He had therefore, properly speaking, no choice in the matter. It was impossible for him to begin quietly and tentatively, as he had done in Galilee. He must at once and conspicuously challenge attention, and make it impossible to ignore his arrival and its significance. Averse as he was to any sensational display, he could not now desire to enter the city and the temple in quiet simplicity; and the Messianic demonstrations which accompanied his entry, though he had by no means provoked them, were not unacceptable to him. He knew well enough that a host of shallow misconceptions lurked beneath these exuberant cries and tokens of veneration, but yet he accepted them as well intentioned and as coming from the heart. They were the first public recognition of the significance of his person and his work; and may not the hope have now revived in his heart that they might perchance be the first fruits of his harvest of souls, a prophecy that God would turn the people's hearts to him? At the very worst, these loud expressions of devotion could not fail to further his purpose of announcing that he had come, and had come in the character of God's messenger, commissioned to establish the kingdom of heaven. It was but another step-and a step of which any accident might be the occasion for him to proceed to some such striking and decisive action as that in the temple court. And this deed, occasioned by the repulsive scene that met him, and as little foreseen or premeditated on his part as the mode of his entry into the city, was an unmistakable indication to the public of the nature of the Messianic kingdom he came to found. But it need hardly be said that in spite of all this the work he contemplated at Jerusalem was of a purely religious and by no means of a political character, and that he had not the least intention of exciting a popular commotion. We must not dream of his departing by a hair's breadth from his principles, or becoming untrue to himself! It was, therefore, impossible for him to repeat or follow up this single deed. His only weapons were the power of the word, of the spirit, of the truth, the appeal to the heart and conscience. Nor could he go a single step further in the employment of material means. But, since this was so, his impressive deed had not improved his chances of success; for the masses could not fail to be disappointed when the sequel answered so ill to the introduction, when the work was so unlike the manifesto. And how could this disappointment have any but disastrous consequences? CHAPTER XXX. JESUS ON THE DEFENSIVE. MATTHEW XXI. 17, 23-32, XXII. 15-40; JOHN VII. 53-VIII. 11.1 THRO HROUGHOUT his stay in Jerusalem Jesus never spent the night in the city itself. Every evening he went with the Twelve to Bethany, returning early in the morning to teach in the temple-synagogue, or one of the other halls in the colonnades of the Forecourt. We have already followed him along the road from Bethany through Bethphage. The distance was about three-quarters of a league; but a footpath, which ran across the Mount of Olives, shortened it by a few minutes' walk. Whatever it may have been at first, it ultimately became a pressing measure of precaution to retire at night to some refuge unknown to the authorities; for, though they were afraid of a disturbance if they attempted to seize him by day, they might safely have snatched him from his bed at night. But we cannot tell whether such precautions were necessary from the first, or whether Jesus spent his nights outside Jerusalem, in order to secure the opportunity of recovering his own composure, and enjoying a time of quiet intercourse with his friends in the evening and morning. The hospitable customs of the East make it probable that he remained under one roof during his whole visit, and would only have quitted it in obedience to some special necessity. Accordingly, we may think of a certain Simon, known as "the leper,' as his permanent host. The third Gospel is less accurate in representing him as spending his nights on the Mount of Olives, and apparently in the open air in the garden of Gethsemane.2 The very first evening Jesus went with the Twelve, after dismissing the multitude we may suppose, to enjoy the quiet of the village where the night's lodging was prepared. It is not improbable that he knew Simon already. Perhaps he had met him as he passed through Bethany at noon, perhaps 1 Mark xi. 19, 27-33, xii. 13-34 a; Luke xix. 47, 48, xx. 1-8, 20-39, xxi. 37, 38. 2 Luke xxi. 37, xxii. 39, 40. Compare John viii. 1. later on in the day, and no long acquaintance would be needed to justify the offer of hospitality. Jesus had most likely spoken little after purifying the temple, for the day was far advanced when he entered Jerusalem, and the wearying journey, followed by such a tumult of emotions, must have so strained his powers as to make the opportunity of resting under a friendly roof extremely grateful. Here, then, he might gather strength for the struggle which he saw so clearly awaiting him. The following morning found him in the temple-court again at the spot whence he had dismissed his followers the night before, addressing both them and a number of others whom interest or curiosity had led to accompany them. Doubtless he assumed the authority of a prophet; and his preaching, in accordance with the action of the previous day that introduced it, would be an emphatic exposition of the spiritual nature of the kingdom of God and of the moral demands it made upon its subjects. But see, he is interrupted! A deputation of respected citizens approaches him with solemn dignity. Every one makes room for thein, for they are members of the Sanhedrim. This Sanhedrim was composed1 of" high priests" ("chief priests" in our Authorized Version), elders, or heads of distinguished Jewish families and the most eminent Scribes. Under the name of “high priests" were included not only the priest who held the office in question at the moment, but all who had ever filled it in their lives, and even the most influential of the remaining members of the high priestly families. The members of this little deputation therefore, though it may not have had an official character, felt bound in their individual capacity to put some check upon the pretensions of the Galilæan reformer. Nothing could be more appropriate, therefore, than their question, "By what authority are you doing all this, and who gave it to you?" Of course they referred especially to his vigorous proceedings when first he entered the temple-court, but not to them alone. When they observed the authoritative tone and attitude which he assumed in addressing the multitudes upon the subject of their dearest interests, they felt that unless he could offer some adequate defence of his use of such language they ought to crush him with the sentence of absolute condemnation. So Jesus stood face to face with the honored representatives of ecclesiastical and civil authority among his people. How much must depend upon his answer! He had 1 See pp. 5, 6. doubtless considered beforehand what position to take up. He was not at a loss for a moment, and answered with quiet dignity, "Let me also ask a question; and if you answer it then I will tell you on what authority I rely. Tell me, Whence was the baptism of John, from heaven or of men?" Now this was far from a mere evasion. On the contrary, it was little short of a defiance. Jesus implied that, since He who had shortly before sent John to baptize the people had now commissioned him, Jesus, to found the kingdom of God, there was an immediate connection between his own work and that of the preacher of the wilderness. Those who had recognized John as a messenger of God must and would recognize him also; whereas those who had utterly despised the Baptist had thereby given palpable proof of their total incapacity to appreciate a divine commission, and had therefore completely forfeited their right to demand his credentials from him. Did they understand his meaning? One of them, who served as the mouthpiece of the rest, answered briefly and contemptuously, "We do not know; as much as to say "and we do not care." Our Gospels represent this answer as the result of the reflection: If we say, From heaven,' he will answer, Then why did you not believe him?' and if we say, 'Of men,' then we shall have the people upon us, for they all hold John to have been a prophet." Luke even makes them fear that "the whole people will stone them" if they give the latter answer. But all this deliberation is out of place. The distinguished men of Jerusalem had simply paid no attention whatever to the Baptist; and Jesus therefore utterly denied their right to question him. His answer was as brief and as haughty as theirs : "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I have come forward here." His refusal to answer was a bold stroke; but, as if to show that he knew exactly what he was doing, he continued after a moment's silence, "What think you? There was a man who had two sons, and one morning he went to the elder and said: My son, you must go and attend to the vineyard to-day.' But he answered without even a show of respect, I shall not.' And yet, after a time, he was sorry, and went and set to work. Meanwhile the father had gone to the other and found him all obedience. I will go this very instant, father,' he replied, but did not. Which of these two obeyed his father?" We need not suppose, with the Evangelist, that the members of the deputation actually said. JESUS ON THE DEFENSIVE. "the first," for without waiting for an answer Jesus might This was an open declaration of war upon the priesthood, the nobility, and the Scribes. Compare this parable with that of the prodigal son, with which it has an unmistakable affinity. How changed is the conception of the second son, who is really obedient in the one case, and is a mere hypocrite in the other! It is true that in this parable Jesus had not the Pharisees exclusively in view, but this merely serves to make his judgment all the more emphatic. He embraces all the leaders of the people, the whole heterogeneous class of devout and high-born citizens who had thought it beneath their dignity to be moved by the preacher of the kingdom of God, he embraces them all under that sentence which put "the first" after "the last." When Jesus had once told them they came after the very offscourings of society, it was impossible that any friendly relations should subsist between him and them, unless they were to throw themselves in and there was small chance humble penitence at his feet, of that! And yet he had done well in taking up his true position He had not come to Jerusalem to win at the very outset. over the champions of Jewish orthodoxy or the guardians of the temple worship, but the people. He must let the nation know what it had to expect from him. This he had done once without any preliminary by opening the battle at skirmishing. It is deeply to be regretted that our authorities tell us little or nothing of the course of the struggle, and especially of the relations of Jesus and the people. Under the first head we only hear of a few argumentative encounters between Jesus and his opponents, preserved as specimens, and of certain violent denunciations uttered by Jesus in public. With these exceptions we have not a single address delivered by the Master in Jerusalem, or any thing beyond the repeated statement that he taught the people day by day. It is possible 1 Compare pp. 248, 251. |