Joseph Jacobs

“ We have become subject to all the great kingdoms that have grown up round us, yet again and again we have been delivered from each. Thou and I have often wondered how it has come about that both Hellenes and Hebrews, who feel ourselves in different ways higher than these stolid Romans who rule us, have yet become subject to them. Thy nation hath acquiesced in their rule; my people never will. Every man who promises greatness among us is hoped for as the Deliverer. Many men about this time began to ask, Will Jesus the Nazarene be the Deliverer? ”

“ So Caiaphas the High Priest spake to him, saying, "Answerest thou naught to what these men witness against thee?" And Jesus made as if he heard not.
Then Hanan the High Priest leaned over to Caiaphas his son-in-law and spake some words to him. Then Caiaphas, rising, spake thus to Jesus: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Holy One, blessed be He?" Then Jesus raised his head, and gazing fixedly at the High Priest, said in a loud voice, "Thou hast said. And hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." ”

“ Each of our Sages prides himself on this—that he has said some maxim of wisdom that none had thought of before him, and so each of them is remembered in the minds of men by one or more of his favorite maxims. But it is rare if in a whole lifetime a sage sayeth more than one word fit to be treasured up among men. Yet was this man Jesus dropping pearls of wisdom from his mouth in prodigal profusion. As each memorable word fell from his lips, a murmur of delighted surprise passed round the synagogue, and each man looked to his neighbor with brightened eyes. ”

“ I have run all the way from Bethany to catch up that man thou seest there, Jesus the Nazarene;" and with that he took up his running and left me.
I knew not what to think. I had seen and heard Jesus in my own house in Jerusalem, and lo! at that very same time, as I now learned, he had been at Bethany. What thinkest thou, Aglaophonos,—can a man be in two places at one and the same time? or can it be that the mind of man, and the power of his eye, can go forth from his body and create a vision of another man that hath all the semblance of reality? ”

“ Which of these held Jesus I knew not. I only knew that there was dying one who had seemed born to do honor to his nation, to help to deliver Israel from the men who were now torturing him to his death. Since the night before, events had so hurried past me that I had had no time to think of their import till now, when I sat me down in the purple shadow of Antonia, and gazed upon the hill of execution, where from time to time flashes showed me the three crosses on the hill. ”

“ Yet who should lead the people? Jochanan, the only man whom of recent times the people followed gladly, had been done to death by Herod. One man alone since his death had won the people's heart, to wit, Jesus the cousin of Jochanan. He, and he alone, could lead the people against the Romans, and all men wondered if he would. In the midst of their wonder came news that Jesus the Nazarene was coming up to the Holy City for the Feast of Passover, the feast of redemption from Egypt. Would it prove this year a feast of redemption from the Romans? All hope of this depended upon this Jesus. ”

“ Though he was not tall, as I have said, he seemed to tower above the crowd. The mid-day sun of winter was shining full upon the Temple, and though Jesus was in the shadow of the porch, the sunlight from the Temple walls shone back upon his eyes and hair, which gleamed with the glory of the sun. He looked and spake as a king among men. And, indeed, he was claiming to be something even greater than a king. I could not hear very distinctly from where I was at first, but towards the last, as I got nearer, I heard him say these words:—
"Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. ”

“ Then I was rejoiced, and said unto him, "Well, Rabbi, thou hast said the truth: there is one God, and there is none other but him; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices." ”

“ Jesus the Nazarene stood before me, gazing upon me with those piercing eyes I can never forget. His face was pale and indistinct, but the eyes shone forth as if with tenderness and pity. Then he seemed to lean forward, and spoke to me in a low yet piercing voice these words: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and the Christ shall shine upon thee." ”

“ Then Jesus spoke out, and as he spoke he strode up and down the room, with his hand clutching the air, and the vein throbbing on his left temple. "Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.'" Then facing us all, he added, "For ye lay aside the commandment of God, and hold the tradition of men."
"How so, master?" said Elisha; "prove thy words." ”

“ I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the Light of the world. I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. I am the Bread of Life: he that Cometh to me shall never hunger. I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. I am the Vine, ye are the branches. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. ”

“ For he was as much the Ideal of the Hellenes as Jesus of the Jews. Every Hellene would be eloquent and reasonable, and that was Socrates. Every Jew would be wise and good and pious, and that was Jesus. Yet each of these men, if I read their lives aright, died the death of a criminal, because he cared not for that which his fellow-countrymen cared for most. Socrates died because he would force his countrymen to examine by their reason the ideas and ideals which they all accepted. Jesus died for the same reason, but also for another—for that he cared naught for our national hopes. ”

“ If a Sanhedrim inflicts capital punishment more than once in seven years, it is called a Sanhedrim of murderers. Yet the Law of Moses declared that whosoever was guilty of adultery would be put to death. What, then, was to be done? It is against the principle of justice that any should be punished for an offence of which he is ignorant. Hence, in capital offences, our Sages, to mercy inclined, have laid it down that a man must be assumed to be ignorant of the guilt of the offence, unless it be proved that he had been solemnly warned of its gravity ”

“ Now, as he began to live his life among the people, he began to do many signs and wonders, like all our great teachers and prophets. In truth, we say, how shall a man be accounted a prophet unless he can do wonders? Indeed, as Jesus himself said, "Why marvel ye at the signs? I give unto you an inheritance such as the whole world holds not." And the manner of his wonders was this: if a man was afflicted with a demon of madness, he would cause him to fix his eyes upon his, and after a while would speak sternly and suddenly to the demon within him, who would depart from him, rending his soul. ”

“ If thou hast seen thy brother, thou hast seen thy Lord, God the Father, whose fatherland is everywhere, in heaven and upon earth. Far and near, the Lord knoweth his own. So grieve not the holy spirit which is in you, nor extinguish the light which shines in you. Guard the flesh pure, and the signet spotless, so that ye may take hold upon eternal life. For our possessions are in heaven; therefore, sons of men, purchase unto yourselves by these transitory things which are not yours, what is yours, and shall not pass away. ”

“ If the power of life and death were solely in our hands, I would not depart in aught from the wise provision of our forefathers; but, in truth, if this man be put to death, it will not be our doing, for his fate rests with Pilate. I would remind the younger members of the Sanhedrim that the final decision is not with us, and if they vote for this man's death, as I cannot doubt they will, considering the pressing danger to our nation, they need not fear to be called members of a bloodthirsty Sanhedrim, since his death, if death he suffers, will be at the hands of the Roman Procurator. ”

“ Our God is the God of all, and his Law shall be one day the Law of all. If we yearn for the universal realm of the Messiah, it is as much for the sake of the world as for ourselves. But methinks I see in the thoughts of this Jesus an idea quite other than ours as to what the Anointed One shall be and shall do. We hope for him as a Deliverer and a Conqueror with force of arms by God's aid. Now, Jesus seemed not to think of the Anointed One in any way like this. His mind seemed to be filled rather with the picture of the Servant of God as drawn by the Prophet Esaias. ”

“ When I reached them I found the young man kneeling before Jesus, gazing up to him, and he said, "Good Master, I have inherited great possessions; what shall I do that I may inherit the life everlasting?" Jesus said to him, "Call not me 'Good;' none is good but the One. If thou wouldest enter into life, do the commandments." The young man asked, "Which?" Jesus said, using the doctrine of "The Two Ways," "Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor thy father and thy mother, and love thy neighbor as thyself." ”

“ And Jesus answered and said, "Ye are at fault, and know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God; for in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are even as the angels which are in heaven. And as an indication from Scripture that the dead rise, is it not written in the book of Moses, when God spake to him from the bush, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: therefore are ye in error." ”

“ Thou complainest that we look upon life with all too much seriousness. "Ye cannot see the smile upon the face of things," thou saidst once to me. In this surely Jesus was a Jew of the Jews. We never saw him smile, still less heard him laugh. Thou wouldst hold up to me as a model Socrates thy teacher, who taught the Hellenes truth with a smile. That man there, dying upon the cross, had tried to teach Israel the truth with tears and threats. ”

“ Thou shalt not take evil counsel against thy neighbor.
"Thou shalt hate no man, but some thou shalt rebuke, and for some thou shalt pray, and some thou shalt love above thine own soul.
"My child, flee from all evil, and from all that is like unto it.
"Be not soon angry, for anger leadeth to murder; nor given to party-spirit, nor contentious, nor quick-tempered, for from all these are generated murders.
"My child, be not lustful, for lust leadeth to fornication; neither be a filthy talker, nor a lifter-up of the eyes, for from all these things are generated adulteries. ”

“ All those who were halt, sick, or blind, cried out, "A healer! a healer!" Wherever we went, there was no talk but of the coming deliverance. As I approached one group of men I heard them say, "When will it be? When will he give the sign? Will it be before or after the feast?" "Nay," said one of the crowd, a burly blacksmith he, "what day for the deliverance but the Passover day? But be it when it may, let him give the sign, and I shall be ready."
"And prove a new Maccabee," said one in the crowd, referring to his hammer, whereat a grim laugh arose. ”

“ And to thee as a Gentile the revelation of his character would come with more attractive force than to us that be Jews. For in almost every way this Jesus fulfilleth the idea of a Jew as we have it in these later days. Working with his hands, yet teaching with his voice; obedient to the Law, yet ever eager to take a new law upon himself; doing acts of love among men, yet rebuking in love their ill acts, and doing all things as in the presence of the Glory;—in all this Jesus was as the best of our Sages. ”

“ From rage, it had turned to pity and love; the eyes that had flashed scorn on the money-changers now looked down with tenderness on the little child. I remember thinking to myself, "This man cannot say the thing that is not; his face bewrayeth him."
Meanwhile the money-changers and those with them had collected together near the gate by which I had entered, and stood there whispering and muttering among themselves. All at once they turned towards the man as he was soothing the little child, and shouted out together, "Mamzer! Mamzer!" which in our tongue signifieth one born out of wedlock. ”

“ They that love me shall receive the crown. I will choose me the good, those good whom my Father in the heavens hath given me. Let the lawless continue in lawlessness, the just be justified. Behold, I make the last as the first, and all things new. ”