,a ,,layman',s ,,life ,,of ,,jesus ,illustration3 logo ,a ,,layman',s ,,life ,,of ,,jesus ,,by ,,major ,s4 ,h4 ,m4 ,,byers ,,of ,,general ,,sherman',s ,,staff ,author of ,with ,fire and ,sword1 ,sherman's ,march to the ,sea1 ,iowa in ,war ,times1 ,twenty ,years in ,europe1 and of other books ,illustration3 ,publisher's ,mark ,,new ,,york ,,the ,,neale ,,publishing ,,company #aiab ,copyright1 #aiab1 by ,,the ,,neale ,,publishing ,,company ,,preface ,every book should have a purpose4 ,the object of this little volume is to try and harmonize1 in a sense1 and bring nearer to us1 the story of the ,master4 ,it is free from the fog of creed1 and the simple picture of the ,times and the ,man may help to waken new interest1 especially with the young in the greatest tale of the world4 ,h4 ,s4 ,m4 ,b4 ,des ,moines1 ,sept4 #c1 #aiab4 ,,contents ,,page ,,chapter ,i #g ,palestine two thousand years ago4 ,the ,little ,land of ,galilee4 ,an ,oriental ,village4 ,the ,boy ,carpenter4 ,,chapter ,,ii #ab ,a ,boy of ,babylon4 ,the ,founder of ,judaism4 ,philo1 the ,philosopher4 ,an out-door ,man4 ,the ,poet-,carpenter4 ,staying in the ,desert4 ,the ,silence of ,history4 ,where was ,jesus in these silent years8 ,,chapter ,,iii #bc ,christ still a ,jew4 ,is the ,child's escape at ,bethlehem still a secret8 ,performing wonders4 ,a strange age4 ,rome still in the thrall of ,heathendom4 ,augustus dead4 ,tiberius the ,awful4 ,palestine itself half ,heathen4 ,a ,religious ,enthusiast4 ,jesus is ceasing to be a ,jew4 ,a church tyranny4 ,subjects of ,csar4 ,human suffering counted for nothing with the ,romans4 ,the ,jews are longing for the ,new ,time when ,god might come and rule the world in ,pity4 ,an age of ,superstitions and ,magic4 ,laws of ,science unknown4 ,nobody even knew that the world was round4 ,,chapter ,,iv #da ,the ,fairy ,prince4 ,his ,home is everywhere4 ,john the ,baptist is preaching down by ,jericho4 ,the young ,jesus hears of him and goes a hundred miles on foot to see him4 ,a stranger steps down to the ,river to be baptized4 ,look quick1 it is the ,lamb of ,god6 ,john is put to death in a palace by the ,dead ,sea4 ,a ,woman's ,revenge4 ,,chapter ,v #ee ,an ,oriental ,wedding1 and the first miracle4 ,jairus4 ,little ,maid1 ,arise4 ,the ,light of the ,world4 ,the ,poet of the ,lord4 ,do we know what a ,miracle is8 ,,chapter ,,vi #fg ,a wandering ,teacher4 ,lives in a borrowed house at ,capernaum4 ,the ,testament ,books1 fragments written from memory4 ,the whole ,law of ,life boiled down to ,seven ,words4 ,he visits ,tyre by the ,ocean4 ,walking on the ,sea4 ,a hard saying1 and not understood4 ,his friends begin to leave ,him4 ,they demand ,wonders1 ,miracles4 ,raffael's great picture4 ,,chapter ,,vii #hb ,jesus goes alone and on foot to ,jerusalem1 to try and prove ,himself4 ,in six months they will kill ,him4 ,the rich ,capital no place for ,socialism4 ,if thou be ,christ1 tell us1 plainly4 ,he is a fugitive from a city mob4 ,the ,raising of ,lazarus4 ,again the people are following ,him4 ,the great ,sanhedrin is alarmed4 ,this ,man has everybody believing on ,him4 ,he will create a ,revolution yet4 ,jerusalem is in political danger1 anyway2 so is the ,roman ,empire4 ,everything seems going to pieces4 ,this ,man has too many ,followers2 we must kill ,him4 ,judas is hired to betray ,him4 ,,chapter ,,viii #id ,the last supper4 ,leonardo's great picture4 ,betrayal4 ,with a rope around his neck the ,savior of mankind is dragged before a ,roman ,judge4 ,the scene at ,pilate's palace4 ,pilate's wife warns him4 ,the awful murder and the ,end4 ,a ,layman's ,life of ,jesus ,,chapter ,i ,palestine two thousand years ago4 ,the ,little ,land of ,galilee4 ,an ,oriental ,village4 ,the ,boy ,carpenter4 ,one of the beauty spots of the world1 a couple of thousand years ago1 was the little land of ,galilee1 in upper ,palestine4 ,that was a land for poets and painters4 ,lonesome1 deserted1 and little inhabited as it seems now1 there was a time when this little paradise of earth had many people and many handsome cities4 ,in my time1 says ,josephus1 there were not less than four hundred walled towns in ,galilee4 ,nature1 too1 was lavish in its gifts to this little land4 ,there were green valleys there1 picturesque mountains1 clear blue lakes1 running brooks1 and grassy fields4 ,an ,eastern sun shone on the province almost all the time4 ,there was no winter there4 ,like a diamond in the very heart of this beautiful land sat the town of ,nazareth1 ,the ,flower of ,galilee4 ,close by the village were the hills that fenced in the upper end of the plain of beautiful ,esdralon4 ,figs grew there at ,nazareth1 and oranges1 and grapes luscious and bountiful as nowhere else4 ,the flower-lined lanes stretched from the village clear down to the blue lake of ,galilee1 only a dozen miles or so away4 ,it must have been a delight to live in a climate so delicious1 in a land so lovely4 ,it all belonged to ,rome then1 as did the whole country known as ,palestine4 ,the ,romans had divided the land into three provinces1--,galilee1 ,samaria1 and ,judea1 with its splendid city of ,jerusalem1 then one of the noted capitals of the world4 ,governors or kings were appointed for these three provinces by the emperors at ,rome2 they were usually ,orientals4 ,just now two sons of ,herod the ,great1 oftener known as the splendid ,arab1 are ruling there4 ,the one named ,herod is at ,jerusalem2 his brother ,antipater1 or ,herod ,antipas1 is governing little ,galilee in the north end of ,palestine4 ,like many another ,oriental king he is an idle1 luxurious1 dissipated1 and corrupt ruler4 ,there is yet another brother of these two kings4 ,his name is ,philip1 and he lives in ,rome4 ,he has a very beautiful wife1 who some day is to bring great trouble on the world1 for ,antipater will yet desert his ,galilean queen and marry this ,roman beauty4 ,it is all in the time of the great ,augustus that we are talking of now4 ,in ,rome it is called the ,golden ,age4 ,it is not quite that in ,palestine4 ,yet the world's greatest era is just beginning there4 ,in how small a territory the world's greatest deeds are about to be enacted6 ,palestine1 taken all together1 did not make much of a country in area2 many of the states in the ,american union have more square miles1 but all the nations in the world combined have no such history4 ,palestine is a strip of territory reaching along the ,mediterranean for one hundred and fifty miles on one side1 and along the ,arabian desert on the other4 ,it is hardly over sixty miles across4 ,it is topographically of the most diversified character4 ,it has some beautiful valleys and purling streams2 it has mountains1 too1 lofty and desolate1 and its principal lakes are almost a thousand feet below the level of the sea4 ,the whole land is cut in two lengthwise by the ,jordan river1 the most peculiar1 the most rapid1 and the most historic river on the face of the earth4 ,we are now in ,galilee4 ,in the midst of the wonderful beauty of the scene at ,nazareth any one would be attracted by the appearance of a youth there who is just out of school4 ,this ,nazareth1 though not ,his birthplace1 is ,his home2 here all ,his brothers and sisters and cousins live4 ,in a village close by ,his mother ,mary was born4 ,the boy's own birth was at a country inn up near ,jerusalem1 at a time when ,his parents had gone there to pay taxes1 and be counted as citizens of the ,roman empire4 ,the lovely little village where this youth is1 happy among ,his kith and kin1 is not unlike many an ,oriental village of to-day4 ,strange little stone-paved streets run into the open square where the fountain of the village is4 ,and this is the fountain where1 on summer evenings1 the village girls1 among them the beautiful ,mary herself1 came for water4 ,the little square1 and the streets1 and possibly some of the old houses1 and the ruins of the fountain are there yet1 in this #aiab1 and clustering vines and roses are still there--and so too are the clear skies1 the starlit nights1 the purple hills1 and the dark-eyed women1 just as in the long ago4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,boy of ,babylon4 ,the ,founder of ,judaism4 ,philo1 the ,philosopher4 ,an out-door ,man4 ,the ,poet-,carpenter4 ,staying in the ,desert4 ,the ,silence of ,history4 ,where was ,jesus in these silent years8 ,let us go back to that long ago for a little while4 ,at the foot of one of the little streets1 close by the square and the fountain1 stands a simple shop for carpenters4 ,at the door1 ax and saw in hand1 we see again that ,galilean youth4 ,he is a carpenter's apprentice now1 and is working with ,joseph1 ,his father4 ,he is tall and beautiful1 ,his eyes are blue1 and very mild--,his hair is yellow4 ,he is wearing the working-man's costume common to ,galileans of ,his age4 ,he is perhaps twenty--handsome in countenance1 and kindly beyond expression4 ,he has long since finished with the little village school1 where the tasks consisted only in chanting verses from the ,scriptures with the other boys and girls of the village4 ,but as ,he was apt1 ,he has learned the ,scriptures well4 ,he knows them by heart almost2 and later at the synagogue ,he heard the priests read from the ,great ,hillel1 the ,babylonian1 who is writing and saying things about life1 religion1 and the ,scriptures that are shaking the religious world4 ,philo1 also1 ,he almost knows by heart4 ,he also knows the ,psalms of ,david1 the ,proverbs of ,solomon1 as well as the aphorisms and maxims1 the dreams and stories of great men who were writing in ,palestine just before ,he was born4 ,it was a day of maxims in literature4 ,men wrote short1 strong1 simple sentences1 full of thought4 ,their sayings were easy to remember4 ,indeed1 even to-day1 there is no book so easy to commit to memory as the ,bible4 ,the young carpenter stored them all in a retentive mind4 ,some day ,he would have use for them4 ,at times the youth stops ,his work and talks with ,his father ,joseph about the magnificent temple that ,herod is just completing up there at ,jerusalem4 ,he has seen it often as a boy1 and ,he tells of the strange questions the priests there once asked ,him1 and how easily ,he answered every one4 ,he is talking in the peculiar ,arimean dialect1 a speech ridiculed in great ,jerusalem1 as everywhere else1 outside ,his ,galilee4 ,occasionally1 too1 ,he is relating to ,his father the beautiful aphorisms from the gentle ,hillel4 ,and who is this wonderful ,hillel of whom ,testament writers and teachers say almost nothing at all8 ,few of the young ever heard of him4 ,we must ask1 for some have even called him another ,jesus1 he was so good and great4 ,he was a very princely ,jew1 this ,hillel1 this lover of mankind1 this gentle and humane reformer1 whose life benefited the whole age in which he lived4 ,as a poor ,babylonian youth1 he went over to ,jerusalem to study under the great rabbis of the church4 ,he soon became very distinguished1 and through him ,jewish life and religion were reformed4 ,he is often called the founder of ,judaism as taught in the ,talmud4 ,herod made him president of the great ,sanhedrin1 with the title of prince1 and the honor descended in his family4 ,his aphorisms1 his maxims1 his wise sayings were known to every ,jew in ,palestine1 and affected all ,jewish life4 ,one of his sayings was3 ,do not unto others what thou wouldst not have done unto thyself4 ,this is the whole law2 the rest go and finish4 ,another3 ,do not believe in thyself till the day of thy death4 ,again3 ,if ,i do not care for my soul1 who will do it for me8 ,still one3 ,say not ,i will repent at leisure4 ,leisure may never come4 ,and another3 ,whosoever is ambitious of aggrandizing his name will destroy it4 ,beyond a doubt1 many of the sayings of this great and gentle teacher were as familiar to the young carpenter working at ,his bench in little ,nazareth as the ,galilean's own sayings are to the youth of to-day4 ,hillel was thirty years older than ,christ1 and survived ,him ten years4 ,many of the heart-sayings of the ,master can be traced to ,hillel1 to ,philo1 the ,egyptian1 or to ,moses4 ,let us not forget that ,he was human--divinely so--and that ,his mind1 like that of any other human being1 was susceptible to the teachings1 the sayings1 the surroundings that were nearest4 ,he not only absorbed all1 ,he refined all4 ,philo was another of the great philosophers whose works helped to influence the young ,galilean4 ,he1 though a ,jew1 lived all his life in ,egypt4 ,there he wrote maxims worthy of the ,master himself4 ,he was twenty years older than the ,galilean4 ,he had studied ,plato1 and spent his life in trying to harmonize religious ,greek thought with the thoughts of ,moses1 the lawgiver of the ,jews4 ,we will hear little in our ,testament writers of these two wise men1 who must have had a tremendous influence on the youth at ,nazareth4 ,indeed1 as already said1 the ,testament anyway tells us not much of the life at ,galilee1 or elsewhere4 ,the larger part of the ,testament story relates to the deeds of the passion week1 or the last days of the ,master's life4 ,one-third of the book is taken up with that single week4 ,it has been guessed that had the details of the ,galilean's whole life been written out fully1 it would have made a book eighty times as big as our ,bible4 ,the things that the ,galileans heard in the village synagogue1 the things that ,he read in the old ,scriptures1 all1 all that found its way to the village from ,hillel1 from ,philo1 and other men renowned then1 and forgotten now1 were reflected in ,him4 ,more1 ,he beautified all1 simplified all1 glorified all4 ,most of all1 however1 ,his divine instinct enlarged itself from scenes in nature4 ,the young carpenter was a poet4 ,no beauty of the fields1 the hills1 the brooks1 the lovely lake escaped ,his eye1 or failed to feed ,his soul4 ,he was an outdoor man4 ,scarcely one of ,his miracles later1 but would be performed out of doors4 ,the wedding at ,cana was probably on the green lawn of a peasant's home4 ,the stilling of the tempest1 the feeding of the five thousand1 the transfiguration1 the numberless wonders and cures in all the ,galilean villages were nearly always performed out of doors4 ,half ,his parables have to do with things out of doors4 ,to ,him ,god was in everything--the rocks1 the trees1 the blue sky of ,galilee1 the very desolation of the ,dead sea inspired ,him4 ,how often the ,testament tells of ,his flying away from crowds to be alone with nature4 ,is it not altogether possible1 almost certain1 that these long absences were in the wilderness of the desert8 ,his long stay in solitary places1 later1 communing with ,god at first hand1 may they not account for so much of the silence of history as to much of ,his life8 ,it need not seem strange to us at all4 ,in the old ,jewish days half a lifetime of contemplation in the solitude of the desert was regarded by every one a first step to leadership4 ,whoever sought a high religious calling1 or sought to be a founder of a new belief1 went through this solitary preparation in the desert4 ,even ,moses did it1 and spent forty years as a shepherd on the plains4 ,john did it1 ,jerome did it1 ,mahomet did it4 ,why not ,jesus8 ,even great teachers of modern times locked themselves up in the desert of cloister cells for years4 ,savonarola did it--,martin ,luther did it--,assisi did it--so did a thousand other luminaries of the religious world4 ,certainly most of the ,galilean's life is a blank to human history1 otherwise not explained4 ,why should ,he not have been absent in some desert solitude1 some wilderness1 preparing for immortal deeds1 immortal words8 ,there is absolutely no other explanation for these silent years4 ,how little the youth at this moment is dreaming of all that future as ,he works by ,his father's side1 or goes about the village encouraging and helping by ,his gentle smile6 ,he is healing by ,his strong faith and ,his pure soul4 ,the poor love ,him1 not yet knowing who ,he is4 ,he himself does not know4 ,we even wonder if ,he knows how it is that ,he helps so many4 ,he is no magician1 no doer of wonders just to make a show4 ,perhaps ,he only knows as yet that goodness and kindness and love and extreme faith can do everything4 ,anyway ,he is the loved of every one4 ,how easy it all is to be loved4 ,one can be just a carpenter1 and yet by love do everything4 ,of all things ,he is a helper of the poor1 the unfortunate4 ,sometimes the very ignorant adopt the notion that salvation is for the poor only4 ,they1 too1 misunderstand and exaggerate4 ,a little later a sect of the overzealous poor build a church on the theory that the poor only1 go to ,heaven4 ,they call themselves ,ebionites1 or ,the ,poor4 ,of course1 these sects in a few years ended in religious suicide4 ,they had forgotten that the ,galilean could be no respecter of class or persons4 ,to-morrow this young carpenter1 this village doctor1 will again disappear in the wilderness of the desert2 who knows how long8 ,old church writings say that ,he was seven years in the desert of ,egypt as a child4 ,he is used to solitude4 ,legends tell1 too1 that ,he studied law in these days--by law they meant the books of ,moses and the prophets4 ,likely enough ,he took the parchment rolls with ,him1 and in the long days there in the desert learned them all by heart4 ,later ,he will tell all the people to go and read the same great ,scriptures4 ,what ,his life may have been at such times in the desert we can more than guess4 ,it was a meditation1 an inspiration4 ,it is told of ,john the ,baptist1 whose coming birth like that of ,christ was announced by an angel1 that he also spent years as a hermit of the desert1 and in its solitude learned a language and received a revelation not vouchsafed to ordinary man4 ,what then must the great soul of the ,galilean not have absorbed there alone with the voice of the great creation speaking to ,him all the day--the night there with the floor of ,heaven inlaid with patines of bright gold1 and the music of the spheres sounding in his ears forever4 ,his was a soul to enjoy and to be inspired with such a scene4 ,little as the sacred writings tell of ,him1 silent as history is in the ,galilean days1 we have other glimpses of the times1 and of what ,he was doing1 by reading the old books1 now called ,apocryphal1 that were discarded from our present ,testament in the fourth century4 ,why all of them were discarded1 is hard to imagine2 for1 though buried in an ocean of nonsense and legend1 there was still at the bottom of them a grain of pure gold4 ,besides1 for over three centuries these discarded books were regarded as part of the sacred writings4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,christ still a ,jew4 ,is the ,child's escape at ,bethlehem still a secret8 ,performing wonders4 ,a strange age4 ,rome still in the thrall of ,heathendom4 ,augustus dead4 ,tiberius the ,awful4 ,palestine itself half ,heathen4 ,a ,religious ,enthusiast4 ,jesus is ceasing to be a ,jew4 ,a church tyranny4 ,subjects of ,caesar4 ,human suffering counted for nothing with the ,romans4 ,the ,jews are longing for the ,new ,time when ,god might come and rule the world in ,pity4 ,an age of ,superstitions and ,magic4 ,laws of ,science unknown4 ,nobody even knew that the world was round4 ,but let us go back there to ,galilee and stay yet a while with the village carpenter4 ,the youth is older now4 ,perhaps ,he is going back and forth between ,galilee and the solitude of the wilderness4 ,this so-called wilderness is nothing more than the secret hills beyond the ,jordan1 or the mysterious edge of the near-by desert coming up to them like a speechless sea4 ,at this moment ,he is again in ,nazareth1 and the wondering villagers again see ,him at ,his daily toil4 ,he is still learning by rote the striking maxims and proverbs of the ,jewish masters4 ,he is yet a ,jew4 ,like all ,israel ,he is counting on the completion of prophecy2 a new world is sure to come soon--and with it a king from ,heaven4 ,it will be a glorious thing1 that new world1 that great king4 ,the villagers familiarly call ,him ,jesus--but they know nothing of the beautiful tradition of ,his birth--how an angel had announced it to ,mary1 and how ,his name was fixed in ,heaven4 ,no--,mary had meditated much on the angel's visit and on what the angel had said to her1 but steadily she had kept the great secret in her own heart4 ,she had not even whispered to the villagers about the shepherds and the star at ,bethlehem1 nor the sudden flight of herself and the child to far-off ,egypt4 ,why1 her secrecy is just now hard to guess4 ,is it possible that ,herod or his successor1 who would have slain the child1 is still watching for ,him--not knowing even of the return from ,egypt years ago8 ,even now one indiscreet word from her might cause ,his death4 ,we wonder if now1 on this day1 there in ,his father's workshop1 the youth dreams that some day ,he is to be a king1 and that of his kingdom there will be no end8 ,i think not4 ,he is not publicly preaching now4 ,that1 ,luke says1 will come much later4 ,but what delightful whisperings go about ,galilee concerning ,him already4 ,possibly these beautiful heart-stories about ,himself were as familiar to the young carpenter then as they now are to every reader of the sacred book4 ,he may have known of them1 thought of them1 but ,he1 too1 kept them largely to ,himself4 ,it was an age of prophecies1 of dreams1 of visions1 of fables1 and of superstitious tales4 ,perhaps ,he was waiting to see if the angel's words to ,mary were to be fulfilled4 ,two thousand years have not dimmed the beauty of the wondrous tale told of ,mary and the child4 ,if parts of it were only the longings of a few persons' imaginations1 we may never clearly know1 nor is it of the least importance that we should know4 ,the happenings at the birth of the world's great ones have little to do with the grandeur of their lives4 ,yes1 the young carpenter1 with the tender eyes and the radiant face1 may have known of some of these wonderful sayings about ,himself4 ,mary must have told ,him some of them2 and ,joseph working at ,his side must have told ,him how1 on ,his account1 the little children had been murdered at ,bethlehem1 and how narrow ,his own escape had been when he and ,mary and the child had hurried away to ,egypt4 ,we can imagine the wonderful incidents told by ,joseph of that strange flight into a foreign country4 ,our ,testament barely mentions it4 ,his birth is almost the only bit of history the ,testament gives us of almost twenty-five years of the ,galilean's life4 ,they went to ,egypt to escape the wrath of the tyrant ,herod4 ,old writings tell us of two1 even seven1 years in ,egypt1 and of child-miracles in that far-away land4 ,of all this our accepted ,testament tells us nothing4 ,hearing that the tyrant was long dead1 ,joseph and ,mary and the child secretly returned to the old home in ,galilee4 ,are they living there in secret yet--and is the new king at ,jerusalem wondering if they are alive--and does he too want the child's blood in case ,he was not killed that night at ,bethlehem1 and does he wonder what became of the wise men of the east who saw the child1 but dared not go back to tell it8 ,does he wonder if they are somewhere in hiding yet8 ,does he dream that this youth in ,galilee is possibly the child the shepherds told of that wonderful night8 ,just now we still see ,him standing by the little carpenter shop1 ax in hand1 possibly thinking of what ,his father has told ,him of ,his youth2 or of what ,mary hinted to ,him of the bright ,angel of the ,annunciation8 ,who knows8 ,we only guess at the secret1 for history1 sacred and profane1 has left it all a blank4 ,we only know that it was a feeling of the whole ,jewish race that an aspirant to leadership must1 first of all1 retire to the desert and live for years in solitude1 just as ,elias had done4 ,it has been said that a retreat to the desert was the condition of and the prelude to high destinies4 ,the ,galilean knew all about these men1 from ,moses and ,elias down to ,john1 who found their inspiration on the desert1 or in secret places4 ,if ,he was not much in the desert in these unknown years1 where then was ,he1 that no one tells of ,him8 ,was there indeed nothing for ,matthew1 nor ,mark1 nor ,luke1 nor ,john1 nor ,josephus1 nor anybody else to write about ,him8 ,was it all a blank these long years8 ,if secrecy from ,herod1 or from his successor ,archelaus1 was needed--that would account for everything1 even for the whole world's silence4 ,this retreat for meditation would not hinder that at far intervals ,he return a little to ,his home in ,galilee1 where we see ,him now with that ineffable smile of kindness on ,his face and tenderness shining in ,his eyes4 ,the peasants passing by are uplifted1 moved by ,his tender compassionate look4 ,they wonder why4 ,they wonder too where ,he has been so long1 and before they are done wondering ,he is gone4 ,sometimes ,he disappears so suddenly--it was just as if a spirit had come and gone4 ,is ,he again in ,his hermit cave now beyond the ,jordan8 ,sometimes when there at home1 as now1 ,he has quietly taught the villagers of truth2 ,he has blessed the poor2 ,he has healed the sick2 ,he has performed wonders1 and they know not how it is done4 ,some day ,he will tell them all4 ,it is a strange age ,he has been living in4 ,let us look at it for a little while4 ,this ,palestine boy had been just fourteen years old when the news came that the great ,augustus at ,rome was dead1 and that the awful and licentious emperor ,tiberius was governing the ,roman empire4 ,just now the ,galilean is twenty-six1 and other news comes--that ,tiberius has gone to the heavenly little island of ,capri in the ,mediterranean sea1 and is there holding a court that shall shock the world4 ,no wonder the youth begins to think1 with all ,his people1 that ,god must soon send somebody to put an end to the wickedness of kings4 ,antipater1 the idle and licentious favorite at ,rome1 still rules over little ,galilee as governor1 or king4 ,the ,roman empire is still in the thrall of perfect heathendom4 ,there are half as many ,gentiles as ,jews in ,palestine itself4 ,all over the land beautiful monuments are erected by ,rome to the heathen gods4 ,the young ,nazarene can walk across the hills to ,sidon by the sea any day and hear the people chanting hymns to ,jupiter and ,apollo4 ,as for ,himself1 ,he is still a ,jew1 like most of ,his countrymen2 only now1 like ,philo and like ,hillel1 and like ,john and others1 ,he is more than a ,jew2 ,he is passing out of the old doctrines of the ,jewish church into the broad daylight of truth4 ,he will yet help to do away with the ,mosaic law4 ,in a private way1 yet unheard of outside of little ,galilee1 ,he himself is teaching that ,god is a spirit1 and must be worshiped in spirit and not in form1 and not in heathen idols1 nor in the way they are doing it at ,jerusalem4 ,god had already become tired of the burnt offering of rams and of the blood of beasts4 ,isaiah had told them that1 long ago4 ,this ,galilean will go on repeating it so long as ,he shall live4 ,like the great ,hillel1 ,he would teach common justice to man--love for one another--charity to all4 ,this was to be the great commandment4 ,we are not sure1 but in a vague way this young ,galilean already feels the mantle of a prophet falling about ,him4 ,he is saying nothing exactly new to ,his ,galilean neighbors--but ,he is saying it in a new and gracious way1 and they listen to ,him as ,he converses in the shop1 or on the street4 ,he sees and feels ,god in the beautiful nature all about ,him there in ,galilee1 yet more ,he feels ,god in himself4 ,man holds in himself tremendous hidden powers4 ,science is rapidly unveiling them4 ,they were being unveiled to a degree by the ,greeks even in the time of this young carpenter2 but the ,jewish people neither believed in nor heeded a school that gave an explanation of things marvelous4 ,they were set in their superstition4 ,no book that described certain fixed laws of nature was1 for one moment1 to take the place of ,moses and the prophets4 ,even the ,galilean himself is clinging to these old ,bible poems4 ,it is the wrong interpretation of them1 possibly1 by ,himself sometimes1 that is driving ,him to a religious rebellion4 ,the great church doctors might not like it1 were they to hear it--this young carpenter with the soft words1 and the radiance in ,his face1 slipping back and forth from ,galilee to the desert and from the desert to ,galilee1 proselyting the peasants1 and telling them that ,god is not to be worshiped in the semi-heathen manner in which they are doing it at ,jerusalem4 ,yet1 no matter4 ,what care the great religious doctors at the ,sacred ,city8 ,who ever heard of this ,galilean carpenter anyway1 or of ,his reforms8 ,some day1 and soon1 they will hear of ,him4 ,they have already heard of ,john1 but they are about to settle the score with ,john4 ,his extremeness and his violence of speech have attracted the attention of the king of ,galilee1 and soon news will come that ,john's head on a platter has paid for the lascivious dancing of a girl at court4 ,some old writers say it was the king's own daughter who did the dancing that night in ,antipater's palace by the ,dead sea4 ,anyway1 the voice of him who called in the wilderness1 is soon to be stilled forever4 ,no1 the carpenter's name has not yet reached outside ,his ,galilee4 ,aside from an occasional journey to ,jerusalem when ,he was younger and ,his foot tramps to the solitude by the desert1 there is little to tell that ,he has been outside the little province where ,he was born4 ,his life in ,his home village1 aside from ,his carpenter work1 is that of a religious enthusiast4 ,some will call ,him even a visionary4 ,he has heard so much of a coming king and an overturning of everything in the world that ,he himself almost begins to look for something extraordinary4 ,why not8 ,he is yet a ,jew1 and the teaching of the rabbis and of the ,old ,scriptures has been the coming of some kind of a king--a great ,messiah1 who1 from out little ,palestine1 shall rule the world in an age of gold4 ,the age1 perhaps1 is taking something out of the ,bible that is not in it4 ,our own age has done that many times4 ,is it doing it to-day8 ,never in this world did imagination reach so high a pitch as it did among the ,jews in that wonderful time4 ,nothing was talked of or thought of1 but the coming golden age and the new king1 riding in a chariot of the clouds4 ,it was not only a very expectant1 superstitious age1 it had been a troubled one4 ,the world had been full of disorder1 conflict4 ,everywhere had been war and tyranny4 ,especially1 the whole ,jewish race1 the especial people of ,god1 had known too often only of tyranny and sorrow4 ,even their own church1 and church was the government with them1 had drifted into a religious tyranny--the worst tyranny of all4 ,it was1 too1 hemmed in by the awfullest form and ceremony4 ,no one in this twentieth century who is not familiar with the ,jewish ,talmud and the earlier writings1 can have the remotest conception of the thousand formalities1 ceremonies1 mummeries even1 imposed upon the people of the church in the olden days4 ,later1 ten volumes of the ,talmud will be required to explain1 to interpret1 establish1 and to write down the manner in which the commonest things of life might be done4 ,the great ,sanhedrin1 or ,supreme ,court and ,senate of the ,jews at ,jerusalem1 together with the scribes and priests about the temple1 seemed banded together to make religion an awful1 unbearable burden1 and life a farce4 ,though all ,palestine was a ,roman province the ,romans interfered but little with this religious despotism4 ,the ,romans had enough wrongs of their own to inflict upon the people4 ,the whole race of ,jews in their home government had their own laws1 their own ,jewish customs1 habits1 and religion4 ,the ,romans simply made them subjects of ,csar1 and they rendered unto ,csar only that which was ,csar's1 as this youth of ,galilee1 later1 would suggest their doing4 ,the empire collected taxes1 very heavy ones1 from the people1 and occasionally forced them into its armies4 ,the ,roman eagles and the ,roman soldiers were familiar sights in every town and village of ,palestine4 ,the ,romans usually had enough to do at home to disincline them from bothering themselves too much with the religion of the ,jews4 ,wars they had had everywhere4 ,but just now1 at the time of the ,master's coming1 there was a sort of peace in the world--a truce for breath1 as it were4 ,that is to say1 the ,roman empire that has its foot on almost the whole earth is resting a little4 ,rome's untold horrors1 wars1 corruptions1 its licentiousness1 its inhumanity to man1 its blood and outrages have stopped their course at the eternal city for a little while4 ,it is almost out of victims4 ,violence has ceased1 only because violence has done its work4 ,the social conditions at ,rome just before ,augustus came to the throne were too terrible to be believed4 ,that some of this outrage and terror had spread into the provinces of ,palestine through governors and petty kings1 appointed by1 and tools of ,rome1 is only too well known4 ,herod himself was bloody enough to have served as an example for the worst the ,roman empire1 even1 could endure4 ,in ,palestine1 however1 the great ,jewish church served somewhat as a little hindering-wall to the element that had been almost crushing decent humanity out of the world4 ,all the states1 like ,palestine1 bordering on the ,mediterranean1 says a distinguished historian1 simply looked at one another--partakers of a common misfortune4 ,they were tranquil1 but it was the silence of despair4 ,man was not being considered as an individual by the ,romans any more2 he was only a thing4 ,human suffering in the provinces counted for nothing1 if only ,rome had some political gain4 ,if ,palestine1 or any other province1 had some advantage by the presence of ,roman legions1 it was purely incidental1 and scarcely intended4 ,at this very moment ,palestine is groaning under awful taxes paid to ,rome1 one-third of all produced1 the writers say4 ,no wonder the ,jews were longing for the new time1 the great time1 the king1 the ,old ,scriptures had told about4 ,they are so afflicted1 so depressed4 ,the government of man had been a failure with them4 ,would not the day soon be at hand when ,god himself1 through some vicegerent1 would come to the world and rule in pity8 ,then the wicked would no longer thrive1 the just would live in delight1 the very face of the world would be changed1 all would be transformed into love and beauty1 and ,palestine would be the heart of the new world1 and ,jerusalem the capital of a perfected humanity4 ,the ,scriptures had said it4 ,the prophets had said it4 ,nursing these lovely and lofty expectations the ,jews patiently waited1 bearing with many wrongs4 ,all classes shared alike in the great delusion1 rich and poor1 high and low1 priest and peasant4 ,that a mighty king on his chariot was coming in the clouds was the common belief4 ,the too literal reading of the old-time prophets had led a whole race into a futile misconception4 ,the world was not coming to an end at all4 ,the ,jews were a people easily mis-led4 ,their confidence in the supernatural was overwhelming4 ,it was a quality inherited from their pagan ancestors4 ,their very neighbors were heathen and worshiped mystical gods4 ,tens of thousands1 mostly foreigners1 had set up heathen temples and consulted heathen oracles right there in ,galilee4 ,every time the young carpenter went to ,jerusalem ,his eyes fell on some vast edifice dedicated to ,jove or ,juno1 and strange gods were worshiped almost in the shadow of the great temple4 ,this was not all4 ,the very books read by the ,jewish priests in the synagogue1 or village churches1 were filled with superstitious tales1 with dreams and visions4 ,in these books the people were told of times when angels walked upon the earth--they would walk again was the belief4 ,the outcome of their wonderful superstitions1 teachings1 and their surroundings was an abject belief in marvels and impossibilities4 ,if the most cultured and thinking persons lost their confidence in the marvelous1 they kept it quiet4 ,it was1 besides1 a day of jugglers1 sleight of hand performers1 and magicians4 ,the peasants1 mostly half-educated1 could believe in anything4 ,there was no knowledge of science available to show them the utter falsehood of things their eyes seemed to behold4 ,the commonest laws of nature were not understood4 ,the priests themselves did not know that the world was round4 ,the common people were sufficiently credulous to accept the most astounding things4 ,in short1 the astounding things were to them the natural things1 the expected4 ,no wonder they misunderstood the old prophets of the ,bible1 and the signs of the times4 ,no wonder they were believing and alarmed when ,john1 hurrying from the wilderness1 shouted to them to be ready1 to hurry to the ,jordan river1 confess1 and be baptized4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,the ,fairy ,prince4 ,his ,home is everywhere4 ,john the ,baptist is preaching down by ,jericho4 ,the young ,jesus hears of him and goes a hundred miles on foot to see him4 ,a stranger steps down to the ,river to be baptized4 ,look quick1 it is the ,lamb of ,god6 ,john is put to death in a palace by the ,dead ,sea4 ,a ,woman's ,revenge4 ,the young carpenter in his pretty ,galilean village was1 in a way1 a witness of these strange things4 ,he heard in the synagogue the report that the world was coming to an end4 ,he1 too1 had read the awful forebodings in the ,old ,scriptures4 ,he may1 too1 have believed in the coming disaster1 but it is not likely4 ,vaguely1 ,he interpreted the ,old ,bible to mean something else4 ,between its lines ,he saw the shadow coming of a spiritual1 not an earthly king4 ,who that king should be1 ,he never dreamed4 ,the voice of ,john ,he only heard in the distance--far down by ,jericho1 and amidst the desolation of the ,dead ,sea4 ,the cry of the ,baptist scarcely reached to remote little ,galilee4 ,he had no dreams1 this ,galilean youth1 no visions to tell ,him of a glory coming to ,himself4 ,it is to be remarked even that visions and dreams never came to ,him at all as they seem to have come to ,daniel1 to ,buddha1 to ,confucius and to ,mahomet4 ,neither by vision nor voice was ,he bidden to go to some great work4 ,he was not clothed with infinite power at the time we are speaking of2 ,he was simply a sweet and beautiful ,galilean youth1 with the grace of ,god upon ,him4 ,in all ,palestine now people were not agreed as to what the new kingdom that was coming to the world would be4 ,some looked for the earth suddenly to be crashed to pieces4 ,some looked simply for a renewal of the earth4 ,some said the righteous dead would come out of their graves and help govern4 ,some said all nature would be changed1 and a wondrous king would come straight from ,heaven4 ,when the simple folks of ,galilee talked to the ,carpenter about it1 ,he told them they were all mistaken4 ,it was the ,kingdom of ,heaven that was coming1 he said--a revolution in human hearts1 when mankind would be made better1 and every one would do as he would be done by4 ,it is doubtful if they understood ,him4 ,that1 they felt1 was not what the ,scriptures had said2 and doubtless many began to think the wonderful teacher wandering in ,his mind4 ,yet many believed on ,him4 ,for a little while now ,he goes about ,his beautiful ,galilee like a fairy prince1 despite poverty and despite foes4 ,he is so gentle1 so kindly1 so loving to the poor6 ,he is the kind physician1 the balm in ,gilead4 ,for a while ,he is met with hosannas2 ,he has no riches1 but every peasant's house is ,his welcome home4 ,that transcendent smile1 that low sweet voice1 is ,his password to believing hearts4 ,he must be the coming king1 they think2 still1 they do not understand4 ,he is so simple1 so all-love4 ,he tells them that they themselves are the kingdom2 and again they do not understand4 ,surely ,thou art the ,son of ,god1 they cry1 and the ground ,he walks on is sacred4 ,some call ,him the ,son of ,god4 ,yet not once did ,he call himself the ,son of ,god4 ,it was the enthusiasts who called ,him that4 ,often ,he referred to himself as the ,son of ,man2 but1 in his ,syriac dialect1 the word signified only man4 ,after all it was only the village carpenter's son who was saying all these mysterious things6 ,in the days we are describing at ,galilee just now1 ,john the ,baptist is still crying to the people of ,jerusalem1 and along the ,jordan1 to hurry to the river1 to repent1 and to be baptized4 ,he has a school down there1 and disciples of his own4 ,they are greater extremists in their teaching than the quiet and lovable ,galilean1 who1 till now1 is hardly a public teacher at all4 ,john is not only prophesying a speedy coming of a new king to the world1 a ,messiah1 he is threatening an early destruction of almost everything1 save the lives of the baptized and the repentant4 ,he has alarmed all ,palestine4 ,a great moral and social earthquake is taking place4 ,nor is he backward about still condemning the king himself for his unlawful marriage4 ,the court is becoming disturbed1 and the doors of ,machero prison in a little while will open to the great prophet and preacher4 ,the alarm among the people everywhere continues very great4 ,thousands confess their sins1 enter the sacred river1 are baptized1 and now await the coming of the end of the world4 ,the young carpenter is just now in ,galilee1 perhaps for a little while only1 back again from a long absence of solitude in the desert4 ,louder and louder1 nearer and nearer1 comes to the youth at ,galilee that cry of ,john4 ,full of interest to see and hear the great reformer1 ,he1 and a few of ,his friends1 start for the ,jordan river4 ,it is nearly a hundred miles away1 to where ,john is1 and they go on foot4 ,let us also go to the ,jordan for a little while4 ,we turn our steps to ,bethabara--a little village up the river from the ,dead sea4 ,we see a great crowd of excited people there4 ,john himself is there4 ,he is still telling them of the coming king1 the ,messiah of the world4 ,but he does not dream from whence that king is to come--from earth1 or from ,heaven4 ,shortly something tells ,john that a great person1 unknown to him1 is there in the crowd1 and will ask to be baptized4 ,john wonders who it can be4 ,in a little while a stranger steps down to the river bank--goes to the water's edge and asks to be baptized4 ,john does not know ,him at first2 but shortly a spirit voice whispers to him1 ,it is the man from ,galilee4 ,it is the ,lord4 ,watch--and as ,he comes out of the river you will see the sign4 ,the ,holy ,spirit in the form of a dove will rest upon ,him6 ,overawed by the tremendous announcement1 ,john at first feared to baptize4 ,yes1 said the ,galilean1 let it be so1 and it was done4 ,as the stranger came up out of the water1 ,john saw the dove1 and1 to the amazement of all1 the ,heavens opened1 and a voice called1 ,this is my beloved son4 ,the astonishment of the multitude can never be imagined4 ,after two thousand years1 travelers cross the ocean simply to go and stand a moment in holy reverence at the spot where believers say ,god first spoke to ,christ on earth4 ,john at once told some of his disciples to look--quick--,it is the ,lamb of ,god4 ,two of these men followed the mysterious stranger1 saying1 ,master1 where dwellest ,thou8 ,he answered1 ,come and see1 and he took them with him for a day to ,his temporary lodging place in the village4 ,one of them was ,andrew1 who breathlessly hurried to his brother ,simon1 and told him the great news4 ,we have found the ,christ1 ,him of whom ,moses wrote4 ,other friends quickly gathered in1 and as one of them named ,nathaniel approached1 the ,galilean1 without knowing who it was1 called him by his right name4 ,a wonder had been performed4 ,it was enough4 ,thou art the ,son of ,god1 cried ,nathaniel1 and they would have worshiped ,him then and there4 ,thou shalt see yet greater things than these1 said the ,christ1 for it was indeed ,he1 and in a little time ,he slipped away to the desert as ,he had so often done before4 ,we will not follow ,him there1 though tradition tells strange and unexplainable things as to how ,satan tried to tempt ,him1 and how the temptation was resisted by the ,galilean1 though the nations of the world were offered ,him4 ,after forty days ,he returned and went to ,his dear1 sweet ,galilee4 ,we shall go along1 for there are troublous times by ,jerusalem and in ,judea4 ,in a little while1 too1 the king of ,galilee has thrown ,john into a prison that belongs to his dominions down near the ,dead ,sea4 ,john's religious1 revolutionary1 and semi-political preaching is at last too much for ,herod ,antipas4 ,possibly1 it was while he was yet in the desert that the ,master heard of the imprisonment of the prophet4 ,very shortly a strange message came from ,john to the ,man of ,galilee4 ,john has heard anew of the ,master's triumphs1 and two friends are sent to ,him to ask if ,he is indeed the ,christ--or1 do we look for another8 ,more proof1 it seems1 was wanted4 ,john had seen the dove that day at the river1 but ,john had never seen a miracle2 and in that day wonders and miracles were the only accepted proof4 ,the answer comes back to the prison by the ,dead ,sea1--,go and tell ,john the things which you do see and hear2 tell him how the blind are made to see1 the deaf to hear1 the lame to walk1 even the dead raised to life1 and the gospel preached to the poor4 ,if ,john got the answer we do not know4 ,it would be sad to reflect that ,john died without knowing that this young carpenter1 whom he baptized that day in the ,jordan1 was the ,messiah he had prophesied4 ,when the two messengers left1 it was then the ,galilean turned to the listening crowd and said1 ,among them that are born of women1 there has not risen a greater than ,john the ,baptist4 ,how believing hearts must have swelled when ,he added1 ,he who is least in the kingdom of ,heaven is greater than ,john4 ,the promise rings on these two thousand years1 and will ring on forever4 ,not long has the ,galilean been in ,his home when news comes of the awful tragedy back there by the ,dead ,sea where ,john is4 ,on the high and desolate rocks close to the ,dead ,sea there is a prison and a palace4 ,possibly there is not another citadel in the world built amidst such colossal1 such difficult scenery4 ,dark1 desolate mountains are all about it4 ,it is reached through almost inaccessible valleys4 ,near it the angry ,jordan1 with a roar1 tumbles into the ,dead ,sea and dies forever4 ,the ,dead ,sea itself sleeps a thousand feet below--and beyond the hills1 lies the burning desert4 ,altogether it is one of the most ,god-forsaken places in the world4 ,yet in the midst of this desolation an old king built the mighty fortress of ,machero4 ,it was destroyed upon a time1 and now ,herod ,antipas1 the ,galilean king1 has restored it in tenfold splendor4 ,in the center of it1 and on its highest crest1 he has built a gorgeous palace of ,oriental beauty4 ,far down under the marble floors of the palace is a prison4 ,let us for a moment look down that prison corridor4 ,in the farthest cell there is a familiar face4 ,it is the face of ,john--,john1 who1 only the other day we saw baptizing the ,lord in the river ,jordan4 ,he1 to whom thousands flocked to be baptized and saved from the coming destruction1 is himself in a felon's cell4 ,one wonders at the daring of it4 ,there are two reasons for it4 ,one--he had railed too often against the people in power1 and the hypocrisy of the times4 ,in his zeal for truth1 in his fearful warnings1 in his tremendous language1 it was honestly feared he might create a national disturbance4 ,the poor1 the uneducated1 the superstitious1 were massing themselves around him as if he were a god4 ,king ,antipas had gone to ,rome upon a time1 and1 being enamored with his brother ,philip's wife1 ran away with her to ,galilee4 ,her name was ,herodias4 ,john1 bold in this as in all things1 so old writers say1 told the adulterous couple what he thought of them4 ,he even told the king that he had poisoned his brother to get his widow4 ,the king personally had liked ,john1 and often listened to him gladly4 ,he knew1 too1 that ,john was adored by the people1 whose anger he had reason to fear4 ,but ,queen ,herodias had other thoughts4 ,john's accusations had insulted her4 ,she longed for some fierce revenge4 ,the time has come4 ,it is the birthday of the king1 and1 with ,herodias1 and an hundred courtiers1 captains and generals1 he has come to this grand palace and citadel of the mountains to celebrate it in an ,oriental fashion4 ,it is midnight in the palace1 but the gorgeous chambers are ablaze with light4 ,music and laughter resound from the open windows1 for it is a sultry night of ,june4 ,outside the castle1 it is inky darkness4 ,the mountains are tenfold desolate in their silence to-night--far below the ,dead ,sea sleeps in fearful midnight4 ,east of the sea1 and beyond the hills1 is the scorched and sandy desert4 ,it too sleeps--and is silent4 ,here and there a flash of far lightning crosses the horizon1 betokening a desert storm4 ,all is fearfully lonesome out there in the midnight of the mountains4 ,how different all within6 ,the gay scene grows gayer still--the bright lights grow brighter--the banqueters are glad with wine--a new flush is on every cheek1 joy and revelry fill the whole palace4 ,there seems nothing to add to the appetite of pleasure4 ,but wait--there is a dance--a beautiful young girl half-clad flies into the room2 the music changes--and in a moment she is executing a sensuous dance of the ,orientals4 ,she is the daughter of the queen1 and she is very beautiful4 ,that she is not a professional dancer--just a beautiful girl--adds to the sensuous delight4 ,quickly the dance is done--and amidst the applause of all the court1 and with flushed face1 she passes before the king and bows4 ,drunken with wine and the banquet1 the king seizes her hand and offers to reward her with whatever she may wish--if need be1 with half his kingdom4 ,what shall ,i ask of him8 she whispers to her mother4 ,herodias' chance had come4 ,revenge is sweet to evil people4 ,in a moment she thinks of ,john4 ,he is down there in the prison right below the banquet hall4 ,he has heard all the night's revelry--he has seen from his cell window the dancing lights reflected against the gray1 dark rocks outside4 ,yes1 revenge is sweet4 ,salome1 daughter1 tell him to kill ,john the ,baptist for you--to bring his head up here on a platter4 ,heavens6 was ever such a wish before6 ,there is a little pause4 ,again the fair girl is before the king4 ,she has said it4 ,unwillingly--but because of his word1 and because of his nobles present--he grants the request4 ,there is a low1 sad whisper from the king to a soldier present1 and in a few moments the cell door in the prison below opens4 ,murder is nothing to an ,oriental king4 ,the deed is done--and on a golden charger the bleeding head of one whom ,jesus called the greatest human being in the world is carried into the room4 ,herodias has had her revenge4 ,the curtain goes down on one of the awfullest scenes in human history4 ,,chapter ,v ,an ,oriental ,wedding1 and the first miracle4 ,jairus4 ,little ,maid1 ,arise4 ,the ,light of the ,world4 ,the ,poet of the ,lord4 ,do we know what a ,miracle is8 ,the blood of ,john probably strengthened the ,master's spirit1 for ,his immortal deeds now all at once became open and public4 ,the day of his miracles had come4 ,very soon now ,he was asked to a little wedding at the village of ,cana4 ,his mother also was there1 and some of ,his brothers and sisters1 and ,his disciples4 ,it was to be a more joyful event than the awful thing ,he had heard of in the hills by the ,dead ,sea4 ,the most famous marriage in all history was being celebrated4 ,the ,master's first miracle is to be witnessed4 ,it is twilight of a delicious summer evening in ,galilee4 ,as was the custom among the ,orientals1 the bride has been carried in state to the groom's home4 ,it is a bright and hilarious affair4 ,all the youths in the village are on horseback riding in the gay procession4 ,there is music of drums and flutes1 and song1 and all the little street is ablaze with torches4 ,in front of all1 the bridesmaids come1 laughing1 and singing1 and carrying flaming lamps4 ,the bride1 garlanded with roses1 and covered with flowing veil that envelops her from head to foot1 blushes at her own loveliness4 ,who that happy girl might be whose marriage story was to live a thousand years we will never know4 ,could she1 as in a dream1 have read the future1 how extreme her happiness would have been4 ,after two thousand years how glad we would be only to know her happy name4 ,it is after dark2 the stars are out on blue ,galilee now4 ,the scene has changed4 ,the invited guests are now in the home of the happy groom4 ,the governor of the feast1 or the master of toasts1 sits at the head of the banquet table4 ,at a modest place near the center of the table sits the ,nazarene carpenter4 ,he is loved in ,cana1 as everywhere in ,galilee1 for ,his gentle kindness to the poor4 ,the story of what happened to this carpenter at the ,jordan river has not reached ,galilee--the greatness of the guest at their side is as yet unknown4 ,but there is one present who knows mighty things4 ,for thirty years ,mary1 the mother1 has kept the secret told her by the ,angel of the ,annunciation4 ,it is ten o'clock--the feast is almost over--the singing1 the dancing1 and the joyousness go on4 ,suddenly the girls waiting on the banqueters see the wine is done4 ,what shall they do8 ,one of them by accident1 perhaps1 mentions it to ,mary4 ,suddenly her mind is filled with an ambitious1 a glorious1 thought4 ,she glances toward the middle of the table where sits her son4 ,the secret of thirty years is burning in her heart4 ,as she1 too1 is waiting on the table1 she walks to where her son is sitting and softly1 confidently whispers1 ,they have no wine4 ,his time has come4 ,in a few words ,he tells her to have the girls fill all the six water jars close by with water--and ,mary bids them do as ,he has said4 ,then1 said the ,master1 bear it to the governor of the feast4 ,and when the man at the head of the table tasted it1 behold the water had been turned to wine4 ,it was the first miracle of the ,master's life4 ,now ,he was consecrated indeed4 ,his disciples saw what ,he had done1 and for the first time fully believed on ,him1 and the fame of that great deed spread to many people4 ,he is no longer the simple village carpenter1 ,he is now the ,christ1 and in a few days around and about the beautiful blue lake of ,galilee1 close by1 ,he will be carrying the glad tidings to all the world4 ,it was soon after one of these meetings by the waters of ,galilee that ,he performed another of the most beautiful and striking miracles of ,his life4 ,jairus1 a rich man and a high elder in the ,jewish church1 came to ,him at a feast given by ,matthew and begged ,him to come and heal his little daughter who was sick4 ,if only ,he will lay ,his hands on her1 she will be well4 ,there was a little delay1 for people crowded all about the ,master as ,he started on the roadside1 to hear him talk1 and praying to be healed4 ,one poor sick woman secretly touched just the hem of ,his garment1 her mighty faith telling her that even this little act could make her whole4 ,jesus turned to her1 and simply said1 ,daughter1 go2 thy faith hath saved thee4 ,the delay is awful for the agonized father1 who knows not one moment is to be lost4 ,suddenly comes a messenger flying to him to tell him it is already too late--don't worry the ,master--the little girl is dead4 ,instantly ,jesus turned to the broken-hearted one and in deep compassion told him to have no fear--only believe4 ,in a few minutes they are at the rabbi's home4 ,the hired mourners and the flute players1 as is the custom1 are already there4 ,they laughed at ,him when ,he told them the little girl was not dead1 but sleeping4 ,turning the crowd away1 ,he took the little cold hand in ,his1 and sweetly said1 ,little maid1 arise1 and she arose and went about the house rejoicing4 ,the miracle made a tremendous sensation1 and multitudes were touched by it4 ,now ,his home will be ,capernaum1 almost at the head of the dear lake4 ,the little carpenter shop in the narrow street at ,nazareth is closed forever2 ,joseph1 the father1 has passed away1 and sleeps with the sons of ,david2 ,mary1 the mother1 lives in the town of ,cana1 where she first came from2 the young carpenter with the soft speech1 the tender eyes1 the golden hair1 and the radiance on ,his face goes up1 and down through ,galilee--and they call ,him ,the ,light of the ,world4 ,capernaum1 with its houses of white marble1 reflected in the blue waters of ,galilee1 was1 in the ,master's day1 like ,nazareth1 one of the delightful spots of ,palestine4 ,all was fresh1 green1 and restful2 and round about the land was called ,the ,garden of ,abundance4 ,and there too is the little plain so filled with green fields and flowers and running brooks that men likened it to ,a pure emerald4 ,it was in this little land of loveliness1 surrounded by all that was enchanting in nature1 that ,jesus was to begin ,his public teaching4 ,no wonder that ,he found in beautiful nature a thousand indices to the majesty and goodness of the ,creator4 ,no wonder that ,his language was the language of poetry1 and ,his similitudes the reflection of the fields and the flowers4 ,he was in the land of idealism--of fancy--and ,he himself was the poet of the ,lord4 ,consider the lilies of the field1 how they grow4 ,if they do these things in the green tree1 what shall be done in the dry8 ',tis your ,father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom4 ,come unto me1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,we have piped to you1 and ye have not danced4 ,the whole race of men there are idealists4 ,there was not a better place than this ,galilee in all the world for ,christ to be born in4 ,this is the spot of all the world for a new religion4 ,these ,galilean peasants are not reasoners1 they are simply believers4 ,they are the children of faith4 ,sad enough it is that the centuries of time1 and the hands of war1 changed all the beautiful scene4 ,even the climate lost its loveliness--there is almost nothing left that is lovely in dear ,galilee any more save its enchanting lake4 ,all else is desolate now4 ,the marble houses of ,capernaum are now adobe huts1 roofed in straw2 the fields are bare and yellow2 the trees are dead these thousand years4 ,nothing is green there any more4 ,how changed from the perfect loveliness of that other time1 when the ,savior of mankind1 amid the roses of ,palestine1 and the lilies by the sea1 walked and talked and healed the poor4 ,it was as a healer of the body1 not less than as a healer of the soul1 that the miraculous carpenter now walked from village to village all over ,galilee1 followed sometimes by a handful of disciples1 sometimes by a multitude of men1 women1 and children1 though occasionally by hooting enemies4 ,but what wonderful things ,he did--and how many poor ,he helped6 ,the occasional miracles described in the ,testament are probably not even a fraction of what ,he did4 ,why1 the evangelist ,john says1 he does not suppose the world would hold the books telling of all of them4 ,of course1 this is momentary hyperbole4 ,the people of the ,east often exaggerate in telling of what they saw4 ,they are the greatest tellers of beautiful stories in the world4 ,but were these things miracles8 ,the world goes on asking this question4 ,do we know what a miracle is8 ,a miracle is an impossibility1 say the wise men of science4 ,no law of nature yet was ever set aside4 ,let us not forget1 however1 that the ,galilean never claimed to set absolute law aside4 ,by supreme faith in the ,almighty1 in ,himself1 ,he helped the law1 instead of setting it aside4 ,a people1 superstitious and ignorant of every scientific law1 wondered to see ,him do what ,he did4 ,at that hour of ,his consecration1 in the ,jordan river1 ,providence gave ,him a new birth2 and in that birth1 a strength to overcome men's minds--a strength to awaken dormant action in their bodies4 ,even the poor sick man ,he met at the roadside should be getting well1 not dying--,nature intended it so--but pain and misfortune have cost him every resolution4 ,the ,christ came by1 the sunlight of ,his face1 the blessing of ,his words fall upon him1 and he smiles4 ,help yourself1 says the ,master1 you can do it--only think so4 ,do you believe me8 ,yes1 cries the weary one1 ,i believe1 help thou my unbelief4 ,the ,master smiles and takes him by the hand4 ,instantly the encouraged mind acts on the half withered form4 ,his blood starts1 his nerves thrill1--the miracle is done4 ,no1 we do not understand--not quite--neither do we understand how a drop of rain revives a blade of grass1 nor how a night's dew wakens the roses to an untold beauty4 ,genius is born4 ,the astronomer opens his book and without an effort understands the stars4 ,the gift of stirring thoughts1 of lifting human souls1 is born4 ,no being in the world had such anointing from above1 such ,godsent powers1 as ,he who is just back from the ,jordan4 ,he believed in ,himself1 and that was half the battle--the other half had to be fought by the soul asking aid4 ,one must believe4 ,no faith1 no miracle1 is a principle4 ,not once did an unbeliever receive help from the ,master4 ,it was impossible4 ,impossible then as now4 ,the strong faith of two beings is needed to produce a wonder4 ,only two or three times in ,his history did ,jesus perform a miracle without some human being's faith--and those two or three wonders lack a perfect confirmation4 ,it is not in question here whether ,god1 who made every law of nature1 could not suspend them every one if ,he wanted to4 ,he would not be ,god1 all powerful1 if ,he could not4 ,it is unimportant to us whether the ,galilean did wonders by ,his supreme faith1 ,his control over men's minds 7a control given ,him there at the ,jordan river71 or whether ,his ,father in ,heaven reached forth a hand each time and helped ,him4 ,the peasants of ,palestine knew little of any fixed law of nature4 ,they did not ask as to that4 ,simply the doing of the unusual was enough for them4 ,they demanded wonders--and healing of the sick by a word1 or a touch of the hand1 was a great wonder1--a miracle4 ,he who could simply influence mind was the ,master4 ,the ,galilean was born anointed with the power4 ,he knew it--and only asked others to believe4 ,the people of that day asked for wonders4 ,mere assertions of truth were not enough4 ,give us a clap of thunder1 or shake the earth1 if ,you would have us believe in ,you4 ,suddenly cure these sick1 and we will know ,your power4 ,he did it1 not for a show1 but out of pity4 ,and the healing made adorers for the truths ,he taught them4 ,one thing is sure1 ,he never doubted ,his own beliefs1 ,his ,god-given powers4 ,in the solitude of the desert ,he had reached definite conclusions4 ,all ,his assertions were positive4 ,if ,he said things in parables1 it was because ,his hearers had no understanding of plain truth4 ,we talk to children that way when we tell them stories4 ,his wonders1 or miracles1 were for the same purpose4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,a wandering ,teacher4 ,lives in a borrowed house at ,capernaum4 ,the ,testament ,books1 fragments written from memory4 ,the whole ,law of ,life boiled down to ,seven ,words4 ,he visits ,tyre by the ,ocean4 ,walking on the ,sea4 ,a hard saying1 and not understood4 ,his friends begin to leave ,him4 ,they demand ,wonders1 ,miracles4 ,raffael's great picture4 ,at this time the wonder-working carpenter had some dear friends in beautiful ,capernaum by the lake4 ,there were two fishermen there1 brothers1 ,peter and ,andrew4 ,peter was married and his wife and children joined the two brothers in the earnest welcome to the ,master whenever ,he returned from ,his journeys among the lake villages4 ,how often ,he went to ,jerusalem never will be surely known4 ,sometimes ,he returned to ,peter's home right after a long rest in the solitude of the desert1 bordering on the east side of the lake4 ,there was a ,greek country there called ,decapolis4 ,though also a province of ,rome1 it was an alliance of ten confederated cities1 and all worshiped the heathen gods4 ,over into this strange confederacy the ,master also went sometimes1 and the welcome ,his kindly message met was as warm as in ,galilee itself4 ,he also went over to ,tyre and ,sidon1 by the ,mediterranean sea1 at times1 and learned at first hand the workings of heathendom as practiced by a cultured people4 ,on every hilltop1 as ,he went and came1 ,he saw temples to the gods of ,greece or ,rome4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 ,he was going and coming to preach to the poor4 ,he was the poor man's ,christ4 ,he himself often had nothing4 ,it has been said that it was only as a poor wandering teacher1 possessed of nothing1 not even a place to lay ,his head1 that ,he went all about ,galilee4 ,in ,capernaum ,he lived in a borrowed house1 or from the hospitality of ,his two dear friends4 ,but right now1 rich or poor1 ,he is commencing the teachings and the wonders that are to make ,him the loved and the hated of the world4 ,to the believing ,he will show that ,he is not poor2 in fact1 that ,he has a friend ruling in the clouds of ,heaven4 ,the disappointed ones1 who1 mistaking the signs1 had looked for a real earthly king1 persecuted ,him at every roadside4 ,the very orthodox ,jews hated ,him--called ,him a ,sabbath-breaker1 a glutton among sinners1 and a blasphemer of ,god4 ,they seemed incapable of understanding anything ,he said4 ,he talked by figures and parables--,he told them stories--,he talked of ,his father ,god--and ,his sonship--they would not see the spiritual sense in which ,he said all things4 ,they put false words into ,his mouth1 and then demanded ,he should prove them true4 ,they listened only to deny1 and to defame4 ,then again they demanded wonders1 miracles--more wonders1 more miracles4 ,it was their only way of proving things4 ,had there been no wonders1 no miracles1 no seeming impossibilities performed1 ,christ would have had no followers in ,palestine4 ,asserting things was not enough4 ,prove to us that you are ,god by doing wonders4 ,as ,he never had said that ,he was ,god ,he could not prove it4 ,i and my father are one1 ,he told them1 but only in the sense that every ,christian is one with the father4 ,they could not1 would not1 see it1 and at times would have stoned ,him from their towns4 ,in ,his meekness1 ,his gentleness1 ,he bore it all4 ,sometimes hundreds1 thousands1 would hear ,his words1 see ,his miracles1 and believe4 ,other thousands1 though seeing1 believed not4 ,some of ,his own nearest friends1 not grasping ,his meaning1 turned their backs and left ,him4 ,do not even to-day many feel that ,he should have spoken plainer1 or1 is it that our few fragmentary stories of ,his life are misconceived1 confused1 misinterpreted1 mistranslated--and in a sense falsified by two thousand years of time and change of methods of human thought8 ,no one knows4 ,the ,master did not speak the language of the ,bible1 not even the language of the ,jews4 ,his was a ,syrian dialect called ,arimean4 ,it was the tongue ,his mother spoke2 the same dialect they talked1 and laughed and sang in1 that night of the marriage in ,cana4 ,let us not ask too much of the ,testament4 ,time and circumstances do strange things with human thought and speech4 ,despite mystery1 and despite fragments1 in the great story1 enough is left clear to teach us the spirit of the ,golden ,rule4 ,christ said that was enough4 ,the people who wrote the books of the ,testament wrote wholly from memory1 and some of them were now old men4 ,john was ninety1 and was then almost the last man on earth to have seen ,jesus alive4 ,dates1 deeds1 times1 places1 words1 are sometimes much confused in the ,testament4 ,some things are omitted by one and told by another4 ,yet the spirit of each ,testament book is the same--and all as authentic as writing from memory would permit4 ,the ,testament books are fragments only--yet piecing them together what a beautiful whole remains6 ,sometimes one wonders that just plain uncultured fishermen could write so beautifully4 ,it would require a much larger book than this is intended to be to repeat all the tender stories1 the touching words1 of the ,master that are portrayed by these inspired fishermen by the sea4 ,even they did not tell all4 ,in every village in ,galilee1 on all the winding roads1 along the dear lake1 in every hamlet1 synagogue1 the feet of the ,master went4 ,every hour saw miracles of healing1 and every poor peasant heard words of kindness4 ,what delightful little journeys they were in the beautiful land as the ,prince of ,peace passed1 scattering blessings4 ,to the happy little communities it must have sometimes seemed as if the new kingdom1 the promised hour1 was there already6 ,such crowds pressed to ,him that time and again ,he would climb into a little boat on ,galilee lake1 ask ,his friends to push it a little from the shore1 and there1 from this improvised altar on the sea1 talk to the crowds on the shore4 ,and what did ,he say to the people standing on the shore8 ,they were only the needed things1 said in a clear1 simple1 beautiful language4 ,if ,he said them in parables often1 it was because the people of ,his day understood things better said in that way4 ,things were made clearer1 stronger1 if illustrated in stories4 ,the great ,lincoln understood the effectiveness of such an art1 and pointed many a political moral by a human story4 ,if1 occasionally1 the ,master spoke in terms too mysterious to be comprehended by even ,his disciples1 it was occasionally only4 ,the needed things the common wayfarer could understand then1 understands them to-day4 ,he boiled down the whole duty of life into seven words1 ,do as you would be done by4 ,this1 ,he said1 was all there is to religion4 ,how simple1 how just1 how necessary1 if we hope for happiness even in our every-day life4 ,once at the dawn of a beautiful summer morning in ,galilee1 the ,master stood on the edge of a mountain and chose twelve disciples to help ,him teach1 and to the whole world delivered the wonderful message known as ,the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,lovelier words were never spoken--so simple1 so true1 so direct1 so sustaining to human hearts1 that they were to reach through all times and to all men4 ,it ended with the great promise that unto him who sought ,god's kingdom all things should be added4 ,the promise of that morning in ,galilee sustains mankind forever4 ,once ,he went over to the little city of ,tyre by the ,mediterranean1 perhaps to teach some there4 ,possibly it was the only time the ,master ever beheld the ocean4 ,tyre1 with its minarets1 its monuments1 its temples1 its white sails on the sea1 was a heathen city4 ,one can fancy how profoundly stirred a soul like ,his1 steeped in a love of nature1 must have been at the first sight of the ocean4 ,there were the white ships going to every known land of the earth--there was a new and picturesque people2 there was heathendom1 in luxurious idolatry4 ,the little journey served ,him as material for many a reflection later in ,his ,galilean home4 ,his name was not wholly strange in the beautiful heathen city by the sea--for it is told how a woman1 a ,greek1 met ,him1 threw herself at ,his feet1 and beseeched ,him to heal her daughter4 ,the persistence1 the faith of this heathen woman1 that ,he could do it1 even without seeing the afflicted daughter1 led to a miracle4 ,as in almost all ,his life the miracle came only after the absolute show of faith on the part of the one asking4 ,no faith1 no miracle1 was a constant teaching4 ,only a little time there by the blue sea now1 and ,he is soon off for a three days' stay in that heathen land--the desert cities beyond the ,jordan4 ,heathen as they are there1 they follow in multitudes and are astounded at ,his wonders1 for ,he heals many of the sick4 ,there1 too1 almost on the edge of ,his own country1 ,he feeds another multitude4 ,it is the five thousand people who have followed ,him to a lonesome place in the country4 ,they are filled1 and they glorify ,his name4 ,as darkness comes on the vast crowd that ,he has fed goes home rejoicing--while the disciples enter a boat1 and1 despite a coming storm on the lake of ,galilee1 start to the other side4 ,jesus ,himself goes up on a lonesome mountain to pray4 ,the night is utterly dark on the sea1 and the wind howls around the foot of the mountain and over the tempest-tossed waters4 ,naturally1 the disciples and the boatmen are alarmed4 ,their boat is about going down--the wind is more threatening--midnight is on the sea4 ,once there is a little rift in the clouds1 and the half-light of a summer moon falls over them2 the sailors glance out onto the waves and behold the form of a man walking toward them on the billows4 ,it is a spirit4 ,the phantom--as phantom it surely is--fills them with alarm1 but a voice cries out1 ,be not afraid1 it is ,i4 ,it is said1 ,peter seeing some one walking on the water tried it himself1 and would have drowned had not the strange spirit taken him by the hand4 ,then the phantom itself got into the boat--the winds at once went down--and1 as the little ship touched the shore1 the amazed disciples discover the night phantom to be the ,lord ,himself4 ,the weird story instantly is sent to all the neighboring villages1 and again people come in multitudes1 some to be healed1 some to revile4 ,they were willing enough to be healed1 everybody1 yet the unbelieving also were there in crowds1 and1 strangely enough1 despite wonders1 miracles1 and healing1 a storm of opposition grows4 ,his ,galileans themselves even are joining ,his opponents4 ,it is all unexplainable4 ,to us of the twentieth century it would seem that seeing the miracles ,he did1 and hearing the ,heavenly teaching that fell from ,his lips1 the whole world would have fallen down and worshiped4 ,perhaps ,he said too many things that they could not understand4 ,he went up to ,capernaum that morning for a little bit1 and talked to the people in the village synagogue4 ,i am the ,bread of ,life1 he said1 except ye eat the flesh of the ,son of ,man1 and drink ,his blood1 ye have no life in you4 ,this was too much for their small understandings--not a soul knew what ,he meant4 ,this is a very hard saying1 ,his hearers answered4 ,they puzzled their brains over it a little2 loss of faith was seizing on them4 ,some of them commenced leaving ,him4 ,then ,he said something harder still1 ,if this about the flesh and blood startles you1 what would you say to see me ascending up where ,i was8 ,now1 still1 the mystery had deepened2 more people left ,him4 ,in a tone of overwhelming sadness ,he asked ,his twelve apostles if they too would leave ,him8 ,the storm of hatred was breaking everywhere4 ,enemies surrounded ,him2 only a few seemed absolutely faithful4 ,the rabbis1 the scribes1 and the big doctrinaires at ,jerusalem had their spies everywhere1 watching for ,his smallest word to ensnare ,him4 ,they surely1 earnestly1 believed ,him a foe to all their ,jewish church4 ,he was teaching people to despise their great prophet1 ,moses1 and to follow the vagaries of a new1 unheard of religion4 ,he was to them worse than the heathens across the border4 ,what a change it all was6 ,even here in ,his own beautiful ,capernaum they began to deny ,him4 ,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 and every conceivable enemy of the new faith are concentrating in crowds to traduce ,him4 ,once more they demand a sign from ,heaven--again1 a clap of thunder1 a sudden earthquake1 or something1 if ,he wants to prove that ,he is really the ,christ4 ,to their insolent demands ,he naturally makes no reply4 ,then more than ever conspiracy to destroy ,him is rapidly being set on foot everywhere4 ,shortly ,he will leave this people by ,galilee and their hypocrisies and falseness forever4 ,of course1 ,his immediate friends all around ,lake ,galilee and ,his disciples are mostly sticking to ,him1 but not all of them--many have gone back on ,him4 ,one day walking on a country road ,he asked ,his disciples who the people really said ,he was8 ,they answered that some thought ,him one of the old prophets1 risen from the dead4 ,herod up at ,jerusalem believed ,him to be ,john the ,baptist1 whom he had murdered to please a dancing girl that night in the castle by the ,dead ,sea4 ,herod was much alarmed about it all1 too4 ,but who do you say that ,i am8 the ,master asked again--and ,peter said1 ,thou art the ,christ4 ,tell no one this1 continued ,jesus1 and then ,he explained to them privately ,his coming sufferings and death4 ,they were all astounded4 ,but these sufferings simply had to be2 likewise ,his death4 ,it seemed impossible4 ,he spoke to them then about life's duties1 the futility of riches1 of earthly success1 and added1 ,what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul8 ,there was much thinking now1 but still little believing4 ,in less than a week ,he took three of ,his disciples on to a high mountain to pray1 and1 while there before them1 ,he was transfigured for a little while4 ,and the fashion of his countenance altered1 and his raiment was white and glistening4 ,not only that--two angels1 or spirits1 appeared in glory with ,him and talked about the death that was to come to ,him at ,jerusalem4 ,shortly1 as the ,master and ,his disciples went down the mountain side1 they met a crowd gesticulating and shouting over an epileptic boy led by his agonized father4 ,some of the ,apostles had tried to cure this boy and failed4 ,the father prayed to ,christ for compassion4 ,if thou only canst believe1 answered ,christ1 all things are possible4 ,weeping1 the father said1 ,lord1 ,i believe1 help thou my unbelief--and the boy at once was healed4 ,the scene on the mountain and the story gave rise to that greatest picture in the world1 ,raffael's painting of the ,transfiguration4 ,it is in the ,vatican at ,rome4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,jesus goes alone and on foot to ,jerusalem1 to try and prove ,himself4 ,in six months they will kill ,him4 ,the rich ,capital no place for ,socialism4 ,if thou be ,christ1 tell us1 plainly4 ,he is a fugitive from a city mob4 ,the ,raising of ,lazarus4 ,again the people are following ,him4 ,the great ,sanhedrin is alarmed4 ,this ,man has everybody believing on ,him6 ,he will create a ,revolution yet4 ,jerusalem is in political danger1 anyway2 so is the ,roman ,empire4 ,everything seems going to pieces4 ,this ,man has too many ,followers2 we must kill ,him4 ,judas is hired to betray ,him4 ,there is but a little stay in ,capernaum now1 the great ,galilean will scarcely walk by ,his beautiful lake again4 ,he is now thirty-two years old and more4 ,in a few days ,his disciples will have gone up to ,jerusalem to the great festival1 the feast of the tabernacle4 ,it is said that some of the nearest relatives of the ,galilean did not believe in ,him even now4 ,it was they1 however1 who told ,him to go up to ,jerusalem to the headquarters of the opposition and prove himself1 if ,he could4 ,show ,thyself to the world1 they said1 these things are not done in secret4 ,and so ,he went alone and on foot4 ,six months--and it will be the end4 ,they will kill ,him4 ,his meditation on that lonesome foot journey to ,jerusalem1 with death and the cross as its last goal1 we will never know4 ,the great ,jerusalem is full of strangers4 ,tens of thousands are now beginning to hear of the great ,galilean for the first time4 ,there is great excitement in the city4 ,most of the newcomers take time to talk of ,him4 ,he is on every tongue4 ,when does ,he come1 and from whence8 ,galilee8 ,no good can come from there2 that is sure4 ,where is ,he now8 ,why do the people shout8 ,what does ,he look like8 ,will ,he be welcomed or stoned8 ,suddenly the sweet face of the ,master himself is on the temple porch in ,jerusalem4 ,look1 ,he is teaching the people4 ,how strange1 how embarrassing the situation4 ,save for a little coming of believers and friends1 men and women who have come to ,him from ,galilee1 ,he is almost without a friend in all that splendid city4 ,if many souls1 hearing1 believe in ,him1 it is dangerous to say so4 ,all such will be turned out of the synagogue1 their houses and their lands taken from them4 ,anyway this great1 unbelieving city is not the place to preach humility in1 nor love for the lowly1 nor the giving away of property1 nor for the reproaching of the rich4 ,that is a kind of socialism usually wanted by people who have nothing4 ,this splendid city1 with its minarets and domes1 its gorgeous temple1 and the magnificent structures built by ,roman emperors1 is full of rich people1 full of aristocrats2 and is governed by proud priests1 who look upon the ,galilean reformer and ,his small following with utter contempt4 ,one day when ,he was walking on ,solomon's porch of the temple1 numbers of ,jews came around ,him and tauntingly said1 ,how long dost ,thou make us to doubt8 ,if ,thou be the ,christ1 tell us plainly4 ,he answered1 ,i have already told you1 and ye believed not4 ,the works ,i do in my ,father's name bear witness of me4 ,then ,he happened to say something very mysterious4 ,i and my ,father are one4 ,that was too much for them4 ,not knowing what it meant1 they tried to stone ,him out of the city4 ,i have done many good works1 ,he continued1 for which of those works do you stone me8 ,we stone you for blasphemy1 they cried1 and because being a man ,thou makest ,thyself ,god4 ,he had to fly4 ,another bitter charge against ,him had been ,his healing the sick on ,sunday4 ,not even a good deed dare be done on the ,sabbath1 was a doctrine of these extreme interpreters of the ,mosaic law4 ,once the ,lord restored a blind man to sight on a ,sunday1 and the poor man was almost mobbed because of it4 ,the wrangling of the scribes and doctors about ,him still goes on4 ,there is not a moment of peace for ,him4 ,he is even in constant danger4 ,on a slope of the ,mount of ,olives1 where ,he often sits summer evenings looking down to the city at ,his feet and lamenting over it1 stands the little hamlet of ,bethany4 ,three good friends of his live there4 ,mary and ,martha and their brother ,lazarus4 ,many a time after tiresome disputes and wranglings with insolent priests and rabbis in the city1 who were only trying to entrap ,him1 ,he goes to this quiet little home among the olive groves for rest4 ,after a while ,he leaves the neighborhood of the great city entirely1 and goes over the ,jordan near the desert1 to the very spot in fact where ,john baptized ,him two years ago4 ,what strange feelings must have possessed ,his soul while there--there where the dove had come down on ,him1 and where the great voice had called ,him the beloved ,son6 ,there ,his public life commenced4 ,and now ,he is there again4 ,not with the voice of ,god speaking to ,him4--,no--,he is a fugitive from a city mob4 ,yet a great many people from the villages come to ,him down there by the ,jordan and believe on ,him4 ,many wonders are again performed4 ,many people are healed4 ,a part of this restful time away from ,jerusalem is spent close to ,jericho4 ,a lovely plain is there with delightful plantations and gardens of perfume4 ,it is a divine country there1 said ,josephus1 the historian1 but in those days it was all fresh and green--the climate different from now4 ,lover of beautiful nature as ,he was1 this little spot of roses and verdure must have delighted ,his soul4 ,in a few days ,his dear friends ,mary and ,martha1 back there in ,bethany1 send to tell ,him that their brother ,lazarus1 who is very dear to ,him1 is sick4 ,let us go back there at once1 exclaimed the ,master4 ,his disciples tried to warn ,him4 ,why1--they stoned you and you had to fly just now1--will you risk going back8 ,he reflected a moment in silence1 and then told them1 sadly1 plainly1 that ,lazarus was dead4 ,let us go4 ,and some of the disciples said1 ,let us also go that we may die with ,him4 ,it is only some twenty-five miles perhaps1 and they have come near to the village4 ,it seems the friend had been dead four days already4 ,but the coming back is to be followed by one of the astonishing wonders of ,bible history4 ,lazarus is to be brought to life4 ,the names of ,lazarus1 with ,mary and ,martha1 had been well known in ,jerusalem1 and numbers of its good citizens had come out to the village to condole with the bereaved sisters4 ,hearing of the ,master's approach1 ,martha hurried out to the edge of the village and met ,him at the door of her dead brother's tomb1 a place cut in the solid rock4 ,if thou hadst been here1 my brother had not died1 cried the sister1 weeping4 ,he will rise again1 the ,master answered1 simply4 ,yes1 ,i know1 at the resurrection1 said ,martha4 ,again he spoke4 ,i am the ,resurrection1 whosoever believeth in me shall never die4 ,believest thou this8 ,hast thou faith8 ,and she answered1 ,yes4 ,instantly she ran and told her sister1 and she1 too1 came1 believing and worshiping4 ,did ,i not tell thee1 said the ,master1 that if thou wouldst believe1 thou shouldst see the glory of ,god8 ,then ,he commanded the door of the tomb to be taken away--and1 in a loud voice1 bade the dead to rise4 ,in a moment the living ,lazarus walked out of the tomb4 ,some of the ,jews1 seeing it1 believed4 ,some of the higher classes also believed4 ,however it was done1 it had been an astounding wonder1 and the excitement ran like wildfire into the city4 ,the great ,sanhedrin and chief priests1 hearing of it1 instantly called a secret council4 ,what shall we do8 they said4 ,this man doeth many miracles4 ,if let alone1 all men will believe on him--and the ,romans will come and take our place and nation away from us4 ,there was an ex-high priest named ,annas at this secret meeting4 ,he was a religious tyrant1 who had never lost his power in the ,jewish councils4 ,his son-in-law1 ,caiaphas1 was officially high priest1 but only as his tool4 ,annas was the power behind the throne4 ,his wishes1 his commands1 prevailed everywhere4 ,the murderous strings were pulled by his hands4 ,annas hated ,jesus1 hated the apostles1 hated every new doctrine2 and possibly1 too1 he truly feared that any new religion or excitement might disturb ,jewish politics1 might bring on rebellion1 might even bring the hatred of ,rome on the ,jews4 ,he did not know that the hatred of ,rome was already turned against ,palestine2 nor that ,palestine1 ,jerusalem1 ,rome itself1 were all at that moment on the road to destruction1 but it is from causes with which the teaching of the ,galilean1 whom he is about to murder1 has nothing to do4 ,it is better to kill this religious fanatic and disturber and save ourselves1 said ,annas to the great council4 ,we will not do it with our own hands--we will arrest ,him1 bring ,him before the judges1 and incite the mob to do the rest4 ,and so an order was sent out that the kind ,jesus should be arrested wherever found4 ,the miracle at the tomb1 however performed1 or however believed1 had proved to be the most important act of the ,galilean's life4 ,now it was1 alas1 to be a warrant for ,his death4 ,now1 said the ,sanhedrin council1 it is going too far--all the world is running after ,him4 ,in perhaps a week after this there was a little supper at ,martha's home1 in ,bethany1 only two miles out of the city--and the ,master was there1 and the resurrected ,lazarus sat at the table with them4 ,singularly enough ,judas1 the coming traitor1 was also there1 and complained of ,mary's using some precious ointment to bathe the feet of the ,master4 ,because he was treasurer for the apostles and a thief1 he wanted the money value of the ointment put where he could steal it4 ,he was now already preparing himself for the great betrayal4 ,out of curiosity to see ,lazarus1 the resurrected one1 many went to the village that night from ,jerusalem2 some of them also were converted4 ,the priests1 hearing of this1 decided it was best to put ,lazarus also to death4 ,the great wonder performed at the tomb had alarmed them4 ,it had not converted them4 ,in a few hours1 believing people1 hearing that the great ,galilean was entering the city again1 went out to meet him1 swinging palm leaves and shouting hosannas4 ,many even threw their mantles down for ,him to ride over and hailed ,him king of ,israel4 ,some of the bystanders1 looking on with contempt1 even asked ,jesus to silence and rebuke ,his zealous followers4 ,no1 no1 ,he answered1 were these to hold their peace1 the very stones would cry out4 ,again all kinds of snares are set for ,him1 every word is watched4 ,though ,he is again permitted to talk at the porch of the temple every day1 spies are there listening4 ,he is hated in the great city4 ,pretty soon they will call ,him a criminal for doing cures on the ,sabbath1 for with their laws one scarcely dared eat his dinner on a ,sunday2 not this only1 they will persecute ,him for saying ,he is a king when there is no king1 save ,tiberius at ,rome4 ,sometimes the ,galilean's own talk seems wilder1 less comprehensible than it even was to ,his native villagers4 ,he has himself become so wholly spiritual1 so filled with a quick coming of the new kingdom1 that ,he hardly realizes the material life about ,him4 ,occasionally ,he climbs up to the top of the ,mount of ,olives1 overlooking the beautiful city1 and sits there for hours1 meditating on its spiritual destruction--a destruction ,he had come to prevent1 and cannot4 ,even a material destruction is hanging over ,jerusalem4 ,in thirty-seven years it will be burned to the earth--and where the gorgeous temple stands1 the mosque of ,omar will one day lift its head1 type and temple of ,mahomet1 whose creed would have broken the ,master's heart4 ,it seems the ,master in ,his soul knew all that was about to happen4 ,could ,he not have prevented it8 ,by a miracle could ,he not have destroyed all ,his enemies at a single blow8 ,he did not do it4 ,he only said1 ,it is the father's will1 these awful things that are about to happen4 ,he would not shirk them4 ,he regarded ,himself foreordained to suffer4 ,to ,his mind the ,old ,scriptures foretold ,his awful sacrifice4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,the last supper4 ,leonardo's great picture4 ,betrayal4 ,with a rope around his neck1 the ,savior of mankind is dragged before a ,roman ,judge4 ,the scene at ,pilate's palace4 ,pilate's wife warns him4 ,the awful murder and the ,end4 ,one evening ,he and ,his disciples sat together at their evening meal--it was to be their last on earth4 ,it is doubtful if the disciples really believed all was to be finished so soon4 ,yet ,he had most earnestly told them of ,his coming death4 ,it was now in the ,passover week--and the ,master and ,his nearest ones proposed celebrating one of its festivals in private and alone4 ,but where8 asked his disciples4 ,well1 ,he had said1 go into ,jerusalem1 and the first man you meet carrying a pitcher of water1 follow him to the house where he goes2 there tell the owner ,i am coming1 and he will show you an upper room1 all prepared for us4 ,two of them went as told1 followed the man with the pitcher1 and found all in readiness for the little supper4 ,that evening the ,master and ,his disciples took a walk together from little ,bethany1 over the ,mount of ,olives1 to ,jerusalem4 ,it was their last walk together on earth4 ,at this supper where they now are1 the ,galilean once more tells ,his disciples the fate awaiting ,him4 ,he even points out the betrayer2 but they do not seem to know ,his meaning4 ,quietly1 and aside1 ,he whispers to ,judas to ,do that which you are going to do quickly4 ,it seems that ,judas at once slipped away from the eleven and went out to hunt up the enemies of one he called ,master4 ,for a trifling sum of silver he had sold his own soul4 ,this scene1 like that of the ,transfiguration1 has been celebrated by one of the great pictures of the world4 ,leonardo da ,vinci's picture of the ,last ,supper1 in an old church at ,milan1 ,italy1 is in itself a miracle of art4 ,perhaps no painting on earth has attracted so many believing pilgrims to see and to sigh over the sorrow of the ,master4 ,that very night when the moon rose over the towers and walls of the city1 ,jesus and ,his disciples left the supper room and secretly went out across the little brook ,cedron and entered an olive orchard1 to-day known as the ,garden of ,gethsemane4 ,it is close to the city walls4 ,there in the moonlight the disciples1 tired and afraid1 and probably hiding from their enemies1 lay down on the grass and slept4 ,the ,master ,himself stepped a little into the shade of the olive trees to pray4 ,he knew the hour had come4 ,in a little while1 it was the midnight hour now1 he heard men coming1 with stones and swords and lanterns4 ,fearlessly ,he stepped out into the light of the full moon and asked them whom they were looking for4 ,they answered1 ,jesus1 of ,nazareth4 ,he said quietly1 ,i am ,he4 ,at the same moment ,judas1 the betrayer1 walked up and kissed ,him4 ,this had been a sign agreed upon between ,judas and the priests1 as to which one to capture4 ,the little handful of friends with the ,lord now tried to give battle1 but ,he would not permit them4 ,he was at once bound1 and carried back into the city4 ,it is past midnight4 ,he is first conducted before ,annas1 the church tyrant1 who sends ,him to ,caiaphas1 the high priest4 ,there ,he is questioned and tortured4 ,by the time it is daylight ,he is sent to the judgment hall of ,pilate and accused4 ,pilate is a ,roman4 ,under the ,roman law there still must be some pretense of a charge against a human being before he can be put to death--some charge of wrong4 ,it is now seven in the morning4 ,priests1 scribes1 ,pharisees1 all come before ,pilate in a howling mob1 leading the ,savior of mankind with a rope around ,his neck4 ,they had tortured ,him half the night--they have decided ,he shall die2 they only want permission to kill ,him1 or have ,him killed by ,pilate4 ,as it is the holy festival time1 custom does not permit the mob to enter the heathen palace of ,pilate4 ,so they stand out in the street1 on a place called the pavement1 and howl4 ,what is the charge against ,him8 ,what has this man done8 demands the ,roman governor1 with a show of justice as he steps out to the front of his palace and looks at the mob4 ,he says he is ,christ1 the ,king1 some of the accusers answer4 ,pilate goes back into the great hall1 with the marble floor and the gilded ceilings4 ,he himself has no love for the ,jews4 ,they have no love for ,pilate4 ,he knows the ,jerusalemites to be a seditious lot of zealots1 quarreling forever among themselves1 and fanatical in their adherence to the laws of ,moses4 ,the ,jews know ,pilate to be a hater of their creeds and customs4 ,they regard him1 too1 a brutal governor2 but now they would use this brutality against one of whom they were a little afraid1 for in the villages this ,galilean1 whom they were persecuting1 had many friends4 ,would not the people rise1 moved by ,his wonderful miracles1 and at last put an end to all their religious pretenses8 ,it was the temple-people1 the ,sanhedrins1 and the ,pharisaic priests who stood in front of this mob1 gathered at ,pilate's palace on that early morning4 ,they had already decided their victim must die1 and they were inciting all the ignorant to violence4 ,because of the ,roman occupation1 ,pilate's approval was a necessity before they could quite kill a man4 ,they reckoned1 however1 that he would want to please them some1 and so lessen his own unpopularity4 ,in a little time the governor called ,jesus into the judgment hall4 ,looking at the wronged1 the suffering1 the persecuted being who stood before him1 the blood falling from ,his poor body to the floor ,pilate asked ,him plainly if ,he were the king of the ,jews8 ,do you ask that of yourself1 said the persecuted but heroic prisoner1 or did others tell it of me8 ,pilate was in fact greatly impressed by the face1 serene1 even in suffering1 and the mild words of one falsely accused4 ,the ,savior explained that if ,he was a king it was not of this world4 ,his kingdom was of the spirit4 ,pilate did not quite understand that4 ,he himself was not very spiritual4 ,jesus added1 ,i am a witness to the ,truth4 ,then what is ,truth8 said ,pilate4 ,we can only guess the answer given him4 ,it may have greatly moved the ,roman1 for he at once went out to the mob assembled on the pavement and said1 ,i find no fault in this man4 ,some one in the crowd spoke up and accused ,jesus of stirring up the peasants in ,galilee4 ,if he is a ,galilean1 said ,pilate to himself1 he must be tried by ,antipas1 the ,galilean governor4 ,reliable tradition says that they also shouted at him that this was the very ,child ,jesus1 whom ,herod tried to kill when he massacred the children of ,bethlehem4 ,pilate had never heard of the flight to ,egypt nor of the return4 ,he supposed the ,child ,christ dead4 ,now he is astounded1 and alarmed1 for where had ,jesus been all these years8 ,had ,his origin1 ,his identity been kept a secret8 ,does not this tradition and ,pilate's alarm add strength to the supposition that years of ,his life had passed in the secret of the desert8 ,pilate gladly sent him to ,antipas1 who that very day happened to be in ,jerusalem at the festival4 ,the ,galilean ruler had heard of ,christ a thousand times1 and often had longed to see him and talk with him1 but most he was curious to see a miracle performed4 ,again the ,master is accused1 but to the many questions of ,antipater ,he makes no answer whatever4 ,neither does ,he perform some miracle for the curiosity and sport of the ,galilean court4 ,offended at ,his silence1 and greatly disappointed1 the king mocks ,him1 and arraying ,him in ridiculous garments sends ,him back to ,pilate4 ,but he has found no fault in ,him--no act against the laws of ,galilee for which he dare punish ,him4 ,again ,he is before ,pilate1 the ,roman1 again full of pain1 and bleeding1 ,he answers mildly as before1 or else is silent1 submitting to outrageous injury4 ,three times ,pilate goes out before the crowd and tells them that ,christ has done nothing worthy of death4 ,again ,i tell you ,i find no fault in ,him4 ,i sent ,him over to ,antipas1 the king of ,galilee4 ,he also finds no fault worthy of death4 ,let me chastise ,him and set ,him free4 ,but the crowd yelled the louder for ,his blood4 ,once the wife of ,pilate comes and whispers to him to have nothing to do with that good man1 ,i have been forewarned in a dream4 ,again ,pilate earnestly strives to save ,him4 ,again he addresses the mob1 ,you know it is our custom to release a prisoner at this festival4 ,i have ,barabbas1 the robber1 here and ,jesus4 ,let me set ,jesus free and hang the robber4 ,no1 no1 cry a hundred voices2 free ,barabbas and crucify the heretic4 ,the ,roman1 accomplished in killing men1 practiced in cruelty as he is1 shudders at the fearful injustice4 ,he knows the ,galilean has done no wrong4 ,the bruised and bleeding body of the ,master waits in silence and prayer there in the hall of the palace4 ,the cries for ,his murder reach ,his ears--they grow louder and louder4 ,pilate1 confused as to the law1 as to his duty1 and perhaps alarmed1 weakened1 in a contemptible moment of cowardice1 yields4 ,but first he steps to the front1 and in a loud voice exclaims1 ,look you1 ,i wash my hands of the blood of this good man4 ,he could do nothing more4 ,in a moment the robber is set free1 and the ,christ1 followed by a multitude1 some deriding and some weeping for pity1 starts for the awful place of execution4 ,once as ,he goes along the thorny way1 ,he hears pitying women bewailing and weeping4 ,turning ,his face to them1 ,he cries1 ,daughters of ,jerusalem1 weep not for me2 but weep for yourselves and your children4 ,that weeping1 that sorrow1 has continued two thousand years4 ,humanity will weep forever over the awfulness of what happened4 ,it is hard to think that ,god ordained any of this suffering of ,jesus4 ,more likely the ,master1 in the extremity of ,his zeal for humanity1 believed ,his very blood on the cross a needed sacrifice to awaken the world4 ,he was human4 ,his road from ,pilate's palace to the cross has been followed in tears by millions of people4 ,the awful picture of what happened there is too dreadful to describe4 ,john1 the ,evangelist1 himself was present--the only eye witness who has written of it1 yet not even he has the courage to tell the story beyond a dozen verses in the ,testament4 ,the disciples had deserted the ,lord1 and were in hiding4 ,they were in fear4 ,they could not drink the cup the ,master had to drink4 ,a few women1 including the mother of the ,redeemer and her sister1 were present to the very end4 ,to make the anguish as disgraceful as possible1 the ,master was nailed to a cross between two thieves4 ,it was the most agonizing kind of execution known to the cruel ,roman law4 ,some ,roman soldiers put ,him to death1 as ordered by their governor1 but the blood of it all was on the hands of fanatics and priests4 ,pilate1 in mockery of the ,jews1 whom he despised for this murder1 forced on him1 put an inscription over the cross saying1 ,the ,king of the ,jews4 ,the mob of murderers wanted him to amend the phrase1 and have it read1 ,he said ,he was ,king of the ,jews4 ,pilate declined1 for ,jesus had never said that4 ,besides1 ,pilate had had enough of the horror that1 like an earthquake1 was to shock the world4 ,he had washed his hands of it4 ,the deed done1 the anguish over1 ,joseph1 a secret ,christian convert1 though a rich member of the ,sanhedrin1 asked ,pilate for the body of ,jesus1 and put it in a new tomb of his own1 hewn in the solid rock1 as was a custom of the land4 ,on what is now known as ,easter morning1 just as the dawn was breaking over the hills of ,jerusalem1 ,mary ,magdalene went to the tomb of the dead ,master4 ,it had been opened by angels1 as she believed1 for1 on looking within1 she saw two figures sitting there dressed in white4 ,very quickly two of the disciples1 whom ,mary saw and told1 came and looked into the cave also and saw nothing but the linen clothes of the ,master1 and went away4 ,the body was not there4 ,mary waited a little yet by herself1 when one of the angels asked her why she was weeping4 ,she answered1 ,they have taken away my ,lord4 ,at that moment she turned her face a little and saw a spirit standing by her4 ,thinking at first it was the gardener1 she asked it where the body had been taken to4 ,to her amazement the spirit spoke and sadly said1 ,mary4 ,instantly she knew it was the ,lord4 ,she would have thrown herself at ,his feet1 but ,he bade her not to touch ,him1 but rather to hasten to the disciples and tell them ,he was about to ascend to ,heaven4 ,that day1 on a country road1 outside ,jerusalem1 ,he overtook two of ,his disciples1 and walked and talked with them all the way to ,emmaus1 telling them the great story of the ,scriptures1 while they walked and wondered1 not knowing it was the spirit of the dead ,master4 ,that same evening1 too1 that same ,spirit of ,jesus appeared to the disciples in a closed room where they were hiding for fear of the ,jews4 ,in a little while the word went round among the followers that the ,lord was risen4 ,for forty days that ,spirit1 risen from the tomb1 was to be seen by the faithful in ,jerusalem and in ,galilee4 ,to ,his apostles ,his appearance in the spirit could not have been surprising1 for ,he had repeatedly told them that ,he would be crucified1 and would rise again in three days4 ,as to a possibility of life after death--there was little or no question among the ,jews4 ,the ,sadducees only argued against it4 ,the belief of that time and of ages before was in a resurrection4 ,even ,daniel had told the people distinctly that the time would come when many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake1 some to everlasting life1 and some to shame and contempt4 ,indeed1 ,jews at this very moment were expecting ,elias and other prophets to rise from their graves and rule the world from ,palestine4 ,whether ,christ's physical body also appeared to ,mary ,magdalene that morning in the garden we may never know4 ,lyman ,abbott has rightly said that it is not even important that we should know4 ,it is sufficient that the ,spirit that never dies was there4 ,his appearance was the perfect proof of an after life4 ,pilate and the murderers had killed only the body1 not the soul4 ,quite possibly spirits have been momentarily seen in our later times1 but ,his1 seen by thousands1 walked about the earth for forty days4 ,that event was to establish a religion that would reform the world and live forever4 ,the world now knew there was a second life to strive for--and the road to that life was in being good to one another4 ,millions have walked it1 and died in peace4 ,they died1 not to an eternal sleep but to waken with the light of ,heaven bursting around them4 ,,the ,,end 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,variations in spelling1 punctuation and hyphenation have been retained except in obvious cases of typographical error4 ,the transcriber has changed the preface signature ,h4 ,s4 ,m4 ,b4 to ,s4 ,h4 ,m4 ,b4