Читать книгу "Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) - Lady Mary Ross - Страница 25

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"In the last day, that great day of the feast," when there was a holy convocation, or assembling of the people, Jesus stood up, and invited all men to believe in Him, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which He compared to "living water"—water that would wash away all their sins, and give life and strength to their souls: just as a good drink of pure water, given to a man who is fainting with fatigue and thirst, will revive him, and give him fresh strength and spirit for his work.

Again was there "a division among the people because of him": some said, "Of a truth, this is the Prophet"; others, more plainly, "This is the Christ"; whilst others, influenced by their false ideas, asked, "Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"

They were right; the Scriptures did say so: but had the people with an earnest desire endeavoured to learn the truth, they would have found that in Jesus, these words of Scripture were fulfilled, although Nazareth, in Galilee, had accidentally been His dwelling-place.

Again, the Chief Priests and Pharisees, fearing His influence with the people, sent out officers to take Jesus; and when these returned without Him, they were asked, "Why have ye not brought him?" The officers, though sent out for that very purpose, could not bring themselves to lay violent hands on one to whom they had listened with astonishment; and they now answered, as their reason for not having brought Him in as a prisoner, "Never man spake like this man." The Pharisees, in their wilful blindness and hardness of heart, reproached the officers for being also "deceived," as they called it; and reminded them that none of the rulers, or learned men, had believed in Jesus, and that as to the people, they were ignorant; adding the most unwarrantable assertion, "This people, who knoweth not the Law, are cursed."

The Pharisees, who were very proud of their own knowledge, not only despised all who were unlearned, but believed that only the learned would enjoy happiness after death, whilst the ignorant would be miserable. They mistook knowledge for religion. But the Gospel teaches a very different lesson; worldly knowledge is good and useful, and those who have the means, do well to acquire it; but it cannot take a man to heaven, nor will ignorance of it, keep any man out of heaven. A knowledge of our own sinfulness, of the Salvation brought by Jesus, and a consequent endeavour to please Him in all things, is the only knowledge that is really necessary as far as our Souls are concerned. Without this knowledge, the most learned man can never gain admittance into heaven; with it, the most ignorant will be received into the kingdom of God.

One of the councillors present on this occasion was Nicodemus, who, being a believer, had come to Jesus secretly, in the night, for fear of the Jews: he now ventured to speak in behalf of Jesus, showing that it was not according to their Law to condemn any one as teaching what was wrong, or untrue, until they had heard what he had to say for himself. His words had no effect but to make the other members of the council ask him, "Art thou also of Galilee?"—that is, art thou one of those who have the folly to believe in this Galilean. "Search and look" in the Scriptures, for they will show that "out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."

Nothing more was at this time said or done, and the Pharisees probably broke up the council in anger, vexed at not having got Jesus into their power. "Every man went unto his own house."

Jesus now went unto the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet, where He doubtless passed part of the night in prayer. This Mount rose about half a mile east of Jerusalem, and the brook Kedron ran between it and the city. It took its name from the number of Olive trees which grew upon it; they were cultivated for the purpose of extracting oil from the fruit. On this Mount there were several villages: Bethphage was on that side farthest from Jerusalem; and on the side nearest to the city, stood the village of Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane means "the place of oil presses"; which shows that the people of the village were occupied in squeezing the oil out of the olives that were brought down from other parts of the Mount. It was up the Mount of Olives that King David went weeping, when the rebellion of Absalom had forced him to quit Jerusalem.

After spending the night on the Mount of Olives, or in one of its villages, Jesus, early in the morning, "came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them."

The Scribes and Pharisees, always trying to find some cause of complaint against Him, now brought a woman who had committed a sin, for which the Law of Moses pronounced death to be the punishment: they now asked Jesus, whether this woman should be stoned or not. If Jesus condemned the woman to death, they could accuse Him to the Romans of trespassing upon their authority: if He acquitted the woman, they could hold Him up to the people as acting contrary to the Jewish Law.

But Jesus knew the wickedness of their hearts, and that in the sight of God, their guilt was as great, if not greater, than that of this woman; therefore He gave them no answer, but "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one." None of these Scribes or Pharisees could dare to pronounce themselves free from sin, therefore they all retired. Then Jesus dismissed the woman with the warning, "Go, and sin no more."

At this time, Jesus spake many things to all who came into the temple to hear Him. He spake to them of His death: He told them that if they were really the children of Abraham, spiritually as well as by natural descent, they would do the works of Abraham: and that if God were their Father, as they pretended, they would love Him, who was the Son of God; but that they were, in fact, the children of the Devil, who was a liar from the beginning. During these discourses, "many believed on him"; but many others would gladly have "laid hands on him": and when at length, in answer to their questions, Jesus declared unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am," their rage could no longer be repressed: "then took they up stones to cast at him": but "his hour was not yet come" to die, and therefore "Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by," disappointing the malice of His enemies.

After this, the seventy disciples, whom Jesus had sent out to preach and to teach in the different cities, "returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." He then told them, that this need not surprise them, since God had begun to destroy the power of Satan: and He also told them, that they had a far greater cause for joy than the subjection of evil spirits; even that they had been chosen to be the servants and children of God, and were thereby set in the way that would, if they walked steadily in it, bring them to everlasting life.

The parable of the Good Samaritan was now told by Jesus to one of the Scribes, or Lawyers, who came and asked Him a question: not from any real desire to learn, but from a wish to make our Lord say something that he could find fault with. To his question, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" he expected that Jesus would make an answer not quite agreeing with the Law of Moses: but our Lord at once showed him that His teaching was the same as that of Moses; for He asked him, "What is written in the Law? How readest thou?" "And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." These words, taken from the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, were repeated twice every day in the synagogue service, as a short statement of all that the Law was intended to teach; that is, Love to God and Man. These same words were written on some of the Phylacteries, or strips of parchment which the Jews wore on their foreheads, and on the left wrist. Most likely, the Lawyer who questioned Jesus had these very words written on his Phylactery; and that Jesus pointed to the words when He asked, "How readest thou?" The Gospel, as well as the Law, teaches us to love God and Man; and shows us, that those who really and truly do so are sure to find favour with God, who can alone admit us to eternal life. The Scribe's answer was right, under the Gospel as well as under the Law: and Jesus therefore replied, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live": by obeying the words of Moses, he would, through the tidings made known by the Gospel, inherit eternal life. May these words be written in all our hearts, and may we make them the guide of all our actions.