Edwin Abbott Abbott

“ But Mary of Magdala said with great vehemency, "that she mourned not for the Redemption of Sion, but because the breath of life was taken out of the world, for without Jesus there was no more truth nor righteousness. He trusted in God, would not God deliver him? Was he not the Son of the living God? If, therefore, the Father live, how can the Son be dead?" She added yet other words still more passionate, as if God were no God unless Jesus were restored to life. ”

“ But Simon Peter, being nigh distraught at the glory of the sight, and scarce knowing whether he were asleep or awake, cried out to Jesus in a loud voice that they would remain on that mountain-top for ever; and he said, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." But Jesus took no heed of his words, but kept still gazing upon Moses and Elias. ”

“ Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. ”

“ When he had spoken these words, he stood, as if in pause, and fixed his eyes on the face of Hezekiah. But he looked upon him no more with anger, but with a marvellous pity; and behold, his countenance, which was wont to shine as the sun, became pale and cold to look upon, even as the moon in her brightness, looking down upon a man drowning in deep waters; and he added and said, "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. ”

“ At this time Jesus began to speak more often than before of a certain day of wrath in store for Israel; and, as David on Araunah's threshing-floor saw the sword between heaven and earth, even so did Jesus discern a sword of the Lord; howbeit not stayed, as David saw it, but uplifted and in act to strike. Sometimes he spake as if he himself were to wield this flaming sword; but evermore, beyond the fire and the sword, he discerned the glory of the Kingdom of God; and he spake as if the Kingdom could not come except the fire should first be kindled, and he must needs kindle it himself. ”

“ Then he added these words, "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." Then said Judas, "Whoso hath wrought much, shall he not receive much? and whoso hath wrought little, shall he not receive little? And is not the Master of the work faithful, who will pay us the wage of our work?"
For an instant Jesus was silent, looking at Judas as though perchance he had not heard his words aright. Then he answered that in the New Kingdom there was no difference of reward; for the least were to be as the greatest. ”

“ Moreover thou seest that the air which we breathe, and which is the breath of our bodies, is but a part of that great sea of air which embraceth the whole earth so that there is nothing hidden from the touch thereof; insomuch that the same air or breath which is coming towards us from yonder mountain top, making the terebinth-trees to bow, and which even now rustleth in the olive-trees above us, even this is our breath and our life. Now I have heard Jesus say that there is a likeness between this breath of our bodies and the breath or spirit of our souls. ”

“ And when the word came, I arose.' Now," said Nathaniel, "thus spake Mattathias to me. But if he spake aright, then methinks Jesus hath a power to create faith in the heart as well as to heal the diseases of the body."
All that night I meditated upon the words of Nathaniel and upon the story of Mattathias: for that a prophet should cure diseases seemed possible, though wonderful; but that any one, yea, even though he were the Redeemer of Israel himself, should have power to create peace and faith, this indeed seemed a marvellous and almost an impossible thing. ”

“ For when he looked upon the world, he saw love of self, and love of ease, and all manner of baseness and servility; and all the empire was given up to the worship of a man, even the Emperor Tiberius, and that man a tyrant and a man of sin, a slave to all abominations of the flesh. Wherefore death was reigning over the whole of the world. But when he looked to Israel, which was appointed to redeem the world and to lead the world to the knowledge of the true God, behold, Israel himself was blind; and they which should have been priests unto the Gentiles were as naught but pedants ”

“ Now so it was that, in the singing, Jesus must needs utter certain words that tell how the Lord giveth life out of death: "The snares of death compassed me round about, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me. I shall find trouble and heaviness, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, O Lord I beseech thee, deliver my soul:" and then, "Turn again then unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath rewarded thee. And why? Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living." ”

“ So it was borne in upon me that our Law was a Law for the schools, but not for the lives of men; and for Scribes, but not for the whole nation. Then my heart sank within me, and I remembered the words of the Prophet, how that a time shall come when men shall no longer teach each one his neighbor, saying, Know the Lord; but all shall know Him from the least even to the greatest; and I wondered if it would please the Lord to bring such a time as that to Israel, and to make His Law clear to all our nation, yea, even to the poor and simple, even to the people of the land. ”

“ And behold, the Kingdom was no other than a family, wherein God was at once Father and King, and all men were as children of the Father in Heaven. For the foundation of all was, that the heart and not the hands shaped the goodness and badness of all deeds, and made men to become citizens of the Kingdom: wherefore the heart and not the hands must be purified; nor could any be in truth citizens of the Kingdom except they had the thought of the Kingdom always in their hearts, so that their hopes and treasures were all stored up, not in the banks of money-changers, but in the Kingdom of Heaven. ”

“ The voice of Eliezer was clearly heard saying, "This man blasphemeth; who can forgive sins but God alone?" "Yea," said another, "and sins are forgiven not on earth, but in heaven, at the last day." But others mocking said that the sick man seemed not yet to have gained much profit, albeit his sins had been forgiven. All this noise and stir ceased at once when Jesus began to speak. He said, "Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee,' or to say, 'Arise, and take up thy bed and walk'? ”

“ Wherefore the only temptation that can befall him is from the Voice that saith, Be pitiful, even though thou transgress in pitying; Do evil that thou mayest do good; Gain power by crooked ways, that thou mayest straighten the paths of salvation for them which wander astray; Wink thou at falsehood, that they which err may be guided toward truth. Now this Voice, as it seemeth to me, is to our Master the Voice of Satan; and to listen to it is to bow down to Satan. And Satan, perchance, knowing that in this way alone can our Master be tempted, hath caused Jonathan the son of Ezra to tempt him. ”

“ But as thou knowest, my dear friend, I am one of them which doubt all things; and I incline to the belief that there are no gods, or if there be, that they deal not with human matters. And thereto I incline the more because I see all human things full of misery and oppression. And, unless my fears deceive me, this my belief will be confirmed by the fate of thine own Teacher. For I fear, I greatly fear, lest the friends of Abuyah the Scribe may prevail over the friends of Jesus the philosopher of the New Kingdom and deliverer of the slaves. ”

“ On the morrow, while we rowed across the lake, I asked Nathaniel what seemed to him the nature of the temptation of Satan whereof Jesus had spoken. Nathaniel made answer and said, "Thou perceivest that the heart of our Master overfloweth with pity for the miseries of men; and even to redeem them from these miseries he hath been sent by the Lord. Now as for silver and gold, or fame, or wisdom, none of these things can in any wise tempt him once to go aside either to the right hand or to the left from the straight path of Redemption. Howbeit, pity and love can tempt him. ”

“ For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works."
Now at these last words Judas turned away in anger, saying in a low voice, "He speaketh only of what is after the grave." But Jesus straightway added, "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom." ”

“ Peradventure also Jesus foresaw that a time might come when certain, even among his own disciples, would err as the Pharisees had erred, shutting their eyes against the truth, as being unfit for use and not convenient. And he that came to make a spiritual Israel, a nation of priests and ministers for mankind, was it not most needful that he should thus as it were mark out and brand with censure the special sin of priests? He also that came to redeem all the children of men from all evil, was it not most necessary that he should make clear in the sight of all men what was the greatest evil? ”

“ For I seemed to hear the Greek merchant weeping and crying to the sailors, "Surely your God will permit you to do this service of kindness." Then I called to mind the words of the Lord, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice;" and behold, it came in upon me all at once, as in a flood, that our exactness in the observing of the Sabbath might haply be an abomination in the eyes of the All-seeing (blessed is He) whensoever it hindereth kindness and mercy. After this my eyes again fell upon the roll, and I read aloud these words wherein the prophet prescribeth the cure for the wounds of Israel. ”

“ So he seemed to signify that Jerusalem was as it were a field of battle, whereon it was meet and right that a true prophet should die. After this he added, that if he were lifted up in the sight of all men, he should draw all men unto him. This joining together of words diverse in nature, of perishing and lifting up, and of departing and drawing all men unto him, filled us with perplexity; insomuch that Judas said in a low voice that the words of Jesus were like unto oil and vinegar, which cannot be mixed. ”

“ But furthermore, if I believed Jesus to be the Son of God when mine eyes were opened to discern him after his resurrection, much more do I believe it now; because all the years as they pass by, yea, and all the seventy nations of the earth, are as so many angels of God, which do cry aloud with a clear voice and say, "Jesus of Nazareth is our King; Jesus of Nazareth, though he be in heaven, is ruling on earth." For whithersoever I look throughout the Empire, I behold the love of Christ beginning already to rule over the tribes of the earth, though as yet it be in small beginnings. ”

“ From Eliezer the son of Arak to Jonathan the son of Ezra: salutation and peace. Be it known unto thee, O Jonathan, that this Jesus of Nazareth, concerning whom we once had hopes that he might be a deep well or perchance even an ever-welling spring of the Law, hath proved an empty vessel and a broken cistern. He profaneth the Sabbath and teacheth others to profane it; he eateth without the washing of hands; he teacheth that no man is defiled by that which he toucheth or eateth; in a word, he breaketh the Law and causeth others to profane it. ”

“ But Jonathan rose up from his seat to depart, and, paying no heed to my last words, he spake kindly unto me and said, "If thy heart inclineth thee, my child, to prove whether there be any avail for thee in a life of contemplation, and whether thou mayest thereby attain peace; wherefore goest thou not unto the village of Jotapata, where the Essenes dwell? Menahem the son of Barachiah is their chief ruler, a man that followeth after holiness and seeth things to come; who, being my friend, will for my sake receive thee kindly. ”

“ Behold, on thy side are Matthew the tax-gatherer, and Barachiah the child of Satan, and Mary the sinner; but on my side are Eliezer the son of Arak and all the elders of the synagogue. Is it not better to be the tail of a lion rather than the head of a dog?"
But when Jesus noted how certain of the sinners feared to stand before the faces of Eliezer the son of Arak, and of the ruler of the synagogue, and how they were shaken in their faith and abashed (for that they were accustomed to be despised and to be trampled on, as being without all hope of redemption) ”

“ But his face was no longer pale as before, nor were the prints of nails any more to be seen in his hands and feet, neither could I now discern his features so clearly as was usual: for his whole form seemed robed in a vesture of glory, and a crown of light about his head, and he sat upon a throne of sapphire. For the space of a minute or more we all gazed fixed in wonder; but then the throne rose slowly upwards, and with it rose likewise the angels, like unto flames of fire, round the sapphire throne ”

“ Wherefore, albeit Moses had called God the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and the Prophets also had taught Israel to say unto God, "Thou art our Father," and all this doctrine was well known and trite among us; yet now, for the first time, the doctrine seemed to be no more a mere dead letter, but a living word. Such a life did Jesus of Nazareth breathe into it, insomuch that his Good News (for so he called it) came upon our hearts as news indeed, never heard before among the children of men. ”

“ Then said Elishah the son of Solomon, "Is it not written, The young thou mayest take to thyself, but the mother thou shalt surely let go, that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live many days? Verily the promises of God are naught, for the man that obeyed hath not lived many days, but the man that disobeyed is unhurt." Then said I, "And what answer was made to Elishah the son of Solomon?" And my teacher replied, "Whosoever obeyeth the Law, his days will be long in the world to come." ”

“ Then answered Nathaniel and said to Eliezer, "But is it not truly said, O son of Arak, that 'The perfection of wisdom is repentance?' and again, 'When a man hath been wholly wicked, and hath repented at last, the Holy One receiveth him'? Nay, it is added that, 'If a sinner repent, all the transgressions which he hath committed are imputed to him as merits,' and that 'Repentance was created before the world.' How then is our Master wrong in receiving them that repent?" ”

“ Many of them that were in the crowd had been disciples of John; and they cried aloud that the men of Galilee ought to rise up and deliver the prophet. But Gorgias beckoned with his hand that they should be silent, and when silence was made, he said, "Let us rise up, indeed, but not without a leader. Now the Lord hath sent to us this Jesus of Nazareth: and that he is a prophet sent from God none can deny." The multitude shouted that it was even so, and one or other uttered praises of Jesus; and a certain man said, "Yea, never man spake as this spake." ”

“ Jesus looked after him as he went; even as a physician regardeth the patient which struggleth against the knife of healing. And he stood still, and marvelled much because of the power of the things of this world over the mind of man, and yet more because of the power of the Lord to deliver the souls of men from the things of this world. For when he considered the weakness of men and the strength of this world, then it seemed to him (as he was wont to say) a harder and a greater work to redeem a rich man's soul than to uproot a tree or a mountain, or what else may be wrought by art of magic. ”

“ For when we were now assembled in the synagogue, Abuyah came forward and said to Jesus, "Behold, thou art a vessel very full of knowledge, and the people are come together at thy feet for to hear of thee the words of wisdom, according as it is said, 'Powder thyself in the dust of the feet of the wise, and drink their words with thirstiness.' Now therefore, I pray thee, suffer me to ask of thee touching a certain matter." And Jesus said, "Ask." And Abuyah said, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?" ”

“ When Bethany was by this time out of our sight, as we went by the road that lieth between the Tombs of the Prophets and the Mount of Offence, suddenly we heard a shouting as of a mixed multitude, and presently we discerned a great crowd of the disciples coming over the brow of the hill towards us, with many hundreds of the Galileans, all waving palm-branches in their hands, and hailing Jesus as the son of David. ”

“ The cavern of Pan also, and the temple of Augustus, filled us with sad thoughts, to think how all the world was covered with the worship of false gods as with a net; so that, save in one little corner of Syria, the true God was not known. The name of Augustus also, yea, and the very names of the town whereon we looked, Paneas and Cæsarea Philippi, these all but spake aloud, testifying unto us how great was the power not only of the Greek worship, but also of the Roman kingdom, inasmuch as our own princes built these temples and towns, and called them by the names of our conquerors. ”

“ Notwithstanding it was reserved for Simon Peter to set forth in words and to shape by the force of his soul the thoughts of John and all the rest. He therefore rose up and spake as I never heard man speak before, neither think I ever to hear man speak again, saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Twice or thrice at least, before this time, I had heard words like unto these; when either the disciples or the multitude, marvelling at his mighty works, had hailed Jesus as the Son of God. ”

“ For I knew that, if heaven and earth had set themselves in league against Jesus, to make him do aught against the will of the Father, Jesus would have stood up alone against earth and heaven, and hell to boot. ”

“ After we had been purified, I stood with the rest, clothed in white garments, wholly given up to meditating upon the new life whereto we seemed to have risen out of the waters. But I was aroused by hearing these words spoken with a great vehemency of anger: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Great indeed was my astonishment when, raising myself to see what they were to whom the Prophet was thus speaking, I discerned the faces of some of the most famous Scribes in Jerusalem. ”

“ For is it not said, 'Learn for love, and honor will come in the end'?" "Thou speakest well," said Jonathan, "and it is written also as the chief of all the commandments, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'" Then I said, "But what if a man feel no love of God in his heart? For I have met lately certain of the Gentiles, yea, and some also of our own nation, which have no love of God; whereof some even constantly say that there is no God. ”

“ After Jesus had made an end of this exhortation, he set forth on his journey to go towards Bethany, which lay still far up above us. There was in his countenance even such a brightness as we had noted when he came down from the mountain with Peter and James and John. Whereat we marvelled, because he that had but now spoken to us with such a passion of sorrow concerning a cup of suffering and death, seemed to go towards suffering and death like unto one triumphing in glory. Howbeit we feared to ask him further concerning these things; but we followed after him, questioning among ourselves. ”