"Do you believe because I said, "I saw you underneath the fig tree?" You will yet see greater things than these. In truth, I say to you that you shall see the heaven opened and the angels of G.o.d going up and coming down upon the Son of Man."
By "the Son of Man," Jesus meant himself. He used those words to show that while he was "the Son of G.o.d," he was also a man among men.
Jesus had been preaching or talking to a few men about the Kingdom of G.o.d, and already he had gained five followers. There may have been others, for not long afterwards we find James, the brother of John, among his disciples.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The village of Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Jesus, with his first followers, John, Andrew, Philip and Nathanael, left the river Jordan and walked to the village of Cana in Galilee.]
The Water Turned to Wine
CHAPTER 18
SOON AFTER Jesus met the men who became his first followers he left the river Jordan, and with these men walked to the land of Galilee, to the village of Cana, about six miles north of Nazareth. This was the town where Nathanael, one of the first five followers of Jesus, lived.
At Cana a marriage was to be held, and Jesus with all his followers was invited. In that land, at a marriage, a feast was always given, and all the friends of the newly-married couple, with their friends also, and almost everybody in the village, were expected to come. The feasting and dancing and merry-making often lasted through a whole week.
Before the feast was over they found that the wine, which in those times everybody drank freely, was used up, and those who were giving the feast had no wine to set before their guests. This filled them with alarm, for at such times the wine was expected to flow freely, and not to have wine for the company at a feast was considered almost a disgrace.
The mother of Jesus was there as a friend of the family. She thought of a way to help those who were giving the feast, and called her son aside from the crowd, and said to him very quietly:
"They have no wine."
She knew what very few knew, that Jesus was the Son of G.o.d, and that all power was in his hands. He had not yet done any of those wonderful works of curing the sick, making the blind to see and making the deaf to hear, which he did so often afterward; but Mary believed that he could do them if he chose. She thought that perhaps he would use his power to give the wine that was needed. It was with this hope that she said to him, "They have no wine."
The answer that Jesus gave was not such in its words as to encourage her.
"Woman," said he, "what have you to do with me in this matter? My time is not yet come."
His speaking to his mother as "Woman," instead of saying "Mother," as a young man would among us, was not lacking in respect. It was the usage of that time for a son to say "Woman," and not "Mother." She saw in his face a look showing her that she had not spoken in vain. So she turned to the servants who were standing near. "Whatever he tells you to do,"
she said, "do it."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Cana, and its well]
One of the usages of the Jews was to wash their hands before they sat down to a meal. This washing was not merely to make their hands clean; it was a sort of religious service, and the Jews were very strict in doing it. When so large a company met for a feast, a great deal of water was needed. In the hall were standing six large jars for water, each jar of a size to hold nearly twenty gallons. They were nearly empty, because all the guests had washed their hands before sitting down at the feast. Jesus pointed to these jars and said to the servants:
"Fill all those jars with water."
They obeyed him and filled all the jars up to the brim. Then Jesus said again:
"Now draw out from the jars, and carry what you take out to the ruler of the feast."
Wondering, the servants dipped their pitchers into the great jars which only a few moments before they had filled with water. How surprised they were to find each pitcher as it came out full of red wine! They carried it to the ruler of the feast. He tasted it and saw that it was wine of the very best kind. He did not know how it had been made, but supposed that it had been brought suddenly from some wine merchant. He called the young man who had been married, and in whose honor the feast was being held, and said to him:
"Everybody serves his best wine at the beginning of his feast; and afterward, when people have been drinking some time, he brings wine that is poorer; but you have kept your best wine until now!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: Stone water-jars]
[Ill.u.s.tration: The mother of Jesus called her son aside and said to him quietly: "They have no wine."]
The only ones who knew whence the new wine had come were the servants.
But they soon told others, and the word was pa.s.sed around the company that Jesus of Nazareth, Mary"s son, had wrought this wonderful work. His followers, the five or more disciples who had come with Jesus to the wedding feast, now believed more fully than before that their teacher was more than a mere man, that the power of G.o.d was upon him and that whatever he should say was the word of G.o.d.
Such a work as that of turning the water into wine, a work that no man could do without G.o.d"s power, was called "a miracle." It showed that the one who wrought it was a man sent from G.o.d, doing G.o.d"s will and speaking G.o.d"s word. This was the first miracle or work of wonder that Jesus wrought; but after this we shall read of many miracles.
From the wedding feast Jesus went down the mountains of Galilee to the city of Capernaum, which stood on the sh.o.r.e of the Sea of Galilee on the northwest. With Jesus on this visit to Capernaum were his mother, some of his younger brothers and his followers.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Oriental basin, ewer, etc.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Nicodemus sought Jesus quietly one night to talk with him and learn more of his teachings.]
The Lord in His Temple
CHAPTER 19
THE SPRING-TIME of the year came, when the people from all parts of the land went up to Jerusalem to attend the great feast of the Pa.s.sover.
You remember that this feast was held to keep in mind how more than a thousand years before G.o.d had led the Israelite people out of Egypt, where they had been slaves. It was called the feast of the Pa.s.sover because on the night of their going-out the angel of death had "pa.s.sed over" the houses of the Israelites when he brought death to the Egyptian homes. On that night, too, they went out of Egypt in such haste that the women did not have time to wait for the bread to rise before baking it, and all the bread eaten at that time was "unleavened bread," or bread made without yeast.
To keep in mind that great day, the day when Israel became a nation, ruling itself, in the spring of every year all the people gathered in Jerusalem, and for one week ate unleavened bread, that is, bread made without yeast. Great services were held in the Temple on every day of this feast; and on one evening a special dinner of a roasted lamb was eaten by everybody, to keep in mind the last meal which the Israelites ate in the land of Egypt, with their hats on their heads and their cloaks on their shoulders and their shoes on their feet, all ready to march away.
Jesus and the little company of his disciples or followers went up to Jerusalem, walking, as many times before, down the Jordan valley to Jericho, and then climbing the hills to the holy city. For many years Jesus had been coming to the feast of the Pa.s.sover; but never before had he come as he came now, in the power of the Spirit, as the Son of G.o.d.
Around the House of G.o.d was a great open court, called the Court of the Gentiles, where foreign people who were not Jews came to pray; since none but Jews or Israelites could enter the inner courts. But the Jews held all Gentiles or foreign people in contempt. They did not look upon the part of the Temple buildings where foreigners prayed as holy; and they had turned this court, the Court of the Gentiles, into a market place. Here Jesus found everywhere sheep and oxen brought there for sale; cages full of doves, which were sold to the poorer people for offerings upon the altar; counters where sat men changing the money of people from other lands into the coins of Judea. There was nothing of the quiet and peace which should be in a place of prayer; all was noise and confusion; the lowing of oxen, the voices of men buying and selling, the jingling of silver on the tables.
These sights and sounds stirred the heart of Jesus. He felt that such work as went on around him was unfit and was wicked in a place set apart for the worship of G.o.d. He picked up a piece of rope from the floor and untwisted its cords until it seemed like a whip. Then standing before the buyers and the sellers, he called upon them to stop their trading.
They looked up amazed at this stranger whose face glowed with power as though he were a king.
Alone, without help from anyone, he drove all these people out of the court. He bade them lead away the sheep and the oxen; he commanded those who sold the doves to carry out their cages; he overturned the tables of the money-changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Standing before the buyers and the sellers, he called upon them to stop their trading; he overturned the tables of the money changers and sent their silver rolling upon the floor.]
"Take all these things away," he cried out. "This is the house of my Father; you shall not make it a house for buying and selling."
Even the little company of his disciples--Peter, John, Andrew and the others--stood still in wonder as they saw their Master alone, armed only with a piece of rope, driving out the gates this crowd of men, who were frightened at the kingliness of his looks and fled before him, not for one moment daring to resist his will.
But soon came the priests and rulers of the Temple. They ought not to have allowed these men to trade in the Temple Court and to make it a market place. But some of them took a share of the money that was made in that place. One high priest, it is said, owned all the cages of doves and pigeons that were kept in the Temple for sale. These rulers were very angry to have the trading stopped and their gains taken away.
"What right have you to come here," they said to Jesus, "and make trouble? Who are you that you should undertake to rule in this place?
Show us some sign or proof that you are Master here!"