CHAPTER XXVI

[pg 330]CHAPTER XXVIOn the morrow (which was the first day of the week), some of us rose earlier than the rest, and went down to Jerusalem to carry word to the other disciples and to such as were friendly among the Galileans (for many of them favoured us at this time, and a great number of them had come up to the Feast) that they might come forth from the city to meet Jesus and to welcome him. But the rest of us stayed with Jesus in Bethany. About the second hour of the day, when we were now about to set forth, Jesus sent Matthew the tax-gatherer, and another, to the village over against us, bidding them bring the ass whereof we had taken note yesterday; and if any man said aught, Matthew was to make answer that“the Master hath need of him.”When the ass was brought, Jesus mounted thereon, and we set forth at once; and it was now about the third hour of the day.When Bethany was by this time out of our sight, as we went by the road that lieth between the Tombs of the Prophets and the Mount of Offence, suddenly we heard a shouting as of a mixed multitude, and presently we discerned a great crowd of the disciples coming over the brow of the hill towards us, with many hundreds[pg 331]of the Galileans, all waving palm-branches in their hands, and hailing Jesus as the son of David. Now Jesus was riding before our band, upon the ass; but when the two bands met, there was a great shouting for joy; and the former band turned round and went on as vanguard, but our band marched on behind. Presently, as we drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, when we began to descry that quarter of the Holy City which men called the City of David, the shouting became louder, and so it continued, even there where the road descendeth so that the Holy City is no longer seen.But when at last we attained unto the summit of the Mount Olivet, so that the whole of the city was seen at once spread out before our eyes, with all the roofs, and towers, and pinnacles thereof, and the gilded battlements of the temple, shining like fire in the sun, then indeed the splendour of the sight so lifted up our hearts that we were even beside ourselves for admiration; and looking unto Jesus as the King of all this glory, we cried even louder than before unto him as our King and Conqueror, like unto David of old. But Jesus neither now nor at any time during the entering into Jerusalem seemed at all lifted up by our salutations and praises; nor yet, on the other hand, was he of a gloomy or sad countenance as though he foreboded evil and ruin. Rather he was as one waiting and expecting, looking perchance for some sign of the will of the Lord, in case it might yet please Him to turn the hearts of the Pharisees, that they might be converted and live. Therefore also when he looked on the glory of Jerusalem below his feet, he was neither astonished at the beauty thereof, nor[pg 332]did he (at least at this time) weep or lament over it: but he gazed at it, as it were in suspense and questioning his own spirit; if perchance it might be the Lord’s pleasure to manifest Himself to the daughter of Sion, and to stay His hand from destroying the beautiful city; or whether that could not be, but evil must take his course.But we, at this time, perceived naught of that which was in our Master’s mind; but we lifted up our voices and shouted amain, hailing him as Son of David, and crying,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom that cometh of our father David!”Some also cast their palm-branches down in the road before him, and others strewed their garments in the path to do him honour. After this fashion therefore, shouting, and singing, and praising God, the whole multitude of us came down from the mountain into the valley below.When we drew nigh unto the gate of the city, we saw that only some few of the citizens were come forth to welcome us. For the most part feared Jesus, lest he should bring down the wrath of the Romans upon the Holy City; neither knew they him as the Galileans knew him. But instead of the citizens, there stood a great throng of children gathered together before the gate; and when they heard the voices of the disciples and the voices of the Galileans, immediately they also took up the cry, and sang“Hosanna, Hosanna,”in a clear shrill voice, after the manner of children, so that their song sounded forth quite distinctly, and above all the noise and shouting of the multitude. Now of the Pharisees, none had gone forth from the city to welcome Jesus; but certain of the younger among them, desirous[pg 333]to look on the coming in of Jesus, as on a show in a theatre (and perchance willing, by the manifesting of their contempt of him, to overawe and to control the multitude of pilgrims), were come as far as the gate; and there they stood, over against the children, waiting the coming of Jesus, and with many gestures and beckonings signifying their displeasure. When therefore they heard the sound of the singing, they straightway rebuked the children, and would have them to hold their peace: but when the children would not, then turned the Pharisees in sore displeasure to Jesus, and bade him constrain them.Now Jesus all this while had seemed rapt in other matters; even as if he heard not the shouting nor the singing, neither understood the meaning thereof; but as if he heard other voices which we could not hear, and which, even for him, were not easy to understand. And when he drew nigh unto the gate of the city, and beheld the Pharisees, how they stood all together, and made no sign of welcome; then he looked up (methinks as I now remember it) with a wistful countenance to the gate, as though he partly expected that the very stones should cry out from the wall (according to the saying of the prophet Habakkuk), as if bearing witness against the unbelief of the Pharisees. Even thus looked Jesus, as he drew nigh to the gate, and there seemed as it were a shadow of doubt and expectancy upon his face; and just then it was that the Pharisees thrust themselves in his way and bade him stop the brawling of the children, for so they termed it.Now for an instant Jesus seemed scarce to understand the intent of the Pharisees, nor even the meaning of[pg 334]their words. But when he perceived it, and when he turned his face toward the children (who all this time ceased not from their singing, but cried Hosanna, Hosanna, even louder than before), then his mind seemed to come back to earth, and his countenance became clearer, and he smiled for joy; for methought in the voices of those simple children he acknowledged the very voice of the Father in Heaven speaking by His little ones on earth, and showing unto him how that there must be no sign of fire from Heaven, nor no mighty work of any visible sort; but only strength through weakness, and wisdom through simplicity, and the Kingdom of God through little children, according to the eternal ordinance.This behaviour of Jesus, though we understood it not then, yet was it partly interpreted to us, even at that time, by the answer which he made unto the Pharisees, saying unto them,“Verily I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the very stones should cry out.”Moreover, afterwards, when they would have had him rebuke them in the Temple, and when they said unto him,“Hearest thou what these say?”then Jesus spake unto them yet more clearly, and said,“Yea, have ye never read,‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise’?”When we came to the foot of Mount Moriah, we arrayed ourselves to enter into the temple, and we went in by the gate called Shushan. But lo, the courts of the temple and all the ways which lead into the courts were crowded with oxen and doves, and drovers and money-changers; and it was more like unto a market-place or shambles than to a temple of the Lord:[pg 335]even as I had beheld it two years before, when I came to offer sacrifice during my mother’s sickness, yea, and worse also. For during the week before the Passover, almost the whole of the Jewish nation was wont to assemble in Jerusalem for to offer sacrifice, even as many (so it hath been reported to me, but it is well nigh past belief) as three hundred myriads; wherefore, though there should be but one lamb slain for a score of pilgrims, yet the number of beasts to be sacrificed at one time must needs be many thousands, not less than one hundred and fifty thousand. When Jesus looked around on all this stir and traffic, he was sore displeased, and his anger was very hot, yea, such as I had seldom noted the like in him before; and he bade the merchants and money-changers take their wares hence. But when they would not, he made unto himself a scourge of cords and drove them before him; and the disciples and the people did the same, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and thrust out them which sold doves. And Jesus said unto the Pharisees,“It is written, My house shall be called the House of Prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”When Jesus spake these words, the Pharisees were exceeding wrath, and certain of their servants ran forward as if they would have laid hands on Jesus. Howbeit, Hezekiah the Scribe (the same of whom I have often made mention above) checked them, lest there should have been a tumult of the people. But it was plain to all men that they would fain have destroyed Jesus, only they feared the people. Therefore Jesus made no long stay for that day in the temple, but gave commandment to return to Bethany (for he would[pg 336]not tarry in Jerusalem by night lest the chief priests and Pharisees should lay hands upon him); and certain of the disciples accompanied us to the gate of the city, but not many.While we were going through the streets of the city toward the gate, we conversed concerning that which had happened, and especially concerning the driving out of the merchants and the money-lenders; and most said that it was well done, for the presence of them that bought and sold defiled the House of the Lord. But a certain Greek, of Philip’s acquaintance (one of them that had desired Philip that they might see Jesus), said that it was not well done of our Master, thus with his own hand to drive out them that bought and sold:“For,”said he,“it is not the part of a philosopher to use violence, nor to be moved by passion to anything that is against seemliness and dignity, nor to take upon himself the part of a common door-keeper.”Not much was said in answer at that time, for other thoughts possessed our minds; only John said that our Master did well to be angry, because he saw his Father’s House defiled. Nevertheless oftentimes, since that day, the words of the Greek have come into my mind, and also other like words of Xanthias, how that“towards the end of his life, Jesus of Nazareth was driven out of the bounds of his patience by the persecution of enemies; so that he became bitter and somewhat austere.”But my judgment is not so. For to me it seemeth that all through those days of tarrying in Jerusalem and in Bethany, our Master was neither bitter nor austere. But he had ever before his eyes the thought of us his disciples; and he was ever musing on our desolation,[pg 337](which should fall upon us when he should be parted from us), and how we should fare, contending without him against the Pharisees and against all other evil. Therefore he desired to leave it, as it were, on record, that the worst kind of sacrilege is the sacrilege of them which handle sacred things without the feeling thereof. And, as he had entered into Jerusalem like one having authority, so he desired perchance (for our sakes) to manifest himself, in the temple also, as one to whom obedience was due. Again, whereas Xanthias saith that Jesus, ever before in Galilee, taught us to endure evil, and not to put down evil by force, as now in Jerusalem;“The former rule,”saith Quartus,“applieth only to the brethren that live in the midst of them that know not the truth. But wheresoever a nation or a congregation, shall recognise a certain law”(as our nation did in the worship of the temple),“there perchance the breaking of the law is not to be suffered, and the law is to be maintained, even by force. For it is one thing to avenge oneself, but another to avenge a law.”After this manner wrote Quartus; but, in any case, Xanthias was assuredly wrong in saying that Jesus was“embittered by persecution;”unless it be bitter to call Satan Satan. For he was gentle and tender and very loving even to the last.Howbeit at this time our thoughts were full of other matters, so that we were the less bent on defending our Master against the friend of Philip. For we were something downcast, and Judas even more than the rest, because nothing had come of our entering into Jerusalem; but, as Judas phrased it, all our great purposes had ended in naught.“For,”said Judas,[pg 338]“the Lord hath given occasions, but we have used them not. For first, when we entered in at this same gate this morning, then I looked that Jesus should have given the word to disarm the guard that kept watch therein. But afterwards, when we had entered into the city and all the citizens were gathered to us, then at least I hoped to have heard him give commandment to assail the Fort of Antonia; or else I expected that he would have worked some sign in heaven, to have turned every one to our side, and so to have driven out the Gentiles without shedding of blood. But now we have gained nothing. Nay, we have lost everything. For we shall not again gather the multitude thus round us. And as for the Pharisees, he hath now so angered them that, even were he to work an hundred signs in heaven, I doubt they would not now accept him.”Hereupon John said that we must have patience and trust in Jesus; but Judas made answer that the time had passed for patience, and that other courses must be tried.For the space of two days, namely, the second day of the week, and likewise the third day, Jesus resorted to the temple daily, and taught the people there: but the more he saw of the temple, and of the priests therein, and likewise of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disputed with him daily in the temple), so much the more his heart loathed the abominations which he discerned, insomuch that he seemed like unto one contending against Satan himself, enthroned in the Holy Place; and his words against the Pharisees in those days were as if he desired that they should be engraven in fiery letters upon the hearts of all that[pg 339]heard him, for ever. So hot was the vehemency of his passion against them; yet not against them, but against the Satan in their hearts, who through them reigned over Israel. For whatsoever Jesus had noted of evil in the teaching of the Scribes in Galilee, and whatsoever of blindness and narrowness, yea, and of persecution and malignity; all this, and much more did he note in the Scribes of Jerusalem; insomuch that the Holy City and the temple itself now seemed to him to have become a very source of evil, poisoning the waters of life for the whole of the people.At the first, the Pharisees began to lay snares to take him at an advantage before the face of all the people; but he answered them according to their folly, proving to all the people that they knew not the foundations of truth. When they asked him by what authority he did that which he did, he would not tell them; but they must first tell him whether the baptism of John were from heaven or no; which question they feared to answer. As to the giving of tribute, he said that the denarius (which had on it the image of Cæsar) spake, of itself, that they that used it should give Cæsar his due. But when he gave back unto the Pharisee the denarius, saying these words,“Render therefore to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s,”then he paused for an instant, and afterwards added,“and to God the things that are God’s.”This he said, not as though some things belonged to Cæsar and not to God; but as though each man, in giving unto Cæsar his dues, must bear in mind that he was thereby giving to God his dues also; for a time might come when it might be a defrauding of God to give Cæsar tribute; but, at that time, to have refused tribute to[pg 340]Cæsar, would have been to refuse God His dues. So he bade them obey the signs of the times, yet so as never to defraud God; nor would he lay down any rule, as they had desired, but pointed to the foundations of righteousness, which lie in the heart and not in the hands. The like also he did in saying that the love of God and of man was the chief commandment of the Law. But concerning the Sadducees and their doctrine, that there is no resurrection, he said that the second life differeth from the first as much as angels differ from men; so that the bands whereby we are bound together here, will not be the same as will bind us together there. Howbeit he said not that there should be no bands hereafter, nor that these present bands should vanish; but only that they should be different, and not carnal, but spiritual. Moreover he questioned the Pharisees concerning their expectations of the Messiah and their interpretations of the Scriptures; and they could not make answer to his questions.But all these were only as the beginnings of the conflict. For presently the Pharisees began to wax more vehement in their disputations and to reveal their hatred of him more clearly. And when Jesus looked upon their faces, he discerned his own death instant therein. So he turned and spake to the people in parables, likening Israel to an estate let out to greedy husbandmen, which killed the servants of their lord, and last of all slew his son also, when he came to receive of the fruits of the land. Again, he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast, and the Pharisees to murderous people, subjects of a king; who would not come to the wedding of the king’s son, but slew his[pg 341]servants that invited them. Then one in the crowd, a Galilean by birth, and a man of loose life, cried aloud,“That is well said, O prophet; for we, that are poor, shall enter into the Kingdom; but the rich shall not enter.”But Jesus straightway continued his parable and described an unworthy guest, admitted indeed to the feast, but soon cast out, because he had come in not having on a wedding garment.Thus all the day was spent in contention; but in the evening, at Bethany, Jesus spake unto us very tenderly concerning the Holy Spirit (the mention whereof was at this time daily more and more upon his lips), and how this Spirit should abide with us for ever and be always our guide and helper. Moreover he encouraged us to be of good cheer, saying that, though the world were against us, yet he had overcome the world: and that he could give us a peace that should last for ever. Likewise he began at this time to say more oft and more clearly (for he had said the like before once or twice in dark sayings) that, besides his little flock (for so he was wont lovingly to call us), there should be yet other flocks gathered unto him, and there should be one fold, and one shepherd. Now of all this we understood not much at that season; for our hearts were not yet opened to it. Howbeit his words were sweet to the ear, yea, and they reached to our very souls; insomuch that we were drawn unto him even more than before, and loved him with an exceeding love: but still it was hidden from us that our Master was shortly to depart.But as concerning the Pharisees, Jesus told us that the wrath of the Lord must needs fall upon them. And he likened them unto a fig-tree which (after the manner[pg 342]of fig-trees) should, by course of nature, put forth fruit first and leaves afterwards; but this fig-tree, he said, putteth forth leaves but no fruits. Therefore the Lord, seeking fruit, goeth unto the tree, rising up early in the morning; and he looketh on it, and behold there are leaves, but no fruits. Then was the Lord wroth, and breathed upon the tree, and said unto it,“No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever:”and lo, when He returned and came by the same path again in the evening, the tree had withered away. When we heard these things, straightway there came into our minds another parable which our Master had spoken in former times concerning a barren tree; how the owner thereof cometh to the gardener and saith,“Lo, these two years I come seeking fruit and find none. Cut it down.”But the gardener besought the Lord that it might not be cut down till another year should pass, if perchance it might in the meantime bear fruit. Thence we perceived, comparing the two parables together, that Jesus discerned the wrath of God now nearer at hand. For before, there was mention of hope and of a respite of two years; but now there was to be no hope and no respite.But most strange it was to us to note how the worship and splendour of the temple, caused him no pleasure, but rather displeasure. Yet so it was. For on the second day of the week, when he was going forth from the city in the evening, a certain citizen of Jerusalem besought the disciples that they would shew him the buildings of the temple;“For,”said he,“it were a shame that Jesus of Nazareth should have been now two whole days in Jerusalem and not to have seen these[pg 343]sights.”But when the disciples moved him to see these things, he seemed like unto one constraining himself to look upon them that he might do us a pleasure: and when he had looked round upon them all, then he was silent for a while, and we perceived that they pleased him not. At last he opened his mouth and said unto us,“See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”But when another spake of the many years during which the temple had been a-building, Jesus answered that, even though the temple were destroyed to-day, the Lord could raise up the true temple in three days. Now whether by“three days,”he meant three days exactly, or“two or three days,”according to the common phrase, concerning this matter, it has been disputed sufficiently above. But when he spake of the true temple, assuredly he meant, not the temple of Herod, but that invisible temple set upon a rock, whereof he had before spoken to Simon Peter; and this temple seemed to him at all times one with himself: therefore said he that the true temple would be raised up, meaning the Son of man, and, in himself, the Church or Congregation of mankind.But all this was hid from us at that time, save that we understood Jesus to set no store by the temple of Herod, in that he discerned the fire of God’s wrath impending over it. And to us, as I remember, yea even to us that had daily converse with Jesus, it seemed strange that he should so set at naught that same temple which he had himself cleansed. For throughout all the land of Israel, the temple, being but one (and not[pg 344]many, as in Gentile countries), and very full of most ancient memories, because it presented and signified to us the former temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of Moses, this temple, I say, albeit Herod the Idumæan had built it, nevertheless seemed to us, in Israel, very holy, and well nigh one with Israel itself. And for this cause Xanthias blameth the saying of Jesus touching the temple, how that it should be thrown down: for saith Xanthias, the casting down of the temple must needs have seemed to the common folk in Israel all one with the casting down of Israel itself even as the Romans took it ill when, in after days, Gaius Cæsar desired of his gods that the Roman people might have had but one neck that he might have destroyed it at a blow. Wherefore Xanthias findeth fault with this saying of Jesus, as not politic, nor discreet.But, in my judgment, Jesus spake herein not truthfully only, but also expediently; yea and expediently for all time; bearing witness, as it were, even now to all the churches, lest perchance the service of the Lord become the service of Satan: as it was in the temple of Herod. For all things therein seemed unto him to savour of hypocrisy, being done to obtain praise and admiration of men, but not to lift up the heart unto the Lord; so that the very splendour and brightness hid, instead of revealing, Him whose name is the Truth. Therefore when he was led to the treasury and bidden to mark how great gifts the rich men cast therein, he stood awhile watching; then turning round to us, he pointed to a certain poor widow (who had cast in no more than two mites, or a farthing), and he said,“This poor widow hath cast in more than all they which have[pg 345]cast into the treasury.”Many other like words he said at this time: and, in fine, he ceased after the first day to speak concerning the purifying of the temple, nor would he any more call it his Father’s house; for he perceived that it was become a den of thieves and that the purifying must be by fire. But that which most of all made us at that time to marvel, was, that he spake of the Chief Priests and Pharisees as murderers. But hereby he meant, as I judge, not only that they desired to slay him, but also that they were slaying the souls of all Israel by giving unto the people a doctrine and a worship, that were as poison to the hearts of mankind. Wherefore, as a man might discern with the eye the spots of blood upon the hand of a murderer, even so (but with much more clearness) did our Master discern the blood of Israel upon the souls of the Priests and Scribes in the temple; insomuch that the temple itself appeared even as a great slaughter-house, and the worshippers as murdered men, and the priests, as butchers girt for the slaughter of Truth.Therefore on the last day, even on the third day of the week, when the sun was nigh setting, and the time was now at hand that Jesus should depart from the temple, and he knew he should enter it no more; behold, he stood up in the presence of all the people, and poured forth denunciation against the Pharisees as being verily the children of Satan. Some of them he charged with love of gain; and he bade the multitude especially to beware of those Scribes who devour widows’ houses and wring forth gifts for the synagogues, and for a pretence make long prayers. These, he said, should receive even greater condemnation than the rest.[pg 346]But even against them that cared not for money, yea even against all the Pharisees, he brought grievous accusations.For he said they had quenched the spirit of life within their hearts, so that Satan had taken possession of them and used them as his tools. For this cause they could not distinguish between small things and great, between the purifying of the outside and the inside, between that which sanctifieth and that which is sanctified; and they esteemed the tithing of mint and anise and cummin of more avail than mercy, judgment, and truth. Also he said they had made the interpretation of the Law into a gainful profession, doing whatsoever they did for to be honoured and admired of men. Therefore he spared not to call them, not only fools and blind, but also hypocrites. For he said that they knew in their own hearts that they had no sight and no knowledge, yet they professed to see and to know; and they had cast out their own consciences, yet would they fain appear able to judge between right and wrong. Thus they presented one appearance to men, which look only on the outside; but another appearance to God, who discerneth the inside; and therefore he called them actors in masks, or hypocrites; he likened them also unto whited sepulchres, hiding death within them. For they hated the Spirit of life, and they lived by rules and precepts which work death; and they would neither enter into life themselves, nor suffer the people of the land to enter in; and they feared and hated prophets and prophecies, and would fain destroy them; and they had hated John the prophet while he lived, and now they hated Jesus, even to the death: and this, while[pg 347]they professed to repent of the persecutions of the prophets by our forefathers, and to build monuments to their memory, saying,“If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”After this, he turned round, to go forth for the last time from the temple. But as he came to the steps, he looked back upon all the Pharisees, and upon all their friends (who stood all gathered together behind him, watching him depart), and he pronounced a curse upon them; as though it needs must be that they must yet continue their course; and Satan must accomplish his purpose in them, and must be revealed in all his wickedness working through the Pharisees his bondsmen; and the judgment of the Lord must needs fall upon these servants of Satan:“Fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify: and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”[pg 348]CHAPTER XXVIIWhen Jesus had made an end of denouncing the Pharisees, many of the young men with them and their servants were desirous to have laid hands on him; and they came near as if for that intent, but the older sort checked them. Yet was their wrath clearly to be read in their faces: and when I came out of the temple, being a little space behind the rest, Hezekiah the Scribe overtook me and said,“Young man, I warn thee that thou mayest with speed sever thyself from this blind shepherd: for lo, he hath to-day provoked war, and war shall fall upon him; for unless he perish we shall perish.”But I made answer, that I should follow Jesus constantly even to the end. Then he spake again of the evil which, he said, had befallen that rash young man Barabbas; how that he had been taken ten days ago by the Romans on the road that goeth down to Jericho, while he was riding at the head of a band of Galileans that were raising sedition: and, said Hezekiah to me,“Thy friend of Jotapata is to be crucified, as I hear, two or three days hence. Take heed therefore unto thine own steps, lest thou also fall into the same destruction.”I made him no further answer, but departed, sorrowing not a little[pg 349]for the sake of Barabbas: for I had not before heard how great an evil had befallen him.When I overtook the rest, I heard the disciples conversing earnestly one with another; and the Greek, even the friend of Philip, bade us take note that we were beset with spies and watched; for“When ye issued from the temple,”said he,“I perceived that the servants of the chief priests and the Pharisees watched you whithersoever ye turned; and, meseemeth, it is their intent to lay hands on your Master this night. But I marvel why your Master so inveighed against the Pharisees, transgressing the bounds of seemliness and decorum, at least in my judgment.”So spake he, after his Greek fashion; but Judas also spake to the same effect, and said that we had come up to Jerusalem to destroy enemies, and lo, we had destroyed none, but made many.The rest knew not what answer to make to these words; neither did I myself at that time. Howbeit, now I know well that Jesus came not to prophesy smooth things, but to teach us the truth. Therefore was it most needful that he should speak the truth, and nothing less than the truth, concerning the Pharisees; to the intent that the eyes of all mankind might be opened, even to the generations of generations, that they might discern that the sin of sins is hypocrisy. For other sins wound, but this sin slayeth, the conscience. Peradventure also Jesus foresaw that a time might come when certain, even among his own disciples, would err as the Pharisees had erred, shutting their eyes against the truth, as being unfit for use and not convenient. And he that came to make a spiritual Israel,[pg 350]a nation of priests and ministers for mankind, was it not most needful that he should thus as it were mark out and brand with censure the special sin of priests? He also that came to redeem all the children of men from all evil, was it not most necessary that he should make clear in the sight of all men what was the greatest evil? For if men knew it not, how could he redeem them from it? And well I know that, if he had not assailed the Pharisees as he did, then these same Greeks who now say that“Jesus transgressed the bounds of seemliness,”would in that case have said (even as Jonathan the son of Ezra said) that“Jesus knew not the evil in human nature.”Notwithstanding at this season we thought not of these things; but we feared what should betide to our Master if the Pharisees took him and cast him into bonds.But a certain man of the Pharisees, Joseph by name, of the town of Arimathæa, clave unto Jesus; and although he dared not openly consort with us, he sent a servant after us, when we came forth from the Temple, to bid Jesus not abide in the same house this night as last night, because, said he,“the Pharisees purpose to take thee.”He also warned Jesus not to come into Jerusalem on the morrow. But if Jesus desired to have some chamber in the city wherein to keep the Passover, Joseph promised that he would provide one. So much I heard myself; for I was nigh to Jesus when the servant of Joseph brought the message; but the answer of Jesus I heard not, save that he thanked the messenger courteously.In the meantime we had passed out of the gate of the city, and had begun to climb up the side of the hill[pg 351]called Olivet; and by reason that we were in the depth of the valley, the sun had by this time set for us. But when we had gone some space up the side of the hill, as we turned round to take breath and rest, behold, the sun had not yet set, but was just beginning to sink; and the western quarter of the heaven was lit up with a light exceeding red and fiery, and the roofs of the temple and the towers of the castle of Herod shone as with a blood-red flame; and though our hearts were heavy with many thoughts, yet could we not choose but look. But when Jesus saw the city and the temple, whence he had but now come and wherein he was never to set foot again; his eyes were filled with tears, and he changed colour and could go no further, but sat down upon a stone and covered his face with his hands: and then he looked again upon the city and wept, mourning over it and saying,“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”Having said these words, he arose and went on his way, going up the hill. And we followed him, as men in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, that follow an angel of deliverance, but fear while they follow, lest at any time their guide should vanish out of their sight, and they should be left alone. Even so followed we Jesus up the Mount of Olives, and we feared much to[pg 352]question him concerning his words, but we feared even more to remain silent and so to be ignorant concerning the approaching peril. Therefore presently Simon Peter, with two other disciples, went to him and questioned him, saying,“Tell us when shall these things be.”Jesus turned and looked upon our faces, and he perceived that we were all desirous to question him. So he beckoned to us to sit down, and he himself sat down upon a stone, and we also sat down upon the ground around him.Then began Jesus to pour forth many prophecies of troubles near at hand and troubles far off; and he seemed like unto one upon the shore of a stormy sea covered with mists and darkness, who peereth into the night if perchance he may descry the ship wherein his friends sail tempest-tossed; even so did Jesus look forward into that which was to come, for our sakes. For though his own end was at hand, his thoughts and words were all for us. But he also had in his mind the prophecies of the prophet Daniel; who had prophesied, many generations before, that a time should come when the worship of God should fail, and a king of evil set himself up to be worshipped, and the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination of desolation set in the place thereof. Daniel likewise prophesieth that those of the nation who were of understanding should remain upright; yet even these should fall for a time, to try them and to purify them. But because the prophecies of Daniel were like unto the words of our Master, I will here set them down; for Daniel saith,“They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.[pg 353]And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.”Now these prophecies of Daniel were fulfilled, in part, in the days of that wicked king Antiochus who is called Epiphanes, or Illustrious; but Jesus prophesied that they, or others like unto them, should still be fulfilled. Howbeit, in my judgment, he did not prophesy that these things should come to pass merely because Daniel had prophesied the like; but because, looking upon the present, he discerned the signs of the times (according to his own saying), and hence he perceived that which was yet to come. For his words were the words of Daniel; but his thoughts were the thoughts that came to him from that which he saw in the world. For when he looked upon the world, he saw love of self, and love of ease, and all manner of baseness and servility; and all the empire was given up to the worship of a man, even the Emperor Tiberius, and that man a tyrant and a man of sin, a slave to all abominations of the flesh. Wherefore death was reigning over the whole of the world. But when he looked to Israel, which was appointed to redeem the world and to lead the world to the knowledge of the true[pg 354]God, behold, Israel himself was blind; and they which should have been priests unto the Gentiles were as naught but pedants; and these too, given over unto all sin, hypocrites, and murderers in their hearts, and children of Satan.Therefore it was discerned clearly by Jesus (having his eyes open to things future even as our eyes are open to things present), that a great conflict was at hand between evil and good, evil rearing itself aloft in the world to receive the worship of all mankind and driving out the true worship of God; and for a time evil must prevail. For if he looked upon us his apostles or disciples, then he perceived even too easily in our hearts the signs of weakness and instability; and for this cause he prophesied that we should all desert him and fall away for a time. Moreover, because he saw how the men of Israel thirsted for redemption, yea, and how all the children of men desired some deliverance from their present evils, therefore he knew and prophesied that, when he had departed, his place would not be left empty, neither at once nor in after generations; but in every time and in every nation false deliverers and false redeemers should arise, saying that men should obey them, and that they would deliver men. For this cause he warned us against false Christs, yea, even though they should work signs and wonders.But as concerning the times and seasons when these several troubles should arise, he said naught; nor did he describe the manner of the wars, nor the nations, nor the armies that should make war. Now Quartus judgeth that Jesus knew not these matters; and true it is that Jesus himself spake concerning the time of[pg 355]his coming, saying,“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”Only, concerning one part of the prophecy, he said, for certain, that this generation should not pass away till all had been fulfilled. But this, saith Quartus, he knew because of the signs of the times: for as to that which he said,“Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,”Quartus supposeth that Jesus himself knew not the time thereof, but only this, that it was not possible that Sion could behold him until Sion desired him: for the beholding of Jesus after his death was not to be with the bodily eye, but with the spiritual, through love and desire. Now concerning the foreknowledge of Jesus, what things he knew, and what things he knew not, I have said above that I pronounce no judgment. But true it is that at this time he spake unto us a third parable concerning the fig-tree, and said that we were to discern the coming of these evils from the signs of the times, even as men discern the coming of the summer from the fig-tree, when it putteth forth leaves. For, like as the summer causeth the fig-tree to put forth her leaves, or like as the scent of the carcase guideth the vultures to the prey, even so he taught us that the sins of men, and especially of Israel, would bring after them miseries and judgments, not by chance, but of necessity.Therefore he prophesied that great tribulation should fall on the land of Israel, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor yet ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake[pg 356]those days should be shortened. But after the tribulation of Israel, he prophesied that all the empire should be shaken, and the thrones and princedoms thereof should be cast down, and the throne of the Son of man should be set up on high in the sight of all men, and the tribes of the earth should mourn, and the Gentiles should see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the elect should be gathered together by an angel as with the sound of a trumpet from all the corners of the earth. Finally he exhorted us to watch in patience, for we knew not at what hour our Master would come.Now as concerning these prophecies, part were perchance fulfilled when our Master came to us from the grave; for then to them that watched and waited he appeared. But part also, in my judgment, yea, and a great part, were fulfilled ten years ago, when Jerusalem was trodden down by the Gentiles, and the temple was burned with fire, and Israel was scattered over the face of the earth, and many were slain, and many more sold for slaves, and such tribulation befell them as never before. But part remaineth to be fulfilled, when men’s hearts shall fail them because the empire shall be shaken, and the thrones of this world shall be cast down, and the worship of the Son of man shall be set up. For albeit the empire fell not in the days of Nero, when all men expected that the end of all things was at hand; yet must the empire needs be cast down. And it is like that this shall come to pass in my days, even in the days of me Philochristus, the writer of this book. And when Israel shall turn unto the Lord Jesus and shall call them blessed that come in his name, then[pg 357]shall Israel see him, according to his saying. Howbeit concerning the day and the hour we have no knowledge thereof; only we know that in the end the Son of man must come with glory; and until the Son of man shall reign over the world, peace cannot be; that is to say, cannot be so as to be settled and firm. For all things move violently to their place, but easily in their place. Wherefore the ways of the world cannot be smooth, nor can the children of men and the tribes of men move smoothly and easily in the world, until the Son of man be in his place as King of the world over all men and over all nations, and until all men and all nations be in their places as his servants; and then there shall be peace for ever; but not till then.But all this I write, having been enlightened by the Spirit. But at the time when we were sitting thus round about Jesus, listening to his prophecies, we were not yet enlightened; for the Spirit of Jesus was not yet in the world, because Jesus was yet with us. Therefore were we all greatly dismayed by his words, and our hearts quite failed us; and when he had made an end of speaking, we sat still silent; and the shadow of night, stretching over the face of the earth, seemed unto us like to a shadow of Satan encompassing both us and all the world and our Redeemer himself, in whom we had trusted that he should have redeemed Sion. Thomas at last brake silence, and said,“Alas, O Master, dost thou not remember thine own words on that other mount in Galilee, where thou didst pour blessings on us, and didst strengthen us with comfortable sayings, telling us that the meek should inherit the earth? Verily the prophecies of the Mount of Olives do not accord with the[pg 358]prophecies of the Mount of Blessing.”By this time it was become dark, so that we could not clearly discern the features of Jesus, for the moon had not yet risen; but he seemed to turn his face suddenly to Thomas as though his words had grieved him. Howbeit, he said nothing, but arose from his place, and we followed him up the mountain even unto Bethany.When we had been a full hour in Bethany, our Master called for Judas, that he should bear some message to Joseph of Arimathea in Jerusalem; for Judas was oftentimes employed by Jesus about such matters, being a man of understanding, and of a ready wit, and having a knowledge of the ways of men, more than the rest of the disciples. But search being made for Judas, he was not to be found; and this seemed not a little to disquiet Jesus. Howbeit, he bade me go in his stead, and bear a certain letter to Joseph of Arimathea. So I went down straightway and delivered the letter; and having received an answer written and sealed, I set forth to return to Bethany. Now the moon was by this time risen, and shining very brightly. So, because I was minded not to be seen of any of the servants of the chief priests, I kept myself in the shadow of the street as I went forth to the gate of Kidron; and it being now late, even in the second watch of the night, there were few people stirring.But as I was now near to the street called Straight, whereby one turneth to the right hand to go unto the gate, methought I heard the sound of the voice of the night-watch going their rounds. So I drew near to the wall, and remained in a corner where I could not[pg 359]be seen. And straightway Hezekiah the Scribe came by, and Judas with him, walking very near the place where I was (but they discerned me not) and talking in a low voice together. And as they passed, I clearly heard Judas say to Hezekiah,“But if he should call down fire upon the guards?”And Hezekiah made answer,“Then thou wouldst have done him good service,”or words to that effect: but the exact words of Hezekiah I heard not, because they were by this time gone somewhat past me. Neither could I hear what Judas said in answer to the words of Hezekiah. Only I noted, even afar off, that after they had conversed some while longer, Judas held out his right hand to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah seemed to take it as a pledge.When I saw this, my mind misgave me that all was not well; yet did it not so much as enter into my mind, at that time, that one of the Twelve could purpose treachery against our Master; and, because of my message and my haste, I gave no thought to the words that I had heard. But I sped away to the gate, and passing through unquestioned, I went up the mountain in haste; and when I came to the top, I found John, the son of Zebedee, waiting for me, to take me to the house where Jesus lay that night; for he was not to abide in the same house as before, for fear of the Pharisees. So I came to Jesus and delivered my letter; and I found with him a certain Nicodemus, a great teacher among the Pharisees. He had come to converse with Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the chief priests. Then I delivered my letter to Jesus, and I told him how I had seen Judas discoursing with Hezekiah. But the old man, even Nicodemus, was[pg 360]troubled when he heard me make mention of Judas, and he turned to Jesus and said that from friends came sometimes even more dangers than from enemies; and as he had before warned Jesus against the plotting of the Chief Priests, so now again he besought Jesus not to adventure himself in Jerusalem on the morrow. Then he gave thanks to Jesus for his doctrine, and departed. But when the letter of Joseph of Arimathea was opened, it confirmed the words of Nicodemus; for he also bade Jesus not come to Jerusalem on the morrow, but to tarry till the next day. He also added (but these words Jesus read not aloud, so that I knew not of them till afterwards) that Jesus should keep the Passover on the day after the morrow; howbeit not at his house, but at another house which his servants should prepare. He also gave Jesus a sign whereby he might be guided to the house. Likewise the letter bade him beware of false friends.When Jesus had made an end of reading aloud those last words bidding him beware of false friends, his heart was sorely troubled, and the burden seemed more than he could bear; and he went out for a while to be alone and to pray. But presently he returned and spake comfortable words to us, and cheered us with his kindness; and so for that night he lay down to rest; and some of us slept while others watched. Howbeit that night no enemy came.On the morrow (which was the fourth day of the week) Jesus neither went down to Jerusalem, nor sent any down to make preparation for the Passover. But he remained with us in Bethany, part of the time in the house, and part in the fields round about, going[pg 361]with us hither and thither, and speaking more and more to us of that same Holy Spirit whereof he had spoken before; which should guide us, he said, into all truth, and teach us what to reply unto our enemies, and be unto us a comforter and a friend, yea, the source of all happiness and good. And more and more he spake concerning his departure; insomuch that, though we were unwilling, yet by this time we were constrained to suppose that our Master must be severed from us for a season, and that we must watch for his return. Yet how or in what way he should be taken from us we could not conjecture: only that he should be slain by his enemies we had no manner of belief, no, nor so much as a fear thereof, although he had so many times prophesied it to us. For the thing was hidden from us of the Lord, that we should neither believe it nor conceive it.But the women were otherwise minded, and were very full of fears. To them it seemed that, if Jesus was indeed about to be taken from them, then it mattered not whether he were taken in a chariot of fire or by whatever other means: and they lamented over him as over one already dead. Many times did we rebuke them for their faithlessness (for so it seemed to us), but they would not cease. Judas also rebuked them even more bitterly than we: for he had come to us on the morning of that day, saying that he had been with certain of his acquaintance in Jerusalem that he might be informed concerning the plots of the Pharisees. Jesus received him kindly, even more methought than was usual; and when we sat together at meat that night, he placed Judas next unto himself,[pg 362]John being on one side of him and Judas on the other, in the seat of honour.Now so it was that, while we were at meat, behold, one of the women came behind Jesus, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, at the same time uttering most piteous cries and lamentations. Then Judas changed colour; for his heart misgave him, as I judge, that the lamentations of the women might prove true; and besides, he was wrath perchance because the love wherewith this woman loved Jesus put his semblance of love utterly to shame. Therefore he rose up from his seat in indignation and said,“To what purpose is this waste? for this ointment might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor.”We also ourselves in like manner murmured against the woman. But Jesus said,“Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial.”Then he paused, and mused for an instant, and added a prophecy, that wheresoever his good tidings of Redemption should be proclaimed in the whole world, there also should this that this woman had done be told for a memorial of her.Now before these words, while we had sat at meat listening to the discourse of Jesus, Judas seemed as if his heart were enlarged towards Jesus; and albeit at times he fell to pondering and musing (like unto a man doubting of two courses which to take), yet anon he would be aroused by some word that Jesus spake; and then his countenance would kindle, and he would stoop forward,[pg 363]as in old times, with his eyes all a-glow, listening as if he would fain devour each syllable with his ears. But now his countenance fell, and he was filled with rage because he had been rebuked by Jesus; and he went forth from the chamber, and we saw him that night no more. But as for us that remained, our hearts became exceeding sorrowful; for now indeed it pressed upon us that the departure of Jesus must needs be sad and grievous and full of sorrow, like unto death. But still, that he should die indeed, and be buried: this, even now, we could in no wise believe.

[pg 330]CHAPTER XXVIOn the morrow (which was the first day of the week), some of us rose earlier than the rest, and went down to Jerusalem to carry word to the other disciples and to such as were friendly among the Galileans (for many of them favoured us at this time, and a great number of them had come up to the Feast) that they might come forth from the city to meet Jesus and to welcome him. But the rest of us stayed with Jesus in Bethany. About the second hour of the day, when we were now about to set forth, Jesus sent Matthew the tax-gatherer, and another, to the village over against us, bidding them bring the ass whereof we had taken note yesterday; and if any man said aught, Matthew was to make answer that“the Master hath need of him.”When the ass was brought, Jesus mounted thereon, and we set forth at once; and it was now about the third hour of the day.When Bethany was by this time out of our sight, as we went by the road that lieth between the Tombs of the Prophets and the Mount of Offence, suddenly we heard a shouting as of a mixed multitude, and presently we discerned a great crowd of the disciples coming over the brow of the hill towards us, with many hundreds[pg 331]of the Galileans, all waving palm-branches in their hands, and hailing Jesus as the son of David. Now Jesus was riding before our band, upon the ass; but when the two bands met, there was a great shouting for joy; and the former band turned round and went on as vanguard, but our band marched on behind. Presently, as we drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, when we began to descry that quarter of the Holy City which men called the City of David, the shouting became louder, and so it continued, even there where the road descendeth so that the Holy City is no longer seen.But when at last we attained unto the summit of the Mount Olivet, so that the whole of the city was seen at once spread out before our eyes, with all the roofs, and towers, and pinnacles thereof, and the gilded battlements of the temple, shining like fire in the sun, then indeed the splendour of the sight so lifted up our hearts that we were even beside ourselves for admiration; and looking unto Jesus as the King of all this glory, we cried even louder than before unto him as our King and Conqueror, like unto David of old. But Jesus neither now nor at any time during the entering into Jerusalem seemed at all lifted up by our salutations and praises; nor yet, on the other hand, was he of a gloomy or sad countenance as though he foreboded evil and ruin. Rather he was as one waiting and expecting, looking perchance for some sign of the will of the Lord, in case it might yet please Him to turn the hearts of the Pharisees, that they might be converted and live. Therefore also when he looked on the glory of Jerusalem below his feet, he was neither astonished at the beauty thereof, nor[pg 332]did he (at least at this time) weep or lament over it: but he gazed at it, as it were in suspense and questioning his own spirit; if perchance it might be the Lord’s pleasure to manifest Himself to the daughter of Sion, and to stay His hand from destroying the beautiful city; or whether that could not be, but evil must take his course.But we, at this time, perceived naught of that which was in our Master’s mind; but we lifted up our voices and shouted amain, hailing him as Son of David, and crying,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom that cometh of our father David!”Some also cast their palm-branches down in the road before him, and others strewed their garments in the path to do him honour. After this fashion therefore, shouting, and singing, and praising God, the whole multitude of us came down from the mountain into the valley below.When we drew nigh unto the gate of the city, we saw that only some few of the citizens were come forth to welcome us. For the most part feared Jesus, lest he should bring down the wrath of the Romans upon the Holy City; neither knew they him as the Galileans knew him. But instead of the citizens, there stood a great throng of children gathered together before the gate; and when they heard the voices of the disciples and the voices of the Galileans, immediately they also took up the cry, and sang“Hosanna, Hosanna,”in a clear shrill voice, after the manner of children, so that their song sounded forth quite distinctly, and above all the noise and shouting of the multitude. Now of the Pharisees, none had gone forth from the city to welcome Jesus; but certain of the younger among them, desirous[pg 333]to look on the coming in of Jesus, as on a show in a theatre (and perchance willing, by the manifesting of their contempt of him, to overawe and to control the multitude of pilgrims), were come as far as the gate; and there they stood, over against the children, waiting the coming of Jesus, and with many gestures and beckonings signifying their displeasure. When therefore they heard the sound of the singing, they straightway rebuked the children, and would have them to hold their peace: but when the children would not, then turned the Pharisees in sore displeasure to Jesus, and bade him constrain them.Now Jesus all this while had seemed rapt in other matters; even as if he heard not the shouting nor the singing, neither understood the meaning thereof; but as if he heard other voices which we could not hear, and which, even for him, were not easy to understand. And when he drew nigh unto the gate of the city, and beheld the Pharisees, how they stood all together, and made no sign of welcome; then he looked up (methinks as I now remember it) with a wistful countenance to the gate, as though he partly expected that the very stones should cry out from the wall (according to the saying of the prophet Habakkuk), as if bearing witness against the unbelief of the Pharisees. Even thus looked Jesus, as he drew nigh to the gate, and there seemed as it were a shadow of doubt and expectancy upon his face; and just then it was that the Pharisees thrust themselves in his way and bade him stop the brawling of the children, for so they termed it.Now for an instant Jesus seemed scarce to understand the intent of the Pharisees, nor even the meaning of[pg 334]their words. But when he perceived it, and when he turned his face toward the children (who all this time ceased not from their singing, but cried Hosanna, Hosanna, even louder than before), then his mind seemed to come back to earth, and his countenance became clearer, and he smiled for joy; for methought in the voices of those simple children he acknowledged the very voice of the Father in Heaven speaking by His little ones on earth, and showing unto him how that there must be no sign of fire from Heaven, nor no mighty work of any visible sort; but only strength through weakness, and wisdom through simplicity, and the Kingdom of God through little children, according to the eternal ordinance.This behaviour of Jesus, though we understood it not then, yet was it partly interpreted to us, even at that time, by the answer which he made unto the Pharisees, saying unto them,“Verily I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the very stones should cry out.”Moreover, afterwards, when they would have had him rebuke them in the Temple, and when they said unto him,“Hearest thou what these say?”then Jesus spake unto them yet more clearly, and said,“Yea, have ye never read,‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise’?”When we came to the foot of Mount Moriah, we arrayed ourselves to enter into the temple, and we went in by the gate called Shushan. But lo, the courts of the temple and all the ways which lead into the courts were crowded with oxen and doves, and drovers and money-changers; and it was more like unto a market-place or shambles than to a temple of the Lord:[pg 335]even as I had beheld it two years before, when I came to offer sacrifice during my mother’s sickness, yea, and worse also. For during the week before the Passover, almost the whole of the Jewish nation was wont to assemble in Jerusalem for to offer sacrifice, even as many (so it hath been reported to me, but it is well nigh past belief) as three hundred myriads; wherefore, though there should be but one lamb slain for a score of pilgrims, yet the number of beasts to be sacrificed at one time must needs be many thousands, not less than one hundred and fifty thousand. When Jesus looked around on all this stir and traffic, he was sore displeased, and his anger was very hot, yea, such as I had seldom noted the like in him before; and he bade the merchants and money-changers take their wares hence. But when they would not, he made unto himself a scourge of cords and drove them before him; and the disciples and the people did the same, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and thrust out them which sold doves. And Jesus said unto the Pharisees,“It is written, My house shall be called the House of Prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”When Jesus spake these words, the Pharisees were exceeding wrath, and certain of their servants ran forward as if they would have laid hands on Jesus. Howbeit, Hezekiah the Scribe (the same of whom I have often made mention above) checked them, lest there should have been a tumult of the people. But it was plain to all men that they would fain have destroyed Jesus, only they feared the people. Therefore Jesus made no long stay for that day in the temple, but gave commandment to return to Bethany (for he would[pg 336]not tarry in Jerusalem by night lest the chief priests and Pharisees should lay hands upon him); and certain of the disciples accompanied us to the gate of the city, but not many.While we were going through the streets of the city toward the gate, we conversed concerning that which had happened, and especially concerning the driving out of the merchants and the money-lenders; and most said that it was well done, for the presence of them that bought and sold defiled the House of the Lord. But a certain Greek, of Philip’s acquaintance (one of them that had desired Philip that they might see Jesus), said that it was not well done of our Master, thus with his own hand to drive out them that bought and sold:“For,”said he,“it is not the part of a philosopher to use violence, nor to be moved by passion to anything that is against seemliness and dignity, nor to take upon himself the part of a common door-keeper.”Not much was said in answer at that time, for other thoughts possessed our minds; only John said that our Master did well to be angry, because he saw his Father’s House defiled. Nevertheless oftentimes, since that day, the words of the Greek have come into my mind, and also other like words of Xanthias, how that“towards the end of his life, Jesus of Nazareth was driven out of the bounds of his patience by the persecution of enemies; so that he became bitter and somewhat austere.”But my judgment is not so. For to me it seemeth that all through those days of tarrying in Jerusalem and in Bethany, our Master was neither bitter nor austere. But he had ever before his eyes the thought of us his disciples; and he was ever musing on our desolation,[pg 337](which should fall upon us when he should be parted from us), and how we should fare, contending without him against the Pharisees and against all other evil. Therefore he desired to leave it, as it were, on record, that the worst kind of sacrilege is the sacrilege of them which handle sacred things without the feeling thereof. And, as he had entered into Jerusalem like one having authority, so he desired perchance (for our sakes) to manifest himself, in the temple also, as one to whom obedience was due. Again, whereas Xanthias saith that Jesus, ever before in Galilee, taught us to endure evil, and not to put down evil by force, as now in Jerusalem;“The former rule,”saith Quartus,“applieth only to the brethren that live in the midst of them that know not the truth. But wheresoever a nation or a congregation, shall recognise a certain law”(as our nation did in the worship of the temple),“there perchance the breaking of the law is not to be suffered, and the law is to be maintained, even by force. For it is one thing to avenge oneself, but another to avenge a law.”After this manner wrote Quartus; but, in any case, Xanthias was assuredly wrong in saying that Jesus was“embittered by persecution;”unless it be bitter to call Satan Satan. For he was gentle and tender and very loving even to the last.Howbeit at this time our thoughts were full of other matters, so that we were the less bent on defending our Master against the friend of Philip. For we were something downcast, and Judas even more than the rest, because nothing had come of our entering into Jerusalem; but, as Judas phrased it, all our great purposes had ended in naught.“For,”said Judas,[pg 338]“the Lord hath given occasions, but we have used them not. For first, when we entered in at this same gate this morning, then I looked that Jesus should have given the word to disarm the guard that kept watch therein. But afterwards, when we had entered into the city and all the citizens were gathered to us, then at least I hoped to have heard him give commandment to assail the Fort of Antonia; or else I expected that he would have worked some sign in heaven, to have turned every one to our side, and so to have driven out the Gentiles without shedding of blood. But now we have gained nothing. Nay, we have lost everything. For we shall not again gather the multitude thus round us. And as for the Pharisees, he hath now so angered them that, even were he to work an hundred signs in heaven, I doubt they would not now accept him.”Hereupon John said that we must have patience and trust in Jesus; but Judas made answer that the time had passed for patience, and that other courses must be tried.For the space of two days, namely, the second day of the week, and likewise the third day, Jesus resorted to the temple daily, and taught the people there: but the more he saw of the temple, and of the priests therein, and likewise of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disputed with him daily in the temple), so much the more his heart loathed the abominations which he discerned, insomuch that he seemed like unto one contending against Satan himself, enthroned in the Holy Place; and his words against the Pharisees in those days were as if he desired that they should be engraven in fiery letters upon the hearts of all that[pg 339]heard him, for ever. So hot was the vehemency of his passion against them; yet not against them, but against the Satan in their hearts, who through them reigned over Israel. For whatsoever Jesus had noted of evil in the teaching of the Scribes in Galilee, and whatsoever of blindness and narrowness, yea, and of persecution and malignity; all this, and much more did he note in the Scribes of Jerusalem; insomuch that the Holy City and the temple itself now seemed to him to have become a very source of evil, poisoning the waters of life for the whole of the people.At the first, the Pharisees began to lay snares to take him at an advantage before the face of all the people; but he answered them according to their folly, proving to all the people that they knew not the foundations of truth. When they asked him by what authority he did that which he did, he would not tell them; but they must first tell him whether the baptism of John were from heaven or no; which question they feared to answer. As to the giving of tribute, he said that the denarius (which had on it the image of Cæsar) spake, of itself, that they that used it should give Cæsar his due. But when he gave back unto the Pharisee the denarius, saying these words,“Render therefore to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s,”then he paused for an instant, and afterwards added,“and to God the things that are God’s.”This he said, not as though some things belonged to Cæsar and not to God; but as though each man, in giving unto Cæsar his dues, must bear in mind that he was thereby giving to God his dues also; for a time might come when it might be a defrauding of God to give Cæsar tribute; but, at that time, to have refused tribute to[pg 340]Cæsar, would have been to refuse God His dues. So he bade them obey the signs of the times, yet so as never to defraud God; nor would he lay down any rule, as they had desired, but pointed to the foundations of righteousness, which lie in the heart and not in the hands. The like also he did in saying that the love of God and of man was the chief commandment of the Law. But concerning the Sadducees and their doctrine, that there is no resurrection, he said that the second life differeth from the first as much as angels differ from men; so that the bands whereby we are bound together here, will not be the same as will bind us together there. Howbeit he said not that there should be no bands hereafter, nor that these present bands should vanish; but only that they should be different, and not carnal, but spiritual. Moreover he questioned the Pharisees concerning their expectations of the Messiah and their interpretations of the Scriptures; and they could not make answer to his questions.But all these were only as the beginnings of the conflict. For presently the Pharisees began to wax more vehement in their disputations and to reveal their hatred of him more clearly. And when Jesus looked upon their faces, he discerned his own death instant therein. So he turned and spake to the people in parables, likening Israel to an estate let out to greedy husbandmen, which killed the servants of their lord, and last of all slew his son also, when he came to receive of the fruits of the land. Again, he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast, and the Pharisees to murderous people, subjects of a king; who would not come to the wedding of the king’s son, but slew his[pg 341]servants that invited them. Then one in the crowd, a Galilean by birth, and a man of loose life, cried aloud,“That is well said, O prophet; for we, that are poor, shall enter into the Kingdom; but the rich shall not enter.”But Jesus straightway continued his parable and described an unworthy guest, admitted indeed to the feast, but soon cast out, because he had come in not having on a wedding garment.Thus all the day was spent in contention; but in the evening, at Bethany, Jesus spake unto us very tenderly concerning the Holy Spirit (the mention whereof was at this time daily more and more upon his lips), and how this Spirit should abide with us for ever and be always our guide and helper. Moreover he encouraged us to be of good cheer, saying that, though the world were against us, yet he had overcome the world: and that he could give us a peace that should last for ever. Likewise he began at this time to say more oft and more clearly (for he had said the like before once or twice in dark sayings) that, besides his little flock (for so he was wont lovingly to call us), there should be yet other flocks gathered unto him, and there should be one fold, and one shepherd. Now of all this we understood not much at that season; for our hearts were not yet opened to it. Howbeit his words were sweet to the ear, yea, and they reached to our very souls; insomuch that we were drawn unto him even more than before, and loved him with an exceeding love: but still it was hidden from us that our Master was shortly to depart.But as concerning the Pharisees, Jesus told us that the wrath of the Lord must needs fall upon them. And he likened them unto a fig-tree which (after the manner[pg 342]of fig-trees) should, by course of nature, put forth fruit first and leaves afterwards; but this fig-tree, he said, putteth forth leaves but no fruits. Therefore the Lord, seeking fruit, goeth unto the tree, rising up early in the morning; and he looketh on it, and behold there are leaves, but no fruits. Then was the Lord wroth, and breathed upon the tree, and said unto it,“No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever:”and lo, when He returned and came by the same path again in the evening, the tree had withered away. When we heard these things, straightway there came into our minds another parable which our Master had spoken in former times concerning a barren tree; how the owner thereof cometh to the gardener and saith,“Lo, these two years I come seeking fruit and find none. Cut it down.”But the gardener besought the Lord that it might not be cut down till another year should pass, if perchance it might in the meantime bear fruit. Thence we perceived, comparing the two parables together, that Jesus discerned the wrath of God now nearer at hand. For before, there was mention of hope and of a respite of two years; but now there was to be no hope and no respite.But most strange it was to us to note how the worship and splendour of the temple, caused him no pleasure, but rather displeasure. Yet so it was. For on the second day of the week, when he was going forth from the city in the evening, a certain citizen of Jerusalem besought the disciples that they would shew him the buildings of the temple;“For,”said he,“it were a shame that Jesus of Nazareth should have been now two whole days in Jerusalem and not to have seen these[pg 343]sights.”But when the disciples moved him to see these things, he seemed like unto one constraining himself to look upon them that he might do us a pleasure: and when he had looked round upon them all, then he was silent for a while, and we perceived that they pleased him not. At last he opened his mouth and said unto us,“See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”But when another spake of the many years during which the temple had been a-building, Jesus answered that, even though the temple were destroyed to-day, the Lord could raise up the true temple in three days. Now whether by“three days,”he meant three days exactly, or“two or three days,”according to the common phrase, concerning this matter, it has been disputed sufficiently above. But when he spake of the true temple, assuredly he meant, not the temple of Herod, but that invisible temple set upon a rock, whereof he had before spoken to Simon Peter; and this temple seemed to him at all times one with himself: therefore said he that the true temple would be raised up, meaning the Son of man, and, in himself, the Church or Congregation of mankind.But all this was hid from us at that time, save that we understood Jesus to set no store by the temple of Herod, in that he discerned the fire of God’s wrath impending over it. And to us, as I remember, yea even to us that had daily converse with Jesus, it seemed strange that he should so set at naught that same temple which he had himself cleansed. For throughout all the land of Israel, the temple, being but one (and not[pg 344]many, as in Gentile countries), and very full of most ancient memories, because it presented and signified to us the former temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of Moses, this temple, I say, albeit Herod the Idumæan had built it, nevertheless seemed to us, in Israel, very holy, and well nigh one with Israel itself. And for this cause Xanthias blameth the saying of Jesus touching the temple, how that it should be thrown down: for saith Xanthias, the casting down of the temple must needs have seemed to the common folk in Israel all one with the casting down of Israel itself even as the Romans took it ill when, in after days, Gaius Cæsar desired of his gods that the Roman people might have had but one neck that he might have destroyed it at a blow. Wherefore Xanthias findeth fault with this saying of Jesus, as not politic, nor discreet.But, in my judgment, Jesus spake herein not truthfully only, but also expediently; yea and expediently for all time; bearing witness, as it were, even now to all the churches, lest perchance the service of the Lord become the service of Satan: as it was in the temple of Herod. For all things therein seemed unto him to savour of hypocrisy, being done to obtain praise and admiration of men, but not to lift up the heart unto the Lord; so that the very splendour and brightness hid, instead of revealing, Him whose name is the Truth. Therefore when he was led to the treasury and bidden to mark how great gifts the rich men cast therein, he stood awhile watching; then turning round to us, he pointed to a certain poor widow (who had cast in no more than two mites, or a farthing), and he said,“This poor widow hath cast in more than all they which have[pg 345]cast into the treasury.”Many other like words he said at this time: and, in fine, he ceased after the first day to speak concerning the purifying of the temple, nor would he any more call it his Father’s house; for he perceived that it was become a den of thieves and that the purifying must be by fire. But that which most of all made us at that time to marvel, was, that he spake of the Chief Priests and Pharisees as murderers. But hereby he meant, as I judge, not only that they desired to slay him, but also that they were slaying the souls of all Israel by giving unto the people a doctrine and a worship, that were as poison to the hearts of mankind. Wherefore, as a man might discern with the eye the spots of blood upon the hand of a murderer, even so (but with much more clearness) did our Master discern the blood of Israel upon the souls of the Priests and Scribes in the temple; insomuch that the temple itself appeared even as a great slaughter-house, and the worshippers as murdered men, and the priests, as butchers girt for the slaughter of Truth.Therefore on the last day, even on the third day of the week, when the sun was nigh setting, and the time was now at hand that Jesus should depart from the temple, and he knew he should enter it no more; behold, he stood up in the presence of all the people, and poured forth denunciation against the Pharisees as being verily the children of Satan. Some of them he charged with love of gain; and he bade the multitude especially to beware of those Scribes who devour widows’ houses and wring forth gifts for the synagogues, and for a pretence make long prayers. These, he said, should receive even greater condemnation than the rest.[pg 346]But even against them that cared not for money, yea even against all the Pharisees, he brought grievous accusations.For he said they had quenched the spirit of life within their hearts, so that Satan had taken possession of them and used them as his tools. For this cause they could not distinguish between small things and great, between the purifying of the outside and the inside, between that which sanctifieth and that which is sanctified; and they esteemed the tithing of mint and anise and cummin of more avail than mercy, judgment, and truth. Also he said they had made the interpretation of the Law into a gainful profession, doing whatsoever they did for to be honoured and admired of men. Therefore he spared not to call them, not only fools and blind, but also hypocrites. For he said that they knew in their own hearts that they had no sight and no knowledge, yet they professed to see and to know; and they had cast out their own consciences, yet would they fain appear able to judge between right and wrong. Thus they presented one appearance to men, which look only on the outside; but another appearance to God, who discerneth the inside; and therefore he called them actors in masks, or hypocrites; he likened them also unto whited sepulchres, hiding death within them. For they hated the Spirit of life, and they lived by rules and precepts which work death; and they would neither enter into life themselves, nor suffer the people of the land to enter in; and they feared and hated prophets and prophecies, and would fain destroy them; and they had hated John the prophet while he lived, and now they hated Jesus, even to the death: and this, while[pg 347]they professed to repent of the persecutions of the prophets by our forefathers, and to build monuments to their memory, saying,“If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”After this, he turned round, to go forth for the last time from the temple. But as he came to the steps, he looked back upon all the Pharisees, and upon all their friends (who stood all gathered together behind him, watching him depart), and he pronounced a curse upon them; as though it needs must be that they must yet continue their course; and Satan must accomplish his purpose in them, and must be revealed in all his wickedness working through the Pharisees his bondsmen; and the judgment of the Lord must needs fall upon these servants of Satan:“Fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify: and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”[pg 348]CHAPTER XXVIIWhen Jesus had made an end of denouncing the Pharisees, many of the young men with them and their servants were desirous to have laid hands on him; and they came near as if for that intent, but the older sort checked them. Yet was their wrath clearly to be read in their faces: and when I came out of the temple, being a little space behind the rest, Hezekiah the Scribe overtook me and said,“Young man, I warn thee that thou mayest with speed sever thyself from this blind shepherd: for lo, he hath to-day provoked war, and war shall fall upon him; for unless he perish we shall perish.”But I made answer, that I should follow Jesus constantly even to the end. Then he spake again of the evil which, he said, had befallen that rash young man Barabbas; how that he had been taken ten days ago by the Romans on the road that goeth down to Jericho, while he was riding at the head of a band of Galileans that were raising sedition: and, said Hezekiah to me,“Thy friend of Jotapata is to be crucified, as I hear, two or three days hence. Take heed therefore unto thine own steps, lest thou also fall into the same destruction.”I made him no further answer, but departed, sorrowing not a little[pg 349]for the sake of Barabbas: for I had not before heard how great an evil had befallen him.When I overtook the rest, I heard the disciples conversing earnestly one with another; and the Greek, even the friend of Philip, bade us take note that we were beset with spies and watched; for“When ye issued from the temple,”said he,“I perceived that the servants of the chief priests and the Pharisees watched you whithersoever ye turned; and, meseemeth, it is their intent to lay hands on your Master this night. But I marvel why your Master so inveighed against the Pharisees, transgressing the bounds of seemliness and decorum, at least in my judgment.”So spake he, after his Greek fashion; but Judas also spake to the same effect, and said that we had come up to Jerusalem to destroy enemies, and lo, we had destroyed none, but made many.The rest knew not what answer to make to these words; neither did I myself at that time. Howbeit, now I know well that Jesus came not to prophesy smooth things, but to teach us the truth. Therefore was it most needful that he should speak the truth, and nothing less than the truth, concerning the Pharisees; to the intent that the eyes of all mankind might be opened, even to the generations of generations, that they might discern that the sin of sins is hypocrisy. For other sins wound, but this sin slayeth, the conscience. Peradventure also Jesus foresaw that a time might come when certain, even among his own disciples, would err as the Pharisees had erred, shutting their eyes against the truth, as being unfit for use and not convenient. And he that came to make a spiritual Israel,[pg 350]a nation of priests and ministers for mankind, was it not most needful that he should thus as it were mark out and brand with censure the special sin of priests? He also that came to redeem all the children of men from all evil, was it not most necessary that he should make clear in the sight of all men what was the greatest evil? For if men knew it not, how could he redeem them from it? And well I know that, if he had not assailed the Pharisees as he did, then these same Greeks who now say that“Jesus transgressed the bounds of seemliness,”would in that case have said (even as Jonathan the son of Ezra said) that“Jesus knew not the evil in human nature.”Notwithstanding at this season we thought not of these things; but we feared what should betide to our Master if the Pharisees took him and cast him into bonds.But a certain man of the Pharisees, Joseph by name, of the town of Arimathæa, clave unto Jesus; and although he dared not openly consort with us, he sent a servant after us, when we came forth from the Temple, to bid Jesus not abide in the same house this night as last night, because, said he,“the Pharisees purpose to take thee.”He also warned Jesus not to come into Jerusalem on the morrow. But if Jesus desired to have some chamber in the city wherein to keep the Passover, Joseph promised that he would provide one. So much I heard myself; for I was nigh to Jesus when the servant of Joseph brought the message; but the answer of Jesus I heard not, save that he thanked the messenger courteously.In the meantime we had passed out of the gate of the city, and had begun to climb up the side of the hill[pg 351]called Olivet; and by reason that we were in the depth of the valley, the sun had by this time set for us. But when we had gone some space up the side of the hill, as we turned round to take breath and rest, behold, the sun had not yet set, but was just beginning to sink; and the western quarter of the heaven was lit up with a light exceeding red and fiery, and the roofs of the temple and the towers of the castle of Herod shone as with a blood-red flame; and though our hearts were heavy with many thoughts, yet could we not choose but look. But when Jesus saw the city and the temple, whence he had but now come and wherein he was never to set foot again; his eyes were filled with tears, and he changed colour and could go no further, but sat down upon a stone and covered his face with his hands: and then he looked again upon the city and wept, mourning over it and saying,“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”Having said these words, he arose and went on his way, going up the hill. And we followed him, as men in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, that follow an angel of deliverance, but fear while they follow, lest at any time their guide should vanish out of their sight, and they should be left alone. Even so followed we Jesus up the Mount of Olives, and we feared much to[pg 352]question him concerning his words, but we feared even more to remain silent and so to be ignorant concerning the approaching peril. Therefore presently Simon Peter, with two other disciples, went to him and questioned him, saying,“Tell us when shall these things be.”Jesus turned and looked upon our faces, and he perceived that we were all desirous to question him. So he beckoned to us to sit down, and he himself sat down upon a stone, and we also sat down upon the ground around him.Then began Jesus to pour forth many prophecies of troubles near at hand and troubles far off; and he seemed like unto one upon the shore of a stormy sea covered with mists and darkness, who peereth into the night if perchance he may descry the ship wherein his friends sail tempest-tossed; even so did Jesus look forward into that which was to come, for our sakes. For though his own end was at hand, his thoughts and words were all for us. But he also had in his mind the prophecies of the prophet Daniel; who had prophesied, many generations before, that a time should come when the worship of God should fail, and a king of evil set himself up to be worshipped, and the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination of desolation set in the place thereof. Daniel likewise prophesieth that those of the nation who were of understanding should remain upright; yet even these should fall for a time, to try them and to purify them. But because the prophecies of Daniel were like unto the words of our Master, I will here set them down; for Daniel saith,“They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.[pg 353]And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.”Now these prophecies of Daniel were fulfilled, in part, in the days of that wicked king Antiochus who is called Epiphanes, or Illustrious; but Jesus prophesied that they, or others like unto them, should still be fulfilled. Howbeit, in my judgment, he did not prophesy that these things should come to pass merely because Daniel had prophesied the like; but because, looking upon the present, he discerned the signs of the times (according to his own saying), and hence he perceived that which was yet to come. For his words were the words of Daniel; but his thoughts were the thoughts that came to him from that which he saw in the world. For when he looked upon the world, he saw love of self, and love of ease, and all manner of baseness and servility; and all the empire was given up to the worship of a man, even the Emperor Tiberius, and that man a tyrant and a man of sin, a slave to all abominations of the flesh. Wherefore death was reigning over the whole of the world. But when he looked to Israel, which was appointed to redeem the world and to lead the world to the knowledge of the true[pg 354]God, behold, Israel himself was blind; and they which should have been priests unto the Gentiles were as naught but pedants; and these too, given over unto all sin, hypocrites, and murderers in their hearts, and children of Satan.Therefore it was discerned clearly by Jesus (having his eyes open to things future even as our eyes are open to things present), that a great conflict was at hand between evil and good, evil rearing itself aloft in the world to receive the worship of all mankind and driving out the true worship of God; and for a time evil must prevail. For if he looked upon us his apostles or disciples, then he perceived even too easily in our hearts the signs of weakness and instability; and for this cause he prophesied that we should all desert him and fall away for a time. Moreover, because he saw how the men of Israel thirsted for redemption, yea, and how all the children of men desired some deliverance from their present evils, therefore he knew and prophesied that, when he had departed, his place would not be left empty, neither at once nor in after generations; but in every time and in every nation false deliverers and false redeemers should arise, saying that men should obey them, and that they would deliver men. For this cause he warned us against false Christs, yea, even though they should work signs and wonders.But as concerning the times and seasons when these several troubles should arise, he said naught; nor did he describe the manner of the wars, nor the nations, nor the armies that should make war. Now Quartus judgeth that Jesus knew not these matters; and true it is that Jesus himself spake concerning the time of[pg 355]his coming, saying,“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”Only, concerning one part of the prophecy, he said, for certain, that this generation should not pass away till all had been fulfilled. But this, saith Quartus, he knew because of the signs of the times: for as to that which he said,“Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,”Quartus supposeth that Jesus himself knew not the time thereof, but only this, that it was not possible that Sion could behold him until Sion desired him: for the beholding of Jesus after his death was not to be with the bodily eye, but with the spiritual, through love and desire. Now concerning the foreknowledge of Jesus, what things he knew, and what things he knew not, I have said above that I pronounce no judgment. But true it is that at this time he spake unto us a third parable concerning the fig-tree, and said that we were to discern the coming of these evils from the signs of the times, even as men discern the coming of the summer from the fig-tree, when it putteth forth leaves. For, like as the summer causeth the fig-tree to put forth her leaves, or like as the scent of the carcase guideth the vultures to the prey, even so he taught us that the sins of men, and especially of Israel, would bring after them miseries and judgments, not by chance, but of necessity.Therefore he prophesied that great tribulation should fall on the land of Israel, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor yet ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake[pg 356]those days should be shortened. But after the tribulation of Israel, he prophesied that all the empire should be shaken, and the thrones and princedoms thereof should be cast down, and the throne of the Son of man should be set up on high in the sight of all men, and the tribes of the earth should mourn, and the Gentiles should see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the elect should be gathered together by an angel as with the sound of a trumpet from all the corners of the earth. Finally he exhorted us to watch in patience, for we knew not at what hour our Master would come.Now as concerning these prophecies, part were perchance fulfilled when our Master came to us from the grave; for then to them that watched and waited he appeared. But part also, in my judgment, yea, and a great part, were fulfilled ten years ago, when Jerusalem was trodden down by the Gentiles, and the temple was burned with fire, and Israel was scattered over the face of the earth, and many were slain, and many more sold for slaves, and such tribulation befell them as never before. But part remaineth to be fulfilled, when men’s hearts shall fail them because the empire shall be shaken, and the thrones of this world shall be cast down, and the worship of the Son of man shall be set up. For albeit the empire fell not in the days of Nero, when all men expected that the end of all things was at hand; yet must the empire needs be cast down. And it is like that this shall come to pass in my days, even in the days of me Philochristus, the writer of this book. And when Israel shall turn unto the Lord Jesus and shall call them blessed that come in his name, then[pg 357]shall Israel see him, according to his saying. Howbeit concerning the day and the hour we have no knowledge thereof; only we know that in the end the Son of man must come with glory; and until the Son of man shall reign over the world, peace cannot be; that is to say, cannot be so as to be settled and firm. For all things move violently to their place, but easily in their place. Wherefore the ways of the world cannot be smooth, nor can the children of men and the tribes of men move smoothly and easily in the world, until the Son of man be in his place as King of the world over all men and over all nations, and until all men and all nations be in their places as his servants; and then there shall be peace for ever; but not till then.But all this I write, having been enlightened by the Spirit. But at the time when we were sitting thus round about Jesus, listening to his prophecies, we were not yet enlightened; for the Spirit of Jesus was not yet in the world, because Jesus was yet with us. Therefore were we all greatly dismayed by his words, and our hearts quite failed us; and when he had made an end of speaking, we sat still silent; and the shadow of night, stretching over the face of the earth, seemed unto us like to a shadow of Satan encompassing both us and all the world and our Redeemer himself, in whom we had trusted that he should have redeemed Sion. Thomas at last brake silence, and said,“Alas, O Master, dost thou not remember thine own words on that other mount in Galilee, where thou didst pour blessings on us, and didst strengthen us with comfortable sayings, telling us that the meek should inherit the earth? Verily the prophecies of the Mount of Olives do not accord with the[pg 358]prophecies of the Mount of Blessing.”By this time it was become dark, so that we could not clearly discern the features of Jesus, for the moon had not yet risen; but he seemed to turn his face suddenly to Thomas as though his words had grieved him. Howbeit, he said nothing, but arose from his place, and we followed him up the mountain even unto Bethany.When we had been a full hour in Bethany, our Master called for Judas, that he should bear some message to Joseph of Arimathea in Jerusalem; for Judas was oftentimes employed by Jesus about such matters, being a man of understanding, and of a ready wit, and having a knowledge of the ways of men, more than the rest of the disciples. But search being made for Judas, he was not to be found; and this seemed not a little to disquiet Jesus. Howbeit, he bade me go in his stead, and bear a certain letter to Joseph of Arimathea. So I went down straightway and delivered the letter; and having received an answer written and sealed, I set forth to return to Bethany. Now the moon was by this time risen, and shining very brightly. So, because I was minded not to be seen of any of the servants of the chief priests, I kept myself in the shadow of the street as I went forth to the gate of Kidron; and it being now late, even in the second watch of the night, there were few people stirring.But as I was now near to the street called Straight, whereby one turneth to the right hand to go unto the gate, methought I heard the sound of the voice of the night-watch going their rounds. So I drew near to the wall, and remained in a corner where I could not[pg 359]be seen. And straightway Hezekiah the Scribe came by, and Judas with him, walking very near the place where I was (but they discerned me not) and talking in a low voice together. And as they passed, I clearly heard Judas say to Hezekiah,“But if he should call down fire upon the guards?”And Hezekiah made answer,“Then thou wouldst have done him good service,”or words to that effect: but the exact words of Hezekiah I heard not, because they were by this time gone somewhat past me. Neither could I hear what Judas said in answer to the words of Hezekiah. Only I noted, even afar off, that after they had conversed some while longer, Judas held out his right hand to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah seemed to take it as a pledge.When I saw this, my mind misgave me that all was not well; yet did it not so much as enter into my mind, at that time, that one of the Twelve could purpose treachery against our Master; and, because of my message and my haste, I gave no thought to the words that I had heard. But I sped away to the gate, and passing through unquestioned, I went up the mountain in haste; and when I came to the top, I found John, the son of Zebedee, waiting for me, to take me to the house where Jesus lay that night; for he was not to abide in the same house as before, for fear of the Pharisees. So I came to Jesus and delivered my letter; and I found with him a certain Nicodemus, a great teacher among the Pharisees. He had come to converse with Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the chief priests. Then I delivered my letter to Jesus, and I told him how I had seen Judas discoursing with Hezekiah. But the old man, even Nicodemus, was[pg 360]troubled when he heard me make mention of Judas, and he turned to Jesus and said that from friends came sometimes even more dangers than from enemies; and as he had before warned Jesus against the plotting of the Chief Priests, so now again he besought Jesus not to adventure himself in Jerusalem on the morrow. Then he gave thanks to Jesus for his doctrine, and departed. But when the letter of Joseph of Arimathea was opened, it confirmed the words of Nicodemus; for he also bade Jesus not come to Jerusalem on the morrow, but to tarry till the next day. He also added (but these words Jesus read not aloud, so that I knew not of them till afterwards) that Jesus should keep the Passover on the day after the morrow; howbeit not at his house, but at another house which his servants should prepare. He also gave Jesus a sign whereby he might be guided to the house. Likewise the letter bade him beware of false friends.When Jesus had made an end of reading aloud those last words bidding him beware of false friends, his heart was sorely troubled, and the burden seemed more than he could bear; and he went out for a while to be alone and to pray. But presently he returned and spake comfortable words to us, and cheered us with his kindness; and so for that night he lay down to rest; and some of us slept while others watched. Howbeit that night no enemy came.On the morrow (which was the fourth day of the week) Jesus neither went down to Jerusalem, nor sent any down to make preparation for the Passover. But he remained with us in Bethany, part of the time in the house, and part in the fields round about, going[pg 361]with us hither and thither, and speaking more and more to us of that same Holy Spirit whereof he had spoken before; which should guide us, he said, into all truth, and teach us what to reply unto our enemies, and be unto us a comforter and a friend, yea, the source of all happiness and good. And more and more he spake concerning his departure; insomuch that, though we were unwilling, yet by this time we were constrained to suppose that our Master must be severed from us for a season, and that we must watch for his return. Yet how or in what way he should be taken from us we could not conjecture: only that he should be slain by his enemies we had no manner of belief, no, nor so much as a fear thereof, although he had so many times prophesied it to us. For the thing was hidden from us of the Lord, that we should neither believe it nor conceive it.But the women were otherwise minded, and were very full of fears. To them it seemed that, if Jesus was indeed about to be taken from them, then it mattered not whether he were taken in a chariot of fire or by whatever other means: and they lamented over him as over one already dead. Many times did we rebuke them for their faithlessness (for so it seemed to us), but they would not cease. Judas also rebuked them even more bitterly than we: for he had come to us on the morning of that day, saying that he had been with certain of his acquaintance in Jerusalem that he might be informed concerning the plots of the Pharisees. Jesus received him kindly, even more methought than was usual; and when we sat together at meat that night, he placed Judas next unto himself,[pg 362]John being on one side of him and Judas on the other, in the seat of honour.Now so it was that, while we were at meat, behold, one of the women came behind Jesus, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, at the same time uttering most piteous cries and lamentations. Then Judas changed colour; for his heart misgave him, as I judge, that the lamentations of the women might prove true; and besides, he was wrath perchance because the love wherewith this woman loved Jesus put his semblance of love utterly to shame. Therefore he rose up from his seat in indignation and said,“To what purpose is this waste? for this ointment might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor.”We also ourselves in like manner murmured against the woman. But Jesus said,“Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial.”Then he paused, and mused for an instant, and added a prophecy, that wheresoever his good tidings of Redemption should be proclaimed in the whole world, there also should this that this woman had done be told for a memorial of her.Now before these words, while we had sat at meat listening to the discourse of Jesus, Judas seemed as if his heart were enlarged towards Jesus; and albeit at times he fell to pondering and musing (like unto a man doubting of two courses which to take), yet anon he would be aroused by some word that Jesus spake; and then his countenance would kindle, and he would stoop forward,[pg 363]as in old times, with his eyes all a-glow, listening as if he would fain devour each syllable with his ears. But now his countenance fell, and he was filled with rage because he had been rebuked by Jesus; and he went forth from the chamber, and we saw him that night no more. But as for us that remained, our hearts became exceeding sorrowful; for now indeed it pressed upon us that the departure of Jesus must needs be sad and grievous and full of sorrow, like unto death. But still, that he should die indeed, and be buried: this, even now, we could in no wise believe.

[pg 330]CHAPTER XXVIOn the morrow (which was the first day of the week), some of us rose earlier than the rest, and went down to Jerusalem to carry word to the other disciples and to such as were friendly among the Galileans (for many of them favoured us at this time, and a great number of them had come up to the Feast) that they might come forth from the city to meet Jesus and to welcome him. But the rest of us stayed with Jesus in Bethany. About the second hour of the day, when we were now about to set forth, Jesus sent Matthew the tax-gatherer, and another, to the village over against us, bidding them bring the ass whereof we had taken note yesterday; and if any man said aught, Matthew was to make answer that“the Master hath need of him.”When the ass was brought, Jesus mounted thereon, and we set forth at once; and it was now about the third hour of the day.When Bethany was by this time out of our sight, as we went by the road that lieth between the Tombs of the Prophets and the Mount of Offence, suddenly we heard a shouting as of a mixed multitude, and presently we discerned a great crowd of the disciples coming over the brow of the hill towards us, with many hundreds[pg 331]of the Galileans, all waving palm-branches in their hands, and hailing Jesus as the son of David. Now Jesus was riding before our band, upon the ass; but when the two bands met, there was a great shouting for joy; and the former band turned round and went on as vanguard, but our band marched on behind. Presently, as we drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, when we began to descry that quarter of the Holy City which men called the City of David, the shouting became louder, and so it continued, even there where the road descendeth so that the Holy City is no longer seen.But when at last we attained unto the summit of the Mount Olivet, so that the whole of the city was seen at once spread out before our eyes, with all the roofs, and towers, and pinnacles thereof, and the gilded battlements of the temple, shining like fire in the sun, then indeed the splendour of the sight so lifted up our hearts that we were even beside ourselves for admiration; and looking unto Jesus as the King of all this glory, we cried even louder than before unto him as our King and Conqueror, like unto David of old. But Jesus neither now nor at any time during the entering into Jerusalem seemed at all lifted up by our salutations and praises; nor yet, on the other hand, was he of a gloomy or sad countenance as though he foreboded evil and ruin. Rather he was as one waiting and expecting, looking perchance for some sign of the will of the Lord, in case it might yet please Him to turn the hearts of the Pharisees, that they might be converted and live. Therefore also when he looked on the glory of Jerusalem below his feet, he was neither astonished at the beauty thereof, nor[pg 332]did he (at least at this time) weep or lament over it: but he gazed at it, as it were in suspense and questioning his own spirit; if perchance it might be the Lord’s pleasure to manifest Himself to the daughter of Sion, and to stay His hand from destroying the beautiful city; or whether that could not be, but evil must take his course.But we, at this time, perceived naught of that which was in our Master’s mind; but we lifted up our voices and shouted amain, hailing him as Son of David, and crying,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom that cometh of our father David!”Some also cast their palm-branches down in the road before him, and others strewed their garments in the path to do him honour. After this fashion therefore, shouting, and singing, and praising God, the whole multitude of us came down from the mountain into the valley below.When we drew nigh unto the gate of the city, we saw that only some few of the citizens were come forth to welcome us. For the most part feared Jesus, lest he should bring down the wrath of the Romans upon the Holy City; neither knew they him as the Galileans knew him. But instead of the citizens, there stood a great throng of children gathered together before the gate; and when they heard the voices of the disciples and the voices of the Galileans, immediately they also took up the cry, and sang“Hosanna, Hosanna,”in a clear shrill voice, after the manner of children, so that their song sounded forth quite distinctly, and above all the noise and shouting of the multitude. Now of the Pharisees, none had gone forth from the city to welcome Jesus; but certain of the younger among them, desirous[pg 333]to look on the coming in of Jesus, as on a show in a theatre (and perchance willing, by the manifesting of their contempt of him, to overawe and to control the multitude of pilgrims), were come as far as the gate; and there they stood, over against the children, waiting the coming of Jesus, and with many gestures and beckonings signifying their displeasure. When therefore they heard the sound of the singing, they straightway rebuked the children, and would have them to hold their peace: but when the children would not, then turned the Pharisees in sore displeasure to Jesus, and bade him constrain them.Now Jesus all this while had seemed rapt in other matters; even as if he heard not the shouting nor the singing, neither understood the meaning thereof; but as if he heard other voices which we could not hear, and which, even for him, were not easy to understand. And when he drew nigh unto the gate of the city, and beheld the Pharisees, how they stood all together, and made no sign of welcome; then he looked up (methinks as I now remember it) with a wistful countenance to the gate, as though he partly expected that the very stones should cry out from the wall (according to the saying of the prophet Habakkuk), as if bearing witness against the unbelief of the Pharisees. Even thus looked Jesus, as he drew nigh to the gate, and there seemed as it were a shadow of doubt and expectancy upon his face; and just then it was that the Pharisees thrust themselves in his way and bade him stop the brawling of the children, for so they termed it.Now for an instant Jesus seemed scarce to understand the intent of the Pharisees, nor even the meaning of[pg 334]their words. But when he perceived it, and when he turned his face toward the children (who all this time ceased not from their singing, but cried Hosanna, Hosanna, even louder than before), then his mind seemed to come back to earth, and his countenance became clearer, and he smiled for joy; for methought in the voices of those simple children he acknowledged the very voice of the Father in Heaven speaking by His little ones on earth, and showing unto him how that there must be no sign of fire from Heaven, nor no mighty work of any visible sort; but only strength through weakness, and wisdom through simplicity, and the Kingdom of God through little children, according to the eternal ordinance.This behaviour of Jesus, though we understood it not then, yet was it partly interpreted to us, even at that time, by the answer which he made unto the Pharisees, saying unto them,“Verily I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the very stones should cry out.”Moreover, afterwards, when they would have had him rebuke them in the Temple, and when they said unto him,“Hearest thou what these say?”then Jesus spake unto them yet more clearly, and said,“Yea, have ye never read,‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise’?”When we came to the foot of Mount Moriah, we arrayed ourselves to enter into the temple, and we went in by the gate called Shushan. But lo, the courts of the temple and all the ways which lead into the courts were crowded with oxen and doves, and drovers and money-changers; and it was more like unto a market-place or shambles than to a temple of the Lord:[pg 335]even as I had beheld it two years before, when I came to offer sacrifice during my mother’s sickness, yea, and worse also. For during the week before the Passover, almost the whole of the Jewish nation was wont to assemble in Jerusalem for to offer sacrifice, even as many (so it hath been reported to me, but it is well nigh past belief) as three hundred myriads; wherefore, though there should be but one lamb slain for a score of pilgrims, yet the number of beasts to be sacrificed at one time must needs be many thousands, not less than one hundred and fifty thousand. When Jesus looked around on all this stir and traffic, he was sore displeased, and his anger was very hot, yea, such as I had seldom noted the like in him before; and he bade the merchants and money-changers take their wares hence. But when they would not, he made unto himself a scourge of cords and drove them before him; and the disciples and the people did the same, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and thrust out them which sold doves. And Jesus said unto the Pharisees,“It is written, My house shall be called the House of Prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”When Jesus spake these words, the Pharisees were exceeding wrath, and certain of their servants ran forward as if they would have laid hands on Jesus. Howbeit, Hezekiah the Scribe (the same of whom I have often made mention above) checked them, lest there should have been a tumult of the people. But it was plain to all men that they would fain have destroyed Jesus, only they feared the people. Therefore Jesus made no long stay for that day in the temple, but gave commandment to return to Bethany (for he would[pg 336]not tarry in Jerusalem by night lest the chief priests and Pharisees should lay hands upon him); and certain of the disciples accompanied us to the gate of the city, but not many.While we were going through the streets of the city toward the gate, we conversed concerning that which had happened, and especially concerning the driving out of the merchants and the money-lenders; and most said that it was well done, for the presence of them that bought and sold defiled the House of the Lord. But a certain Greek, of Philip’s acquaintance (one of them that had desired Philip that they might see Jesus), said that it was not well done of our Master, thus with his own hand to drive out them that bought and sold:“For,”said he,“it is not the part of a philosopher to use violence, nor to be moved by passion to anything that is against seemliness and dignity, nor to take upon himself the part of a common door-keeper.”Not much was said in answer at that time, for other thoughts possessed our minds; only John said that our Master did well to be angry, because he saw his Father’s House defiled. Nevertheless oftentimes, since that day, the words of the Greek have come into my mind, and also other like words of Xanthias, how that“towards the end of his life, Jesus of Nazareth was driven out of the bounds of his patience by the persecution of enemies; so that he became bitter and somewhat austere.”But my judgment is not so. For to me it seemeth that all through those days of tarrying in Jerusalem and in Bethany, our Master was neither bitter nor austere. But he had ever before his eyes the thought of us his disciples; and he was ever musing on our desolation,[pg 337](which should fall upon us when he should be parted from us), and how we should fare, contending without him against the Pharisees and against all other evil. Therefore he desired to leave it, as it were, on record, that the worst kind of sacrilege is the sacrilege of them which handle sacred things without the feeling thereof. And, as he had entered into Jerusalem like one having authority, so he desired perchance (for our sakes) to manifest himself, in the temple also, as one to whom obedience was due. Again, whereas Xanthias saith that Jesus, ever before in Galilee, taught us to endure evil, and not to put down evil by force, as now in Jerusalem;“The former rule,”saith Quartus,“applieth only to the brethren that live in the midst of them that know not the truth. But wheresoever a nation or a congregation, shall recognise a certain law”(as our nation did in the worship of the temple),“there perchance the breaking of the law is not to be suffered, and the law is to be maintained, even by force. For it is one thing to avenge oneself, but another to avenge a law.”After this manner wrote Quartus; but, in any case, Xanthias was assuredly wrong in saying that Jesus was“embittered by persecution;”unless it be bitter to call Satan Satan. For he was gentle and tender and very loving even to the last.Howbeit at this time our thoughts were full of other matters, so that we were the less bent on defending our Master against the friend of Philip. For we were something downcast, and Judas even more than the rest, because nothing had come of our entering into Jerusalem; but, as Judas phrased it, all our great purposes had ended in naught.“For,”said Judas,[pg 338]“the Lord hath given occasions, but we have used them not. For first, when we entered in at this same gate this morning, then I looked that Jesus should have given the word to disarm the guard that kept watch therein. But afterwards, when we had entered into the city and all the citizens were gathered to us, then at least I hoped to have heard him give commandment to assail the Fort of Antonia; or else I expected that he would have worked some sign in heaven, to have turned every one to our side, and so to have driven out the Gentiles without shedding of blood. But now we have gained nothing. Nay, we have lost everything. For we shall not again gather the multitude thus round us. And as for the Pharisees, he hath now so angered them that, even were he to work an hundred signs in heaven, I doubt they would not now accept him.”Hereupon John said that we must have patience and trust in Jesus; but Judas made answer that the time had passed for patience, and that other courses must be tried.For the space of two days, namely, the second day of the week, and likewise the third day, Jesus resorted to the temple daily, and taught the people there: but the more he saw of the temple, and of the priests therein, and likewise of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disputed with him daily in the temple), so much the more his heart loathed the abominations which he discerned, insomuch that he seemed like unto one contending against Satan himself, enthroned in the Holy Place; and his words against the Pharisees in those days were as if he desired that they should be engraven in fiery letters upon the hearts of all that[pg 339]heard him, for ever. So hot was the vehemency of his passion against them; yet not against them, but against the Satan in their hearts, who through them reigned over Israel. For whatsoever Jesus had noted of evil in the teaching of the Scribes in Galilee, and whatsoever of blindness and narrowness, yea, and of persecution and malignity; all this, and much more did he note in the Scribes of Jerusalem; insomuch that the Holy City and the temple itself now seemed to him to have become a very source of evil, poisoning the waters of life for the whole of the people.At the first, the Pharisees began to lay snares to take him at an advantage before the face of all the people; but he answered them according to their folly, proving to all the people that they knew not the foundations of truth. When they asked him by what authority he did that which he did, he would not tell them; but they must first tell him whether the baptism of John were from heaven or no; which question they feared to answer. As to the giving of tribute, he said that the denarius (which had on it the image of Cæsar) spake, of itself, that they that used it should give Cæsar his due. But when he gave back unto the Pharisee the denarius, saying these words,“Render therefore to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s,”then he paused for an instant, and afterwards added,“and to God the things that are God’s.”This he said, not as though some things belonged to Cæsar and not to God; but as though each man, in giving unto Cæsar his dues, must bear in mind that he was thereby giving to God his dues also; for a time might come when it might be a defrauding of God to give Cæsar tribute; but, at that time, to have refused tribute to[pg 340]Cæsar, would have been to refuse God His dues. So he bade them obey the signs of the times, yet so as never to defraud God; nor would he lay down any rule, as they had desired, but pointed to the foundations of righteousness, which lie in the heart and not in the hands. The like also he did in saying that the love of God and of man was the chief commandment of the Law. But concerning the Sadducees and their doctrine, that there is no resurrection, he said that the second life differeth from the first as much as angels differ from men; so that the bands whereby we are bound together here, will not be the same as will bind us together there. Howbeit he said not that there should be no bands hereafter, nor that these present bands should vanish; but only that they should be different, and not carnal, but spiritual. Moreover he questioned the Pharisees concerning their expectations of the Messiah and their interpretations of the Scriptures; and they could not make answer to his questions.But all these were only as the beginnings of the conflict. For presently the Pharisees began to wax more vehement in their disputations and to reveal their hatred of him more clearly. And when Jesus looked upon their faces, he discerned his own death instant therein. So he turned and spake to the people in parables, likening Israel to an estate let out to greedy husbandmen, which killed the servants of their lord, and last of all slew his son also, when he came to receive of the fruits of the land. Again, he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast, and the Pharisees to murderous people, subjects of a king; who would not come to the wedding of the king’s son, but slew his[pg 341]servants that invited them. Then one in the crowd, a Galilean by birth, and a man of loose life, cried aloud,“That is well said, O prophet; for we, that are poor, shall enter into the Kingdom; but the rich shall not enter.”But Jesus straightway continued his parable and described an unworthy guest, admitted indeed to the feast, but soon cast out, because he had come in not having on a wedding garment.Thus all the day was spent in contention; but in the evening, at Bethany, Jesus spake unto us very tenderly concerning the Holy Spirit (the mention whereof was at this time daily more and more upon his lips), and how this Spirit should abide with us for ever and be always our guide and helper. Moreover he encouraged us to be of good cheer, saying that, though the world were against us, yet he had overcome the world: and that he could give us a peace that should last for ever. Likewise he began at this time to say more oft and more clearly (for he had said the like before once or twice in dark sayings) that, besides his little flock (for so he was wont lovingly to call us), there should be yet other flocks gathered unto him, and there should be one fold, and one shepherd. Now of all this we understood not much at that season; for our hearts were not yet opened to it. Howbeit his words were sweet to the ear, yea, and they reached to our very souls; insomuch that we were drawn unto him even more than before, and loved him with an exceeding love: but still it was hidden from us that our Master was shortly to depart.But as concerning the Pharisees, Jesus told us that the wrath of the Lord must needs fall upon them. And he likened them unto a fig-tree which (after the manner[pg 342]of fig-trees) should, by course of nature, put forth fruit first and leaves afterwards; but this fig-tree, he said, putteth forth leaves but no fruits. Therefore the Lord, seeking fruit, goeth unto the tree, rising up early in the morning; and he looketh on it, and behold there are leaves, but no fruits. Then was the Lord wroth, and breathed upon the tree, and said unto it,“No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever:”and lo, when He returned and came by the same path again in the evening, the tree had withered away. When we heard these things, straightway there came into our minds another parable which our Master had spoken in former times concerning a barren tree; how the owner thereof cometh to the gardener and saith,“Lo, these two years I come seeking fruit and find none. Cut it down.”But the gardener besought the Lord that it might not be cut down till another year should pass, if perchance it might in the meantime bear fruit. Thence we perceived, comparing the two parables together, that Jesus discerned the wrath of God now nearer at hand. For before, there was mention of hope and of a respite of two years; but now there was to be no hope and no respite.But most strange it was to us to note how the worship and splendour of the temple, caused him no pleasure, but rather displeasure. Yet so it was. For on the second day of the week, when he was going forth from the city in the evening, a certain citizen of Jerusalem besought the disciples that they would shew him the buildings of the temple;“For,”said he,“it were a shame that Jesus of Nazareth should have been now two whole days in Jerusalem and not to have seen these[pg 343]sights.”But when the disciples moved him to see these things, he seemed like unto one constraining himself to look upon them that he might do us a pleasure: and when he had looked round upon them all, then he was silent for a while, and we perceived that they pleased him not. At last he opened his mouth and said unto us,“See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”But when another spake of the many years during which the temple had been a-building, Jesus answered that, even though the temple were destroyed to-day, the Lord could raise up the true temple in three days. Now whether by“three days,”he meant three days exactly, or“two or three days,”according to the common phrase, concerning this matter, it has been disputed sufficiently above. But when he spake of the true temple, assuredly he meant, not the temple of Herod, but that invisible temple set upon a rock, whereof he had before spoken to Simon Peter; and this temple seemed to him at all times one with himself: therefore said he that the true temple would be raised up, meaning the Son of man, and, in himself, the Church or Congregation of mankind.But all this was hid from us at that time, save that we understood Jesus to set no store by the temple of Herod, in that he discerned the fire of God’s wrath impending over it. And to us, as I remember, yea even to us that had daily converse with Jesus, it seemed strange that he should so set at naught that same temple which he had himself cleansed. For throughout all the land of Israel, the temple, being but one (and not[pg 344]many, as in Gentile countries), and very full of most ancient memories, because it presented and signified to us the former temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of Moses, this temple, I say, albeit Herod the Idumæan had built it, nevertheless seemed to us, in Israel, very holy, and well nigh one with Israel itself. And for this cause Xanthias blameth the saying of Jesus touching the temple, how that it should be thrown down: for saith Xanthias, the casting down of the temple must needs have seemed to the common folk in Israel all one with the casting down of Israel itself even as the Romans took it ill when, in after days, Gaius Cæsar desired of his gods that the Roman people might have had but one neck that he might have destroyed it at a blow. Wherefore Xanthias findeth fault with this saying of Jesus, as not politic, nor discreet.But, in my judgment, Jesus spake herein not truthfully only, but also expediently; yea and expediently for all time; bearing witness, as it were, even now to all the churches, lest perchance the service of the Lord become the service of Satan: as it was in the temple of Herod. For all things therein seemed unto him to savour of hypocrisy, being done to obtain praise and admiration of men, but not to lift up the heart unto the Lord; so that the very splendour and brightness hid, instead of revealing, Him whose name is the Truth. Therefore when he was led to the treasury and bidden to mark how great gifts the rich men cast therein, he stood awhile watching; then turning round to us, he pointed to a certain poor widow (who had cast in no more than two mites, or a farthing), and he said,“This poor widow hath cast in more than all they which have[pg 345]cast into the treasury.”Many other like words he said at this time: and, in fine, he ceased after the first day to speak concerning the purifying of the temple, nor would he any more call it his Father’s house; for he perceived that it was become a den of thieves and that the purifying must be by fire. But that which most of all made us at that time to marvel, was, that he spake of the Chief Priests and Pharisees as murderers. But hereby he meant, as I judge, not only that they desired to slay him, but also that they were slaying the souls of all Israel by giving unto the people a doctrine and a worship, that were as poison to the hearts of mankind. Wherefore, as a man might discern with the eye the spots of blood upon the hand of a murderer, even so (but with much more clearness) did our Master discern the blood of Israel upon the souls of the Priests and Scribes in the temple; insomuch that the temple itself appeared even as a great slaughter-house, and the worshippers as murdered men, and the priests, as butchers girt for the slaughter of Truth.Therefore on the last day, even on the third day of the week, when the sun was nigh setting, and the time was now at hand that Jesus should depart from the temple, and he knew he should enter it no more; behold, he stood up in the presence of all the people, and poured forth denunciation against the Pharisees as being verily the children of Satan. Some of them he charged with love of gain; and he bade the multitude especially to beware of those Scribes who devour widows’ houses and wring forth gifts for the synagogues, and for a pretence make long prayers. These, he said, should receive even greater condemnation than the rest.[pg 346]But even against them that cared not for money, yea even against all the Pharisees, he brought grievous accusations.For he said they had quenched the spirit of life within their hearts, so that Satan had taken possession of them and used them as his tools. For this cause they could not distinguish between small things and great, between the purifying of the outside and the inside, between that which sanctifieth and that which is sanctified; and they esteemed the tithing of mint and anise and cummin of more avail than mercy, judgment, and truth. Also he said they had made the interpretation of the Law into a gainful profession, doing whatsoever they did for to be honoured and admired of men. Therefore he spared not to call them, not only fools and blind, but also hypocrites. For he said that they knew in their own hearts that they had no sight and no knowledge, yet they professed to see and to know; and they had cast out their own consciences, yet would they fain appear able to judge between right and wrong. Thus they presented one appearance to men, which look only on the outside; but another appearance to God, who discerneth the inside; and therefore he called them actors in masks, or hypocrites; he likened them also unto whited sepulchres, hiding death within them. For they hated the Spirit of life, and they lived by rules and precepts which work death; and they would neither enter into life themselves, nor suffer the people of the land to enter in; and they feared and hated prophets and prophecies, and would fain destroy them; and they had hated John the prophet while he lived, and now they hated Jesus, even to the death: and this, while[pg 347]they professed to repent of the persecutions of the prophets by our forefathers, and to build monuments to their memory, saying,“If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”After this, he turned round, to go forth for the last time from the temple. But as he came to the steps, he looked back upon all the Pharisees, and upon all their friends (who stood all gathered together behind him, watching him depart), and he pronounced a curse upon them; as though it needs must be that they must yet continue their course; and Satan must accomplish his purpose in them, and must be revealed in all his wickedness working through the Pharisees his bondsmen; and the judgment of the Lord must needs fall upon these servants of Satan:“Fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify: and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”

On the morrow (which was the first day of the week), some of us rose earlier than the rest, and went down to Jerusalem to carry word to the other disciples and to such as were friendly among the Galileans (for many of them favoured us at this time, and a great number of them had come up to the Feast) that they might come forth from the city to meet Jesus and to welcome him. But the rest of us stayed with Jesus in Bethany. About the second hour of the day, when we were now about to set forth, Jesus sent Matthew the tax-gatherer, and another, to the village over against us, bidding them bring the ass whereof we had taken note yesterday; and if any man said aught, Matthew was to make answer that“the Master hath need of him.”When the ass was brought, Jesus mounted thereon, and we set forth at once; and it was now about the third hour of the day.

When Bethany was by this time out of our sight, as we went by the road that lieth between the Tombs of the Prophets and the Mount of Offence, suddenly we heard a shouting as of a mixed multitude, and presently we discerned a great crowd of the disciples coming over the brow of the hill towards us, with many hundreds[pg 331]of the Galileans, all waving palm-branches in their hands, and hailing Jesus as the son of David. Now Jesus was riding before our band, upon the ass; but when the two bands met, there was a great shouting for joy; and the former band turned round and went on as vanguard, but our band marched on behind. Presently, as we drew near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, when we began to descry that quarter of the Holy City which men called the City of David, the shouting became louder, and so it continued, even there where the road descendeth so that the Holy City is no longer seen.

But when at last we attained unto the summit of the Mount Olivet, so that the whole of the city was seen at once spread out before our eyes, with all the roofs, and towers, and pinnacles thereof, and the gilded battlements of the temple, shining like fire in the sun, then indeed the splendour of the sight so lifted up our hearts that we were even beside ourselves for admiration; and looking unto Jesus as the King of all this glory, we cried even louder than before unto him as our King and Conqueror, like unto David of old. But Jesus neither now nor at any time during the entering into Jerusalem seemed at all lifted up by our salutations and praises; nor yet, on the other hand, was he of a gloomy or sad countenance as though he foreboded evil and ruin. Rather he was as one waiting and expecting, looking perchance for some sign of the will of the Lord, in case it might yet please Him to turn the hearts of the Pharisees, that they might be converted and live. Therefore also when he looked on the glory of Jerusalem below his feet, he was neither astonished at the beauty thereof, nor[pg 332]did he (at least at this time) weep or lament over it: but he gazed at it, as it were in suspense and questioning his own spirit; if perchance it might be the Lord’s pleasure to manifest Himself to the daughter of Sion, and to stay His hand from destroying the beautiful city; or whether that could not be, but evil must take his course.

But we, at this time, perceived naught of that which was in our Master’s mind; but we lifted up our voices and shouted amain, hailing him as Son of David, and crying,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom that cometh of our father David!”Some also cast their palm-branches down in the road before him, and others strewed their garments in the path to do him honour. After this fashion therefore, shouting, and singing, and praising God, the whole multitude of us came down from the mountain into the valley below.

When we drew nigh unto the gate of the city, we saw that only some few of the citizens were come forth to welcome us. For the most part feared Jesus, lest he should bring down the wrath of the Romans upon the Holy City; neither knew they him as the Galileans knew him. But instead of the citizens, there stood a great throng of children gathered together before the gate; and when they heard the voices of the disciples and the voices of the Galileans, immediately they also took up the cry, and sang“Hosanna, Hosanna,”in a clear shrill voice, after the manner of children, so that their song sounded forth quite distinctly, and above all the noise and shouting of the multitude. Now of the Pharisees, none had gone forth from the city to welcome Jesus; but certain of the younger among them, desirous[pg 333]to look on the coming in of Jesus, as on a show in a theatre (and perchance willing, by the manifesting of their contempt of him, to overawe and to control the multitude of pilgrims), were come as far as the gate; and there they stood, over against the children, waiting the coming of Jesus, and with many gestures and beckonings signifying their displeasure. When therefore they heard the sound of the singing, they straightway rebuked the children, and would have them to hold their peace: but when the children would not, then turned the Pharisees in sore displeasure to Jesus, and bade him constrain them.

Now Jesus all this while had seemed rapt in other matters; even as if he heard not the shouting nor the singing, neither understood the meaning thereof; but as if he heard other voices which we could not hear, and which, even for him, were not easy to understand. And when he drew nigh unto the gate of the city, and beheld the Pharisees, how they stood all together, and made no sign of welcome; then he looked up (methinks as I now remember it) with a wistful countenance to the gate, as though he partly expected that the very stones should cry out from the wall (according to the saying of the prophet Habakkuk), as if bearing witness against the unbelief of the Pharisees. Even thus looked Jesus, as he drew nigh to the gate, and there seemed as it were a shadow of doubt and expectancy upon his face; and just then it was that the Pharisees thrust themselves in his way and bade him stop the brawling of the children, for so they termed it.

Now for an instant Jesus seemed scarce to understand the intent of the Pharisees, nor even the meaning of[pg 334]their words. But when he perceived it, and when he turned his face toward the children (who all this time ceased not from their singing, but cried Hosanna, Hosanna, even louder than before), then his mind seemed to come back to earth, and his countenance became clearer, and he smiled for joy; for methought in the voices of those simple children he acknowledged the very voice of the Father in Heaven speaking by His little ones on earth, and showing unto him how that there must be no sign of fire from Heaven, nor no mighty work of any visible sort; but only strength through weakness, and wisdom through simplicity, and the Kingdom of God through little children, according to the eternal ordinance.

This behaviour of Jesus, though we understood it not then, yet was it partly interpreted to us, even at that time, by the answer which he made unto the Pharisees, saying unto them,“Verily I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the very stones should cry out.”Moreover, afterwards, when they would have had him rebuke them in the Temple, and when they said unto him,“Hearest thou what these say?”then Jesus spake unto them yet more clearly, and said,“Yea, have ye never read,‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise’?”

When we came to the foot of Mount Moriah, we arrayed ourselves to enter into the temple, and we went in by the gate called Shushan. But lo, the courts of the temple and all the ways which lead into the courts were crowded with oxen and doves, and drovers and money-changers; and it was more like unto a market-place or shambles than to a temple of the Lord:[pg 335]even as I had beheld it two years before, when I came to offer sacrifice during my mother’s sickness, yea, and worse also. For during the week before the Passover, almost the whole of the Jewish nation was wont to assemble in Jerusalem for to offer sacrifice, even as many (so it hath been reported to me, but it is well nigh past belief) as three hundred myriads; wherefore, though there should be but one lamb slain for a score of pilgrims, yet the number of beasts to be sacrificed at one time must needs be many thousands, not less than one hundred and fifty thousand. When Jesus looked around on all this stir and traffic, he was sore displeased, and his anger was very hot, yea, such as I had seldom noted the like in him before; and he bade the merchants and money-changers take their wares hence. But when they would not, he made unto himself a scourge of cords and drove them before him; and the disciples and the people did the same, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and thrust out them which sold doves. And Jesus said unto the Pharisees,“It is written, My house shall be called the House of Prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

When Jesus spake these words, the Pharisees were exceeding wrath, and certain of their servants ran forward as if they would have laid hands on Jesus. Howbeit, Hezekiah the Scribe (the same of whom I have often made mention above) checked them, lest there should have been a tumult of the people. But it was plain to all men that they would fain have destroyed Jesus, only they feared the people. Therefore Jesus made no long stay for that day in the temple, but gave commandment to return to Bethany (for he would[pg 336]not tarry in Jerusalem by night lest the chief priests and Pharisees should lay hands upon him); and certain of the disciples accompanied us to the gate of the city, but not many.

While we were going through the streets of the city toward the gate, we conversed concerning that which had happened, and especially concerning the driving out of the merchants and the money-lenders; and most said that it was well done, for the presence of them that bought and sold defiled the House of the Lord. But a certain Greek, of Philip’s acquaintance (one of them that had desired Philip that they might see Jesus), said that it was not well done of our Master, thus with his own hand to drive out them that bought and sold:“For,”said he,“it is not the part of a philosopher to use violence, nor to be moved by passion to anything that is against seemliness and dignity, nor to take upon himself the part of a common door-keeper.”Not much was said in answer at that time, for other thoughts possessed our minds; only John said that our Master did well to be angry, because he saw his Father’s House defiled. Nevertheless oftentimes, since that day, the words of the Greek have come into my mind, and also other like words of Xanthias, how that“towards the end of his life, Jesus of Nazareth was driven out of the bounds of his patience by the persecution of enemies; so that he became bitter and somewhat austere.”

But my judgment is not so. For to me it seemeth that all through those days of tarrying in Jerusalem and in Bethany, our Master was neither bitter nor austere. But he had ever before his eyes the thought of us his disciples; and he was ever musing on our desolation,[pg 337](which should fall upon us when he should be parted from us), and how we should fare, contending without him against the Pharisees and against all other evil. Therefore he desired to leave it, as it were, on record, that the worst kind of sacrilege is the sacrilege of them which handle sacred things without the feeling thereof. And, as he had entered into Jerusalem like one having authority, so he desired perchance (for our sakes) to manifest himself, in the temple also, as one to whom obedience was due. Again, whereas Xanthias saith that Jesus, ever before in Galilee, taught us to endure evil, and not to put down evil by force, as now in Jerusalem;“The former rule,”saith Quartus,“applieth only to the brethren that live in the midst of them that know not the truth. But wheresoever a nation or a congregation, shall recognise a certain law”(as our nation did in the worship of the temple),“there perchance the breaking of the law is not to be suffered, and the law is to be maintained, even by force. For it is one thing to avenge oneself, but another to avenge a law.”After this manner wrote Quartus; but, in any case, Xanthias was assuredly wrong in saying that Jesus was“embittered by persecution;”unless it be bitter to call Satan Satan. For he was gentle and tender and very loving even to the last.

Howbeit at this time our thoughts were full of other matters, so that we were the less bent on defending our Master against the friend of Philip. For we were something downcast, and Judas even more than the rest, because nothing had come of our entering into Jerusalem; but, as Judas phrased it, all our great purposes had ended in naught.“For,”said Judas,[pg 338]“the Lord hath given occasions, but we have used them not. For first, when we entered in at this same gate this morning, then I looked that Jesus should have given the word to disarm the guard that kept watch therein. But afterwards, when we had entered into the city and all the citizens were gathered to us, then at least I hoped to have heard him give commandment to assail the Fort of Antonia; or else I expected that he would have worked some sign in heaven, to have turned every one to our side, and so to have driven out the Gentiles without shedding of blood. But now we have gained nothing. Nay, we have lost everything. For we shall not again gather the multitude thus round us. And as for the Pharisees, he hath now so angered them that, even were he to work an hundred signs in heaven, I doubt they would not now accept him.”Hereupon John said that we must have patience and trust in Jesus; but Judas made answer that the time had passed for patience, and that other courses must be tried.

For the space of two days, namely, the second day of the week, and likewise the third day, Jesus resorted to the temple daily, and taught the people there: but the more he saw of the temple, and of the priests therein, and likewise of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who disputed with him daily in the temple), so much the more his heart loathed the abominations which he discerned, insomuch that he seemed like unto one contending against Satan himself, enthroned in the Holy Place; and his words against the Pharisees in those days were as if he desired that they should be engraven in fiery letters upon the hearts of all that[pg 339]heard him, for ever. So hot was the vehemency of his passion against them; yet not against them, but against the Satan in their hearts, who through them reigned over Israel. For whatsoever Jesus had noted of evil in the teaching of the Scribes in Galilee, and whatsoever of blindness and narrowness, yea, and of persecution and malignity; all this, and much more did he note in the Scribes of Jerusalem; insomuch that the Holy City and the temple itself now seemed to him to have become a very source of evil, poisoning the waters of life for the whole of the people.

At the first, the Pharisees began to lay snares to take him at an advantage before the face of all the people; but he answered them according to their folly, proving to all the people that they knew not the foundations of truth. When they asked him by what authority he did that which he did, he would not tell them; but they must first tell him whether the baptism of John were from heaven or no; which question they feared to answer. As to the giving of tribute, he said that the denarius (which had on it the image of Cæsar) spake, of itself, that they that used it should give Cæsar his due. But when he gave back unto the Pharisee the denarius, saying these words,“Render therefore to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s,”then he paused for an instant, and afterwards added,“and to God the things that are God’s.”This he said, not as though some things belonged to Cæsar and not to God; but as though each man, in giving unto Cæsar his dues, must bear in mind that he was thereby giving to God his dues also; for a time might come when it might be a defrauding of God to give Cæsar tribute; but, at that time, to have refused tribute to[pg 340]Cæsar, would have been to refuse God His dues. So he bade them obey the signs of the times, yet so as never to defraud God; nor would he lay down any rule, as they had desired, but pointed to the foundations of righteousness, which lie in the heart and not in the hands. The like also he did in saying that the love of God and of man was the chief commandment of the Law. But concerning the Sadducees and their doctrine, that there is no resurrection, he said that the second life differeth from the first as much as angels differ from men; so that the bands whereby we are bound together here, will not be the same as will bind us together there. Howbeit he said not that there should be no bands hereafter, nor that these present bands should vanish; but only that they should be different, and not carnal, but spiritual. Moreover he questioned the Pharisees concerning their expectations of the Messiah and their interpretations of the Scriptures; and they could not make answer to his questions.

But all these were only as the beginnings of the conflict. For presently the Pharisees began to wax more vehement in their disputations and to reveal their hatred of him more clearly. And when Jesus looked upon their faces, he discerned his own death instant therein. So he turned and spake to the people in parables, likening Israel to an estate let out to greedy husbandmen, which killed the servants of their lord, and last of all slew his son also, when he came to receive of the fruits of the land. Again, he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast, and the Pharisees to murderous people, subjects of a king; who would not come to the wedding of the king’s son, but slew his[pg 341]servants that invited them. Then one in the crowd, a Galilean by birth, and a man of loose life, cried aloud,“That is well said, O prophet; for we, that are poor, shall enter into the Kingdom; but the rich shall not enter.”But Jesus straightway continued his parable and described an unworthy guest, admitted indeed to the feast, but soon cast out, because he had come in not having on a wedding garment.

Thus all the day was spent in contention; but in the evening, at Bethany, Jesus spake unto us very tenderly concerning the Holy Spirit (the mention whereof was at this time daily more and more upon his lips), and how this Spirit should abide with us for ever and be always our guide and helper. Moreover he encouraged us to be of good cheer, saying that, though the world were against us, yet he had overcome the world: and that he could give us a peace that should last for ever. Likewise he began at this time to say more oft and more clearly (for he had said the like before once or twice in dark sayings) that, besides his little flock (for so he was wont lovingly to call us), there should be yet other flocks gathered unto him, and there should be one fold, and one shepherd. Now of all this we understood not much at that season; for our hearts were not yet opened to it. Howbeit his words were sweet to the ear, yea, and they reached to our very souls; insomuch that we were drawn unto him even more than before, and loved him with an exceeding love: but still it was hidden from us that our Master was shortly to depart.

But as concerning the Pharisees, Jesus told us that the wrath of the Lord must needs fall upon them. And he likened them unto a fig-tree which (after the manner[pg 342]of fig-trees) should, by course of nature, put forth fruit first and leaves afterwards; but this fig-tree, he said, putteth forth leaves but no fruits. Therefore the Lord, seeking fruit, goeth unto the tree, rising up early in the morning; and he looketh on it, and behold there are leaves, but no fruits. Then was the Lord wroth, and breathed upon the tree, and said unto it,“No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever:”and lo, when He returned and came by the same path again in the evening, the tree had withered away. When we heard these things, straightway there came into our minds another parable which our Master had spoken in former times concerning a barren tree; how the owner thereof cometh to the gardener and saith,“Lo, these two years I come seeking fruit and find none. Cut it down.”But the gardener besought the Lord that it might not be cut down till another year should pass, if perchance it might in the meantime bear fruit. Thence we perceived, comparing the two parables together, that Jesus discerned the wrath of God now nearer at hand. For before, there was mention of hope and of a respite of two years; but now there was to be no hope and no respite.

But most strange it was to us to note how the worship and splendour of the temple, caused him no pleasure, but rather displeasure. Yet so it was. For on the second day of the week, when he was going forth from the city in the evening, a certain citizen of Jerusalem besought the disciples that they would shew him the buildings of the temple;“For,”said he,“it were a shame that Jesus of Nazareth should have been now two whole days in Jerusalem and not to have seen these[pg 343]sights.”But when the disciples moved him to see these things, he seemed like unto one constraining himself to look upon them that he might do us a pleasure: and when he had looked round upon them all, then he was silent for a while, and we perceived that they pleased him not. At last he opened his mouth and said unto us,“See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

But when another spake of the many years during which the temple had been a-building, Jesus answered that, even though the temple were destroyed to-day, the Lord could raise up the true temple in three days. Now whether by“three days,”he meant three days exactly, or“two or three days,”according to the common phrase, concerning this matter, it has been disputed sufficiently above. But when he spake of the true temple, assuredly he meant, not the temple of Herod, but that invisible temple set upon a rock, whereof he had before spoken to Simon Peter; and this temple seemed to him at all times one with himself: therefore said he that the true temple would be raised up, meaning the Son of man, and, in himself, the Church or Congregation of mankind.

But all this was hid from us at that time, save that we understood Jesus to set no store by the temple of Herod, in that he discerned the fire of God’s wrath impending over it. And to us, as I remember, yea even to us that had daily converse with Jesus, it seemed strange that he should so set at naught that same temple which he had himself cleansed. For throughout all the land of Israel, the temple, being but one (and not[pg 344]many, as in Gentile countries), and very full of most ancient memories, because it presented and signified to us the former temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of Moses, this temple, I say, albeit Herod the Idumæan had built it, nevertheless seemed to us, in Israel, very holy, and well nigh one with Israel itself. And for this cause Xanthias blameth the saying of Jesus touching the temple, how that it should be thrown down: for saith Xanthias, the casting down of the temple must needs have seemed to the common folk in Israel all one with the casting down of Israel itself even as the Romans took it ill when, in after days, Gaius Cæsar desired of his gods that the Roman people might have had but one neck that he might have destroyed it at a blow. Wherefore Xanthias findeth fault with this saying of Jesus, as not politic, nor discreet.

But, in my judgment, Jesus spake herein not truthfully only, but also expediently; yea and expediently for all time; bearing witness, as it were, even now to all the churches, lest perchance the service of the Lord become the service of Satan: as it was in the temple of Herod. For all things therein seemed unto him to savour of hypocrisy, being done to obtain praise and admiration of men, but not to lift up the heart unto the Lord; so that the very splendour and brightness hid, instead of revealing, Him whose name is the Truth. Therefore when he was led to the treasury and bidden to mark how great gifts the rich men cast therein, he stood awhile watching; then turning round to us, he pointed to a certain poor widow (who had cast in no more than two mites, or a farthing), and he said,“This poor widow hath cast in more than all they which have[pg 345]cast into the treasury.”Many other like words he said at this time: and, in fine, he ceased after the first day to speak concerning the purifying of the temple, nor would he any more call it his Father’s house; for he perceived that it was become a den of thieves and that the purifying must be by fire. But that which most of all made us at that time to marvel, was, that he spake of the Chief Priests and Pharisees as murderers. But hereby he meant, as I judge, not only that they desired to slay him, but also that they were slaying the souls of all Israel by giving unto the people a doctrine and a worship, that were as poison to the hearts of mankind. Wherefore, as a man might discern with the eye the spots of blood upon the hand of a murderer, even so (but with much more clearness) did our Master discern the blood of Israel upon the souls of the Priests and Scribes in the temple; insomuch that the temple itself appeared even as a great slaughter-house, and the worshippers as murdered men, and the priests, as butchers girt for the slaughter of Truth.

Therefore on the last day, even on the third day of the week, when the sun was nigh setting, and the time was now at hand that Jesus should depart from the temple, and he knew he should enter it no more; behold, he stood up in the presence of all the people, and poured forth denunciation against the Pharisees as being verily the children of Satan. Some of them he charged with love of gain; and he bade the multitude especially to beware of those Scribes who devour widows’ houses and wring forth gifts for the synagogues, and for a pretence make long prayers. These, he said, should receive even greater condemnation than the rest.[pg 346]But even against them that cared not for money, yea even against all the Pharisees, he brought grievous accusations.

For he said they had quenched the spirit of life within their hearts, so that Satan had taken possession of them and used them as his tools. For this cause they could not distinguish between small things and great, between the purifying of the outside and the inside, between that which sanctifieth and that which is sanctified; and they esteemed the tithing of mint and anise and cummin of more avail than mercy, judgment, and truth. Also he said they had made the interpretation of the Law into a gainful profession, doing whatsoever they did for to be honoured and admired of men. Therefore he spared not to call them, not only fools and blind, but also hypocrites. For he said that they knew in their own hearts that they had no sight and no knowledge, yet they professed to see and to know; and they had cast out their own consciences, yet would they fain appear able to judge between right and wrong. Thus they presented one appearance to men, which look only on the outside; but another appearance to God, who discerneth the inside; and therefore he called them actors in masks, or hypocrites; he likened them also unto whited sepulchres, hiding death within them. For they hated the Spirit of life, and they lived by rules and precepts which work death; and they would neither enter into life themselves, nor suffer the people of the land to enter in; and they feared and hated prophets and prophecies, and would fain destroy them; and they had hated John the prophet while he lived, and now they hated Jesus, even to the death: and this, while[pg 347]they professed to repent of the persecutions of the prophets by our forefathers, and to build monuments to their memory, saying,“If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”

After this, he turned round, to go forth for the last time from the temple. But as he came to the steps, he looked back upon all the Pharisees, and upon all their friends (who stood all gathered together behind him, watching him depart), and he pronounced a curse upon them; as though it needs must be that they must yet continue their course; and Satan must accomplish his purpose in them, and must be revealed in all his wickedness working through the Pharisees his bondsmen; and the judgment of the Lord must needs fall upon these servants of Satan:“Fill ye up the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify: and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”

[pg 348]CHAPTER XXVIIWhen Jesus had made an end of denouncing the Pharisees, many of the young men with them and their servants were desirous to have laid hands on him; and they came near as if for that intent, but the older sort checked them. Yet was their wrath clearly to be read in their faces: and when I came out of the temple, being a little space behind the rest, Hezekiah the Scribe overtook me and said,“Young man, I warn thee that thou mayest with speed sever thyself from this blind shepherd: for lo, he hath to-day provoked war, and war shall fall upon him; for unless he perish we shall perish.”But I made answer, that I should follow Jesus constantly even to the end. Then he spake again of the evil which, he said, had befallen that rash young man Barabbas; how that he had been taken ten days ago by the Romans on the road that goeth down to Jericho, while he was riding at the head of a band of Galileans that were raising sedition: and, said Hezekiah to me,“Thy friend of Jotapata is to be crucified, as I hear, two or three days hence. Take heed therefore unto thine own steps, lest thou also fall into the same destruction.”I made him no further answer, but departed, sorrowing not a little[pg 349]for the sake of Barabbas: for I had not before heard how great an evil had befallen him.When I overtook the rest, I heard the disciples conversing earnestly one with another; and the Greek, even the friend of Philip, bade us take note that we were beset with spies and watched; for“When ye issued from the temple,”said he,“I perceived that the servants of the chief priests and the Pharisees watched you whithersoever ye turned; and, meseemeth, it is their intent to lay hands on your Master this night. But I marvel why your Master so inveighed against the Pharisees, transgressing the bounds of seemliness and decorum, at least in my judgment.”So spake he, after his Greek fashion; but Judas also spake to the same effect, and said that we had come up to Jerusalem to destroy enemies, and lo, we had destroyed none, but made many.The rest knew not what answer to make to these words; neither did I myself at that time. Howbeit, now I know well that Jesus came not to prophesy smooth things, but to teach us the truth. Therefore was it most needful that he should speak the truth, and nothing less than the truth, concerning the Pharisees; to the intent that the eyes of all mankind might be opened, even to the generations of generations, that they might discern that the sin of sins is hypocrisy. For other sins wound, but this sin slayeth, the conscience. Peradventure also Jesus foresaw that a time might come when certain, even among his own disciples, would err as the Pharisees had erred, shutting their eyes against the truth, as being unfit for use and not convenient. And he that came to make a spiritual Israel,[pg 350]a nation of priests and ministers for mankind, was it not most needful that he should thus as it were mark out and brand with censure the special sin of priests? He also that came to redeem all the children of men from all evil, was it not most necessary that he should make clear in the sight of all men what was the greatest evil? For if men knew it not, how could he redeem them from it? And well I know that, if he had not assailed the Pharisees as he did, then these same Greeks who now say that“Jesus transgressed the bounds of seemliness,”would in that case have said (even as Jonathan the son of Ezra said) that“Jesus knew not the evil in human nature.”Notwithstanding at this season we thought not of these things; but we feared what should betide to our Master if the Pharisees took him and cast him into bonds.But a certain man of the Pharisees, Joseph by name, of the town of Arimathæa, clave unto Jesus; and although he dared not openly consort with us, he sent a servant after us, when we came forth from the Temple, to bid Jesus not abide in the same house this night as last night, because, said he,“the Pharisees purpose to take thee.”He also warned Jesus not to come into Jerusalem on the morrow. But if Jesus desired to have some chamber in the city wherein to keep the Passover, Joseph promised that he would provide one. So much I heard myself; for I was nigh to Jesus when the servant of Joseph brought the message; but the answer of Jesus I heard not, save that he thanked the messenger courteously.In the meantime we had passed out of the gate of the city, and had begun to climb up the side of the hill[pg 351]called Olivet; and by reason that we were in the depth of the valley, the sun had by this time set for us. But when we had gone some space up the side of the hill, as we turned round to take breath and rest, behold, the sun had not yet set, but was just beginning to sink; and the western quarter of the heaven was lit up with a light exceeding red and fiery, and the roofs of the temple and the towers of the castle of Herod shone as with a blood-red flame; and though our hearts were heavy with many thoughts, yet could we not choose but look. But when Jesus saw the city and the temple, whence he had but now come and wherein he was never to set foot again; his eyes were filled with tears, and he changed colour and could go no further, but sat down upon a stone and covered his face with his hands: and then he looked again upon the city and wept, mourning over it and saying,“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”Having said these words, he arose and went on his way, going up the hill. And we followed him, as men in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, that follow an angel of deliverance, but fear while they follow, lest at any time their guide should vanish out of their sight, and they should be left alone. Even so followed we Jesus up the Mount of Olives, and we feared much to[pg 352]question him concerning his words, but we feared even more to remain silent and so to be ignorant concerning the approaching peril. Therefore presently Simon Peter, with two other disciples, went to him and questioned him, saying,“Tell us when shall these things be.”Jesus turned and looked upon our faces, and he perceived that we were all desirous to question him. So he beckoned to us to sit down, and he himself sat down upon a stone, and we also sat down upon the ground around him.Then began Jesus to pour forth many prophecies of troubles near at hand and troubles far off; and he seemed like unto one upon the shore of a stormy sea covered with mists and darkness, who peereth into the night if perchance he may descry the ship wherein his friends sail tempest-tossed; even so did Jesus look forward into that which was to come, for our sakes. For though his own end was at hand, his thoughts and words were all for us. But he also had in his mind the prophecies of the prophet Daniel; who had prophesied, many generations before, that a time should come when the worship of God should fail, and a king of evil set himself up to be worshipped, and the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination of desolation set in the place thereof. Daniel likewise prophesieth that those of the nation who were of understanding should remain upright; yet even these should fall for a time, to try them and to purify them. But because the prophecies of Daniel were like unto the words of our Master, I will here set them down; for Daniel saith,“They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.[pg 353]And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.”Now these prophecies of Daniel were fulfilled, in part, in the days of that wicked king Antiochus who is called Epiphanes, or Illustrious; but Jesus prophesied that they, or others like unto them, should still be fulfilled. Howbeit, in my judgment, he did not prophesy that these things should come to pass merely because Daniel had prophesied the like; but because, looking upon the present, he discerned the signs of the times (according to his own saying), and hence he perceived that which was yet to come. For his words were the words of Daniel; but his thoughts were the thoughts that came to him from that which he saw in the world. For when he looked upon the world, he saw love of self, and love of ease, and all manner of baseness and servility; and all the empire was given up to the worship of a man, even the Emperor Tiberius, and that man a tyrant and a man of sin, a slave to all abominations of the flesh. Wherefore death was reigning over the whole of the world. But when he looked to Israel, which was appointed to redeem the world and to lead the world to the knowledge of the true[pg 354]God, behold, Israel himself was blind; and they which should have been priests unto the Gentiles were as naught but pedants; and these too, given over unto all sin, hypocrites, and murderers in their hearts, and children of Satan.Therefore it was discerned clearly by Jesus (having his eyes open to things future even as our eyes are open to things present), that a great conflict was at hand between evil and good, evil rearing itself aloft in the world to receive the worship of all mankind and driving out the true worship of God; and for a time evil must prevail. For if he looked upon us his apostles or disciples, then he perceived even too easily in our hearts the signs of weakness and instability; and for this cause he prophesied that we should all desert him and fall away for a time. Moreover, because he saw how the men of Israel thirsted for redemption, yea, and how all the children of men desired some deliverance from their present evils, therefore he knew and prophesied that, when he had departed, his place would not be left empty, neither at once nor in after generations; but in every time and in every nation false deliverers and false redeemers should arise, saying that men should obey them, and that they would deliver men. For this cause he warned us against false Christs, yea, even though they should work signs and wonders.But as concerning the times and seasons when these several troubles should arise, he said naught; nor did he describe the manner of the wars, nor the nations, nor the armies that should make war. Now Quartus judgeth that Jesus knew not these matters; and true it is that Jesus himself spake concerning the time of[pg 355]his coming, saying,“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”Only, concerning one part of the prophecy, he said, for certain, that this generation should not pass away till all had been fulfilled. But this, saith Quartus, he knew because of the signs of the times: for as to that which he said,“Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,”Quartus supposeth that Jesus himself knew not the time thereof, but only this, that it was not possible that Sion could behold him until Sion desired him: for the beholding of Jesus after his death was not to be with the bodily eye, but with the spiritual, through love and desire. Now concerning the foreknowledge of Jesus, what things he knew, and what things he knew not, I have said above that I pronounce no judgment. But true it is that at this time he spake unto us a third parable concerning the fig-tree, and said that we were to discern the coming of these evils from the signs of the times, even as men discern the coming of the summer from the fig-tree, when it putteth forth leaves. For, like as the summer causeth the fig-tree to put forth her leaves, or like as the scent of the carcase guideth the vultures to the prey, even so he taught us that the sins of men, and especially of Israel, would bring after them miseries and judgments, not by chance, but of necessity.Therefore he prophesied that great tribulation should fall on the land of Israel, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor yet ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake[pg 356]those days should be shortened. But after the tribulation of Israel, he prophesied that all the empire should be shaken, and the thrones and princedoms thereof should be cast down, and the throne of the Son of man should be set up on high in the sight of all men, and the tribes of the earth should mourn, and the Gentiles should see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the elect should be gathered together by an angel as with the sound of a trumpet from all the corners of the earth. Finally he exhorted us to watch in patience, for we knew not at what hour our Master would come.Now as concerning these prophecies, part were perchance fulfilled when our Master came to us from the grave; for then to them that watched and waited he appeared. But part also, in my judgment, yea, and a great part, were fulfilled ten years ago, when Jerusalem was trodden down by the Gentiles, and the temple was burned with fire, and Israel was scattered over the face of the earth, and many were slain, and many more sold for slaves, and such tribulation befell them as never before. But part remaineth to be fulfilled, when men’s hearts shall fail them because the empire shall be shaken, and the thrones of this world shall be cast down, and the worship of the Son of man shall be set up. For albeit the empire fell not in the days of Nero, when all men expected that the end of all things was at hand; yet must the empire needs be cast down. And it is like that this shall come to pass in my days, even in the days of me Philochristus, the writer of this book. And when Israel shall turn unto the Lord Jesus and shall call them blessed that come in his name, then[pg 357]shall Israel see him, according to his saying. Howbeit concerning the day and the hour we have no knowledge thereof; only we know that in the end the Son of man must come with glory; and until the Son of man shall reign over the world, peace cannot be; that is to say, cannot be so as to be settled and firm. For all things move violently to their place, but easily in their place. Wherefore the ways of the world cannot be smooth, nor can the children of men and the tribes of men move smoothly and easily in the world, until the Son of man be in his place as King of the world over all men and over all nations, and until all men and all nations be in their places as his servants; and then there shall be peace for ever; but not till then.But all this I write, having been enlightened by the Spirit. But at the time when we were sitting thus round about Jesus, listening to his prophecies, we were not yet enlightened; for the Spirit of Jesus was not yet in the world, because Jesus was yet with us. Therefore were we all greatly dismayed by his words, and our hearts quite failed us; and when he had made an end of speaking, we sat still silent; and the shadow of night, stretching over the face of the earth, seemed unto us like to a shadow of Satan encompassing both us and all the world and our Redeemer himself, in whom we had trusted that he should have redeemed Sion. Thomas at last brake silence, and said,“Alas, O Master, dost thou not remember thine own words on that other mount in Galilee, where thou didst pour blessings on us, and didst strengthen us with comfortable sayings, telling us that the meek should inherit the earth? Verily the prophecies of the Mount of Olives do not accord with the[pg 358]prophecies of the Mount of Blessing.”By this time it was become dark, so that we could not clearly discern the features of Jesus, for the moon had not yet risen; but he seemed to turn his face suddenly to Thomas as though his words had grieved him. Howbeit, he said nothing, but arose from his place, and we followed him up the mountain even unto Bethany.When we had been a full hour in Bethany, our Master called for Judas, that he should bear some message to Joseph of Arimathea in Jerusalem; for Judas was oftentimes employed by Jesus about such matters, being a man of understanding, and of a ready wit, and having a knowledge of the ways of men, more than the rest of the disciples. But search being made for Judas, he was not to be found; and this seemed not a little to disquiet Jesus. Howbeit, he bade me go in his stead, and bear a certain letter to Joseph of Arimathea. So I went down straightway and delivered the letter; and having received an answer written and sealed, I set forth to return to Bethany. Now the moon was by this time risen, and shining very brightly. So, because I was minded not to be seen of any of the servants of the chief priests, I kept myself in the shadow of the street as I went forth to the gate of Kidron; and it being now late, even in the second watch of the night, there were few people stirring.But as I was now near to the street called Straight, whereby one turneth to the right hand to go unto the gate, methought I heard the sound of the voice of the night-watch going their rounds. So I drew near to the wall, and remained in a corner where I could not[pg 359]be seen. And straightway Hezekiah the Scribe came by, and Judas with him, walking very near the place where I was (but they discerned me not) and talking in a low voice together. And as they passed, I clearly heard Judas say to Hezekiah,“But if he should call down fire upon the guards?”And Hezekiah made answer,“Then thou wouldst have done him good service,”or words to that effect: but the exact words of Hezekiah I heard not, because they were by this time gone somewhat past me. Neither could I hear what Judas said in answer to the words of Hezekiah. Only I noted, even afar off, that after they had conversed some while longer, Judas held out his right hand to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah seemed to take it as a pledge.When I saw this, my mind misgave me that all was not well; yet did it not so much as enter into my mind, at that time, that one of the Twelve could purpose treachery against our Master; and, because of my message and my haste, I gave no thought to the words that I had heard. But I sped away to the gate, and passing through unquestioned, I went up the mountain in haste; and when I came to the top, I found John, the son of Zebedee, waiting for me, to take me to the house where Jesus lay that night; for he was not to abide in the same house as before, for fear of the Pharisees. So I came to Jesus and delivered my letter; and I found with him a certain Nicodemus, a great teacher among the Pharisees. He had come to converse with Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the chief priests. Then I delivered my letter to Jesus, and I told him how I had seen Judas discoursing with Hezekiah. But the old man, even Nicodemus, was[pg 360]troubled when he heard me make mention of Judas, and he turned to Jesus and said that from friends came sometimes even more dangers than from enemies; and as he had before warned Jesus against the plotting of the Chief Priests, so now again he besought Jesus not to adventure himself in Jerusalem on the morrow. Then he gave thanks to Jesus for his doctrine, and departed. But when the letter of Joseph of Arimathea was opened, it confirmed the words of Nicodemus; for he also bade Jesus not come to Jerusalem on the morrow, but to tarry till the next day. He also added (but these words Jesus read not aloud, so that I knew not of them till afterwards) that Jesus should keep the Passover on the day after the morrow; howbeit not at his house, but at another house which his servants should prepare. He also gave Jesus a sign whereby he might be guided to the house. Likewise the letter bade him beware of false friends.When Jesus had made an end of reading aloud those last words bidding him beware of false friends, his heart was sorely troubled, and the burden seemed more than he could bear; and he went out for a while to be alone and to pray. But presently he returned and spake comfortable words to us, and cheered us with his kindness; and so for that night he lay down to rest; and some of us slept while others watched. Howbeit that night no enemy came.On the morrow (which was the fourth day of the week) Jesus neither went down to Jerusalem, nor sent any down to make preparation for the Passover. But he remained with us in Bethany, part of the time in the house, and part in the fields round about, going[pg 361]with us hither and thither, and speaking more and more to us of that same Holy Spirit whereof he had spoken before; which should guide us, he said, into all truth, and teach us what to reply unto our enemies, and be unto us a comforter and a friend, yea, the source of all happiness and good. And more and more he spake concerning his departure; insomuch that, though we were unwilling, yet by this time we were constrained to suppose that our Master must be severed from us for a season, and that we must watch for his return. Yet how or in what way he should be taken from us we could not conjecture: only that he should be slain by his enemies we had no manner of belief, no, nor so much as a fear thereof, although he had so many times prophesied it to us. For the thing was hidden from us of the Lord, that we should neither believe it nor conceive it.But the women were otherwise minded, and were very full of fears. To them it seemed that, if Jesus was indeed about to be taken from them, then it mattered not whether he were taken in a chariot of fire or by whatever other means: and they lamented over him as over one already dead. Many times did we rebuke them for their faithlessness (for so it seemed to us), but they would not cease. Judas also rebuked them even more bitterly than we: for he had come to us on the morning of that day, saying that he had been with certain of his acquaintance in Jerusalem that he might be informed concerning the plots of the Pharisees. Jesus received him kindly, even more methought than was usual; and when we sat together at meat that night, he placed Judas next unto himself,[pg 362]John being on one side of him and Judas on the other, in the seat of honour.Now so it was that, while we were at meat, behold, one of the women came behind Jesus, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, at the same time uttering most piteous cries and lamentations. Then Judas changed colour; for his heart misgave him, as I judge, that the lamentations of the women might prove true; and besides, he was wrath perchance because the love wherewith this woman loved Jesus put his semblance of love utterly to shame. Therefore he rose up from his seat in indignation and said,“To what purpose is this waste? for this ointment might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor.”We also ourselves in like manner murmured against the woman. But Jesus said,“Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial.”Then he paused, and mused for an instant, and added a prophecy, that wheresoever his good tidings of Redemption should be proclaimed in the whole world, there also should this that this woman had done be told for a memorial of her.Now before these words, while we had sat at meat listening to the discourse of Jesus, Judas seemed as if his heart were enlarged towards Jesus; and albeit at times he fell to pondering and musing (like unto a man doubting of two courses which to take), yet anon he would be aroused by some word that Jesus spake; and then his countenance would kindle, and he would stoop forward,[pg 363]as in old times, with his eyes all a-glow, listening as if he would fain devour each syllable with his ears. But now his countenance fell, and he was filled with rage because he had been rebuked by Jesus; and he went forth from the chamber, and we saw him that night no more. But as for us that remained, our hearts became exceeding sorrowful; for now indeed it pressed upon us that the departure of Jesus must needs be sad and grievous and full of sorrow, like unto death. But still, that he should die indeed, and be buried: this, even now, we could in no wise believe.

When Jesus had made an end of denouncing the Pharisees, many of the young men with them and their servants were desirous to have laid hands on him; and they came near as if for that intent, but the older sort checked them. Yet was their wrath clearly to be read in their faces: and when I came out of the temple, being a little space behind the rest, Hezekiah the Scribe overtook me and said,“Young man, I warn thee that thou mayest with speed sever thyself from this blind shepherd: for lo, he hath to-day provoked war, and war shall fall upon him; for unless he perish we shall perish.”But I made answer, that I should follow Jesus constantly even to the end. Then he spake again of the evil which, he said, had befallen that rash young man Barabbas; how that he had been taken ten days ago by the Romans on the road that goeth down to Jericho, while he was riding at the head of a band of Galileans that were raising sedition: and, said Hezekiah to me,“Thy friend of Jotapata is to be crucified, as I hear, two or three days hence. Take heed therefore unto thine own steps, lest thou also fall into the same destruction.”I made him no further answer, but departed, sorrowing not a little[pg 349]for the sake of Barabbas: for I had not before heard how great an evil had befallen him.

When I overtook the rest, I heard the disciples conversing earnestly one with another; and the Greek, even the friend of Philip, bade us take note that we were beset with spies and watched; for“When ye issued from the temple,”said he,“I perceived that the servants of the chief priests and the Pharisees watched you whithersoever ye turned; and, meseemeth, it is their intent to lay hands on your Master this night. But I marvel why your Master so inveighed against the Pharisees, transgressing the bounds of seemliness and decorum, at least in my judgment.”So spake he, after his Greek fashion; but Judas also spake to the same effect, and said that we had come up to Jerusalem to destroy enemies, and lo, we had destroyed none, but made many.

The rest knew not what answer to make to these words; neither did I myself at that time. Howbeit, now I know well that Jesus came not to prophesy smooth things, but to teach us the truth. Therefore was it most needful that he should speak the truth, and nothing less than the truth, concerning the Pharisees; to the intent that the eyes of all mankind might be opened, even to the generations of generations, that they might discern that the sin of sins is hypocrisy. For other sins wound, but this sin slayeth, the conscience. Peradventure also Jesus foresaw that a time might come when certain, even among his own disciples, would err as the Pharisees had erred, shutting their eyes against the truth, as being unfit for use and not convenient. And he that came to make a spiritual Israel,[pg 350]a nation of priests and ministers for mankind, was it not most needful that he should thus as it were mark out and brand with censure the special sin of priests? He also that came to redeem all the children of men from all evil, was it not most necessary that he should make clear in the sight of all men what was the greatest evil? For if men knew it not, how could he redeem them from it? And well I know that, if he had not assailed the Pharisees as he did, then these same Greeks who now say that“Jesus transgressed the bounds of seemliness,”would in that case have said (even as Jonathan the son of Ezra said) that“Jesus knew not the evil in human nature.”Notwithstanding at this season we thought not of these things; but we feared what should betide to our Master if the Pharisees took him and cast him into bonds.

But a certain man of the Pharisees, Joseph by name, of the town of Arimathæa, clave unto Jesus; and although he dared not openly consort with us, he sent a servant after us, when we came forth from the Temple, to bid Jesus not abide in the same house this night as last night, because, said he,“the Pharisees purpose to take thee.”He also warned Jesus not to come into Jerusalem on the morrow. But if Jesus desired to have some chamber in the city wherein to keep the Passover, Joseph promised that he would provide one. So much I heard myself; for I was nigh to Jesus when the servant of Joseph brought the message; but the answer of Jesus I heard not, save that he thanked the messenger courteously.

In the meantime we had passed out of the gate of the city, and had begun to climb up the side of the hill[pg 351]called Olivet; and by reason that we were in the depth of the valley, the sun had by this time set for us. But when we had gone some space up the side of the hill, as we turned round to take breath and rest, behold, the sun had not yet set, but was just beginning to sink; and the western quarter of the heaven was lit up with a light exceeding red and fiery, and the roofs of the temple and the towers of the castle of Herod shone as with a blood-red flame; and though our hearts were heavy with many thoughts, yet could we not choose but look. But when Jesus saw the city and the temple, whence he had but now come and wherein he was never to set foot again; his eyes were filled with tears, and he changed colour and could go no further, but sat down upon a stone and covered his face with his hands: and then he looked again upon the city and wept, mourning over it and saying,“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Having said these words, he arose and went on his way, going up the hill. And we followed him, as men in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, that follow an angel of deliverance, but fear while they follow, lest at any time their guide should vanish out of their sight, and they should be left alone. Even so followed we Jesus up the Mount of Olives, and we feared much to[pg 352]question him concerning his words, but we feared even more to remain silent and so to be ignorant concerning the approaching peril. Therefore presently Simon Peter, with two other disciples, went to him and questioned him, saying,“Tell us when shall these things be.”Jesus turned and looked upon our faces, and he perceived that we were all desirous to question him. So he beckoned to us to sit down, and he himself sat down upon a stone, and we also sat down upon the ground around him.

Then began Jesus to pour forth many prophecies of troubles near at hand and troubles far off; and he seemed like unto one upon the shore of a stormy sea covered with mists and darkness, who peereth into the night if perchance he may descry the ship wherein his friends sail tempest-tossed; even so did Jesus look forward into that which was to come, for our sakes. For though his own end was at hand, his thoughts and words were all for us. But he also had in his mind the prophecies of the prophet Daniel; who had prophesied, many generations before, that a time should come when the worship of God should fail, and a king of evil set himself up to be worshipped, and the daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination of desolation set in the place thereof. Daniel likewise prophesieth that those of the nation who were of understanding should remain upright; yet even these should fall for a time, to try them and to purify them. But because the prophecies of Daniel were like unto the words of our Master, I will here set them down; for Daniel saith,“They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.[pg 353]And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.”

Now these prophecies of Daniel were fulfilled, in part, in the days of that wicked king Antiochus who is called Epiphanes, or Illustrious; but Jesus prophesied that they, or others like unto them, should still be fulfilled. Howbeit, in my judgment, he did not prophesy that these things should come to pass merely because Daniel had prophesied the like; but because, looking upon the present, he discerned the signs of the times (according to his own saying), and hence he perceived that which was yet to come. For his words were the words of Daniel; but his thoughts were the thoughts that came to him from that which he saw in the world. For when he looked upon the world, he saw love of self, and love of ease, and all manner of baseness and servility; and all the empire was given up to the worship of a man, even the Emperor Tiberius, and that man a tyrant and a man of sin, a slave to all abominations of the flesh. Wherefore death was reigning over the whole of the world. But when he looked to Israel, which was appointed to redeem the world and to lead the world to the knowledge of the true[pg 354]God, behold, Israel himself was blind; and they which should have been priests unto the Gentiles were as naught but pedants; and these too, given over unto all sin, hypocrites, and murderers in their hearts, and children of Satan.

Therefore it was discerned clearly by Jesus (having his eyes open to things future even as our eyes are open to things present), that a great conflict was at hand between evil and good, evil rearing itself aloft in the world to receive the worship of all mankind and driving out the true worship of God; and for a time evil must prevail. For if he looked upon us his apostles or disciples, then he perceived even too easily in our hearts the signs of weakness and instability; and for this cause he prophesied that we should all desert him and fall away for a time. Moreover, because he saw how the men of Israel thirsted for redemption, yea, and how all the children of men desired some deliverance from their present evils, therefore he knew and prophesied that, when he had departed, his place would not be left empty, neither at once nor in after generations; but in every time and in every nation false deliverers and false redeemers should arise, saying that men should obey them, and that they would deliver men. For this cause he warned us against false Christs, yea, even though they should work signs and wonders.

But as concerning the times and seasons when these several troubles should arise, he said naught; nor did he describe the manner of the wars, nor the nations, nor the armies that should make war. Now Quartus judgeth that Jesus knew not these matters; and true it is that Jesus himself spake concerning the time of[pg 355]his coming, saying,“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”Only, concerning one part of the prophecy, he said, for certain, that this generation should not pass away till all had been fulfilled. But this, saith Quartus, he knew because of the signs of the times: for as to that which he said,“Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,”Quartus supposeth that Jesus himself knew not the time thereof, but only this, that it was not possible that Sion could behold him until Sion desired him: for the beholding of Jesus after his death was not to be with the bodily eye, but with the spiritual, through love and desire. Now concerning the foreknowledge of Jesus, what things he knew, and what things he knew not, I have said above that I pronounce no judgment. But true it is that at this time he spake unto us a third parable concerning the fig-tree, and said that we were to discern the coming of these evils from the signs of the times, even as men discern the coming of the summer from the fig-tree, when it putteth forth leaves. For, like as the summer causeth the fig-tree to put forth her leaves, or like as the scent of the carcase guideth the vultures to the prey, even so he taught us that the sins of men, and especially of Israel, would bring after them miseries and judgments, not by chance, but of necessity.

Therefore he prophesied that great tribulation should fall on the land of Israel, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor yet ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake[pg 356]those days should be shortened. But after the tribulation of Israel, he prophesied that all the empire should be shaken, and the thrones and princedoms thereof should be cast down, and the throne of the Son of man should be set up on high in the sight of all men, and the tribes of the earth should mourn, and the Gentiles should see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the elect should be gathered together by an angel as with the sound of a trumpet from all the corners of the earth. Finally he exhorted us to watch in patience, for we knew not at what hour our Master would come.

Now as concerning these prophecies, part were perchance fulfilled when our Master came to us from the grave; for then to them that watched and waited he appeared. But part also, in my judgment, yea, and a great part, were fulfilled ten years ago, when Jerusalem was trodden down by the Gentiles, and the temple was burned with fire, and Israel was scattered over the face of the earth, and many were slain, and many more sold for slaves, and such tribulation befell them as never before. But part remaineth to be fulfilled, when men’s hearts shall fail them because the empire shall be shaken, and the thrones of this world shall be cast down, and the worship of the Son of man shall be set up. For albeit the empire fell not in the days of Nero, when all men expected that the end of all things was at hand; yet must the empire needs be cast down. And it is like that this shall come to pass in my days, even in the days of me Philochristus, the writer of this book. And when Israel shall turn unto the Lord Jesus and shall call them blessed that come in his name, then[pg 357]shall Israel see him, according to his saying. Howbeit concerning the day and the hour we have no knowledge thereof; only we know that in the end the Son of man must come with glory; and until the Son of man shall reign over the world, peace cannot be; that is to say, cannot be so as to be settled and firm. For all things move violently to their place, but easily in their place. Wherefore the ways of the world cannot be smooth, nor can the children of men and the tribes of men move smoothly and easily in the world, until the Son of man be in his place as King of the world over all men and over all nations, and until all men and all nations be in their places as his servants; and then there shall be peace for ever; but not till then.

But all this I write, having been enlightened by the Spirit. But at the time when we were sitting thus round about Jesus, listening to his prophecies, we were not yet enlightened; for the Spirit of Jesus was not yet in the world, because Jesus was yet with us. Therefore were we all greatly dismayed by his words, and our hearts quite failed us; and when he had made an end of speaking, we sat still silent; and the shadow of night, stretching over the face of the earth, seemed unto us like to a shadow of Satan encompassing both us and all the world and our Redeemer himself, in whom we had trusted that he should have redeemed Sion. Thomas at last brake silence, and said,“Alas, O Master, dost thou not remember thine own words on that other mount in Galilee, where thou didst pour blessings on us, and didst strengthen us with comfortable sayings, telling us that the meek should inherit the earth? Verily the prophecies of the Mount of Olives do not accord with the[pg 358]prophecies of the Mount of Blessing.”By this time it was become dark, so that we could not clearly discern the features of Jesus, for the moon had not yet risen; but he seemed to turn his face suddenly to Thomas as though his words had grieved him. Howbeit, he said nothing, but arose from his place, and we followed him up the mountain even unto Bethany.

When we had been a full hour in Bethany, our Master called for Judas, that he should bear some message to Joseph of Arimathea in Jerusalem; for Judas was oftentimes employed by Jesus about such matters, being a man of understanding, and of a ready wit, and having a knowledge of the ways of men, more than the rest of the disciples. But search being made for Judas, he was not to be found; and this seemed not a little to disquiet Jesus. Howbeit, he bade me go in his stead, and bear a certain letter to Joseph of Arimathea. So I went down straightway and delivered the letter; and having received an answer written and sealed, I set forth to return to Bethany. Now the moon was by this time risen, and shining very brightly. So, because I was minded not to be seen of any of the servants of the chief priests, I kept myself in the shadow of the street as I went forth to the gate of Kidron; and it being now late, even in the second watch of the night, there were few people stirring.

But as I was now near to the street called Straight, whereby one turneth to the right hand to go unto the gate, methought I heard the sound of the voice of the night-watch going their rounds. So I drew near to the wall, and remained in a corner where I could not[pg 359]be seen. And straightway Hezekiah the Scribe came by, and Judas with him, walking very near the place where I was (but they discerned me not) and talking in a low voice together. And as they passed, I clearly heard Judas say to Hezekiah,“But if he should call down fire upon the guards?”And Hezekiah made answer,“Then thou wouldst have done him good service,”or words to that effect: but the exact words of Hezekiah I heard not, because they were by this time gone somewhat past me. Neither could I hear what Judas said in answer to the words of Hezekiah. Only I noted, even afar off, that after they had conversed some while longer, Judas held out his right hand to Hezekiah, and Hezekiah seemed to take it as a pledge.

When I saw this, my mind misgave me that all was not well; yet did it not so much as enter into my mind, at that time, that one of the Twelve could purpose treachery against our Master; and, because of my message and my haste, I gave no thought to the words that I had heard. But I sped away to the gate, and passing through unquestioned, I went up the mountain in haste; and when I came to the top, I found John, the son of Zebedee, waiting for me, to take me to the house where Jesus lay that night; for he was not to abide in the same house as before, for fear of the Pharisees. So I came to Jesus and delivered my letter; and I found with him a certain Nicodemus, a great teacher among the Pharisees. He had come to converse with Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the chief priests. Then I delivered my letter to Jesus, and I told him how I had seen Judas discoursing with Hezekiah. But the old man, even Nicodemus, was[pg 360]troubled when he heard me make mention of Judas, and he turned to Jesus and said that from friends came sometimes even more dangers than from enemies; and as he had before warned Jesus against the plotting of the Chief Priests, so now again he besought Jesus not to adventure himself in Jerusalem on the morrow. Then he gave thanks to Jesus for his doctrine, and departed. But when the letter of Joseph of Arimathea was opened, it confirmed the words of Nicodemus; for he also bade Jesus not come to Jerusalem on the morrow, but to tarry till the next day. He also added (but these words Jesus read not aloud, so that I knew not of them till afterwards) that Jesus should keep the Passover on the day after the morrow; howbeit not at his house, but at another house which his servants should prepare. He also gave Jesus a sign whereby he might be guided to the house. Likewise the letter bade him beware of false friends.

When Jesus had made an end of reading aloud those last words bidding him beware of false friends, his heart was sorely troubled, and the burden seemed more than he could bear; and he went out for a while to be alone and to pray. But presently he returned and spake comfortable words to us, and cheered us with his kindness; and so for that night he lay down to rest; and some of us slept while others watched. Howbeit that night no enemy came.

On the morrow (which was the fourth day of the week) Jesus neither went down to Jerusalem, nor sent any down to make preparation for the Passover. But he remained with us in Bethany, part of the time in the house, and part in the fields round about, going[pg 361]with us hither and thither, and speaking more and more to us of that same Holy Spirit whereof he had spoken before; which should guide us, he said, into all truth, and teach us what to reply unto our enemies, and be unto us a comforter and a friend, yea, the source of all happiness and good. And more and more he spake concerning his departure; insomuch that, though we were unwilling, yet by this time we were constrained to suppose that our Master must be severed from us for a season, and that we must watch for his return. Yet how or in what way he should be taken from us we could not conjecture: only that he should be slain by his enemies we had no manner of belief, no, nor so much as a fear thereof, although he had so many times prophesied it to us. For the thing was hidden from us of the Lord, that we should neither believe it nor conceive it.

But the women were otherwise minded, and were very full of fears. To them it seemed that, if Jesus was indeed about to be taken from them, then it mattered not whether he were taken in a chariot of fire or by whatever other means: and they lamented over him as over one already dead. Many times did we rebuke them for their faithlessness (for so it seemed to us), but they would not cease. Judas also rebuked them even more bitterly than we: for he had come to us on the morning of that day, saying that he had been with certain of his acquaintance in Jerusalem that he might be informed concerning the plots of the Pharisees. Jesus received him kindly, even more methought than was usual; and when we sat together at meat that night, he placed Judas next unto himself,[pg 362]John being on one side of him and Judas on the other, in the seat of honour.

Now so it was that, while we were at meat, behold, one of the women came behind Jesus, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, at the same time uttering most piteous cries and lamentations. Then Judas changed colour; for his heart misgave him, as I judge, that the lamentations of the women might prove true; and besides, he was wrath perchance because the love wherewith this woman loved Jesus put his semblance of love utterly to shame. Therefore he rose up from his seat in indignation and said,“To what purpose is this waste? for this ointment might have been sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor.”We also ourselves in like manner murmured against the woman. But Jesus said,“Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body she did it for my burial.”Then he paused, and mused for an instant, and added a prophecy, that wheresoever his good tidings of Redemption should be proclaimed in the whole world, there also should this that this woman had done be told for a memorial of her.

Now before these words, while we had sat at meat listening to the discourse of Jesus, Judas seemed as if his heart were enlarged towards Jesus; and albeit at times he fell to pondering and musing (like unto a man doubting of two courses which to take), yet anon he would be aroused by some word that Jesus spake; and then his countenance would kindle, and he would stoop forward,[pg 363]as in old times, with his eyes all a-glow, listening as if he would fain devour each syllable with his ears. But now his countenance fell, and he was filled with rage because he had been rebuked by Jesus; and he went forth from the chamber, and we saw him that night no more. But as for us that remained, our hearts became exceeding sorrowful; for now indeed it pressed upon us that the departure of Jesus must needs be sad and grievous and full of sorrow, like unto death. But still, that he should die indeed, and be buried: this, even now, we could in no wise believe.

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