STREET IN JERUSALEM
The multitude, as many as could gain admission, having entered the great gate of the Temple, for a few minutes there was a profound stillness. Mary said:
"He is worshiping or sacrificing now."
"Perhaps," I said, "he is addressing the people, and they listen to his words."
While I was speaking there arose from the bosom of the Temple a loud, irregular, strange outcry of a thousand voices, pitched to high excitement. The people without the gate responded by a universal shout, and then we beheld those nighest the walls retreat down the hillside in terrified confusion, while, to increase the tumult, the Roman horse charged up the hill, seeking to penetrate the masses to reach the gate out of which the people poured like a living and tempest-tossed river, before which the head of the cohort recoiled or was overwhelmed and down-trodden! I held my breath in dreadful suspense, not knowing the cause of the fearful scene we beheld, nor to what it might lead. Mary sank, almost insensible, by my side. A quarter of an hour had not passed when young Samuel Ben Azel, who had the day before come up from Nain to the Passover with his mother, entered and explained to us the cause of the scene I had witnessed.
"The Prophet Jesus, having entered into the Temple, found all the courts filled with merchants, changers of money, and sellers of cattle to the sacrificers. Portions of the sacred place were divided off by fences, in which hundreds of sheep and cattle were stalled. On his way to the inner Temple the Prophet found his path so obstructed by the stalls and the tables of the brokers, that he had to go around them, and often to turn back and take a less hedged-up avenue. At length finding, upon the very lintel of the Court of the Priests, a priest himself engaged at a table as a money-changer, and near him a Levite keeping a stall for selling doves and sparrows to the worshipers, he stopped upon the step, and turning round, cast his eye, which now beamed with an awful majesty and power, over the scene of noisy commerce and bartering. Every face was turned towards him in expectation. The half-completed bargain was suspended, and buyer and seller directed their gaze, as by a sort of fascination, not unmingled with a strange fear and awe, upon him. Those who had crowded about him drew back farther and farther, slowly but irresistibly widening the space between them and him, they knew not by what impulse, till he stood alone, save near him remained John, his disciple. The uproar of the buying and selling suddenly subsided, and the loud lowing of the cattle and the bleating of the sheep stopped as if a supernatural awe had seized even the brute creation at his presence, and only the soft cooing of doves stirred the vast, death-like stillness of the place, a moment before a scene of oaths, cries, shouts, of running to and fro, buying and selling, the ringing of money, and the buzz of ten thousand voices! It was as if a hurricane, sweeping with deafening uproar of the elements over the lashed ocean, had been suddenly arrested and followed by a great calm. The silence was dreadful! It stopped the very beating of my heart. Every eye of the vast multitude seemed to fasten itself on the Prophet in expectation of some dread event. The step of the Temple upon which he stood seemed to be a throne, and the people before him expecting judgment. Suddenly the silence was broken by a young man near me who gave a piercing shriek, and fell insensible upon the marble floor. There was a general thrill of horror, yet the same awful stillness succeeded this startling interruption. That one intense shriek had spoken for us all. Suddenly the voice of the Prophet was heard, clear, authoritative, and ringing like the trumpet that shook Sinai when the Law was given.
"'It is written, My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves!'
"He then picked up from the pavement at his feet a small cord, which some one had thrown down, and doubling it in the form of a scourge, he advanced. Before his presence fled the changers of money, priests and Levites, sellers of oxen, sellers of sheep, sellers of doves, leaving their property to its fate.
"'Take these things hence,' cried the Prophet; 'make not my Father's house a house of merchandise!'
"Such a scene of confusion and flight was never witnessed as now followed! In the moment of panic I was borne along with the current. Money tables were overturned on all sides, but not the most avaricious one present thought, at that moment, of stopping to gather any of the gold and silver which the rushing thousands trampled beneath their feet. It was not the whip of small cords before which we fled, for he touched no man therewith, but it was from the majesty of his countenance. To the eyes of all the little whip seemed to blaze and flash above their heads, as if it were the fiery sword of a destroying angel. In a few moments the Priests' Court of the Temple was cleared of every soul, as we fled towards the South gate. On looking back, I saw that the Prophet pursued not, but stood alone, Master and Lord of the Temple. The whip was no longer in his hand, and his whole attitude and expression of face seemed changed from their late impress to an air of the profoundest compassion, as he looked after us, still flying from his presence."
My uncle, Rabbi Amos, who, on his return from the Temple, corroborated what Samuel had stated, added that as Jesus stood alone, possessor of the gold-strewn floors of the courts of the Temple, the High Priest advanced towards him, and with awe, not unmixed with anger, demanded of him by what authority he did these things.
His answer was, "My Father's house must not be made a house of merchandise."
"Art thou the Christ?" asked the High Priest, still standing some distance off from him.
"If I tell thee that I am, ye will not believe."
"What sign showest thou that thou art sent, and hast authority to do what thou doest here to-day within the Temple?"
"Hast thou not had proof of my power from heaven?" answered Jesus, stretching forth his hand towards the still terror-stricken multitude; and then laying it upon his breast, he added: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up! Be this to you, O priest, and to all Judea, the sign that I am sent by my Father who is in heaven. As he hath given me commandment, so I do!"
At this there was a great murmuring, said Rabbi Amos, for many of the priests, with Annas also, had got boldness and drawn near to hear.
"He cannot be a just man," said Annas, "nor doth he honor God, if he would have us destroy the Temple."
"Yet if he be not sent of God, whence hath he this power over men?" answered another.
"He doeth this by Beelzebub, whose prophet he doubtless is," said Annas, in a loud tone, "for a true prophet would not seek the destruction of God's holy house."
Thereupon there was a multitude of voices, some crying one thing, and some another. Caiaphas at length obtained silence, and said to him with awe:
"Art thou that Christ of the Prophets?"
"I am!" calmly and firmly answered the Prophet; and, raising his eyes to heaven, he added impressively, "I am come down from God."
When, adds my uncle, Annas heard this, he lifted up his voice in an exclamation of horror, and cried out:
"Hear ye this blasphemer! Let us cast him forth from the Temple which he pollutes!"
But no man dared approach the Prophet.
"Bear witness," then said he, sorrowfully, rather than in anger, "that I have come unto my own, and ye have received me not! This Temple of my Father, from which you would drive me forth, shall no longer be the dwelling place and altar of Jehovah. The day cometh when your priesthood shall be taken away and given to others, and among the Gentiles shall arise my Father's name, on every hill and in every valley of the earth, holy temples, wherein he shall delight to dwell; and men shall no longer need to worship God in Zion, but in all places shall prayer and praise be offered to the Most High. This Temple, which ye have polluted, shall be overthrown, and ye shall be scattered among the nations."
Thus speaking, the Prophet quitted the Temple, leaving the High Priest and priests and Levites standing gazing after him, without power to utter a word.
Such, my dear father, is the account given by Rabbi Amos of what passed in the Temple. That Jesus is the Christ is now beyond question, for he has openly acknowledged it to the High Priest.
Adieu, dearest father. The servants are bringing in boughs for the booths, and I must close this letter, with prayers to our fathers' God for your peace and welfare.
Adina.
My Dear Father:
You say in your letter, which I received from the hands of the Roman courier, that you have read with interest all my letters, and more especially those which relate to Jesus of Galilee. You say that you are ready to acknowledge him as a prophet sent from God. But you add, "He can have no claim to be the Christ, because he comes out of Galilee."
To this objection, dear father, Rabbi Amos desires me to say that he has investigated the records of births kept in the Temple, and finds, as I have before named to you, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He afterwards removed with his parents to Egypt, and thence returning to Judea, settled in Galilee, where he was brought up. Of these facts in his history not only Rabbi Amos is satisfied, but Nicodemus also, whose learning you will not gainsay; and the latter, very much to our surprise, and my own delight, added yesterday, when we were talking over the subject at supper, "There is a prophecy, O Rabbi Amos, which strengthens this mighty Prophet's claim to be the Messias."
"What is it? Let me hear all that can strengthen!" I asked earnestly; not, dear father, that my confidence in him needs confirmation, but I wish others to believe.
"You will find it in the Prophet Hoseas," answered Nicodemus, "and thus it readeth: 'I have called my son out of Egypt.'"
My heart bounded with joy, dear father, at hearing this prophecy named; but judge my emotion when Nicodemus, taking the rollof the Prophet Isaiah in his hand, read the words that follow, and applied them to Jesus: "Beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness have seen a great light!" This changes the objection to his coming from Galilee into additional proof of his claim to be the Messias.
In my last letter I informed you that Rabbi Amos had invited him to sojourn with us during the Passover. He graciously accepted the invitation, and came hither yesterday, after he had quitted the Temple, from which he had with such commanding power driven forth the merchants and money-changers.
Hearing, while expecting him, the rumor flying along the streets, "The Prophet comes! The Prophet comes!" uttered by hundreds of voices of men and children, I hastened to the house-top. The whole way was a sea of heads. The multitude came rolling onward, like a mighty river; as I have seen the dark Nile flow when pouring its freshening floods along its confined banks.
Mary stood by my side. We tried to single out the central person around whom undulated the sea of heads; but all was so wildly confused with the waving of palm branches that we could distinguish nothing clearly. While I was straining my gaze to make out the form of the Prophet, Mary touched me, and bade me look in the opposite direction. As I did so I beheld Æmilius Tullius, the young Roman centurion, now Prefect of Pilate's Legion, advancing at the head of two hundred horsemen at full spur, in order to meet and turn back the advancing column of people.
As he came opposite the house he looked up, and seeing us upon the parapet, he gracefully waved his gleaming sword, saluted us, and was dashing past, when Mary cried out:
"Noble sir, there is no insurrection, as some of the people have doubtless told thee, but this vast crowd moving hitherwards is only an escort to the Prophet of Nazareth, who cometh to be my father's guest."
"I have orders from Pilate to arrest him, lady, as a disturber of the peace of the capital."
"Shall a prophet suffer because his mighty deeds draw crowds after his footsteps, noble Roman? If thy troops advance there will be a collision with the people. If thou wilt withdraw them a little, thou wilt see that when the Prophet crosses my father's threshold, they will go away in peace."
The prefect said nothing, but seemed to look at me for some words; which seeing, I earnestly entreated him to do the Prophet no violence.
"For thy wishes' sake, lady, I will here halt my troop, especially as I see that the people are unarmed."
The centurion then gave orders to his horsemen to draw up in line opposite the house. The multitude now came near, but many of those in advance, seeing the Roman horse, stopped or fell into the rear, so that I beheld Jesus appear in front, walking at an even, calm pace, John at his side; also Rabbi Amos was with him. As he came nigher, the people, for fear of the long Roman spears, kept back, and he advanced almost alone. I saw John point out to him our house. The Prophet raised his face and gazed upon it an instant. I saw his features full. His countenance was not that of a young man, but of a person past the middle age of life, though he is but thirty. His hair was mingled with gray, and in his finely shaped, oval face were carved, evidently by care and sorrow, deep lines. His flowing beard fell upon his breast. His eyes appeared to be fixed upon us both for an instant with benignity and peace. Deep sadness, gentle, not stern, seemed to be the characteristic expression of his noble and princely visage. There was an air of manly dignity in his carriage and mien, and as he walked amid his followers he was truly kingly, yet simplicity and humility qualified this native majesty of port. He seemed to draw out both the awe and love of those who saw him—to command equally our homage and sympathy.
Passing the troop of horse, John and Rabbi Amos conducted Jesus to our door; but before they reached it there was a loud cry from several harsh voices to the Roman to arrest him. On looking from whence these shouts came, I saw that they proceeded from several of the priests, headed by Annas, who were pressing forward through the crowd, crying menacingly:
"We call upon you, O prefect, to arrest this man! Shame on thee, Rabbi Amos! Hast thou also believed in the impostor? We charge this Galilean, O Roman, with having made sedition. He has taken possession of the Temple, and unless you see to it he will have the citadel out of your hands. If you arrest him not, we will not answerfor the consequences that may befall the city and the people."
"I see nothing to fear from this man, O ye Jews," answered Æmilius. "He is unarmed and without troops. Stand back; keep ye to your Temple! It is from your outcries comes all the confusion! Back to your altars! If commotions arise in the city, Pilate will make you accountable. All the rest of the people are peaceable save yourselves."
"We will take our complaint before the Procurator!" cried Annas, who was the chief speaker; and, followed by a large company of angry priests and Levites, with staves in their hands, he took his way towards the palace of the Roman Governor.
I looked my gratitude to Æmilius for so fearlessly taking part with the Prophet.
The multitude now began to retire as the Roman horse slowly moved up the street. Jesus was received into the house by Mary, and taken into the inner hall, where, water being brought, Rabbi Amos himself removed the sandals of the Prophet and reverently washed his feet, while Mary, to do him all honor, dried them with a rich veil, which she had just worked in anticipation of her coming bridal with her Cousin John. It was at this moment I entered the hall.
There were in the room not only Amos, and John, and Mary, but the Priest Elias, cousin to Caiaphas, who, desirous of hearing from the lips of the Prophet his sublime teachings, had come in with him. There were also present five men whom I never saw before, but who, John said, were his disciples. I, however, had no eye or ear for any one but Jesus. I saw that he seemed very weary and pale, and for the first time I noticed he seemed to suffer, as from time to time he raised his hand to his temples. Desirous of serving so holy a person, I hastened to prepare a restorative which, bringing it into the hall, I was about to give to him, when the Priest Elias put me rudely back and said, "Nay, maiden, let us witness a miracle!" He then turned to the Prophet and said, "Master, we have heard much of thy power to do miracles, but have seen none by thee. If thou wilt presently show me a miracle, I will believe, I and all my house. Thou hast a pain in thy forehead; heal it with a touch, and I will acknowledge thee the Christ, the Son of the Blessed!"
Jesus turned his eyes upon him and said, "Elias, thou readest the Prophets, and shouldest know whether he who speaketh unto thee be the Christ or no. Search the Scriptures, that thou mayest know that the time of his visitation is come, and that I am he. I do no miracles to relieve my own suffering. I came into this world to suffer. Isaiah wrote of me as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Blessed are they who, not seeing, shall believe!"
"But, Master," said the aged Levite, Asher, "we know whence thou art—even from Galilee. But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is."
"It is true, O man of Israel, ye both know me and whence I am. Yet ye know not him who sent me. Ye do not understand the Scriptures or ye would indeed know me, whence I am, and who hath sent me. But ye know neither me nor him that sent me, for I am come out from God. If ye had known him, ye would know me also. The time cometh when ye shall know whence I am and believe in me; but now your hearts are darkened through ignorance and unbelieving."
When he had thus spoken with great dignity and power, there were many present who were offended, and some voices murmured against him. Then Rabbi Amos led him forth to the apartment he had prepared for him.
In going to it the Prophet had to cross the court, and as I was watching his retiring footsteps, I saw four men, who had climbed to the house-top from the side street, the doors being closed, let down a fifth in a blanket at the very feet of Jesus. It was a man afflicted with the palsy, and their own father. Jesus, seeing their filial love, stopped and said kindly:
"Young men, what would ye have me to do?"
"Heal our aged father, holy Rabbi."
"Believe ye that I can do this?" he asked, fixing his gaze earnestly on them.
"Yes, Lord, we believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God! All things are possible unto thee!"
Jesus looked benignantly upon them, and then taking the venerable man by the hand, he said to him in a loud voice, so that all who were looking on heard him:
"Aged father, I say unto thee, arise and walk!"
The palsied man instantly rose to his feet, whole and strong, and after casting a glance around upon himself, he threw himself at the Prophet's feet and bathed them in tears.The four sons followed their father's example, while all the people who witnessed the miracle shouted, "Glory to God, who hath given such power unto men!"
Such, my dear father, are the increasing testimonies Jesus bears, by miracles as well as by words, to his being Messias.
The God of our fathers keep you in health.
Your loving daughter,
Adina.
My Dear Father:
The visit of the Prophet Jesus to the city has produced results of the most amazing character. The priesthood is divided. Caiaphas has publicly recognized him as a prophet, while Annas has publicly declared that he is an impostor; and thus two parties are formed in the city, headed by the two priests, and most men have taken sides with one or the other. But the majority of the common people are in favor of Jesus, believing him to be the Christ. The Pharisees most oppose him, because he boldly reproves their sins and hypocrisies.
Even Nicodemus, who at first was inclined to accept Jesus as a prophet, finding the Pharisees against him, and being unwilling to lose his popularity with them, kept away from the house where Jesus was by day; but his curiosity to learn more of him led him to visit the holy Prophet secretly by night. This he did twice, coming alone in the darkness, and being let in by his friend Rabbi Amos. What the results of these interviews was I can only tell you from Mary's account. She overheard their conversation, her window opening upon the corridor, where Jesus was seated after supper, alone in the moonlight, for full an hour, gazing meditatively heavenward. His pale and chiseled features in the white moonlight seemed radiant as marble, when Rabbi Amos came and announced the ruler, Nicodemus, as desirous of speaking with him.
"Bid him come in and see me, if he has aught to say to me," answered the Prophet, turning towards him.
"Nicodemus," added my Cousin Mary, "then came to the corridor, wrapped carefully in his mantle, and, looking about to see if he was unobserved, he dropped it from his face, and, bowing reverently, said to the Prophet:
"'Pardon me, O Rabbi, that I come to thee by night, but by day thy time is taken up with healing and teaching. I am glad to find thee alone, great Prophet, for I would ask thee many things.'
"'Speak, Nicodemus, and I will listen to thy words,' answered the Prophet.
"'Rabbi,' said the ruler of the Pharisees, 'I know thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these things that thou doest except God be with him. That thou art a mighty prophet I believe, as do all men; but art thou Messias? Tell us plainly. We read that Messias is to be a king who will rule the whole earth!'
"'My kingdom, O ruler of the Pharisees, is not of this world. I am indeed a king, but of a spiritual kingdom. My kingdom, unlike earthly kingdoms, has no end, and those who enter it must be born again. If not, they cannot see or desire this kingdom.'
"'Born again!' answered Nicodemus, with surprise: 'how can a man be born a second time? O Rabbi, thou speakest in parables!'
"'Verily, verily, I say unto thee,' answered the Prophet, 'except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter my kingdom. He that is born again is born a spiritual man and of my kingdom. Marvel not, then, that I say unto thee, ye must be born again.'
"When Nicodemus left him, Rabbi Amos said, 'Is it indeed true, O Master, that thou art to establish a kingdom?'
"'Yes, Rabbi Amos, a kingdom in which dwelleth righteousness,' answered the Prophet. 'Thou shalt yet behold me on my throne, O Amos, raised above the earth, and drawing all men unto me.'
"'Wilt thou have thy throne in the clouds of heaven, O Master, that thou shalt be raised above the earth upon it?' asked Rabbi Amos.
"'My throne shall be set on Calvary, and the ends of the earth shall look unto me and acknowledge my empire. Thou knowest not these things now, but hereafter thou shalt remember that I told thee of them.'"
Jesus then rose and, bidding his host good-night, retired to the apartment which was assigned him, and Mary remained wondering on his sayings.
Thus, dear father, it is made certain from his own words that Jesus is the Christ and that he is to establish a kingdom. But why his throne shall be on Calvary instead of Mount Zion, Rabbi Amos wonders greatly,for Calvary is a place of skulls and of public executions, and is covered with Roman crosses, where every week some malefactor is crucified for his crimes.
This morning, as Jesus was going forth from the house to depart into the country, a man lame from his youth, seated upon the threshold, caught him by the robe, saying, "Master, heal me!"
"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee!" answered Jesus, and then passed on; but the scribes and Pharisees who stood about cried, "This man, be he prophet or no, blasphemeth, for God alone can forgive sins!"
Jesus stopped and, turning to them, said:
"Which is easier, to say to this man, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee?' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? That ye may know that the Son of God hath power on earth to forgive sins—behold!"
Then in a loud voice the Prophet said to the lame man, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go to thine house!"
Immediately the man rose to his feet, leaping and praising God, and taking up the mattress upon which they had brought him to the door, he ran swiftly away to show himself to his kinsfolk, while all the people shouted and praised God.
Thus did Jesus publicly show men that he could forgive sins, if he could heal, as the power to do either came equally from God. Does not this power prove that he is the Son of God?
You should have seen him, dear father, as he left our house to go away into Galilee! The street was lined with all the afflicted of Jerusalem, and as he moved on between the rows of wretched sufferers, whose hollow eyes and shrivelled arms were turned imploringly towards him, he healed by words addressed to them, as he moved on, so that where he found disease before him, stretched on beds, he left behind him health and empty couches. We all wept at his departure and followed him to the Damascus Gate. Here there was assembled a large company of Levites and priests, among whom were mingled some of the most desperate characters in Jerusalem. Knowledge of this fact reached Rabbi Amos, who at once sent a message to Æmilius, our Roman friend, informing him that he apprehended that there would be an attempt made to assassinate Jesus at the going out of the gate, and asking his aid.
Æmilius placed himself at the head of fifty horse, and reaching the gate, pressed the crowd back, and took possession of it. When Jesus had passed through the armed guard beneath the arch, the young Roman courteously offered him an escort to the next village.
Æmilius, who informed me of these things, conducted him as far as Ephraim, and then was about to leave him to return to the city, when four lepers came from the cemetery of the tombs, near the village, and crying out afar off, said:
"Thou blessed Christ, have mercy on us!"
Jesus stopped and called to the lepers to approach. As they obeyed, the whole company of people, as well as the Roman soldiers, drew back to a distance, in horror at the sight of these dead-living men. They came timidly within twenty paces of Jesus and stood still tremblingly.
"Fear not," said he, "I will make you whole!"
He then advanced towards them, and laying his hand upon each of them, they all, at the touch, were instantly changed to well men, with the buoyant form, clear eye, and rich bloom of health.
When Æmilius saw this miracle, he dismounted from his horse, and falling at Jesus' feet, worshiped him.
Now, my dear father, I have thus far faithfully written all that I have heard and witnessed respecting Jesus, as you desire. You must see that he is more than a prophet, and must be the very Christ, the Son of the Blessed. Withhold, oh, withhold not your belief longer!
Your affectionate and loving daughter,
Adina.
My Dear Father:
We are now at the humble abode of Sarah, at Nain, whither I have come to breathe the fresh mountain air for a time. Her cottage stands in a garden, from which is a sublime view of Tabor, in all the majesty of his mountain grandeur. One day while I was in the garden walking, two men, dusty and travel-worn, stopped at the half-open gate, and saluting us, said:
"Peace be to this house, maiden, and all who dwell therein."
"Enter," said the widow, overhearing them, "enter and ye shall have water for your feet and bread for your hunger."
The two men then entered and seated themselves, and having been refreshed by the poor but hospitable widow, one of them rose and said:
"'This day is salvation come to this house. We are ambassadors of Jesus of Nazareth, and go from city to city, proclaiming the day of the Lord at hand, for Messiah is come!'"
"Will he, then, come to Nain?" asked the widow with emotion. "I should be willing to die so that I could lay my eyes once upon so great and holy a man!"
"Yes, he will come hither," answered the men, "and when we shall report to him your hospitality to us, he will visit your house, for he never forgets a cup of water given to one of his disciples."
The men then departed, again calling the peace of God upon our abode. They had not been gone many minutes before we heard a great commotion in the market-place near by. Upon going to the house-top, we beheld these two men standing upon an elevation, and preaching the kingdom of Christ at hand. Upon this, some cried out against Jesus, and others threw stones at the two men, and when we reached the house-top, we saw one of them remove his sandals and shake the dust from them, saying in a loud voice:
"As ye reject the words of life, your sins remain upon you, as I return to you the dust of your city."
They then departed, followed by Levites, who fairly drove them from the town.
While we were grieving at this enmity against a Prophet sent from God, whose life is a series of good deeds, there entered hastily a fair young maid whose name was Ruth. She held an open letter in her hand, and her beautiful face glowed rosily with some secret joy, which contrasted strangely with the present sadness of our own. We knew Ruth well, and loved her as if she had been a sister. She was an orphan, and dwelt with her uncle, Elihaz, the Levite, a man of influence in the town. She was artless, unsuspecting, and very interesting in all her ways.
"What good news, dear Ruth?" asked Mary, smiling in response to her bright smiles. "A letter from whom?"
"For Sarah," answered the pretty maid, blushing so timidly and consciously that we half suspected the truth.
"But that is not telling us from whom," persevered Mary, with a little playfulness.
"You can guess," she answered, glancing over her white shoulder, as she bounded away from us into the house.
We were soon after her, and heard her as she cried on putting the letter into the dear widow's hand:
"From Samuel!"
"God be blessed!" cried the widow. "My son liveth and is well!"
"Read, dear Sarah!" cried the maiden. "He was at Alexandria when he wrote this, and will soon be at home. Oh, happy, happy day!" added the overjoyed girl, quite forgetful of our presence.
"Nay," said the widow, "my eyes are filled with tears of gladness; I cannot see to read. Do thou read it aloud. Let Adina and Mary also know what he writeth."
Ruth then cast a bright look upon us, and read aloud the letter from over the sea, which told that the writer would return in the first ship bound to Sidon, or Cesarea, when he hoped to behold her and his mother face to face, and to receive as his bride the maiden he had so long loved and cherished in his heart.
At length, as the day drew near for me to leave, we were all filled with delightful surprise at the appearance of the long-absent son and lover in the midst of our happy circle.
Mary and I had once seen him, and we were now impressed with his manly and sun-browned beauty, his bold air, and frank, ingenuous manner. We could not but agree that the pretty Ruth had shown fine taste. But alas! my dear father, our joy was short-lived! Little did we anticipate how speedily our rejoicing was to end in mourning! The very night of his return he was seized with a malignant fever, which he had brought from Africa with him, and we were all overwhelmed with grief.
It would be impossible to paint the anguish of the mother, the heart-rending distress of his betrothed.
Unconscious of their presence, he raved wildly, and sometimes fancied himself suffering thirst on the burning sands of Africa, and at others battling with barbarians for his life. All that physicians could do was of no avail. This morning, the third day after his return, he expired, amid the most distressing agonies.
Alas! instead of a bridal, behold a funeral! Already the bearers are at the door, and in a few minutes he will be borne forth upon the dead-bier to the burial-place without the city.
"Oh!" sighs Mary near me as I write, "Oh, that Jesus, the mighty Prophet, had been here! He could have healed him!"
John has sent to her a message, saying that Jesus is traveling this way, on his mission of healing and teaching, and may be here this evening. But what will it avail, dear father? Even Jesus may not return the dead to life! Oh, if he could have been here yesterday, his power over disease would have enabled him to save this precious life!
I hear the heavy tread of the dead-bearers in the court below. The shrieks and wails of the mourning-women thrill my soul with awe. But above all pierces the wild cry of anguish of the bereaved mother! Ruth's voice is hushed. She has been for the last hour inanimate as marble. Only by her pulse can it be said she lives! Poor maiden! The blow is too terrible for her to bear.
My Cousin Mary has at this moment received a small roll of parchment which, from the flush on her cheek, I know to be from her betrothed. She smiles sadly, and with tears in her eyes hands it to me.
I have read it, dear father. It is as follows:
"Gadara, beyond Judea."The bearer, beloved, is one of the disciples of Jesus. His name is Bartimeus. He was blind and poor, and subsisted by begging; and, as you see, his sight is restored, and he insists now on going from town to town where he has been known as a blind man to proclaim what Jesus has done for him. This letter cometh beseeching thee, maiden, that as we love one another unfeignedly, so may we soon be united in that holy union which God hath blessed and commanded. But, having much to say hereupon, I will not commit it to paper and ink; but by to-morrow, or the day after, I trust to come to you, and speak with you, dearly beloved, face to face, upon those things which now come to my lips. Farewell, lady. Peace be with you, and all in your house. Greet thy friends in my name, letting them know that we shall shortly be with you.""Oh, that the mighty Prophet had come one day sooner!" cried Mary. "What woe and anguish would have been spared poor Ruth and his mother! But the will of Jehovah be done!"
"Gadara, beyond Judea.
"The bearer, beloved, is one of the disciples of Jesus. His name is Bartimeus. He was blind and poor, and subsisted by begging; and, as you see, his sight is restored, and he insists now on going from town to town where he has been known as a blind man to proclaim what Jesus has done for him. This letter cometh beseeching thee, maiden, that as we love one another unfeignedly, so may we soon be united in that holy union which God hath blessed and commanded. But, having much to say hereupon, I will not commit it to paper and ink; but by to-morrow, or the day after, I trust to come to you, and speak with you, dearly beloved, face to face, upon those things which now come to my lips. Farewell, lady. Peace be with you, and all in your house. Greet thy friends in my name, letting them know that we shall shortly be with you."
"Oh, that the mighty Prophet had come one day sooner!" cried Mary. "What woe and anguish would have been spared poor Ruth and his mother! But the will of Jehovah be done!"
We hear now, dear father, the voice of the governor of the funeral, bidding us come down to bury the dead.
Farewell, my father. I know you will shed a tear to the memory of the noble youth whose death has this day filled all Nain with mourning. As I look from the lattice, I see the concourse of people to be immense, filling all the street. Now, may the God of our father Abraham preserve and keep you, and suffer us once more to meet face to face in joy and peace.
Your dutiful and sorrowful daughter,
Adina.
My Dear Father:
I seize my pen, which I laid down an hour ago in order to follow to his burial the son of our hostess, to recount to you one of the most extraordinary things which ever happened. I fear my trembling fingers will scarcely express legibly what I have to tell you.
When the burial train of Samuel had formed to go to the grave, the deep grief of poor Ruth overcame her wholly and I led her to her room, where she sank insensible upon her couch. I could not leave her in her situation, and the procession went forth from the house without me.
As the funeral train passed the lattice, it seemed endless, but at length it passed by, and I was left alone with the motionless Ruth. As I gazed on the marble countenance of the bereaved maiden, I could not but pray that she might never recover from her swoon, to revive to the bitter realization of her loss.
Suddenly I heard a great shout. I started and hastened to the lattice. It was repeated louder and with a glad tone. It seemed to come from beyond the city walls, and from a hundred voices raised in unison. I knew that the house-top overlooked the walls, and seeing Ruth moved not, I ascended rapidly to the parapet, the shouts and glad cries still increasing as I went up. Upon reaching the flat roof and stepping on the parapet, I saw coming along the street towards the house, with the speed of the antelope, Elec, our Gibeonite slave. He was waving his hands wildly, and crying out something which I could not distinctly hear. Behind him I saw two youths running also, appearing to be the bearers of some great tidings.
I knew something wonderful must have occurred, but could not divine what it couldbe. On looking towards the gate, from which direction the shouts at intervals continued to approach, I discovered on the hillside of the cemetery many people crowded together, and evidently surrounding some person in their midst, for the whole order of the procession was broken up. The bier I could not discern, nor could I comprehend how the solemnity of the march of the funeral train was suddenly changed to a confused multitude, rending the sky with loud acclamations. The whole body of people was pressing back towards the city. The persons whom I had first seen running along the street, now made themselves audible as they drew nigher.
"He is alive! He is alive!" shouted Elec.
"He has risen from the dead!" cried the young man next behind him.
"He lives, and is walking back to the city!" called the third.
"Who—who is alive?" I eagerly demanded of Elec, as he passed beneath the parapet. "What is this shouting, O Elec?"
He looked up to me with a face expressive of the keenest delight, mixed with awe, and said:
"Young Rabbi Samuel is come to life! He is no longer dead! You will soon see him, for they are escorting him back to the city, and everybody is mad with joy. Where is Ruth, the maiden? I am come to tell her the glorious news."
With emotion that I cannot describe, hardly believing what I heard, I hastened to Ruth, in order to prevent the effects of too sudden joy. Upon reaching the apartment, I found that the voice of Elec, who had shouted the news of which he was the bearer into her ears, had aroused her from her stupor of grief. She was looking at him wildly and incomprehensively. I ran to her, and folding her in my arms, said:
"Dear Ruth, there is news—good news! It must be true! Hear the shouts of gladness in all the town!"
"Lives!" she repeated, shaking her head. "No—no—no! Yes, there!" she said, raising her beautiful, glittering eyes to heaven and pointing upward.
"But on earth also!" cried Elec, with positiveness. "I saw him sit up, and heard him speak, as well as ever he was!"
"How was it? Let me know all!" I cried.
"How? Who could have done such a miracle but the mighty Prophet we saw at Jerusalem!" he answered.
"Jesus?" I exclaimed, with joy.
"Who else could it be. Yes, he met the bier just outside the— But here they come!"
Elec was interrupted in his narrative by the increased noise of voices in the streets and the tramp of hundreds of feet. The next moment the room was filled with a crowd of the most excited persons, some weeping, some laughing, as if beside themselves. In their midst I beheld Samuel walking, alive and well! his mother clinging to him, like a vine upon an oak.
"Where is Ruth?" he cried. "Oh, where is she! Let me make her happy with my presence!"
I gazed upon him with awe, as if I had seen a spirit.
Ruth no sooner heard his voice than she uttered a shriek of joy. "He lives—he indeed lives!" and springing forward, she was saved from falling to the ground by being clasped to his manly breast.
"Let us kneel and thank God!" he said.
For a few minutes the scene was solemn and touching beyond any spectacle ever exhibited on earth.
When he had performed this first sacred duty, he rose to his feet and received all our embraces. Hundreds came in to see his face, and every tongue was eloquent in praise of the power of Jesus.
"And where is the holy Prophet?" I asked of Mary. "Shall he be forgotten amid all our joy!"
"We thanked him there with all our hearts, and bathed his hands with tears of gratitude," she answered, "but when they would have brought him into the city in triumph he conveyed himself away in the confusion, and no one could see aught of him. But John, who was with him, told me he would come into the city after quiet was restored, by and by, and he would bring him to our abode."
"Oh, I shall then behold him and thank him also!" I cried. "Make known to me, Mary, the particulars of this wonderful miracle."
"As we went weeping forth," said Mary, "slowly following the bier, and had passed the gate, we saw coming along the path through the valley leading to Tabor, a party of twelve or thirteen men on foot. They were followed by a crowd of men, women and children from the country, and were so journeying that they would meet us at the crossing of the stone bridge. Hearing some one say aloud, 'It is the Prophet of Nazareth,with his disciples,' I looked earnestly forward, and joyfully recognized Jesus at their head, with John walking by his side.
"'Oh, that Jesus had been in Nain when thy son was sick!' I said to the widow, pointing him out to her, as he and his company stopped at the entrance to the bridge. Recollecting how he might have prevented her son's dying had he been in Nain, the poor lady could no longer command her grief, and covering her face with her veil, she wept so violently that all eyes were piteously fastened upon her. I observed that the holy Prophet's gaze rested upon her with compassion, and as she came opposite where he stood, he advanced towards us and said, in a voice of thrilling sympathy:
"'Weep not, mother. Thy son shall live again!'
"'I know it, O Rabboni, at the last day,' she answered. 'Oh, if thou hadst been here my son need not have died! Thy word would have healed him! But now he is dead! dead! dead!'
"'Woman, weep not! I will restore thy son!'
"'What saith he?' cried some Pharisees who were in the funeral. 'That he will raise a dead man? This is going too far. God only can raise the dead.' And they smiled and scoffed.
"But Jesus laid his hand upon the pall over the body, and said to those who bore the corpse:
"'Rest the bier upon the ground.'
"They instantly stood still and obeyed him. He then advanced amid a hushed silence, and uncovering the marble visage, touched the hand of the dead young man, and said, in a loud and commanding voice:
"'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!'
"There was a moment's painful stillness through the vast multitude. Every eye was fixed upon the bier. The voice was heard by the spirit of the dead and it came back to his body. There was at first visible a living, trembling emotion of the hitherto motionless corpse! Color flushed the livid cheek; the eyelids opened and he fixed his eyes on Jesus; then he raised his hand and his lips moved! The next moment he sat up on the bier, and spake aloud in his natural voice, saying:
"'Lo, here I am!'
"Jesus then took him by the hand, and assisting him to alight upon his feet from the bier, led him to his mother, and delivered him to her, saying:
"'Woman, behold thy son!'
"Upon seeing this miracle the people shouted with joy and wonder, 'God has indeed visited his people Israel! A great Prophet is risen up among us! The Messias is come, and Jesus is the very Christ, with the keys of death and hell!'
"I sought out Jesus to cast myself at his feet, but he shrunk from the homage and gratitude which his mercy to us had awakened. Thus humility is an element of all power."
Such, my dear father, is the narrative of the restoration to life again of Samuel, the son of Sarah, widow of Nain. This miracle has caused hundreds this day to confess his name, and to believe in Jesus as the anointed Shiloh of Israel.
Many of the doctors have been to see Samuel through the day, and have put profound questions to him touching the state of the soul out of the body, but he could give them no satisfaction, all appearing to him like shining fragments of a gorgeous vision.
Mary is to-morrow to become the bride of John, and Jesus will be present at the wedding, for while he severely rebukes sin and folly, he sanctifies by his presence the holy rite of marriage.
On the eve of the eighth day from this I shall depart hence, with John and Mary, for Jerusalem, whence I will write you again.
Your loving daughter,
Adina.
Once more, my dear father, I address a letter to you from this holy city. This morning when I awoke at the sound of the silver trumpets of the priests, ringing melodiously from the top of Mount Moriah, I experienced anew that profound devotion which the children of Abraham must always feel in the city of God and in the presence of his very Temple.
It was a joyous morning to me, dear father, for Æmilius, the noble Roman Prefect, was this day voluntarily to present himself at the Temple to be made a proselyte to the holy faith of Israel.
The morning was, therefore, additionally lovely to me. I thought I had never seen the olive groves on the hillside beyond the king's gardens so green, nor the harvest so yellow, as they undulated in the soft breezeof the opening morn. The lofty palms everywhere appeared to bend and wave their verdant fans with joyous motion. The birds in the palace gardens sang sweeter and louder, and Jerusalem itself seemed more beautiful than ever.
While I was gazing upon the scene and adoring God, and thanking him for the conversion of Æmilius, Rabbi Amos came and said that he would take us to the Temple. We were soon on our way, climbing the paved pathway to Moriah. Oh, how sublimely towered the divine Temple above our heads, seemingly lost in the blue of the far heaven! The great gates opening north and south, to the east and west, were thronged with the multitude pressing through; while from the galleries above each gate pealed forth continually the clear-voiced trumpets of God in ceaseless reverberation. My uncle pointed out to me the massive doors, all overlaid with sheets of beaten gold, and the floor of green marble on which we trod. He bade me notice the costly entablature of colored stones, exquisitely worked with the Grecian's chisel, and especially the roof of fretted silver, set with precious stones, the onyx, beryl, sapphire, carbuncle and jasper. I was dazzled by the magnificence, and awed by the vast extent of the space of splendor surrounding me, while ten thousands of people were to be seen moving towards the altar of sacrifice. From that superb court I was led into a hall nearly a hundred cubits in length, its ceiling of pure gold sustained by a thousand and one columns of porphyry and white marble, ranged alternately.
I was not permitted to approach the sacred chamber, where stood the four thousand vessels of gold of Ophir, used in the sacrifices on great days; and this being a high day, I saw no less than six hundred priests standing about the altar, each with a golden censer in his hand. Beyond is the holy ark of the covenant, over which the cherubim hover, their wings meeting, and between them is the mercy-seat. As this was the Holy of Holies I was not permitted to see it; but its position was pointed out to me within the veil, which conceals from all eyes but that of the High Priest once a year the place of God's throne on the earth, alas now left vacant since the glory of the Shechinah departed from the Holy of Holies!
The air of the vast Temple was delicious with the fragrance of burning frankincense. As the victims bled and the smoke ascended, the people fell on their faces and worshiped God. After a few moments' silence, a startling trumpet note thrilled every soul in the countless multitude. It was followed by a peal of music that shook the air, from a choir of two thousand singers, male and female, of the sons and daughters of Levi, who served in the Temple. Entering from the southern court, they advanced in long procession, singing sacred chants, and playing on sacbut and harp, psalter and nebble, chinna and tympana. As they ascended to the choir their voices, mingling with the instruments, filled all the Temple. I never heard before such sublime harmony; especially when on reaching the elevated choir, a thousand Levites with manly voices joined them, and the whole company chanted one of the sublimest of the Psalms of David.
When the chant was concluded, the whole multitude responded, "Amen and Amen!" like the deep voice of a mighty wind suddenly shaking the foundations of the Temple.
At length I beheld a train of priests following the High Priest, as he marched thrice around the altar. In that procession I discovered a company of proselytes, escorted by twelve aged Levites, with long, snowy beards, and clad in vestments of the purest white. Among the proselytes I discerned the tall and noble figure of the Roman Æmilius. He was robed in a black garment from head to foot. But upon approaching the baptismal basin two young priests removed this outer sable dress and robed him in white. I then saw him baptized into the family of Abraham and a new name given him, that of Eleazer. I heard the silver trumpets proclaim the conversion and the multitude shouting their joy.
Of the rest of the ceremony I have no recollection, as after the baptism of Æmilius, I was too happy to see or think of anything else.
While I was lifting up my heart in gratitude for the happy conversion of Æmilius, and while the Jews were crowding about him to extend to him the hand of fellowship, rejoicing that so noted a person should embrace our faith, Uncle Amos drew my attention by exclaiming with gladness:
"Behold, there is Jesus, the Prophet!"
We at once made our way, but with difficulty, towards the spot where we had discovered him. The rumor that the Christ was in the Temple rapidly spread, and thewhole multitude pressed towards the same point. At length we obtained our object so as to get within a few feet of him. Here a tall, richly-attired Greek addressed Rabbi Amos, saying:
"Sir, tell me who that youthful Jew is, whose countenance is stamped with firmness and benevolence so finely combined in its expression; whose air possesses such dignity and wisdom; whose noble eyes seem filled with a holy sadness, and whose glance is full of innocence and sweetness. He seems born to love men and to command them. All seek to approach him. Pray, sir, who is he?"
"That, O stranger, is Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Prophet," answered Uncle Amos, delighted to point him out to a foreigner.
"Then I am well rewarded for my journey in turning aside to Jerusalem," answered the Grecian. "I have even heard of his fame in Macedonia, and am rejoiced to behold him. Think you he will do some great miracle?"
"He performs miracles not to gratify curiosity but to bear testimony to the truths he teaches, that they are delivered to him of God. Hark! He speaks!" cried my uncle.
Every voice was hushed as that of Jesus rose clear and sweet, and thrilling like a celestial clarion speaking. And he preached, dear father, a sermon so full of wisdom, of love to man, of love to God, of knowledge of our hearts, of divine and convincing power, that thousands wept; thousands were chained to the spot with awe and delight, and all were moved as if an angel had addressed them. They cried, "Never man spake like this man!"
The priests, seeing that he had carried the hearts of all the people, were greatly enraged, and, not being able to vent their hatred and fear in any other way, they hired a vile person by the name of Gazeel, a robber who, taking one of the blood-stained sacrificing knives by the altar, crept towards him behind the column, and, securing a favorable position to execute the deed, raised his hand to strike the Prophet from behind, when Jesus, turning his head, arrested the hand of the assassin in mid-air by a look. Unable to move a muscle, Gazeel stood betrayed to all eyes in this murderous attitude, like a statue of stone.
"Return to those who hired thee. My hour is not yet come, nor can they yet have any power over me."
The assassin bowed his head in abject shame and terror; the knife dropped from his hand and rang upon the marble floor, and he sank at Jesus' feet imploring forgiveness. The people would instantly have torn Gazeel in pieces, but Jesus said:
"Let him depart in peace. The day shall come when he will be willing to lay down his life to save mine. Ye priests go about to kill me," he added, fixing his clear gaze upon the group which had sent Gazeel. "For what do ye seek my life? I have come to my own, and to my Temple, and ye receive me not. The day cometh when this Temple shall be thrown down, and not one stone left upon another; and some who hear me shall behold and mourn in that day. Oh, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how oft would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Thou shalt be left desolate and cast out among cities, because thou knewest not the day of thy visitation. Fly ye to the Jerusalem which is above, and which is above all, whose foundation is eternal, and whose Temple is the Lord God Almighty, who is also the light and glory thereof."
Upon hearing these words, there arose a great cry from ten thousand voices:
"Hail to Jesus, the king of Israel and Judah! Hosanna to the Prince of David! We will have no king but Jesus!"
At this shout, which was caught up and repeated beyond the four gates of the Temple, the priests cried aloud that the people were in insurrection.
Pilate, who was, with his guard, just leaving the Court of the Gentiles, hearing it, turned to ask what it meant. One of the priests, desirous of having Jesus slain, quickly answered, "That the people had proclaimed Jesus, the Nazarene, king."
Hearing this, Pilate sent off messengers to the Castle of David for soldiers, and with his body-guard turned back to the Temple gate, charging the people sword in hand.
The tumult was now fearful, and the bloodshed would have been great, but Jesus suddenly appeared before him—none saw how he had reached the place—and said:
"O Roman, I seek no kingdom but such as my Father hath given me. My kingdom is not of this world."
Pilate was seen to bend his proud head with low obeisance before the Prophet, and said graciously:
"I have no wish to arrest thee. Thy word, O Prophet, is sufficient for me. Of thee Ihave hitherto heard much. Wilt thou come with me to my palace, and let me hear thee, and see some miracle?"
"Thou shalt see me in thy palace, but not to-day; and thou shalt behold a miracle, but not now."
When Jesus had thus said, he withdrew himself from Pilate's presence; and those who would have sought him to make him a king could nowhere discover him.
The result of this attempt of the people to make the Prophet their king, and under his direction to overthrow the Roman power, is that the Roman authorities, instigated by Annas and the priests, look upon Jesus with eyes of jealousy, and Pilate this morning told a deputation of priests, who waited on him to petition him to arrest and imprison the Prophet, that on the first proof they could bring him of his hostility to Cæsar he would send soldiers to take him. To-day Jesus was refreshing himself in our house, when several Scribes and Pharisees came in. I saw by their dark looks they meditated evil, and secretly sent Elec with a message to Æmilius (now Eleazer) asking him to be at hand to protect Jesus; for Æmilius is devoted to him, as we are, and Jesus takes delight in teaching him the things of the kingdom of God.
Jesus, knowing the hearts of these bad men, said to them, after they had seated themselves and remained some minutes in silence:
"Wherefore are ye come?"
"Master," said Zadoc, a Levite of great fame among the people, "we have heard how boldly thou speakest at all times; that not even Pilate, nor Herod, yea, nor Cæsar, could make thee refrain from what thou choosest to utter. Is it lawful for us Jews, the peculiar nation of God, to pay tribute to Cæsar, who is an idolater? Is it lawful for us to obey the laws of Pilate, rather than of Moses? We ask this as Jews to a Jew. Tell us frankly."
Jesus looked fixedly upon them, as if he read their wicked designs, and said:
"Show me the tribute money."
Zadoc handed him a penny, the Roman coin sent into Judea by Cæsar, as our currency, and which we return to Rome again in tribute. When Jesus had taken the money, he looked at the head of Augustus stamped upon one side, and then turning to them, said:
"Whose image and whose name is here impressed?"
"Cæsar's," eagerly answered the whole party.
"Then render unto Cæsar the things that be Cæsar's, and unto God the things that be God's," was his calm and wonderful answer.
I breathed again, for I feared he would answer openly that tribute ought not to be paid, which they hoped he would do, when they would immediately have accused him to Pilate as teaching that we ought not to pay tribute to Rome, and so fomenting rebellion.
But the divine wisdom of his answer relieved all our minds; while the Scribes and Levites, his enemies, looked upon him with amazement, interchanged glances of conscious defeat, and left the house.
I remain your affectionate daughter,
Adina.
My Dear Father:
I have received with joy your letter, in which you say you shall leave Egypt with the next Passover caravan, in order to visit Jerusalem. My happiness is augmented to know that you will be here while Jesus is in the city; for it is said, and John, Mary's husband, asserts, that he will certainly be at the Passover.
Last week Eli, the paralytic, whom you knew, a scribe of the Levites, whose hand has been withered nine years, so that he had been dependent on the alms of the worshipers in the Temple for his bread, hearing of the power of Jesus, sought him at the house of Uncle Amos, where he was abiding.
Jesus was reclining with our family at the evening meal, at the close of the day on which the uproar had taken place in the Temple, when Eli came and stood within the door. Humble and doubting, his knees trembled, and he timidly and wistfully looked towards Jesus, but did not speak. I knew at once what the afflicted man came for, and approached him, saying, "Fear not, Eli; ask him, and he will make thee whole!"
Jesus did not see the poor man, his face being turned towards Rabbi Amos; but leaving this conversation, he said in a gentle voice, without turning round:
"Come to me, Eli, and ask what is in thyheart. And fear not; for if thou believest, thou shalt receive all thy wish."
At this Eli ran forward, and casting himself at Jesus' feet, kissed them and said, "Rabboni, I am a poor, sinful man; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Blessed!"
"Dost thou believe, Eli, that I have power to make thee whole?" asked Jesus, looking steadily upon him.
"I believe, my Lord," answered Eli, bowing his face to the ground.
"Thy sins, then, be forgiven thee. Rise and go to thy house; and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee."
"This man! forgiveth he sins also?" cried a venerable priest, Manasses, who was at the table. "He is a blasphemer! for God alone forgiveth sins. Will he call himself God?" And he rose quickly up and rent his robe, and spat upon the floor in detestation.
"Manasses," said Jesus mildly, "tell me whether it is an easier thing to do—to say unto this man kneeling here, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee?' or to say, 'Stretch forth thine hand whole as the other'?"
"It would be more difficult to do the latter," answered Manasses, surprised at the question. "God alone, who made him, can do that."
Jesus turned to the paralytic. "I say unto thee, Eli, stretch forth thy hand whole!"
The man, looking upon Jesus' face, and seeming to derive confidence from its expression of power, made a convulsive movement with his arm, which was bared to the shoulder, exhibiting all its hideous deformity, and stretched it forth at full length. Immediately the arm was rounded with flesh and muscles; the pulse filled and leaped with the warm life-blood, and it became whole as the other. The change was so instantaneous that it was done before we could see how it was done. The amazed and wonderingly delighted Eli bent his elbow, and expanded and contracted the fingers, felt the flesh and pressed it with his other hand, before he could realize he was healed. Then, casting himself at the feet of the Prophet, he cried: