth's lessons of grace 
better learned1 earth's best spiritual  
life glorified4  ,therefore we get our  
truest thoughts of it from a study of   
,christ's ideal for the life of his     
followers1 for it will simply be this   
life fully realized and infinitely      
extended4  ,for example1 the one great  
lesson set for us1 the one which        
includes all others1 is love4  ,god is  
love1 and we are to learn to love if we 
would be like him4  ,all relationships  
are relationships of love4  ,all graces 
are graces of love4  ,all duties are    
parts of one great duty--to love one    
another4  ,all worthy and noble         
character is love wrought out in life4  
,all life here is a school1 with its    
tasks1 its struggles1 its conflicts1 its
 minglings with men1 its friendships1   
its experiences of joy and sorrow1 its  
burdens1 its disappointments and hopes1 
and the final education to be attained  

is love4  ,browning puts it thus in     
,rabbi ,ben ,ezra3--    ,our life1 with 
all it yields of joy or woe1   ,and hope
 and fear1--believe the aged friend1    
,is just our chance o' the prize of     
learning love1   ,how love might be1    
hath been1 indeed1 and is4   ,what is   
this love which it is the one great     
lesson of life to learn8 ,toward ,god1  
it may express itself in devotion1      
worship1 praise1 obedience1 fellowship4 
,this seems to be the chief thought of  
love in the common conception of heaven4
  ,it is all adoration1 glorifying4     
,but love has a manward as well as a    
,godward development4  ,st4 ,john1 the  
disciple of love1 teaches very plainly  
that he who says he loves ,god must     
prove it by also loving man4  ,if the   
whole of our training here is to be in  
loving and in living out our love1 we   
certainly have the clew to the heavenly 
life4  ,we shall continue in the doing  
of the things we have here learned to   
do4  ,life in glory will be earth's     

,christian life intensified and         
perfected4  ,heaven will not be a place 
of idle repose4 ,inaction can never be a
 condition of blessedness for a life    
made and trained for action4  ,the      
essential quality of love is            
service--not to be ministered unto1 but 
to minister2 and for one who has learned
 love's lesson1 happiness never can be  
found in a state in which there is no   
opportunity for ministering4  ,in heaven
 it will still be more blessed to give  
than to receive2 and those who are first
 will be those who with lowly spirit    
serve most deeply4  ,heaven will be a   
place of boundless activity4  ,his      
servants shall serve him4  ,the powers  
trained here for the work of ,christ    
will find ample opportunity there for   
doing their best service4  ,said ,victor
 ,hugo in his old age1 ,when ,i go down 
to the grave1 ,i can say1 like so many  
others1 ',i have finished my day's      
work2' but ,i cannot say1 ',i have      
finished my life4'  ,my day's work will 

begin again next morning4  ,my tomb is  
not a blind alley1 it is a thoroughfare2
 it closes with the twilight to open    
with the dawn4  ,whatever mystery there 
may be concerning the life that         
believers in ,christ shall live in      
heaven1 we may be sure at least that    
they will carry with them all that is   
true and divine of their earthly life4  
,the character formed here they will    
retain through death4  ,the capacity    
they have gained by the use of their    
powers they will have for the beginning 
of their activity in the new life4      
,there can be no doubt that they shall  
find work commensurate with and fitted  
to their trained powers4  ,so heaven    
will be a far more natural place than we
 imagine it will be4 ,it will not be    
greatly unlike the ideal life of earth4 
,we probably shall be surprised when we 
meet each other to find how little we   
have changed4  ,the old tenderness will 
not be missing4  ,we shall recognize our
 friends by some little gentle ways they

 used to have here1 or by some familiar 
thoughtfulness that was never wanting in
 them4  ,the friendships we began here1 
and had not time to cultivate1 we shall 
have opportunity there to renew1 and    
carry on through immortal years4  ,even 
at the best1 human friendships only     
begin in this life2 in heaven they will 
reach their best and holiest            
possibilities4  ,there are lives which  
only touch each other in this world and 
then separate1 going their different    
ways--like ships that pass in the night4
  ,there will be time enough in heaven  
for any such faintest beginnings of     
friendship to be wrought out in beauty4 
,friendships with ,jesus here touch but 
the shore of an infinite ocean2 in      
heaven1 unhindered1 in uninterrupted    
fellowship1 we shall be forever learning
 more of this love of ,christ which     
passeth knowledge4     ,,chapter ,,xv4  
,,jesus ,,as ,a ,,friend4               
,long1 long centuries   ,agone1 ,one    
walked the earth1 his life   ,a seeming 

failure2   ,dying1 he gave the world a  
gift         ,that will outlast         
eternities4   ,the world has always paid
 high honor to friendship4  ,some of the
 finest passages in all history are the 
stories of noble friendships1--stories  
which are among the classics of         
literature4  ,the qualities which belong
 to an ideal friend have been treated by
 many writers through all the centuries4
  ,but ,jesus ,christ brought into the  
world new standards for everything in   
human life4  ,he was the one complete   
,man1--,god's ideal for humanity4  ,once
 in the world's history was born a ,man4
  ,once in the roll of the ages1 out of 
innumerable failures1 from the stock of 
human nature1 one bud developed itself  
into a faultless flower4  ,one perfect  
specimen of humanity has ,god exhibited 
on earth4  ,to ,jesus1 therefore1 we    
turn for the divine ideal of everything 
in human life4 ,what is friendship as   
interpreted by ,jesus8  ,what are the   
qualities of a true friend as           

illustrated in the life of ,jesus8  ,it 
is evident that he lifted the ideal of  
friendship to a height to which it never
 before had been exalted4  ,he made all 
things new4  ,duty had a new meaning    
after ,jesus taught and lived1 and died 
and rose again4  ,he presented among men
 new conceptions of life1 new standards 
of character1 new thoughts of what is   
worthy and beautiful4  ,not one of his  
beatitudes had a place among the world's
 ideals of blessedness4 ,they all had an
 unworldly1 a spiritual basis4  ,the    
things he said that men should live for 
were not the things which men had been  
living for before he came4  ,he showed  
new patterns for everything in life4    
,jesus presented a conception for       
friendship which surpassed all the      
classical models4  ,in his farewell to  
his disciples he gave them what he      
called a new commandment4  ,the         
commandment was that his friends should 
love one another4  ,why was this called 
a new commandment8  ,was there no       

commandment before ,jesus came and gave 
it that good men should love one        
another8  ,was this rule of love        
altogether new with him8  ,in the form  
in which ,jesus gave it1 this           
commandment never had been given before4
  ,there was a precept in the ,mosaic   
law which at first seems to be the same 
as that which ,jesus gave1 but it was   
not the same4 ,it read1 ,thou shalt love
 thy neighbor as thyself4  ,as thyself  
was the standard4  ,men were to love    
themselves1 and then love their         
neighbors as themselves4  ,that was as  
far as the old commandment went4 ,but   
the new commandment is altogether       
different4  ,as ,i have loved you is its
 measure4  ,how did ,jesus love his     
disciples8  ,as himself8  ,did he keep a
 careful balance all the while1 thinking
 of himself1 of his own comfort1 his own
 ease1 his own safety1 and going just   
that far and no farther in his love for 
his disciples8  ,no2 it was a new       
pattern of love that ,jesus introduced4 

,he forgot himself altogether1 denied   
himself1 never saved his own life1 never
 hesitated at any line or limit of      
service1 of cost or sacrifice1 in       
loving4  ,he emptied himself1 kept      
nothing back1 spared not his own life4  
,thus the standard of friendship which  
,jesus set for his followers was indeed 
new4  ,instead of ,love thy neighbor as 
thyself1 it was ,love as ,jesus loved2  
and he loved unto the uttermost4  ,when 
we turn to the history of ,christianity1
 we see that the type of friendship     
which ,jesus introduced was indeed a new
 thing in the world4 ,it was new in its 
motive and inspiration4  ,the love of   
the ,mosaic law was inspired by ,sinai2 
the love of the ,christian law got its  
inspiration from ,calvary4  ,the one was
 only cold1 stern law2 the other was    
burning passion4  ,the one was enforced 
merely as a duty2 the other was         
impressed by the wondrous love of       
,christ4  ,no doubt men loved ,god in   
the ,old ,testament days1 for there were

 many revealings of his goodness and his
 grace and love in the teachings of     
those who spoke for ,god to men4  ,but  
wonderful as were these revelations1    
they could not for a moment be compared 
with the manifestation of ,god which was
 made in ,jesus ,christ4  ,the ,son of  
,god came among men in human form1 and  
in gentle and lowly life all the        
blessedness of the divine affection was 
poured out right before men's eyes4  ,at
 last there was the cross1 where the    
heart of ,god broke in love4  ,no wonder
 that1 with such inspiration1 a new type
 of friendship appeared among the       
followers of ,jesus4  ,we are so        
familiar with the life which            
,christianity has produced1 where the   
fruits of the ,spirit have reached their
 finest and best development1 that it is
 well-nigh impossible for us to conceive
 of the condition of human society as it
 was before ,christ came4  ,of course   
there was love in the world before that 
day4  ,parents loved their children4    

,there was natural affection1 which     
sometimes even in heathen countries was 
very strong and tender4 ,friendships    
existed between individuals4  ,history  
has enshrined the story of some of      
these4  ,there always were beautiful    
things in humanity1--fragments of the   
divine image remaining among the ruins  
of the fall4  ,but the mutual love of   
,christians which began to show itself  
on the day of ,pentecost surpassed      
anything that had ever been known in    
even the most refined and gentle        
society4  ,it was indeed divine love in 
new-born men4  ,no mere natural human   
affection could ever produce such       
fellowship as we see in the pentecostal 
church4  ,it was a little of heaven's   
life let down upon earth4  ,those who so
 loved one another were new men2 they   
had been born again--born from above4   
,jesus came to establish the kingdom of 
heaven upon the earth4  ,in other words1
 he came to make heaven in the hearts of
 his believing ones4  ,that is what the 

new friendship is4  ,a creed does not   
make one a ,christian2 commandments1    
though spoken amid the thunders of      
,sinai1 will never produce love in a    
life4  ,the new ideal of love which     
,jesus came to introduce among men was  
the love of ,god shed abroad in human   
hearts4 ,as ,i have loved you1 that ye  
also love one another was the new       
requirement4  ,since1 then1 the new     
ideal of friendship is that which ,jesus
 gave in his own life1 it will be worth 
our while to make a study of this holy  
pattern1 that we may know how to strive 
toward it for ourselves4  ,we may note  
the tenderness of the friendship of     
,jesus4  ,it has been suggested by an   
,english preacher that ,christ exhibited
 the blended qualities of both sexes4   
,there was in him the womanly heart as  
well as the manly brain4  ,yet          
tenderness is not exclusively a womanly 
excellence2 indeed1 since tenderness can
 really coexist only with strength1 it  
is in its highest manifestation quite as

 truly a manly as a womanly quality4    
,jesus was inimitably tender4           
,tenderness in him was never softness or
 weakness4  ,it was more like true      
motherliness than almost any other human
 affection2 it was infolding1           
protecting1 nourishing love4  ,we find  
abundant illustrations of this quality  
in the story of the life of ,jesus4     
,the most kindly and affectionate men   
are sure sometime to reveal at least a  
shade of harshness1 coldness1           
bitterness1 or severity4  ,but in ,jesus
 there was never any failure of         
tenderness4  ,we see it in his warm love
 for ,john1 in his regard for little    
children1 in his compassion for sinners 
who came to his feet1 in his weeping    
over the city which had rejected him and
 was about to crucify him1 in his       
thought for the poor1 in his compassion 
for the sick4  ,another quality of the  
friendship of ,jesus was patience4  ,in 
all his life he never once failed in    
this quality4  ,we see it in his        

treatment of his disciples4  ,they were 
slow learners4  ,he had to teach the    
same lesson over and over again4  ,they 
could not understand his character4 ,but
 he wearied not in his teaching4  ,they 
were unfaithful1 too1 in their          
friendship for him4  ,in a time of alarm
 they all fled1 while one of them denied
 him1 and another betrayed him4  ,but   
never once was there the slightest      
impatience shown by him4  ,having loved 
his own1 he loved them unto the         
uttermost1 through all dulness and all  
unfaithfulness4 ,he suffered unjustly1  
but bore all wrong in silence4  ,he     
never lost his temper4  ,he never grew  
discouraged1 though all his work seemed 
to be in vain4  ,he never despaired of  
making beauty out of deformity in his   
disciples4  ,he never lost hope of any  
soul4  ,had it not been for this quality
 of unwearying patience nothing would   
ever have come from his interest in     
human lives4  ,the friendship of ,jesus 
was unselfish4  ,he did not choose those

 whose names would add to his influence1
 who would help him to rise to honor and
 renown2 he chose lowly1 unknown men1   
whom he could lift up to worthy         
character4  ,his enemies charged against
 him that he was the friend of publicans
 and sinners4  ,in a sense this was     
true4  ,he came to be a ,saviour of lost
 men4  ,he said he was a physician2 and 
a physician's mission is among the sick1
 not among the whole and well4  ,the    
friendship of ,jesus was not checked or 
foiled by the discovery of faults or    
blemishes in those whom he had taken    
into his life4  ,even in our ordinary   
human relations we do not know what we  
are engaging to do when we become the   
friend of another4  ,for better for     
worse1 for richer for poorer1 in        
sickness and in health1 runs the        
marriage covenant4  ,the covenant in all
 true friendship is the same4  ,we      
pledge our friend faithfulness1 with all
 that faithfulness includes4  ,we know  
not what demands upon us this sacred    

compact may make in years to come4      
,misfortune may befall our friend1 and  
he may require our aid in many ways4    
,instead of being a help he may become a
 burden4  ,but friendship must not fail1
 whatever its cost may be4  ,when we    
become the friend of another we do not  
know what faults and follies in him     
closer acquaintance may disclose to our 
eyes4  ,but here1 again1 ideal          
friendship must not fail4  ,what is true
 in common human relations was true in a
 far more wonderful way of the          
friendship of ,jesus4  ,we have only to 
recall the story of his three years with
 his disciples4  ,they gave him at the  
best a very feeble return for his great 
love for them4  ,they were inconstant1  
weak1 foolish1 untrustful4  ,they showed
 personal ambition1 striving for first  
places1 even at the ,last ,supper4      
,they displayed jealousy1 envy1         
narrowness1 ingratitude1 unbelief1      
cowardice4  ,as these unlovely things   
appeared in the men ,jesus had chosen1  

his friendship did not slacken or       
unloose its hold4  ,he had taken them as
 his friends1 and he trusted them       
wholly2 he committed himself to them    
absolutely1 without reserve1 without    
condition1 without the possibility of   
withdrawal4  ,no matter how they failed1
 he loved them still4  ,he was patient  
with their weaknesses and with their    
slow growth1 and was not afraid to wait1
 knowing that in the end they would     
justify his faith in them and his costly
 friendship for them4  ,jesus thought   
not of the present comfort and pleasure 
of his friends1 but of their highest and
 best good4  ,too often human friendship
 in its most generous and lavish        
kindness is really most unkind4  ,it    
thinks that its first duty is to give   
relief from pain1 to lighten burdens1 to
 alleviate hardship1 to smoothe the     
rough path4  ,too often serious hurt is 
done by this over-tenderness of human   
love4  ,but ,jesus made no such mistakes
 in dealing with his friends4  ,he did  

not try to make life easy for them4  ,he
 did not pamper them4  ,he never lowered
 the conditions of discipleship so that 
it would be easy for them to follow him4
  ,he did not carry their burdens for   
them1 but put into their hearts courage 
and hope to inspire and strengthen them 
to carry their own loads4  ,he did not  
keep them secluded from the world in a  
quiet shelter so that they would not    
come in contact with the world's evil   
nor meet its assaults2 his method with  
them was to teach them how to live so   
that they should have the divine        
protection in the midst of spiritual    
danger1 and then to send them forth to  
face the perils and fight the battles4  
,his prayer for his disciples was not   
that they should be taken out of the    
world1 thus escaping its dangers and    
getting away from its struggles1 but    
that they should be kept from the       
world's evil4  ,he knew that if they    
would become good soldiers they must be 
trained in the midst of the conflict4   

,hence he did not fight their battles   
for them4  ,he did not save ,peter from 
being sifted2 it was necessary that his 
apostle should pass through the terrible
 experience1 even though he should fail 
in it and fall4  ,his prayer for him was
 not that he should not be sifted1 but  
that his faith should not altogether    
fail4  ,his aim in all his dealings with
 his friends was to train them into     
heroic courage and invincible character1
 and not to lead them along flowery     
paths through gardens of ease4  ,we are 
in the habit of saying that the follower
 of ,christ will always find goodness   
and mercy wherever he is led4  ,this is 
true2 but it must not be understood to  
mean that there will never be any       
hardness to endure1 any cross to bear1  
any pain or loss to experience4  ,we    
grow best under burdens4  ,we learn most
 when lessons are hard4  ,when we get   
through this earthly life1 and stand on 
the other side1 and can look back on the
 path over which we have been led1 it   

will appear that we have found our best 
blessings where we thought the way was  
most dreary and desolate4  ,we shall see
 then that what seemed sternness and    
severity in ,christ was really truest   
and wisest friendship4  ,one writes3--  
,if you could go back to the forks of   
the road--   ,back the long miles you   
have carried the load2   ,back to the   
place where you had to decide   ,by this
 way or that through your life to abide2
    ,back of the sorrow and back of the 
care2   ,back to the place where the    
future was fair--   ,if you were there  
now1 a decision to make1   ,oh1 pilgrim 
of sorrow1 which road would you take8   
,then1 after you'd trodden the other    
long track1   ,suppose that again to the
 forks you went back1   ,after you found
 that its promises fair   ,were but a   
delusion that led to a snare--    ,that 
the road you first travelled with sighs 
and unrest1   ,though dreary and rough1 
was most graciously blest1   ,with a    
balm for each bruise and a charm for    

each ache1   ,oh1 pilgrim of sorrow1    
which road would you take8   ,sometimes 
good people are disappointed in the way 
their prayers are answered4  ,indeed1   
they seem not to be answered at all4    
,they ask ,god to take away some        
trouble1 to lift off some load1 and     
their request is not granted4  ,they    
continue to pray1 for they read that we 
must be importunate1 that men ought     
always to pray and not to faint2 but    
still there seems no answer4  ,then they
 are perplexed4  ,they cannot understand
 why ,god's promises have failed4  ,but 
they have only misread the promises4    
,there is no assurance given that the   
burdens shall be lifted off and carried 
for us4  ,god would not be the wise1    
good1 and loving ,father he is1 if at   
every cry of any of his children he ran 
to take away the trouble1 or free them  
from the hardness1 or make all things   
easy and pleasant for them4  ,such a    
course would keep us always children1   
untrained1 undisciplined4  ,only in     

burden-bearing and in enduring can we   
learn to be self-reliant and strong4    
,jesus himself was trained on the       
battlefield1 and in life's actual       
experiences of trial4  ,he learned      
obedience by the things that he         
suffered4  ,it was by meeting temptation
 and by being victorious in it that he  
became ,master of the world1 able to    
deliver us in all our temptations4  ,not
 otherwise can we grow into ,christlike 
men4  ,it would be unkindness in our    
,father to save us from the experiences 
by which alone we can be disciplined    
into robust and vigorous strength4  ,the
 promises do not read that if we call   
upon ,god in our trouble he will take   
the trouble away4  ,rather the assurance
 is that if we call upon ,god he will   
answer us4  ,the answer may not be      
relief2 it may be only cheer4  ,we are  
taught to cast our burden upon the      
,lord1 but we are not told that the     
,lord will take it away4  ,the promise  
is that he will sustain us under the    

burden4  ,we are to continue to bear it2
 and we are assured that we shall not   
faint under the load1 for ,god will     
strengthen us4  ,the assurance is not   
that we shall not be tempted1 but that  
no temptation but such as man can bear  
shall come to us1 and that the faithful 
,god will not suffer us to be tempted   
above that we are able to endure4       
,this1 then1 is what divine friendship  
does4  ,it does not make it easy for us 
to live1 for then we should get no      
blessing of strength and goodness from  
living4  ,how1 then1 are our prayers    
answered8  ,god sustains us so that we  
faint not2 and then1 as we endure in    
faith and patience1 his benediction is  
upon us1 giving us wisdom1 and imparting
 strength to us4  ,the friendship of    
,jesus was always sympathetic4  ,many   
persons1 however1 misunderstand the     
meaning of sympathy4  ,they think of it 
as merely a weak pity1 which sits down  
beside one who is suffering or in       
sorrow1 and enters into the experience1 

without doing anything to lift him up or
 strengthen him4  ,such sympathy is     
really of very little value in the time 
of trouble4  ,it may impart a           
consciousness of companionship which    
will somewhat relieve the sense of      
aloneness1 but it makes the sufferer no 
braver or stronger4  ,indeed1 it takes  
strength from him by aggravating his    
sense of distress4  ,it was not thus1   
however1 that the sympathy of ,jesus was
 manifested4 ,there was no real pain or 
sorrow in any one which did not touch   
his heart and stir his compassion4  ,he 
bore the sicknesses of his friends1 and 
carried their sorrows1 entering with    
wonderful love into every human         
experience4  ,but he did more than feel 
with those who were suffering1 and weep 
beside them4  ,his sympathy was always  
for their strengthening4  ,he never     
encouraged exaggerated thoughts of pain 
or suffering--for in many minds there is
 a tendency to such feelings4  ,he never
 gave countenance to morbidness1        

self-pity1 or any kind of               
unwholesomeness in grief4  ,he never    
spoke of sorrow or trouble in a         
despairing way4  ,he sought to inculcate
 hope1 and to make men braver and       
stronger4  ,his ministry was always     
toward cheer and encouragement4 ,he gave
 great eternal truths on which his      
friends might rest in their sorrow1 and 
then bade them be of good cheer1        
assuring them that he had overcome the  
world4  ,he gave them his peace and his 
joy2 not sinking down into the depths of
 sad helplessness with them1 but rather 
lifting them up to sympathy with him in 
his victorious life4  ,the wondrous     
hopefulness of ,jesus pervades all his  
ministry on behalf of others4  ,he was  
never discouraged4  ,every sorrow was to
 him a path to a deeper joy4  ,every    
battle was a way to the blessing of     
victoriousness4  ,every load under which
 men bent was a secret of new strength4 
,in all loss gain was infolded4  ,jesus 
lived this life himself2 it was no mere 

theory which he taught to his followers1
 and had never tried or proved himself4 
,he never asked his friends to accept   
any such untested theories4  ,he lived  
all his own lessons4  ,he was not a mere
 teacher2 he was a leader of men4  ,thus
 his strong friendship was full of      
magnificent inspiration4  ,he called men
 to new things in life1 and was ready to
 help them reach the highest            
possibilities in achievement and        
attainment4  ,this friendship of ,jesus 
is the inspiration which is lifting the 
world toward divine ideals4  ,i1 if ,i  
be lifted up from the earth1 will draw  
all men unto me1 was the stupendous     
promise and prophecy of ,jesus1 as his  
eye fell on the shadow of the cross at  
his feet1 and he thought of the fruits  
of his great sorrow and the influence of
 his love4  ,every life that is         
struggling to reach the beauty and      
perfectness of ,god's thought for it is 
feeling the power of this blessed       
friendship1 and is being lifted up into 

the likeness of the ,master4  ,this     
friendship of ,jesus waits as a mighty  
divine yearning at the door of every    
human heart  ,behold1 ,i stand at the   
door1 and knock1 is its call4  ,if any  
man hear my voice1 and open the door1 ,i
 will come in to him1 and will sup with 
him1 and he with me4  ,this blessed     
friendship waits before each life1 waits
 to be accepted1 waits to receive       
hospitality4  ,wherever it is received1 
it inspires in the heart a heavenly love
 which transforms the whole life4  ,to  
be a friend of ,christ is to be a child 
of ,god in the goodly fellowship of     
heaven4       ,rev4 ,dr4 ,miller's      
,books     ,a ,,heart ,,garden          
,,building ,,of ,,character   ,,come    
,,ye ,,apart   ,,dr4 ,,miller',s ,,year 
,,book   ,,evening ,,thoughts   ,,every 
,,day ,,of ,,life   ,,finding ,,the     
,,way   ,,for ,,the ,,best ,,things     
,,glimpses ,,through ,,life',s ,,windows
   ,,golden ,,gate ,,of ,,prayer        
,,hidden ,,life   ,,joy ,,of ,,service  

,,lesson ,,of ,,love   ,,making ,,the   
,,most ,,of ,,life   ,,ministry ,,of    
,,comfort   ,,morning ,,thoughts        
,,personal ,,friendships ,,of ,,jesus   
,,silent ,,times   ,,story ,,of ,a      
,,busy ,,life   ,,strength ,,and        
,,beauty   ,,things ,,to ,,live ,,for   
,,upper ,,currents   ,,when ,,the ,,song
 ,,begins   ,,wider ,,life   ,,young    
,,people',s ,,problems     ,booklets    
,,beauty ,,of ,,kindness   ,,blessing   
,,of ,,cheerfulness   ,,by ,,the ,,still
 ,,waters   ,,christmas ,,making        
,,cure ,,for ,,care   ,,face ,,of ,,the 
,,master   ,,gentle ,,heart   ,,girls2  
,,faults ,,and ,,ideals   ,,glimpses    
,,of ,,the ,,heavenly ,,life   ,,how8   
,,when8  ,,where8   ,,in ,,perfect      
,,peace   ,,inner ,,life   ,,loving ,,my
 ,,neighbor   ,,marriage ,,altar        
,,mary ,,of ,,bethany   ,,secret ,,of   
,,gladness   ,,secrets ,,of ,,happy     
,,home ,,life   ,,summer ,,gathering    
,,to-,,day ,,and ,,to-,,morrow          
,,transfigured ,,life   ,,turning       

,,northward   ,,unto ,,the ,,hills      
,,young ,,men2 ,,faults ,,and ,,ideals  
,thomas ,y4 ,crowell  ,company