"If David calls this coming Christ "my Lord," how can he be David"s son?"
This they could not answer, and they dared not ask Jesus any more questions. But we know, from the words of the New Testament, that while Christ as a man was sprung from David"s line, as the Son of G.o.d he was David"s Lord.
After this Jesus spoke strong words to the priests, the scribes, and the rulers, for their wickedness of life for their leading the people away from G.o.d"s will, and for their unjust, cruel purpose to put him to death. He told them that for their sins and the sins of their people, the Temple should be thrown down, the city of Jerusalem should be destroyed, and the land should be made desolate. These were his last words, and when he had spoken them, he rose up to go out of the Temple.
The Greatest Gift; and the Strangers from Afar
CHAPTER 80
THE ROOM in the Temple where Jesus spoke on that Tuesday, the last day of his teaching in public, was called "The Treasury," because beside its walls were chests or boxes in which people who came to worship placed their money for gifts to pay for the offerings of poor people. As Jesus rose up to leave the room, he noticed the people dropping their money into these boxes. Some rich men made a show of giving large sums of money, letting it make a noise as they dropped it slowly, piece after piece, into the box.
There came in a poor woman, whose dress showed that she was a widow; and she dropped into the box two little copper coins, worth together only a quarter of a cent. Jesus saw her, and calling his disciples, he said:
"I tell you in truth, that in the sight of G.o.d this poor widow has put into the box more money than any of the others. All the rest have been putting in money that they could spare and did not need. But she in her need gave all that she had, her whole living!"
Then Jesus walked out of the Treasury through the door on the east, which was so richly decorated that it was called "The Beautiful Gate,"
his disciples with him. They stepped down into the Court of the Gentiles; and at the foot of the stairs met a number of men whose looks and dress showed that they were not Jews, but foreigners. These men were Greeks, from a land far away. They were waiting for Jesus at the foot of the stairs, for not being Jews they were forbidden to enter the inner courts of the Temple.
These Greeks stepped up to one of the twelve disciples, Philip, who had come from Bethsaida in the north of Galilee, and could speak their language.
"Sir," they said to Philip, "we would like to meet Jesus."
Philip was not sure whether his Master would be willing to talk to these men; for Jews kept Gentiles or foreigners at a distance, would never eat with them, and would scarcely speak with them. Philip thought that Andrew, the brother of Peter, might know whether to bring these men to Jesus or not, so he spoke to Andrew, and Andrew took the lead in coming to Jesus with the Greeks.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The poor widow drops in two little coins]
"The time has now come," said Jesus, "for the Son of Man to be lifted up, and to die. For it is only by dying that I can bring forth fruit.
When a kernel of wheat is dropped into the ground, unless its outside sh.e.l.l dies, it lives alone; but if it dies, then it becomes a seed and brings a harvest of many kernels of wheat. He who loves his life and keeps it, loses it; but he who takes no care of his life here shall have it forever. If any man is ready to serve me, let him follow me; and where I am going there shall my servant be with me. If any one is my servant, he shall have honor from my Father."
At that moment it came to the mind of Jesus that in less than three days he would be hanging dead upon the cross. For an instant the thought gave him pain. "I am deeply troubled, and have sorrow in my heart," said Jesus, "and what can I say? Shall I say, "Father, save me from the hour that is coming so soon?" No, I will not say that, because it was for that hour of death on the cross that I have lived even until now. I will say, "Father, give honor to thine own name!""
Then a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "I have honored my name already, and I will honor it once more."
The people standing around said, "That was a peal of thunder just now."
"No," said others, "it was an angel speaking to this man!"
"It was not on my account that the voice came," said Jesus, "but on your account. Soon will come the hour when G.o.d will judge this world, and the prince of evil, who rules this world, shall be driven away."
Then Jesus thought of his coming death on the cross; what it was to bring to the world; how that everywhere after his death men should believe on him as their Lord and Saviour; not only Jews, but Greeks, and people of every land; and he said:
"And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me."
Soon after this Jesus walked out of the Temple, never again to set his foot within it.
Jesus Telling of Dark Days to Come
CHAPTER 81
JESUS WALKED across the Court of the Gentiles or Strangers, the large outer court of the Temple, toward the Mount of Olives. On that side of the court stood Solomon"s Porch, a double row of pillars, having a roof above to shield it from the sun. Under this porch they stepped down a marble staircase to pa.s.s out of the Temple grounds through a gate called "The Golden Gate." As they drew near this gate the disciples called his attention to the great stones in the wall, the pillars and the splendid buildings around.
"Are you looking at these stones and buildings?" said Jesus. "I tell you now, that the time is coming, and not far away, when all of these stones shall be torn apart, and of these fine buildings not one stone shall be left standing in its place; all shall be thrown down!"
The disciples heard these words with alarm and sadness. They knew that their Lord spoke as a prophet; and whatever he said would be sure to come to pa.s.s. But they looked upon Jerusalem as the holy city, and upon the Temple as the house of G.o.d. To them, the fall of the city and the Temple seemed like the end of the whole world. They walked after Jesus in silence across the valley of the brook Kedron and up the steep sides of the Mount of Olives. On its top they sat down to rest, and looked over the valley at the city, its towers and roofs rising in their view.
While they were sitting on the mountain, Peter and Andrew, with the brothers James and John, came to Jesus, and said to him:
"Tell us, Master, what your words mean, and when these terrible things will come to pa.s.s? Are you going away, and then coming back again? How may we know when to look for you?"
Then, sitting on the mountain, with the twelve disciples around him, Jesus gave a long talk about the things that were to come. He began by warning them against following after men claiming to be Christ, the King of Israel.
"Take care," he said, "that no one lead you astray. For many will come saying, "I am Christ, the King of Israel," and they will lead away many people. But do not follow any of these false Christs.
"You will hear of wars that have come, and reports of wars that are coming; but do not be frightened. These must come, but they are not the end. Nation shall make war with nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and you shall hear of earthquakes in many places; and times shall come when there will be no bread for the hungry to eat. But all these are only the beginnings of the trouble; and the worst is yet to come.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Golden Gate, on east of the Temple Area, Jerusalem (now closed)]
"But before these take place there are some other sufferings that you must meet because you are my disciples. Enemies will rise up against you. You shall be brought before councils and courts to be tried; you shall be seized and beaten in the churches of the Jews; you shall stand before governors and kings to give account for yourselves as my followers. But when they seize you and bring you to be tried, do not be anxious as to what you shall speak; for the right words shall be given you in that hour of trial. It will not be you that speak, but the Spirit of G.o.d that speaks through you.
"In those times of trial fathers and mothers shall turn against their children, and brothers shall give up brothers who believe in me. Some of you shall be put to death in those days. And all men shall hate you because you are my disciples. But if you are faithful to the end, even to death, you shall be saved to everlasting life."
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Mount of Olives from Gethsemane]
Then Jesus told of the terrible times that were coming to Jerusalem and the land of the Jews. He said:
"When you see great armies encamped on these hills all around Jerusalem, then know that the time has come for the city and the Temple to be destroyed. Let this be a sign for everyone in Judea to hide among the mountains. If a man at that time is on the roof of his house, let him not go down to take anything out of his house; nor a man in the field go home after his cloak; but hasten away just as he is, with the clothes that are upon his back, and find a safe hiding-place.
"If anyone tells you in such times as those, "Here is Christ!" or "There he is!" do not believe it, for false Christs will come and false prophets will appear; and they will show signs and wonders, so as to lead astray even some of G.o.d"s own people. I tell you truly that many who are now living shall see all these things come to pa.s.s."
Jesus had already told his disciples that he was soon going away to leave them, but in his own time he would come again. He now spoke about his "coming again."
"As to the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows about that day or hour; no man knows when it will be, nor the angels, nor even the Son himself, but only the Father. It will be then as it was in the days of Noah; they went on eating and drinking, marrying and being married, until the day Noah went into the ark; and they took no notice until the flood came and swept them all away.
"So will it be when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men working together in the field; one shall be taken and the other left.
Two women will be grinding grain with the hand mill; one shall be taken and the other left. Keep on the watch then, for you never know what day the Lord will come. Be sure of this, if the owner of the house had known at what time in the night the thief would come, he would have been on the watch for him, and would never have allowed his house to be broken into. So be ready all the time, for when you least expect him, the Son of Man will come."
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
CHAPTER 82