Jew of Malta
by Christopher Marlowe

EDITED BY THE REV. ALEXANDER DYCE.

The Famous Tragedy of The Rich Iew of Malta. As it was playd before the King and Qveene, in His Majesties Theatre at White- Hall, by her Majesties Servants at
the Cock-pit. Written by Christopher Marlo. London; Printed by I. B. for Nicholas Vavasour, and are to be sold at his Shop in the Inner-Temple, neere the Church.
1633. 4to.

TO MY WORTHY FRIEND, MASTER THOMAS HAMMON, of GRAY'S INN, ETC.

This play, composed by so worthy an author as Master Marlowe, and the part of the Jew presented by so unimitable an actor as Master Alleyn, being in this later age
commended to the stage; as I ushered it unto the court, and presented it to the Cock-pit, with these Prologues and Epilogues here inserted, so now being newly
brought to the press, I was loath it should be published without the ornament of an Epistle; making choice of you unto whom to devote it; than whom (of all those
gentlemen and acquaintance within the compass of my long knowledge) there is none more able to tax ignorance, or attribute right to merit. Sir, you have been pleased
to grace some of mine own works<1> with your courteous patronage: I hope this will not be the worse accepted, because commended by me; over whom none can
claim more power or privilege than yourself. I had no better a new-year's gift to present you with; receive it therefore as a continuance of that inviolable obligement, by
which he rests still engaged, who, as he ever hath, shall always remain, Tuissimus, Tho. Heywood.<2>

THE PROLOGUE SPOKEN AT COURT.

Gracious and great, that we so boldly dare ('Mongst other plays that now in fashion are) To present this, writ many years agone, And in that age thought second unto
none, We humbly crave your pardon. We pursue The story of a rich and famous Jew Who liv'd in Malta: you shall find him still, In all his projects, a sound Machiavill;
And that's his character. He that hath past So many censures<3> is now come at last To have your princely ears: grace you him; then You crown the action, and
renown the pen.

EPILOGUE SPOKEN AT COURT.

It is our fear, dread sovereign, we have bin<4> Too tedious; neither can't be less than sin To wrong your princely patience: if we have, Thus low dejected, we your
pardon crave; And, if aught here offend your ear or sight, We only act and speak what others write.

THE PROLOGUE TO THE STAGE, AT THE COCK-PIT.

We know not how our play may pass this stage, But by the best of poets<5> in that age THE MALTA-JEW had being and was made; And he then by the best of
actors<6> play'd: In HERO AND LEANDER<7> one did gain A lasting memory; in Tamburlaine, This Jew, with others many, th' other wan The attribute of peerless,
being a man Whom we may rank with (doing no one wrong) Proteus for shapes, and Roscius for a tongue,-- So could he speak, so vary; nor is't hate To merit in
him<8> who doth personate Our Jew this day; nor is it his ambition To exceed or equal, being of condition More modest: this is all that he intends, (And that too at the
urgence of some friends,) To prove his best, and, if none here gainsay it, The part he hath studied, and intends to play it.

EPILOGUE TO THE STAGE, AT THE COCK-PIT.

In graving with Pygmalion to contend, Or painting with Apelles, doubtless the end Must be disgrace: our actor did not so,-- He only aim'd to go, but not out-go. Nor
think that this day any prize was play'd;<9> Here were no bets at all, no wagers laid:<10> All the ambition that his mind doth swell, Is but to hear from you (by me)
'twas well.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

FERNEZE, governor of Malta. LODOWICK, his son. SELIM CALYMATH, son to the Grand Seignior. MARTIN DEL BOSCO, vice-admiral of Spain.
MATHIAS, a gentleman. JACOMO, > BARNARDINE, > friars. BARABAS, a wealthy Jew. ITHAMORE, a slave. PILIA-BORZA, a bully, attendant to
BELLAMIRA. Two Merchants. Three Jews. Knights, Bassoes, Officers, Guard, Slaves, Messenger, and Carpenters

KATHARINE, mother to MATHIAS. ABIGAIL, daughter to BARABAS. BELLAMIRA, a courtezan. Abbess. Nun.

MACHIAVEL as Prologue speaker.

Scene, Malta.

THE JEW OF MALTA.

Enter MACHIAVEL.

MACHIAVEL. Albeit the world think Machiavel is dead, Yet was his soul but flown beyond the Alps; And, now the Guise<11> is dead, is come from France, To
view this land, and frolic with his friends. To some perhaps my name is odious; But such as love me, guard me from their tongues, And let them know that I am
Machiavel, And weigh not men, and therefore not men's words. Admir'd I am of those that hate me most: Though some speak openly against my books, Yet will they
read me, and thereby attain To Peter's chair; and, when they cast me off, Are poison'd by my climbing followers. I count religion but a childish toy, And hold there is no
sin but ignorance. Birds of the air will tell of murders past! I am asham'd to hear such fooleries. Many will talk of title to a crown: What right had Caesar to the empery?
<12> Might first made kings, and laws were then most sure When, like the Draco's,<13> they were writ in blood. Hence comes it that a strong-built citadel
Commands much more than letters can import: Which maxim had<14> Phalaris observ'd, H'ad never bellow'd, in a brazen bull, Of great ones' envy: o' the poor petty
wights Let me be envied and not pitied. But whither am I bound? I come not, I, To read a lecture here<15> in Britain, But to present the tragedy of a Jew, Who smiles
to see how full his bags are cramm'd; Which money was not got without my means. I crave but this,--grace him as he deserves, And let him not be entertain'd the
worse Because he favours me. [Exit.]

ACT I.<16>
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BARABAS discovered in his counting-house, with heaps of gold before him.
worse Because he favours me. [Exit.]

ACT I.<16>

BARABAS discovered in his counting-house, with heaps of gold before him.

BARABAS. So that of thus much that return was made; And of the third part of the Persian ships There was the venture summ'd and satisfied. As for those
Samnites,<17> and the men of Uz, That bought my Spanish oils and wines of Greece, Here have I purs'd their paltry silverlings.<18> Fie, what a trouble 'tis to count
this trash! Well fare the Arabians, who so richly pay The things they traffic for with wedge of gold, Whereof a man may easily in a day Tell<19> that which may
maintain him all his life. The needy groom, that never finger'd groat, Would make a miracle of thus much coin; But he whose steel-barr'd coffers are cramm'd full, And
all his life-time hath been tired, Wearying his fingers' ends with telling it, Would in his age be loath to labour so, And for a pound to sweat himself to death. Give me the
merchants of the Indian mines, That trade in metal of the purest mould; The wealthy Moor, that in the eastern rocks Without control can pick his riches up, And in his
house heap pearl like pebble-stones, Receive them free, and sell them by the weight; Bags of fiery opals, sapphires, amethysts, Jacinths, hard topaz, grass-green
emeralds, Beauteous rubies, sparkling diamonds, And seld-seen<20> costly stones of so great price, As one of them, indifferently rated, And of a carat of this quantity,
May serve, in peril of calamity, To ransom great kings from captivity. This is the ware wherein consists my wealth; And thus methinks should men of judgment frame
Their means of traffic from the vulgar trade, And, as their wealth increaseth, so inclose Infinite riches in a little room. But now how stands the wind? Into what corner
peers my halcyon's bill?<21> Ha! to the east? yes. See how stand the vanes-- East and by south: why, then, I hope my ships I sent for Egypt and the bordering isles
Are gotten up by Nilus' winding banks; Mine argosy from Alexandria, Loaden with spice and silks, now under sail, Are smoothly gliding down by Candy-shore To
Malta, through our Mediterranean sea.-- But who comes here?

Enter a MERCHANT.

How now!

MERCHANT. Barabas, thy ships are safe, Riding in Malta-road; and all the merchants With other merchandise are safe arriv'd, And have sent me to know whether
yourself Will come and custom them.<22>

BARABAS. The ships are safe thou say'st, and richly fraught?

MERCHANT. They are.

BARABAS. Why, then, go bid them come ashore, And bring with them their bills of entry: I hope our credit in the custom-house Will serve as well as I were present
there. Go send 'em threescore camels, thirty mules, And twenty waggons, to bring up the ware. But art thou master in a ship of mine, And is thy credit not enough for
that?

MERCHANT. The very custom barely comes to more Than many merchants of the town are worth, And therefore far exceeds my credit, sir.

BARABAS. Go tell 'em the Jew of Malta sent thee, man: Tush, who amongst 'em knows not Barabas?

MERCHANT. I go.

BARABAS. So, then, there's somewhat come.-- Sirrah, which of my ships art thou master of?

MERCHANT. Of the Speranza, sir.

BARABAS. And saw'st thou not Mine argosy at Alexandria? Thou couldst not come from Egypt, or by Caire, But at the entry there into the sea, Where Nilus pays his
tribute to the main, Thou needs must sail by Alexandria.

MERCHANT. I neither saw them, nor inquir'd of them: But this we heard some of our seamen say, They wonder'd how you durst with so much wealth Trust such a
crazed vessel, and so far.

BARABAS. Tush, they are wise! I know her and her strength. But<23> go, go thou thy ways, discharge thy ship, And bid my factor bring his loading in. [Exit
MERCHANT.] And yet I wonder at this argosy.

Enter a Second MERCHANT.

SECOND MERCHANT. Thine argosy from Alexandria, Know, Barabas, doth ride in Malta-road, Laden with riches, and exceeding store Of Persian silks, of gold,
and orient pearl.

BARABAS. How chance you came not with those other ships That sail'd by Egypt?

SECOND MERCHANT. Sir, we saw 'em not.

BARABAS. Belike they coasted round by Candy-shore About their oils or other businesses. But 'twas ill done of you to come so far Without the aid or conduct of
their ships.

SECOND MERCHANT. Sir, we were wafted by a Spanish fleet, That never left us till within a league, That had the galleys of the Turk in chase.

BARABAS. O, they were going up to Sicily. Well, go, And bid the merchants and my men despatch, And come ashore, and see the fraught<24> discharg'd.

SECOND MERCHANT. I go. [Exit.]

BARABAS. Thus trolls our fortune in by land and sea, And thus are we on every side enrich'd: These are the blessings promis'd to the Jews, And herein was old
Abraham's happiness: What more may heaven do for earthly man Than thus to pour out plenty in their laps, Ripping the bowels of the earth for them, Making the sea[s]
their servants, and the winds To drive their substance with successful blasts? Who hateth me but for my happiness? Or who is honour'd now but for his wealth? Rather
had I, a Jew, be hated thus, Than pitied in a Christian poverty; For I can see no fruits in all their faith, But malice, falsehood, and excessive pride, Which methinks fits
not their profession.
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                                        Media   hath conscience, And for his conscience lives in beggary. They say we are a scatter'd nation: I cannot tell; but we have
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scambled<25> up More wealth by far than those that brag of faith: There's Kirriah Jairim, the great Jew of Greece, Obed in Bairseth, Nones in Portugal, Myself in
Malta, some in Italy, Many in France, and wealthy every one; Ay, wealthier far than any Christian. I must confess we come not to be kings: That's not our fault: alas,
our number's few! And crowns come either by succession, Or urg'd by force; and nothing violent, Oft have I heard tell, can be permanent. Give us a peaceful rule;
BARABAS. Thus trolls our fortune in by land and sea, And thus are we on every side enrich'd: These are the blessings promis'd to the Jews, And herein was old
Abraham's happiness: What more may heaven do for earthly man Than thus to pour out plenty in their laps, Ripping the bowels of the earth for them, Making the sea[s]
their servants, and the winds To drive their substance with successful blasts? Who hateth me but for my happiness? Or who is honour'd now but for his wealth? Rather
had I, a Jew, be hated thus, Than pitied in a Christian poverty; For I can see no fruits in all their faith, But malice, falsehood, and excessive pride, Which methinks fits
not their profession. Haply some hapless man hath conscience, And for his conscience lives in beggary. They say we are a scatter'd nation: I cannot tell; but we have
scambled<25> up More wealth by far than those that brag of faith: There's Kirriah Jairim, the great Jew of Greece, Obed in Bairseth, Nones in Portugal, Myself in
Malta, some in Italy, Many in France, and wealthy every one; Ay, wealthier far than any Christian. I must confess we come not to be kings: That's not our fault: alas,
our number's few! And crowns come either by succession, Or urg'd by force; and nothing violent, Oft have I heard tell, can be permanent. Give us a peaceful rule;
make Christians kings, That thirst so much for principality. I have no charge, nor many children, But one sole daughter, whom I hold as dear As Agamemnon did his
Iphigen; And all I have is hers.--But who comes here?

Enter three JEWS.<26>

FIRST JEW. Tush, tell not me; 'twas done of policy.

SECOND JEW. Come, therefore, let us go to Barabas; For he can counsel best in these affairs: And here he comes.

BARABAS. Why, how now, countrymen! Why flock you thus to me in multitudes? What accident's betided to the Jews?

FIRST JEW. A fleet of warlike galleys, Barabas, Are come from Turkey, and lie in our road: And they this day sit in the council-house To entertain them and their
embassy.

BARABAS. Why, let 'em come, so they come not to war; Or let 'em war, so we be conquerors.-- Nay, let 'em combat, conquer, and kill all, So they spare me, my
daughter, and my wealth. [Aside.]

FIRST JEW. Were it for confirmation of a league, They would not come in warlike manner thus.

SECOND JEW. I fear their coming will afflict us all.

BARABAS. Fond<27> men, what dream you of their multitudes? What need they treat of peace that are in league? The Turks and those of Malta are in league: Tut,
tut, there is some other matter in't.

FIRST JEW. Why, Barabas, they come for peace or war.

BARABAS. Haply for neither, but to pass along, Towards Venice, by the Adriatic sea, With whom they have attempted many times, But never could effect their
stratagem.

THIRD JEW. And very wisely said; it may be so.

SECOND JEW. But there's a meeting in the senate-house, And all the Jews in Malta must be there.

BARABAS. Hum,--all the Jews in Malta must be there! Ay, like enough: why, then, let every man Provide him, and be there for fashion-sake. If any thing shall there
concern our state, Assure yourselves I'll look--unto myself. [Aside.]<28>

FIRST JEW. I know you will.--Well, brethren, let us go.

SECOND JEW. Let's take our leaves.--Farewell, good Barabas.

BARABAS.<29> Farewell, Zaareth; farewell, Temainte. [Exeunt JEWS.] And, Barabas, now search this secret out; Summon thy senses, call thy wits together: These
silly men mistake the matter clean. Long to the Turk did Malta contribute; Which tribute all in policy, I fear, The Turk has<30> let increase to such a sum As all the
wealth of Malta cannot pay; And now by that advantage thinks, belike, To seize upon the town; ay, that he seeks. Howe'er the world go, I'll make sure for one, And
seek in time to intercept the worst, Warily guarding that which I ha' got: Ego mihimet sum semper proximus:<31> Why, let 'em enter, let 'em take the town. [Exit.]<32>

Enter FERNEZE governor of Malta, KNIGHTS, and OFFICERS; met by CALYMATH, and BASSOES of the TURK.

FERNEZE. Now, bassoes,<33> what demand you at our hands?

FIRST BASSO. Know, knights of Malta, that we came from Rhodes, >From Cyprus, Candy, and those other isles That lie betwixt the Mediterranean seas.

FERNEZE. What's Cyprus, Candy, and those other isles To us or Malta? what at our hands demand ye?

CALYMATH. The ten years' tribute that remains unpaid.

FERNEZE. Alas, my lord, the sum is over-great! I hope your highness will consider us.

CALYMATH. I wish, grave governor,<34> 'twere in my power To favour you; but 'tis my father's cause, Wherein I may not, nay, I dare not dally.

FERNEZE. Then give us leave, great Selim Calymath.

CALYMATH. Stand all aside,<35> and let the knights determine; And send to keep our galleys under sail, For happily<36> we shall not tarry here.-- Now,
governor, how are you resolv'd?

FERNEZE. Thus; since your hard conditions are such That you will needs have ten years' tribute past, We may have time to make collection Amongst the inhabitants of
Malta for't.

FIRST BASSO. That's more than is in our commission.

CALYMATH.      What, Callapine!
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                                         Media  Corp.Let's know their time; perhaps it is not long; And 'tis more kingly to obtain by peace Than to enforcePage
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constraint.-- What respite ask you, governor?

FERNEZE. But a month.
Malta for't.

FIRST BASSO. That's more than is in our commission.

CALYMATH. What, Callapine! a little courtesy: Let's know their time; perhaps it is not long; And 'tis more kingly to obtain by peace Than to enforce conditions by
constraint.-- What respite ask you, governor?

FERNEZE. But a month.

CALYMATH. We grant a month; but see you keep your promise. Now launch our galleys back again to sea, Where we'll attend the respite you have ta'en, And for
the money send our messenger. Farewell, great governor, and brave knights of Malta.

FERNEZE. And all good fortune wait on Calymath! [Exeunt CALYMATH and BASSOES.] Go one and call those Jews of Malta hither: Were they not summon'd to
appear to-day?

FIRST OFFICER. They were, my lord; and here they come.

Enter BARABAS and three JEWS.

FIRST KNIGHT. Have you determin'd what to say to them?

FERNEZE. Yes; give me leave:--and, Hebrews, now come near. >From the Emperor of Turkey is arriv'd Great Selim Calymath, his highness' son, To levy of us ten
years' tribute past: Now, then, here know that it concerneth us.

BARABAS. Then, good my lord, to keep your quiet still, Your lordship shall do well to let them have it.

FERNEZE. Soft, Barabas! there's more 'longs to't than so. To what this ten years' tribute will amount, That we have cast, but cannot compass it By reason of the wars,
that robb'd our store; And therefore are we to request your aid.

BARABAS. Alas, my lord, we are no soldiers! And what's our aid against so great a prince?

FIRST KNIGHT. Tut, Jew, we know thou art no soldier: Thou art a merchant and a money'd man, And 'tis thy money, Barabas, we seek.

BARABAS. How, my lord! my money!

FERNEZE. Thine and the rest; For, to be short, amongst you't must be had.

FIRST JEW. Alas, my lord, the most of us are poor!

FERNEZE. Then let the rich increase your portions.

BARABAS. Are strangers with your tribute to be tax'd?

SECOND KNIGHT. Have strangers leave with us to get their wealth? Then let them with us contribute.

BARABAS. How! equally?

FERNEZE. No, Jew, like infidels; For through our sufferance of your hateful lives, Who stand accursed in the sight of heaven, These taxes and afflictions are befall'n,
And therefore thus we are determined.-- Read there the articles of our decrees.

OFFICER.<37> [reads] FIRST, THE TRIBUTE-MONEY OF THE TURKS SHALL ALL BE LEVIED AMONGST THE JEWS, AND EACH OF THEM TO
PAY ONE HALF OF HIS ESTATE.

BARABAS. How! half his estate!--I hope you mean not mine. [Aside.]

FERNEZE. Read on.

OFFICER. [reads] SECONDLY, HE THAT DENIES<38> TO PAY, SHALL STRAIGHT-BECOME A CHRISTIAN.

BARABAS. How! a Christian!--Hum,--what's here to do? [Aside.]

OFFICER. [reads] LASTLY, HE THAT DENIES THIS, SHALL ABSOLUTELY LOSE ALL HE HAS.

THREE JEWS. O my lord, we will give half!

BARABAS. O earth-mettled villains, and no Hebrews born! And will you basely thus submit yourselves To leave your goods to their arbitrement?

FERNEZE. Why, Barabas, wilt thou be christened?

BARABAS. No, governor, I will be no convertite.<39>

FERNEZE. Then pay thy half.

BARABAS. Why, know you what you did by this device? Half of my substance is a city's wealth. Governor, it was not got so easily; Nor will I part so slightly
therewithal.

FERNEZE. Sir, half is the penalty of our decree; Either pay that, or we will seize on all.
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BARABAS. Corpo di Dio! stay: you shall have half; Let me be us'd but as my brethren are.

FERNEZE. No, Jew, thou hast denied the articles, And now it cannot be recall'd. [Exeunt OFFICERS, on a sign from FERNEZE]
therewithal.

FERNEZE. Sir, half is the penalty of our decree; Either pay that, or we will seize on all.

BARABAS. Corpo di Dio! stay: you shall have half; Let me be us'd but as my brethren are.

FERNEZE. No, Jew, thou hast denied the articles, And now it cannot be recall'd. [Exeunt OFFICERS, on a sign from FERNEZE]

BARABAS. Will you, then, steal my goods? Is theft the ground of your religion?

FERNEZE. No, Jew; we take particularly thine, To save the ruin of a multitude: And better one want for a common good, Than many perish for a private man: Yet,
Barabas, we will not banish thee, But here in Malta, where thou gott'st thy wealth, Live still; and, if thou canst, get more.

BARABAS. Christians, what or how can I multiply? Of naught is nothing made.

FIRST KNIGHT. From naught at first thou cam'st to little wealth, >From little unto more, from more to most: If your first curse fall heavy on thy head, And make thee
poor and scorn'd of all the world, 'Tis not our fault, but thy inherent sin.

BARABAS. What, bring you Scripture to confirm your wrongs? Preach me not out of my possessions. Some Jews are wicked, as all Christians are: But say the tribe
that I descended of Were all in general cast away for sin, Shall I be tried by their transgression? The man that dealeth righteously shall live; And which of you can
charge me otherwise?

FERNEZE. Out, wretched Barabas! Sham'st thou not thus to justify thyself, As if we knew not thy profession? If thou rely upon thy righteousness, Be patient, and thy
riches will increase. Excess of wealth is cause of covetousness; And covetousness, O, 'tis a monstrous sin!

BARABAS. Ay, but theft is worse: tush! take not from me, then, For that is theft; and, if you rob me thus, I must be forc'd to steal, and compass more.

FIRST KNIGHT. Grave governor, list not to his exclaims: Convert his mansion to a nunnery; His house will harbour many holy nuns.

FERNEZE. It shall be so.

Re-enter OFFICERS.

Now, officers, have you done?

FIRST OFFICER. Ay, my lord, we have seiz'd upon the goods And wares of Barabas, which, being valu'd, Amount to more than all the wealth in Malta: And of the
other we have seized half.

FERNEZE. Then we'll take<40> order for the residue.

BARABAS. Well, then, my lord, say, are you satisfied? You have my goods, my money, and my wealth, My ships, my store, and all that I enjoy'd; And, having all,
you can request no more, Unless your unrelenting flinty hearts Suppress all pity in your stony breasts, And now shall move you to bereave my life.

FERNEZE. No, Barabas; to stain our hands with blood Is far from us and our profession.

BARABAS. Why, I esteem the injury far less, To take the lives of miserable men Than be the causers of their misery. You have my wealth, the labour of my life, The
comfort of mine age, my children's hope; And therefore ne'er distinguish of the wrong.

FERNEZE. Content thee, Barabas; thou hast naught but right.

BARABAS. Your extreme right does me exceeding wrong: But take it to you, i'the devil's name!

FERNEZE. Come, let us in, and gather of these goods The money for this tribute of the Turk.

FIRST KNIGHT. 'Tis necessary that be look'd unto; For, if we break our day, we break the league, And that will prove but simple policy. [Exeunt all except
BARABAS and the three JEWS.]

BARABAS. Ay, policy! that's their profession, And not simplicity, as they suggest.-- The plagues of Egypt, and the curse of heaven, Earth's barrenness, and all men's
hatred, Inflict upon them, thou great Primus Motor! And here upon my knees, striking the earth, I ban their souls to everlasting pains, And extreme tortures of the fiery
deep, That thus have dealt with me in my distress!

FIRST JEW. O, yet be patient, gentle Barabas!

BARABAS. O silly brethren, born to see this day, Why stand you thus unmov'd with my laments? Why weep you not to think upon my wrongs? Why pine not I, and
die in this distress?

FIRST JEW. Why, Barabas, as hardly can we brook The cruel handling of ourselves in this: Thou seest they have taken half our goods.

BARABAS. Why did you yield to their extortion? You were a multitude, and I but one; And of me only have they taken all.

FIRST JEW. Yet, brother Barabas, remember Job.

BARABAS. What tell you me of Job? I wot his wealth Was written thus; he had seven thousand sheep, Three thousand camels, and two hundred yoke Of labouring
oxen, and five hundred She-asses: but for every one of those, Had they been valu'd at indifferent rate, I had at home, and in mine argosy, And other ships that came
from Egypt last, As much as would have bought his beasts and him, And yet have kept enough to live upon; So that not he, but I, may curse the day, Thy fatal birth-
day, forlorn Barabas; And henceforth wish for an eternal night, That clouds of darkness may inclose my flesh, And hide these extreme sorrows from mine eyes; For
only I have toil'd to inherit here The months of vanity, and loss of time, And painful nights, have been appointed me.
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SECOND JEW. Good Barabas, be patient.
oxen, and five hundred She-asses: but for every one of those, Had they been valu'd at indifferent rate, I had at home, and in mine argosy, And other ships that came
from Egypt last, As much as would have bought his beasts and him, And yet have kept enough to live upon; So that not he, but I, may curse the day, Thy fatal birth-
day, forlorn Barabas; And henceforth wish for an eternal night, That clouds of darkness may inclose my flesh, And hide these extreme sorrows from mine eyes; For
only I have toil'd to inherit here The months of vanity, and loss of time, And painful nights, have been appointed me.

SECOND JEW. Good Barabas, be patient.

BARABAS. Ay, I pray, leave me in my patience. You, that Were ne'er possess'd of wealth, are pleas'd with want; But give him liberty at least to mourn, That in a field,
amidst his enemies, Doth see his soldiers slain, himself disarm'd, And knows no means of his recovery: Ay, let me sorrow for this sudden chance; 'Tis in the trouble of
my spirit I speak: Great injuries are not so soon forgot.

FIRST JEW. Come, let us leave him; in his ireful mood Our words will but increase his ecstasy.<41>

SECOND JEW. On, then: but, trust me, 'tis a misery To see a man in such affliction.-- Farewell, Barabas.

BARABAS. Ay, fare you well. [Exeunt three JEWS.]<42> See the simplicity of these base slaves, Who, for the villains have no wit themselves, Think me to be a
senseless lump of clay, That will with every water wash to dirt! No, Barabas is born to better chance, And fram'd of finer mould than common men, That measure
naught but by the present time. A reaching thought will search his deepest wits, And cast with cunning for the time to come; For evils are apt to happen every day.

Enter ABIGAIL.

But whither wends my beauteous Abigail? O, what has made my lovely daughter sad? What, woman! moan not for a little loss; Thy father has enough in store for thee.

ABIGAIL. Nor for myself, but aged Barabas, Father, for thee lamenteth Abigail: But I will learn to leave these fruitless tears; And, urg'd thereto with my afflictions,
With fierce exclaims run to the senate-house, And in the senate reprehend them all, And rent their hearts with tearing of my hair, Till they reduce<43> the wrongs done
to my father.

BARABAS. No, Abigail; things past recovery Are hardly cur'd with exclamations: Be silent, daughter; sufferance breeds ease, And time may yield us an occasion,
Which on the sudden cannot serve the turn. Besides, my girl, think me not all so fond<44> As negligently to forgo so much Without provision for thyself and me: Ten
thousand portagues,<45> besides great pearls, Rich costly jewels, and stones infinite, Fearing the worst of this before it fell, I closely hid.

ABIGAIL. Where, father?

BARABAS. In my house, my girl.

ABIGAIL. Then shall they ne'er be seen of Barabas; For they have seiz'd upon thy house and wares.

BARABAS. But they will give me leave once more, I trow, To go into my house.

ABIGAIL. That may they not; For there I left the governor placing nuns, Displacing me; and of thy house they mean To make a nunnery, where none but their own
sect<46> Must enter in; men generally barr'd.

BARABAS. My gold, my gold, and all my wealth is gone!-- You partial heavens, have I deserv'd this plague? What, will you thus oppose me, luckless stars, To make
me desperate in my poverty? And, knowing me impatient in distress, Think me so mad as I will hang myself, That I may vanish o'er the earth in air, And leave no
memory that e'er I was? No, I will live; nor loathe I this my life: And, since you leave me in the ocean thus To sink or swim, and put me to my shifts, I'll rouse my
senses, and awake myself.-- Daughter, I have it: thou perceiv'st the plight Wherein these Christians have oppressed me: Be rul'd by me, for in extremity We ought to
make bar of no policy.

ABIGAIL. Father, whate'er it be, to injure them That have so manifestly wronged us, What will not Abigail attempt?

BARABAS. Why, so. Then thus: thou told'st me they have turn'd my house Into a nunnery, and some nuns are there?

ABIGAIL. I did.

BARABAS. Then, Abigail, there must my girl Entreat the abbess to be entertain'd.

ABIGAIL. How! as a nun?

BARABAS. Ay, daughter; for religion Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.

ABIGAIL. Ay, but, father, they will suspect me there.

BARABAS. Let 'em suspect; but be thou so precise As they may think it done of holiness: Entreat 'em fair, and give them friendly speech, And seem to them as if thy
sins were great, Till thou hast gotten to be entertain'd.

ABIGAIL. Thus, father, shall I much dissemble.

BARABAS. Tush! As good dissemble that thou never mean'st, As first mean truth and then dissemble it: A counterfeit profession is better Than unseen hypocrisy.

ABIGAIL. Well, father, say I be entertain'd, What then shall follow?

BARABAS. This shall follow then. There have I hid, close underneath the plank That runs along the upper-chamber floor, The gold and jewels which I kept for thee:--
But here they come: be cunning, Abigail.

ABIGAIL. Then, father, go with me.

BARABAS. No, Abigail, in this It is not necessary I be seen; For I will seem offended with thee for't: Be close, my girl, for this must fetch my gold. [They retire.]
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Enter FRIAR JACOMO,<47> FRIAR BARNARDINE, ABBESS, and a NUN.

FRIAR JACOMO. Sisters, We now are almost at the new-made nunnery.
ABIGAIL. Then, father, go with me.

BARABAS. No, Abigail, in this It is not necessary I be seen; For I will seem offended with thee for't: Be close, my girl, for this must fetch my gold. [They retire.]

Enter FRIAR JACOMO,<47> FRIAR BARNARDINE, ABBESS, and a NUN.

FRIAR JACOMO. Sisters, We now are almost at the new-made nunnery.

ABBESS.<48> The better; for we love not to be seen: 'Tis thirty winters long since some of us Did stray so far amongst the multitude.

FRIAR JACOMO. But, madam, this house And waters of this new-made nunnery Will much delight you.

ABBESS. It may be so.--But who comes here?

[ABIGAIL comes forward.]

ABIGAIL. Grave abbess, and you happy virgins' guide, Pity the state of a distressed maid!

ABBESS. What art thou, daughter?

ABIGAIL. The hopeless daughter of a hapless Jew, The Jew of Malta, wretched Barabas, Sometimes<49> the owner of a goodly house, Which they have now turn'd
to a nunnery.

ABBESS. Well, daughter, say, what is thy suit with us?

ABIGAIL. Fearing the afflictions which my father feels Proceed from sin or want of faith in us, I'd pass away my life in penitence, And be a novice in your nunnery, To
make atonement for my labouring soul.

FRIAR JACOMO. No doubt, brother, but this proceedeth of the spirit.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Ay, and of a moving spirit too, brother: but come, Let us entreat she may be entertain'd.

ABBESS. Well, daughter, we admit you for a nun.

ABIGAIL. First let me as a novice learn to frame My solitary life to your strait laws, And let me lodge where I was wont to lie: I do not doubt, by your divine precepts
And mine own industry, but to profit much.

BARABAS. As much, I hope, as all I hid is worth. [Aside.]

ABBESS. Come, daughter, follow us.

BARABAS. [coming forward] Why, how now, Abigail! What mak'st thou 'mongst these hateful Christians?

FRIAR JACOMO. Hinder her not, thou man of little faith, For she has mortified herself.

BARABAS. How! mortified!

FRIAR JACOMO. And is admitted to the sisterhood.

BARABAS. Child of perdition, and thy father's shame! What wilt thou do among these hateful fiends? I charge thee on my blessing that thou leave These devils and
their damned heresy!

ABIGAIL. Father, forgive me--<50>

BARABAS. Nay, back, Abigail, And think upon the jewels and the gold; The board is marked thus that covers it.-- [Aside to ABIGAIL in a whisper.] Away,
accursed, from thy father's sight!

FRIAR JACOMO. Barabas, although thou art in misbelief, And wilt not see thine own afflictions, Yet let thy daughter be no longer blind.

BARABAS. Blind friar, I reck not thy persuasions,-- The board is marked thus<51> that covers it-- [Aside to ABIGAIL in a whisper.] For I had rather die than see
her thus.-- Wilt thou forsake me too in my distress, Seduced daughter?--Go, forget not.--<52> [Aside to her in a whisper.] Becomes it Jews to be so credulous?--
To-morrow early I'll be at the door.-- [Aside to her in a whisper.] No, come not at me; if thou wilt be damn'd, Forget me, see me not; and so, be gone!-- Farewell;
remember to-morrow morning.-- [Aside to her in a whisper.] Out, out, thou wretch! [Exit, on one side, BARABAS. Exeunt, on the other side, FRIARS, ABBESS,
NUN, and ABIGAIL: and, as they are going out,]

Enter MATHIAS.

MATHIAS. Who's this? fair Abigail, the rich Jew's daughter, Become a nun! her father's sudden fall Has humbled her, and brought her down to this: Tut, she were
fitter for a tale of love, Than to be tired out with orisons; And better would she far become a bed, Embraced in a friendly lover's arms, Than rise at midnight to a solemn
mass.

Enter LODOWICK.

LODOWICK. Why, how now, Don Mathias! in a dump?

MATHIAS. Believe me, noble Lodowick, I have seen The strangest sight, in my opinion, That ever I beheld.
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MATHIAS. A fair young maid, scarce fourteen years of age, The sweetest flower in Cytherea's field, Cropt from the pleasures of the fruitful earth, And strangely
LODOWICK. Why, how now, Don Mathias! in a dump?

MATHIAS. Believe me, noble Lodowick, I have seen The strangest sight, in my opinion, That ever I beheld.

LODOWICK. What was't, I prithee?

MATHIAS. A fair young maid, scarce fourteen years of age, The sweetest flower in Cytherea's field, Cropt from the pleasures of the fruitful earth, And strangely
metamorphos'd [to a] nun.

LODOWICK. But say, what was she?

MATHIAS. Why, the rich Jew's daughter.

LODOWICK. What, Barabas, whose goods were lately seiz'd? Is she so fair?

MATHIAS. And matchless beautiful, As, had you seen her, 'twould have mov'd your heart, Though countermin'd with walls of brass, to love, Or, at the least, to pity.

LODOWICK. An if she be so fair as you report, 'Twere time well spent to go and visit her: How say you? shall we?

MATHIAS. I must and will, sir; there's no remedy.

LODOWICK. And so will I too, or it shall go hard. Farewell, Mathias.

MATHIAS. Farewell, Lodowick. [Exeunt severally.]

ACT II.

Enter BARABAS, with a light.<53>

BARABAS. Thus, like the sad-presaging raven, that tolls The sick man's passport in her hollow beak,<54> And in the shadow of the silent night Doth shake contagion
from her sable wings, Vex'd and tormented runs poor Barabas With fatal curses towards these Christians. The incertain pleasures of swift-footed time Have ta'en their
flight, and left me in despair; And of my former riches rests no more But bare remembrance; like a soldier's scar, That has no further comfort for his maim.-- O Thou,
that with a fiery pillar ledd'st The sons of Israel through the dismal shades, Light Abraham's offspring; and direct the hand Of Abigail this night! or let the day Turn to
eternal darkness after this!-- No sleep can fasten on my watchful eyes, Nor quiet enter my distemper'd thoughts, Till I have answer of my Abigail.

Enter ABIGAIL above.

ABIGAIL. Now have I happily espied a time To search the plank my father did appoint; And here, behold, unseen, where I have found The gold, the pearls, and
jewels, which he hid.

BARABAS. Now I remember those old women's words, Who in my wealth would tell me winter's tales, And speak of spirits and ghosts that glide by night About the
place where treasure hath been hid: And now methinks that I am one of those; For, whilst I live, here lives my soul's sole hope, And, when I die, here shall my spirit
walk.

ABIGAIL. Now that my father's fortune were so good As but to be about this happy place! 'Tis not so happy: yet, when we parted last, He said he would attend me in
the morn. Then, gentle Sleep, where'er his body rests, Give charge to Morpheus that he may dream A golden dream, and of<55> the sudden wake,<56> Come and
receive the treasure I have found.

BARABAS. Bueno para todos mi ganado no era:<57> As good go on, as sit so sadly thus.-- But stay: what star shines yonder in the east?<58> The loadstar of my
life, if Abigail.-- Who's there?

ABIGAIL. Who's that?

BARABAS. Peace, Abigail! 'tis I.

ABIGAIL. Then, father, here receive thy happiness.

BARABAS. Hast thou't?

ABIGAIL. Here.[throws down bags] Hast thou't? There's more, and more, and more.

BARABAS. O my girl, My gold, my fortune, my felicity, Strength to my soul, death to mine enemy; Welcome the first beginner of my bliss! O Abigail, Abigail, that I
had thee here too! Then my desires were fully satisfied: But I will practice thy enlargement thence: O girl! O gold! O beauty! O my bliss! [Hugs the bags.]

ABIGAIL. Father, it draweth towards midnight now, And 'bout this time the nuns begin to wake; To shun suspicion, therefore, let us part.

BARABAS. Farewell, my joy, and by my fingers take A kiss from him that sends it from his soul. [Exit ABIGAIL above.] Now, Phoebus, ope the eye-lids of the day.
And, for the raven, wake the morning lark, That I may hover with her in the air, Singing o'er these, as she does o'er her young. Hermoso placer de los dineros.<59>
[Exit.]

Enter FERNEZE,<60> MARTIN DEL BOSCO, KNIGHTS, and OFFICERS.

FERNEZE. Now, captain, tell us whither thou art bound? Whence is thy ship that anchors in our road? And why thou cam'st ashore without our leave?

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Governor of Malta, hither am I bound; My ship, the Flying Dragon, is of Spain, And so am I; Del Bosco is my name, Vice-admiral unto the
Catholic King.

FIRST  KNIGHT.
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MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Our fraught is Grecians, Turks, and Afric Moors; For late upon the coast of Corsica, Because we vail'd not<62> to the Turkish<63> fleet,
Their creeping galleys had us in the chase: But suddenly the wind began to rise, And then we luff'd and tack'd,<64> and fought at ease: Some have we fir'd, and many
MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Governor of Malta, hither am I bound; My ship, the Flying Dragon, is of Spain, And so am I; Del Bosco is my name, Vice-admiral unto the
Catholic King.

FIRST KNIGHT. 'Tis true, my lord; therefore entreat<61> him well.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Our fraught is Grecians, Turks, and Afric Moors; For late upon the coast of Corsica, Because we vail'd not<62> to the Turkish<63> fleet,
Their creeping galleys had us in the chase: But suddenly the wind began to rise, And then we luff'd and tack'd,<64> and fought at ease: Some have we fir'd, and many
have we sunk; But one amongst the rest became our prize: The captain's slain; the rest remain our slaves, Of whom we would make sale in Malta here.

FERNEZE. Martin del Bosco, I have heard of thee: Welcome to Malta, and to all of us! But to admit a sale of these thy Turks, We may not, nay, we dare not give
consent, By reason of a tributary league.

FIRST KNIGHT. Del Bosco, as thou lov'st and honour'st us, Persuade our governor against the Turk: This truce we have is but in hope of gold, And with that sum he
craves might we wage war.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Will knights of Malta be in league with Turks, And buy it basely too for sums of gold? My lord, remember that, to Europe's shame, The
Christian isle of Rhodes, from whence you came, Was lately lost, and you were stated<65> here To be at deadly enmity with Turks.

FERNEZE. Captain, we know it; but our force is small.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. What is the sum that Calymath requires?

FERNEZE. A hundred thousand crowns.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. My lord and king hath title to this isle, And he means quickly to expel you hence; Therefore be rul'd by me, and keep the gold: I'll write unto
his majesty for aid, And not depart until I see you free.

FERNEZE. On this condition shall thy Turks be sold.-- Go, officers, and set them straight in show.-- [Exeunt OFFICERS.] Bosco, thou shalt be Malta's general; We
and our warlike knights will follow thee Against these barbarous misbelieving Turks.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. So shall you imitate those you succeed; For, when their hideous force environ'd Rhodes, Small though the number was that kept the town,
They fought it out, and not a man surviv'd To bring the hapless news to Christendom.

FERNEZE. So will we fight it out: come, let's away. Proud daring Calymath, instead of gold, We'll send thee bullets wrapt in smoke and fire: Claim tribute where thou
wilt, we are resolv'd,-- Honour is bought with blood, and not with gold. [Exeunt.]

Enter OFFICERS,<66> with ITHAMORE and other SLAVES.

FIRST OFFICER. This is the market-place; here let 'em stand: Fear not their sale, for they'll be quickly bought.

SECOND OFFICER. Every one's price is written on his back, And so much must they yield, or not be sold.

FIRST OFFICER. Here comes the Jew: had not his goods been seiz'd, He'd give us present money for them all.

Enter BARABAS.

BARABAS. In spite of these swine-eating Christians, (Unchosen nation, never circumcis'd, Poor villains, such as were<67> ne'er thought upon Till Titus and
Vespasian conquer'd us,) Am I become as wealthy as I was. They hop'd my daughter would ha' been a nun; But she's at home, and I have bought a house As great
and fair as is the governor's: And there, in spite of Malta, will I dwell, Having Ferneze's hand; whose heart I'll have, Ay, and his son's too, or it shall go hard. I am not of
the tribe of Levi, I, That can so soon forget an injury. We Jews can fawn like spaniels when we please; And when we grin we bite; yet are our looks As innocent and
harmless as a lamb's. I learn'd in Florence how to kiss my hand, Heave up my shoulders when they call me dog, And duck as low as any bare-foot friar; Hoping to see
them starve upon a stall, Or else be gather'd for in our synagogue, That, when the offering-basin comes to me, Even for charity I may spit into't.-- Here comes Don
Lodowick, the governor's son, One that I love for his good father's sake.

Enter LODOWICK.

LODOWICK. I hear the wealthy Jew walked this way: I'll seek him out, and so insinuate, That I may have a sight of Abigail, For Don Mathias tells me she is fair.

BARABAS. Now will I shew myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Yond' walks the Jew: now for fair Abigail.

BARABAS. Ay, ay, no doubt but she's at your command. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Barabas, thou know'st I am the governor's son.

BARABAS. I would you were his father too, sir! that's all the harm I wish you.--The slave looks like a hog's cheek new-singed. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Whither walk'st thou, Barabas?

BARABAS. No further: 'tis a custom held with us, That when we speak with Gentiles like to you, We turn into<68> the air to purge ourselves; For unto us the promise
doth belong.

LODOWICK. Well, Barabas, canst help me to a diamond?

BARABAS. O, sir, your father had my diamonds: Yet I have one left that will serve your turn.-- I mean my daughter; but, ere he shall have her, I'll sacrifice her on a
pile of wood:
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                                of the city<69> for him, And the white leprosy. [Aside.]
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LODOWICK. What sparkle does it give without a foil?
LODOWICK. Well, Barabas, canst help me to a diamond?

BARABAS. O, sir, your father had my diamonds: Yet I have one left that will serve your turn.-- I mean my daughter; but, ere he shall have her, I'll sacrifice her on a
pile of wood: I ha' the poison of the city<69> for him, And the white leprosy. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. What sparkle does it give without a foil?

BARABAS. The diamond that I talk of ne'er was foil'd:-- But, when he touches it, it will be foil'd.--<70> [Aside.] Lord Lodowick, it sparkles bright and fair.

LODOWICK. Is it square or pointed? pray, let me know.

BARABAS. Pointed it is, good sir,--but not for you. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. I like it much the better.

BARABAS. So do I too.

LODOWICK. How shews it by night?

BARABAS. Outshines Cynthia's rays:-- You'll like it better far o' nights than days. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. And what's the price?

BARABAS. Your life, an if you have it [Aside].--O my lord, We will not jar about the price: come to my house, And I will give't your honour--with a vengeance.
[Aside.]

LODOWICK. No, Barabas, I will deserve it first.

BARABAS. Good sir, Your father has deserv'd it at my hands, Who, of mere charity and Christian ruth, To bring me to religious purity, And, as it were, in catechising
sort, To make me mindful of my mortal sins, Against my will, and whether I would or no, Seiz'd all I had, and thrust me out o' doors, And made my house a place for
nuns most chaste.

LODOWICK. No doubt your soul shall reap the fruit of it.

BARABAS. Ay, but, my lord, the harvest is far off: And yet I know the prayers of those nuns And holy friars, having money for their pains, Are wondrous;--and
indeed do no man good;-- [Aside.] And, seeing they are not idle, but still doing, 'Tis likely they in time may reap some fruit, I mean, in fullness of perfection.

LODOWICK. Good Barabas, glance not at our holy nuns.

BARABAS. No, but I do it through a burning zeal,-- Hoping ere long to set the house a-fire; For, though they do a while increase and multiply, I'll have a saying to that
nunnery.--<71> [Aside.] As for the diamond, sir, I told you of, Come home, and there's no price shall make us part, Even for your honourable father's sake,-- It shall
go hard but I will see your death.-- [Aside.] But now I must be gone to buy a slave.

LODOWICK. And, Barabas, I'll bear thee company.

BARABAS. Come, then; here's the market-place.-- What's the price of this slave? two hundred crowns! do the Turks weigh so much?

FIRST OFFICER. Sir, that's his price.

BARABAS. What, can he steal, that you demand so much? Belike he has some new trick for a purse; An if he has, he is worth three hundred plates,<72> So that,
being bought, the town-seal might be got To keep him for his life-time from the gallows: The sessions-day is critical to thieves, And few or none scape but by being
purg'd.

LODOWICK. Rat'st thou this Moor but at two hundred plates?

FIRST OFFICER. No more, my lord.

BARABAS. Why should this Turk be dearer than that Moor?

FIRST OFFICER. Because he is young, and has more qualities.

BARABAS. What, hast the philosopher's stone? an thou hast, break my head with it, I'll forgive thee.

SLAVE.<73> No, sir; I can cut and shave.

BARABAS. Let me see, sirrah; are you not an old shaver?

SLAVE. Alas, sir, I am a very youth!

BARABAS. A youth! I'll buy you, and marry you to Lady Vanity,<74> if you do well.

SLAVE. I will serve you, sir.

BARABAS. Some wicked trick or other: it may be, under colour of shaving, thou'lt cut my throat for my goods. Tell me, hast thou thy health well?

SLAVE. Ay, passing well.
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                                                                                                                                                           chops.--Let me
see one that's somewhat leaner.
BARABAS. Some wicked trick or other: it may be, under colour of shaving, thou'lt cut my throat for my goods. Tell me, hast thou thy health well?

SLAVE. Ay, passing well.

BARABAS. So much the worse: I must have one that's sickly, an't be but for sparing victuals: 'tis not a stone of beef a-day will maintain you in these chops.--Let me
see one that's somewhat leaner.

FIRST OFFICER. Here's a leaner; how like you him?

BARABAS. Where wast thou born?

ITHAMORE. In Thrace; brought up in Arabia.

BARABAS. So much the better; thou art for my turn. An hundred crowns? I'll have him; there's the coin. [Gives money.]

FIRST OFFICER. Then mark him, sir, and take him hence.

BARABAS. Ay, mark him, you were best; for this is he That by my help shall do much villany.-- [Aside.] My lord, farewell.--Come, sirrah; you are mine.-- As for the
diamond, it shall be yours: I pray, sir, be no stranger at my house; All that I have shall be at your command.

Enter MATHIAS and KATHARINE.<75>

MATHIAS. What make the Jew and Lodowick so private? I fear me 'tis about fair Abigail. [Aside.]

BARABAS. [to LODOWICK.] Yonder comes Don Mathias; let us stay:<76> He loves my daughter, and she holds him dear; But I have sworn to frustrate both their
hopes, And be reveng'd upon the--governor. [Aside.] [Exit LODOWICK.]

KATHARINE. This Moor is comeliest, is he not? speak, son.

MATHIAS. No, this is the better, mother, view this well.

BARABAS. Seem not to know me here before your mother, Lest she mistrust the match that is in hand: When you have brought her home, come to my house; Think
of me as thy father: son, farewell.

MATHIAS. But wherefore talk'd Don Lodowick with you?

BARABAS. Tush, man! we talk'd of diamonds, not of Abigail.

KATHARINE. Tell me, Mathias, is not that the Jew?

BARABAS. As for the comment on the Maccabees, I have it, sir, and 'tis at your command.

MATHIAS. Yes, madam, and my talk with him was<77> About the borrowing of a book or two.

KATHARINE. Converse not with him; he is cast off from heaven.-- Thou hast thy crowns, fellow.--Come, let's away.

MATHIAS. Sirrah Jew, remember the book.

BARABAS. Marry, will I, sir. [Exeunt KATHARlNE and MATHIAS.]

FIRST OFFICER. Come, I have made a reasonable market; let's away. [Exeunt OFFICERS with SLAVES.]

BARABAS. Now let me know thy name, and therewithal Thy birth, condition, and profession.

ITHAMORE. Faith, sir, my birth is but mean; my name's Ithamore; my profession what you please.

BARABAS. Hast thou no trade? then listen to my words, And I will teach [thee] that shall stick by thee: First, be thou void of these affections, Compassion, love, vain
hope, and heartless fear; Be mov'd at nothing, see thou pity none, But to thyself smile when the Christians moan.

ITHAMORE. O, brave, master!<78> I worship your nose<79> for this.

BARABAS. As for myself, I walk abroad o' nights, And kill sick people groaning under walls: Sometimes I go about and poison wells; And now and then, to cherish
Christian thieves, I am content to lose some of my crowns, That I may, walking in my gallery, See 'em go pinion'd along by my door. Being young, I studied physic, and
began To practice first upon the Italian; There I enrich'd the priests with burials, And always kept the sexton's arms in ure<80> With digging graves and ringing dead
men's knells: And, after that, was I an engineer, And in the wars 'twixt France and Germany, Under pretence of helping Charles the Fifth, Slew friend and enemy with
my stratagems: Then, after that, was I an usurer, And with extorting, cozening, forfeiting, And tricks belonging unto brokery, I fill'd the gaols with bankrupts in a year,
And with young orphans planted hospitals; And every moon made some or other mad, And now and then one hang himself for grief, Pinning upon his breast a long
great scroll How I with interest tormented him. But mark how I am blest for plaguing them;-- I have as much coin as will buy the town. But tell me now, how hast thou
spent thy time?

ITHAMORE. Faith, master, In setting Christian villages on fire, Chaining of eunuchs, binding galley-slaves. One time I was an hostler in an inn, And in the night-time
secretly would I steal To travellers' chambers, and there cut their throats: Once at Jerusalem, where the pilgrims kneel'd, I strewed powder on the marble stones, And
therewithal their knees would rankle so, That I have laugh'd a-good<81> to see the cripples Go limping home to Christendom on stilts.

BARABAS. Why, this is something: make account of me As of thy fellow; we are villains both; Both circumcised; we hate Christians both: Be true and secret; thou
shalt want no gold. But stand aside; here comes Don Lodowick.

Enter LODOWICK.<82>
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LODOWICK. O, Barabas, well met; Where is the diamond you told me of?
BARABAS. Why, this is something: make account of me As of thy fellow; we are villains both; Both circumcised; we hate Christians both: Be true and secret; thou
shalt want no gold. But stand aside; here comes Don Lodowick.

Enter LODOWICK.<82>

LODOWICK. O, Barabas, well met; Where is the diamond you told me of?

BARABAS. I have it for you, sir: please you walk in with me.-- What, ho, Abigail! open the door, I say!

Enter ABIGAIL, with letters.

ABIGAIL. In good time, father; here are letters come >From Ormus, and the post stays here within.

BARABAS. Give me the letters.--Daughter, do you hear? Entertain Lodowick, the governor's son, With all the courtesy you can afford, Provided that you keep your
maidenhead: Use him as if he were a Philistine; Dissemble, swear, protest, vow love to him:<83> He is not of the seed of Abraham.-- [Aside to her.] I am a little busy,
sir; pray, pardon me.-- Abigail, bid him welcome for my sake.

ABIGAIL. For your sake and his own he's welcome hither.

BARABAS. Daughter, a word more: kiss him, speak him fair, And like a cunning Jew so cast about, That ye be both made sure<84> ere you come out. [Aside to
her.]

ABIGAIL. O father, Don Mathias is my love!

BARABAS. I know it: yet, I say, make love to him; Do, it is requisite it should be so.-- [Aside to her.] Nay, on my life, it is my factor's hand; But go you in, I'll think
upon the account. [Exeunt ABIGAIL and LODOWICK into the house.] The account is made, for Lodovico<85> dies. My factor sends me word a merchant's fled
That owes me for a hundred tun of wine: I weigh it thus much[snapping his fingers]! I have wealth enough; For now by this has he kiss'd Abigail, And she vows love to
him, and he to her. As sure as heaven rain'd manna for the Jews, So sure shall he and Don Mathias die: His father was my chiefest enemy.

Enter MATHIAS.

Whither goes Don Mathias? stay a while.

MATHIAS. Whither, but to my fair love Abigail?

BARABAS. Thou know'st, and heaven can witness it is true, That I intend my daughter shall be thine.

MATHIAS. Ay, Barabas, or else thou wrong'st me much.

BARABAS. O, heaven forbid I should have such a thought! Pardon me though I weep: the governor's son Will, whether I will or no, have Abigail; He sends her letters,
bracelets, jewels, rings.

MATHIAS. Does she receive them?

BARABAS. She! no, Mathias, no, but sends them back; And, when he comes, she locks herself up fast; Yet through the key-hole will he talk to her, While she runs to
the window, looking out When you should come and hale him from the door.

MATHIAS. O treacherous Lodowick!

BARABAS. Even now, as I came home, he slipt me in, And I am sure he is with Abigail.

MATHIAS. I'll rouse him thence.

BARABAS. Not for all Malta; therefore sheathe your sword; If you love me, no quarrels in my house; But steal you in, and seem to see him not: I'll give him such a
warning ere he goes, As he shall have small hopes of Abigail. Away, for here they come.

Re-enter LODOWICK and ABIGAIL.

MATHIAS. What, hand in hand! I cannot suffer this.

BARABAS. Mathias, as thou lov'st me, not a word.

MATHIAS. Well, let it pass; another time shall serve. [Exit into the house.]

LODOWICK. Barabas, is not that the widow's son?

BARABAS. Ay, and take heed, for he hath sworn your death.

LODOWICK. My death! what, is the base-born peasant mad?

BARABAS. No, no; but happily<86> he stands in fear Of that which you, I think, ne'er dream upon,-- My daughter here, a paltry silly girl.

LODOWICK. Why, loves she Don Mathias?

BARABAS. Doth she not with her smiling answer you?

ABIGAIL.
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LODOWICK. Barabas, thou know'st I have lov'd thy daughter long.
LODOWICK. Why, loves she Don Mathias?

BARABAS. Doth she not with her smiling answer you?

ABIGAIL. He has my heart; I smile against my will. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Barabas, thou know'st I have lov'd thy daughter long.

BARABAS. And so has she done you, even from a child.

LODOWICK. And now I can no longer hold my mind.

BARABAS. Nor I the affection that I bear to you.

LODOWICK. This is thy diamond; tell me, shall I have it?

BARABAS. Win it, and wear it; it is yet unsoil'd.<87> O, but I know your lordship would disdain To marry with the daughter of a Jew: And yet I'll give her many a
golden cross<88> With Christian posies round about the ring.

LODOWICK. 'Tis not thy wealth, but her that I esteem; Yet crave I thy consent.

BARABAS. And mine you have; yet let me talk to her.-- This offspring of Cain, this Jebusite, That never tasted of the Passover, Nor e'er shall see the land of Canaan,
Nor our Messias that is yet to come; This gentle maggot, Lodowick, I mean, Must be deluded: let him have thy hand, But keep thy heart till Don Mathias comes.
[Aside to her.]

ABIGAIL. What, shall I be betroth'd to Lodowick?

BARABAS. It's no sin to deceive a Christian; For they themselves hold it a principle, Faith is not to be held with heretics: But all are heretics that are not Jews; This
follows well, and therefore, daughter, fear not.-- [Aside to her.] I have entreated her, and she will grant.

LODOWICK. Then, gentle Abigail, plight thy faith to me.

ABIGAIL. I cannot choose, seeing my father bids: Nothing but death shall part my love and me.

LODOWICK. Now have I that for which my soul hath long'd.

BARABAS. So have not I; but yet I hope I shall. [Aside.]

ABIGAIL. O wretched Abigail, what hast thou<89> done? [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Why on the sudden is your colour chang'd?

ABIGAIL. I know not: but farewell; I must be gone.

BARABAS. Stay her, but let her not speak one word more.

LODOWICK. Mute o' the sudden! here's a sudden change.

BARABAS. O, muse not at it; 'tis the Hebrews' guise, That maidens new-betroth'd should weep a while: Trouble her not; sweet Lodowick, depart: She is thy wife,
and thou shalt be mine heir.

LODOWICK. O, is't the custom? then I am resolv'd:<90> But rather let the brightsome heavens be dim, And nature's beauty choke with stifling clouds, Than my fair
Abigail should frown on me.-- There comes the villain; now I'll be reveng'd.

Re-enter MATHIAS.

BARABAS. Be quiet, Lodowick; it is enough That I have made thee sure to Abigail.

LODOWICK. Well, let him go. [Exit.]

BARABAS. Well, but for me, as you went in at doors You had been stabb'd: but not a word on't now; Here must no speeches pass, nor swords be drawn.

MATHIAS. Suffer me, Barabas, but to follow him.

BARABAS. No; so shall I, if any hurt be done, Be made an accessary of your deeds: Revenge it on him when you meet him next.

MATHIAS. For this I'll have his heart.

BARABAS. Do so. Lo, here I give thee Abigail!

MATHIAS. What greater gift can poor Mathias have? Shall Lodowick rob me of so fair a love? My life is not so dear as Abigail.

BARABAS. My heart misgives me, that, to cross your love, He's with your mother; therefore after him.

MATHIAS. What, is he gone unto my mother?

BARABAS. Nay, if you will, stay till she comes herself.
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MATHIAS. I cannot stay; for, if my mother come, She'll die with grief. [Exit.]

ABIGAIL. I cannot take my leave of him for tears. Father, why have you thus incens'd them both?
MATHIAS. What, is he gone unto my mother?

BARABAS. Nay, if you will, stay till she comes herself.

MATHIAS. I cannot stay; for, if my mother come, She'll die with grief. [Exit.]

ABIGAIL. I cannot take my leave of him for tears. Father, why have you thus incens'd them both?

BARABAS. What's that to thee?

ABIGAIL. I'll make 'em friends again.

BARABAS. You'll make 'em friends! are there not Jews enow in Malta, But thou must dote upon a Christian?

ABIGAIL. I will have Don Mathias; he is my love.

BARABAS. Yes, you shall have him.--Go, put her in.

ITHAMORE. Ay, I'll put her in. [Puts in ABIGAIL.]

BARABAS. Now tell me, Ithamore, how lik'st thou this?

ITHAMORE. Faith, master, I think by this You purchase both their lives: is it not so?

BARABAS. True; and it shall be cunningly perform'd.

ITHAMORE. O, master, that I might have a hand in this!

BARABAS. Ay, so thou shalt; 'tis thou must do the deed: Take this, and bear it to Mathias straight, [Giving a letter.] And tell him that it comes from Lodowick.

ITHAMORE. 'Tis poison'd, is it not?

BARABAS. No, no; and yet it might be done that way: It is a challenge feign'd from Lodowick.

ITHAMORE. Fear not; I will so set his heart a-fire, That he shall verily think it comes from him.

BARABAS. I cannot choose but like thy readiness: Yet be not rash, but do it cunningly.

ITHAMORE. As I behave myself in this, employ me hereafter.

BARABAS. Away, then! [Exit ITHAMORE.] So; now will I go in to Lodowick, And, like a cunning spirit, feign some lie, Till I have set 'em both at enmity. [Exit.]

ACT III.

Enter BELLAMIRA.<91>

BELLAMIRA. Since this town was besieg'd, my gain grows cold: The time has been, that but for one bare night A hundred ducats have been freely given; But now
against my will I must be chaste: And yet I know my beauty doth not fail. >From Venice merchants, and from Padua Were wont to come rare-witted gentlemen,
Scholars I mean, learned and liberal; And now, save Pilia-Borza, comes there none, And he is very seldom from my house; And here he comes.

Enter PILIA-BORZA.

PILIA-BORZA. Hold thee, wench, there's something for thee to spend. [Shewing a bag of silver.]

BELLAMIRA. 'Tis silver; I disdain it.

PILIA-BORZA. Ay, but the Jew has gold, And I will have it, or it shall go hard.

BELLAMIRA. Tell me, how cam'st thou by this?

PILIA-BORZA. Faith, walking the back-lanes, through the gardens, I chanced to cast mine eye up to the Jew's counting-house, where I saw some bags of money, and
in the night I clambered up with my hooks; and, as I was taking my choice, I heard a rumbling in the house; so I took only this, and run my way.--But here's the Jew's
man.

BELLAMIRA. Hide the bag.

Enter ITHAMORE.

PILIA-BORZA. Look not towards him, let's away. Zoons, what a looking thou keepest! thou'lt betray's anon. [Exeunt BELLAMIRA and PILIA-BORZA.]

ITHAMORE. O, the sweetest face that ever I beheld! I know she is a courtezan by her attire: now would I give a hundred of the Jew's crowns that I had such a
concubine. Well, I have deliver'd the challenge in such sort, As meet they will, and fighting die,--brave sport! [Exit.]

Enter MATHIAS.

MATHIAS. This is the place:<92> now Abigail shall see Whether Mathias holds her dear or no.
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What, dares the villain write in such base terms? [Looking at a letter.]
Enter MATHIAS.

MATHIAS. This is the place:<92> now Abigail shall see Whether Mathias holds her dear or no.

Enter LODOWICK.

What, dares the villain write in such base terms? [Looking at a letter.]

LODOWICK. I did it; and revenge it, if thou dar'st! [They fight.]

Enter BARABAS above.

BARABAS. O, bravely fought! and yet they thrust not home. Now, Lodovico!<93> now, Mathias!--So; [Both fall.] So, now they have shew'd themselves to be
tall<94> fellows.

[Cries within] Part 'em, part 'em!

BARABAS. Ay, part 'em now they are dead. Farewell, farewell! [Exit above.]

Enter FERNEZE, KATHARINE, and ATTENDANTS.

FERNEZE. What sight is this!<95> my Lodovico<96> slain! These arms of mine shall be thy sepulchre.<97>

KATHARINE. Who is this? my son Mathias slain!

FERNEZE. O Lodowick, hadst thou perish'd by the Turk, Wretched Ferneze might have veng'd thy death!

KATHARINE. Thy son slew mine, and I'll revenge his death.

FERNEZE. Look, Katharine, look! thy son gave mine these wounds.

KATHARINE. O, leave to grieve me! I am griev'd enough.

FERNEZE. O, that my sighs could turn to lively breath, And these my tears to blood, that he might live!

KATHARINE. Who made them enemies?

FERNEZE. I know not; and that grieves me most of all.

KATHARINE. My son lov'd thine.

FERNEZE. And so did Lodowick him.

KATHARINE. Lend me that weapon that did kill my son, And it shall murder me.

FERNEZE. Nay, madam, stay; that weapon was my son's, And on that rather should Ferneze die.

KATHARINE. Hold; let's inquire the causers of their deaths, That we may venge their blood upon their heads.

FERNEZE. Then take them up, and let them be interr'd Within one sacred monument of stone; Upon which altar I will offer up My daily sacrifice of sighs and tears,
And with my prayers pierce impartial heavens, Till they [reveal] the causers of our smarts, Which forc'd their hands divide united hearts. Come, Katharine;<98> our
losses equal are; Then of true grief let us take equal share. [Exeunt with the bodies.]

Enter ITHAMORE.<99>

ITHAMORE. Why, was there ever seen such villany, So neatly plotted, and so well perform'd? Both held in hand,<100> and flatly both beguil'd?

Enter ABIGAIL.

ABIGAIL. Why, how now, Ithamore! why laugh'st thou so?

ITHAMORE. O mistress! ha, ha, ha!

ABIGAIL. Why, what ail'st thou?

ITHAMORE. O, my master!

ABIGAIL. Ha!

ITHAMORE. O mistress, I have the bravest, gravest, secret, subtle, bottle-nosed<101> knave to my master, that ever gentleman had!

ABIGAIL. Say, knave, why rail'st upon my father thus?

ITHAMORE. O, my master has the bravest policy!

ABIGAIL. Wherein?

ITHAMORE.
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ABIGAIL. Why, no.
ITHAMORE. O, my master has the bravest policy!

ABIGAIL. Wherein?

ITHAMORE. Why, know you not?

ABIGAIL. Why, no.

ITHAMORE. Know you not of Mathia[s'] and Don Lodowick['s] disaster?

ABIGAIL. No: what was it?

ITHAMORE. Why, the devil inverted a challenge, my master writ it, and I carried it, first to Lodowick, and imprimis to Mathia[s]; And then they met, [and], as the
story says, In doleful wise they ended both their days.

ABIGAIL. And was my father furtherer of their deaths?

ITHAMORE. Am I Ithamore?

ABIGAIL. Yes.

ITHAMORE. So sure did your father write, and I carry the challenge.

ABIGAIL. Well, Ithamore, let me request thee this; Go to the new-made nunnery, and inquire For any of the friars of Saint Jaques,<102> And say, I pray them come
and speak with me.

ITHAMORE. I pray, mistress, will you answer me to one question?

ABIGAIL. Well, sirrah, what is't?

ITHAMORE. A very feeling one: have not the nuns fine sport with the friars now and then?

ABIGAIL. Go to, Sirrah Sauce! is this your question? get ye gone.

ITHAMORE. I will, forsooth, mistress. [Exit.]

ABIGAIL. Hard-hearted father, unkind Barabas! Was this the pursuit of thy policy, To make me shew them favour severally, That by my favour they should both be
slain? Admit thou lov'dst not Lodowick for his sire,<103> Yet Don Mathias ne'er offended thee: But thou wert set upon extreme revenge, Because the prior
dispossess'd thee once, And couldst not venge it but upon his son; Nor on his son but by Mathias' means; Nor on Mathias but by murdering me: But I perceive there is
no love on earth, Pity in Jews, nor piety in Turks.-- But here comes cursed Ithamore with the friar.

Re-enter ITHAMORE with FRIAR JACOMO.

FRIAR JACOMO. Virgo, salve.

ITHAMORE. When duck you?

ABIGAIL. Welcome, grave friar.--Ithamore, be gone. [Exit ITHAMORE.] Know, holy sir, I am bold to solicit thee.

FRIAR JACOMO. Wherein?

ABIGAIL. To get me be admitted for a nun.

FRIAR JACOMO. Why, Abigail, it is not yet long since That I did labour thy admission, And then thou didst not like that holy life.

ABIGAIL. Then were my thoughts so frail and unconfirm'd As<104> I was chain'd to follies of the world: But now experience, purchased with grief, Has made me see
the difference of things. My sinful soul, alas, hath pac'd too long The fatal labyrinth of misbelief, Far from the sun that gives eternal life!

FRIAR JACOMO. Who taught thee this?

ABIGAIL. The abbess of the house, Whose zealous admonition I embrace: O, therefore, Jacomo, let me be one, Although unworthy, of that sisterhood!

FRIAR JACOMO. Abigail, I will: but see thou change no more, For that will be most heavy to thy soul.

ABIGAIL. That was my father's fault.

FRIAR JACOMO. Thy father's! how?

ABIGAIL. Nay, you shall pardon me.--O Barabas, Though thou deservest hardly at my hands, Yet never shall these lips bewray thy life! [Aside.]

FRIAR JACOMO. Come, shall we go?

ABIGAIL. My duty waits on you. [Exeunt.]

Enter BARABAS,<105> reading a letter.

BARABAS. What, Abigail become a nun again! False and unkind! what, hast thou lost thy father? And, all unknown and unconstrain'd of me, Art thou again got to the
nunnery?
 CopyrightNow  here she writes,
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                                          Media   to repent: Repentance! Spurca! what pretendeth<106> this? I fear she knows--'tis so--of my device InPage  Don Mathias'
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Lodovico's deaths: If so, 'tis time that it be seen into; For she that varies from me in belief, Gives great presumption that she loves me not, Or, loving, doth dislike of
something done.-- But who comes here?
Enter BARABAS,<105> reading a letter.

BARABAS. What, Abigail become a nun again! False and unkind! what, hast thou lost thy father? And, all unknown and unconstrain'd of me, Art thou again got to the
nunnery? Now here she writes, and wills me to repent: Repentance! Spurca! what pretendeth<106> this? I fear she knows--'tis so--of my device In Don Mathias' and
Lodovico's deaths: If so, 'tis time that it be seen into; For she that varies from me in belief, Gives great presumption that she loves me not, Or, loving, doth dislike of
something done.-- But who comes here?

Enter ITHAMORE.

O Ithamore, come near; Come near, my love; come near, thy master's life, My trusty servant, nay, my second self;<107> For I have now no hope but even in thee,
And on that hope my happiness is built. When saw'st thou Abigail?

ITHAMORE. To-day.

BARABAS. With whom?

ITHAMORE. A friar.

BARABAS. A friar! false villain, he hath done the deed.

ITHAMORE. How, sir!

BARABAS. Why, made mine Abigail a nun.

ITHAMORE. That's no lie; for she sent me for him.

BARABAS. O unhappy day! False, credulous, inconstant Abigail! But let 'em go: and, Ithamore, from hence Ne'er shall she grieve me more with her disgrace; Ne'er
shall she live to inherit aught of mine, Be bless'd of me, nor come within my gates, But perish underneath my bitter curse, Like Cain by Adam for his brother's death.

ITHAMORE. O master--

BARABAS. Ithamore, entreat not for her; I am mov'd, And she is hateful to my soul and me: And, 'less<108> thou yield to this that I entreat, I cannot think but that
thou hat'st my life.

ITHAMORE. Who, I, master? why, I'll run to some rock, And throw myself headlong into the sea; Why, I'll do any thing for your sweet sake.

BARABAS. O trusty Ithamore! no servant, but my friend! I here adopt thee for mine only heir: All that I have is thine when I am dead; And, whilst I live, use half;
spend as myself; Here, take my keys,--I'll give 'em thee anon; Go buy thee garments; but thou shalt not want: Only know this, that thus thou art to do-- But first go
fetch me in the pot of rice That for our supper stands upon the fire.

ITHAMORE. I hold my head, my master's hungry [Aside].--I go, sir. [Exit.]

BARABAS. Thus every villain ambles after wealth, Although he ne'er be richer than in hope:-- But, husht!

Re-enter ITHAMORE with the pot.

ITHAMORE. Here 'tis, master.

BARABAS. Well said,<109> Ithamore! What, hast thou brought The ladle with thee too?

ITHAMORE. Yes, sir; the proverb says,<110> he that eats with the devil had need of a long spoon; I have brought you a ladle.

BARABAS. Very well, Ithamore; then now be secret; And, for thy sake, whom I so dearly love, Now shalt thou see the death of Abigail, That thou mayst freely live to
be my heir.

ITHAMORE. Why, master, will you poison her with a mess of rice- porridge? that will preserve life, make her round and plump, and batten<111> more than you are
aware.

BARABAS. Ay, but, Ithamore, seest thou this? It is a precious powder that I bought Of an Italian, in Ancona, once, Whose operation is to bind, infect, And poison
deeply, yet not appear In forty hours after it is ta'en.

ITHAMORE. How, master?

BARABAS. Thus, Ithamore: This even they use in Malta here,--'tis call'd Saint Jaques' Even,--and then, I say, they use To send their alms unto the nunneries: Among
the rest, bear this, and set it there: There's a dark entry where they take it in, Where they must neither see the messenger, Nor make inquiry who hath sent it them.

ITHAMORE. How so?

BARABAS. Belike there is some ceremony in't. There, Ithamore, must thou go place this pot:<112> Stay; let me spice it first.

ITHAMORE. Pray, do, and let me help you, master. Pray, let me taste first.

BARABAS. Prithee, do.[ITHAMORE tastes.] What say'st thou now?

ITHAMORE. Troth, master, I'm loath such a pot of pottage should be spoiled.

BARABAS. Peace, Ithamore! 'tis better so than spar'd. [Puts the powder into the pot.] Assure thyself thou shalt have broth by the eye:<113> My purse, my coffer,
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ITHAMORE. Well, master, I go.
ITHAMORE. Troth, master, I'm loath such a pot of pottage should be spoiled.

BARABAS. Peace, Ithamore! 'tis better so than spar'd. [Puts the powder into the pot.] Assure thyself thou shalt have broth by the eye:<113> My purse, my coffer,
and myself is thine.

ITHAMORE. Well, master, I go.

BARABAS. Stay; first let me stir it, Ithamore. As fatal be it to her as the draught Of which great Alexander drunk, and died; And with her let it work like Borgia's
wine, Whereof his sire the Pope was poisoned! In few,<114> the blood of Hydra, Lerna's bane, The juice of hebon,<115> and Cocytus' breath, And all the poisons
of the Stygian pool, Break from the fiery kingdom, and in this Vomit your venom, and envenom her That, like a fiend, hath left her father thus!

ITHAMORE. What a blessing has he given't! was ever pot of rice-porridge so sauced? [Aside].--What shall I do with it?

BARABAS. O my sweet Ithamore, go set it down; And come again so soon as thou hast done, For I have other business for thee.

ITHAMORE. Here's a drench to poison a whole stable of Flanders mares: I'll carry't to the nuns with a powder.

BARABAS. And the horse-pestilence to boot: away!

ITHAMORE. I am gone: Pay me my wages, for my work is done. [Exit with the pot.]

BARABAS. I'll pay thee with a vengeance, Ithamore! [Exit.]

Enter FERNEZE,<116> MARTIN DEL BOSCO, KNIGHTS, and BASSO.

FERNEZE. Welcome, great basso:<117> how fares Calymath? What wind drives you thus into Malta-road?

BASSO. The wind that bloweth all the world besides, Desire of gold.

FERNEZE. Desire of gold, great sir! That's to be gotten in the Western Inde: In Malta are no golden minerals.

BASSO. To you of Malta thus saith Calymath: The time you took for respite is at hand For the performance of your promise pass'd; And for the tribute-money I am
sent.

FERNEZE. Basso, in brief, shalt have no tribute here, Nor shall the heathens live upon our spoil: First will we raze the city-walls ourselves, Lay waste the island, hew
the temples down, And, shipping off our goods to Sicily, Open an entrance for the wasteful sea, Whose billows, beating the resistless banks,<118> Shall overflow it
with their refluence.

BASSO. Well, governor, since thou hast broke the league By flat denial of the promis'd tribute, Talk not of razing down your city-walls; You shall not need trouble
yourselves so far, For Selim Calymath shall come himself, And with brass bullets batter down your towers, And turn proud Malta to a wilderness, For these intolerable
wrongs of yours: And so, farewell.

FERNEZE. Farewell. [Exit BASSO.] And now, you men of Malta, look about, And let's provide to welcome Calymath: Close your port-cullis, charge your
basilisks,<119> And, as you profitably take up arms, So now courageously encounter them, For by this answer broken is the league, And naught is to be look'd for
now but wars, And naught to us more welcome is than wars. [Exeunt.]

Enter FRIAR JACOMO<120> and FRIAR BARNARDINE.

FRIAR JACOMO. O brother, brother, all the nuns are sick, And physic will not help them! they must die.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. The abbess sent for me to be confess'd: O, what a sad confession will there be!

FRIAR JACOMO. And so did fair Maria send for me: I'll to her lodging; hereabouts she lies. [Exit.]

Enter ABIGAIL.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What, all dead, save only Abigail!

ABIGAIL. And I shall die too, for I feel death coming. Where is the friar that convers'd with me?<121>

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, he is gone to see the other nuns.

ABIGAIL. I sent for him; but, seeing you are come, Be you my ghostly father: and first know, That in this house I liv'd religiously, Chaste, and devout, much sorrowing
for my sins; But, ere I came--

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What then?

ABIGAIL. I did offend high heaven so grievously As I am almost desperate for my sins; And one offense torments me more than all. You knew Mathias and Don
Lodowick?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Yes; what of them?

ABIGAIL. My father did contract me to 'em both; First to Don Lodowick: him I never lov'd; Mathias was the man that I held dear, And for his sake did I become a
nun.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. So: say how was their end?
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ABIGAIL. Both, jealous of my love, envied<122> each other; And by my father's practice,<123> which is there [Gives writing.] Set down at large, the gallants were
both slain.
nun.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. So: say how was their end?

ABIGAIL. Both, jealous of my love, envied<122> each other; And by my father's practice,<123> which is there [Gives writing.] Set down at large, the gallants were
both slain.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, monstrous villany!

ABIGAIL. To work my peace, this I confess to thee: Reveal it not; for then my father dies.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Know that confession must not be reveal'd; The canon-law forbids it, and the priest That makes it known, being degraded first, Shall be
condemn'd, and then sent to the fire.

ABIGAIL. So I have heard; pray, therefore, keep it close. Death seizeth on my heart: ah, gentle friar, Convert my father that he may be sav'd, And witness that I die a
Christian! [Dies.]

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Ay, and a virgin too; that grieves me most. But I must to the Jew, and exclaim on him, And make him stand in fear of me.

Re-enter FRIAR JACOMO.

FRIAR JACOMO. O brother, all the nuns are dead! let's bury them.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. First help to bury this; then go with me, And help me to exclaim against the Jew.

FRIAR JACOMO. Why, what has he done?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. A thing that makes me tremble to unfold.

FRIAR JACOMO. What, has he crucified a child?<124>

FRIAR BARNARDINE. No, but a worse thing: 'twas told me in shrift; Thou know'st 'tis death, an if it be reveal'd. Come, let's away. [Exeunt.]

ACT IV.

Enter BARABAS<125> and ITHAMORE. Bells within.

BARABAS. There is no music to<126> a Christian's knell: How sweet the bells ring, now the nuns are dead, That sound at other times like tinkers' pans! I was afraid
the poison had not wrought, Or, though it wrought, it would have done no good, For every year they swell, and yet they live: Now all are dead, not one remains alive.

ITHAMORE. That's brave, master: but think you it will not be known?

BARABAS. How can it, if we two be secret?

ITHAMORE. For my part, fear you not.

BARABAS. I'd cut thy throat, if I did.

ITHAMORE. And reason too. But here's a royal monastery hard by; Good master, let me poison all the monks.

BARABAS. Thou shalt not need; for, now the nuns are dead, They'll die with grief.

ITHAMORE. Do you not sorrow for your daughter's death?

BARABAS. No, but I grieve because she liv'd so long, An Hebrew born, and would become a Christian: Cazzo,<127> diabolo!

ITHAMORE. Look, look, master; here come two religious caterpillars.

Enter FRIAR JACOMO and FRIAR BARNARDINE.

BARABAS. I smelt 'em ere they came.

ITHAMORE. God-a-mercy, nose!<128> Come, let's begone.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Stay, wicked Jew; repent, I say, and stay.

FRIAR JACOMO. Thou hast offended, therefore must be damn'd.

BARABAS. I fear they know we sent the poison'd broth.

ITHAMORE. And so do I, master; therefore speak 'em fair.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Barabas, thou hast--

FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, that thou hast--

BARABAS. True, I have money; what though I have?
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FRIAR BARNARDINE. Thou art a--

FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, that thou art, a--
FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, that thou hast--

BARABAS. True, I have money; what though I have?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Thou art a--

FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, that thou art, a--

BARABAS. What needs all this? I know I am a Jew.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Thy daughter--

FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, thy daughter--

BARABAS. O, speak not of her! then I die with grief.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Remember that--

FRIAR JACOMO. Ay, remember that--

BARABAS. I must needs say that I have been a great usurer.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Thou hast committed--

BARABAS. Fornication: but that was in another country; And besides, the wench is dead.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Ay, but, Barabas, Remember Mathias and Don Lodowick.

BARABAS. Why, what of them?

FRIAR BARNARDINE. I will not say that by a forged challenge they met.

BARABAS. She has confess'd, and we are both undone, My bosom inmate!<129> but I must dissemble.-- [Aside to ITHAMORE.] O holy friars, the burden of my
sins Lie heavy<130> on my soul! then, pray you, tell me, Is't not too late now to turn Christian? I have been zealous in the Jewish faith, Hard-hearted to the poor, a
covetous wretch, That would for lucre's sake have sold my soul; A hundred for a hundred I have ta'en; And now for store of wealth may I compare With all the Jews in
Malta: but what is wealth? I am a Jew, and therefore am I lost. Would penance serve [to atone] for this my sin, I could afford to whip myself to death,--

ITHAMORE. And so could I; but penance will not serve.

BARABAS. To fast, to pray, and wear a shirt of hair, And on my knees creep to Jerusalem. Cellars of wine, and sollars<131> full of wheat, Warehouses stuff'd with
spices and with drugs, Whole chests of gold in bullion and in coin, Besides, I know not how much weight in pearl Orient and round, have I within my house; At
Alexandria merchandise untold;<132> But yesterday two ships went from this town, Their voyage will be worth ten thousand crowns; In Florence, Venice, Antwerp,
London, Seville, Frankfort, Lubeck, Moscow, and where not, Have I debts owing; and, in most of these, Great sums of money lying in the banco; All this I'll give to
some religious house, So I may be baptiz'd, and live therein.

FRIAR JACOMO. O good Barabas, come to our house!

FRIAR BARNARDINE. O, no, good Barabas, come to our house! And, Barabas, you know--

BARABAS. I know that I have highly sinn'd: You shall convert me, you shall have all my wealth.

FRIAR JACOMO. O Barabas, their laws are strict!

BARABAS. I know they are; and I will be with you.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. They wear no shirts, and they go bare-foot too.

BARABAS. Then 'tis not for me; and I am resolv'd You shall confess me, and have all my goods.

FRIAR JACOMO. Good Barabas, come to me.

BARABAS. You see I answer him, and yet he stays; Rid him away, and go you home with me.

FRIAR JACOMO. I'll be with you to-night.

BARABAS. Come to my house at one o'clock this night.

FRIAR JACOMO. You hear your answer, and you may be gone.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Why, go, get you away.

FRIAR JACOMO. I will not go for thee.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. Not! then I'll make thee go.

FRIAR JACOMO. How! dost call me rogue?
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[They fight.]

ITHAMORE. Part 'em, master, part 'em.
FRIAR BARNARDINE. Not! then I'll make thee go.

FRIAR JACOMO. How! dost call me rogue?

[They fight.]

ITHAMORE. Part 'em, master, part 'em.

BARABAS. This is mere frailty: brethren, be content.-- Friar Barnardine, go you with Ithamore: You know my mind; let me alone with him.

FRIAR JACOMO. Why does he go to thy house? let him be gone.<133>

BARABAS. I'll give him something, and so stop his mouth. [Exit ITHAMORE with Friar BARNARDINE.] I never heard of any man but he Malign'd the order of the
Jacobins: But do you think that I believe his words? Why, brother, you converted Abigail; And I am bound in charity to requite it, And so I will. O Jacomo, fail not, but
come.

FRIAR JACOMO. But, Barabas, who shall be your godfathers? For presently you shall be shriv'd.

BARABAS. Marry, the Turk<134> shall be one of my godfathers, But not a word to any of your covent.<135>

FRIAR JACOMO. I warrant thee, Barabas. [Exit.]

BARABAS. So, now the fear is past, and I am safe; For he that shriv'd her is within my house: What, if I murder'd him ere Jacomo comes? Now I have such a plot for
both their lives, As never Jew nor Christian knew the like: One turn'd my daughter, therefore he shall die; The other knows enough to have my life, Therefore 'tis not
requisite he should live.<136> But are not both these wise men, to suppose That I will leave my house, my goods, and all, To fast and be well whipt? I'll none of that.
Now, Friar Barnardine, I come to you: I'll feast you, lodge you, give you fair<137> words, And, after that, I and my trusty Turk-- No more, but so: it must and shall be
done.<138>

Enter ITHAMORE.

Ithamore, tell me, is the friar asleep?

ITHAMORE. Yes; and I know not what the reason is, Do what I can, he will not strip himself, Nor go to bed, but sleeps in his own clothes: I fear me he mistrusts what
we intend.

BARABAS. No; 'tis an order which the friars use: Yet, if he knew our meanings, could he scape?

ITHAMORE. No, none can hear him, cry he ne'er so loud.

BARABAS. Why, true; therefore did I place him there: The other chambers open towards the street.

ITHAMORE. You loiter, master; wherefore stay we thus? O, how I long to see him shake his heels!

BARABAS. Come on, sirrah: Off with your girdle; make a handsome noose.-- [ITHAMORE takes off his girdle, and ties a noose on it.] Friar, awake!<139> [They
put the noose round the FRIAR'S neck.]

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What, do you mean to strangle me?

ITHAMORE. Yes, 'cause you use to confess.

BARABAS. Blame not us, but the proverb,--Confess and be hanged.--Pull hard.

FRIAR BARNARDINE. What, will you have<140> my life?

BARABAS. Pull hard, I say.--You would have had my goods.

ITHAMORE. Ay, and our lives too:--therefore pull amain. [They strangle the FRIAR.] 'Tis neatly done, sir; here's no print at all.

BARABAS. Then is it as it should be. Take him up.

ITHAMORE. Nay, master, be ruled by me a little. [Takes the body, sets it upright against the wall, and puts a staff in its hand.] So, let him lean upon his staff;
excellent! he stands as if he were begging of bacon.

BARABAS. Who would not think but that this friar liv'd? What time o' night is't now, sweet Ithamore?

ITHAMORE. Towards one.<141>

BARABAS. Then will not Jacomo be long from hence. [Exeunt.]

Enter FRIAR JACOMO.<142>

FRIAR JACOMO. This is the hour wherein I shall proceed;<143> O happy hour, wherein I shall convert An infidel, and bring his gold into our treasury! But soft! is
not this Barnardine? it is; And, understanding I should come this way, Stands here o' purpose, meaning me some wrong, And intercept my going to the Jew.--
Barnardine! Wilt thou not speak? thou think'st I see thee not; Away, I'd wish thee, and let me go by: No, wilt thou not? nay, then, I'll force my way; And, see, a staff
stands ready for the purpose. As thou lik'st that, stop me another time! [Takes the staff, and strikes down the body.]

Enter BARABAS and ITHAMORE.
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BARABAS. Why, how now, Jacomo! what hast thou done?

FRIAR JACOMO. Why, stricken him that would have struck at me.
stands ready for the purpose. As thou lik'st that, stop me another time! [Takes the staff, and strikes down the body.]

Enter BARABAS and ITHAMORE.

BARABAS. Why, how now, Jacomo! what hast thou done?

FRIAR JACOMO. Why, stricken him that would have struck at me.

BARABAS. Who is it? Barnardine! now, out, alas, he is slain!

ITHAMORE. Ay, master, he's slain; look how his brains drop out on's<144> nose.

FRIAR JACOMO. Good sirs, I have done't: but nobody knows it but you two; I may escape.

BARABAS. So might my man and I hang with you for company.

ITHAMORE. No; let us bear him to the magistrates.

FRIAR JACOMO. Good Barabas, let me go.

BARABAS. No, pardon me; the law must have his course: I must be forc'd to give in evidence, That, being importun'd by this Barnardine To be a Christian, I shut him
out, And there he sate: now I, to keep my word, And give my goods and substance to your house, Was up thus early, with intent to go Unto your friary, because you
stay'd.

ITHAMORE. Fie upon 'em! master, will you turn Christian, when holy friars turn devils and murder one another?

BARABAS. No; for this example I'll remain a Jew: Heaven bless me! what, a friar a murderer! When shall you see a Jew commit the like?

ITHAMORE. Why, a Turk could ha' done no more.

BARABAS. To-morrow is the sessions; you shall to it.-- Come, Ithamore, let's help to take him hence.

FRIAR JACOMO. Villains, I am a sacred person; touch me not.

BARABAS. The law shall touch you; we'll but lead you, we: 'Las, I could weep at your calamity!-- Take in the staff too, for that must be shown: Law wills that each
particular be known. [Exeunt.]

Enter BELLAMIRA<145> and PILIA-BORZA.

BELLAMIRA. Pilia-Borza, didst thou meet with Ithamore?

PILIA-BORZA. I did.

BELLAMIRA. And didst thou deliver my letter?

PILIA-BORZA. I did.

BELLAMIRA. And what thinkest thou? will he come?

PILIA-BORZA. I think so: and yet I cannot tell; for, at the reading of the letter, he looked like a man of another world.

BELLAMIRA. Why so?

PILIA-BORZA. That such a base slave as he should be saluted by such a tall<146> man as I am, from such a beautiful dame as you.

BELLAMIRA. And what said he?

PILIA-BORZA. Not a wise word; only gave me a nod, as who should say, "Is it even so?" and so I left him, being driven to a non-plus at the critical aspect of my
terrible countenance.

BELLAMIRA. And where didst meet him?

PILIA-BORZA. Upon mine own free-hold, within forty foot of the gallows, conning his neck-verse,<147> I take it, looking of<148> a friar's execution; whom I
saluted with an old hempen proverb, Hodie tibi, cras mihi, and so I left him to the mercy of the hangman: but, the exercise<149> being done, see where he comes.

Enter ITHAMORE.

ITHAMORE. I never knew a man take his death so patiently as this friar; he was ready to leap off ere the halter was about his neck; and, when the hangman had put
on his hempen tippet, he made such haste to his prayers, as if he had had another cure to serve. Well, go whither he will, I'll be none of his followers in haste: and, now
I think on't, going to the execution, a fellow met me with a muschatoes<150> like a raven's wing, and a dagger with a hilt like a warming-pan; and he gave me a letter
from one Madam Bellamira, saluting me in such sort as if he had meant to make clean my boots with his lips; the effect was, that I should come to her house: I wonder
what the reason is; it may be she sees more in me than I can find in myself; for she writes further, that she loves me ever since she saw me; and who would not requite
such love? Here's her house; and here she comes; and now would I were gone! I am not worthy to look upon her.

PILIA-BORZA. This is the gentleman you writ to.

ITHAMORE. Gentleman! he flouts me: what gentry can be in a poor Turk of tenpence?<151> I'll be gone. [Aside.]
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BELLAMIRA. Is't not a sweet-faced youth, Pilia?
PILIA-BORZA. This is the gentleman you writ to.

ITHAMORE. Gentleman! he flouts me: what gentry can be in a poor Turk of tenpence?<151> I'll be gone. [Aside.]

BELLAMIRA. Is't not a sweet-faced youth, Pilia?

ITHAMORE. Again, sweet youth! [Aside.]--Did not you, sir, bring the sweet youth a letter?

PILIA-BORZA. I did, sir, and from this gentlewoman, who, as myself and the rest of the family, stand or fall at your service.

BELLAMIRA. Though woman's modesty should hale me back, I can withhold no longer: welcome, sweet love.

ITHAMORE. Now am I clean, or rather foully, out of the way. [Aside.]

BELLAMIRA. Whither so soon?

ITHAMORE. I'll go steal some money from my master to make me handsome [Aside].--Pray, pardon me; I must go see a ship discharged.

BELLAMIRA. Canst thou be so unkind to leave me thus?

PILIA-BORZA. An ye did but know how she loves you, sir!

ITHAMORE. Nay, I care not how much she loves me.--Sweet Bellamira, would I had my master's wealth for thy sake!

PILIA-BORZA. And you can have it, sir, an if you please.

ITHAMORE. If 'twere above ground, I could, and would have it; but he hides and buries it up, as partridges do their eggs, under the earth.

PILIA-BORZA. And is't not possible to find it out?

ITHAMORE. By no means possible.

BELLAMIRA. What shall we do with this base villain, then? [Aside to PILIA-BORZA.]

PILIA-BORZA. Let me alone; do but you speak him fair.-- [Aside to her.] But you know<152> some secrets of the Jew, Which, if they were reveal'd, would do him
harm.

ITHAMORE. Ay, and such as--go to, no more! I'll make him<153> send me half he has, and glad he scapes so too: I'll write unto him; we'll have money straight.

PILIA-BORZA. Send for a hundred crowns at least.

ITHAMORE. Ten hundred thousand crowns.--[writing] MASTER BARABAS,--

PILIA-BORZA. Write not so submissively, but threatening him.

ITHAMORE. [writing] SIRRAH BARABAS, SEND ME A HUNDRED CROWNS.

PILIA-BORZA. Put in two hundred at least.

ITHAMORE. [writing] I CHARGE THEE SEND ME THREE HUNDRED BY THIS BEARER, AND THIS SHALL BE YOUR WARRANT: IF YOU DO NOT-
-NO MORE, BUT SO.

PILIA-BORZA. Tell him you will confess.

ITHAMORE. [writing] OTHERWISE I'LL CONFESS ALL.-- Vanish, and return in a twinkle.

PILIA-BORZA. Let me alone; I'll use him in his kind.

ITHAMORE. Hang him, Jew! [Exit PILIA-BORZA with the letter.]

BELLAMIRA. Now, gentle Ithamore, lie in my lap.-- Where are my maids? provide a cunning<154> banquet; Send to the merchant, bid him bring me silks; Shall
Ithamore, my love, go in such rags?

ITHAMORE. And bid the jeweller come hither too.

BELLAMIRA. I have no husband; sweet, I'll marry thee.

ITHAMORE. Content: but we will leave this paltry land, And sail from hence to Greece, to lovely Greece;-- I'll be thy Jason, thou my golden fleece;-- Where painted
carpets o'er the meads are hurl'd, And Bacchus' vineyards overspread the world; Where woods and forests go in goodly green;-- I'll be Adonis, thou shalt be Love's
Queen;-- The meads, the orchards, and the primrose-lanes, Instead of sedge and reed, bear sugar-canes: Thou in those groves, by Dis above, Shalt live with me, and
be my love.<155>

BELLAMIRA. Whither will I not go with gentle Ithamore?

Re-enter PILIA-BORZA.

ITHAMORE.
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PILIA-BORZA. Yes.
BELLAMIRA. Whither will I not go with gentle Ithamore?

Re-enter PILIA-BORZA.

ITHAMORE. How now! hast thou the gold<?>

PILIA-BORZA. Yes.

ITHAMORE. But came it freely? did the cow give down her milk freely?

PILIA-BORZA. At reading of the letter, he stared and stamped, and turned aside: I took him by the beard,<156> and looked upon him thus; told him he were best to
send it: then he hugged and embraced me.

ITHAMORE. Rather for fear than love.

PILIA-BORZA. Then, like a Jew, he laughed and jeered, and told me he loved me for your sake, and said what a faithful servant you had been.

ITHAMORE. The more villain he to keep me thus: here's goodly 'parel, is there not?

PILIA-BORZA. To conclude, he gave me ten crowns. [Delivers the money to ITHAMORE.]

ITHAMORE. But ten? I'll not leave him worth a grey groat. Give me a ream of paper: we'll have a kingdom of gold for't.<157>

PILIA-BORZA. Write for five hundred crowns.

ITHAMORE. [writing] SIRRAH JEW, AS YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE, SEND ME FIVE HUNDRED CROWNS, AND GIVE THE BEARER A HUNDRED.--Tell
him I must have't.

PILIA-BORZA. I warrant, your worship shall have't.

ITHAMORE. And, if he ask why I demand so much, tell him I scorn to write a line under a hundred crowns.

PILIA-BORZA. You'd make a rich poet, sir. I am gone. [Exit with the letter.]

ITHAMORE. Take thou the money; spend it for my sake.

BELLAMIRA. 'Tis not thy money, but thyself I weigh: Thus Bellamira esteems of gold; [Throws it aside.] But thus of thee. [Kisses him.]

ITHAMORE. That kiss again!--She runs division<158> of my lips. What an eye she casts on me! it twinkles like a star. [Aside.]

BELLAMIRA. Come, my dear love, let's in and sleep together.

ITHAMORE. O, that ten thousand nights were put in one, that we might sleep seven years together afore we wake!

BELLAMIRA. Come, amorous wag, first banquet, and then sleep. [Exeunt.]

Enter BARABAS,<159> reading a letter.

BARABAS. BARABAS, SEND ME THREE HUNDRED CROWNS;-- Plain Barabas! O, that wicked courtezan! He was not wont to call me Barabas;-- OR
ELSE I WILL CONFESS;--ay, there it goes: But, if I get him, coupe de gorge for that. He sent a shaggy, tatter'd,<160> staring slave, That, when he speaks, draws
out his grisly beard, And winds it twice or thrice about his ear; Whose face has been a grind-stone for men's swords; His hands are hack'd, some fingers cut quite off;
Who, when he speaks, grunts like a hog, and looks Like one that is employ'd in catzery<161> And cross-biting;<162> such a rogue As is the husband to a hundred
whores; And I by him must send three hundred crowns. Well, my hope is, he will not stay there still; And, when he comes--O, that he were but here!

Enter PILIA-BORZA.

PILIA-BORZA. Jew, I must ha' more gold.

BARABAS. Why, want'st thou any of thy tale?<163>

PILIA-BORZA. No; but three hundred will not serve his turn.

BARABAS. Not serve his turn, sir!

PILIA-BORZA. No, sir; and therefore I must have five hundred more.

BARABAS. I'll rather----

PILIA-BORZA. O, good words, sir, and send it you were best! see, there's his letter. [Gives letter.]

BARABAS. Might he not as well come as send? pray, bid him come and fetch it: what he writes for you,<164> ye shall have straight.

PILIA-BORZA. Ay, and the rest too, or else----

BARABAS. I must make this villain away [Aside].--Please you dine with me, sir--and you shall be most heartily poisoned. [Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. No, God-a-mercy. Shall I have these crowns?
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BARABAS. I cannot do it; I have lost my keys.

PILIA-BORZA. O, if that be all, I can pick ope your locks.
BARABAS. I must make this villain away [Aside].--Please you dine with me, sir--and you shall be most heartily poisoned. [Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. No, God-a-mercy. Shall I have these crowns?

BARABAS. I cannot do it; I have lost my keys.

PILIA-BORZA. O, if that be all, I can pick ope your locks.

BARABAS. Or climb up to my counting-house window: you know my meaning.

PILIA-BORZA. I know enough, and therefore talk not to me of your counting-house. The gold! or know, Jew, it is in my power to hang thee.

BARABAS. I am betray'd.-- [Aside.] 'Tis not five hundred crowns that I esteem; I am not mov'd at that: this angers me, That he, who knows I love him as myself,
Should write in this imperious vein. Why, sir, You know I have no child, and unto whom Should I leave all, but unto Ithamore?

PILIA-BORZA. Here's many words, but no crowns: the crowns!

BARABAS. Commend me to him, sir, most humbly, And unto your good mistress as unknown.

PILIA-BORZA. Speak, shall I have 'em, sir?

BARABAS. Sir, here they are.-- [Gives money.] O, that I should part<165> with so much gold!-- [Aside.] Here, take 'em, fellow, with as good a will---- As I would
see thee hang'd [Aside]. O, love stops my breath! Never lov'd man servant as I do Ithamore.

PILIA-BORZA. I know it, sir.

BARABAS. Pray, when, sir, shall I see you at my house?

PILIA-BORZA. Soon enough to your cost, sir. Fare you well. [Exit.]

BARABAS. Nay, to thine own cost, villain, if thou com'st! Was ever Jew tormented as I am? To have a shag-rag knave to come [force from me] Three hundred
crowns, and then five hundred crowns! Well; I must seek a means to rid<166> 'em all, And presently; for in his villany He will tell all he knows, and I shall die for't. I
have it: I will in some disguise go see the slave, And how the villain revels with my gold. [Exit.]

Enter BELLAMIRA,<167> ITHAMORE, and PILIA-BORZA.

BELLAMIRA. I'll pledge thee, love, and therefore drink it off.

ITHAMORE. Say'st thou me so? have at it! and do you hear? [Whispers to her.]

BELLAMIRA. Go to, it shall be so.

ITHAMORE. Of<168> that condition I will drink it up: Here's to thee.

BELLAMIRA.<169> Nay, I'll have all or none.

ITHAMORE. There, if thou lov'st me, do not leave a drop.

BELLAMIRA. Love thee! fill me three glasses.

ITHAMORE. Three and fifty dozen: I'll pledge thee.

PILIA-BORZA. Knavely spoke, and like a knight-at-arms.

ITHAMORE. Hey, Rivo Castiliano!<170> a man's a man.

BELLAMIRA. Now to the Jew.

ITHAMORE. Ha! to the Jew; and send me money he<171> were best.

PILIA-BORZA. What wouldst thou do, if he should send thee none?

ITHAMORE. Do nothing: but I know what I know; he's a murderer.

BELLAMIRA. I had not thought he had been so brave a man.

ITHAMORE. You knew Mathias and the governor's son; he and I killed 'em both, and yet never touched 'em.

PILIA-BORZA. O, bravely done!

ITHAMORE. I carried the broth that poisoned the nuns; and he and I, snicle hand too fast, strangled a friar.<172>

BELLAMIRA. You two alone?

ITHAMORE. We two; and 'twas never known, nor never shall be for me.

PILIA-BORZA. This shall with me unto the governor. [Aside to BELLAMIRA.]
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BELLAMIRA. And fit it should: but first let's ha' more gold.-- [Aside to PILIA-BORZA.] Come, gentle Ithamore, lie in my lap.
ITHAMORE. We two; and 'twas never known, nor never shall be for me.

PILIA-BORZA. This shall with me unto the governor. [Aside to BELLAMIRA.]

BELLAMIRA. And fit it should: but first let's ha' more gold.-- [Aside to PILIA-BORZA.] Come, gentle Ithamore, lie in my lap.

ITHAMORE. Love me little, love me long: let music rumble, Whilst I in thy incony<173> lap do tumble.

Enter BARABAS, disguised as a French musician, with a lute, and a nosegay in his hat.

BELLAMIRA. A French musician!--Come, let's hear your skill.

BARABAS. Must tuna my lute for sound, twang, twang, first.

ITHAMORE. Wilt drink, Frenchman? here's to thee with a--Pox on this drunken hiccup!

BARABAS. Gramercy, monsieur.

BELLAMIRA. Prithee, Pilia-Borza, bid the fiddler give me the posy in his hat there.

PILIA-BORZA. Sirrah, you must give my mistress your posy.

BARABAS. A votre commandement, madame. [Giving nosegay.]

BELLAMIRA. How sweet, my Ithamore, the flowers smell!

ITHAMORE. Like thy breath, sweetheart; no violet like 'em.

PILIA-BORZA. Foh! methinks they stink like a hollyhock.<174>

BARABAS. So, now I am reveng'd upon 'em all: The scent thereof was death; I poison'd it. [Aside.]

ITHAMORE. Play, fiddler, or I'll cut your cat's guts into chitterlings.

BARABAS. Pardonnez moi, be no in tune yet: so, now, now all be in.

ITHAMORE. Give him a crown, and fill me out more wine.

PILIA-BORZA. There's two crowns for thee: play. [Giving money.]

BARABAS. How liberally the villain gives me mine own gold! [Aside, and then plays.]

PILIA-BORZA. Methinks he fingers very well.

BARABAS. So did you when you stole my gold. [Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. How swift he runs!

BARABAS. You run swifter when you threw my gold out of my window. [Aside.]

BELLAMIRA. Musician, hast been in Malta long?

BARABAS. Two, three, four month, madam.

ITHAMORE. Dost not know a Jew, one Barabas?

BARABAS. Very mush: monsieur, you no be his man?

PILIA-BORZA. His man!

ITHAMORE. I scorn the peasant: tell him so.

BARABAS. He knows it already. [Aside.]

ITHAMORE. 'Tis a strange thing of that Jew, he lives upon pickled grasshoppers and sauced mushrooms.<175>

BARABAS. What a slave's this! the governor feeds not as I do. [Aside.]

ITHAMORE. He never put on clean shirt since he was circumcised.

BARABAS. O rascal! I change myself twice a-day. [Aside.]

ITHAMORE. The hat he wears, Judas left under the elder when he hanged himself.<176>

BARABAS. 'Twas sent me for a present from the Great Cham. [Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA.     A nasty<177>
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BARABAS. Pardonnez moi, monsieur; me<178> be no well.
ITHAMORE. The hat he wears, Judas left under the elder when he hanged himself.<176>

BARABAS. 'Twas sent me for a present from the Great Cham. [Aside.]

PILIA-BORZA. A nasty<177> slave he is.--Whither now, fiddler?

BARABAS. Pardonnez moi, monsieur; me<178> be no well.

PILIA-BORZA. Farewell, fiddler [Exit BARABAS.] One letter more to the Jew.

BELLAMIRA. Prithee, sweet love, one more, and write it sharp.

ITHAMORE. No, I'll send by word of mouth now. --Bid him deliver thee a thousand crowns, by the same token that the nuns loved rice, that Friar Barnardine slept in
his own clothes; any of 'em will do it.

PILIA-BORZA. Let me alone to urge it, now I know the meaning.

ITHAMORE. The meaning has a meaning. Come, let's in: To undo a Jew is charity, and not sin. [Exeunt.]

ACT V.

Enter FERNEZE,<179> KNIGHTS, MARTIN DEL BOSCO, and OFFICERS.

FERNEZE. Now, gentlemen, betake you to your arms, And see that Malta be well fortified; And it behoves you to be resolute; For Calymath, having hover'd here so
long, Will win the town, or die before the walls.

FIRST KNIGHT. And die he shall; for we will never yield.

Enter BELLAMIRA and PILIA-BORZA.

BELLAMIRA. O, bring us to the governor!

FERNEZE. Away with her! she is a courtezan.

BELLAMIRA. Whate'er I am, yet, governor, hear me speak: I bring thee news by whom thy son was slain: Mathias did it not; it was the Jew.

PILIA-BORZA. Who, besides the slaughter of these gentlemen, Poison'd his own daughter and the nuns, Strangled a friar, and I know not what Mischief beside.

FERNEZE. Had we but proof of this----

BELLAMIRA. Strong proof, my lord: his man's now at my lodging, That was his agent; he'll confess it all.

FERNEZE. Go fetch him<180> straight [Exeunt OFFICERS]. I always fear'd that Jew.

Re-enter OFFICERS with BARABAS and ITHAMORE.

BARABAS. I'll go alone; dogs, do not hale me thus.

ITHAMORE. Nor me neither; I cannot out-run you, constable.--O, my belly!

BARABAS. One dram of powder more had made all sure: What a damn'd slave was I! [Aside.]

FERNEZE. Make fires, heat irons, let the rack be fetch'd.

FIRST KNIGHT. Nay, stay, my lord; 't may be he will confess.

BARABAS. Confess! what mean you, lords? who should confess?

FERNEZE. Thou and thy Turk; 'twas that slew my son.

ITHAMORE. Guilty, my lord, I confess. Your son and Mathias were both contracted unto Abigail: [he] forged a counterfeit challenge.

BARABAS. Who carried that challenge?

ITHAMORE. I carried it, I confess; but who writ it? marry, even he that strangled Barnardine, poisoned the nuns and his own daughter.

FERNEZE. Away with him! his sight is death to me.

BARABAS. For what, you men of Malta? hear me speak. She is a courtezan, and he a thief, And he my bondman: let me have law; For none of this can prejudice my
life.

FERNEZE. Once more, away with him!--You shall have law.

BARABAS. Devils, do your worst!--I['ll] live in spite of you.-- [Aside.] As these have spoke, so be it to their souls!-- I hope the poison'd flowers will work anon.
[Aside.] [Exeunt OFFICERS with BARABAS and ITHAMORE; BELLAMIRA, and PILIA-BORZA.]

Enter KATHARINE.
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KATHARINE. Was my Mathias murder'd by the Jew? Ferneze, 'twas thy son that murder'd him.

FERNEZE. Be patient, gentle madam: it was he; He forg'd the daring challenge made them fight.
[Aside.] [Exeunt OFFICERS with BARABAS and ITHAMORE; BELLAMIRA, and PILIA-BORZA.]

Enter KATHARINE.

KATHARINE. Was my Mathias murder'd by the Jew? Ferneze, 'twas thy son that murder'd him.

FERNEZE. Be patient, gentle madam: it was he; He forg'd the daring challenge made them fight.

KATHARINE. Where is the Jew? where is that murderer?

FERNEZE. In prison, till the law has pass'd on him.

Re-enter FIRST OFFICER.

FIRST OFFICER. My lord, the courtezan and her man are dead; So is the Turk and Barabas the Jew.

FERNEZE. Dead!

FIRST OFFICER. Dead, my lord, and here they bring his body.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. This sudden death of his is very strange.

Re-enter OFFICERS, carrying BARABAS as dead.

FERNEZE. Wonder not at it, sir; the heavens are just; Their deaths were like their lives; then think not of 'em.-- Since they are dead, let them be buried: For the Jew's
body, throw that o'er the walls, To be a prey for vultures and wild beasts.-- So, now away and fortify the town. [Exeunt all, leaving BARABAS on the floor.<181>]

BARABAS. [rising] What, all alone! well fare, sleepy drink! I'll be reveng'd on this accursed town; For by my means Calymath shall enter in: I'll help to slay their
children and their wives, To fire the churches, pull their houses down, Take my goods too, and seize upon my lands. I hope to see the governor a slave, And, rowing in
a galley, whipt to death.

Enter CALYMATH, BASSOES,<182> and TURKS.

CALYMATH. Whom have we there? a spy?

BARABAS. Yes, my good lord, one that can spy a place Where you may enter, and surprize the town: My name is Barabas; I am a Jew.

CALYMATH. Art thou that Jew whose goods we heard were sold For tribute-money?

BARABAS. The very same, my lord: And since that time they have hir'd a slave, my man, To accuse me of a thousand villanies: I was imprisoned, but scap<'>d their
hands.

CALYMATH. Didst break prison?

BARABAS. No, no: I drank of poppy and cold mandrake juice; And being asleep, belike they thought me dead, And threw me o'er the walls: so, or how else, The
Jew is here, and rests at your command.

CALYMATH. 'Twas bravely done: but tell me, Barabas, Canst thou, as thou report'st, make Malta ours?

BARABAS. Fear not, my lord; for here, against the trench,<183> The rock is hollow, and of purpose digg'd, To make a passage for the running streams And common
channels<184> of the city. Now, whilst you give assault unto the walls, I'll lead five hundred soldiers through the vault, And rise with them i' the middle of the town,
Open the gates for you to enter in; And by this means the city is your own.

CALYMATH. If this be true, I'll make thee governor.

BARABAS. And, if it be not true, then let me die.

CALYMATH. Thou'st doom'd thyself.--Assault it presently. [Exeunt.]

Alarums within. Enter CALYMATH,<185> BASSOES, TURKS, and BARABAS; with FERNEZE and KNIGHTS prisoners.

CALYMATH. Now vail<186> your pride, you captive Christians, And kneel for mercy to your conquering foe: Now where's the hope you had of haughty Spain?
Ferneze, speak; had it not been much better To kept<187> thy promise than be thus surpris'd?

FERNEZE. What should I say? we are captives, and must yield.

CALYMATH. Ay, villains, you must yield, and under Turkish yokes Shall groaning bear the burden of our ire:-- And, Barabas, as erst we promis'd thee, For thy
desert we make thee governor; Use them at thy discretion.

BARABAS. Thanks, my lord.

FERNEZE. O fatal day, to fall into the hands Of such a traitor and unhallow'd Jew! What greater misery could heaven inflict?

CALYMATH. 'Tis our command:--and, Barabas, we give, To guard thy person, these our Janizaries: Entreat<188> them well, as we have used thee.-- And now,
brave bassoes,<189> come; we'll walk about The ruin'd town, and see the wreck we made.-- Farewell, brave Jew, farewell, great Barabas!

BARABAS. May all good fortune follow Calymath! [Exeunt CALYMATH and BASSOES.] And now, as entrance to our safety, To prison with the governor and
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FERNEZE. O villain! heaven will be reveng'd on thee.
brave bassoes,<189> come; we'll walk about The ruin'd town, and see the wreck we made.-- Farewell, brave Jew, farewell, great Barabas!

BARABAS. May all good fortune follow Calymath! [Exeunt CALYMATH and BASSOES.] And now, as entrance to our safety, To prison with the governor and
these Captains, his consorts and confederates.

FERNEZE. O villain! heaven will be reveng'd on thee.

BARABAS. Away! no more; let him not trouble me. [Exeunt TURKS with FERNEZE and KNIGHTS.] Thus hast thou gotten,<190> by thy policy, No simple place,
no small authority: I now am governor of Malta; true,-- But Malta hates me, and, in hating me, My life's in danger; and what boots it thee, Poor Barabas, to be the
governor, Whenas<191> thy life shall be at their command? No, Barabas, this must be look'd into; And, since by wrong thou gott'st authority, Maintain it bravely by
firm policy; At least, unprofitably lose it not; For he that liveth in authority, And neither gets him friends nor fills his bags, Lives like the ass that Aesop speaketh of, That
labours with a load of bread and wine, And leaves it off to snap on thistle-tops: But Barabas will be more circumspect. Begin betimes; Occasion's bald behind: Slip not
thine opportunity, for fear too late Thou seek'st for much, but canst not compass it.-- Within here!<192>

Enter FERNEZE, with a GUARD.

FERNEZE. My lord?

BARABAS. Ay, LORD; thus slaves will learn. Now, governor,--stand by there, wait within,-- [Exeunt GUARD.] This is the reason that I sent for thee: Thou seest thy
life and Malta's happiness Are at my arbitrement; and Barabas At his discretion may dispose of both: Now tell me, governor, and plainly too, What think'st thou shall
become of it and thee?

FERNEZE. This, Barabas; since things are in thy power, I see no reason but of Malta's wreck, Nor hope of thee but extreme cruelty: Nor fear I death, nor will I flatter
thee.

BARABAS. Governor, good words; be not so furious 'Tis not thy life which can avail me aught; Yet you do live, and live for me you shall: And as for Malta's ruin,
think you not 'Twere slender policy for Barabas To dispossess himself of such a place? For sith,<193> as once you said, within this isle, In Malta here, that I have got
my goods, And in this city still have had success, And now at length am grown your governor, Yourselves shall see it shall not be forgot; For, as a friend not known but
in distress, I'll rear up Malta, now remediless.

FERNEZE. Will Barabas recover Malta's loss? Will Barabas be good to Christians?

BARABAS. What wilt thou give me, governor, to procure A dissolution of the slavish bands Wherein the Turk hath yok'd your land and you? What will you give me if
I render you The life of Calymath, surprise his men, And in an out-house of the city shut His soldiers, till I have consum'd 'em all with fire? What will you give him that
procureth this?

FERNEZE. Do but bring this to pass which thou pretendest, Deal truly with us as thou intimatest, And I will send amongst the citizens, And by my letters privately
procure Great sums of money for thy recompense: Nay, more, do this, and live thou governor still.

BARABAS. Nay, do thou this, Ferneze, and be free: Governor, I enlarge thee; live with me; Go walk about the city, see thy friends: Tush, send not letters to 'em; go
thyself, And let me see what money thou canst make: Here is my hand that I'll set Malta free; And thus we cast<194> it: to a solemn feast I will invite young Selim
Calymath, Where be thou present, only to perform One stratagem that I'll impart to thee, Wherein no danger shall betide thy life, And I will warrant Malta free for ever.

FERNEZE. Here is my hand; believe me, Barabas, I will be there, and do as thou desirest. When is the time?

BARABAS. Governor, presently; For Calymath, when he hath view'd the town, Will take his leave, and sail toward Ottoman.

FERNEZE. Then will I, Barabas, about this coin, And bring it with me to thee in the evening.

BARABAS. Do so; but fail not: now farewell, Ferneze:-- [Exit FERNEZE.] And thus far roundly goes the business: Thus, loving neither, will I live with both, Making a
profit of my policy; And he from whom my most advantage comes, Shall be my friend. This is the life we Jews are us'd to lead; And reason too, for Christians do the
like. Well, now about effecting this device; First, to surprise great Selim's soldiers, And then to make provision for the feast, That at one instant all things may be done:
My policy detests prevention. To what event my secret purpose drives, I know; and they shall witness with their lives. [Exeunt.]

Enter CALYMATH and BASSOES.<195>

CALYMATH. Thus have we view'd the city, seen the sack, And caus'd the ruins to be new-repair'd, Which with our bombards' shot and basilisk[s]<196> We rent in
sunder at our entry: And, now I see the situation, And how secure this conquer'd island stands, Environ'd with the Mediterranean sea, Strong-countermin'd with other
petty isles, And, toward Calabria,<197> back'd by Sicily (Where Syracusian Dionysius reign'd), Two lofty turrets that command the town, I wonder how it could be
conquer'd thus.

Enter a MESSENGER.

MESSENGER. From Barabas, Malta's governor, I bring A message unto mighty Calymath: Hearing his sovereign was bound for sea, To sail to Turkey, to great
Ottoman, He humbly would entreat your majesty To come and see his homely citadel, And banquet with him ere thou leav'st the isle.

CALYMATH. To banquet with him in his citadel! I fear me, messenger, to feast my train Within a town of war so lately pillag'd, Will be too costly and too
troublesome: Yet would I gladly visit Barabas, For well has Barabas deserv'd of us.

MESSENGER. Selim, for that, thus saith the governor,-- That he hath in [his] store a pearl so big, So precious, and withal so orient, As, be it valu'd but indifferently,
The price thereof will serve to entertain Selim and all his soldiers for a month; Therefore he humbly would entreat your highness Not to depart till he has feasted you.

CALYMATH. I cannot feast my men in Malta-walls, Except he place his tables in the streets.

MESSENGER. Know, Selim, that there is a monastery Which standeth as an out-house to the town; There will he banquet them; but thee at home, With all thy
bassoes and brave followers.
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CALYMATH. Well, tell the governor we grant his suit; We'll in this summer-evening feast with him.

MESSENGER. I shall, my lord. [Exit.]
CALYMATH. I cannot feast my men in Malta-walls, Except he place his tables in the streets.

MESSENGER. Know, Selim, that there is a monastery Which standeth as an out-house to the town; There will he banquet them; but thee at home, With all thy
bassoes and brave followers.

CALYMATH. Well, tell the governor we grant his suit; We'll in this summer-evening feast with him.

MESSENGER. I shall, my lord. [Exit.]

CALYMATH. And now, bold bassoes, let us to our tents, And meditate how we may grace us best, To solemnize our governor's great feast. [Exeunt.]

Enter FERNEZE,<198> KNIGHTS, and MARTIN DEL BOSCO.

FERNEZE. In this, my countrymen, be rul'd by me: Have special care that no man sally forth Till you shall hear a culverin discharg'd By him that bears the
linstock,<199> kindled thus; Then issue out and come to rescue me, For happily I shall be in distress, Or you released of this servitude.

FIRST KNIGHT. Rather than thus to live as Turkish thralls, What will we not adventure?

FERNEZE. On, then; be gone.

KNIGHTS. Farewell, grave governor. [Exeunt, on one side, KNIGHTS and MARTIN DEL BOSCO; on the other, FERNEZE.]

Enter, above,<200> BARABAS, with a hammer, very busy; and CARPENTERS.

BARABAS. How stand the cords? how hang these hinges? fast? Are all the cranes and pulleys sure?

FIRST CARPENTER.<201> All fast.

BARABAS. Leave nothing loose, all levell'd to my mind. Why, now I see that you have art, indeed: There, carpenters, divide that gold amongst you; [Giving money.]
Go, swill in bowls of sack and muscadine; Down to the cellar, taste of all my wines.

FIRST CARPENTER. We shall, my lord, and thank you. [Exeunt CARPENTERS.]

BARABAS. And, if you like them, drink your fill and die; For, so I live, perish may all the world! Now, Selim Calymath, return me word That thou wilt come, and I am
satisfied.

Enter MESSENGER.

Now, sirrah; what, will he come?

MESSENGER. He will; and has commanded all his men To come ashore, and march through Malta-streets, That thou mayst feast them in thy citadel.

BARABAS. Then now are all things as my wish would have 'em; There wanteth nothing but the governor's pelf; And see, he brings it.

Enter FERNEZE.

Now, governor, the sum?

FERNEZE. With free consent, a hundred thousand pounds.

BARABAS. Pounds say'st thou, governor? well, since it is no more, I'll satisfy myself with that; nay, keep it still, For, if I keep not promise, trust not me: And,
governor, now partake my policy. First, for his army, they are sent before, Enter'd the monastery, and underneath In several places are field-pieces pitch'd, Bombards,
whole barrels full of gunpowder, That on the sudden shall dissever it, And batter all the stones about their ears, Whence none can possibly escape alive: Now, as for
Calymath and his consorts, Here have I made a dainty gallery, The floor whereof, this cable being cut, Doth fall asunder, so that it doth sink Into a deep pit past
recovery. Here, hold that knife; and, when thou seest he comes, [Throws down a knife.] And with his bassoes shall be blithely set, A warning-piece shall be shot
off<202> from the tower, To give thee knowledge when to cut the cord, And fire the house. Say, will not this be brave?

FERNEZE. O, excellent! here, hold thee, Barabas; I trust thy word; take what I promis'd thee.

BARABAS. No, governor; I'll satisfy thee first; Thou shalt not live in doubt of any thing. Stand close, for here they come. [FERNEZE retires.] Why, is not this A kingly
kind of trade, to purchase towns By treachery, and sell 'em by deceit? Now tell me, worldlings, underneath the sun<203> If greater falsehood ever has been done?

Enter CALYMATH and BASSOES.

CALYMATH. Come, my companion-bassoes: see, I pray, How busy Barabas is there above To entertain us in his gallery: Let us salute him.--Save thee, Barabas!

BARABAS. Welcome, great Calymath!

FERNEZE. How the slave jeers at him! [Aside.]

BARABAS. Will't please thee, mighty Selim Calymath, To ascend our homely stairs?

CALYMATH. Ay, Barabas.-- Come, bassoes, ascend.<204>

FERNEZE. [coming forward] Stay, Calymath; For I will shew thee greater courtesy Than Barabas would have afforded thee.

KNIGHT. [within] Sound a charge there! [A charge sounded within: FERNEZE cuts the cord; the floor of the gallery gives way, and BARABAS falls into a caldron
placed in a pit.
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Enter KNIGHTS and MARTIN DEL BOSCO.<205>
FERNEZE. [coming forward] Stay, Calymath; For I will shew thee greater courtesy Than Barabas would have afforded thee.

KNIGHT. [within] Sound a charge there! [A charge sounded within: FERNEZE cuts the cord; the floor of the gallery gives way, and BARABAS falls into a caldron
placed in a pit.

Enter KNIGHTS and MARTIN DEL BOSCO.<205>

CALYMATH. How now! what means this?

BARABAS. Help, help me, Christians, help!

FERNEZE. See, Calymath! this was devis'd for thee.

CALYMATH. Treason, treason! bassoes, fly!

FERNEZE. No, Selim, do not fly: See his end first, and fly then if thou canst.

BARABAS. O, help me, Selim! help me, Christians! Governor, why stand you all so pitiless?

FERNEZE. Should I in pity of thy plaints or thee, Accursed Barabas, base Jew, relent? No, thus I'll see thy treachery repaid, But wish thou hadst behav'd thee
otherwise.

BARABAS. You will not help me, then?

FERNEZE. No, villain, no.

BARABAS. And, villains, know you cannot help me now.-- Then, Barabas, breathe forth thy latest fate, And in the fury of thy torments strive To end thy life with
resolution.-- Know, governor, 'twas I that slew thy son,-- I fram'd the challenge that did make them meet: Know, Calymath, I aim'd thy overthrow: And, had I but
escap'd this stratagem, I would have brought confusion on you all, Damn'd Christian<206> dogs, and Turkish infidels! But now begins the extremity of heat To pinch
me with intolerable pangs: Die, life! fly, soul! tongue, curse thy fill, and die! [Dies.]

CALYMATH. Tell me, you Christians, what doth this portend?

FERNEZE. This train<207> he laid to have entrapp'd thy life; Now, Selim, note the unhallow'd deeds of Jews; Thus he determin'd to have handled thee, But I have
rather chose to save thy life.

CALYMATH. Was this the banquet he prepar'd for us? Let's hence, lest further mischief be pretended.<208>

FERNEZE. Nay, Selim, stay; for, since we have thee here, We will not let thee part so suddenly: Besides, if we should let thee go, all's one, For with thy galleys
couldst thou not get hence, Without fresh men to rig and furnish them.

CALYMATH. Tush, governor, take thou no care for that; My men are all aboard, And do attend my coming there by this.

FERNEZE. Why, heard'st thou not the trumpet sound a charge?

CALYMATH. Yes, what of that?

FERNEZE. Why, then the house was fir'd, Blown up, and all thy soldiers massacred.

CALYMATH. O, monstrous treason!

FERNEZE. A Jew's courtesy; For he that did by treason work our fall, By treason hath deliver'd thee to us: Know, therefore, till thy father hath made good The ruins
done to Malta and to us, Thou canst not part; for Malta shall be freed, Or Selim ne'er return to Ottoman.

CALYMATH. Nay, rather, Christians, let me go to Turkey, In person there to mediate<209> your peace: To keep me here will naught advantage you.

FERNEZE. Content thee, Calymath, here thou must stay, And live in Malta prisoner; for come all<210> the world To rescue thee, so will we guard us now, As sooner
shall they drink the ocean dry, Than conquer Malta, or endanger us. So, march away; and let due praise be given Neither to Fate nor Fortune, but to Heaven. [Exeunt.]

<1> Heywood dedicates the First Part of THE IRON AGE (printed 1632) "To my Worthy and much Respected Friend, Mr. Thomas Hammon, of Grayes Inne,
Esquire."

<2> Tho. Heywood] The well-known dramatist.

<3> censures] i.e. judgments.

<4> bin] i.e. been.

<5> best of poets] "Marlo." Marg. note in old ed.

<6> best of actors] "Allin." Marg. note in old. ed.--Any account of the celebrated actor, Edward Alleyn, the founder of Dulwich College, would be superfluous here.

<7> In HERO AND LEANDER, &c.] The meaning is--The one (Marlowe) gained a lasting memory by being the author of HERO AND LEANDER; while the other
(Alleyn) wan the attribute of peerless by playing the parts of Tamburlaine, the Jew of Malta, &c.--The passage happens to be mispointed in the old ed. thus,

"In Hero and Leander, one did gaine A lasting memorie: in Tamberlaine, This Jew, with others many: th' other wan," &c.
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"in Tamburlaine, This Jew, with others many,"
(Alleyn) wan the attribute of peerless by playing the parts of Tamburlaine, the Jew of Malta, &c.--The passage happens to be mispointed in the old ed. thus,

"In Hero and Leander, one did gaine A lasting memorie: in Tamberlaine, This Jew, with others many: th' other wan," &c.

and hence Mr. Collier, in his HIST. OF ENG. DRAM. POET. iii. 114, understood the words,

"in Tamburlaine, This Jew, with others many,"

as applying to Marlowe: he afterwards, however, in his MEMOIRS OF ALLEYN, p. 9, suspected that the punctuation of the old ed. might be wrong,--which it
doubtless is.

<8> him] "Perkins." Marg. note in old ed.--"This was Richard Perkins, one of the performers belonging to the Cock-pit theatre in Drury-Lane. His name is printed
among those who acted in HANNIBAL AND SCIPIO by Nabbes, THE WEDDING by Shirley, and THE FAIR MAID OF THE WEST by Heywood. After the
play-houses were shut up on account of the confusion arising from the civil wars, Perkins and Sumner, who belonged to the same house, lived together at Clerkenwell,
where they died and were buried. They both died some years before the Restoration. See THE DIALOGUE ON PLAYS AND PLAYERS [Dodsley's OLD
PLAYS, 1. clii., last ed.]." REED (apud Dodsley's O. P.). Perkins acted a prominent part in Webster's WHITE DEVIL, when it was first brought on the stage, --
perhaps Brachiano (for Burbadge, who was celebrated in Brachiano, does not appear to have played it originally): in a notice to the reader at the end of that tragedy
Webster says; "In particular I must remember the well-approved industry of my friend Master Perkins, and confess the worth of his action did crown both the beginning
and end." About 1622-3 Perkins belonged to the Red Bull theatre: about 1637 he joined the company at Salisbury Court: see Webster's WORKS, note, p. 51, ed.
Dyce, 1857.

<9> prize was play'd] This expression (so frequent in our early writers) is properly applied to fencing: see Steevens's note on Shakespeare's MERRY WIVES OF
WINDSOR, act. i. sc. 1.

<10> no wagers laid] "Wagers as to the comparative merits of rival actors in particular parts were not unfrequent of old," &c. Collier (apud Dodsley's O. P.). See my
ed. of Peele's WORKS, i. x. ed. 1829; and Collier's MEMOIRS OF ALLEYN, p. 11.

<11> the Guise] "i.e. the Duke of Guise, who had been the principal contriver and actor in the horrid massacre of St. Bartholomew's day, 1572. He met with his
deserved fate, being assassinated, by order of the French king, in 1588." REED (apud Dodsley's O. P.). And see our author's MASSACRE AT PARIS.

<12> empery] Old ed. "Empire."

<13> the Draco's] "i.e. the severe lawgiver of Athens; 'whose statutes,' said Demades, 'were not written with ink, but blood.'" STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).--
Old ed. "the Drancus."

<14> had] Qy. "had BUT"?

<15> a lecture here] Qy. "a lecture TO YOU here"?

<16> Act I.] The Scenes of this play are not marked in the old ed.; nor in the present edition,--because occasionally (where the audience were to SUPPOSE a change
of place, it was impossible to mark them.

<17> Samnites] Old ed. "Samintes."

<18> silverlings] When Steevens (apud Dodsley's O. P.) called this "a diminutive, to express the Jew's contempt of a metal inferior in value to gold," he did not know
that the word occurs in Scripture: "a thousand vines at a thousand SILVERLINGS." ISAIAH, vii. 23.--Old ed. "siluerbings."

<19> Tell] i.e. count.

<20> seld-seen] i.e. seldom-seen.

<21> Into what corner peers my halcyon's bill?] "It was anciently believed that this bird (the king-fisher), if hung up, would vary with the wind, and by that means shew
from what quarter it blew." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.),--who refers to the note on the following passage of Shakespeare's KING LEAR, act ii. sc. 2;

"Renege, affirm, and turn their HALCYON BEAKS With every gale and vary of their masters," &c.

<22> custom them] "i.e. enter the goods they contain at the Custom-house." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<23> But] Old ed. "By."

<24> fraught] i.e. freight.

<25> scambled] i.e. scrambled. (Coles gives in his DICT. "To SCAMBLE, certatim arripere"; and afterwards renders "To scramble" by the very same Latin words.)

<26> Enter three JEWS] A change of scene is supposed here, --to a street or to the Exchange.

<27> Fond] i.e. Foolish.

<28> Aside] Mr. Collier (apud Dodsley's O. P.), mistaking the purport of this stage-direction (which, of course, applies only to the words "UNTO MYSELF"),
proposed an alteration of the text.

<29> BARABAS. Farewell, Zaareth, &c.] Old ed. "Iew. DOE SO; Farewell Zaareth," &c. But "Doe so" is evidently a stage- direction which has crept into the text,
and which was intended to signify that the Jews DO "take their leaves" of Barabas: --here the old ed. has no "EXEUNT."

<30> Turk has] So the Editor of 1826.--Old ed. "Turkes haue": but see what follows.

<31> Ego mihimet sum semper proximus] The words of Terence are "Proximus sum egomet mihi." ANDRIA, iv. 1. 12.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                        Page 32 / 128
<32> Exit] The scene is now supposed to be changed to the interior of the Council-house.

<33> bassoes] i.e. bashaws.
<30> Turk has] So the Editor of 1826.--Old ed. "Turkes haue": but see what follows.

<31> Ego mihimet sum semper proximus] The words of Terence are "Proximus sum egomet mihi." ANDRIA, iv. 1. 12.

<32> Exit] The scene is now supposed to be changed to the interior of the Council-house.

<33> bassoes] i.e. bashaws.

<34> governor] Old ed. "Gouernours" here, and several times after in this scene.

<35> CALYMATH. Stand all aside, &c.] "The Governor and the Maltese knights here consult apart, while Calymath gives these directions." COLLIER (apud
Dodsley's O. P.).

<36> happily] i.e. haply.

<37> Officer] Old ed. "Reader."

<38> denies] i.e. refuses.

<39> convertite] "i.e. convert, as in Shakespeare's KING JOHN, act v. sc. 1." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<40> Then we'll take, &c.] In the old ed. this line forms a portion of the preceding speech.

<41> ecstasy] Equivalent here to--violent emotion. "The word was anciently used to signify some degree of alienation of mind." COLLIER (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<42> Exeunt three Jews] On their departure, the scene is supposed to be changed to a street near the house of Barabas.

<43> reduce] If the right reading, is equivalent to--repair. But qy. "redress"?

<44> fond] "i.e. foolish." REED (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<45> portagues] Portuguese gold coins, so called.

<46> sect] "i.e. sex. SECT and SEX were, in our ancient dramatic writers, used synonymously." REED (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<47> Enter FRIAR JACOMO, &c.] Old ed. "Enter three Fryars and two Nuns:" but assuredly only TWO Friars figure in this play.

<48> Abb.] In the old ed. the prefix to this speech is "1 Nun," and to the next speech but one "Nun." That both speeches belong to the Abbess is quite evident.

<49> Sometimes] Equivalent here (as frequently in our early writers) to--Sometime.

<50> forgive me--] Old ed. "GIUE me--"

<51> thus] After this word the old ed. has "ï¿½",--to signify, perhaps, the motion which Barabas was to make here with his hand.

<52> forget not] Qy. "forget IT not"

<53> Enter BARABAS, with a light] The scene is now before the house of Barabas, which has been turned into a nunnery.

<54> Thus, like the sad-presaging raven, that tolls The sick man's passport in her hollow beak] Mr. Collier (HIST. OF ENG. DRAM. POET. iii. 136) remarks that
these lines are cited (with some variation, and from memory, as the present play was not printed till 1633) in an epigram on T. Deloney, in Guilpin's SKIALETHEIA
OR THE SHADOWE OF TRUTH, 1598,-- "LIKE TO THE FATALL OMINOUS RAVEN, WHICH TOLLS THE SICK MAN'S DIRGE WITHIN HIS
HOLLOW BEAKE, So every paper-clothed post in Poules To thee, Deloney, mourningly doth speake," &c.

<55> of] i.e. on.

<56> wake] Old ed. "walke."

<57> Bueno para todos mi ganado no era] Old ed. "Birn para todos, my ganada no er."

<58> But stay: what star shines yonder in the east, &c.] Shakespeare, it would seem, recollected this passage, when he wrote,-- "But, soft! what light through yonder
window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" ROMEO AND JULIET, act ii. sc. 2.

<59> Hermoso placer de los dineros] Old ed. "Hormoso Piarer, de les Denirch."

<60> Enter Ferneze, &c.] The scene is the interior of the Council-house.

<61> entreat] i.e. treat.

<62> vail'd not] "i.e. did not strike or lower our flags." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<63> Turkish] Old ed. "Spanish."

<64> luff'd and tack'd] Old ed. "LEFT, and TOOKE."

<65> stated] i.e. estated, established, stationed.
 Copyright
<66> Enter (c) 2005-2009,
            OFFICERS,     Infobase
                       &c.]         Media
                             The scene     Corp.
                                       being the market-place.                                                                                    Page 33 / 128

<67> Poor villains, such as were] Old ed. "SUCH AS poore villaines were", &c.
<64> luff'd and tack'd] Old ed. "LEFT, and TOOKE."

<65> stated] i.e. estated, established, stationed.

<66> Enter OFFICERS, &c.] The scene being the market-place.

<67> Poor villains, such as were] Old ed. "SUCH AS poore villaines were", &c.

<68> into] i.e. unto: see note ï¿½, p. 15.

<note ï¿½, p. 15, The First Part of Tamburlaine the Great: "ï¿½ into] Used here (as the word was formerly often used) for UNTO.">

<69> city] The preceding editors have not questioned this word, which I believe to be a misprint.

<70> foil'd]=filed, i.e. defiled.

<71> I'll have a saying to that nunnery] Compare Barnaby Barnes's DIVILS CHARTER, 1607;

"Before I do this seruice, lie there, peece; For I must HAUE A SAYING to those bottels. HE DRINKETH. True stingo; stingo, by mine honour.* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * I must HAUE A SAYING to you, sir, I must, though you be prouided for his Holines owne mouth; I will be bould to be the Popes taster by his leaue." Sig. K
3.

<72> plates] "i.e. pieces of silver money." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).--Old ed. "plats."

<73> Slave] To the speeches of this Slave the old ed. prefixes "Itha." and "Ith.", confounding him with Ithamore.

<74> Lady Vanity] So Jonson in his FOX, act ii. sc. 3.,

"Get you a cittern, LADY VANITY, And be a dealer with the virtuous man," &c.;

and in his DEVIL IS AN ASS, act i. sc. 1.,--

"SATAN. What Vice? PUG. Why, any: Fraud, Or Covetousness, or LADY VANITY, Or old Iniquity."

<75> Katharine] Old ed. "MATER."--The name of Mathias's mother was, as we afterwards learn, Katharine.

<76> stay] i.e. forbear, break off our conversation.

<77> was] Qy. "was BUT"?

<78> O, brave, master] The modern editors strike out the comma after "BRAVE", understanding that word as an epithet to "MASTER": but compare what Ithamore
says to Barabas in act iv.: "That's BRAVE, MASTER," p. 165, first col.

<79> your nose] An allusion to the large artificial nose, with which Barabas was represented on the stage. See the passage cited from W. Rowley's SEARCH FOR
MONEY, 1609, in the ACCOUNT OF MARLOWE AND HIS WRITINGS.

<80> Ure] i.e. use, practice.

<81> a-good] "i.e. in good earnest. Tout de bon." REED (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<82> Enter LODOWICK] A change of scene supposed here,--to the outside of Barabas's house.

<83> vow love to him] Old ed. "vow TO LOUE him": but compare, in Barabas's next speech but one, "And she VOWS LOVE TO HIM," &c.

<84> made sure] i.e. affianced.

<85> Ludovico] Old ed. "Lodowicke."--In act iii. we have, "I fear she knows--'tis so--of my device In Don Mathias' and LODOVICO'S deaths." p. 162, sec. col.

<86> happily] i.e. haply.

<87> unsoil'd] "Perhaps we ought to read 'unfoil'd', consistently with what Barabas said of her before under the figure of a jewel-- 'The diamond that I talk of NE'ER
WAS FOIL'D'." COLLIER (apud Dodsley's O. P.). But see that passage, p. 155, sec. col., and note ï¿½.<i.e. note 70.>

<88> cross] i.e. piece of money (many coins being marked with a cross on one side).

<89> thou] Old ed. "thee."

<90> resolv'd] "i.e. satisfied." GILCHRIST (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<91> Enter BELLAMIRA] She appears, we may suppose, in a veranda or open portico of her house (that the scene is not the interior of the house, is proved by what
follows).

<92> Enter MATHIAS. MATHIAS. This is the place, &c.] The scene is some pert of the town, as Barabas appears "ABOVE,"--in the balcony of a house. (He
stood, of course, on what was termed the upper-stage.)

Old ed. thus;

"Enter MATHIAS.
 Copyright         Math. This
            (c) 2005-2009,    is the place,
                           Infobase   Medianow Abigail shall see Whether Mathias holds her deare or no. Enter Lodow. reading. Math. What, daresPage
                                            Corp.                                                                                               the villain
                                                                                                                                                        34 write
                                                                                                                                                            / 128in
such base terms?

Lod. I did it, and reuenge it if thou dar'st."
stood, of course, on what was termed the upper-stage.)

Old ed. thus;

"Enter MATHIAS. Math. This is the place, now Abigail shall see Whether Mathias holds her deare or no. Enter Lodow. reading. Math. What, dares the villain write in
such base terms?

Lod. I did it, and reuenge it if thou dar'st."

<93> Lodovico] Old ed. "Lodowicke."--See note *, p. 158.<i.e. note 85.>

<94> tall] i.e. bold, brave.

<95> What sight is this!] i.e. What A sight is this! Our early writers often omit the article in such exclamations: compare Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR, act i. sc. 3,
where Casca says,

"Cassius, WHAT NIGHT IS THIS!"

(after which words the modern editors improperly retain the interrogation-point of the first folio).

<96> Lodovico] Old ed. "Lodowicke."

<97> These arms of mine shall be thy sepulchre] So in Shakespeare's THIRD PART OF KING HENRY VI., act ii. sc. 5, the Father says to the dead Son whom he
has killed in battle,

"THESE ARMS OF MINE shall be thy winding-sheet; My heart, sweet boy, SHALL BE THY SEPULCHRE,"--

lines, let me add, not to be found in THE TRUE TRAGEDIE OF RICHARD DUKE OF YORKE, on which Shakespeare formed that play.

<98> Katharine] Old ed. "Katherina."

<99> Enter ITHAMORE] The scene a room in the house of Barabas.

<100> held in hand] i.e. kept in expectation, having their hopes flattered.

<101> bottle-nosed] See note ï¿½, p. 157.<i.e. note 79.>

<102> Jaques] Old ed. "Iaynes."

<103> sire] Old ed. "sinne" (which, modernised to "sin", the editors retain, among many other equally obvious errors of the old copy).

<104> As] Old ed. "And."

<105> Enter BARABAS] The scene is still within the house of Barabas; but some time is supposed to have elapsed since the preceding conference between Abigail
and Friar Jacomo.

<106> pretendeth] Equivalent to PORTENDETH; as in our author's FIRST BOOK OF LUCAN, "And which (ay me) ever PRETENDETH ill," &c.

<107> self] Old ed. "life" (the compositor's eye having caught "life" in the preceding line).

<108> 'less] Old ed. "least."

<109> Well said] See note *, p. 69.

<note *, p. 69, The Second Part of Tamburlaine the Great:

"* Well said] Equivalent to--Well done! as appears from innumerable passages of our early writers: see, for instances, my ed. of Beaumont and Fletcher's WORKS,
vol. i. 328, vol. ii. 445, vol. viii. 254.">

<110> the proverb says, &c.] A proverb as old as Chaucer's time: see the SQUIERES TALE, v. 10916, ed. Tyrwhitt.

<111> batten] i.e. fatten.

<112> pot] Old ed. "plot."

<113> thou shalt have broth by the eye] "Perhaps he means--thou shalt SEE how the broth that is designed for thee is made, that no mischievous ingredients enter its
composition. The passage is, however, obscure." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).--"BY THE EYE" seems to be equivalent to--in abundance. Compare THE
CREED of Piers Ploughman: "Grey grete-heded quenes With gold BY THE EIGHEN." v. 167, ed. Wright (who has no note on the expression): and Beaumont and
Fletcher's KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE, act ii. sc. 2; "here's money and gold BY TH' EYE, my boy." In Fletcher's BEGGARS' BUSH, act iii. sc. 1, we
find, "Come, English beer, hostess, English beer BY THE BELLY!"

<114> In few] i.e. in a few words, in short.

<115> hebon] i.e. ebony, which was formerly supposed to be a deadly poison.

<116> Enter FERNEZE, &c.] The scene is the interior of the Council-house.

<117>   basso]
 Copyright   (c)Old ed. "Bashaws"
                2005-2009,           (theMedia
                              Infobase    printerCorp.
                                                 having added an S by mistake), and in the preceding stage-direction, and in the fifth speech of this scene,
                                                                                                                                                        Page "Bashaw": but
                                                                                                                                                                35 / 128
in an earlier scene (see p. 148, first col.) we have "bassoes" (and see our author's TAMBURLAINE, PASSIM).

<From p. 148, this play:
<115> hebon] i.e. ebony, which was formerly supposed to be a deadly poison.

<116> Enter FERNEZE, &c.] The scene is the interior of the Council-house.

<117> basso] Old ed. "Bashaws" (the printer having added an S by mistake), and in the preceding stage-direction, and in the fifth speech of this scene, "Bashaw": but
in an earlier scene (see p. 148, first col.) we have "bassoes" (and see our author's TAMBURLAINE, PASSIM).

<From p. 148, this play:

"Enter FERNEZE governor of Malta, KNIGHTS, and OFFICERS; met by CALYMATH, and BASSOES of the TURK."> <118> the resistless banks] i.e. the
banks not able to resist.

<119> basilisks] See note ï¿½, p. 25.

<note ï¿½, p. 25, The First Part of Tamburlaine the Great:

"basilisks] Pieces of ordnance so called. They were of immense size; see Douce's ILLUST. OF SHAKESPEARE, i. 425.">

<120> Enter FRIAR JACOMO, &c.] Scene, the interior of the Nunnery.

<121> convers'd with me] She alludes to her conversation with Jacomo, p. 162, sec. col.

<p. 162, second column, this play:

"ABIGAIL. Welcome, grave friar.--Ithamore, be gone. [Exit ITHAMORE.] Know, holy sir, I am bold to solicit thee. FRIAR JACOMO. Wherein?">

<122> envied] i.e. hated.

<123> practice] i.e. artful contrivance, stratagem.

<124> crucified a child] A crime with which the Jews were often charged. "Tovey, in his ANGLIA JUDAICA, has given the several instances which are upon record
of these charges against the Jews; which he observes they were never accused of, but at such times as the king was manifestly in great want of money." REED (apud
Dodsley's O. P.).

<125> Enter BARABAS, &c.] Scene a street.

<126> to] Which the Editor of 1826 deliberately altered to "like," means--compared to, in comparison of.

<127> Cazzo] Old ed. "catho."--See Florio's WORLDE OF WORDES (Ital. and Engl. Dict.) ed. 1598, in v.--"A petty oath, a cant exclamation, generally expressive,
among the Italian populace, who have it constantly in their mouth, of defiance or contempt." Gifford's note on Jonson's WORKS, ii. 48.

<128> nose] See note ï¿½, p. 157.<i.e. note 79.>

<129> inmate] Old ed. "inmates."

<130> the burden of my sins Lie heavy, &c.] One of the modern editors altered "LIE" to "Lies": but examples of similar phraseology,--of a nominative singular
followed by a plural verb when a plural genitive intervenes,--are common in our early writers; see notes on Beaumont and Fletcher's WORKS, vol. v. 7, 94, vol. ix.
185, ed. Dyce.

<131> sollars] "i.e. lofts, garrets." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<132> untold] i.e. uncounted.--Old ed. "vnsold."

<133> BARABAS. This is mere frailty: brethren, be content.-- Friar Barnardine, go you with Ithamore: You know my mind; let me alone with him.

FRIAR JACOMO. Why does he go to thy house? let him be gone]

Old ed. thus; "BAR. This is meere frailty, brethren, be content. Fryar Barnardine goe you with Ithimore. ITH. You know my mind, let me alone with him; Why does he
goe to thy house, let him begone."

<134> the Turk] "Meaning Ithamore." COLLIER (apud Dodsley's O. P.). Compare the last line but one of Barabas's next speech.

<135> covent] i.e. convent.

<136> Therefore 'tis not requisite he should live] Lest the reader should suspect that the author wrote, "Therefore 'tis requisite he should not live," I may observe that
we have had before (p. 152, first col.) a similar form of expression,-- "It is not necessary I be seen."

<137> fair] See note ï¿½, p. 15.<'15' sic.>

<note ï¿½, p. 13, The First Part of Tamburlaine the Great:

"In fair, &c.] Here "FAIR" is to be considered as a dissyllable: compare, in the Fourth act of our author's JEW OF MALTA, "I'll feast you, lodge you, give you FAIR
words, And, after that," &c.">

<138> shall be done] Here a change of scene is supposed, to the interior of Barabas's house.

<139> Friar, awake] Here, most probably, Barabas drew a curtain, and discovered the sleeping Friar.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                          Page 36 / 128
<140> have] Old ed. "saue."

<141> What time o' night is't now, sweet Ithamore? ITHAMORE. Towards one] Might be adduced, among other passages, to shew that the modern editors are right
<138> shall be done] Here a change of scene is supposed, to the interior of Barabas's house.

<139> Friar, awake] Here, most probably, Barabas drew a curtain, and discovered the sleeping Friar.

<140> have] Old ed. "saue."

<141> What time o' night is't now, sweet Ithamore? ITHAMORE. Towards one] Might be adduced, among other passages, to shew that the modern editors are right
when they print in Shakespeare's KING JOHN. act iii. sc. 3, "If the midnight bell Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth, Sound ONE into the drowsy ear of
NIGHT," &c.

<142> Enter FRIAR JACOMO] The scene is now before Barabas's house,--the audience having had to SUPPOSE that the body of Barnardine, which Ithamore had
set upright, was standing outside the door.

<143> proceed] Seems to be used here as equivalent to--succeed.

<144> on's] i.e. of his.

<145> Enter BELLAMIRA, &c.] The scene, as in p. 160, a veranda or open portico of Bellamira's house.

<p. 160, this play:

" Enter BELLAMIRA.<91> BELLAMIRA. Since this town was besieg'd," etc.>

<146> tall] Which our early dramatists generally use in the sense of--bold, brave (see note ï¿½, p. 161),<i.e. note 94> is here perhaps equivalent to--handsome. ("Tall
or SEMELY." PROMPT. PARV. ed. 1499.)

<147> neck-verse] i.e. the verse (generally the beginning of the 51st Psalm, MISERERE MEI, &c.) read by a criminal to entitle him to benefit of clergy.

<148> of] i.e. on.

<149> exercise] i.e. sermon, preaching.

<150> with a muschatoes] i.e. with a pair of mustachios. The modern editors print "with MUSTACHIOS," and "with a MUSTACHIOS": but compare,--

"My Tuskes more stiffe than are a Cats MUSCHATOES." S. Rowley's NOBLE SPANISH SOLDIER, 1634, Sig. C.

"His crow-black MUCHATOES." THE BLACK BOOK,--Middleton's WORKS, v. 516, ed. Dyce.

<151> Turk of tenpence] An expression not unfrequently used by our early writers. So Taylor in some verses on Coriat; "That if he had A TURKE OF TENPENCE
bin," &c. WORKES, p. 82, ed. 1630. And see note on Middleton's WORKS, iii. 489, ed. Dyce.

<152> you know] Qy. "you know, SIR,"?

<153> I'll make him, &c.] Old ed. thus: "I'le make him send me half he has, & glad he scapes so too. PEN AND INKE: I'll write vnto him, we'le haue mony strait."
There can be no doubt that the words "Pen and inke" were a direction to the property-man to have those articles on the stage.

<154> cunning] i.e. skilfully prepared.--Old ed. "running." (The MAIDS are supposed to hear their mistress' orders WITHIN.)

<155> Shalt live with me, and be my love] A line, slightly varied, of Marlowe's well-known song. In the preceding line, the absurdity of "by Dis ABOVE" is, of course,
intentional.

<156> beard] Old ed. "sterd."

<157> give me a ream of paper: we'll have a kingdom of gold for't] A quibble. REALM was frequently written ream; and frequently (as the following passages shew),
even when the former spelling was given, the L was not sounded;

"Vpon the siluer bosome of the STREAME First gan faire Themis shake her amber locks, Whom all the Nimphs that waight on Neptunes REALME Attended from the
hollowe of the rocks." Lodge's SCILLAES METAMORPHOSIS, &c. 1589, Sig. A 2.

"How he may surest stablish his new conquerd REALME, How of his glorie fardest to deriue the STREAME." A HERINGS TAYLE, &c. 1598, Sig. D 3.

"Learchus slew his brother for the crowne; So did Cambyses fearing much the DREAME; Antiochus, of infamous renowne, His brother slew, to rule alone the
REALME." MIROUR FOR MAGISTRATES, p. 78, ed. 1610.

<158> runs division] "A musical term [of very common occurrence]." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<159> Enter BARABAS] The scene certainly seems to be now the interior of Barabas's house, notwithstanding what he presently says to Pilia-Borza (p. 171, sec.
col.), "Pray, when, sir, shall I see you at my house?"

<160> tatter'd] Old ed. "totter'd": but in a passage of our author's EDWARD THE SECOND the two earliest 4tos have "TATTER'D robes":--and yet Reed in a note
on that passage (apud Dodsley's OLD PLAYS, where the reading of the third 4to, "tottered robes", is followed) boldly declares that "in every writer of this period the
word was spelt TOTTERED"! The truth is, it was spelt sometimes one way, sometimes the other.

<161> catzery] i.e. cheating, roguery. It is formed from CATSO (CAZZO, see note *, p. 166 <i.e. note 127>), which our early writers used, not only as an
exclamation, but as an opprobrious term.

<162> cross-biting] i.e. swindling (a cant term).--Something has dropt out here.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                      Page 37 / 128
<163> tale] i.e. reckoning.
exclamation, but as an opprobrious term.

<162> cross-biting] i.e. swindling (a cant term).--Something has dropt out here.

<163> tale] i.e. reckoning.

<164> what he writes for you] i.e. the hundred crowns to be given to the bearer: see p. 170, sec. col.

<p. 170, second column, this play:

"ITHAMORE. [writing] SIRRAH JEW, AS YOU LOVE YOUR LIFE, SEND ME FIVE HUNDRED CROWNS, AND GIVE THE BEARER A HUNDRED. --
Tell him I must have't.">

<165> I should part] Qy. "I E'ER should part"?

<166> rid] i.e. despatch, destroy.

<167> Enter BELLAMIRA, &c.] They are supposed to be sitting in a veranda or open portico of Bellamira's house: see note *, p. 168.<i.e. note 145.>

<168> Of] i.e. on.

<169> BELLAMIRA.] Old ed. "Pil."

<170> Rivo Castiliano] The origin of this Bacchanalian exclamation has not been discovered. RIVO generally is used alone; but, among passages parallel to that of our
text, is the following one (which has been often cited),-- "And RYUO will he cry and CASTILE too." LOOKE ABOUT YOU, 1600, Sig. L. 4. A writer in THE
WESTMINSTER REVIEW, vol. xliii. 53, thinks that it "is a misprint for RICO-CASTELLANO, meaning a Spaniard belonging to the class of RICOS HOMBRES,
and the phrase therefore is-- 'Hey, NOBLE CASTILIAN, a man's a man!' 'I can pledge like a man and drink like a man, MY WORTHY TROJAN;' as some of our
farce-writers would say." But the frequent occurrence of RIVO in various authors proves that it is NOT a misprint.

<171> he] Old ed. "you".

<172> and he and I, snicle hand too fast, strangled a friar] There is surely some corruption here. Steevens (apud Dodsley's O. P.) proposes to read "hand TO FIST".
Gilchrist (ibid.) observes, "a snicle is a north-country word for a noose, and when a person is hanged, they say he is snicled." See too, in V. SNICKLE, Forby's VOC.
OF EAST ANGLIA, and the CRAVEN DIALECT.--The Rev. J. Mitford proposes the following (very violent) alteration of this passage; "Itha. I carried the broth that
poisoned the nuns; and he and I-- Pilia. Two hands snickle-fast-- Itha. Strangled a friar."

<173> incony] i.e. fine, pretty, delicate.--Old ed. "incoomy."

<174> they stink like a hollyhock] "This flower, however, has no offensive smell. STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.). Its odour resembles that of the poppy.

<175> mushrooms] For this word (as, indeed, for most words) our early writers had no fixed spelling. Here the old ed. has "Mushrumbs": and in our author's
EDWARD THE SECOND, the 4tos have "mushrump."

<176> under the elder when he hanged himself] That Judas hanged himself on an elder-tree, was a popular legend. Nay, the very tree was exhibited to the curious in
Sir John Mandeville's days: "And faste by, is zit the Tree of Eldre, that Judas henge him self upon, for despeyt that he hadde, whan he solde and betrayed oure Lorde."
VOIAGE AND TRAVAILE, &c. p. 112. ed. 1725. But, according to Pulci, Judas had recourse to a carob-tree: "Era di sopra a la fonte UN CARRUBBIO,
L'ARBOR, SI DICE, OVE S'IMPICCO GIUDA," &c. MORGANTE MAG. C. xxv. st. 77.

<177> nasty] Old ed. "masty."

<178> me] Old ed. "we".

<179> Enter Ferneze, &c.] Scene, the interior of the Council- house.

<180> him] Qy. "'em"?

<181> Exeunt all, leaving Barabas on the floor] Here the audience were to suppose that Barabas had been thrown over the walls, and that the stage now represented
the outside of the city.

<182> Bassoes] Here old ed. "Bashawes." See note ï¿½, p. 164. <i.e. note 117.>

<183> trench] A doubtful reading.--Old ed. "Truce."--"Query 'sluice'? 'TRUCE' seems unintelligible." COLLIER (apud Dodsley's O. P.).--The Rev. J. Mitford
proposes "turret" or "tower."

<184> channels] i.e. kennels.

<185> Enter CALYMATH, &c.] Scene, an open place in the city.

<186> vail] i.e. lower, stoop.

<187> To kept] i.e. To have kept.

<188> Entreat] i.e. Treat.

<189> Bassoes] Here old ed. "Bashawes." See note ï¿½, p. 164. <i.e. note 117.>

<190> Thus(c)
 Copyright hast thou gotten,
              2005-2009,     &c.] A change
                          Infobase         of scene is supposed here--to the Citadel, the residence of Barabas as governor.
                                    Media Corp.                                                                                                    Page 38 / 128
<191> Whenas] i.e. When. <192> Within here] The usual exclamation is "Within THERE!" but compare THE HOGGE HATH LOST HIS PEARLE (by R. Tailor),
1614; "What, ho! within HERE!" Sig. E 2.
<188> Entreat] i.e. Treat.

<189> Bassoes] Here old ed. "Bashawes." See note ï¿½, p. 164. <i.e. note 117.>

<190> Thus hast thou gotten, &c.] A change of scene is supposed here--to the Citadel, the residence of Barabas as governor.

<191> Whenas] i.e. When. <192> Within here] The usual exclamation is "Within THERE!" but compare THE HOGGE HATH LOST HIS PEARLE (by R. Tailor),
1614; "What, ho! within HERE!" Sig. E 2.

<193> sith] i.e. since.

<194> cast] i.e. plot, contrive.

<195> Bassoes] Here and afterwards old ed. "Bashawes." See note ï¿½, p. 164.<i.e. note 117.>--Scene, outside the walls of the city.

<196> basilisk[s] See note ï¿½, p. 25.

<note ï¿½, p. 25, The First Part of Tamburlaine the Great: "ï¿½ basilisks] Pieces of ordnance so called. They were of immense size; see Douce's ILLUST. OF
SHAKESPEARE, i. 425.">

<197> And, toward Calabria, &c.] So the Editor of 1826.--Old ed. thus: "And toward Calabria back'd by Sicily, Two lofty Turrets that command the Towne.
WHEN Siracusian Dionisius reign'd; I wonder how it could be conquer'd thus?"

<198> Enter FERNEZE, &c.] Scene, a street.

<199> linstock] "i.e. the long match with which cannon are fired." STEEVENS (apud Dodsley's O. P.).

<200> Enter, above, &c.] Scene, a hall in the Citadel, with a gallery.

<201> FIRST CARPENTER.] Old ed. here "Serv."; but it gives "CARP." as the prefix to the second speech after this.

<202> off] An interpolation perhaps.

<203> sun] Old ed. "summe."

<204> ascend] Old ed. "attend."

<205> A charge sounded within: FERNEZE cuts the cord; the floor of the gallery gives way, and BARABAS falls into a caldron placed in a pit. Enter KNIGHTS and
MARTIN DEL BOSCO]

Old ed. has merely "A charge, the cable cut, A Caldron discouered."

<206> Christian] Old ed. "Christians."

<207> train] i.e. stratagem.

<208> pretended] i.e. intended.

<209> mediate] Old ed. "meditate."

<210> all] Old ed. "call."

<End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text> <End of E-Text>

Comments on the preparation of the E-Text:

ANGLE BRACKETS:

Any place where angle brackets are used, i.e. < >, it is a change made during the preparation of this E-Text. The original printed book did not use this character at all.

SQUARE BRACKETS:

The square brackets, i.e. [ ] are copied from the printed book, without change, except that the stage directions usually do not have closing brackets. These have been
added.

FOOTNOTES:

For this E-Text version of the book, the footnotes have been consolidated at the end of the play.

Numbering of the footnotes has been changed, and each footnote is given a unique identity in the form <XXX>.

CHANGES TO THE TEXT:

Character names were expanded. For Example, BARABAS was BARA., FERNEZE was FERN., etc.

Introduction

ItCopyright
   is a matter(c)
               of2005-2009,
                  history that, Infobase
                                at or near Media  Corp. of what has since come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the Christ, was
                                           the beginning                                                                                                Page born39
                                                                                                                                                                  in / 128
Bethlehem of Judea. The principal data as to His birth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably indisputable; they are facts of record, and are
accepted as essentially authentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities of deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past as to
Character names were expanded. For Example, BARABAS was BARA., FERNEZE was FERN., etc.

Introduction

It is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what has since come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the Christ, was born in
Bethlehem of Judea. The principal data as to His birth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably indisputable; they are facts of record, and are
accepted as essentially authentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities of deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past as to
circumstantial details; but such differences are of strictly minor importance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow of rational doubt upon the historicity
of the earthly existence of the Man known in literature as Jesus of Nazareth.

As to who and what He was there are dissensions of grave moment dividing the opinions of men; and this divergence of conception and belief is most pronounced upon
those matters to which the greatest importance attaches. The solemn testimonies of millions dead and of millions living unite in proclaiming Him as divine, the Son of the
Living God, the Redeemer and Savior of the human race, the Eternal Judge of the souls of men, the Chosen and Anointed of the Father-in short, the Christ. Others
there are who deny His Godhood while extolling the transcendent qualities of His unparalleled and unapproachable Manhood.

To the student of history this Man among men stands first, foremost, and alone, as a directing personality in the world's progression. Mankind has never produced a
leader to rank with Him. Regarded solely as a historic personage He is unique. Judged by the standard of human estimation, Jesus of Nazareth is supreme among men
by reason of the excellence of His personal character, the simplicity, beauty, and genuine worth of His precepts, and the influence of His example and doctrines in the
advancement of the race. To these distinguishing characteristics of surpassing greatness the devout Christian soul adds an attribute that far exceeds the sum of all the
others-the divinity of Christ's origin and the eternal reality of His status as Lord and God.

Christian and unbeliever alike acknowledge His supremacy as a Man, and respect the epoch-making significance of His birth. Christ was born in the meridian of time;
   and His life on earth marked at once the culmination of the past and the inauguration of an era distinctive in human hope, endeavor, and achievement. His advent
determined a new order in the reckoning of the years; and by common consent the centuries antedating His birth have been counted backward from the pivotal event
and are designated accordingly. The rise and fall of dynasties, the birth and dissolution of nations, all the cycles of history as to war and peace, as to prosperity and
adversity, as to health and pestilence, seasons of plenty and of famine, the awful happenings of earthquake and storm, the triumphs of invention and discovery, the
epochs of man's development in godliness and the long periods of his dwindling in unbelief-all the occurrences that make history-are chronicled throughout Christendom
by reference to the year before or after the birth of Jesus Christ.

His earthly life covered a period of thirty-three years; and of these but three were spent by Him as an acknowledged Teacher openly engaged in the activities of public
ministry. He was brought to a violent death before He had attained what we now regard as the age of manhood's prime. As an individual He was personally known to
but few; and His fame as a world character became general only after His death.

Brief account of some of His words and works has been preserved to us; and this record, fragmentary and incomplete though it be, is rightly esteemed as the world's
greatest treasure. The earliest and most extended history of His mortal existence is embodied within the compilation of scriptures known as the New Testament; indeed
but little is said of Him by secular historians of His time. Few and short as are the allusions to Him made by non-scriptural writers in the period immediately following
that of His ministry, enough is found to corroborate the sacred record as to the actuality and period of Christ's earthly existence.

No adequate biography of Jesus as Boy and Man has been or can be written, for the sufficing reason that a fulness of data is lacking. Nevertheless, man never lived of
whom more has been said and sung, none to whom is devoted a greater proportion of the world's literature. He is extolled by Christian, Mohammedan and Jew, by
skeptic and infidel, by the world's greatest poets, philosophers, statesmen, scientists, and historians. Even the profane sinner in the foul sacrilege of his oath acclaims the
divine supremacy of Him whose name he desecrates.

The purpose of the present treatise is that of considering the life and mission of Jesus as the Christ. In this undertaking we are to be guided by the light of both ancient
and modern scriptures; and, thus led, we shall discover, even in the early stages of our course, that the word of God as revealed in latter days is effective in illuming and
making plain the Holy Writ of ancient times, and this, in many matters of the profoundest import.

Instead of beginning our study with the earthly birth of the Holy Babe of Bethlehem, we shall consider the part taken by the Firstborn Son of God in the primeval
councils of heaven, at the time when He was chosen and ordained to be the Savior of the unborn race of mortals, the Redeemer of a world then in its formative stages
of development. We are to study Him as the Creator of the world, as the Word of Power, through whom the purposes of the Eternal Father were realized in the
preparation of the earth for the abode of His myriad spirit-children during the appointed period of their mortal probation. Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the God of
Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the ages have spoken, the God of all
nations, and He who shall yet reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

His wondrous yet natural birth, His immaculate life in the flesh, and His voluntary death as a consecrated sacrifice for the sins of mankind, shall claim our reverent
attention; as shall also His redeeming service in the world of disembodied spirits; His literal resurrection from bodily death to immortality; His several appearings to men
and His continued ministry as the Resurrected Lord on both continents; the reestablishment of His Church through His personal presence and that of the Eternal Father
in the latter days; and His coming to His temple in the current dispensation. All these developments in the ministration of the Christ are already of the past. Our
proposed course of investigation will lead yet onward, into the future concerning which the word of divine revelation is of record. We shall consider the conditions
incident to the Lord's return in power and glory to inaugurate the dominion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and to usher in the predicted Millennium of peace and
righteousness. And yet beyond we shall follow Him, through the post-Millennial conflict between the powers of heaven and the forces of hell, to the completion of His
victory over Satan, sin, and death, when He shall present the glorified earth and its sanctified hosts, spotless and celestialized, unto the Father.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms her possession of divine authority for the use of the sacred name, Jesus Christ, as the essential part of her
distinctive designation. In view of this exalted claim, it is pertinent to inquire as to what special or particular message the Church has to give to the world concerning the
Redeemer and Savior of the race, and as to what she has to say in justification of her solemn affirmation, or in vindication of her exclusive name and title. As we
proceed with our study, we shall find that among the specific teachings of the Church respecting the Christ are these:

(1) The unity and continuity of His mission in all ages-this of necessity involving the verity of His preexistence and foreordination. (2) The fact of His antemortal
Godship. (3) The actuality of His birth in the flesh as the natural issue of divine and mortal parentage. (4) The reality of His death and physical resurrection, as a result of
which the power of death shall be eventually overcome. (5) The literalness of the atonement wrought by Him, including the absolute requirement of individual
compliance with the laws and ordinances of His gospel as the means by which salvation may be attained. (6) The restoration of His Priesthood and the reestablishment
of His Church in the current age, which is verily the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. (7) The certainty of His return to earth in the near future, with power and
great glory, to reign in Person and bodily presence as Lord and King.

Footnotes

Copyright  (c) year
 1. As to the  2005-2009,   Infobase
                    of Christ's         Media
                                birth, see     Corp.
                                           chapter 8.                                                                                                     Page 40 / 128

  2. See chapter 6.
great glory, to reign in Person and bodily presence as Lord and King.

Footnotes

  1. As to the year of Christ's birth, see chapter 8.

  2. See chapter 6.

  3. The Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price constitute the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. These will be cited alike as Scriptures in the following pages, for such they are.

CHAPTER 2

Preexistence and Foreordination of the Christ

We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who is known among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all who acknowledge His Godhood as Jesus the
Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth in the flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordained to be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of
the human race. Foreordination implies and comprises preexistence as an essential condition; therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to the other; and
consequently in this presentation no segregation of evidence as applying specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to His foreordination will be attempted.

John the Revelator beheld in vision some of the scenes that had been enacted in the spirit-world before the beginning of human history. He witnessed strife and
contention between loyalty and rebellion, with the hosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and the rebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also
called the devil, the serpent, and the dragon. We read: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels."

In this struggle between unembodied hosts the forces were unequally divided; Satan drew to his standard only a third part of the children of God, who are symbolized
as the "stars of heaven"; the majority either fought with Michael, or at least refrained from active opposition, thus accomplishing the purpose of their "first estate";
while the angels who arrayed themselves on the side of Satan "kept not their first estate," and therefore rendered themselves ineligible for the glorious possibilities of
an advanced condition or "second estate." The victory was with Michael and his angels; and Satan or Lucifer, theretofore a "son of the morning," was cast out of
heaven, yea "he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." The prophet Isaiah, to whom these momentous occurrences had been revealed
about eight centuries prior to the time of John's writings, laments with inspired pathos the fall of so great a one; and specifies selfish ambition as the occasion: "How art
thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

Justification for citing these scriptures in connection with our present consideration will be found in the cause of the great contention-the conditions that led to this war in
heaven. It is plain from the words of Isaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank, sought to aggrandize himself without regard to the rights and agency of others. The
matter is set forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in a revelation given to Moses and repeated through the first prophet of the present dispensation: "And I, the
Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he
came before me, saying-Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore
give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me-Father, thy will be done, and the glory be
thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I
should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the
father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."

Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts of the spirit-children of
God, existed as intelligent individuals, possessing power and opportunity to choose the course they would pursue and the leaders whom they would follow and obey.
   In that great concourse of spirit-intelligences, the Father's plan, whereby His children would be advanced to their second estate, was submitted and doubtless
discussed. The opportunity so placed within the reach of the spirits who were to be privileged to take bodies upon the earth was so transcendently glorious that those
heavenly multitudes burst forth into song and shouted for joy.

Satan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act and agency to choose, so circumscribed
that they would be compelled to do right-that one soul would not be lost-was rejected; and the humble offer of Jesus the Firstborn-to assume mortality and live among
men as their Exemplar and Teacher, observing the sanctity of man's agency but teaching men to use aright that divine heritage-was accepted. The decision brought war,
which resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his angels, who were cast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident to the mortal or second estate.

In that august council of the angels and the Gods, the Being who later was born in flesh as Mary's Son, Jesus, took prominent part, and there was He ordained of the
Father to be the Savior of mankind. As to time, the term being used in the sense of all duration past, this is our earliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God;
to us who read, it marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus the Christ.

Old Testament scriptures, while abounding in promises relating to the actuality of Christ's advent in the flesh, are less specific in information concerning His antemortal
existence. By the children of Israel, while living under the law and still unprepared to receive the gospel, the Messiah was looked for as one to be born in the lineage of
Abraham and David, empowered to deliver them from personal and national burdens, and to vanquish their enemies. The actuality of the Messiah's status as the chosen
Son of God, who was with the Father from the beginning, a Being of preexistent power and glory, was but dimly perceived, if conceived at all, by the people in general;
and although to prophets specially commissioned in the authorities and privileges of the Holy Priesthood, revelation of the great truth was given, they transmitted it to
the people rather in the language of imagery and parable than in words of direct plainness. Nevertheless the testimony of the evangelists and the apostles, the attestation
of the Christ Himself while in the flesh, and the revelations given in the present dispensation leave us without dearth of scriptural proof.

In the opening lines of the Gospel book written by John the apostle, we read: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

The passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably give to the phrase "In the beginning" the same meaning as attaches thereto in the first line of
Genesis; and such signification must indicate a time antecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth. That the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the
Father in that beginning and who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, and that He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitely
affirmed. These statements are corroborated through a revelation given to Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God, and to hear the voice
of the Father(c)with
 Copyright           respect to Infobase
                 2005-2009,      the thingsMedia
                                           that had been made: "And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son,Page
                                                  Corp.                                                                                               who is full
                                                                                                                                                             41 of  grace
                                                                                                                                                                  / 128
and truth."

John the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ and the fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state.      To the same effect is the testimony
The passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably give to the phrase "In the beginning" the same meaning as attaches thereto in the first line of
Genesis; and such signification must indicate a time antecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth. That the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the
Father in that beginning and who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, and that He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitely
affirmed. These statements are corroborated through a revelation given to Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God, and to hear the voice
of the Father with respect to the things that had been made: "And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace
and truth."

John the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ and the fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state. To the same effect is the testimony
of Paul and of Peter. Instructing the saints concerning the basis of their faith, the last-named apostle impressed upon them that their redemption was not to be
secured through corruptible things nor by the outward observance of traditional requirements, "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

Even more impressive and yet more truly conclusive are the personal testimonies of the Savior as to His own preexistent life and the mission among men to which He
had been appointed. No one who accepts Jesus as the Messiah can consistently reject these evidences of His eternal nature. When, on a certain occasion, the Jews in
the synagogue disputed among themselves and murmured because of their failure to understand aright His doctrine concerning Himself, especially as touching His
relationship with the Father, Jesus said unto them: "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." And then, continuing the
lesson based upon the contrast between the manna with which their fathers had been fed in the wilderness and the bread of life which He had to offer, He added: "I am
the living bread which came down from heaven," and again declared "the living Father hath sent me." Not a few of the disciples failed to comprehend His teachings; and
their complaints drew from Him these words: "Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"

To certain wicked Jews, wrapped in the mantle of racial pride, boastful of their descent through the lineage of Abraham, and seeking to excuse their sins through an
unwarranted use of the great patriarch's name, our Lord thus proclaimed His own preeminence: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." The
fuller significance of this remark will be treated later; suffice it in the present connection to consider this scripture as a plain avowal of our Lord's seniority and
supremacy over Abraham. But as Abraham's birth had preceded that of Christ by more than nineteen centuries, such seniority must have reference to a state of
existence antedating that of mortality.

When the hour of His betrayal was near, in the last interview with the apostles prior to His agonizing experience in Gethsemane, Jesus comforted them saying: "For the
Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I
leave the world, and go to the Father." Furthermore, in the course of upwelling prayer for those who had been true to their testimony of His Messiahship, He
addressed the Father with this solemn invocation: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have
glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with
thee before the world was."

Book of Mormon scriptures are likewise explicit in proof of the preexistence of the Christ and of His foreappointed mission. One only of the many evidences therein
found will be cited here. An ancient prophet, designated in the record as the brother of Jared, once pleaded with the Lord in special supplication: "And the Lord said
unto him, Believest thou the words which I shall speak? And he answered, Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.
And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed himself unto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things, ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore
ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I shew myself unto you. Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people.
Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall
become my sons and my daughters. And never have I shewed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye
are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my
spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh." The main facts
attested by this scripture as having a direct bearing upon our present subject are those of the Christ manifesting Himself while yet in His antemortal state, and of His
declaration that He had been chosen from the foundation of the world as the Redeemer.

Revelation given through the prophets of God in the present dispensation is replete with evidence of Christ's appointment and ordination in the primeval world; and the
whole tenor of the scriptures contained in the Doctrine and Covenants may be called in witness. The following instances are particularly in point. In a communication to
Joseph Smith the prophet, in May, 1833, the Lord declared Himself as the One who had previously come into the world from the Father, and of whom John had borne
testimony as the Word; and the solemn truth is reiterated that He, Jesus Christ, "was in the beginning, before the world was," and further, that He was the Redeemer
who "came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men." Again, He is referred to as "the Only Begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh." In the course of the same revelation the Lord said: "And now, verily I say
unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father and am the firstborn." On an earlier occasion, as the modern prophet testifies, he and an associate in the priesthood
were enlightened by the Spirit so that they were able to see and understand the things of God-"Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was,
which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning; Of whom we bear record, and the
record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision."

The testimony of scriptures written on both hemispheres, that of records both ancient and modern, the inspired utterances of prophets and apostles, and the words of
the Lord Himself, are of one voice in proclaiming the preexistence of the Christ and His ordination as the chosen Savior and Redeemer of mankind-in the beginning,
yea, even before the foundation of the world.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 2

1. Graded Intelligences in the Antemortal State.-That the spirits of men existed as individual intelligences, of varying degrees of ability and power, prior to the
inauguration of the mortal state upon this earth and even prior to the creation of the world as a suitable abode for human beings, is shown in great plainness through a
divine revelation to Abraham: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there
were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for
he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast
born." (Abr. 3:22-23.)

That both Christ and Satan were among those exalted intelligences, and that Christ was chosen while Satan was rejected as the future Savior of mankind, are shown by
the portions of the revelation immediately following that above quoted: "And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were
with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them
herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who
keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added
upon their heads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered
and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after
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him." (Abr. 3:24-28.)                                                                                                                                  Page 42 / 128

2. The Primeval Council in the Heavens.-"It is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'; and again, after
herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who
keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added
upon their heads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered
and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after
him." (Abr. 3:24-28.)

2. The Primeval Council in the Heavens.-"It is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'; and again, after
Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the Lord said, 'Behold, the man has become as one of us'; and the inference is direct that in all that related to the work of the
creation of the world there was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recorded in the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The scriptures tell us
there are 'Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but one God, the Father' (1 Cor. 8:5). And for this reason, though there were others engaged in the creation
of the worlds, it is given to us in the Bible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these truths is only revealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to
God; as we are told in the scriptures: 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.'-Psalm 25:14.

"It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the plan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were then spirits, and had not yet
obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain
tabernacles, and in those tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exalted among the Gods, we are told that at that time, 'the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy.' The question then arose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltation and eternal glory of God's sons be
brought about? It is evident that at that Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and that after a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of
the Father's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Father with a plan of his own, saying, 'Behold [here am] I; send me, I will be thy son, and I will
redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor.' But Jesus, on hearing this statement made by Lucifer, said,
'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.' From these remarks made by the well beloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of this
subject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan and design pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son wanted to do was to
carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear had been before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to His Father, who, as God the Father, and the
originator and designer of the plan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to introduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted His
honor, and said: 'I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thine honor.' He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and presumptuously sought to
deprive man of his free agency, thus making him a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed
should be man's, through obedience to the law which He had suggested; and again, Lucifer wanted the honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out
principles which were contrary to the Father's wish."-John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, pp. 93-94.

3. The Jaredites.-"Of the two nations whose histories constitute the Book of Mormon, the first in order of time consisted of the people of Jared, who followed their
leader from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-four plates of gold by Ether, the last of their prophets, who,
foreseeing the destruction of his people because of their wickedness, hid away the historical plates. They were afterward found, B.C. 123, by an expedition sent out by
King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on these plates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the condensed account was attached by him to the Book
of Mormon record; it appears in the modern translation under the name of the Book of Ether.

"The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not mentioned by name in the record as we have it; he is known only as the brother of Jared. Of the people, we learn
that, amid the confusion of Babel, Jared and his brother importuned the Lord that He would spare them and their associates from the impending disruption. Their prayer
was heard, and the Lord led them with a considerable company, who, like themselves, were free from the taint of idolatry, away from their homes, promising to
conduct them to a land choice above all other lands. Their course of travel is not given with exactness; we learn only that they reached the ocean, and there constructed
eight vessels, called barges, in which they set out upon the waters. These vessels were small and dark within; but the Lord made luminous certain stones, which gave
light to the imprisoned voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-four days, the colony landed on the western shore of North America, probably at a place
south of the Gulf of California, and north of the Isthmus of Panama.

"Here they became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one another until the people were
totally destroyed. This destruction, which occurred near the hill Ramah, afterward known among the Nephites as Cumorah, probably took place at about the time of
Lehi's landing in South America-590 B.C."-James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 260-61.

Footnotes

  1. Rev. 12:7; see also verses 8 and 9.

  2. Rev. 12:4; see also D&C 29:36-38; and 76:25-27.

  3. Jude 6.

  4. Abr. 3:26.

  5. Rev. 12:9.

  6. Isa. 14:12-15; compare D&C 29:36-38; and 76:23-27.

  7. Moses 4:1-4; see also Abr. 3:27, 28.

  8. For a further treatment of the preexistence of spirits see the author's Articles of Faith, pp. 189-94.

   9. Graded Intelligences in the Antemortal State.-That the spirits of men existed as individual intelligences, of varying degrees of ability and power, prior to the
inauguration of the mortal state upon this earth and even prior to the creation of the world as a suitable abode for human beings, is shown in great plainness through a
divine revelation to Abraham: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there
were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for
he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast
born." (Abr. 3:22-23.)

That both Christ and Satan were among those exalted intelligences, and that Christ was chosen while Satan was rejected as the future Savior of mankind, are shown by
the portions of the revelation immediately following that above quoted: "And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were
with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them
herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who
keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added
 Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                         Page answered
                                                                                                                                                               43 / 128
upon their heads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another
and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after
him." (Abr. 3:24-28.)
the portions of the revelation immediately following that above quoted: "And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were
with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them
herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who
keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added
upon their heads forever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered
and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after
him." (Abr. 3:24-28.)

  10. Job 38:7.

   11. The Primeval Council in the Heavens.-"It is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness'; and again,
after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the Lord said, 'Behold, the man has become as one of us'; and the inference is direct that in all that related to the work of
the creation of the world there was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recorded in the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The scriptures tell us
there are 'Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but one God, the Father' (1 Cor. 8:5). And for this reason, though there were others engaged in the creation
of the worlds, it is given to us in the Bible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these truths is only revealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to
God; as we are told in the scriptures: 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.'-Psalm 25:14.

"It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the plan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were then spirits, and had not yet
obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain
tabernacles, and in those tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exalted among the Gods, we are told that at that time, 'the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy.' The question then arose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltation and eternal glory of God's sons be
brought about? It is evident that at that Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and that after a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of
the Father's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Father with a plan of his own, saying, 'Behold [here am] I; send me, I will be thy son, and I will
redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor.' But Jesus, on hearing this statement made by Lucifer, said,
'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.' From these remarks made by the well beloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of this
subject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan and design pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son wanted to do was to
carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear had been before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to His Father, who, as God the Father, and the
originator and designer of the plan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to introduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted His
honor, and said: 'I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thine honor.' He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and presumptuously sought to
deprive man of his free agency, thus making him a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed
should be man's, through obedience to the law which He had suggested; and again, Lucifer wanted the honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out
principles which were contrary to the Father's wish."-John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, pp. 93-94.

  12. Ps. 25:14; Amos 3:7.

  13. John 1:1-3, 14; see also 1 Jn. 1:1; 5:7; Rev. 19:13; compare D&C 93:1-17, 21.

  14. Moses 1:32, 33; see also 2:5.

  15. 1 John 1:1-3; 2:13, 14; 4:9; Rev. 3:14.

  16. 2 Tim. 1:9, 10; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:4; 3:9, 11; Titus 1:2. See especially Rom. 3:25; and note the marginal rendering-"foreordained" -making the passage read:
"Whom God hath foreordained to be a propitiation."

  17. 1 Pet. 1:19, 20.

  18. John 6:38, 51, 57, 61, 62.

  19. John 8:58; see also 17:5, 24; and compare Ex. 3:14.

  20. John 16:27-28; see also 13:3.

  21. John 17:3-5; see also verses 24, 25.

   22. The Jaredites.-"Of the two nations whose histories constitute the Book of Mormon, the first in order of time consisted of the people of Jared, who followed their
leader from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-four plates of gold by Ether, the last of their prophets, who,
foreseeing the destruction of his people because of their wickedness, hid away the historical plates. They were afterward found, B.C. 123, by an expedition sent out by
King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on these plates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the condensed account was attached by him to the Book
of Mormon record; it appears in the modern translation under the name of the Book of Ether.

"The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not mentioned by name in the record as we have it; he is known only as the brother of Jared. Of the people, we learn
that, amid the confusion of Babel, Jared and his brother importuned the Lord that He would spare them and their associates from the impending disruption. Their prayer
was heard, and the Lord led them with a considerable company, who, like themselves, were free from the taint of idolatry, away from their homes, promising to
conduct them to a land choice above all other lands. Their course of travel is not given with exactness; we learn only that they reached the ocean, and there constructed
eight vessels, called barges, in which they set out upon the waters. These vessels were small and dark within; but the Lord made luminous certain stones, which gave
light to the imprisoned voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-four days, the colony landed on the western shore of North America, probably at a place
south of the Gulf of California, and north of the Isthmus of Panama.

"Here they became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one another until the people were
totally destroyed. This destruction, which occurred near the hill Ramah, afterward known among the Nephites as Cumorah, probably took place at about the time of
Lehi's landing in South America-590 B.C."-James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 260-61.

   23. Ether 3:11-16. See also 1 Ne. 17:30; 19:7; 2 Ne. 9:5; 11:7; 25:12;2 Ne. 26:12; Mosiah 3:5; 4:2;Mosiah 7:27; 13:34; 15:1; Alma 11:40; Hel. 14:12; 3 Ne.
9:15.

  24. D&C 93:1-17, 21.
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  25. D&C 76:13, 14.

CHAPTER 3
9:15.

  24. D&C 93:1-17, 21.

  25. D&C 76:13, 14.

CHAPTER 3

The Need of a Redeemer

We have heretofore shown that the entire human race existed as spirit-beings in the primeval world, and that for the purpose of making possible to them the
experiences of mortality this earth was created. They were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet but spirits; and the divine plan provided that they be
free-born in the flesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and to act for themselves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of
God's children that they be subjected to the influences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and proved withal, "to see if they will do all things whatsoever
the Lord their God shall command them." Free agency is an indispensable element of such a test.

The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge made plain to Him, even in the
beginning, that in the school of life some of His children would succeed and others would fail; some would be faithful, others false; some would choose the good, others
the evil; some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the road to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter the world, and that the
possession of bodies by His children would be of but brief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated; and that
men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrogress rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It was
necessary that a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and eventual
exaltation in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to be overcome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would live anew, their spirits clothed with
immortalized bodies over which death could not again prevail.

Let not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assuming that the Father's foreknowledge as to what would be, under given conditions, determined that
such must be. It was not His design that the souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work and glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life
of man." Nevertheless He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly fall, and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of averting the dire effect,
provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself thereof. The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own ministry among men the gospel of salvation,
and to sacrifice Himself, through labor, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was accepted and made the foreordained plan of man's redemption from death, of his
eventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible exaltation through righteous achievement.

In accordance with the plan adopted in the council of the Gods, man was created as an embodied spirit; his tabernacle of flesh was composed of the elements of earth.
    He was given commandment and law, and was free to obey or disobey-with the just and inevitable condition that he should enjoy or suffer the natural results of his
choice. Adam, the first man placed upon the earth in pursuance of the established plan, and Eve who was given unto him as companion and associate,
indispensable to him in the appointed mission of peopling the earth, disobeyed the express commandment of God and so brought about the "fall of man," whereby the
mortal state, of which death is an essential element was inaugurated. It is not proposed to consider here at length the doctrine of the fall; for the present argument it is
sufficient to establish the fact of the momentous occurrence and its portentous consequences. The woman was deceived, and in direct violation of counsel and
commandment partook of the food that had been forbidden, as a result of which act her body became degenerate and subject to death. Adam realized the disparity
that had been brought between him and his companion, and with some measure of understanding followed her course, thus becoming her partner in bodily degeneracy.
Note in this matter the words of Paul the apostle: "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

The man and the woman had now become mortal; through indulgence in food unsuited to their nature and condition and against which they had been specifically
warned, and as the inevitable result of their disobeying the divine law and commandment, they became liable to the physical ailments and bodily frailties to which
mankind has since been the natural heir. Those bodies, which before the fall had been perfect in form and function, were now subjects for eventual dissolution or
death. The arch-tempter through whose sophistries, half-truths and infamous falsehoods, Eve had been beguiled, was none other than Satan, or Lucifer, that rebellious
and fallen "son of the morning," whose proposal involving the destruction of man's liberty had been rejected in the council of the heavens, and who had been "cast out
into the earth," he and all his angels as unembodied spirits, never to be tabernacled in bodies of their own. As an act of diabolic reprisal following his rejection in the
council, his defeat by Michael and the heavenly hosts, and his ignominious expulsion from heaven, Satan planned to destroy the bodies in which the faithful spirits-those
who had kept their first estate-would be born; and his beguilement of Eve was but an early stage of that infernal scheme.

Death has come to be the universal heritage; it may claim its victim in infancy or youth, in the period of life's prime, or its summons may be deferred until the snows of
age have gathered upon the hoary head; it may befall as the result of accident or disease, by violence, or as we say, through natural causes; but come it must, as Satan
well knows; and in this knowledge is his present though but temporary triumph. But the purposes of God, as they ever have been and ever shall be, are infinitely
superior to the deepest designs of men or devils; and the Satanic machinations to make death inevitable, perpetual and supreme were provided against even before the
first man had been created in the flesh. The atonement to be wrought by Jesus the Christ was ordained to overcome death and to provide a means of ransom from the
power of Satan.

As the penalty incident to the fall came upon the race through an individual act, it would be manifestly unjust, and therefore impossible as part of the divine purpose, to
make all men suffer the results thereof without provision for deliverance. Moreover, since by the transgression of one man sin came into the world and death was
entailed upon all, it is consistent with reason that the atonement thus made necessary should be wrought by one. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: . . . Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." So taught the apostle Paul; and, further, "For since by
man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

The atonement was plainly to be a vicarious sacrifice, voluntary and love-inspired on the Savior's part, universal in its application to mankind so far as men shall accept
the means of deliverance thus placed within their reach. For such a mission only one who was without sin could be eligible. Even the altar victims of ancient Israel
offered as a provisional propitiation for the offenses of the people under the Mosaic law had to be clean and devoid of spot or blemish; otherwise they were
unacceptable and the attempt to offer them was sacrilege. Jesus Christ was the only Being suited to the requirements of the great sacrifice:

1-As the one and only sinless Man;
2-As the Only Begotten of the Father and therefore the only Being born to earth possessing in their fulness the attributes of both Godhood and manhood;
3-As the One who had been chosen in the heavens and foreordained to this service.

What other man has been without sin, and therefore wholly exempt from the dominion of Satan, and to whom death, the wage of sin, is not naturally due? Had Jesus
Christ met death as other men have done-the result of the power that Satan has gained over them through their sins-His death would have been but an individual
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experience,     2005-2009,
            expiatory         Infobase
                      in no degree      Media
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                                           faults or offenses but His own. Christ's absolute sinlessness made Him eligible, His humility and willingnessPage   45Him
                                                                                                                                                         rendered / 128
acceptable to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation could be made for the sins of all men.
3-As the One who had been chosen in the heavens and foreordained to this service.

What other man has been without sin, and therefore wholly exempt from the dominion of Satan, and to whom death, the wage of sin, is not naturally due? Had Jesus
Christ met death as other men have done-the result of the power that Satan has gained over them through their sins-His death would have been but an individual
experience, expiatory in no degree of any faults or offenses but His own. Christ's absolute sinlessness made Him eligible, His humility and willingness rendered Him
acceptable to the Father, as the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation could be made for the sins of all men.

What other man has lived with power to withstand death, over whom death could not prevail except through his own submission? Yet Jesus Christ could not be slain
until His "hour had come," and that, the hour in which He voluntarily surrendered His life, and permitted His own decease through an act of will. Born of a mortal
mother He inherited the capacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage the power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His life;
to this effect is His own affirmation: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it
down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." And further: "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself." Only such a One could conquer death; in none but Jesus the Christ was realized this requisite condition of a Redeemer of the world.

What other man has come to earth with such appointment, clothed with the authority of such foreordination? The atoning mission of Jesus Christ was no self-
assumption. True, He had offered Himself when the call was made in the heavens; true, He has been accepted, and in due time came to earth to carry into effect the
terms of that acceptance; but He was chosen by One greater than Himself. The burden of His confession of authority was ever to the effect that He operated under the
direction of the Father, as witness these words: "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." "My meat is to do the will of
him that sent me, and to finish his work." "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will but the will
of the Father which hath sent me."

Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ-a redeeming service, vicariously rendered in behalf of mankind, all of whom have become estranged from God by
the effects of sin both inherited and individually incurred-the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may come again into communion with God, and be made
fit to dwell anew and forever in the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirably implied in our English word, "atonement," which, as its syllables
attest, is at-one-ment, "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged." The effect of the atonement may be conveniently
considered as twofold:

1-The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the fall of our first parents; and,
2-Salvation, whereby means of relief from the results of individual sin are provided.

The victory over death was made manifest in the resurrection of the crucified Christ; He was the first to pass from death to immortality and so is justly known as "the
first fruits of them that slept." That the resurrection of the dead so inaugurated is to be extended to every one who has or shall have lived is proved by an abundance
of scriptural evidence. Following our Lord's resurrection, others who had slept in the tomb arose and were seen of many, not as spirit-apparitions but as resurrected
beings possessing immortalized bodies: "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his
resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

Those who thus early came forth are spoken of as "the saints"; and other scriptures confirm the fact that only the righteous shall be brought forth in the earlier stages of
the resurrection yet to be consummated; but that all the dead shall in turn resume bodies of flesh and bones is placed beyond doubt by the revealed word. The Savior's
direct affirmation ought to be conclusive: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they
that hear shall live. . . . Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."             The doctrine of a universal resurrection was taught by the
apostles of old, as also by the Nephite prophets;                 and the same is confirmed by revelation incident to the present dispensation.         Even the heathen who have
not known God shall be brought forth from their graves; and, inasmuch as they have lived and died in ignorance of the saving law, a means of making the plan of
salvation known unto them is provided. "And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection."

Jacob, a Nephite prophet, taught the universality of the resurrection, and set forth the absolute need of a Redeemer, without whom the purposes of God in the creation
of man would be rendered futile. His words constitute a concise and forceful summary of revealed truth directly bearing upon our present subject:

"For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs
come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord;
wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment
which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no
more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the
presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be
shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents; who
transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and all manner of secret works of darkness. O
how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death
of the body, and also the death of the spirit. And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the
temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual
death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the
bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. O how great the plan of our God!
For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is
restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh; save it be that our
knowledge shall be perfect."

The application of the atonement to individual transgression, whereby the sinner may obtain absolution through compliance with the laws and ordinances embodied in
the gospel of Jesus Christ, is conclusively attested by scripture. Since forgiveness of sins can be secured in none other way, there being either in heaven or earth no
name save that of Jesus Christ whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, every soul stands in need of the Savior's mediation, since all are sinners. "For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," said Paul of old and John the apostle added his testimony in these words: "If we say that we have no sin we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

Who shall question the justice of God, which denies salvation to all who will not comply with the prescribed conditions on which alone it is declared obtainable? Christ
is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him," and God "will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well
doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil."

Such then is(c)
 Copyright   the2005-2009,
                 need of a Redeemer,
                             Infobasefor   without
                                       Media       Him mankind would forever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progression would bePage
                                                Corp.                                                                                                     inevitably
                                                                                                                                                                 46 lost.
                                                                                                                                                                     / 128
The mortal probation is provided as an opportunity for advancement; but so great are the difficulties and the dangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and
so weak is man in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that of humanity no soul would find its way back to God from whom it came. The need of a
Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from the temporal to the spiritual plane, from the lower kingdom to the higher. In this conception we are not without
is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him," and God "will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well
doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil."

Such then is the need of a Redeemer, for without Him mankind would forever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progression would be inevitably lost.
The mortal probation is provided as an opportunity for advancement; but so great are the difficulties and the dangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and
so weak is man in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that of humanity no soul would find its way back to God from whom it came. The need of a
Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from the temporal to the spiritual plane, from the lower kingdom to the higher. In this conception we are not without
analogies in the natural world. We recognize a fundamental distinction between inanimate and living matter, between the inorganic and the organic, between the lifeless
mineral on the one hand and the living plant or animal on the other. Within the limitations of its order the dead mineral grows by accretion of substance, and may attain a
relatively perfect condition of structure and form as is seen in the crystal. But mineral matter, though acted upon favorably by the forces of nature-light, heat, electric
energy and others-can never become a living organism; nor can the dead elements, through any process of chemical combination dissociated from life, enter into the
tissues of the plant as essential parts thereof. But the plant, which is of a higher order, sends its rootlets into the earth, spreads its leaves in the atmosphere, and through
these organs absorbs the solutions of the soil, inspires the gases of the air, and from such lifeless materials weaves the tissue of its wondrous structure. No mineral
particle, no dead chemical substance has ever been made a constituent of organic tissue except through the agency of life. We may, perhaps with profit, carry the
analogy a step farther. The plant is unable to advance its own tissue to the animal plane. Though it be the recognized order of nature that the "animal kingdom" is
dependent upon the "vegetable kingdom" for its sustenance, the substance of the plant may become part of the animal organism only as the latter reaches down from its
higher plane and by its own vital action incorporates the vegetable compounds with itself. In turn, animal matter can never become, even transitorily, part of a human
body, except as the living man assimilates it, and by the vital processes of his own existence lifts, for the time being, the substance of the animal that supplied him food
to the higher plane of his own existence. The comparison herein employed is admittedly defective if carried beyond reasonable limits of application; for the raising of
mineral matter to the plane of the plant, vegetable tissue to the level of the animal, and the elevation of either to the human plane, is but a temporary change; with the
dissolution of the higher tissues the material thereof falls again to the level of the inanimate and the dead. But, as a means of illustration the analogy may not be wholly
without value.

So, for the advancement of man from his present fallen and relatively degenerate state to the higher condition of spiritual life, a power above his own must cooperate.
Through the operation of the laws obtaining in the higher kingdom man may be reached and lifted; himself he cannot save by his own unaided effort. A Redeemer
and Savior of mankind is beyond all question essential to the realization of the plan of the Eternal Father, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"; and
that Redeemer and Savior is Jesus the Christ, beside whom there is and can be none other.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 3

1. God's Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause.-"Respecting the foreknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of itself a determining cause
whereby events are inevitably brought to pass. A mortal father, who knows the weaknesses and frailties of his son, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully
predict the calamities and sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son's future a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of position,
self-respect, reputation and honor; even the dark shadows of a felon's cell and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in the saddening visions of that fond father's
soul; yet, convinced by experience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, he foresees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow
and anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father's foreknowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? The son, perchance, has reached his maturity; he is the
master of his own destiny; a free agent unto himself. The father is powerless to control by force or to direct by arbitrary command; and, while he would gladly make
any effort or sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for what seems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful, loving parent does
not, because of his knowledge, contribute to the son's waywardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectful father, who takes not the trouble to study
the nature and character of his son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in careless indifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness be
benefiting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operate as a contributory cause to dereliction.

"Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past
eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is infinitesimally small.
By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations; He knows
what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state
which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be."-James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pp. 19-20.

2. Man Free to Choose for Himself.-"The father of souls has endowed His children with the divine birthright of free agency;He does not and will not control them by
arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; He compels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act for himself; and, associated with this
independence, is the fact of strict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In the judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and
circumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies due to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or evil, the wholesome
teachings of youth, or the absence of good instruction-these and all other contributory elements must be taken into account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the
soul's guilt or innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will be the result with given conditions operating on known natures and dispositions of men,
while every individual is free to choose good or evil within the limits of the many conditions existing and operative."-The Great Apostasy, p. 21; see also Articles of
Faith, pp. 74-75.

3. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy.-A modern revelation given to the Church in 1833 (D&C 89), prescribes rules for right living, particularly as regards the
uses of stimulants, narcotics, and foods unsuited to the body. Concerning the physical causes by which the fall was brought about, and the close relation between those
causes and current violations of the Word of Wisdom embodied in the revelation referred to above, the following is in point. "This, [the Word of Wisdom] like other
revelations that have come in the present dispensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race. The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto
Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing
of earth. He was warned against that very practice. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakir of India
has come to look upon his body, or professes to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly condemned; but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things
which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to
death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying
good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid
gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us: Touch not these things, for in the day that thou doest
it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die.

"Here let me say that therein consisted the fall-the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth: and I take this
occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a
hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we
to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting
through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they
 Copyright
should       (c) 2005-2009,
        eat. Don't            Infobase Media
                   go around whispering          Corp.
                                          that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human racePage    47 /of128
                                                                                                                                                               is not born
fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods
before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures
occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a
hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we
to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting
through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they
should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of
fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods
before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures
from the path of chastity and the path of virtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, that it is as old as Adam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by
Eve. It was the introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the seeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race should degenerate
as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and of chastity have been transgressed.

"Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know now. But be it
known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true that they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not to eat; but who amongst you can rise up
and condemn?"-From an address by the author at the Eighty-fourth Semiannual Conference of the Church, Oct. 6, 1913; Conference Report, pp. 118-19.

4. Christ Wrought Redemption from the Fall.-"The Savior thus becomes master of the situation-the debt is paid, the redemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice
satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of God-the power of the resurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of
salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this design. Hence life and immortality are brought to light, the gospel is introduced, and
He becomes the author of eternal life and exaltation. He is the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the Savior of man and the world; and He has appointed the law of the
gospel as the medium which must be complied with in this world or the next, as He complied with His Father's law; hence 'he that believeth shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned.' The plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted before the foundation of the world; it was
prefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out and consummated on the cross. Hence being the mediator between God and man, He becomes by right the dictator and
director on earth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the present and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in
time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the Apostle and High-Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of life."-John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p.
171.

5. Redemption from the Effect of the Fall.-"'Mormonism' accepts the doctrine of the fall, and the account of the transgression in Eden, as set forth in Genesis; but it
affirms that none but Adam is or shall be answerable for Adam's disobedience; that mankind in general are absolutely absolved from responsibility for that 'original sin,'
and that each shall account for his own transgressions alone; that the fall was foreknown of God, that it was turned to good effect by which the necessary condition of
mortality should be inaugurated; and that a Redeemer was provided before the world was; that general salvation, in the sense of redemption from the effects of the fall,
comes to all without their seeking it; but that individual salvation or rescue from the effects of personal sins is to be acquired by each for himself by faith and good
works through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ."-James E. Talmage, Story and Philosophy of 'Mormonism,' p. 111.

Footnotes

  1. Abr. 3:25. For a fuller treatment of man's free agency, see the author's Articles of Faith, pp. 52-63, and the numerous references there given.

  2. Moses 1:39; compare 6:59.

God's Foreknowledge Not a Determining Cause.-"Respecting the foreknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of itself a determining cause
whereby events are inevitably brought to pass. A mortal father, who knows the weaknesses and frailties of his son, may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully
predict the calamities and sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son's future a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of position,
self-respect, reputation and honor; even the dark shadows of a felon's cell and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in the saddening visions of that fond father's
soul; yet, convinced by experience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, he foresees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow
and anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father's foreknowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? The son, perchance, has reached his maturity; he is the
master of his own destiny; a free agent unto himself. The father is powerless to control by force or to direct by arbitrary command; and, while he would gladly make
any effort or sacrifice to save his son from the fate impending, he fears for what seems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful, prayerful, loving parent does
not, because of his knowledge, contribute to the son's waywardness. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectful father, who takes not the trouble to study
the nature and character of his son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies, and rests in careless indifference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness be
benefiting his child, because his lack of forethought cannot operate as a contributory cause to dereliction.

"Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past
eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is infinitesimally small.
By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations; He knows
what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state
which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be."-James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pp. 19-20.

   3. Man Free to Choose for Himself.-"The father of souls has endowed His children with the divine birthright of free agency;He does not and will not control them by
arbitrary force; He impels no man toward sin; He compels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act for himself; and, associated with this
independence, is the fact of strict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In the judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and
circumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies due to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or evil, the wholesome
teachings of youth, or the absence of good instruction-these and all other contributory elements must be taken into account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the
soul's guilt or innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will be the result with given conditions operating on known natures and dispositions of men,
while every individual is free to choose good or evil within the limits of the many conditions existing and operative."-The Great Apostasy, p. 21; see also Articles of
Faith, pp. 74-75.

  4. Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7; compare Moses 2:26-27; 3:7; Abr. 4:26-28; 5:7.

  5. Gen. 1:28-31; 2:16-17; compare Moses 2:28-31; 3:16, 17; Abr. 4:28-31; 5:12, 13.

  6. Gen. 2:8; compare statement in verse 5-that prior to that time there was "not a man to till the ground"; see also Moses 3:7; Abr. 1:3; and 1 Ne. 5:11.

  7. Gen. chap. 3; compare Moses, chap. 4.

  8. See Articles of Faith, pp. 63-70.

  9. 1 Tim. 2:14; see also 2 Cor. 11:3.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                            Page 48 / 128
   10. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy.-A modern revelation given to the Church in 1833 (D&C 89), prescribes rules for right living, particularly as regards
the uses of stimulants, narcotics, and foods unsuited to the body. Concerning the physical causes by which the fall was brought about, and the close relation between
  8. See Articles of Faith, pp. 63-70.

  9. 1 Tim. 2:14; see also 2 Cor. 11:3.

    10. The Fall a Process of Physical Degeneracy.-A modern revelation given to the Church in 1833 (D&C 89), prescribes rules for right living, particularly as regards
the uses of stimulants, narcotics, and foods unsuited to the body. Concerning the physical causes by which the fall was brought about, and the close relation between
those causes and current violations of the Word of Wisdom embodied in the revelation referred to above, the following is in point. "This, [the Word of Wisdom] like
other revelations that have come in the present dispensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race. The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto
Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing
of earth. He was warned against that very practice. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakir of India
has come to look upon his body, or professes to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly condemned; but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things
which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to
death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying
good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid
gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us: Touch not these things, for in the day that thou doest
it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die.

"Here let me say that therein consisted the fall-the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth: and I take this
occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a
hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we
to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting
through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they
should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of
fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods
before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures
from the path of chastity and the path of virtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, that it is as old as Adam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by
Eve. It was the introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the seeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race should degenerate
as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and of chastity have been transgressed.

"Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know now. But be it
known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true that they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not to eat; but who amongst you can rise up
and condemn?"-From an address by the author at the Eighty-fourth Semiannual Conference of the Church, Oct. 6, 1913; Conference Report, pp. 118-19.

  11. See pages 6-7.

   12. Christ Wrought Redemption from the Fall.-"The Savior thus becomes master of the situation-the debt is paid, the redemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice
satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of God-the power of the resurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of
salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this design. Hence life and immortality are brought to light, the gospel is introduced, and
He becomes the author of eternal life and exaltation. He is the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the Savior of man and the world; and He has appointed the law of the
gospel as the medium which must be complied with in this world or the next, as He complied with His Father's law; hence 'he that believeth shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned.' The plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted before the foundation of the world; it was
prefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out and consummated on the cross. Hence being the mediator between God and man, He becomes by right the dictator and
director on earth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the present and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in
time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the Apostle and High-Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of life."-John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p.
171.

   13. Redemption from the Effect of the Fall.-"'Mormonism' accepts the doctrine of the fall, and the account of the transgression in Eden, as set forth in Genesis; but it
affirms that none but Adam is or shall be answerable for Adam's disobedience; that mankind in general are absolutely absolved from responsibility for that 'original sin,'
and that each shall account for his own transgressions alone; that the fall was foreknown of God, that it was turned to good effect by which the necessary condition of
mortality should be inaugurated; and that a Redeemer was provided before the world was; that general salvation, in the sense of redemption from the effects of the fall,
comes to all without their seeking it; but that individual salvation or rescue from the effects of personal sins is to be acquired by each for himself by faith and good
works through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ."-James E. Talmage, Story and Philosophy of 'Mormonism,' p. 111.

  14. Rom. 5:12, 18.

  15. 1 Cor. 15:21, 22.

  16. Lev. 22:20; Deut. 15:21; 17:1; Mal. 1:8, 14; compare Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19.

  17. John 10:17-18.

  18. John 5:26.

  19. John 6:38.

  20. John 4:34.

  21. John 5:30; see also verse 19; also Matt. 26:42; compare D&C 19:2; 20:24.

  22. New Standard Dictionary under "propitiation."

  23. 1 Cor. 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5.

  24. Matt. 27:52-53.

   25. John (c)
 Copyright   5:25, 28, 29. A modern
                2005-2009,    Infobasescripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in
                                        Media Corp.
the resurrection of the unjust."-D&C 76:17.
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  26. John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in
  24. Matt. 27:52-53.

   25. John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in
the resurrection of the unjust."-D&C 76:17.

   26. John 5:25, 28, 29. A modern scripture attesting the same truth reads: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil in
the resurrection of the unjust." ï¿½ D&C 76:17.

  27. Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:12, 13.

  28. For instances see 2 Ne. 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Hel. 14: 15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Morm. 9:13, 14.

  29. For instances see 2 Ne. 9:6, 12, 13, 21, 22; Hel. 14: 15-17; Mosiah 15:20-24; Alma 40:2-16; Morm. 9: 13, 14.

  30. For instances see D&C 18:11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98.

  31. For instances see D&C 18: 11, 12; 45:44, 45; 88:95-98.

  32. D&C 45:54.

  33. 2 Ne. 9:6-13; read the entire chapter.

  34. Moses 6:52; compare 2 Ne. 25:20; Mosiah 3:17; 5:8; D&C 76:1.

  35. Rom. 3:23; see also verse 9; Gal. 3:22.

  36. 1 Jn. 1:8.

  37. Heb. 5:9.

  38. Rom. 2:6-9.

   39. No special treatment relating to the Fall, the Atonement, or the Resurrection has been either attempted or intended in this chapter. For such the student is
referred to doctrinal works dealing with these subjects. See the author's Articles of Faith, lectures 3, 4, and 21.

  40. A comparison related to that given in the text is treated at length by Henry Drummond in his essay "Biogenesis," which the reader may study with profit.

  41. Moses 1:39.

CHAPTER 4

The Antemortal Godship of Christ

It now becomes our purpose to inquire as to the position and status of Jesus the Christ in the antemortal world, from the period of the solemn council in heaven, in
which He was chosen to be the future Savior and Redeemer of mankind, to the time at which He was born in the flesh.

We claim scriptural authority for the assertion that Jesus Christ was and is God the Creator, the God who revealed Himself to Adam, Enoch, and all the antediluvial
patriarchs and prophets down to Noah; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Israel as a united people, and the God of Ephraim and Judah after the
disruption of the Hebrew nation; the God who made Himself known to the prophets from Moses to Malachi; the God of the Old Testament record; and the God of the
Nephites. We affirm that Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One.

The scriptures specify three personages in the Godhead: (1) God the Eternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. These constitute the Holy
Trinity, comprising three physically separate and distinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council of the heavens. At least two of these appear as
directing participants in the work of creation; this fact is instanced by the plurality expressed in Genesis: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness"; and later, in the course of consultation concerning Adam's act of transgression, "the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us." From the
words of Moses, as revealed anew in the present dispensation, we learn more fully of the Gods who were actively engaged in the creation of this earth: "And I, God,
said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Then, further, with regard to the condition of
Adam after the fall: "I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us." In the account of the creation recorded by Abraham,
"the Gods" are repeatedly mentioned.

As heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in the work of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive through whom the will,
commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect. It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus Christ, is designated by the apostle John as
the Word; or as declared by the Father "the word of my power. The part taken by Jesus Christ in the creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him the
Creator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Son as separate though associated
Beings: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." Paul is even more explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking of Jesus the Son,
he says: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." And here let be repeated the testimony of John, that by
the Word, who was with God, and who was God even in the beginning, all things were made; "and without him was not anything made that was made."

That the Christ who was to come was in reality God the Creator was revealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel, the converted
Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites justified his testimony as follows: "And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his
name."
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To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the personal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected Being.   In His
to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with
the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name." To the Nephites, who failed to comprehend the
Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites justified his testimony as follows: "And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his
name."

To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the personal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected Being. In His visitation
to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with
the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name." To the Nephites, who failed to comprehend the
relation between the gospel declared unto them by the Resurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to be in force, and who marveled at His
saying that old things had passed away, He explained in this wise: "Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave
the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end."

Through revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew: "Hearken, O ye people of my
church to whom the kingdom has been given-hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and
by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being." And again, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, who created the heavens
and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness."

The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and titles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man's judgment there may be but little importance
attached to names; but in the nomenclature of the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God is righteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name and of
names given by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have been prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the Baptist, John,
who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names of persons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently definite as titles denoting the particular
service to which the bearers were called, or the special blessings conferred upon them.

Jesus is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of Greek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was Yehoshua or Yeshua, or, as we render it in English,
Joshua. In the original the name was well understood as meaning "Help of Jehovah," or "Savior." Though as common an appellation as John or Henry or Charles today,
the name was nevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, "And thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Christ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common name; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with its Hebrew equivalent Messiah or
Messias, signifying the Anointed One. Other titles, each possessing a definitive meaning, such as Emmanuel, Savior, Redeemer, Only Begotten Son, Lord, Son of
God, Son of Man, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; the fact of main present importance to us is that these several titles are expressive of our Lord's divine
origin and Godship. As seen, the essential names or titles of Jesus the Christ were made known before His birth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in
the mortal state.

Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English
version of the Old Testament as LORD, printed in capitals. The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying I Am, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term Yahveh
or Jehovah; and herein lies the significance of this name by which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commission to go into Egypt and
deliver the children of Israel from bondage: "Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers
hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." In the succeeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob." While Moses was in Egypt, the Lord further revealed Himself, saying "I am the LORD: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto
Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." The central fact connoted by this name, I Am, or Jehovah, the two
having essentially the same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no end, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have had no
beginning; the name is related to such other titles as Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Jesus, when once assailed with question and criticism from certain Jews who regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an assurance of divine preferment, met their abusive
words with the declaration: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." The true significance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the
sentence punctuated and pointed as follows: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham, was I AM"; which means the same as had He said-Before Abraham, was
I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offended at hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of an earlier scripture, they held was not to be
uttered on pain of death, that they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. The Jews regarded Jehovah as an ineffable name, not to be spoken; they
substituted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name, Adonai, signifying the Lord. The original of the terms Lord and God as they appear in the Old
Testament, was either Yahveh or Adonai; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, as shown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John,
evangelist and apostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord who spoke through the voice of Isaiah, and with Jehovah who spoke through
Zechariah.

The name Elohim is of frequent occurrence in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In form the word is a Hebrew plural
noun; but it connotes the plurality of excellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number. It is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. Elohim,
as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is Jehovah-the Only
Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himself the I Am or Jehovah, who was God before Abraham lived on earth, was the same Being who
is repeatedly proclaimed as the God who made covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who led Israel from the bondage of Egypt to the freedom of the
promised land, the one and only God known by direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general.

The identity of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was well understood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings was confirmed by the risen
Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortly after His ascension from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This is the record: "And it came to pass that the Lord
spake unto them saying, Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in
my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."

It would appear unnecessary to cite at greater length in substantiating our affirmation that Jesus Christ was God even before He assumed a body of flesh. During that
antemortal period there was essential difference between the Father and the Son, in that the former had already passed through the experiences of mortal life, including
death and resurrection, and was therefore a Being possessed of a perfect, immortalized body of flesh and bones, while the Son was yet unembodied. Through His
death and subsequent resurrection Jesus the Christ is today a Being like unto the Father in all essential characteristics.

A general consideration of scriptural evidence leads to the conclusion that God the Eternal Father has manifested Himself to earthly prophets or revelators on very few
occasions, and then principally to attest the divine authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. As before shown, the Son was the active executive in the work of creation;
throughout the creative scenes the Father appears mostly in a directing or consulting capacity. Unto Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses the Father revealed
Himself,
 Copyright attesting the Godship
              (c) 2005-2009,     of the Christ,
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was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; and at the transfiguration a similar testimony was given by the Father. On an occasion
yet later, while Jesus prayed in anguish of soul, submitting Himself that the Father's purposes be fulfilled and the Father's name glorified, "Then came there a voice from
A general consideration of scriptural evidence leads to the conclusion that God the Eternal Father has manifested Himself to earthly prophets or revelators on very few
occasions, and then principally to attest the divine authority of His Son, Jesus Christ. As before shown, the Son was the active executive in the work of creation;
throughout the creative scenes the Father appears mostly in a directing or consulting capacity. Unto Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses the Father revealed
Himself, attesting the Godship of the Christ, and the fact that the Son was the chosen Savior of mankind. On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus, the Father's voice
was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"; and at the transfiguration a similar testimony was given by the Father. On an occasion
yet later, while Jesus prayed in anguish of soul, submitting Himself that the Father's purposes be fulfilled and the Father's name glorified, "Then came there a voice from
heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The resurrected and glorified Christ was announced by the Father to the Nephites on the western
hemisphere, in these words: "Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name: hear ye him." From the time of the occurrence
last noted, the voice of the Father was not heard again among men, so far as the scriptures aver, until the spring of 1820, when both the Father and the Son ministered
unto the prophet Joseph Smith, the Father saying, "This is my beloved Son, hear him!" These are the instances of record in which the Eternal Father has been
manifest in personal utterance or other revelation to man apart from the Son. God the Creator, the Jehovah of Israel, the Savior and Redeemer of all nations, kindreds
and tongues, are the same, and He is Jesus the Christ.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 4

1. Names Given of God.-The significance of names when given of God finds illustration in many scriptural instances. The following are examples: "Jesus," meaning
Savior (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31); "John," signifying Jehovah's gift, specifically applied to the Baptist, who was sent to earth to prepare the way for Jehovah's coming in
the flesh (Luke 1:13); "Ishmael," signifying God shall hear him (Gen. 16:11); "Isaac," meaning laughter (Gen. 17:19, compare 18:10-15). As instances of names
changed by divine authority to express added blessings, or special callings, consider the following: "Abram," which connoted nobility or exaltation and as usually
rendered, father of elevation, was changed to "Abraham," father of a multitude which expressed the reason for the change as given at the time thereof, "for a father of
many nations have I made thee" (Gen. 17:5). "Sarai," the name of Abraham's wife, and of uncertain distinctive meaning, was substituted by "Sarah" which signified the
princess (Gen. 17:15). "Jacob," a name given to the son of Isaac with reference to a circumstance attending his birth, and signifying a supplanter, was superseded by
"Israel" meaning a soldier of God, a prince of God; as expressed in the words effecting the change, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince
hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Gen. 32:28; compare 35:9-10.) "Simon," meaning a hearer, the name of the man who became the chief
apostle of Jesus Christ, was changed by the Lord to "Cephas" (Aramaic) or "Peter" (Greek) meaning a rock (John 1:42; Matt. 16:18; Luke 6:14). On James and John
the sons of Zebedee, the Lord conferred the name or title "Boanerges" meaning sons of thunder (Mark 3:17).

The following is an instructive excerpt: "Name in the scriptures not only = that by which a person is designated, but frequently = all that is known to belong to the
person having this designation, and the person himself. Thus 'the name of God' or 'of Jehovah,' etc., indicates His authority (Deut. 18:20; Matt. 21:9, etc.), His dignity
and glory (Isa. 48:9, etc.), His protection and favor (Prov. 18:10, etc.), His character (Ex. 34:5, 14, compare 6-7, etc.), His divine attributes in general (Matt. 6:9,
etc.), etc. The Lord is said to set or put His name where the revelation or manifestation of His perfections is made (Deut. 12:5, 14:24, etc.). To believe in or on the
name of Christ is to receive and treat Him in accordance with the revelation which the scriptures make of Him (John 1:12; 2:23), etc."-Smith's Comprehensive
Dictionary of the Bible, "Name."

2. Jesus Christ, the God of Israel.-"That Jesus Christ was the same Being who called Abraham from his native country, who led Israel out of the land of Egypt with
mighty miracles and wonders, who made known to them His law amid the thunderings of Sinai, who delivered them from their enemies, who chastened them for their
disobedience, who inspired their prophets, and whose glory filled Solomon's temple, is evident from all the inspired writings, and in none more so than in the Bible.

"His lamentation over Jerusalem evidences that, in His humanity, He had not forgotten His former exalted position: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, . . . and ye would not!' (Matt. 23:37). It was this Creator
of the world, this mighty Ruler, this Controller of the destinies of the human family, who, in His last moments, cried out in the agony of His soul, 'My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34.)-Franklin D. Richards and James A Little, Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel.

3. "Jehovah" a Name Not Uttered by the Jews.-Long prior to the time of Christ, certain schools among the Jews, ever intent on the observance of the letter of the law,
though not without disregard of its spirit, had taught that the mere utterance of the name of God was blasphemous, and that the sin of so doing constituted a capital
offense. This extreme conception arose from the accepted though uninspired interpretation of Lev. 24:16, "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall
surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord,
shall be put to death." We take the following from Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible, article "Jehovah": "The true pronunciation of this name, [Yehovah] by
which God was known to the Hebrews, has been entirely lost, the Jews themselves scrupulously avoiding every mention of it, and substituting in its stead one or other
of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written [Adonai, Lord, or Elohim, God]. . . . According to Jewish tradition it was pronounced but
once a year by the high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this point there is some doubt."

Footnotes

  1. See "God and the Godhead," in the author's Articles of Faith, lecture 2.

  2. Gen. 1:26 and 3:22.

  3. Moses 2:26 and 4:28.

  4. Abr. chaps. 4 and 5.

  5. See John 1:1 and Moses 1:32.

  6. Heb. 1:1, 2; see also 1 Cor. 8:6.

  7. Col. 1:16, 17.

  8. John 1:1-3.

  9. Hel. 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2; Alma 11:39.

  10. 3 Ne. 9:15.

 11. 3 Ne.(c)
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  12. D&C 45:1.
  9. Hel. 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2; Alma 11:39.

  10. 3 Ne. 9:15.

  11. 3 Ne. 15:4, 5.

  12. D&C 45:1.

  13. D&C 14:9; see also 29:1, 31; 76:24.

  14. Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 5:11.

   15. Names Given of God.-The significance of names when given of God finds illustration in many scriptural instances. The following are examples: "Jesus," meaning
Savior (Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31); "John," signifying Jehovah's gift, specifically applied to the Baptist, who was sent to earth to prepare the way for Jehovah's coming in
the flesh (Luke 1:13); "Ishmael," signifying God shall hear him (Gen. 16:11); "Isaac," meaning laughter (Gen. 17:19, compare 18:10-15). As instances of names
changed by divine authority to express added blessings, or special callings, consider the following: "Abram," which connoted nobility or exaltation and as usually
rendered, father of elevation, was changed to "Abraham," father of a multitude which expressed the reason for the change as given at the time thereof, "for a father of
many nations have I made thee" (Gen. 17:5). "Sarai," the name of Abraham's wife, and of uncertain distinctive meaning, was substituted by "Sarah" which signified the
princess (Gen. 17:15). "Jacob," a name given to the son of Isaac with reference to a circumstance attending his birth, and signifying a supplanter, was superseded by
"Israel" meaning a soldier of God, a prince of God; as expressed in the words effecting the change, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince
hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Gen. 32:28; compare 35:9-10.) "Simon," meaning a hearer, the name of the man who became the chief
apostle of Jesus Christ, was changed by the Lord to "Cephas" (Aramaic) or "Peter" (Greek) meaning a rock (John 1:42; Matt. 16:18; Luke 6:14). On James and John
the sons of Zebedee, the Lord conferred the name or title "Boanerges" meaning sons of thunder (Mark 3:17).

The following is an instructive excerpt: "Name in the scriptures not only = that by which a person is designated, but frequently = all that is known to belong to the
person having this designation, and the person himself. Thus 'the name of God' or 'of Jehovah,' etc., indicates His authority (Deut. 18:20; Matt. 21:9, etc.), His dignity
and glory (Isa. 48:9, etc.), His protection and favor (Prov. 18:10, etc.), His character (Ex. 34:5, 14, compare 6-7, etc.), His divine attributes in general (Matt. 6:9,
etc.), etc. The Lord is said to set or put His name where the revelation or manifestation of His perfections is made (Deut. 12:5, 14:24, etc.). To believe in or on the
name of Christ is to receive and treat Him in accordance with the revelation which the scriptures make of Him (John 1:12; 2:23), etc."-Smith's Comprehensive
Dictionary of the Bible, "Name."

  16. Matt. 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31.

  17. John 1:41; 4:25.

   18. Luke 1:31; 2:21; Matt. 1:21, 25; see also verse 23 and compare Isa. 7:14; Luke 2:11. See further Moses 6:51, 57; 7:20; 8:24; 1 Ne. 10:4; 2 Ne. 10:3; Mosiah
3:8.

  19. The name appears thus in Gen. 2:5; see also Ex. 6:2-4; and read for comparison Gen. 17:1; 35:11.

   20. Ex. 3:13, 14; compare with respect to the fact of eternal duration expressed in this name, Isa. 44:6; John 8:58; Col. 1: 17; Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:4; see also Moses
1:3 and the references there given.

  21. Ex. 6:2, 3.

Jesus Christ, the God of Israel.-"That Jesus Christ was the same Being who called Abraham from his native country, who led Israel out of the land of Egypt with mighty
miracles and wonders, who made known to them His law amid the thunderings of Sinai, who delivered them from their enemies, who chastened them for their
disobedience, who inspired their prophets, and whose glory filled Solomon's temple, is evident from all the inspired writings, and in none more so than in the Bible.

"His lamentation over Jerusalem evidences that, in His humanity, He had not forgotten His former exalted position: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, . . . and ye would not!' (Matt. 23:37). It was this Creator
of the world, this mighty Ruler, this Controller of the destinies of the human family, who, in His last moments, cried out in the agony of His soul, 'My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?'" (Mark 15:34.)-Franklin D. Richards and James A Little, Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel.

  22. Rev. 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13; compare Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.

  23. John 8:58.

  24. Lev. 24:16.

"Jehovah" a Name Not Uttered by the Jews.-Long prior to the time of Christ, certain schools among the Jews, ever intent on the observance of the letter of the law,
though not without disregard of its spirit, had taught that the mere utterance of the name of God was blasphemous, and that the sin of so doing constituted a capital
offense. This extreme conception arose from the accepted though uninspired interpretation of Lev. 24:16, "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall
surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord,
shall be put to death." We take the following from Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible, article "Jehovah": "The true pronunciation of this name, [Yehovah] by
which God was known to the Hebrews, has been entirely lost, the Jews themselves scrupulously avoiding every mention of it, and substituting in its stead one or other
of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written [Adonai, Lord, or Elohim, God]. . . . According to Jewish tradition it was pronounced but
once a year by the high priest on the day of atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this point there is some doubt."

  25. Isa. 6:8-11; and compare John 12:40, 41.

  26. Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.

  27. The singular "Eloah," appears only in poetic usage.

  28. 3 Ne. 11:13, 14; also 1 Ne. 17:40 and observe from verse 30 that the Redeemer is here spoken of as the God who delivered Israel. See further Mosiah 7:19.
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  29. Moses 1:6, 31-33; 2:1; 4:2, 3; 6:57; compare 7:35, 39, 47, 53-59; 8:16, 19, 23, 24; Abr. 3:22-28. See chapter 5 herein.
  27. The singular "Eloah," appears only in poetic usage.

  28. 3 Ne. 11:13, 14; also 1 Ne. 17:40 and observe from verse 30 that the Redeemer is here spoken of as the God who delivered Israel. See further Mosiah 7:19.
Chapter 39 herein.

  29. Moses 1:6, 31-33; 2:1; 4:2, 3; 6:57; compare 7:35, 39, 47, 53-59; 8:16, 19, 23, 24; Abr. 3:22-28. See chapter 5 herein.

  30. Matt. 3:17; also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22.

  31. Matt. 17:5; Luke 9:35.

  32. John 12:28.

  33. 3 Ne. 11:7.

  34. Joseph Smith-History 1:17.

CHAPTER 5

Earthly Advent of the Christ Predicted

The coming of Christ to earth to tabernacle in the flesh was no unexpected or unheralded event. For centuries prior to the great occurrence the Jews had professed to
be looking for the advent of their King; and, in the appointed ceremonials of worship as in private devotions, the coming of the promised Messiah was prominent as a
matter of the supplication of Israel to Jehovah. True, there was much diversity in lay opinion and in rabbinical exposition as to the time and manner of His appearing; but
the certainty thereof was fundamentally established in the beliefs and hopes of the Hebrew nation.

The records known to us as the books of the Old Testament, together with other inspired writings once regarded as authentic but excluded from later compilations as
not strictly canonical, were current among the Hebrews at and long before the time of Christ's birth. These scriptures had their beginning in the proclamation of the law
through Moses, who wrote the same, and delivered the writing into the official custody of the priests with an express command that it be read in the assemblies of the
people at stated times. To these earlier writings were added the utterances of divinely commissioned prophets, the records of appointed historians, and the songs of
inspired poets, as the centuries passed; so that at the time of our Lord's ministry the Jews possessed a great accumulation of writings accepted and revered by them as
authoritative.      These records are rich in prediction and promise respecting the earthly advent of the Messiah, as are other scriptures to which the Israel of old had
not access.

Adam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assurance of the Savior's appointed ministry, through the acceptance of which, he, the transgressor, might gain
redemption. Brief mention of the plan of salvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promise given of God following the fall-that though the devil,
represented by the serpent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam's posterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruise the
adversary's head. It is significant that this assurance of eventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both of which were introduced to earth through Satan
the arch-enemy of mankind, was to be realized through the offspring of woman; the promise was not made specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance of
offspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth of Jesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begotten by an immortal Father.
He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father in the flesh, and was born of woman.

Through scriptures other than those embodied in the Old Testament we learn with greater fulness of the revelations of God to Adam respecting the coming of the
Redeemer. As a natural and inevitable result of his disobedience, Adam had forfeited the high privilege he once enjoyed-that of holding direct and personal association
with his God; nevertheless in his fallen state he was visited by an angel of the Lord, who revealed unto him the plan of redemption: "And after many days an angel of the
Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the
angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou
doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which
beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest
be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will."

The Lord's revelation to Adam making known the ordained plan whereby the Son of God was to take upon Himself flesh in the meridian of time, and become the
Redeemer of the world, was attested by Enoch, son of Jared and father of Methuselah. From the words of Enoch we learn that to him as to his great progenitor,
Adam, the very name by which the Savior would be known among men was revealed-"which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven,
whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men."         The recorded covenant of God with Abraham, and the reiteration and confirmation thereof with Isaac and
in turn with Jacob-that through their posterity should all nations of the earth be blessed-presaged the birth of the Redeemer through that chosen lineage.  Its
fulfillment is the blessed heritage of the ages.

In pronouncing his patriarchal blessing upon the head of Judah, Jacob prophesied: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." That by Shiloh is meant the Christ is evidenced by the fulfillment of the conditions set forth in the
prediction, in the state of the Jewish nation at the time of our Lord's birth.

Moses proclaimed the coming of a great Prophet in Israel, whose ministry was to be of such importance that all men who would not accept Him would be under
condemnation; and that this prediction had sole reference to Jesus Christ is conclusively shown by later scriptures. Thus spake the Lord unto Moses: "I will raise them
up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."           The system of sacrifice expressly enjoined
in the Mosaic code was essentially a prototype of the sacrificial death to be accomplished by the Savior on Calvary. The blood of countless altar victims, slain by
Israel's priests in the course of prescribed ritual, ran throughout the centuries from Moses to Christ as a prophetic flood in similitude of the blood of the Son of God
appointed to be shed as an expiatory sacrifice for the redemption of the race. But, as already shown, the institution of bloody sacrifice as a type of the future death of
Jesus Christ dates from the beginning of human history; since the offering of animal sacrifices through the shedding of blood was required of Adam, to whom the
significance of the ordinance, as "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father," was expressly defined.

The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually recurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of God who in due time would
be slain for the sins of the world. The crucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and the consummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal
lambs had been but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later times: "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."
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                                                                                                                                                                            he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."         The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurring allusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of
which are described in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utterances is found in New Testament scriptures.
The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually recurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of God who in due time would
be slain for the sins of the world. The crucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and the consummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal
lambs had been but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later times: "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."

Job in the day of dire affliction rejoiced in his testimony of the coming Messiah, and declared with prophetic conviction: "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."        The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurring allusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of
which are described in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utterances is found in New Testament scriptures.

Isaiah, whose prophetic office was honored by the personal testimony of Christ and the apostles, manifested in numerous passages the burden of his conviction relating
to the great event of the Savior's advent and ministry on earth. With the forcefulness of direct revelation he told of the Virgin's divine maternity, whereof Immanuel
should be born, and his prediction was reiterated by the angel of the Lord, over seven centuries later.         Looking down through the ages the prophet saw the
accomplishment of the divine purposes as if already achieved, and sang in triumph: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
forever."

Immediately prior to its fulfillment, the blessed promise was repeated by Gabriel, sent from the presence of God to the Chosen Virgin of Nazareth. As made known
to the prophet and by him proclaimed, the coming Lord was the living Branch that should spring from the undying root typified in the family of Jesse; the foundation
Stone insuring the stability of Zion; the Shepherd of the house of Israel; the Light of the world, to Gentile as well as Jew; the Leader and Commander of His
people. The same inspired voice predicted the forerunner who should cry in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
for our God."

Isaiah was permitted to read the scroll of futurity as to many distinguishing conditions to attend the Messiah's lowly life and atoning death. In Him the prophet saw One
who would be despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, One to be wounded and bruised for the transgressions of the race, on whom
would be laid the iniquity of us all-a patient and willing Sacrifice, silent under affliction, as a lamb brought to the slaughter. The Lord's dying with sinners, and His burial
in the tomb of the wealthy were likewise declared with prophetic certainty.

Unto Jeremiah came the word of the Lord in terms of plainness, declaring the sure advent of the King by whom the safety of both Judah and Israel should be assured;
   the Prince of the House of David, through whom the divine promise to the son of Jesse should be realized. Under the same spirit prophesied Ezekiel, Hosea,
and Micah. Zechariah broke off in the midst of fateful prediction to voice the glad song of thanksgiving and praise as he beheld in vision the simple pageantry of the
King's triumphal entry into the city of David. Then the prophet bewailed the grief of the conscience-smitten nation, by whom, as was foreseen, the Savior of
humankind would be pierced, even unto death;       and showed that, when subdued by contrition His own people would ask, "What are these wounds in thy hands?",
the Lord would answer: "Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." The very price to be paid for the betrayal of the Christ to His death was
foretold as in parable.

The fact, that these predictions of the Old Testament prophets had reference to Jesus Christ and to Him only, is put beyond question by the attestation of the
resurrected Lord. To the assembled apostles He said: "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which
were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."

John the Baptist, whose ministry immediately preceded that of the Christ, proclaimed the coming of One mightier than himself, One who should baptize with the Holy
Ghost, and specifically identified Jesus of Nazareth as that One, the Son of God, the Lamb who should assume the burden of the world's sins.

The predictions thus far cited as relating to the life, ministry, and death of the Lord Jesus, are the utterances of prophets who, excepting Adam and Enoch, lived and
died on the eastern hemisphere. All save John the Baptist are of Old Testament record, and he, a contemporary of the Christ in mortality, figures in the early chapters of
the Gospels. It is important to know that the scriptures of the western hemisphere are likewise explicit in the declaration of the great truth that the Son of God would be
born in the flesh. The Book of Mormon contains a history of a colony of Israelites, of the tribe of Joseph, who left Jerusalem 600 B.C., during the reign of Zedekiah,
king of Judah, on the eve of the subjugation of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar and the inauguration of the Babylonian captivity. This colony was led by divine guidance to
the American continent, whereon they developed into a numerous and mighty people; though, divided by dissension, they formed two opposing nations known
respectively as Nephites and Lamanites. The former cultivated the arts of industry and refinement, and preserved a record embodying both history and scripture, while
the latter became degenerate and debased. The Nephites suffered extinction about 400 A.D., but the Lamanites lived on in their degraded course, and are today extant
upon the land as the American Indians.

The Nephite annals from the beginning thereof down to the time of our Lord's birth abound in prediction and promise of the Christ; and this chronicle is followed by a
record of the actual visitation of the resurrected Savior to the Nephites, and the establishment of His Church among them. Unto Lehi, the leader of the colony, the Lord
revealed the time, place, and manner of Christ's then future advent, together with many important facts of His ministry, and the preparatory work of John the forerunner.
This revelation was given while the company was journeying in the wilderness of Arabia, prior to their crossing the great waters. The prophecy is thus written by Nephi,
a son of Lehi and his successor in the prophetic calling: "Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise
up among the Jews; even a Messiah; or, in other words, a Savior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these
things concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be,
save they should rely on this Redeemer. And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord; yea, even he
should go forth and cry in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth One among you whom ye know not; and he is
mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water,
he should behold and bear record, that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world. And it came to pass after my father had spoken
these words, he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews; and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief.
And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain, he should rise from the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy
Ghost, unto the Gentiles."

At a later time Nephi writes, not as his father's scribe, but as a prophet and revelator voicing the word of God as made known to himself. He was permitted to behold
in vision and to declare to his people the circumstances of the Messiah's birth, His baptism by John and the ministration of the Holy Ghost with its accompanying sign of
the dove; he beheld our Lord moving as a Teacher of righteousness among the people, healing the afflicted and rebuking spirits of evil; he saw and bore record of the
dread scenes of Calvary; he beheld and predicted the calling of the chosen Twelve, the apostles of the Lamb, for so these were designated by Him who vouchsafed the
vision. Moreover he told of the iniquity of the Jews, who were seen in contention with the apostles; and thus concludes the portentous prophecy: "And the angel of the
Lord spake unto me again, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb."
Soon after the defection whereby the distinction between Nephites and Lamanites was established, Jacob, a brother of Nephi, continued in prophecy of the assured
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redemption. The prophet Abinadi, in his fearless denunciation of sin to the wicked king Noah, preached the Christ who was to come; and righteous Benjamin,
who was at once prophet and king, proclaimed the same great truth to his people about 125 B.C. So taught Alma in his inspired admonition to his wayward son,
dread scenes of Calvary; he beheld and predicted the calling of the chosen Twelve, the apostles of the Lamb, for so these were designated by Him who vouchsafed the
vision. Moreover he told of the iniquity of the Jews, who were seen in contention with the apostles; and thus concludes the portentous prophecy: "And the angel of the
Lord spake unto me again, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb."
Soon after the defection whereby the distinction between Nephites and Lamanites was established, Jacob, a brother of Nephi, continued in prophecy of the assured
coming of the Messiah, specifically declaring that He would minister at Jerusalem and affirming the necessity of His atoning death as the ordained means of human
redemption. The prophet Abinadi, in his fearless denunciation of sin to the wicked king Noah, preached the Christ who was to come; and righteous Benjamin,
who was at once prophet and king, proclaimed the same great truth to his people about 125 B.C. So taught Alma in his inspired admonition to his wayward son,
Corianton; and so also Amulek in his contention with Zeezrom. So proclaimed the Lamanite prophet, Samuel, only five years prior to the actual occurrence;
furthermore he specified the signs by which the birth of Jesus in Judea would be made known to the people of the western world. Said he: "Behold, I give unto you a
sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a
sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it
shall appear unto man as if it was day, therefore there shall be one day and a night, and a day, as if it were one day, and there were no night; and this shall be unto you
for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun, and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the
night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born. And behold there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall
be a sign unto you. And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven."

Thus the scriptures of both hemispheres and in all ages of ante-meridian time bore solemn testimony to the certainty of Messiah's advent; thus the holy prophets of old
voiced the word of revelation predicting the coming of the world's King and Lord, through whom alone is salvation provided, and redemption from death made sure. It
is a characteristic of prophets sent of God that they possess and proclaim a personal assurance of the Christ, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Not a word of inspired prophecy relating to the great event has been found void. The literal fulfilment of the predictions is ample attestation of their origin in divine
revelation, and proof conclusive of the divinity of Him whose coming was so abundantly foretold.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 5

1. The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's Atoning Death.-While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering of sacrifices long prior to Israel's exodus
from Egypt-e.g. by Abel and by Cain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham (Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)-it is silent
concerning the divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguring the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining time and circumstance,
under which the offering of symbolical sacrifices originated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators save those who admit the validity of modern revelation.
The necessity of assuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has been asserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article "Sacrifice" in the
Cassell Bible Dictionary says: "The idea of sacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the most ancient and widely recognized in the rites of religion
throughout the world. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments and applications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has been judiciously inferred
that sacrifice formed an element in the primeval worship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirect argument for the unity of the human race, but an
illustration and confirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. The notion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassisted human nature, and
must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewed as a divine revelation to primitive man."

Smith's Dict. of the Bible presents the following: "In tracing the history of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect development in the Mosaic ritual, we are at once
met by the long-disputed question as to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinct of man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of
some distinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice was sanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to the Atonement of Christ; its
universal prevalence, independent of, and often opposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the
instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by His
hand on the heart of man-is an historical question, perhaps insoluble."

The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the origin of sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the current dispensation, whereby parts of
the record of Moses-not contained in the Bible-have been restored to human knowledge. The scripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the
offering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and that the significance of the divinely established requirement was explained in fullness to the
patriarch of the race. The shedding of the blood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father," dates from the time
immediately following the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation to Adam. See Moses 5:5-8.

2. Jacob's Prophecy Concerning "Shiloh."-The prediction of the patriarch Jacob-that the sceptre should not depart from Judah before the coming of Shiloh-has given
rise to much disputation among Bible students. Some insist that "Shiloh" is the name of a place and not that of a person. That there was a place known by that name is
beyond question (see Josh. 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; 1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 7:12); but the name occurring in Gen. 49:10 is plainly that of a person. It should be known that the
use of the word in the King James or authorized version of the Bible is held to be correct by many eminent authorities. Thus, in Dummelow's Commentary on the Holy
Bible, we read: "This verse has always been regarded by both Jews and Christians as a remarkable prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. . . . On the rendering given
above, the whole verse foretells that Judah would retain authority until the advent of the rightful ruler, the Messiah, to whom all peoples would gather. And, broadly
speaking, it may be said that the last traces of Jewish legislative power (as vested in the Sanhedrin) did not disappear until the coming of Christ and the destruction of
Jerusalem, from which time His kingdom was set up among men."

Adam Clarke, in his exhaustive Bible Commentary, briefly analyzes the objections urged against the admissibility of this passage as applying to the Messiah's advent,
and dismisses them all as unfounded. His conclusion as to the meaning of the passage is thus worded: "Judah shall continue a distinct tribe until the Messiah shall come;
and it did so; and after His coming it was confounded with the others, so that all distinction has been ever since lost."

Prof. Douglas, as cited in Smith's Dictionary, "claims that something of Judah's sceptre still remained, a total eclipse being no proof that the day is at an end-that the
proper fulfillment of the prophecy did not begin till David's time, and is consummated in Christ according to Luke 1:32, 33."

The accepted meaning of the word by derivation is "Peaceable," and this is applicable to the attributes of the Christ, who in Isa. 9:6, is designated the Prince of Peace.

Eusebius, who lived between 260 and 339 A.D., and is known in ecclesiastical history as Bishop of Caesarea, wrote: "At the time that Herod was king, who was the
first foreigner that reigned over the Jewish people, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfillment, viz. 'That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from
his loins, until He should come for whom it is reserved, the expectation of nations.'" (The quoted passage is founded on the Septuagint rendering of Genesis 49:10.)

Some critics have held that in Jacob's use of the word "Shiloh" he did not intend it as a name or proper noun at all. The writer of the article "Shiloh" in Cassell's Bible
Dictionary says: "The preponderance of evidence is in favor of the Messianic interpretation, but opinions are very divided respecting the retention of the word 'Shiloh'
as a proper name. . . . Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against it being so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly considered to be a proper
name, and that the English version represents the true sense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fully into a question which cannot well be
discussed without Hebrew criticism, to the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on the Pentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus
rendered: 'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations be to him.'
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"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by some writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see this explanation
confirmed and not weakened in the events of history. The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a royal ruler of his own, but that the regal
as a proper name. . . . Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against it being so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly considered to be a proper
name, and that the English version represents the true sense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fully into a question which cannot well be
discussed without Hebrew criticism, to the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on the Pentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus
rendered: 'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations be to him.'

"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by some writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see this explanation
confirmed and not weakened in the events of history. The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a royal ruler of his own, but that the regal
power should not finally cease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on the Babylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force,
because it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out, and that only happened after the time of Christ." See further The Book of Prophecy, by G. Smith,
I.L.D., p. 320. See also Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, article "Christ's First Coming."

3. Nephites and Lamanites.-The progenitors of the Nephite nation were led from Jerusalem, 600 B.C., by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of Manasseh. His
immediate family, at the time of their departure from Jerusalem, comprised his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the
history, daughters are mentioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exodus we are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi included
Zoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim. Ishmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and his descendants were numbered with the
nation of whom we are speaking. The company journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders of the Red Sea; then, changing their course to the
eastward, crossed the peninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, built and provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divine
care upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across the Indian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of South America,
whereon they landed (590 B.C.). . . . The people established themselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children were born, and in the course of a few
generations a numerous posterity held possession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred, some of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who
had been duly appointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, the eldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people were known
as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times they observed toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally they were opposed, the Lamanites manifesting
implacable hatred and hostility toward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of civilization, built large cities and established prosperous
commonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lord chastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spread northward, occupying the
northern part of South America; then, crossing the Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central and eastern portions of what is now the United States
of America. The Lamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse of darkness; they became dark in skin and benighted in spirit, forgot the God of their
fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, and degenerated into the fallen state in which the American Indians-their lineal descendants-were found by those who rediscovered
the western continent in later times. See Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 258-60.

4. The First Gospel Dispensation.-The gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son the Savior of Adam and all his
posterity, repentance of sin, water baptism by immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowal were proclaimed in the beginning of human history
as the essentials to salvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. "And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels
sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thus testified: "But God hath made
known unto our fathers that all men must repent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were
in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in
water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation
shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you" (Moses
6:50-52; read also 53-61). "And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the
meridian of time" (62). "And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit
of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of
God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized
with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever" (64-66). Compare D&C 29:42.

Footnotes

  1. Deut. 31:9, 24-26; compare 17:18-20.

  2. Articles of Faith, chapter 13.

  3. Articles of Faith, chapter 13.

  4. Gen. 3:15; compare Heb. 2:14; Rev. 12:9; 20:3.

  5. Moses 5:6-9.

The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's Atoning Death.-While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering of sacrifices long prior to Israel's exodus
from Egypt-e.g. by Abel and by Cain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham (Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)-it is silent
concerning the divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguring the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining time and circumstance,
under which the offering of symbolical sacrifices originated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators save those who admit the validity of modern revelation.
The necessity of assuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has been asserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article "Sacrifice" in the
Cassell Bible Dictionary says: "The idea of sacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the most ancient and widely recognized in the rites of religion
throughout the world. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments and applications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has been judiciously inferred
that sacrifice formed an element in the primeval worship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirect argument for the unity of the human race, but an
illustration and confirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. The notion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassisted human nature, and
must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewed as a divine revelation to primitive man."

Smith's Dict. of the Bible presents the following: "In tracing the history of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect development in the Mosaic ritual, we are at once
met by the long-disputed question as to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinct of man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of
some distinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice was sanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to the Atonement of Christ; its
universal prevalence, independent of, and often opposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the
instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by His
hand on the heart of man-is an historical question, perhaps insoluble."

The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the origin of sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the current dispensation, whereby parts of
the record of Moses-not contained in the Bible-have been restored to human knowledge. The scripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the
offering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and that the significance of the divinely established requirement was explained in fullness to the
patriarch of the race. The shedding of the blood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father," dates from the time
 Copyright (c)
immediately     2005-2009,
              following       Infobase
                        the fall.         Media
                                  Its origin      Corp.
                                             is based on a specific revelation to Adam. See Moses 5:5-8.                                                     Page 57 / 128

  6. Moses 6:52; study also vss. 50-56. See also Gen. 5:18, 21-24; Jude 14.
The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the origin of sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the current dispensation, whereby parts of
the record of Moses-not contained in the Bible-have been restored to human knowledge. The scripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the
offering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and that the significance of the divinely established requirement was explained in fullness to the
patriarch of the race. The shedding of the blood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father," dates from the time
immediately following the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation to Adam. See Moses 5:5-8.

  6. Moses 6:52; study also vss. 50-56. See also Gen. 5:18, 21-24; Jude 14.

The First Gospel Dispensation.-The gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son the Savior of Adam and all his
posterity, repentance of sin, water baptism by immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowal were proclaimed in the beginning of human history
as the essentials to salvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. "And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels
sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thus testified: "But God hath made
known unto our fathers that all men must repent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were
in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in
water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation
shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you" (Moses
6:50-52; read also 53-61). "And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the
meridian of time" (62). "And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit
of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of
God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized
with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever" (64-66). Compare D&C 29:42.

  7. Moses 6:52; study also vs. 50-56. See also Gen. 5:18, 21-24; Jude 14.

The First Gospel Dispensation.-The gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son the Savior of Adam and all his
posterity, repentance of sin, water baptism by immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowal were proclaimed in the beginning of human history
as the essentials to salvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. "And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels
sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thus testified: "But God hath made
known unto our fathers that all men must repent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were
in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in
water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation
shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you" (Moses
6:50-52; read also 53-61). "And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the
meridian of time" (62). "And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit
of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of
God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized
with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever" (64-66). Compare D&C 29:42.

  8. Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.

  9. Gen. 12:3;Gen. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.

  10. Gen. 49:10.

   11. Jacob's Prophecy Concerning "Shiloh."-The prediction of the patriarch Jacob-that the sceptre should not depart from Judah before the coming of Shiloh-has
given rise to much disputation among Bible students. Some insist that "Shiloh" is the name of a place and not that of a person. That there was a place known by that
name is beyond question (see Josh. 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; 1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 7:12); but the name occurring in Gen. 49:10 is plainly that of a person. It should be known
that the use of the word in the King James or authorized version of the Bible is held to be correct by many eminent authorities. Thus, in Dummelow's Commentary on
the Holy Bible, we read: "This verse has always been regarded by both Jews and Christians as a remarkable prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. . . . On the
rendering given above, the whole verse foretells that Judah would retain authority until the advent of the rightful ruler, the Messiah, to whom all peoples would gather.
And, broadly speaking, it may be said that the last traces of Jewish legislative power (as vested in the Sanhedrin) did not disappear until the coming of Christ and the
destruction of Jerusalem, from which time His kingdom was set up among men."

Adam Clarke, in his exhaustive Bible Commentary, briefly analyzes the objections urged against the admissibility of this passage as applying to the Messiah's advent,
and dismisses them all as unfounded. His conclusion as to the meaning of the passage is thus worded: "Judah shall continue a distinct tribe until the Messiah shall come;
and it did so; and after His coming it was confounded with the others, so that all distinction has been ever since lost."

Prof. Douglas, as cited in Smith's Dictionary, "claims that something of Judah's sceptre still remained, a total eclipse being no proof that the day is at an end-that the
proper fulfillment of the prophecy did not begin till David's time, and is consummated in Christ according to Luke 1:32, 33."

The accepted meaning of the word by derivation is "Peaceable," and this is applicable to the attributes of the Christ, who in Isa. 9:6, is designated the Prince of Peace.

Eusebius, who lived between 260 and 339 A.D., and is known in ecclesiastical history as Bishop of Caesarea, wrote: "At the time that Herod was king, who was the
first foreigner that reigned over the Jewish people, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfillment, viz. 'That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from
his loins, until He should come for whom it is reserved, the expectation of nations.'" (The quoted passage is founded on the Septuagint rendering of Genesis 49:10.)

Some critics have held that in Jacob's use of the word "Shiloh" he did not intend it as a name or proper noun at all. The writer of the article "Shiloh" in Cassell's Bible
Dictionary says: "The preponderance of evidence is in favor of the Messianic interpretation, but opinions are very divided respecting the retention of the word 'Shiloh'
as a proper name. . . . Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against it being so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly considered to be a proper
name, and that the English version represents the true sense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fully into a question which cannot well be
discussed without Hebrew criticism, to the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on the Pentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus
rendered: 'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations be to him.'

"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by some writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see this explanation
confirmed and not weakened in the events of history. The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a royal ruler of his own, but that the regal
power should not finally cease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on the Babylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force,
because it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out, and that only happened after the time of Christ." See further The Book of Prophecy, by G. Smith,
 Copyright
I.L.D.,      (c) See
        p. 320.  2005-2009,  Infobase of
                     also Compendium    Media  Corp. of the Gospel, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, article "Christ's First Coming." Page 58 / 128
                                          the Doctrines

  12. Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also a specific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Ne. 20:23.
"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by some writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see this explanation
confirmed and not weakened in the events of history. The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a royal ruler of his own, but that the regal
power should not finally cease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on the Babylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force,
because it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out, and that only happened after the time of Christ." See further The Book of Prophecy, by G. Smith,
I.L.D., p. 320. See also Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, article "Christ's First Coming."

  12. Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also a specific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Ne. 20:23.

  13. Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22;Acts 7:37; see also a specific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Ne. 20:23.

   14. The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's Atoning Death.-While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering of sacrifices long prior to Israel's
exodus from Egypt-e.g. by Abel and by Cain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham (Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)-it is
silent concerning the divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguring the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining time and
circumstance, under which the offering of symbolical sacrifices originated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators save those who admit the validity of
modern revelation. The necessity of assuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has been asserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article
"Sacrifice" in the Cassell Bible Dictionary says: "The idea of sacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the most ancient and widely recognized in the
rites of religion throughout the world. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments and applications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has been
judiciously inferred that sacrifice formed an element in the primeval worship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirect argument for the unity of the human
race, but an illustration and confirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. The notion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassisted human
nature, and must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewed as a divine revelation to primitive man."

Smith's Dict. of the Bible presents the following: "In tracing the history of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect development in the Mosaic ritual, we are at once
met by the long-disputed question as to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinct of man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of
some distinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice was sanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to the Atonement of Christ; its
universal prevalence, independent of, and often opposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the
instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by His
hand on the heart of man-is an historical question, perhaps insoluble."

The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the origin of sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the current dispensation, whereby parts of
the record of Moses-not contained in the Bible-have been restored to human knowledge. The scripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the
offering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and that the significance of the divinely established requirement was explained in fullness to the
patriarch of the race. The shedding of the blood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father," dates from the time
immediately following the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation to Adam. See Moses 5:5-8.

  15. 1 Cor. 5:7. For references to Christ as the Lamb of God, see John 1:29, 36; 1 Pet. 1:19;Rev. chaps. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22; also 1 Ne. 10:10,
and chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14; 2 Ne. 31:4, 5, 6; 33:14; Alma 7:14; Morm. 9:2, 3; D&C 58:11; 132:19.

  16. Job 19:25; see also verses 26-27.

  17. Job 19:25; see also verses 26-27.

   18. Instances: Ps. 2:7; compare Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Ps. 16:10; compare Acts 13:34-37. Ps. 22:18; compare Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John
19:24. Ps. 41:9; compare John 13:18. Ps. 69:9 and 21; compare Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; John 19:29; and John 2:17. Ps. 110:1 and 4; compare Matt. 22:44;
Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; and Heb. 5:6. Ps. 118:22, 23; compare Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4, 7. The following
are known specifically as 'Messianic Psalms': 2, 21, 22, 45, 67, 69, 89, 96, 110, 132; in them the psalmist extols in poetic measure the excellencies of the Messiah and
the certainty of His coming.

  19. Isa. 7:14; compare Matt. 1:21-23.

  20. Isa. 7:14; compare Matt. 1:21-23.

  21. Isa. 9:6, 7.

  22. Luke 1:26-33.

  23. Isa. 11:1, 10; compare Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16; see also Jer. 23:5, 6.

  24. Isa. 28:16; compare Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6-8.

  25. Isa. 40:9-11; compare John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; see also Ezek. 34:23.

  26. Isa. 42:1; see also 9:2; 49:6; 60:3; compare Matt. 4:14-16; Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:18; Eph. 5:8, 14.

  27. Isa. 55:4; compare John 18:37.

  28. Isa. 40:3; compare Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23.

  29. Isa. 53; study the entire chapter; compare Acts 8:32-35.

  30. Jer. 23:5, 6; see also 33:14.

  31. Jer. 30:9.

  32. Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25.

  33. Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                              Page 59 / 128
  34. Mic. 5:2; compare Matt. 2:6; John 7:42.
  32. Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25.

  33. Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15.

  34. Mic. 5:2; compare Matt. 2:6; John 7:42.

  35. Zech. 9:9; compare Matt. 21:4-9.

  36. Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.

  37. Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.

  38. Zech. 13:6.

  39. Zech. 11:12, 13; compare Matt. 26:15; 27:3-10.

  40. Luke 24:44, 46; see also verses 25-27.

  41. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26, 27, 29-36; see also Acts 1:5, 8; 11:16; 19:4.

   42. Nephites and Lamanites.-The progenitors of the Nephite nation were led from Jerusalem, 600 B.C., by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of Manasseh. His
immediate family, at the time of their departure from Jerusalem, comprised his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the
history, daughters are mentioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exodus we are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi included
Zoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim. Ishmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and his descendants were numbered with the
nation of whom we are speaking. The company journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders of the Red Sea; then, changing their course to the
eastward, crossed the peninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, built and provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divine
care upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across the Indian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of South America,
whereon they landed (590 B.C.). . . . The people established themselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children were born, and in the course of a few
generations a numerous posterity held possession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred, some of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who
had been duly appointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, the eldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people were known
as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times they observed toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally they were opposed, the Lamanites manifesting
implacable hatred and hostility toward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of civilization, built large cities and established prosperous
commonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lord chastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spread northward, occupying the
northern part of South America; then, crossing the Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central and eastern portions of what is now the United States
of America. The Lamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse of darkness; they became dark in skin and benighted in spirit, forgot the God of their
fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, and degenerated into the fallen state in which the American Indians-their lineal descendants-were found by those who rediscovered
the western continent in later times. See Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 258-60.

  43. 1 Ne. 10:4-11.

  44. 1 Ne. chapters 11 and 12; see also 19:10.

  45. 2 Ne. 9:5, 6; 10:3. See also Nephi's prophecy 25:12-14; and chap. 26.

  46. Mosiah 13:33-35; 15:1-13.

  47. Alma 39:15; 40:1-3.

  48. Alma 11:31-44.

  49. Hel. 14:1-6; compare 3 Ne. 1:4-21.

  50. Rev. 19:10.

CHAPTER 6

The Meridian of Time

Unto Moses, with whom the Lord spake "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," the course of the human race, both as then past and future, was made
known; and the coming of the Redeemer was recognized by him as the event of greatest import in all the happenings to which the earth and its inhabitants would be
witness. The curse of God had aforetime fallen upon the wicked, and upon the earth because of them, "For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his
Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world." In this scripture
appears the earliest mention of the expressive and profoundly significant designation of the period in which the Christ should appear-the meridian of time. If the
expression be regarded as figurative, be it remembered the figure is the Lord's.

The term "meridian," as commonly used, conveys the thought of a principal division of time or space; thus we speak of the hours before the daily noon as ante-
meridian (A.M.) and those after noon as post-meridian (P.M.). So the years and the centuries of human history are divided by the great event of the birth of Jesus
Christ. The years preceding that epoch-making occurrence are now designated as time Before Christ (B.C.); while subsequent years are each specified as a certain
Year of our Lord, or, as in the Latin tongue, Anno Domini (A.D.). Thus the world's chronology has been adjusted and systematized with reference to the time of the
Savior's birth; and this method of reckoning is in use among all Christian nations. It is instructive to note that a similar system was adopted by the isolated branch of the
house of Israel that had been brought from the land of Palestine to the western continent; for from the appearance of the promised sign among the people betokening
the birth of Him who had been so abundantly predicted by their prophets, the Nephite reckoning of the years, starting with the departure of Lehi and his colony from
Jerusalem, was superseded by the annals of the new era.

The occasion of the Savior's advent was preappointed; and the time thereof was specifically revealed through authorized prophets on each of the hemispheres. The long
history of the
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                                                 succession of events that found a relative culmination in the earthly mission of the Messiah. That we may the better
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comprehend the true significance of the Lord's life and ministry while in the flesh, some consideration should be given to the political, social, and religious condition of
the people amongst whom He appeared and with whom He lived and died. Such consideration involves at least a brief review of the antecedent history of the Hebrew
nation. The posterity of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob had early come to be known by the title in which they took undying pride and found inspiring promise,
Jerusalem, was superseded by the annals of the new era.

The occasion of the Savior's advent was preappointed; and the time thereof was specifically revealed through authorized prophets on each of the hemispheres. The long
history of the Israelitish nation had unfolded a succession of events that found a relative culmination in the earthly mission of the Messiah. That we may the better
comprehend the true significance of the Lord's life and ministry while in the flesh, some consideration should be given to the political, social, and religious condition of
the people amongst whom He appeared and with whom He lived and died. Such consideration involves at least a brief review of the antecedent history of the Hebrew
nation. The posterity of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob had early come to be known by the title in which they took undying pride and found inspiring promise,
Israelites, or the children of Israel. Collectively they were so designated throughout the dark days of their bondage in Egypt; so during the four decades of the
exodus and the return to the land of promise, and on through the period of their prosperity as a mighty people under the administration of the judges, and as a united
monarchy during the successive reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon.

Immediately following the death of Solomon, about 975 B.C. according to the most generally accepted chronology, the nation was disrupted by revolt. The tribe of
Judah, part of the tribe of Benjamin, and small remnants of a few other tribes remained true to the royal succession, and accepted Rehoboam, son of Solomon, as their
king; while the rest, usually spoken of as the Ten Tribes, broke their allegiance to the house of David, and made Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, their king. The Ten Tribes
retained the title Kingdom of Israel though also known as Ephraim. Rehoboam and his adherents were distinctively called the Kingdom of Judah. For about two
hundred and fifty years the two kingdoms maintained their separate autonomy; then, about 722 or 721 B.C., the independent status of the Kingdom of Israel was
destroyed, and the captive people were transported to Assyria by Shalmanezer and others. Subsequently they disappeared so completely as to be called the Lost
Tribes. The Kingdom of Judah was recognized as a nation for about one hundred and thirty years longer; then, about 588 B.C., it was brought into subjection by
Nebuchadnezzar, through whom the Babylonian captivity was inaugurated. For three score years and ten Judah was kept in exile and virtual bondage, in consequence
of their transgression as had been predicted through Jeremiah. Then the Lord softened the hearts of their captors, and their restoration was begun under the decree
of Cyrus the Persian, who had subdued the Babylonian kingdom. The Hebrew people were permitted to return to Judea, and to enter upon the work of rebuilding the
temple at Jerusalem.

A great company of the exiled Hebrews availed themselves of this opportunity to return to the lands of their fathers, though many elected to remain in the country of
their captivity, preferring Babylon to Israel. The "whole congregation" of the Jews who returned from the Babylonian exile were but "forty and two thousand three
hundred and three score, beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven." The relatively small size of the
migrating nation is further shown by the register of their beasts of burden. While those who did return strove valiantly to reestablish themselves as the house of David,
and to regain some measure of their former prestige and glory, the Jews were never again a truly independent people. In turn they were preyed upon by Greece, Egypt,
and Syria; but about 164-163 B.C., the people threw off, in part at least, the alien yoke, as a result of the patriotic revolt led by the Maccabees, the most prominent of
whom was Judas Maccabeus. The temple service, which had been practically abolished through the proscription of victorious foes, was reestablished. In the year
163 B.C., the sacred structure was rededicated, and the joyful occasion was thereafter celebrated in annual festival as the Feast of Dedication. During the reign of
the Maccabees, however, the temple fell into an almost ruinous condition, more as a result of the inability of the reduced and impoverished people to maintain it than
through any further decline of religious zeal. In the hope of insuring a greater measure of national protection, the Jews entered into an unequal alliance with the Romans
and eventually became tributary to them, in which condition the Jewish nation continued throughout the period of our Lord's ministry. In the meridian of time Rome was
virtually mistress of the world. When Christ was born, Augustus Caesar was emperor of Rome, and the Idumean, Herod, surnamed the Great, was the vassal king
of Judea.

Some semblance of national autonomy was maintained by the Jews under Roman dominion, and their religious ceremonials were not seriously interfered with. The
established orders in the priesthood were recognized, and the official acts of the national council, or Sanhedrin, were held to be binding by Roman law; though the
judicial powers of this body did not extend to the infliction of capital punishment without the sanction of the imperial executive. It was the established policy of Rome to
allow to her tributary and vassal peoples freedom in worship so long as the mythological deities, dear to the Romans, were not maligned nor their altars desecrated.

Needless to say, the Jews took not kindly to alien domination, though for many generations they had been trained in that experience, their reduced status having ranged
from nominal vassalage to servile bondage. They were already largely a dispersed people. All the Jews in Palestine at the time of Christ's birth constituted but a small
remnant of the great Davidic nation. The Ten Tribes, distinctively the aforetime kingdom of Israel, had then long been lost to history, and the people of Judah had been
widely scattered among the nations.

In their relations with other peoples the Jews generally endeavored to maintain a haughty exclusiveness, which brought upon them Gentile ridicule. Under Mosaic law
Israel had been required to keep apart from other nations; they attached supreme importance to their Abrahamic lineage as children of the covenant, "an holy people
unto the Lord," whom He had chosen "to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." Judah had experienced the woeful
effects of dalliance with pagan nations, and, at the time we are now considering, a Jew who permitted himself unnecessary association with a Gentile became an unclean
being requiring ceremonial cleansing to free him from defilement. Only in strict isolation did the leaders find hope of insuring the perpetuity of the nation.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Jews hated all other peoples and were reciprocally despised and contemned by all others. They manifested especial dislike for the
Samaritans, perhaps because this people persisted in their efforts to establish some claim of racial relationship. These Samaritans were a mixed people, and were
looked upon by the Jews as a mongrel lot, unworthy of decent respect. When the Ten Tribes were led into captivity by the king of Assyria, foreigners were sent to
populate Samaria. These intermarried with such Israelites as had escaped the captivity; and some modification of the religion of Israel, embodying at least the
profession of Jehovah worship, survived in Samaria. The Samaritan rituals were regarded by the Jews as unorthodox, and the people as reprobate. At the time of
Christ the enmity between Jew and Samaritan was so intense that travelers between Judea and Galilee would make long detours rather than pass through the province
of Samaria which lay between. The Jews would have no dealings with the Samaritans.

The proud feeling of self-sufficiency, the obsession for exclusiveness and separation-so distinctively a Jewish trait at that time-was inculcated at the maternal knee and
emphasized in synagog and school. The Talmud, which in codified form post-dates the time of Christ's ministry, enjoined all Jews against reading the books of alien
nations, declaring that none who so offended could consistently hope for Jehovah's favor. Josephus gives his endorsement to similar injunction, and records that
wisdom among the Jews meant only familiarity with the law and ability to discourse thereon. A thorough acquaintanceship with the law was demanded as strongly as
other studies were discountenanced. Thus the lines between learned and unlearned came to be rigidly drawn; and, as an inevitable consequence those who were
accounted learned, or so considered themselves, looked down upon their unscholarly fellows as a class distinct and inferior.

Long before the birth of Christ, the Jews had ceased to be a united people even in matters of the law, though the law was their chief reliance as a means of maintaining
national solidarity. As early as four score years after the return from the Babylonian exile, and we know not with accuracy how much earlier, there had come to be
recognized, as men having authority, certain scholars afterward known as scribes, and honored rabbis or teachers. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah these
specialists in the law constituted a titled class, to whom deference and honor were paid. Ezra is designated "the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the
commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel." The scribes of those days did valuable service under Ezra, and later under Nehemiah, in compiling the
sacred writings then extant; and in Jewish usage those appointed as guardians and expounders of the law came to be known as members of the Great Synagog, or
Great Assembly, concerning which we have little information through canonical channels. According to Talmudic record, the organization consisted of one hundred and
twenty eminent scholars. The scope of their labors, according to the admonition traditionally perpetuated by themselves, is thus expressed: Be careful in judgment; set
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                                                    law. They followed this behest by much study and careful consideration of all traditional details in administration; 128
multiplying scribes and rabbis unto themselves; and, as some of them interpreted the requirement of setting up many scholars, by writing many books and tractates;
moreover, they made a fence or hedge about the law by adding numerous rules, which prescribed with great exactness the officially established proprieties for every
commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel." The scribes of those days did valuable service under Ezra, and later under Nehemiah, in compiling the
sacred writings then extant; and in Jewish usage those appointed as guardians and expounders of the law came to be known as members of the Great Synagog, or
Great Assembly, concerning which we have little information through canonical channels. According to Talmudic record, the organization consisted of one hundred and
twenty eminent scholars. The scope of their labors, according to the admonition traditionally perpetuated by themselves, is thus expressed: Be careful in judgment; set
up many scholars, and make a hedge about the law. They followed this behest by much study and careful consideration of all traditional details in administration; by
multiplying scribes and rabbis unto themselves; and, as some of them interpreted the requirement of setting up many scholars, by writing many books and tractates;
moreover, they made a fence or hedge about the law by adding numerous rules, which prescribed with great exactness the officially established proprieties for every
occasion.

Scribes and rabbis were exalted to the highest rank in the estimation of the people, higher than that of the Levitical or priestly orders; and rabbinical sayings were given
precedence over the utterances of the prophets, since the latter were regarded as but messengers or spokesmen, whereas the living scholars were of themselves
sources of wisdom and authority. Such secular powers as Roman suzerainty permitted the Jews to retain were vested in the hierarchy, whose members were able thus
to gather unto themselves practically all official and professional honors. As a natural result of this condition, there was practically no distinction between Jewish civil
and ecclesiastical law, either as to the code or its administration. Rabbinism comprised as an essential element the doctrine of the equal authority of oral rabbinical
tradition with the written word of the law. The aggrandizement implied in the application of the title "Rabbi" and the self-pride manifest in welcoming such adulation were
especially forbidden by the Lord, who proclaimed Himself the one Master; and, as touching the interpretation of the title held by some as "father," Jesus proclaimed but
one Father and He in heaven: "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for
one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is Master, even Christ."

The scribes, whether so named or designated by the more distinguishing appellation, rabbis, were repeatedly denounced by Jesus, because of the dead literalism of
their teachings, and the absence of the spirit of righteousness and virile morality therefrom; and in such denunciations the Pharisees are often coupled with the scribes.
The judgment of the Christ upon them is sufficiently expressed by His withering imprecation: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

The origin of the Pharisees is not fixed by undisputed authority as to either time or circumstance; though it is probably that the sect or party had a beginning in
connection with the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. New ideas and added conceptions of the meaning of the law were promulgated by Jews who had
imbibed of the spirit of Babylon; and the resulting innovations were accepted by some and rejected by others. The name "Pharisee" does not occur in the Old
Testament, nor in the Apocrypha, though it is probable that the Assideans mentioned in the books of the Maccabees were the original Pharisees. By derivation the
name expresses the thought of separatism; the Pharisee, in the estimation of his class, was distinctively set apart from the common people, to whom he considered
himself as truly superior as the Jews regarded themselves in contrast with other nations. Pharisees and scribes were one in all essentials of profession, and rabbinism
was specifically their doctrine.

In the New Testament the Pharisees are often mentioned as in opposition to the Sadducees; and such were the relations of the two parties that it becomes a simpler
matter to contrast one with the other than to consider each separately. The Sadducees came into existence as a reactionary organization during the second century
B.C., in connection with an insurgent movement against the Maccabean party. Their platform was that of opposition to the ever increasing mass of traditional lore, with
which the law was not merely being fenced or hedged about for safety, but under which it was being buried. The Sadducees stood for the sanctity of the law as written
and preserved, while they rejected the whole mass of rabbinical precept both as orally transmitted and as collated and codified in the records of the scribes. The
Pharisees formed the more popular party; the Sadducees figured as the aristocratic minority. At the time of Christ's birth the Pharisees existed as an organized body
numbering over six thousand men, with Jewish women very generally on their side in sympathy and effort; while the Sadducees were so small a faction and of such
limited power that, when they were placed in official positions, they generally followed the policy of the Pharisees as a matter of incumbent expediency. The Pharisees
were the Puritans of the time, unflinching in their demand for compliance with the traditional rules as well as the original law of Moses. In this connection note Paul's
confession of faith and practice when arraigned before Agrippa-"That after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." The Sadducees prided
themselves on strict compliance with the law, as they construed it, irrespective of all scribes or rabbis. The Sadducees stood for the temple and its prescribed
ordinances, the Pharisees for the synagog and its rabbinical teachings. It is difficult to decide which were the more technical if we judge each party by the standard of its
own profession. By way of illustration: the Sadducees held to the literal and full exaction of the Mosaic penalty-an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth -while the
Pharisees contended on the authority of rabbinical dictum, that the wording was figurative, and that therefore the penalty could be met by a fine in money or goods.

Pharisees and Sadducees differed on many important if not fundamental matters of belief and practice, including the preexistence of spirits, the reality of a future state
involving reward and punishment, the necessity for individual self-denial, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection from the dead; in each of which the Pharisees
stood for the affirmative while the Sadducees denied. Josephus avers-the doctrine of the Sadducees is that the soul and body perish together; the law is all that they
are concerned to observe. They were "a skeptical school of aristocratic traditionalists; adhering only to the Mosaic law."

Among the many other sects and parties established on the ground of religious or political differences, or both, are the Essenes, the Nazarites, the Herodians and the
Galileans. The Essenes were characterized by professions of ultrapiety; they considered even the strictness of Pharisaic profession as weak and insufficient; they
guarded membership in their order by severe exactions extending through a first and a second novitiate; they were forbidden even to touch food prepared by strangers;
they practiced strict temperance and rigid self-denial, indulged in hard labor-preferably that of agriculture, and were forbidden to trade as merchants, to take part in
war, or to own or employ slaves. Nazarites are not named in the New Testament, though of specific record in the earlier scriptures; and from sources other than
scriptural we learn of their existence at and after the time of Christ. The Nazarite was one of either sex who was bound to abstinence and sacrifice by a voluntary vow
for special service to God; the period of the vow might be limited or for life. While the Essenes cultivated an ascetic brotherhood, the Nazarites were devoted to
solitary discipline.

The Herodians constituted a politico-religious party who favored the plans of the Herods under the professed belief that through that dynasty alone could the status of
the Jewish people be maintained and a reestablishment of the nation be secured. We find mention of the Herodians laying aside their partisan antipathies and acting in
concert with the Pharisees in the effort to convict the Lord Jesus and bring Him to death. The Galileans or people of Galilee were distinguished from their fellow
Israelites of Judea by greater simplicity and less ostentatious devotion in matters pertaining to the law. They were opposed to innovations, yet were generally more
liberal or less bigoted than some of the professedly devout Judeans. They were prominent as able defenders in the wars of the people, and won for themselves a
reputation for bravery and patriotism. They are mentioned in connection with certain tragical occurrences during our Lord's lifetime.

The authority of the priesthood was outwardly acknowledged by the Jews at the time of Christ; and the appointed order of service for priest and Levite was duly
observed. During the reign of David, the descendants of Aaron, who were the hereditary priests in Israel, had been divided into twenty-four courses, and to each
course the labors of the sanctuary were allotted in turn. Representatives of but four of these courses returned from the captivity, but from these the orders were
reconstructed on the original plan. In the days of Herod the Great the temple ceremonies were conducted with great display and outward elaborateness, as an essential
matter of consistency with the splendor of the structure, which surpassed in magnificence all earlier sanctuaries. Priests and Levites, therefore, were in demand for
continuous service, though the individuals were changed at short intervals according to the established system. In the regard of the people the priests were inferior to the
rabbis, and the scholarly attainments of a scribe transcended in honor that pertaining to ordination in the priesthood. The religion of the time was a matter of ceremony
and formality, of ritual and performance; it had lost the very spirit of worship, and the true conception of the relationship between Israel and Israel's God was but a
dream of the past.
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Such in brief were the principal features of the world's condition, and particularly as concerns the Jewish people, when Jesus the Christ was born in the meridian of
time.
rabbis, and the scholarly attainments of a scribe transcended in honor that pertaining to ordination in the priesthood. The religion of the time was a matter of ceremony
and formality, of ritual and performance; it had lost the very spirit of worship, and the true conception of the relationship between Israel and Israel's God was but a
dream of the past.

Such in brief were the principal features of the world's condition, and particularly as concerns the Jewish people, when Jesus the Christ was born in the meridian of
time.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 6

1. The Sanhedrin.-This, the chief court or high council of the Jews, derives its name from Greek sunedrion, signifying "a council." In English it is sometimes though
inaccurately written "Sanhedrim." The Talmud traces the origin of this body to the calling of the seventy elders whom Moses associated with himself, making seventy-
one in all, to administer as judges in Israel (Num. 11:16, 17). The Sanhedrin in the time of Christ, as also long before, comprised seventy-one members, including the
high priest who presided in the assembly. It appears to have been known in its earlier period as the Senate, and was occasionally so designated even after Christ's
death, (Josephus, Antiquities xii, 3:3; compare Acts 5:21); the name "Sanhedrin" came into general use during the reign of Herod the Great; but the term is not of
Biblical usage; its equivalent in the New Testament is "council" (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; 26:59) though it must be remembered that the same term is applied to courts of
lesser jurisdiction than that of the Sanhedrin, and to local tribunals. (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; 26:59; Mark 13:9; see also Acts 25:12.)

The following, from the Standard Bible Dictionary, is instructive: "Those qualified to be members were in general of the priestly house and especially of the Sadducean
nobility. But from the days of Queen Alexandra (69-68 B.C.) onward, there were with these chief priests also many Pharisees in it under the name of scribes and
elders. These three classes are found combined in Matt. 27:41; Mark 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1. How such members were appointed is not entirely clear. The aristocratic
character of the body and the history of its origin forbid the belief that it was by election. Its nucleus probably consisted of the members of certain ancient families, to
which, however, from time to time others were added by the secular rulers. The presiding officer was the high priest, who at first exercised in it more than the authority
of a member, claiming a voice equal to that of the rest of the body. But after the reduction of the high priesthood from a hereditary office to one bestowed by the
political ruler according to his pleasure, and the frequent changes in the office introduced by the new system, the high priest naturally lost his prestige. Instead of holding
in his hands the 'government of the nation,' he came to be but one of many to share this power; those who had served as high priests being still in esteem among their
nation, and having lost their office not for any reason that could be considered valid by the religious sense of the community, exerted a large influence over the decisions
of the assembly. In the New Testament they are regarded as the rulers (Matt. 26:59; 27:41; Acts 4:5, 8; Luke 23:13, 35; John 7:26), and Josephus' testimony supports
this view. The functions of the Sanhedrin were religious and moral, and also political. In the latter capacity they further exercised administrative as well as judicial
functions. As a religious tribunal, the Sanhedrin wielded a potent influence over the whole of the Jewish world (Acts 9:2); but as a court of justice, after the division of
the country upon the death of Herod, its jurisdiction was limited to Judea. Here, however, its power was absolute even to the passing of sentence of death (Josephus,
Ant. xiv, 9:3, 4; Matt. 26:3; Acts 4:5; 6:12; 22:30), although it had no authority to carry the sentence into execution except as approved and ordered by the
representative of the Roman government. The law by which the Sanhedrin governed was naturally the Jewish, and in the execution of it this tribunal had a police of its
own, and made arrests at its discretion (Matt. 26:47). . . . While the general authority of the Sanhedrin extended over the whole of Judea, the towns in the country had
local councils of their own (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; Mark 13:9; Josephus, B.J. ii, 14:1), for the administration of local affairs. These were constituted of elders (Luke 7:3), at
least seven in number, (Josephus, Ant. iv, 8:14; B.J. ii, 20:5), and in some of the largest towns as many as twenty-three. What the relation of these to the central council
in Jerusalem was does not appear clearly. . . . Some sort of mutual recognition existed among them; for whenever the judges of the local court could not agree it seems
that they were in the habit of referring their cases to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (Josephus, Ant. iv, 8:14; Mishna, San. 11:2)."

2. Talmud.-"The body of Jewish civil and religious law (and discussion directly or remotely relating thereto) not comprised in the Pentateuch, commonly including the
Mishna and the Gemara, but sometimes limited to the latter; written in Aramaic. It exists in two great collections, the Palestinian Talmud, or Talmud of the Land of
Israel, or Talmud of the West, or more popularly, Jerusalem Talmud, embodying the discussions on the Mishna, of the Palestinian doctors from the 2d to the middle of
the 5th century; and the Babylonian, embodying those of the Jewish doctors in Babylonia, from about 190 to the 7th century."-New Standard Dict. The Mishna
comprises the earlier portions of the Talmud; the Gemara is made up of later writings and is largely an exposition of the Mishna. An edition of the Babylonian Talmud
alone (issued at Vienna in 1682) comprised twenty-four tomes. (Geikie.)

3. Rabbis.-The title Rabbi is equivalent to our distinctive appellations Doctor, Master, or Teacher. By derivation it means Master or my Master, thus connoting dignity
and rank associated with politeness of address. A definite explanation of the term is given by John (1:38), and the same meaning attaches by implication to its use as
recorded by Matthew (23:8). It was applied as a title of respect to Jesus on several occasions (Matt. 23:7, 8; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 1:38, 49; 3:2,
26; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). The title was of comparatively recent usage in the time of Christ, as it appears to have first come into general use during the reign of Herod
the Great, though the earlier teachers, of the class without the name of Rabbis, were generally reverenced, and the title was carried back to them by later usage. Rab
was an inferior title and Rabban a superior one to Rabbi. Rabboni was expressive of most profound respect, love and honor (see John 20:16). At the time of our
Lord's ministry the Rabbis were held in high esteem, and rejoiced in the afflations of precedence and honor among men. They were almost exclusively of the powerful
Pharisaic party.

The following is from Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 6: "If the most important figures in the society of Christ's day were the Pharisees, it was because
they were the Rabbis or teachers of the Law. As such they received superstitious honor, which was, indeed, the great motive, with many, to court the title or join the
party. The Rabbis were classed with Moses, the patriarchs, and the prophets, and claimed equal reverence. Jacob and Joseph were both said to have been Rabbis.
The Targum of Jonathan substitutes Rabbis, or Scribes, for the word 'prophets' where it occurs. Josephus speaks of the prophets of Saul's day as Rabbis. In the
Jerusalem Targum all the patriarchs are learned Rabbis. . . . They were to be dearer to Israel than father or mother-because parents avail only in this world [as was then
taught] but the Rabbi forever. They were set above kings, for is it not written 'Through me kings reign'? Their entrance into a house brought a blessing; to live or to eat
with them was the highest good fortune. . . . The Rabbis went even further than this in exalting their order. The Mishna declares that it is a greater crime to speak
anything to their discredit, than to speak against the words of the Law. . . . Yet in form, the Law received boundless honor. Every saying of the Rabbis had to be based
on some words of it, which were, however, explained in their own way. The spirit of the times, the wild fanaticism of the people, and their own bias, tended alike to
make them set value only on ceremonies and worthless externalisms, to the utter neglect of the spirit of the sacred writings. Still it was held that the Law needed no
confirmation, while the words of the Rabbis did. So far as the Roman authority under which they lived left them free, the Jews willingly put all power in the hands of the
Rabbis. They or their nominees filled every office, from the highest in the priesthood to the lowest in the community. They were the casuists, the teachers, the priests,
the judges, the magistrates, and the physicians of the nation. . . . The central and dominant characteristic of the teaching of the Rabbis was the certain advent of a great
national Deliverer-the Messiah or Anointed of God or in the Greek translation of the title, the Christ. In no other nation than the Jews has such a conception ever taken
such root or shown such vitality. . . . It was agreed among the Rabbis that His birthplace must be Bethlehem, and that He must rise from the tribe of Judah."

Individual rabbis gathered disciples about them, and, inevitably, rivalry became manifest. Rabbinical schools and academies were established, each depending for its
popularity on the greatness of some rabbi. The most famous of these institutions in the time of Herod I were the school of Hillel and that of his rival Shammai. Later,
tradition invested these with the title "the fathers of old." It appears from the trifling matters over which the followers of these two disagreed, that only by opposition
could either maintain a distinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel, the rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul
the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3). So far as we have historic record of the views, principles or beliefs advocated by the rival schools of Hillel and
Shammai, it appears that the former stood for a greater degree of liberality and tolerance, while the later emphasized a strict and possibly narrow interpretation of the
law  and its associated
 Copyright              traditions.
             (c) 2005-2009,         The dependence
                               Infobase   Media Corp. of the rabbinical schools on the authority of tradition is illustrated by an incident of record to the effect
                                                                                                                                                              Page  that63
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prestige of the great Hillel did not insure him against uproar when once he spoke without citing precedent; only when he added that so had his masters Abtalion and
Shemajah spoken did the tumult subside.
tradition invested these with the title "the fathers of old." It appears from the trifling matters over which the followers of these two disagreed, that only by opposition
could either maintain a distinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel, the rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul
the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3). So far as we have historic record of the views, principles or beliefs advocated by the rival schools of Hillel and
Shammai, it appears that the former stood for a greater degree of liberality and tolerance, while the later emphasized a strict and possibly narrow interpretation of the
law and its associated traditions. The dependence of the rabbinical schools on the authority of tradition is illustrated by an incident of record to the effect that even the
prestige of the great Hillel did not insure him against uproar when once he spoke without citing precedent; only when he added that so had his masters Abtalion and
Shemajah spoken did the tumult subside.

4. Sadducean Denial of the Resurrection.-As set forth in the text, the Sadducees formed an association numerically small as compared with the more popular and
influential Pharisees. In the Gospels the Pharisees are of frequent mention, and very commonly in connection with the scribes, while the Sadducees are less frequently
named. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Sadducees appear frequently as opponents of the Church. This condition was doubtless due to the prominence given the
resurrection from the dead among the themes of the apostolic preaching, the Twelve continually bearing testimony to the actual resurrection of Christ. Sadducean
doctrine denied the actuality and possibility of a bodily resurrection, the contention resting mainly on the ground that Moses, who was regarded as the supreme mortal
lawgiver in Israel, and the chief mouthpiece of Jehovah, had written nothing concerning life after death. The following is taken from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
article "Sadducees," as touching this matter: "The denial of man's resurrection after death followed in the conception of the Sadducees as a logical conclusion from their
denial that Moses had revealed to the Israelites the Oral Law. For on a point so momentous as a second life beyond the grave, no religious party among the Jews
would have deemed themselves bound to accept any doctrine as an article of faith, unless it had been proclaimed by Moses, their great legislator; and it is certain that in
the written Law of the Pentateuch there is a total absence of any assertion by Moses of the resurrection of the dead. This fact is presented to Christians in a striking
manner by the well-known words of the Pentateuch which are quoted by Christ in argument with the Sadducees on this subject (Ex. 3:6, 16; Mark 12:26, 27; Matt.
22:31, 32; Luke 20:37). It cannot be doubted that in such a case Christ would quote to His powerful adversaries the most cogent text in the Law; and yet the text
actually quoted does not do more than suggest an inference on this great doctrine. It is true that passages in other parts of the Old Testament express a belief in the
resurrection (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:26; and in some of the Psalms); and it may at first sight be a subject of surprise that the Sadducees were not convinced by
the authority of those passages. But although the Sadducees regarded the books which contained these passages as sacred, it is more than doubtful whether any of the
Jews regarded them as sacred in precisely the same sense as the written Law. To the Jews Moses was and is a colossal form, preeminent in authority above all
subsequent prophets."

5. The Temple of Herod.-"Herod's purpose in the great undertaking [that of restoring the temple, and of enlarging it on a plan of unprecedented magnificence] was that
of aggrandizing himself and the nation, rather than the rendering of homage to Jehovah. His proposition to rebuild or restore the temple on a scale of increased
magnificence was regarded with suspicion and received with disfavor by the Jews, who feared that were the ancient edifice demolished, the arbitrary monarch might
abandon his plan and the people would be left without a temple. To allay these fears the king proceeded to reconstruct and restore the old edifice, part by part,
directing the work so that at no time was the temple service seriously interrupted. So little of the ancient structure was allowed to stand, however, that the temple of
Herod must be regarded as a new creation. The work was begun about sixteen years before the birth of Christ; and while the Holy House itself was practically
completed within a year and a half, this part of the labor having been performed by a body of one thousand priests specially trained for the purpose, the temple area
was a scene of uninterrupted building operations down to the year 63 A.D. We read that in the time of Christ's ministry the temple had been forty-six years in building;
and at that time it was unfinished.

"The Biblical record gives us little information regarding this the last and the greatest of ancient temples; for what we know concerning it we are indebted mainly to
Josephus, with some corroborative testimony found in the Talmud. In all essentials the Holy House, or Temple proper, was similar to the two earlier houses of
sanctuary, though externally far more elaborate and imposing than either; but in the matter of surrounding courts and associated buildings, the Temple of Herod
preeminently excelled. . . . Yet its beauty and grandeur lay in architectural excellence rather than in the sanctity of its worship or in the manifestation of the Divine
Presence within its walls. Its ritual and service were largely man-prescribed; for while the letter of the Mosaic Law was professedly observed, the law had been
supplemented and in many features supplanted by rule and priestly prescription. The Jews professed to consider it holy, and by them it was proclaimed as the House of
the Lord. Devoid though it was of the divine accompaniments of earlier shrines accepted of God, and defiled as it was by priestly arrogance and usurpation, as also by
the selfish interest of traffic and trade, it was nevertheless recognized even by our Lord the Christ as His Father's House. (Matt. 21:12; compare Mark 11:15; Luke
19:45.) . . . For thirty or more years after the death of Christ, the Jews continued the work of adding to and embellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate design
conceived and projected by Herod had been practically completed; the temple was well-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was ready for destruction. Its
fate had been definitely foretold by the Savior Himself."-From the author's House of the Lord, pp. 54-61.

6. State of the World at the Time of the Savior's Birth.-At the beginning of the Christian era, the Jews, in common with most other nations, were subjects of the Roman
empire. They were allowed a considerable degree of liberty in maintaining their religious observances and national customs generally, but their status was far from that
of a free and independent people. The period was one of comparative peace-a time marked by fewer wars and less dissension than the empire had known for many
years. These conditions were favorable for the mission of the Christ, and for the founding of His Church on earth. The religious systems extant at the time of Christ's
earthly ministry may be classified in a general way as Jewish and Pagan, with a minor system-the Samaritan-which was essentially a mixture of the other two. The
children of Israel alone proclaimed the existence of the true and living God; they alone looked forward to the advent of the Messiah, whom mistakenly they awaited as
a prospective conqueror coming to crush the enemies of their nation. All other nations, tongues, and peoples, bowed to pagan deities, and their worship comprised
naught but the sensual rites of heathen idolatry. Paganism was a religion of form and ceremony, based on polytheism-a belief in the existence of a multitude of gods,
which deities were subject to all the vices and passions of humanity, while distinguished by immunity from death. Morality and virtue were unknown as elements of
heathen service; and the dominant idea in pagan worship was that of propitiating the gods, in the hope of averting their anger and purchasing their favor.-See the
author's The Great Apostasy, 1:2-4, and notes following the chapter cited.

Footnotes

  1. Ex. 33:11; see also Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:10; compare Moses 1:2, 11, 31.

  2. Moses 5:57; for later mention of the "meridian of time," see 6:56-62; and 7:46; and compare D&C 20:26; 39:3.

  3. "Meridian: . . . figuratively, the highest point or culminating-point of anything; the zenith; as the meridian of life." -New Standard Dictionary.

  4. 3 Ne. 2:8; compare 4 Ne. 1:1, 21; Morm. 8:6; Moro. 10:1.

  5. Gen. 32:28; 35:10.

  6. Ex. 1:1, 7; 9:6, 7; 12:3, etc.

  7. Ex. 12:35, 40; 13:19; 15:1; Num. 20:1, 19, 24, etc.

  8. See mention throughout the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and references therein.
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  9. Isa. 11:13;Isa. 17:3; Ezek. 37:16-22; Hos. 4:17.
  7. Ex. 12:35, 40; 13:19; 15:1; Num. 20:1, 19, 24, etc.

  8. See mention throughout the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and references therein.

  9. Isa. 11:13;Isa. 17:3; Ezek. 37:16-22; Hos. 4:17.

  10. Isa. 11:13; 17:3; Ezek. 37:16-22; Hos. 4:17.

  11. Jer. 25:11, 12; see also 29:10.

  12. Ezra 1:1-4; the author, House of the Lord, pp. 47-53; also Articles of Faith, chapter 17.

  13. Ezra 2:64-67.

  14. House of the Lord, pp. 51-53.

  15. Josephus, Ant. xii:6, 7; 2 Maccabees 2:19; 10:1-8; also John 10:22.

  16. Luke 2:1.

  17. Matt. 2:1.

   18. The Sanhedrin.-This, the chief court or high council of the Jews, derives its name from Greek sunedrion, signifying "a council." In English it is sometimes though
inaccurately written "Sanhedrim." The Talmud traces the origin of this body to the calling of the seventy elders whom Moses associated with himself, making seventy-
one in all, to administer as judges in Israel (Num. 11:16, 17). The Sanhedrin in the time of Christ, as also long before, comprised seventy-one members, including the
high priest who presided in the assembly. It appears to have been known in its earlier period as the Senate, and was occasionally so designated even after Christ's
death, (Josephus, Antiquities xii, 3:3; compare Acts 5:21); the name "Sanhedrin" came into general use during the reign of Herod the Great; but the term is not of
Biblical usage; its equivalent in the New Testament is "council" (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; 26:59) though it must be remembered that the same term is applied to courts of
lesser jurisdiction than that of the Sanhedrin, and to local tribunals. (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; 26:59; Mark 13:9; see also Acts 25:12.)

The following, from the Standard Bible Dictionary, is instructive: "Those qualified to be members were in general of the priestly house and especially of the Sadducean
nobility. But from the days of Queen Alexandra (69-68 B.C.) onward, there were with these chief priests also many Pharisees in it under the name of scribes and
elders. These three classes are found combined in Matt. 27:41; Mark 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1. How such members were appointed is not entirely clear. The aristocratic
character of the body and the history of its origin forbid the belief that it was by election. Its nucleus probably consisted of the members of certain ancient families, to
which, however, from time to time others were added by the secular rulers. The presiding officer was the high priest, who at first exercised in it more than the authority
of a member, claiming a voice equal to that of the rest of the body. But after the reduction of the high priesthood from a hereditary office to one bestowed by the
political ruler according to his pleasure, and the frequent changes in the office introduced by the new system, the high priest naturally lost his prestige. Instead of holding
in his hands the 'government of the nation,' he came to be but one of many to share this power; those who had served as high priests being still in esteem among their
nation, and having lost their office not for any reason that could be considered valid by the religious sense of the community, exerted a large influence over the decisions
of the assembly. In the New Testament they are regarded as the rulers (Matt. 26:59; 27:41; Acts 4:5, 8; Luke 23:13, 35; John 7:26), and Josephus' testimony supports
this view. The functions of the Sanhedrin were religious and moral, and also political. In the latter capacity they further exercised administrative as well as judicial
functions. As a religious tribunal, the Sanhedrin wielded a potent influence over the whole of the Jewish world (Acts 9:2); but as a court of justice, after the division of
the country upon the death of Herod, its jurisdiction was limited to Judea. Here, however, its power was absolute even to the passing of sentence of death (Josephus,
Ant. xiv, 9:3, 4; Matt. 26:3; Acts 4:5; 6:12; 22:30), although it had no authority to carry the sentence into execution except as approved and ordered by the
representative of the Roman government. The law by which the Sanhedrin governed was naturally the Jewish, and in the execution of it this tribunal had a police of its
own, and made arrests at its discretion (Matt. 26:47). . . . While the general authority of the Sanhedrin extended over the whole of Judea, the towns in the country had
local councils of their own (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; Mark 13:9; Josephus, B.J. ii, 14:1), for the administration of local affairs. These were constituted of elders (Luke 7:3), at
least seven in number, (Josephus, Ant. iv, 8:14; B.J. ii, 20:5), and in some of the largest towns as many as twenty-three. What the relation of these to the central council
in Jerusalem was does not appear clearly. . . . Some sort of mutual recognition existed among them; for whenever the judges of the local court could not agree it seems
that they were in the habit of referring their cases to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. (Josephus, Ant. iv, 8:14; Mishna, San. 11:2)."

   19. State of the World at the Time of the Savior's Birth.-At the beginning of the Christian era, the Jews, in common with most other nations, were subjects of the
Roman empire. They were allowed a considerable degree of liberty in maintaining their religious observances and national customs generally, but their status was far
from that of a free and independent people. The period was one of comparative peace-a time marked by fewer wars and less dissension than the empire had known
for many years. These conditions were favorable for the mission of the Christ, and for the founding of His Church on earth. The religious systems extant at the time of
Christ's earthly ministry may be classified in a general way as Jewish and Pagan, with a minor system-the Samaritan-which was essentially a mixture of the other two.
The children of Israel alone proclaimed the existence of the true and living God; they alone looked forward to the advent of the Messiah, whom mistakenly they awaited
as a prospective conqueror coming to crush the enemies of their nation. All other nations, tongues, and peoples, bowed to pagan deities, and their worship comprised
naught but the sensual rites of heathen idolatry. Paganism was a religion of form and ceremony, based on polytheism-a belief in the existence of a multitude of gods,
which deities were subject to all the vices and passions of humanity, while distinguished by immunity from death. Morality and virtue were unknown as elements of
heathen service; and the dominant idea in pagan worship was that of propitiating the gods, in the hope of averting their anger and purchasing their favor.-See the
author's The Great Apostasy, 1:2-4, and notes following the chapter cited.

  20. Deut. 7:6; see also 10:15; Ex. 19:5, 6; Ps. 135:4; Isa. 41:8; 45:4; compare 1 Pet. 2:9.

  21. 2 Kgs. 17:24.

  22. John 4:9; Luke 9:51-53.

   23. Talmud.-"The body of Jewish civil and religious law (and discussion directly or remotely relating thereto) not comprised in the Pentateuch, commonly including
the Mishna and the Gemara, but sometimes limited to the latter; written in Aramaic. It exists in two great collections, the Palestinian Talmud, or Talmud of the Land of
Israel, or Talmud of the West, or more popularly, Jerusalem Talmud, embodying the discussions on the Mishna, of the Palestinian doctors from the 2d to the middle of
the 5th century; and the Babylonian, embodying those of the Jewish doctors in Babylonia, from about 190 to the 7th century."-New Standard Dict. The Mishna
comprises the earlier portions of the Talmud; the Gemara is made up of later writings and is largely an exposition of the Mishna. An edition of the Babylonian Talmud
alone (issued at Vienna in 1682) comprised twenty-four tomes. (Geikie.)
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  24. Bab. Talmud, Sanhedrin, 90.

  25. Josephus, Ant. xx, 11:2.
the 5th century; and the Babylonian, embodying those of the Jewish doctors in Babylonia, from about 190 to the 7th century."-New Standard Dict. The Mishna
comprises the earlier portions of the Talmud; the Gemara is made up of later writings and is largely an exposition of the Mishna. An edition of the Babylonian Talmud
alone (issued at Vienna in 1682) comprised twenty-four tomes. (Geikie.)

  24. Bab. Talmud, Sanhedrin, 90.

  25. Josephus, Ant. xx, 11:2.

  26. Note the emphasis given to this distinction in John 7:45-49; see also 9:34.

   27. Rabbis.-The title Rabbi is equivalent to our distinctive appellations Doctor, Master, or Teacher. By derivation it means Master or my Master, thus connoting
dignity and rank associated with politeness of address. A definite explanation of the term is given by John (1:38), and the same meaning attaches by implication to its
use as recorded by Matthew (23:8). It was applied as a title of respect to Jesus on several occasions (Matt. 23:7, 8; 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; John 1:38,
49; 3:2, 26; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). The title was of comparatively recent usage in the time of Christ, as it appears to have first come into general use during the reign of
Herod the Great, though the earlier teachers, of the class without the name of Rabbis, were generally reverenced, and the title was carried back to them by later usage.
Rab was an inferior title and Rabban a superior one to Rabbi. Rabboni was expressive of most profound respect, love and honor (see John 20:16). At the time of our
Lord's ministry the Rabbis were held in high esteem, and rejoiced in the afflations of precedence and honor among men. They were almost exclusively of the powerful
Pharisaic party.

The following is from Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 6: "If the most important figures in the society of Christ's day were the Pharisees, it was because
they were the Rabbis or teachers of the Law. As such they received superstitious honor, which was, indeed, the great motive, with many, to court the title or join the
party. The Rabbis were classed with Moses, the patriarchs, and the prophets, and claimed equal reverence. Jacob and Joseph were both said to have been Rabbis.
The Targum of Jonathan substitutes Rabbis, or Scribes, for the word 'prophets' where it occurs. Josephus speaks of the prophets of Saul's day as Rabbis. In the
Jerusalem Targum all the patriarchs are learned Rabbis. . . . They were to be dearer to Israel than father or mother-because parents avail only in this world [as was then
taught] but the Rabbi forever. They were set above kings, for is it not written 'Through me kings reign'? Their entrance into a house brought a blessing; to live or to eat
with them was the highest good fortune. . . . The Rabbis went even further than this in exalting their order. The Mishna declares that it is a greater crime to speak
anything to their discredit, than to speak against the words of the Law. . . . Yet in form, the Law received boundless honor. Every saying of the Rabbis had to be based
on some words of it, which were, however, explained in their own way. The spirit of the times, the wild fanaticism of the people, and their own bias, tended alike to
make them set value only on ceremonies and worthless externalisms, to the utter neglect of the spirit of the sacred writings. Still it was held that the Law needed no
confirmation, while the words of the Rabbis did. So far as the Roman authority under which they lived left them free, the Jews willingly put all power in the hands of the
Rabbis. They or their nominees filled every office, from the highest in the priesthood to the lowest in the community. They were the casuists, the teachers, the priests,
the judges, the magistrates, and the physicians of the nation. . . . The central and dominant characteristic of the teaching of the Rabbis was the certain advent of a great
national Deliverer-the Messiah or Anointed of God or in the Greek translation of the title, the Christ. In no other nation than the Jews has such a conception ever taken
such root or shown such vitality. . . . It was agreed among the Rabbis that His birthplace must be Bethlehem, and that He must rise from the tribe of Judah."

Individual rabbis gathered disciples about them, and, inevitably, rivalry became manifest. Rabbinical schools and academies were established, each depending for its
popularity on the greatness of some rabbi. The most famous of these institutions in the time of Herod I were the school of Hillel and that of his rival Shammai. Later,
tradition invested these with the title "the fathers of old." It appears from the trifling matters over which the followers of these two disagreed, that only by opposition
could either maintain a distinguishing status. Hillel is reputed as the grandfather of Gamaliel, the rabbi and doctor of the law at whose feet Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul
the apostle, received his early instruction (Acts 22:3). So far as we have historic record of the views, principles or beliefs advocated by the rival schools of Hillel and
Shammai, it appears that the former stood for a greater degree of liberality and tolerance, while the later emphasized a strict and possibly narrow interpretation of the
law and its associated traditions. The dependence of the rabbinical schools on the authority of tradition is illustrated by an incident of record to the effect that even the
prestige of the great Hillel did not insure him against uproar when once he spoke without citing precedent; only when he added that so had his masters Abtalion and
Shemajah spoken did the tumult subside.

  28. Ezra 7:11; see also verses 6, 10, 12.

  29. Matt. 23:8-10; see also John 1:38; 3:2.

  30. Matt. 23:13, 14, 15, 23, etc., read the entire chapter; compare Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:46; see also as instances of special denunciation of the Pharisees Luke
11:37-44. Note also that the lawyers, who were professionally associated with the scribes, are included in the sweeping criticism; verses 45-54.

  31. 1 Maccabees 2:42; 7:13-17; 2 Maccabees 14:6.

  32. Josephus, Antiquities xvii, 2:4.

  33. Acts 26:5; see also 23:6; Philip. 3:5.

  34. Ex. 21:23-35; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21; contrast Matt. 5:38-44.

   35. Sadducean Denial of the Resurrection.-As set forth in the text, the Sadducees formed an association numerically small as compared with the more popular and
influential Pharisees. In the Gospels the Pharisees are of frequent mention, and very commonly in connection with the scribes, while the Sadducees are less frequently
named. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Sadducees appear frequently as opponents of the Church. This condition was doubtless due to the prominence given the
resurrection from the dead among the themes of the apostolic preaching, the Twelve continually bearing testimony to the actual resurrection of Christ. Sadducean
doctrine denied the actuality and possibility of a bodily resurrection, the contention resting mainly on the ground that Moses, who was regarded as the supreme mortal
lawgiver in Israel, and the chief mouthpiece of Jehovah, had written nothing concerning life after death. The following is taken from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
article "Sadducees," as touching this matter: "The denial of man's resurrection after death followed in the conception of the Sadducees as a logical conclusion from their
denial that Moses had revealed to the Israelites the Oral Law. For on a point so momentous as a second life beyond the grave, no religious party among the Jews
would have deemed themselves bound to accept any doctrine as an article of faith, unless it had been proclaimed by Moses, their great legislator; and it is certain that in
the written Law of the Pentateuch there is a total absence of any assertion by Moses of the resurrection of the dead. This fact is presented to Christians in a striking
manner by the well-known words of the Pentateuch which are quoted by Christ in argument with the Sadducees on this subject (Ex. 3:6, 16; Mark 12:26, 27; Matt.
22:31, 32; Luke 20:37). It cannot be doubted that in such a case Christ would quote to His powerful adversaries the most cogent text in the Law; and yet the text
actually quoted does not do more than suggest an inference on this great doctrine. It is true that passages in other parts of the Old Testament express a belief in the
resurrection (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:26; and in some of the Psalms); and it may at first sight be a subject of surprise that the Sadducees were not convinced by
the authority of those passages. But although the Sadducees regarded the books which contained these passages as sacred, it is more than doubtful whether any of the
Jews regarded them as sacred in precisely the same sense as the written Law. To the Jews Moses was and is a colossal form, preeminent in authority above all
subsequent   prophets."
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  36. Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:4.
resurrection (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:26; and in some of the Psalms); and it may at first sight be a subject of surprise that the Sadducees were not convinced by
the authority of those passages. But although the Sadducees regarded the books which contained these passages as sacred, it is more than doubtful whether any of the
Jews regarded them as sacred in precisely the same sense as the written Law. To the Jews Moses was and is a colossal form, preeminent in authority above all
subsequent prophets."

  36. Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:4.

  37. New Standard Dictionary, under "Sadducees."

  38. Josephus, Antiquities xviii, 1:5.

  39. Num. 6:2-21; Judges 13:5, 7; 16:17; Amos 2:11, 12.

  40. Matt. 22:15, 16; Mark 12:13.

  41. Luke 13:1, 2; see also John 4:45; Mark 14:70; Acts 2:7.

  42. 1 Chron. 24:1-18.

   43. The Temple of Herod.-"Herod's purpose in the great undertaking [that of restoring the temple, and of enlarging it on a plan of unprecedented magnificence] was
that of aggrandizing himself and the nation, rather than the rendering of homage to Jehovah. His proposition to rebuild or restore the temple on a scale of increased
magnificence was regarded with suspicion and received with disfavor by the Jews, who feared that were the ancient edifice demolished, the arbitrary monarch might
abandon his plan and the people would be left without a temple. To allay these fears the king proceeded to reconstruct and restore the old edifice, part by part,
directing the work so that at no time was the temple service seriously interrupted. So little of the ancient structure was allowed to stand, however, that the temple of
Herod must be regarded as a new creation. The work was begun about sixteen years before the birth of Christ; and while the Holy House itself was practically
completed within a year and a half, this part of the labor having been performed by a body of one thousand priests specially trained for the purpose, the temple area
was a scene of uninterrupted building operations down to the year 63 A.D. We read that in the time of Christ's ministry the temple had been forty-six years in building;
and at that time it was unfinished.

"The Biblical record gives us little information regarding this the last and the greatest of ancient temples; for what we know concerning it we are indebted mainly to
Josephus, with some corroborative testimony found in the Talmud. In all essentials the Holy House, or Temple proper, was similar to the two earlier houses of
sanctuary, though externally far more elaborate and imposing than either; but in the matter of surrounding courts and associated buildings, the Temple of Herod
preeminently excelled. . . . Yet its beauty and grandeur lay in architectural excellence rather than in the sanctity of its worship or in the manifestation of the Divine
Presence within its walls. Its ritual and service were largely man-prescribed; for while the letter of the Mosaic Law was professedly observed, the law had been
supplemented and in many features supplanted by rule and priestly prescription. The Jews professed to consider it holy, and by them it was proclaimed as the House of
the Lord. Devoid though it was of the divine accompaniments of earlier shrines accepted of God, and defiled as it was by priestly arrogance and usurpation, as also by
the selfish interest of traffic and trade, it was nevertheless recognized even by our Lord the Christ as His Father's House. (Matt. 21:12; compare Mark 11:15; Luke
19:45.) . . . For thirty or more years after the death of Christ, the Jews continued the work of adding to and embellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate design
conceived and projected by Herod had been practically completed; the temple was well-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was ready for destruction. Its
fate had been definitely foretold by the Savior Himself."-From the author's House of the Lord, pp. 54-61.

CHAPTER 7

Gabriel's Annunciation of John and of Jesus

John the Forerunner

Associated with the prophecies of the birth of Christ are predictions concerning one who should precede Him, going before to prepare the way. It is not surprising that
the annunciation of the immediate advent of the forerunner was speedily followed by that of the Messiah; nor that the proclamations were made by the same heavenly
ambassador-Gabriel, sent from the presence of God.

About fifteen months prior to the Savior's birth, Zacharias, a priest of the Aaronic order, was officiating in the functions of his office in the temple at Jerusalem. His wife,
Elisabeth, was also of a priestly family, being numbered among the descendants of Aaron. The couple had never been blessed with children; and at the time of which
we speak they were both well stricken in years and had sorrowfully given up hope of posterity. Zacharias belonged to the course of priests named after Abijah, and
known in later time as the course of Abia. This was the eighth in the order of the twenty-four courses established by David the king, each course being appointed to
serve in turn a week at the sanctuary. It will be remembered that on the return of the people from Babylon only four of the courses were represented; but of these
four each averaged over fourteen hundred men.

During his week of service each priest was required to maintain scrupulously a state of ceremonial cleanliness of person; he had to abstain from wine, and from food
except that specifically prescribed; he had to bathe frequently; he lived within the temple precincts and thus was cut off from family association; he was not allowed to
come near the dead, nor to mourn in the formal manner if death should rob him of even his nearest and dearest of kin. We learn that the daily selection of the priest who
should enter the Holy Place, and there burn incense on the golden altar, was determined by lot; and furthermore we gather, from non-scriptural history, that because
of the great number of priests the honor of so officiating seldom fell twice to the same person.

On this day the lot had fallen to Zacharias. It was a very solemn occasion in the life of the humble Judean priest-this one day in his life on which the special and
particularly sacred service was required of him. Within the Holy Place he was separated by the veil of the temple only from the Oracle or Holy of Holies-the inner
sanctuary into which none but the high priest might enter, and he only on the Day of Atonement, after long ceremonial preparation. The place and the time were
conducive to the highest and most reverential feelings. As Zacharias ministered within the Holy Place, the people without bowed themselves in prayer, watching for the
clouds of incense smoke to appear above the great partition which formed the barrier between the place of general assembly and the Holy Place, and awaiting the
reappearance of the priest and his pronouncement of the benediction.

Before the astonished gaze of Zacharias, at this supreme moment of his priestly service, there appeared, standing on the right of the golden altar of incense, an angel of
the Lord. Many generations had passed in Jewry since any visible presence other than mortal had been manifest within the temple, either in the Holy Place or the Holy
of Holies; the people regarded personal visitations of heavenly beings as occurrences of the past; they had come almost to believe that there were no longer prophets in
Israel. Nevertheless, there was always a feeling of anxiety, akin to that of troubled expectancy, whenever a priest approached the inner sanctuary, which was regarded
as the particular abode of Jehovah should He ever again condescend to visit His people. In view of these conditions we read without surprise that this angelic presence
troubled Zacharias
 Copyright          and caused
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                                          Media    him. The words of the heavenly visitant, however, were comforting though of startling import, embodying
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                                                                                                                                                                they/ did
                                                                                                                                                                       128the
unqualified assurance that the man's prayers had been heard, and that his wife should bear him a son, who must be named John. The promise went even further,
specifying that the child to be born of Elisabeth would be a blessing to the people; many would rejoice at his birth; he would be great in the sight of the Lord, and must
be guarded against wine and strong drink;           he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, would be the means of turning many souls to God, and would go before to
the Lord. Many generations had passed in Jewry since any visible presence other than mortal had been manifest within the temple, either in the Holy Place or the Holy
of Holies; the people regarded personal visitations of heavenly beings as occurrences of the past; they had come almost to believe that there were no longer prophets in
Israel. Nevertheless, there was always a feeling of anxiety, akin to that of troubled expectancy, whenever a priest approached the inner sanctuary, which was regarded
as the particular abode of Jehovah should He ever again condescend to visit His people. In view of these conditions we read without surprise that this angelic presence
troubled Zacharias and caused fear to fall upon him. The words of the heavenly visitant, however, were comforting though of startling import, embodying as they did the
unqualified assurance that the man's prayers had been heard, and that his wife should bear him a son, who must be named John. The promise went even further,
specifying that the child to be born of Elisabeth would be a blessing to the people; many would rejoice at his birth; he would be great in the sight of the Lord, and must
be guarded against wine and strong drink;         he would be filled with the Holy Ghost, would be the means of turning many souls to God, and would go before to
make ready a people prepared to receive the Messiah.

Doubtless Zacharias recognized in the predicted future of the yet unborn child, the great forerunner, of whom the prophets had told and the psalmist had sung; but that
such a one should be offspring of himself and his aged wife seemed impossible despite the angel's promise. The man doubted, and asked whereby he should know that
what his visitant had spoken was true: "And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to
shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my
words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." When the highly blessed though sorely smitten priest at length came from within and appeared before the expectant
congregation, already made anxious by his delayed return, he could but mutely dismiss the assembly and by signs indicate that he had seen a vision. The penalty for
doubt was already operative: Zacharias was dumb.

In due time the child was born, there in the hill country of Judea where Zacharias and Elisabeth had their home; and, on the eighth day following the birth the family
assembled in accordance with custom and Mosaic requirement, to name the babe in connection with the rite of circumcision. All suggestions that he be called after
his father were overruled by Zacharias, who wrote with decisive finality: "His name is John." Thereupon the dumb priest's tongue was loosed, and being filled with the
Holy Ghost he burst forth in prophecy, praise and song; his inspired utterances have been set to music and are sung in worship by many Christian congregations as the
Benedictus:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he
spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to
perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we
being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be
called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of
their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

The last words Zacharias had uttered prior to the infliction of dumbness were words of doubt and unbelief, words in which he had called for a sign as proof of authority
of one who came from the presence of the Almighty; the words with which he broke his long silence were words of praise unto God in whom he had all assurance,
words that were as a sign to all who heard, and the fame whereof spread throughout the region.

The unusual circumstances attending the birth of John, notably the months of dumbness passed by the father and his sudden recovery of speech on the bestowal of the
foreappointed name, caused many to marvel and some to fear, as they asked: "What manner of child shall this be!" When, a man grown, John raised his voice in the
wilderness, again in fulfillment of prophecy, the people questioned as to whether he was not the Messiah. Of his life between infancy and the beginning of his public
ministry, a period of approximately thirty years, we have of record but a single sentence: "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the
day of his shewing unto Israel."

The Annunciation to the Virgin

Six months after the visitation of Gabriel to Zacharias, and three months prior to the birth of John, the same heavenly messenger was sent to a young woman named
Mary, who lived at Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was of the lineage of David; and though unmarried was betrothed or espoused to a man named Joseph, who also
was of royal descent through the Davidic line. The angel's salutation, while full of honor and blessing, caused Mary to wonder and to feel troubled. "Hail, thou that art
highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women"; thus did Gabriel greet the virgin.

In common with other daughters of Israel, specifically those of the tribe of Judah and of known descent from David, Mary had doubtless contemplated, with holy joy
and ecstasy, the coming of the Messiah through the royal line; she knew that some Jewish maiden was yet to become the mother of the Christ. Was it possible that the
angel's words to her had reference to this supreme expectation and hope of the nation? She had little time to turn these things in her mind, for the angel continued: "Fear
not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and
of his kingdom there shall be no end."

Even yet she comprehended but in part the import of this momentous visitation. Not in the spirit of doubt such as had prompted Zacharias to ask for a sign, but through
an earnest desire for information and explanation, Mary, conscious of her unmarried status and sure of her virgin condition, asked: "How shall this be, seeing I know not
a man?" The answer to her natural and simple inquiry was the announcement of a miracle such as the world had never known-not a miracle in the sense of a happening
contrary to nature's law, nevertheless a miracle through the operation of higher law, such as the human mind ordinarily fails to comprehend or regard as possible. Mary
was informed that she would conceive and in time bring forth a Son, of whom no mortal man would be the father:-"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of
God."

Then the angel told her of the blessed condition of her cousin Elisabeth, who had been barren; and by way of sufficient and final explanation added: "For with God
nothing shall be impossible." With gentle submissiveness and humble acceptance, the pure young virgin replied: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me
according to thy word."

His message delivered, Gabriel departed, leaving the chosen Virgin of Nazareth to ponder over her wondrous experience. Mary's promised Son was to be "The Only
Begotten" of the Father in the flesh; so it had been both positively and abundantly predicted. True, the event was unprecedented; true also it has never been paralleled;
but that the virgin birth would be unique was as truly essential to the fulfillment of prophecy as that it should occur at all. That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of
Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, the offspring from that association of supreme
sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the "Son of the Highest." In His nature would be combined the powers of
Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by
science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate-after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits,
tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents-one immortal and glorified-God, the other human-woman.
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Jesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly the offspring of mortal man, except so far as His mother was the daughter of bothPage  68woman.
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In our Lord alone has been fulfilled the word of God spoken in relation to the fall of Adam, that the seed of the woman should have power to overcome Satan by
bruising the serpent's head.
Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by
science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate-after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits,
tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents-one immortal and glorified-God, the other human-woman.

Jesus Christ was to be born of mortal woman, but was not directly the offspring of mortal man, except so far as His mother was the daughter of both man and woman.
In our Lord alone has been fulfilled the word of God spoken in relation to the fall of Adam, that the seed of the woman should have power to overcome Satan by
bruising the serpent's head.

In respect to place, condition, and general environment, Gabriel's annunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of his message to Mary. The
prospective forerunner of the Lord was announced to his father within the magnificent temple, and in a place the most exclusively sacred save one other in the Holy
House, under the light shed from the golden candlestick, and further illumined by the glow of living coals on the altar of gold; the Messiah was announced to His mother
in a small town far from the capital and the temple, most probably within the walls of a simple Galilean cottage.

Mary's Visit to Her Cousin Elisabeth

It was natural that Mary, left now to herself with a secret in her soul, holier, greater, and more thrilling than any ever borne before or since, should seek companionship,
and that of some one of her own sex, in whom she could confide, from whom she might hope to derive comfort and support, and to whom it would be not wrong to tell
what at that time was probably known to no mortal save herself. Her heavenly visitant had indeed suggested all this in his mention of Elisabeth, Mary's cousin, herself a
subject of unusual blessing, and a woman through whom another miracle of God had been wrought. Mary set out with haste from Nazareth for the hill country of Judea,
on a journey of about a hundred miles if the traditional account be true that the little town of Juttah was the home of Zacharias. There was mutual joy in the meeting
between Mary the youthful virgin, and Elisabeth, already well advanced in life. From what of Gabriel's words her husband had communicated, Elisabeth must have
known that the approaching birth of her son would soon be followed by that of the Messiah, and that therefore the day for which Israel had waited and prayed through
the long dark centuries was about to dawn. When Mary's salutation fell upon her ears, the Holy Ghost bore witness that the chosen mother of the Lord stood before
her in the person of her cousin; and as she experienced the physical thrill incident to the quickening spirit of her own blessed conception, she returned the greeting of her
visitor with reverence: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to
me?" Mary responded with that glorious hymn of praise, since adopted in the musical ritual of churches as the Magnificat:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to
generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and
exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his
mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."

Mary and Joseph

The visit lasted about three months, after which time Mary returned to Nazareth. The real embarrassment of her position she had now to meet. At the home of her
cousin she had been understood; her condition had served to confirm the testimony of Zacharias and Elisabeth; but how would her word be received at her own home?
And especially, how would she be regarded by her espoused husband? Betrothal, or espousal, in that time was in some respects as binding as the marriage vow, and
could only be set aside by a ceremonial separation akin to divorce; yet an espousal was but an engagement to marry, not a marriage. When Joseph greeted his
promised bride after her three months' absence, he was greatly distressed over the indications of her prospective maternity. Now the Jewish law provided for the
annulment of a betrothal in either of two ways-by public trial and judgment, or by private agreement attested by a written document signed in the presence of witnesses.
Joseph was a just man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist; moreover he loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatever might be
his own sorrow and suffering. For Mary's sake he dreaded the thought of publicity; and therefore determined to have the espousal annulled with such privacy as the law
allowed. He was troubled and thought much of his duty in the matter, when, "behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Great was Joseph's relief of mind; and great his joy in the realization that the long predicted coming of the Messiah was at hand; the words of the prophets would be
fulfilled; a virgin, and she the one in the world most dear to him, had conceived, and in due time would bring forth that blessed Son, Emmanuel, which name by
interpretation means "God with us." The angel's salutation was significant; "Joseph, thou son of David," was the form of address; and the use of that royal title must
have meant to Joseph that, though he was of kingly lineage, marriage with Mary would cast no shadow upon his family status. Joseph waited not; to insure Mary all
possible protection and establish his full legal right as her lawful guardian he hastened the solemnization of the marriage, and "did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

The national hope of a Messiah based on promise and prophecy had become confused in the Jewish mind, through the influence of rabbinism with its many vagaries,
and its "private interpretation" made to appear authoritative by the artificially sustained prestige of the expositors; yet certain conditions had been emphasized as
essential, even by the rabbis, and by these essentials would be judged the claim of any Jew who might declare himself to be the long expected One. It was beyond
question that the Messiah was to be born within the tribe of Judah and through the line of descent from David, and, being of David He must of necessity be of the
lineage of Abraham, through whose posterity, according to the covenant, all nations of the earth were to be blessed.

Two genealogical records purporting to give the lineage of Jesus are found in the New Testament, one in the first chapter of Matthew, the other in the third chapter of
Luke. These records present several apparent discrepancies, but such have been satisfactorily reconciled by the research of specialists in Jewish genealogy. No
detailed analysis of the matter will be attempted here; but it should be borne in mind that the consensus of judgment on the part of investigators is that Matthew's
account is that of the royal lineage, establishing the order of sequence among the legal successors to the throne of David, while the account given by Luke is a personal
pedigree, demonstrating descent from David without adherence to the line of legal succession to the throne through primogeniture or nearness of kin. Luke's record is
regarded by many, however, as the pedigree of Mary, while Matthew's is accepted as that of Joseph. The all important fact to be remembered is that the Child
promised by Gabriel to Mary, the virginal bride of Joseph, would be born in the royal line. A personal genealogy of Joseph was essentially that of Mary also, for they
were cousins. Joseph is named as son of Jacob by Matthew, and as son of Heli by Luke; but Jacob and Heli were brothers, and it appears that one of the two was the
father of Joseph and the other the father of Mary and therefore father-in-law to Joseph. That Mary was of Davidic descent is plainly set forth in many scriptures; for
since Jesus was to be born of Mary, yet was not begotten by Joseph, who was the reputed, and according to the law of the Jews, the legal, father, the blood of David's
posterity was given to the body of Jesus through Mary alone. Our Lord, though repeatedly addressed as Son of David, never repudiated the title but accepted it as
rightly applied to Himself. Apostolic testimony stands in positive assertion of the royal heirship of Christ through earthly lineage, as witness the affirmation of Paul, the
scholarly Pharisee: "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh"; and again: "Remember that Jesus Christ of
the seed of David was raised from the dead."

In all the persecutions waged by His implacable haters, in all the false accusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilege and blasphemy based on His
acknowledgment     of the Messiahship as His own, no mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be the Christ through any ineligibility based on lineage.
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Genealogy was assiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time of Christ; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record;   69any/ 128
possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descent would have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee, learned scribe, haughty rabbi, and
aristocratic Sadducee.
the seed of David was raised from the dead."

In all the persecutions waged by His implacable haters, in all the false accusations brought against Him, in the specific charges of sacrilege and blasphemy based on His
acknowledgment of the Messiahship as His own, no mention is found of even an insinuation that He could not be the Christ through any ineligibility based on lineage.
Genealogy was assiduously cared for by the Jews before, during, and after the time of Christ; indeed their national history was largely genealogical record; and any
possibility of denying the Christ because of unattested descent would have been used to the fullest extent by insistent Pharisee, learned scribe, haughty rabbi, and
aristocratic Sadducee.

At the time of the Savior's birth, Israel was ruled by alien monarchs. The rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the ruler of the Jews was an
appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free and independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his
lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

Gabriel's annunciation to Mary was that of the Son of David, on whose coming the hope of Israel rested as on a sure foundation. The One, thus announced, was
Emmanuel, even God who was to dwell in flesh with His people, the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 7

1. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite.-The instruction of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to "drink neither wine nor strong drink,"
and the adult life of John as a dweller in the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have led commentators and Biblical specialists to assume that he was
a "Nazarite for life." It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere in scripture extant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite, the name signifying
consecrated or separated, was one, who by personal vow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some special labor or course of life involving self-
denial. (See page 67.) Smith's Comp. Dict. of the Bible says: "There is no notice in the Pentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regulations for the vow of a Nazarite of
days are given (Num. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the term of his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every production of the vine, and from
every kind of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation." The sole instance of a
Nazarite for life named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother was required to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth, and the child was to
be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judg. 13:3-7, 14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited with all the personal discipline required of Nazarites
whether he was under voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound.

2. Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitish practice, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of God to Abraham, as the sign of
the covenant between Jehovah and the patriarch. (Gen. 17:9-14.) This covenant was made to include the establishment of Abraham's posterity as a great nation, and
provided that through his descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18)-a promise which has been proved to mean that through that lineage should
the Messiah be born. Circumcision was a binding condition; and its practice therefore became a national characteristic. Every male was to be circumcised eight days
after birth (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3). This requirement as to age came to be so rigidly enforced, that even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath the rite had to be performed
on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to be circumcised (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with the Hebrews and desired to partake of the
Passover with them had to submit to the requirement (Ex. 12:48). From the Standard Bible Dictionary we take the following: "The ceremony indicated the casting off of
uncleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges of membership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer of emphasis from the external and formal
to the inner and spiritual side of things, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to the gospel to be circumcised (Acts 15:28), and afterward the rite was
set aside even by Jewish Christians." It became customary to name a child at the time it was circumcised, as is instanced in the case of John, son of Zacharias (Luke
1:59).

3. Zacharias's Affliction.-The sign for which Zacharias asked was thus given by the angel: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these
things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." (Luke 1:20.) From the account of the circumcision and naming
of the boy, John, it is held by some that the afflicted father was also deaf, as the company "made signs" to him as to how he would have his son named (verse 62).

4. Jewish Betrothal.-The vow of espousal, or betrothal, has always been regarded as sacred and binding in Jewish law. In a manner it was as binding as a marriage
ceremony, though it carried none of the particular rights of marriage. The following succinct statements are taken from Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, p. 99:
"Among the Jews of Mary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later came to be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the house of
the bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It was called the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to her husband in the strictest sense.
To make it legal, the bridegroom gave his betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses, with the words, 'Lo, thou art betrothed unto me,' or by a
formal writing in which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in the same way was handed to her before witnesses."

5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary.-"It is now almost certain that the genealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we may rely on early traditions of
their consanguinity involve genealogies of Mary also. The Davidic descent of Mary is implied in Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom. 1:3; Luke 1:32, etc. St. Matthew gives the legal
descent of Joseph through the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David; St. Luke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel was heir of the
house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) was the last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission of some obscure names and the
symmetrical arrangement into tesseradecads were common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after the labors of Mill (On the Mythical Interpretation of the
Gospels, pp. 147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (On the Genealogies of Our Lord, 1853) scarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparent divergencies.
And thus in this as in so many other instances, the very discrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal to the historic accuracy of the four
evangelists, turn out, on closer and more patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not only entirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy."-Farrar, Life
of Christ, p. 27, note.

The writer of the article "Genealogy of Jesus Christ" in Smith's Bible Dict. says: "The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one person, our Savior (Matt. 1;
Luke 3). . . . The following propositions will explain the true construction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C. Hervey): 1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e.
of Jesus Christ, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The genealogy of Matthew is, as Grotius asserted, Joseph's genealogy as legal successor to the
throne of David. That of Luke is Joseph's private genealogy, exhibiting his real birth, as David's son, and thus showing why he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple
principle that one evangelist exhibits that genealogy which contained the successive heirs to David's and Solomon's throne, while the other exhibits the paternal stem of
him who was the heir, explains all the anomalies of the two pedigrees, their agreements as well as their discrepancies, and the circumstance of their being two at all. 3.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph her husband."

A valuable contribution to the literature of this subject appears in the Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain,
1912, vol. 44, pp. 9-36, as an article, "The Genealogies of our Lord," by Mrs. A. S. Lewis, and discussion thereof by many scholars of acknowledged ability. The
author, Mrs. Lewis, is an authority on Syriac manuscripts, and is one of the two women who, in 1892, discovered in the library of St. Catherine's monastery on Mount
Sinai, the Syriac palimpsest MS. of the four Gospels. The gifted author holds that Matthew's account attests the royal pedigree of Joseph, and that Luke's genealogical
table proves the equally royal descent of Mary. Mrs. Lewis says: "The Sinai Palimpsest also tells us that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, to be enrolled there,
because they were both of the house and lineage of David."

Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis of Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from David: "When the angel was
foretelling
 Copyrightto(c)Mary the birth Infobase
                2005-2009,    of the Holy Child,Corp.
                                       Media     he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.' Now if Joseph, her betrothed,Page
                                                                                                                                                     had alone
                                                                                                                                                             70been
                                                                                                                                                                / 128
descended from David, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,' whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly
implies-"if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could infuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I am a virgin?'"
because they were both of the house and lineage of David."

Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis of Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from David: "When the angel was
foretelling to Mary the birth of the Holy Child, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.' Now if Joseph, her betrothed, had alone been
descended from David, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,' whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly
implies-"if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could infuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I am a virgin?'"

After brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein it is provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a man teach his adopted son a
handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in all the rights of heirship, Canon Girdlestone adds: "If the crown of David had been assigned to his successor in the days of
Herod it would have been placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legal successor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King
of the Jews, and the title on the cross spoke the truth. God had raised Him up to the house of David."

6. The Inner Sanctuary of the Temple.-The Holy of Holies in the Temple of Herod retained the form and dimensions of the Oracle in the Temple of Solomon; it was
therefore a cube, twenty cubits in each principal measurement. Between this and the Holy Place hung a double veil, of finest material, elaborately embroidered. The
outer of the two veils was open at the north end, the inner at the south; so that the high priest who entered at the appointed time once a year could pass between the
veils without exposing the Holy of Holies. The sacred chamber was empty save for a large stone upon which the high priest sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the Day of
Atonement; this stone occupied the place of the Ark and its Mercy Seat. Outside the veil, in the Holy Place, stood the altar of incense, the seven-branched candlestick,
and the table of shewbread.-The House of the Lord, p. 59.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 1:19, 26; see also Dan. 8:16; 9:21-23.

  2. Luke 1:5; compare 1 Chr. 24:10.

  3. Ezra 2:36-39.

  4. Luke 1:8, 9; read the entire chapter.

  5. Lev. chap. 16; Heb. 9:1-7; see also House of the Lord, p. 59, and compare pp. 24 and 39.

Note 6. The Inner Sanctuary of the Temple.-The Holy of Holies in the Temple of Herod retained the form and dimensions of the Oracle in the Temple of Solomon; it
was therefore a cube, twenty cubits in each principal measurement. Between this and the Holy Place hung a double veil, of finest material, elaborately embroidered. The
outer of the two veils was open at the north end, the inner at the south; so that the high priest who entered at the appointed time once a year could pass between the
veils without exposing the Holy of Holies. The sacred chamber was empty save for a large stone upon which the high priest sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the Day of
Atonement; this stone occupied the place of the Ark and its Mercy Seat. Outside the veil, in the Holy Place, stood the altar of incense, the seven-branched candlestick,
and the table of shewbread.-The House of the Lord, p. 59.

  6. For other instances of children promised in spite of barrenness due to age or other causes, see Isaac (Gen. 17:16, 17; 21:1-3); Samson (Judg. 13); Samuel (1
Sam. 1); son of the Shunammite (2 Kgs. 4:14-17).

    7. Note 1. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite.-The instruction of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to "drink neither wine nor
strong drink," and the adult life of John as a dweller in the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have led commentators and Biblical specialists to
assume that he was a "Nazarite for life." It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere in scripture extant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite,
the name signifying consecrated or separated, was one, who by personal vow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some special labor or course of
life involving self-denial. (See page 67.) Smith's Comp. Dict. of the Bible says: "There is no notice in the Pentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regulations for the vow
of a Nazarite of days are given (Num. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the term of his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every production of the
vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation." The sole
instance of a Nazarite for life named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother was required to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth, and the
child was to be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judg. 13:3-7, 14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited with all the personal discipline required
of Nazarites whether he was under voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound.

    8. Note 1. John the Baptist Regarded as a Nazarite.-The instruction of the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, that the promised son, John, was to "drink neither wine nor
strong drink," and the adult life of John as a dweller in the desert, together with his habit of wearing rough garb, have led commentators and Biblical specialists to
assume that he was a "Nazarite for life." It is to be remembered, however, that nowhere in scripture extant is John the Baptist definitely called a Nazarite. A Nazarite,
the name signifying consecrated or separated, was one, who by personal vow or by that made for him by his parents, was set apart to some special labor or course of
life involving self-denial. (See page 67.) Smith's Comp. Dict. of the Bible says: "There is no notice in the Pentateuch of Nazarites for life; but the regulations for the vow
of a Nazarite of days are given (Num. 6:1-2). The Nazarite, during the term of his consecration, was bound to abstain from wine, grapes, and every production of the
vine, and from every kind of intoxicating drink. He was forbidden to cut the hair of his head, or to approach any dead body, even that of his nearest relation." The sole
instance of a Nazarite for life named in the scriptures is that of Samson, whose mother was required to put herself under Nazarite observances prior to his birth, and the
child was to be a Nazarite to God from his birth (Judg. 13:3-7, 14). In the strictness of his life, John the Baptist is to be credited with all the personal discipline required
of Nazarites whether he was under voluntary or parental vows or was not so bound.

  9. Luke 1:19-20.

  10. Luke 1:57; compare verse 39.

   11. Note 2. Circumcision, while not exclusively a Hebrew or an Israelitish practice, was made a definite requirement through the revelations of God to Abraham, as
the sign of the covenant between Jehovah and the patriarch. (Gen. 17:9-14.) This covenant was made to include the establishment of Abraham's posterity as a great
nation, and provided that through his descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18)-a promise which has been proved to mean that through that
lineage should the Messiah be born. Circumcision was a binding condition; and its practice therefore became a national characteristic. Every male was to be
circumcised eight days after birth (Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3). This requirement as to age came to be so rigidly enforced, that even if the eighth day fell on a Sabbath the
rite had to be performed on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to be circumcised (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with the Hebrews and
desired to partake of the Passover with them had to submit to the requirement (Ex. 12:48). From the Standard Bible Dictionary we take the following: "The ceremony
indicated the casting off of uncleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges of membership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer of emphasis
from the external and formal to the inner and spiritual side of things, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to the gospel to be circumcised (Acts 15:28),
and  afterward
 Copyright   (c)the rite was setInfobase
                 2005-2009,       aside even by Jewish
                                          Media  Corp. Christians." It became customary to name a child at the time it was circumcised, as is instanced Page
                                                                                                                                                         in the case
                                                                                                                                                                  71of/ John,
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son of Zacharias (Luke 1:59).

  12. Note 3. Zacharias's Affliction.-The sign for which Zacharias asked was thus given by the angel: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day
rite had to be performed on that day (John 7:22, 23). All male slaves had to be circumcised (Gen. 17:12, 13) and even strangers who sojourned with the Hebrews and
desired to partake of the Passover with them had to submit to the requirement (Ex. 12:48). From the Standard Bible Dictionary we take the following: "The ceremony
indicated the casting off of uncleanness as a preparation for entrance into the privileges of membership in Israel. In the New Testament, with its transfer of emphasis
from the external and formal to the inner and spiritual side of things, it was first declared unnecessary for Gentile converts to the gospel to be circumcised (Acts 15:28),
and afterward the rite was set aside even by Jewish Christians." It became customary to name a child at the time it was circumcised, as is instanced in the case of John,
son of Zacharias (Luke 1:59).

   12. Note 3. Zacharias's Affliction.-The sign for which Zacharias asked was thus given by the angel: "Behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day
that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." (Luke 1:20.) From the account of the circumcision
and naming of the boy, John, it is held by some that the afflicted father was also deaf, as the company "made signs" to him as to how he would have his son named
(verse 62).

  13. Luke 1:68-79.

  14. Luke 1:65, 66; see also 3:15.

  15. Luke 1:80.

  16. Luke 1:28.

  17. Luke 1:30-33.

  18. Luke 1:35; see also preceding verses, 31-33.

  19. Gen. 3:15.

  20. Luke 1:42; read verses 39-56.

  21. Luke 1:46-55.

   22. Note 4. Jewish Betrothal.-The vow of espousal, or betrothal, has always been regarded as sacred and binding in Jewish law. In a manner it was as binding as a
marriage ceremony, though it carried none of the particular rights of marriage. The following succinct statements are taken from Geikie's Life and Words of Christ, vol.
1, p. 99: "Among the Jews of Mary's day it was even more of an actual engagement [than it later came to be]. The betrothal was formally made with rejoicings in the
house of the bride under a tent or slight canopy raised for the purpose. It was called the 'making sacred' as the bride thenceforth was sacred to her husband in the
strictest sense. To make it legal, the bridegroom gave his betrothed a piece of money, or the worth of it, before witnesses, with the words, 'Lo, thou art betrothed unto
me,' or by a formal writing in which similar words and the maiden's name were given, and this in the same way was handed to her before witnesses."

  23. Matt. 1:20, 21; read 18-25.

  24. Matt. 1:22-23; compare Isa. 7:14; see also 9:6.

  25. Matt. 1:24, 25.

  26. 2 Pet. 1:20.

  27. Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.

   28. Note 5. Genealogies of Joseph and Mary.-"It is now almost certain that the genealogies in both Gospels are genealogies of Joseph, which if we may rely on early
traditions of their consanguinity involve genealogies of Mary also. The Davidic descent of Mary is implied in Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom. 1:3; Luke 1:32, etc. St. Matthew
gives the legal descent of Joseph through the elder and regal line, as heir to the throne of David; St. Luke gives the natural descent. Thus, the real father of Salathiel was
heir of the house of Nathan, but the childless Jeconiah (Jer. 22:30) was the last lineal representative of the elder kingly line. The omission of some obscure names and
the symmetrical arrangement into tesseradecads were common Jewish customs. It is not too much to say that after the labors of Mill (On the Mythical Interpretation of
the Gospels, pp. 147-217) and Lord A. C. Hervey (On the Genealogies of Our Lord, 1853) scarcely a single difficulty remains in reconciling the apparent
divergencies. And thus in this as in so many other instances, the very discrepancies which appear to be most irreconcilable, and most fatal to the historic accuracy of the
four evangelists, turn out, on closer and more patient investigation, to be fresh proofs that they are not only entirely independent, but also entirely trustworthy."-Farrar,
Life of Christ, p. 27, note.

The writer of the article "Genealogy of Jesus Christ" in Smith's Bible Dict. says: "The New Testament gives us the genealogy of but one person, our Savior (Matt. 1;
Luke 3). . . . The following propositions will explain the true construction of these genealogies (so Lord A. C. Hervey): 1. They are both the genealogies of Joseph, i.e.
of Jesus Christ, as the reputed and legal son of Joseph and Mary. 2. The genealogy of Matthew is, as Grotius asserted, Joseph's genealogy as legal successor to the
throne of David. That of Luke is Joseph's private genealogy, exhibiting his real birth, as David's son, and thus showing why he was heir to Solomon's crown. The simple
principle that one evangelist exhibits that genealogy which contained the successive heirs to David's and Solomon's throne, while the other exhibits the paternal stem of
him who was the heir, explains all the anomalies of the two pedigrees, their agreements as well as their discrepancies, and the circumstance of their being two at all. 3.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was probably the daughter of Jacob, and first cousin to Joseph her husband."

A valuable contribution to the literature of this subject appears in the Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain,
1912, vol. 44, pp. 9-36, as an article, "The Genealogies of our Lord," by Mrs. A. S. Lewis, and discussion thereof by many scholars of acknowledged ability. The
author, Mrs. Lewis, is an authority on Syriac manuscripts, and is one of the two women who, in 1892, discovered in the library of St. Catherine's monastery on Mount
Sinai, the Syriac palimpsest MS. of the four Gospels. The gifted author holds that Matthew's account attests the royal pedigree of Joseph, and that Luke's genealogical
table proves the equally royal descent of Mary. Mrs. Lewis says: "The Sinai Palimpsest also tells us that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, to be enrolled there,
because they were both of the house and lineage of David."

Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis of Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from David: "When the angel was
foretelling to Mary the birth of the Holy Child, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.' Now if Joseph, her betrothed, had alone been
descended from David, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,' whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly
implies-"if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could infuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I am a virgin?'"
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                            Page 72 / 128
After brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein it is provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a man teach his adopted son a
handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in all the rights of heirship, Canon Girdlestone adds: "If the crown of David had been assigned to his successor in the days of
Herod it would have been placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legal successor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King
Canon Girdlestone, in discussing the article, says in pertinent emphasis of Mary's status as a princess of royal blood through descent from David: "When the angel was
foretelling to Mary the birth of the Holy Child, he said, 'The Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David.' Now if Joseph, her betrothed, had alone been
descended from David, Mary would have answered, 'I am not yet married to Joseph,' whereas she did answer simply, 'I am an unmarried woman,' which plainly
implies-"if I were married, since I am descended from David, I could infuse my royal blood into a son, but how can I have a royal son while I am a virgin?'"

After brief mention of the Jewish law relating to adoption, wherein it is provided (according to Hammurabi's Code, section 188), that if a man teach his adopted son a
handicraft, the son is thereby confirmed in all the rights of heirship, Canon Girdlestone adds: "If the crown of David had been assigned to his successor in the days of
Herod it would have been placed on the head of Joseph. And who would have been the legal successor to Joseph? Jesus of Nazareth would have been then the King
of the Jews, and the title on the cross spoke the truth. God had raised Him up to the house of David."

  29. For instances see Matt. 9:27; 15:22; 21:9; 20:30, 31, with which compare Luke 18:38, 39.

  30. Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; see also Acts 2:30; 13:23; compare Ps. 132:11; see also Luke 1:32.

  31. Matt. 1:23.

CHAPTER 8

The Babe of Bethlehem

The Birth of Jesus

Equally definite with the prophecies declaring that the Messiah would be born in the lineage of David are the predictions that fix the place of His birth at Bethlehem, a
small town in Judea. There seems to have been no difference of opinion among priests, scribes, or rabbis on the matter, either before or since the great event.
Bethlehem, though small and of little importance in trade or commerce, was doubly endeared to the Jewish heart as the birthplace of David and as that of the
prospective Messiah. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth of Galilee, far removed from Bethlehem of Judea; and, at the time of which we speak, the maternity of the
Virgin was fast approaching.

At that time a decree went out from Rome ordering a taxing of the people in all kingdoms and provinces tributary to the empire; the call was of general scope, it
provided "that all the world should be taxed." The taxing herein referred to may properly be understood as an enrolment, or a registration, whereby a census of
Roman subjects would be secured, upon which as a basis the taxation of the different peoples would be determined. This particular census was the second of three
such general registrations recorded by historians as occurring at intervals of about twenty years. Had the census been taken by the usual Roman method, each person
would have been enrolled at the town of his residence; but the Jewish custom, for which the Roman law had respect, necessitated registration at the cities or towns
claimed by the respective families as their ancestral homes. As to whether the requirement was strictly mandatory that every family should thus register at the city of its
ancestors, we need not be specially concerned; certain it is that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, the city of David, to be inscribed under the imperial decree.

The little town was crowded at the time, most likely by the multitude that had come in obedience to the same summons; and, in consequence, Joseph and Mary failed
to find the most desirable accommodations and had to be content with the conditions of an improvised camp, as travelers unnumbered had done before, and as
uncounted others have done since, in that region and elsewhere. We cannot reasonably regard this circumstance as evidence of extreme destitution; doubtless it entailed
inconvenience, but it gives us no assurance of great distress or suffering. It was while she was in this situation that Mary the Virgin gave birth to her firstborn, the Son
of the Highest, the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father, Jesus the Christ.

But few details of attendant circumstances are furnished us. We are not told how soon the birth occurred after the arrival of Mary and her husband at Bethlehem. It
may have been the purpose of the evangelist who made the record to touch upon matters of purely human interest as lightly as was consistent with the narration of fact,
in order that the central truth might neither be hidden nor overshadowed by unimportant incident. We read in Holy Writ this only of the actual birth: "And so it was, that,
while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

In vivid contrast with the simplicity and brevity of the scriptural account and of its paucity of incidental details, is the mass of circumstance supplied by the imagination of
men, much of which is wholly unsupported by authoritative record and in many respects is plainly inconsistent and untrue. It is the part of prudence and wisdom to
segregate and keep distinctly separate the authenticated statements of fact, in so momentous a matter, from the fanciful commentaries of historians, theologians, and
writers of fiction, as also from the emotional rhapsodies of poets and artistic extravaganzas wrought by chisel or brush.

From the period of its beginning, Bethlehem had been the home of people engaged mostly in pastoral and agricultural pursuits. It is quite in line with what is known of
the town and its environs to find at the season of Messiah's birth, which was in the springtime of the year, that flocks were in the field both night and day under the
watchful care of their keepers. Unto certain of these humble shepherds came the first proclamation that the Savior had been born. Thus runs the simple record: "And
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men."

Tidings of such import had never before been delivered by angel or received by man-good tidings of great joy, given to but few and those among the humblest of earth,
but destined to spread to all people. There is sublime grandeur in the scene, as there is divine authorship in the message, and the climax is such as the mind of man could
never have conceived-the sudden appearance of a multitude of the heavenly host, singing audibly to human ears the briefest, most consistent and most truly complete of
all the songs of peace ever attuned by mortal or spirit choir. What a consummation to be wished-Peace on earth! But how can such come except through the
maintenance of good will toward men? And through what means could glory to God in the highest be more effectively rendered?

The trustful and unsophisticated keepers of sheep had not asked for sign or confirmation; their faith was in unison with the heavenly communication; nevertheless the
angel had given them what he called a sign, to guide them in their search. They waited not, but went in haste, for in their hearts they believed, yea, more than believed,
they knew, and this was the tenor of their resolve: "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known
unto us." They found the Babe in the manger, with the mother and Joseph near by; and, having seen, they went out and testified to the truth concerning the Child.
They returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

There is meaning as deep as the pathos that all must feel in the seemingly parenthetical remark by Luke. "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her
heart." It is apparent that the great truth as to the personality and mission of her divine Son had not yet unfolded itself in its fulness to her mind. The whole course of
events, from(c)
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                 salutation ofInfobase
                               Gabriel toMedia
                                          the reverent
                                                Corp. testimony of the shepherds concerning the announcing angel and the heavenly hosts, was largelyPage   a mystery to that
stainless mother and wife.
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Requirements of the Law Strictly Observed
There is meaning as deep as the pathos that all must feel in the seemingly parenthetical remark by Luke. "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her
heart." It is apparent that the great truth as to the personality and mission of her divine Son had not yet unfolded itself in its fulness to her mind. The whole course of
events, from the salutation of Gabriel to the reverent testimony of the shepherds concerning the announcing angel and the heavenly hosts, was largely a mystery to that
stainless mother and wife.

Requirements of the Law Strictly Observed

The Child was born a Jew; the mother was a Jewess, and the reputed and legal father, Joseph, was a Jew. The true paternity of the Child was known to but few,
perhaps at that time to none save Mary, Joseph, and possibly Elisabeth and Zacharias; as He grew He was regarded by the people as Joseph's son. The
requirements of the law were carried out with exactitude in all matters pertaining to the Child. When eight days old He was circumcised, as was required of every male
born in Israel; and at the same time He received as an earthly bestowal the name that had been prescribed at the annunciation. He was called JESUS, which, being
interpreted is Savior; the name was rightfully His for He came to save the people from their sins.

Part of the law given through Moses to the Israelites in the wilderness and continued in force down through the centuries, related to the procedure prescribed for
women after childbirth. In compliance therewith, Mary remained in retirement forty days following the birth of her Son; then she and her husband brought the Boy for
presentation before the Lord as prescribed for the male firstborn of every family. It is manifestly impossible that all such presentations could have taken place in the
temple, for many Jews lived at great distances from Jerusalem; it was the rule, however, that parents should present their children in the temple when possible. Jesus
was born within five or six miles from Jerusalem; He was accordingly taken to the temple for the ceremonial of redemption from the requirement applying to the
firstborn of all Israelites except Levites. It will be remembered that the children of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt with the accompaniment of signs
and wonders. Because of Pharaoh's repeated refusals to let the people go, plagues had been brought upon the Egyptians, one of which was the death of the firstborn
throughout the land, excepting only the people of Israel. In remembrance of this manifestation of power, the Israelites were required to dedicate their firstborn sons to
the service of the sanctuary. Subsequently the Lord directed that all males belonging to the tribe of Levi should be devoted to this special labor instead of the
firstborn in every tribe; nevertheless the eldest son was still claimed as particularly the Lord's own, and had to be formally exempted from the earlier requirement of
service by the paying of a ransom.

In connection with the ceremony of purification, every mother was required to furnish a yearling lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or dove for a sin offering;
but in the case of any woman who was unable to provide a lamb, a pair of doves or pigeons might be offered. We learn of the humble circumstances of Joseph and
Mary from the fact that they brought the less costly offering, two doves or pigeons, instead of one bird and a lamb.

Among the righteous and devout Israelites were some who, in spite of traditionalism, rabbinism, and priestly corruption, still lived in righteous expectation of inspired
confidence, awaiting patiently the consolation of Israel. One of these was Simeon, then living in Jerusalem. Through the power of the Holy Ghost he had gained the
promise that he should not see death until he had looked upon the Lord's Christ in the flesh. Prompted by the Spirit he repaired to the temple on the day of the
presentation of Jesus, and recognized in the Babe the promised Messiah. In the moment of realization that the hope of his life had found glorious consummation, Simeon
raised the Child reverently in his arms, and, with the simple but undying eloquence that comes of God uttered this splendid supplication, in which thanksgiving,
resignation and praise are so richly blended:

"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all
people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."

Then under the spirit of prophecy, Simeon told of the greatness of the Child's mission, and of the anguish that the mother would be called to endure because of Him,
which would be even like unto that of a sword piercing her soul. The Spirit's witness to the divinity of Jesus was not to be confined to a man. There was at that time in
the temple a godly woman of great age, Anna, a prophetess who devoted herself exclusively to temple service; and she, being inspired of God, recognized her
Redeemer, and testified of Him to all about her. Both Joseph and Mary marveled at the things that were spoken of the Child; seemingly they were not yet able to
comprehend the majesty of Him who had come to them through so miraculous a conception and so marvelous a birth.

Wise Men Search for the King

Some time after the presentation of Jesus in the temple, though how long we are not told, possibly but a few days, possibly weeks or even months, Herod, king of
Judea, was greatly troubled, as were the people of Jerusalem in general, over the report that a Child of Prophecy-one destined to become King of the Jews-had been
born. Herod was professedly an adherent of the religion of Judah, though by birth an Idumean, by descent an Edomite or one of the posterity of Esau, all of whom the
Jews hated; and of all Edomites not one was more bitterly detested than was Herod the king. He was tyrannical and merciless, sparing neither foe nor friend who came
under suspicion of being a possible hindrance to his ambitious designs. He had his wife and several of his sons, as well as others of his blood kindred, cruelly murdered;
and he put to death nearly all of the great national council, the Sanhedrin. His reign was one of revolting cruelty and unbridled oppression. Only when in danger of
inciting a national revolt or in fear of incurring the displeasure of his imperial master, the Roman emperor, did he stay his hand in any undertaking.

Rumors of the birth of Jesus reached Herod's ears in this way. There came to Jerusalem certain men from afar, wise men they were called, and they asked, "Where is
he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." Herod summoned "all the chief priests and scribes of the
people," and demanded of them where, according to the prophets, Christ should be born. They answered him: "In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the
prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel."

Herod sent secretly for the wise men, and inquired of them as to the source of their information, and particularly as to the time at which the star, to which they attached
such significance, had appeared. Then he directed them to Bethlehem, saying: "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also." As the men set out from Jerusalem on the last stage of their journey of inquiry and search, they rejoiced
exceedingly, for the new star they had seen in the east was again visible. They found the house wherein Mary was living with her husband and the Babe, and as they
recognized the royal Child they "fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh." Having thus gloriously accomplished the purpose of their pilgrimage, these devout and learned travelers prepared to return home, and would have stopped at
Jerusalem to report to the king as he had requested, but "being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country
another way."

Much has been written, beyond all possible warrant of scriptural authority, concerning the visit of the magi, or wise men, who thus sought and found the infant Christ.
As a matter of fact, we are left without information as to their country, nation, or tribal relationship; we are not even told how many they were, though unauthenticated
tradition has designated them as "the three wise men," and has even given them names; whereas they are left unnamed in the scriptures, the only true record of them
extant, and may have numbered but two or many. Attempts have been made to identify the star whose appearance in their eastern sky had assured the magi that the
King was born; but astronomy furnished no satisfactory confirmation. The recorded appearance of the star has been associated by both ancient and modern
interpreters with the prophecy of Balaam, who, though not an Israelite had blessed Israel, and under divine inspiration had predicted: "there shall come a Star out of
Jacob,  and a(c)
 Copyright    Sceptre shall rise
                 2005-2009,      out of Israel."
                              Infobase   Media Corp.Moreover, as already shown, the appearance of a new star was a predicted sign recognized and Page   acknowledged
                                                                                                                                                               74 / 128
among the people of the western world as witness of Messiah's birth.

The Flight Into Egypt
tradition has designated them as "the three wise men," and has even given them names; whereas they are left unnamed in the scriptures, the only true record of them
extant, and may have numbered but two or many. Attempts have been made to identify the star whose appearance in their eastern sky had assured the magi that the
King was born; but astronomy furnished no satisfactory confirmation. The recorded appearance of the star has been associated by both ancient and modern
interpreters with the prophecy of Balaam, who, though not an Israelite had blessed Israel, and under divine inspiration had predicted: "there shall come a Star out of
Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel."    Moreover, as already shown, the appearance of a new star was a predicted sign recognized and acknowledged
among the people of the western world as witness of Messiah's birth.

The Flight Into Egypt

Herod's perfidy in directing the magi to return and report to him where the royal Infant was to be found, falsely professing that he wished to worship Him also, while in
his heart he purposed taking the Child's life, was thwarted by the divine warning given to the wise men as already noted. Following their departure, the angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph, saying: "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the
young child to destroy him." In obedience to this command, Joseph took Mary and her Child, and set out by night on the journey to Egypt; and there the family
remained until divinely directed to return. When it was apparent to the king that the wise men had ignored his instructions, he was exceedingly angry; and, estimating the
earliest time at which the birth could have occurred according to the magis' statement of the star's appearing, he ruthlessly ordered the slaughter of "all the children that
were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under."        In this massacre of the innocents, the evangelist found a fulfillment of Jeremiah's
fateful voicing of the word of the Lord, spoken six centuries earlier and expressed in the forceful past tense as though then already accomplished: "In Rama was there a
voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

Birth of Jesus Made Known to the Nephites

As heretofore shown, the prophets of the western hemisphere had foretold in great plainness the earthly advent of the Lord, and had specifically set forth the time,
place, and circumstances of His birth.       As the time drew near the people were divided by conflicting opinions concerning the reliability of these prophecies; and
intolerant unbelievers cruelly persecuted those, who, like Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, and other righteous ones in Palestine, had maintained in faith and trust their
unwavering expectation of the coming of the Lord. Samuel, a righteous Lamanite, who, because of his faithfulness and sacrificing devotion, had been blessed with the
spirit and power of prophecy, fearlessly proclaimed the birth of Christ as near: "And behold, he said unto them, Behold I give unto you a sign; for five years more
cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name."           The prophet told of many signs and wonders, which were to
mark the great event. As the five years ran their course, the believers grew more steadfast, the unbelievers more violent, until the last day of the specified period
dawned; and this was the "day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death, except the sign should come to pass
which had been given by Samuel the prophet."

Nephi, a prophet of the time, cried unto the Lord in anguish of soul because of the persecution of which his people were the victims; "and behold, the voice of the Lord
came unto him, saying, Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into
the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all
things which I have made known unto the children of men, from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father, and of the Son-of the Father
because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given."

The words of the prophet were fulfilled that night; for though the sun set in its usual course there was no darkness; and on the morrow the sun rose on a land already
illumined; a day and a night and another day had been as one day; and this was but one of the signs. A new star appeared in the firmament of the west, even as was
seen by the magi in the east; and there were many other marvelous manifestations as the prophets had predicted. All these things occurred on what is now known as the
American continent, six hundred years after Lehi and his little company had left Jerusalem to come hither.

The Time of the Birth of Jesus

The time of the Messiah's birth is a subject upon which specialists in theology and history, and those who are designated in literature "the learned," fail to agree.
Numerous lines of investigation have been followed, only to reach divergent conclusions, both as to the year and as to the month and day within the year at which the
"Christian era" in reality began. The establishment of the birth of Christ as an event marking a time from which chronological data should be calculated, was first effected
about 532 A.D. by Dionysius Exiguus; and as a basis for the reckoning of time this method has come to be known as the Dionysian system, and takes for its
fundamental datum A.U.C. 753, that is to say 753 years after the founding of Rome, as the year of our Lord's birth. So far as there exists any consensus of opinion
among later scholars who have investigated the subject, it is to the effect that the Dionysian calculation is wrong, in that it places the birth of Christ between three and
four years too late; and that therefore our Lord was born in the third or fourth year before the beginning of what is designated by the scholars of Oxford and
Cambridge, "the Common Account called Anno Domini."

Without attempting to analyze the mass of calculation data relating to this subject, we accept the Dionysian basis as correct with respect to the year, which is to say that
we believe Christ to have been born in the year known to us as B.C. 1, and, as shall be shown, in an early month of that year. In support of this belief we cite the
inspired record known as the "Revelation on Church Government, given through Joseph the Prophet, in April, 1830," which opens with these words: "The rise of the
Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the flesh."

Another evidence of the correctness of our commonly accepted chronology is furnished by the Book of Mormon record. Therein we read that "in the commencement
of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah," the word of the Lord came to Lehi at Jerusalem, directing him to take his family and depart into the wilderness.
       In the early stages of their journey toward the sea, Lehi prophesied, as had been shown him of the Lord, concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and
the captivity of the Jews. Furthermore, he predicted the eventual return of the people of Judah from their exile in Babylon, and the birth of the Messiah, which latter
event he definitely declared would take place six hundred years from the time he and his people had left Jerusalem.           This specification of time was repeated by later
prophecy;          and the signs of the actual fulfillment are recorded as having been realized "six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.     These
scriptures fix the time of the beginning of Zedekiah's reign as six hundred years before the birth of Christ. According to the commonly accepted reckoning, Zedekiah
was made king in the year 597 B.C.            This shows a discrepancy of about three years between the commonly accepted date of Zedekiah's inauguration as king and
that given in the Book of Mormon statement; and, as already seen, there is a difference of between three and four years between the Dionysian reckoning and the
nearest approach to an agreement among scholars concerning the beginning of the current era. Book of Mormon chronology therefore sustains the correctness of the
common or Dionysian system.

As to the season of the year in which Christ was born, there is among the learned as great a diversity of opinion as that relating to the year itself. It is claimed by many
Biblical scholars that December 25th, the day celebrated in Christendom as Christmas, cannot be the correct date. We believe April 6th to be the birthday of Jesus
Christ as indicated in a revelation of the present dispensation already cited,    in which that day is made without qualification the completion of the one thousand eight
hundred and thirtieth year since the coming of the Lord in the flesh. This acceptance is admittedly based on faith in modern revelation, and in no wise is set forth as the
result of chronological research or analysis. We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, April 6, B.C. 1.

NOTES  TO(c)
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1. The "Taxing."-Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree by compliance with which they were
led there, the following notes are worthy of consideration. Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 24, note), says: "It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary with her
Christ as indicated in a revelation of the present dispensation already cited,    in which that day is made without qualification the completion of the one thousand eight
hundred and thirtieth year since the coming of the Lord in the flesh. This acceptance is admittedly based on faith in modern revelation, and in no wise is set forth as the
result of chronological research or analysis. We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, April 6, B.C. 1.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 8

1. The "Taxing."-Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree by compliance with which they were
led there, the following notes are worthy of consideration. Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 24, note), says: "It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary with her
husband was obligatory or voluntary. . . . Women were liable to a capitation tax, if this enrolment also involved taxation. But, apart from any legal necessity, it may
easily be imagined that at such a moment Mary would desire not to be left alone. The cruel suspicion of which she had been the subject, and which had almost led to
the breaking off of her betrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to the protection of her husband." The following excerpt is from Geikie's Life and
Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: "The Jewish nation had paid tribute to Rome, through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; and the methodical Augustus,
who now reigned, and had to restore order and soundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion and exhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this
obligation should neither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a census to be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, that he
might know the number of soldiers he could levy in each, and the amount of taxes due to the treasury. . . . In an empire embracing the then known world, such a census
could hardly have been made simultaneously, or in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years, in successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or
later, however, even the dominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statistics demanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing of a
subject, and grew more entirely dependent on Augustus as years passed, asking his sanction at every turn for steps he proposed to take. He would, thus, be only too
ready to meet his wish, by obtaining the statistics he sought, as may be judged from the fact that in one of the last years of his life, just before Christ's birth, he made the
whole Jewish nation take a solemn oath of allegiance to the emperor as well as to himself.

"It is quite probable that the mode of taking the required statistics was left very much to Herod, at once to show respect to him before his people, and from the known
opposition of the Jews to anything like a general numeration, even apart from the taxation to which it was designed to lead. At the time to which the narrative refers, a
simple registration seems to have been made, on the old Hebrew plan of enrolling by families in their ancestral districts, of course for future use; and thus it passed over
quietly. . . . The proclamation having been made through the land, Joseph had no choice but to go to Bethlehem, the city of David, the place in which his family descent,
from the house and lineage of David, required him to be inscribed."

2. Jesus Born Amidst Poor Surroundings.-Undoubtedly the accommodations for physical comfort amidst which Jesus was born were few and poor. But the
environment, considered in the light of the customs of the country and time, was far from the state of abject deprivation which modern and western ways would make it
appear. "Camping out" was no unusual exigency among travelers in Palestine at the time of our Lord's birth; nor is it considered such today. It is, however, beyond
question that Jesus was born into a comparatively poor family, amidst humble surroundings associated with the inconveniences incident to travel. Cunningham Geikie,
Life and Words of Christ, chap. 9, pp. 112, 113, says: "It was to Bethlehem that Joseph and Mary were coming, the town of Ruth and Boaz, and the early home of
their own great forefather David. As they approached it from Jerusalem they would pass, at the last mile, a spot sacred to Jewish memory, where the light of Jacob's
life went out, when his first love, Rachel, died, and was buried, as her tomb still shows, 'in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.' . . . Traveling in the East has always
been very different from Western ideas. As in all thinly-settled countries, private hospitality, in early times, supplied the want of inns, but it was the peculiarity of the East
that this friendly custom continued through a long series of ages. On the great roads through barren or uninhabited parts, the need of shelter led, very early, to the
erection of rude and simple buildings, of varying size, known as khans, which offered the wayfarer the protection of walls and a roof, and water, but little more. The
smaller structures consisted of sometimes only a single empty room, on the floor of which the traveler might spread his carpet for sleep; the larger ones, always built in a
hollow square, enclosing a court for the beasts, with water in it for them and their masters. From immemorial antiquity it has been a favorite mode of benevolence to
raise such places of shelter, as we see so far back as the times of David, when Chimham built a great khan near Bethlehem, on the caravan road to Egypt."

Canon Farrar (Life of Christ, chap. 1) accepts the traditional belief that the shelter within which Jesus was born was that of one of the numerous limestone caves which
abound in the region, and which are still used by travelers as resting places. He says: "In Palestine it not infrequently happens that the entire khan, or at any rate the
portion of it in which the animals are housed, is one of those innumerable caves which abound in the limestone rocks of its central hills. Such seems to have been in the
case at the little town of Bethlehem-Ephratah, in the land of Judah. Justin Martyr, the Apologist, who, from his birth at Shechem, was familiar with Palestine, and who
lived less than a century after the time of our Lord, places the scene of the nativity in a cave. This is, indeed, the ancient and constant tradition both of the Eastern and
the Western Churches, and it is one of the few to which, though unrecorded in the Gospel history, we may attach a reasonable probability."

3. Herod the Great.-The history of Herod I, otherwise known as Herod the Great, must be sought in special works, in which the subject is treated at length. Some of
the principal facts should be considered in our present study, and for the assistance of the student a few extracts from works regarded as reliable are presented
herewith.

Condensed from part of article in the Standard Bible Dictionary, edited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos; published by Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1909:-Herod I, the son
of Antipater, was early given office by his father, who had been made procurator of Judea. The first office which Herod held was that of governor of Galilee. He was
then a young man of about twenty-five, energetic and athletic. Immediately he set about the eradication of the robber bands that infested his district, and soon was able
to execute the robber chief Hezekiah and several of his followers. For this he was summoned to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin, tried and condemned, but with the
connivance of Hyrcanus II [the high priest and ethnarch] he escaped by night.-He went to Rome where he was appointed King of Judea by Antony and Octavius.-For
the next two years he was engaged in fighting the forces of Antigonus, whom he finally defeated, and in 37 B.C. gained possession of Jerusalem.-As king Herod
confronted serious difficulties. The Jews objected to him because of his birth and reputation. The Asmonean family regarded him as a usurper, notwithstanding the fact
that he had married Mariamne. The Pharisees were shocked at his Hellenistic sympathies, as well as at his severe methods of government. On the other hand the
Romans held him responsible for the order of his kingdom, and the protection of the eastern frontier of the Republic. Herod met these various difficulties with
characteristic energy and even cruelty, and generally with cold sagacity. Although he taxed the people severely, in times of famine he remitted their dues and even sold
his plate to get means to buy them food. While he never became actually friendly with the Pharisees, they profited by his hostility to the party of the Asmoneans, which
led at the beginning of his reign to the execution of a number of Sadducees who were members of the Sanhedrin.

From Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible.-The latter part "of the reign of Herod was undisturbed by external troubles, but his domestic life was embittered
by an almost uninterrupted series of injuries and cruel acts of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshed which Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied
by others among his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims to them. According to the well-known story, he ordered the nobles whom he had called
to him in his last moments to be executed immediately after his decease, that so at least his death might be attended by universal mourning. It was at the time of his fatal
illness that he must have caused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem" (Matt. 2:16-18).

The mortal end of the tyrant and multi-murderer is thus treated by Farrar in his Life of Christ, pp. 54, 55:-"It must have been very shortly after the murder of the
innocents that Herod died. Only five days before his death he had made a frantic attempt at suicide, and had ordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His
death-bed, which once more reminds us of Henry VIII, was accompanied by circumstances of peculiar horror; and it has been asserted that he died of a loathsome
disease, which is hardly mentioned in history, except in the case of men who have been rendered infamous by an atrocity of persecuting zeal. On his bed of intolerable
anguish, in that splendid and luxurious palace which he had built for himself, under the palms of Jericho, swollen with disease and scorched by thirst, ulcerated externally
and glowing inwardly with a, 'soft slow fire,' surrounded by plotting sons and plundering slaves, detesting all and detested by all, longing for death as a release from his
tortures yet dreading
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                                          of worse terrors, stung by remorse yet still unslaked with murder, a horror to all around him yet in his guilty Page
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terror to himself, devoured by the premature corruption of an anticipated grave, eaten of worms as though visibly smitten by the finger of God's wrath after seventy
years of successful villainy, the wretched old man, whom men had called the Great, lay in savage frenzy awaiting his last hour. As he knew that none would shed one
tear for him, he determined that they should shed many for themselves, and issued an order that, under pain of death, the principal families of the kingdom and the chiefs
death-bed, which once more reminds us of Henry VIII, was accompanied by circumstances of peculiar horror; and it has been asserted that he died of a loathsome
disease, which is hardly mentioned in history, except in the case of men who have been rendered infamous by an atrocity of persecuting zeal. On his bed of intolerable
anguish, in that splendid and luxurious palace which he had built for himself, under the palms of Jericho, swollen with disease and scorched by thirst, ulcerated externally
and glowing inwardly with a, 'soft slow fire,' surrounded by plotting sons and plundering slaves, detesting all and detested by all, longing for death as a release from his
tortures yet dreading it as the beginning of worse terrors, stung by remorse yet still unslaked with murder, a horror to all around him yet in his guilty conscience a worse
terror to himself, devoured by the premature corruption of an anticipated grave, eaten of worms as though visibly smitten by the finger of God's wrath after seventy
years of successful villainy, the wretched old man, whom men had called the Great, lay in savage frenzy awaiting his last hour. As he knew that none would shed one
tear for him, he determined that they should shed many for themselves, and issued an order that, under pain of death, the principal families of the kingdom and the chiefs
of the tribes should come to Jericho. They came, and then, shutting them in the hippodrome, he secretly commanded his sister Salome that at the moment of his death
they should all be massacred. And so, choking as it were with blood, devising massacres in its very delirium, the soul of Herod passed forth into the night."

For mention of the Temple of Herod see Note 5, following Chapter 6.

4. Gifts from the Wise Men to the Child Jesus.-The scriptural account of the visit of the wise men to Jesus and His mother states that they "fell down and worshipped
him," and furthermore that "when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." The offering of gifts to a superior in
rank, either as to worldly status or recognized spiritual endowment, was a custom of early days and still prevails in many oriental lands. It is worthy of note that we have
no record of these men from the east offering gifts to Herod in his palace; they did, however, impart of their treasure to the lowly Infant, in whom they recognized the
King they had come to seek. The tendency to ascribe occult significance to even trifling details mentioned in scripture, and particularly as regards the life of Christ, has
led to many fanciful suggestions concerning the gold and frankincense and myrrh specified in this incident. Some have supposed a half-hidden symbolism therein-gold a
tribute to His royal estate, frankincense an offering in recognition of His priesthood, and myrrh for His burial. The sacred record offers no basis for such conjecture.
Myrrh and frankincense are aromatic resins derived from plants indigenous to eastern lands, and they have been used from very early times in medicine and in the
preparation of perfumes and incense mixtures. They were presumably among the natural productions of the lands from which the magi came, though probably even
there they were costly and highly esteemed. Such, together with gold, which is of value among all nations, were most appropriate as gifts for a king. Any mystical
significance one may choose to attach to the presents must be remembered as his own supposition or fancy, and not as based on scriptural warrant.

5. Testimonies from Shepherds and Magi.-The following instructive note on the testimonies relating to Messiah's birth, is taken from the Young Men's Mutual
Improvement Association Manual for 1897-8: "It will be observed that the testimonies concerning the birth of the Messiah are from two extremes, the lowly shepherds
in the Judean field, and the learned magi from the far east. We cannot think this is the result of mere chance, but that in it may be discerned the purpose and wisdom of
God. All Israel was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, and in the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, the hope of Israel-though unknown to Israel-is fulfilled.
Messiah, of whom the prophet spake, is born. But there must be those who can testify of that truth, and hence to the shepherds who watched their flocks by night an
angel was sent to say: 'Fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour,
which is Christ, the Lord.' And for a sign of the truth of the message, they were to find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger in Bethlehem. And they
went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger; and when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them
concerning this child. God had raised up to Himself witnesses among the people to testify that Messiah was born, that the hope of Israel was fulfilled. But there were
classes of people among the Jews whom these lowly shepherd witnesses could not reach, and had they been able to reach them, the story of the angel's visit, and the
concourse of angels singing the magnificent song of 'Peace on earth, good will to men' would doubtless have been accounted an idle tale of superstitious folk, deceived
by their own over-wrought imaginations or idle dreams. Hence God raised up another class of witnesses-the 'wise men from the east'-witnesses that could enter the
royal palace of proud King Herod and boldly ask: 'Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him'; a
testimony that startled Herod and troubled all Jerusalem. So that indeed God raised up witnesses for Himself to meet all classes and conditions of men-the testimony of
angels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for the haughty king and proud priests of Judea. So that of the things concerning the birth of Messiah, no
less than of the things of His death and resurrection from the dead, His disciples could say, 'these things were not done in a corner.'"

6. The Year of Christ's Birth.-In treating this topic Dr. Charles F. Deems (The Light of the Nations, p. 28), after giving careful consideration of the estimates,
calculations, and assumptions of men who have employed many means in their investigation and reach only discordant results says: "It is annoying to see learned men
use the same apparatus of calculation and reach the most diverse results. It is bewildering to attempt a reconciliation of these varying calculations." In an appended note
the same author states: "For example: the birth of our Lord is placed in B.C. 1 by Pearson and Hug; B.C. 2 by Scalinger; B.C. 3 by Baronius and Paulus; B.C. 4 by
Bengel, Wieseler, and Greswell; B.C. 5 by Usher and Petavius; B.C. 6 by Strong, Luvin, and Clark; B.C. 7 by Ideler and Sanclemente."

Footnotes

  1. Luke 2:1; see also verses 2-4.

Note 1. The "Taxing."-Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree by compliance with which they
were led there, the following notes are worthy of consideration. Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 24, note), says: "It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary with
her husband was obligatory or voluntary. . . . Women were liable to a capitation tax, if this enrolment also involved taxation. But, apart from any legal necessity, it may
easily be imagined that at such a moment Mary would desire not to be left alone. The cruel suspicion of which she had been the subject, and which had almost led to
the breaking off of her betrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to the protection of her husband." The following excerpt is from Geikie's Life and
Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: "The Jewish nation had paid tribute to Rome, through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; and the methodical Augustus,
who now reigned, and had to restore order and soundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion and exhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this
obligation should neither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a census to be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, that he
might know the number of soldiers he could levy in each, and the amount of taxes due to the treasury. . . . In an empire embracing the then known world, such a census
could hardly have been made simultaneously, or in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years, in successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or
later, however, even the dominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statistics demanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing of a
subject, and grew more entirely dependent on Augustus as years passed, asking his sanction at every turn for steps he proposed to take. He would, thus, be only too
ready to meet his wish, by obtaining the statistics he sought, as may be judged from the fact that in one of the last years of his life, just before Christ's birth, he made the
whole Jewish nation take a solemn oath of allegiance to the emperor as well as to himself.

  2. Note marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles.

   3. Note 1. The "Taxing."-Regarding the presence of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, far from their Galilean home, and the imperial decree by compliance with which
they were led there, the following notes are worthy of consideration. Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 24, note), says: "It appears to be uncertain whether the journey of Mary
with her husband was obligatory or voluntary. . . . Women were liable to a capitation tax, if this enrolment also involved taxation. But, apart from any legal necessity, it
may easily be imagined that at such a moment Mary would desire not to be left alone. The cruel suspicion of which she had been the subject, and which had almost led
to the breaking off of her betrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to the protection of her husband." The following excerpt is from Geikie's Life and
Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: "The Jewish nation had paid tribute to Rome, through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; and the methodical Augustus,
who now reigned, and had to restore order and soundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion and exhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this
obligation should neither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a census to be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, that he
 Copyright
might   know(c)
             the2005-2009,    Infobase
                 number of soldiers   heMedia  Corp.
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                                                    in each, and the amount of taxes due to the treasury. . . . In an empire embracing the then known world,    77a/census
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could hardly have been made simultaneously, or in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years, in successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or
later, however, even the dominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statistics demanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing of a
to the breaking off of her betrothal (Matt. 1:19) would make her cling all the more to the protection of her husband." The following excerpt is from Geikie's Life and
Words of Christ, vol. 1, chap. 9; p. 108: "The Jewish nation had paid tribute to Rome, through their rulers, since the days of Pompey; and the methodical Augustus,
who now reigned, and had to restore order and soundness to the finances of the empire, after the confusion and exhaustion of the civil wars, took good care that this
obligation should neither be forgotten nor evaded. He was accustomed to require a census to be taken periodically in every province of his vast dominions, that he
might know the number of soldiers he could levy in each, and the amount of taxes due to the treasury. . . . In an empire embracing the then known world, such a census
could hardly have been made simultaneously, or in any short or fixed time; more probably it was the work of years, in successive provinces or kingdoms. Sooner or
later, however, even the dominions of vassal kings like Herod had to furnish the statistics demanded by their master. He had received his kingdom on the footing of a
subject, and grew more entirely dependent on Augustus as years passed, asking his sanction at every turn for steps he proposed to take. He would, thus, be only too
ready to meet his wish, by obtaining the statistics he sought, as may be judged from the fact that in one of the last years of his life, just before Christ's birth, he made the
whole Jewish nation take a solemn oath of allegiance to the emperor as well as to himself.

   4. Note 2. Jesus Born Amidst Poor Surroundings.-Undoubtedly the accommodations for physical comfort amidst which Jesus was born were few and poor. But the
environment, considered in the light of the customs of the country and time, was far from the state of abject deprivation which modern and western ways would make it
appear. "Camping out" was no unusual exigency among travelers in Palestine at the time of our Lord's birth; nor is it considered such today. It is, however, beyond
question that Jesus was born into a comparatively poor family, amidst humble surroundings associated with the inconveniences incident to travel. Cunningham Geikie,
Life and Words of Christ, chap. 9, pp. 112, 113, says: "It was to Bethlehem that Joseph and Mary were coming, the town of Ruth and Boaz, and the early home of
their own great forefather David. As they approached it from Jerusalem they would pass, at the last mile, a spot sacred to Jewish memory, where the light of Jacob's
life went out, when his first love, Rachel, died, and was buried, as her tomb still shows, 'in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.' . . . Traveling in the East has always
been very different from Western ideas. As in all thinly-settled countries, private hospitality, in early times, supplied the want of inns, but it was the peculiarity of the East
that this friendly custom continued through a long series of ages. On the great roads through barren or uninhabited parts, the need of shelter led, very early, to the
erection of rude and simple buildings, of varying size, known as khans, which offered the wayfarer the protection of walls and a roof, and water, but little more. The
smaller structures consisted of sometimes only a single empty room, on the floor of which the traveler might spread his carpet for sleep; the larger ones, always built in a
hollow square, enclosing a court for the beasts, with water in it for them and their masters. From immemorial antiquity it has been a favorite mode of benevolence to
raise such places of shelter, as we see so far back as the times of David, when Chimham built a great khan near Bethlehem, on the caravan road to Egypt."

Canon Farrar (Life of Christ, chap. 1) accepts the traditional belief that the shelter within which Jesus was born was that of one of the numerous limestone caves which
abound in the region, and which are still used by travelers as resting places. He says: "In Palestine it not infrequently happens that the entire khan, or at any rate the
portion of it in which the animals are housed, is one of those innumerable caves which abound in the limestone rocks of its central hills. Such seems to have been in the
case at the little town of Bethlehem-Ephratah, in the land of Judah. Justin Martyr, the Apologist, who, from his birth at Shechem, was familiar with Palestine, and who
lived less than a century after the time of our Lord, places the scene of the nativity in a cave. This is, indeed, the ancient and constant tradition both of the Eastern and
the Western Churches, and it is one of the few to which, though unrecorded in the Gospel history, we may attach a reasonable probability."

  5. Luke 2:6, 7.

  6. Luke 2:8-14.

  7. Luke 2:15.

  8. Luke 2:19.

  9. Luke 4:22; Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3.

  10. Gen. 17:12, 13; Lev. 12:3; compare John 7:22.

  11. Luke 2:21; compare 1:31; Matt. 1:21, 25.

  12. Lev. 12.

  13. Ex. 12:29; 13:2, 12; 22:29, 30.

  14. Num. 8:15-18; 18:15, 16.

  15. Luke 2:25; see also verse 38; Mark 15:43; compare Ps. 40:1.

  16. Luke 2:29-32. These verses are known in Christian hymnology as the Nunc Dimittis; the name has reference to the first two words of the Latin version.

   17. Note 3. Herod the Great.-The history of Herod I, otherwise known as Herod the Great, must be sought in special works, in which the subject is treated at
length. Some of the principal facts should be considered in our present study, and for the assistance of the student a few extracts from works regarded as reliable are
presented herewith.

Condensed from part of article in the Standard Bible Dictionary, edited by Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos; published by Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1909:-Herod I, the son
of Antipater, was early given office by his father, who had been made procurator of Judea. The first office which Herod held was that of governor of Galilee. He was
then a young man of about twenty-five, energetic and athletic. Immediately he set about the eradication of the robber bands that infested his district, and soon was able
to execute the robber chief Hezekiah and several of his followers. For this he was summoned to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin, tried and condemned, but with the
connivance of Hyrcanus II [the high priest and ethnarch] he escaped by night.-He went to Rome where he was appointed King of Judea by Antony and Octavius.-For
the next two years he was engaged in fighting the forces of Antigonus, whom he finally defeated, and in 37 B.C. gained possession of Jerusalem.-As king Herod
confronted serious difficulties. The Jews objected to him because of his birth and reputation. The Asmonean family regarded him as a usurper, notwithstanding the fact
that he had married Mariamne. The Pharisees were shocked at his Hellenistic sympathies, as well as at his severe methods of government. On the other hand the
Romans held him responsible for the order of his kingdom, and the protection of the eastern frontier of the Republic. Herod met these various difficulties with
characteristic energy and even cruelty, and generally with cold sagacity. Although he taxed the people severely, in times of famine he remitted their dues and even sold
his plate to get means to buy them food. While he never became actually friendly with the Pharisees, they profited by his hostility to the party of the Asmoneans, which
led at the beginning of his reign to the execution of a number of Sadducees who were members of the Sanhedrin.

From Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible.-The latter part "of the reign of Herod was undisturbed by external troubles, but his domestic life was embittered
by an almost uninterrupted series of injuries and cruel acts of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshed which Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied
by others among his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims to them. According to the well-known story, he ordered the nobles whom he had called
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                                                                                                                                                      Page 78 / 128
illness that he must have caused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem" (Matt. 2:16-18).

The mortal end of the tyrant and multi-murderer is thus treated by Farrar in his Life of Christ, pp. 54, 55:-"It must have been very shortly after the murder of the
From Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible.-The latter part "of the reign of Herod was undisturbed by external troubles, but his domestic life was embittered
by an almost uninterrupted series of injuries and cruel acts of vengeance. The terrible acts of bloodshed which Herod perpetrated in his own family were accompanied
by others among his subjects equally terrible, from the number who fell victims to them. According to the well-known story, he ordered the nobles whom he had called
to him in his last moments to be executed immediately after his decease, that so at least his death might be attended by universal mourning. It was at the time of his fatal
illness that he must have caused the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem" (Matt. 2:16-18).

The mortal end of the tyrant and multi-murderer is thus treated by Farrar in his Life of Christ, pp. 54, 55:-"It must have been very shortly after the murder of the
innocents that Herod died. Only five days before his death he had made a frantic attempt at suicide, and had ordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His
death-bed, which once more reminds us of Henry VIII, was accompanied by circumstances of peculiar horror; and it has been asserted that he died of a loathsome
disease, which is hardly mentioned in history, except in the case of men who have been rendered infamous by an atrocity of persecuting zeal. On his bed of intolerable
anguish, in that splendid and luxurious palace which he had built for himself, under the palms of Jericho, swollen with disease and scorched by thirst, ulcerated externally
and glowing inwardly with a, 'soft slow fire,' surrounded by plotting sons and plundering slaves, detesting all and detested by all, longing for death as a release from his
tortures yet dreading it as the beginning of worse terrors, stung by remorse yet still unslaked with murder, a horror to all around him yet in his guilty conscience a worse
terror to himself, devoured by the premature corruption of an anticipated grave, eaten of worms as though visibly smitten by the finger of God's wrath after seventy
years of successful villainy, the wretched old man, whom men had called the Great, lay in savage frenzy awaiting his last hour. As he knew that none would shed one
tear for him, he determined that they should shed many for themselves, and issued an order that, under pain of death, the principal families of the kingdom and the chiefs
of the tribes should come to Jericho. They came, and then, shutting them in the hippodrome, he secretly commanded his sister Salome that at the moment of his death
they should all be massacred. And so, choking as it were with blood, devising massacres in its very delirium, the soul of Herod passed forth into the night."

For mention of the Temple of Herod see Note 5, following Chapter 6.

  18. Matt. 2:2; read 1-10.

  19. Matt. 2:5, 6; compare Micah 5:2; John 7:42.

   20. Note 4. Gifts from the Wise Men to the Child Jesus.-The scriptural account of the visit of the wise men to Jesus and His mother states that they "fell down and
worshipped him," and furthermore that "when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." The offering of gifts to
a superior in rank, either as to worldly status or recognized spiritual endowment, was a custom of early days and still prevails in many oriental lands. It is worthy of note
that we have no record of these men from the east offering gifts to Herod in his palace; they did, however, impart of their treasure to the lowly Infant, in whom they
recognized the King they had come to seek. The tendency to ascribe occult significance to even trifling details mentioned in scripture, and particularly as regards the life
of Christ, has led to many fanciful suggestions concerning the gold and frankincense and myrrh specified in this incident. Some have supposed a half-hidden symbolism
therein-gold a tribute to His royal estate, frankincense an offering in recognition of His priesthood, and myrrh for His burial. The sacred record offers no basis for such
conjecture. Myrrh and frankincense are aromatic resins derived from plants indigenous to eastern lands, and they have been used from very early times in medicine and
in the preparation of perfumes and incense mixtures. They were presumably among the natural productions of the lands from which the magi came, though probably
even there they were costly and highly esteemed. Such, together with gold, which is of value among all nations, were most appropriate as gifts for a king. Any mystical
significance one may choose to attach to the presents must be remembered as his own supposition or fancy, and not as based on scriptural warrant.

   21. Note 5. Testimonies from Shepherds and Magi.-The following instructive note on the testimonies relating to Messiah's birth, is taken from the Young Men's
Mutual Improvement Association Manual for 1897-8: "It will be observed that the testimonies concerning the birth of the Messiah are from two extremes, the lowly
shepherds in the Judean field, and the learned magi from the far east. We cannot think this is the result of mere chance, but that in it may be discerned the purpose and
wisdom of God. All Israel was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, and in the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, the hope of Israel-though unknown to Israel-is
fulfilled. Messiah, of whom the prophet spake, is born. But there must be those who can testify of that truth, and hence to the shepherds who watched their flocks by
night an angel was sent to say: 'Fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a
Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord.' And for a sign of the truth of the message, they were to find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger in Bethlehem.
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger; and when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told
them concerning this child. God had raised up to Himself witnesses among the people to testify that Messiah was born, that the hope of Israel was fulfilled. But there
were classes of people among the Jews whom these lowly shepherd witnesses could not reach, and had they been able to reach them, the story of the angel's visit, and
the concourse of angels singing the magnificent song of 'Peace on earth, good will to men' would doubtless have been accounted an idle tale of superstitious folk,
deceived by their own over-wrought imaginations or idle dreams. Hence God raised up another class of witnesses-the 'wise men from the east'-witnesses that could
enter the royal palace of proud King Herod and boldly ask: 'Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship
him'; a testimony that startled Herod and troubled all Jerusalem. So that indeed God raised up witnesses for Himself to meet all classes and conditions of men-the
testimony of angels for the poor and the lowly; the testimony of wise men for the haughty king and proud priests of Judea. So that of the things concerning the birth of
Messiah, no less than of the things of His death and resurrection from the dead, His disciples could say, 'these things were not done in a corner.'"

  22. Num. 24:17.

  23. Num. 24:17.

  24. Hel. 14:5; 3 Ne. 1:21.

  25. Matt. 2:13.

  26. Matt. 2:16.

  27. Matt. 2:16.

  28. Matt. 2:17, 18; compare Jer. 31:15.

  29. Pages 47-48.

  30. Pages 47-48.

  31. Hel. 14:2; read 1-9.

  32. Hel. 14:2; read 1-9.
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  33. 3 Ne. 1:9; read verses 4-21.

  34. 3 Ne. 1:12-21.
  31. Hel. 14:2; read 1-9.

  32. Hel. 14:2; read 1-9.

  33. 3 Ne. 1:9; read verses 4-21.

  34. 3 Ne. 1:12-21.

  35. Marginal reading, Oxford and Bagster Bibles, Matt. 2:1.

  36. D&C 20:1; compare 21:3;

Note 6. The Year of Christ's Birth.-In treating this topic Dr. Charles F. Deems (The Light of the Nations, p. 28), after giving careful consideration of the estimates,
calculations, and assumptions of men who have employed many means in their investigation and reach only discordant results says: "It is annoying to see learned men
use the same apparatus of calculation and reach the most diverse results. It is bewildering to attempt a reconciliation of these varying calculations." In an appended note
the same author states: "For example: the birth of our Lord is placed in B.C. 1 by Pearson and Hug; B.C. 2 by Scalinger; B.C. 3 by Baronius and Paulus; B.C. 4 by
Bengel, Wieseler, and Greswell; B.C. 5 by Usher and Petavius; B.C. 6 by Strong, Luvin, and Clark; B.C. 7 by Ideler and Sanclemente."

  37. 1 Ne. 1:4; 2:2-4.

  38. 1 Ne. 1:4;1 Ne. 2:2-4.

  39. 1 Ne. 10:4.

  40. 1 Ne. 10:4.

  41. 1 Ne 19:8; 2 Ne. 25:19.

  42. 1 Ne 19:8; 2 Ne. 25:19.

  43. 3 Ne. 1:1.

  44. 3 Ne. 1:1.

  45. Standard Bible Dictionary, ed. Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos, Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York and London, 1909, p. 915, article "Zedekiah."

  46. Standard Bible Dictionary, ed. Jacobus, Nourse, and Zenos, Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York and London, 1909, p. 915, article "Zedekiah."

  47. D&C 20:1; compare 21:3.

  48. D&C 20:1; compare 21:3.

CHAPTER 9

The Boy of Nazareth

Joseph, Mary, and her Son remained in Egypt until after the death of Herod the Great, which event was made known by another angelic visitation. Their stay in the
foreign land was probably brief, for Herod did not long survive the babes he had slain in Bethlehem. In the return of the family from Egypt the evangelist finds a
fulfillment of Hosea's prophetic vision of what should be: "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

It appears to have been Joseph's intention to make a home for the family in Judea, possibly at Bethlehem-the city of his ancestors and a place now even more endeared
to him as the birthplace of Mary's Child-but, learning on the way that Herod's son Archelaus ruled in the place of his wicked father, Joseph modified his purpose; and,
"being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

While Archelaus, who appears to have been a natural heir to his infamous father's wickedness and cruelty, ruled in Judea, for a short time as king, then with the less
exalted title of ethnarch, which had been decreed to him by the emperor, his brother Antipas governed as tetrarch in Galilee. Herod Antipas was well nigh as vicious
and reprobate as others of his unprincipled family, but he was less aggressive in vindictiveness, and in that period of his reign was comparatively tolerant.

Concerning the home life of Joseph and his family in Nazareth, the scriptural record makes but brief mention. The silence with which the early period of the life of Jesus
is treated by the inspired historians is impressive; while the fanciful accounts written in later years by unauthorized hands are full of fictitious detail, much of which is
positively revolting in its puerile inconsistency. None but Joseph, Mary, and the other members of the immediate family or close associates of the household could have
furnished the facts of daily life in the humble home at Nazareth; and from these qualified informants Matthew and Luke probably derived the knowledge of which they
wrote. The record made by those who knew is marked by impressive brevity. In this absence of detail we may see evidence of the genuineness of the scriptural
account. Inventive writers would have supplied, as, later, such did supply, what we seek in vain within the chapters of the Gospels. With hallowed silence do the
inspired scribes honor the boyhood of their Lord; he who seeks to invent circumstances and to invest the life of Christ with fictitious additions, dishonors Him. Read
thoughtfully the attested truth concerning the childhood of the Christ: "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was
upon him."

In such simplicity is the normal, natural development of the Boy Jesus made clear. He came among men to experience all the natural conditions of mortality; He was
born as truly a dependent, helpless babe as is any other child; His infancy was in all common features as the infancy of others; His boyhood was actual boyhood, His
development was as necessary and as real as that of all children. Over His mind had fallen the veil of forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the
remembrance of primeval existence is shut off. The Child grew, and with growth there came to Him expansion of mind, development of faculties, and progression in
power and understanding. His advancement was from one grace to another, not from gracelessness to grace; from good to greater good, not from evil to good, from
favor with God to greater favor, not from estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentance and propitiation.
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Our knowledge of Jewish life in that age justifies the inference that the Boy was well taught in the law and the scriptures, for such was the rule. He garnered knowledge
by study, and gained wisdom by prayer, thought, and effort. Beyond question He was trained to labor, for idleness was abhorred then as it is now; and every Jewish
boy, whether carpenter's son, peasant's child, or rabbi's heir, was required to learn and follow a practical and productive vocation. Jesus was all that a boy should be,
remembrance of primeval existence is shut off. The Child grew, and with growth there came to Him expansion of mind, development of faculties, and progression in
power and understanding. His advancement was from one grace to another, not from gracelessness to grace; from good to greater good, not from evil to good, from
favor with God to greater favor, not from estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentance and propitiation.

Our knowledge of Jewish life in that age justifies the inference that the Boy was well taught in the law and the scriptures, for such was the rule. He garnered knowledge
by study, and gained wisdom by prayer, thought, and effort. Beyond question He was trained to labor, for idleness was abhorred then as it is now; and every Jewish
boy, whether carpenter's son, peasant's child, or rabbi's heir, was required to learn and follow a practical and productive vocation. Jesus was all that a boy should be,
for His development was unretarded by the dragging weight of sin; He loved and obeyed the truth and therefore was free.

Joseph and Mary, devout and faithful in all observances of the law, went up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. This religious festival, it should be
remembered, was one of the most solemn and sacred among the many ceremonial commemorations of the Jews; it had been established at the time of the peoples'
exodus from Egypt, in remembrance of the outstretched arm of power by which God had delivered Israel after the angel of destruction had slain the firstborn in every
Egyptian home and had mercifully passed over the houses of the children of Jacob. It was of such importance that its annual recurrence was made the beginning of
the new year. The law required all males to present themselves before the Lord at the feast. The rule was that women should likewise attend if not lawfully detained;
and Mary appears to have followed both the spirit of the law and the letter of the rule, for she habitually accompanied her husband to the annual gathering at Jerusalem.

When Jesus had attained the age of twelve years He was taken by His mother and Joseph to the feast as the law required; whether the Boy had ever before been
present on such an occasion we are not told. At twelve years of age a Jewish boy was recognized as a member of his home community; he was required then to enter
with definite purpose upon his chosen vocation; he attained an advanced status as an individual in that thereafter he could not be arbitrarily disposed of as a bond-
servant by his parents; he was appointed to higher studies in school and home; and, when accepted by the priests, he became a "son of the law." It was the common
and very natural desire of parents to have their sons attend the feast of the Passover and be present at the temple ceremonies as recognized members of the
congregation when of the prescribed age. Thus came the Boy Jesus to the temple.

The feast proper lasted seven days, and in the time of Christ was annually attended by great concourses of Jews; Josephus speaks of such a Passover gathering as "an
innumerable multitude." The people came from distant provinces in large companies and caravans, as a matter of convenience and as a means of common protection
against the marauding bands which are known to have infested the country. As members of such a company Joseph and his family traveled.

When, following the conclusion of the Passover, the Galilean company had gone a day's journey toward home, Joseph and Mary discovered to their surprise and deep
concern that Jesus was not with their company. After a fruitless search among their friends and acquaintances, they turned back toward Jerusalem seeking the Boy.
Their inquiries brought little comfort or assistance until three days had passed; then "they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them
and asking them questions." It was no unusual thing for a twelve year old boy to be questioned by priests, scribes, or rabbis, nor to be permitted to ask questions of
these professional expounders of the law, for such procedure was part of the educational training of Jewish youths; nor was there anything surprising in such a meeting
of students and teachers within the temple courts, for the rabbis of that time were accustomed to give instruction there; and people, young and old, gathered about
them, sitting at their feet to learn; but there was much that was extraordinary in this interview as the demeanor of the learned doctors showed, for never before had such
a student been found, inasmuch as "all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers." The incident furnishes evidence of a well spent boyhood and
proof of unusual attainments.

The amazement of Mary and her husband on finding the Boy in such distinguished company, and so plainly the object of deference and respect, and the joy of seeing
again the beloved One who to them had been lost, did not entirely banish the memory of the anguish His absence had caused them. In words of gentle yet unmistakable
reproof the mother said: "Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." The Boy's reply astonished them, in that it
revealed, to an extent they had not before realized, His rapidly maturing powers of judgment and understanding. Said He: "How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that
I must be about my Father's business?"

Let us not say that there was unkind rebuke or unfilial reproof in the answer of this most dutiful of sons to His mother. His reply was to Mary a reminder of what she
seems to have forgotten for the moment-the facts in the matter of her Son's paternity. She had used the words "thy father and I"; and her Son's response had brought
anew to her mind the truth that Joseph was not the Boy's father. She appears to have been astonished that One so young should so thoroughly understand His position
with respect to herself. He had made plain to her the inadvertent inaccuracy of her words; His Father had not been seeking Him; for was He not even at that moment in
His Father's house, and particularly engaged in His Father's business, the very work to which His Father had appointed Him?

He had in no wise intimated a doubt as to Mary's maternal relationship to Himself; though He had indisputably shown that He recognized as His Father, not Joseph of
Nazareth, but the God of Heaven. Both Mary and Joseph failed to comprehend the full import of His words. Though He understood the superior claim of duty based
on His divine Sonship, and had shown to Mary that her authority as earthly mother was subordinate to that of His Immortal and divine Father, nevertheless He obeyed
her. Interested as were the doctors in this remarkable Boy, much as He had given them to ponder over through His searching questions and wise answers, they could
not detain Him, for the very law they professed to uphold enjoined strict obedience to parental authority. "And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and
was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."

What marvelous and sacred secrets were treasured in that mother's heart; and what new surprises and grave problems were added day after day in the manifestations
of unfolding wisdom displayed by her more than mortal Son! Though she could never have wholly forgotten, at times she seemingly lost sight of, her Son's exalted
personality. That such conditions should exist was perhaps divinely appointed. There could scarcely have been a full measure of truly human experience in the
relationship between Jesus and His mother, or between Him and Joseph, had the fact of His divinity been always dominant or even prominently apparent. Mary
appears never to have fully understood her Son; at every new evidence of His uniqueness she marveled and pondered anew. He was hers, and yet in a very real sense
not wholly hers. There was about their relation to each other a mystery, awful yet sublime, a holy secret which that chosen and blessed mother hesitated even to tell
over to herself. Fear must have contended with joy within her soul because of Him. The memory of Gabriel's glorious promises, the testimony of the rejoicing
shepherds, and the adoration of the magi must have struggled with that of Simeon's portentous prophecy, directed to herself in person: "Yea, a sword shall pierce
through thy own soul also."

As to the events of the eighteen years following the return of Jesus from Jerusalem to Nazareth, the scriptures are silent save for one rich sentence of greatest import:
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Plainly this Son of the Highest was not endowed with a fulness of knowledge, nor with
the complete investiture of wisdom, from the cradle. Slowly the assurance of His appointed mission as the Messiah, of whose coming He read in the law, the
prophets, and the psalms, developed within His soul; and in devoted preparation for the ministry that should find culmination on the cross He passed the years of youth
and early manhood. From the chronicles of later years we learn that He was reputed without question to be the son of Joseph and Mary, and was regarded as the
brother of other and younger children of the family. He was spoken of both as a carpenter and a carpenter's son; and, until the beginning of His public ministry He
appears to have been of little prominence even in the small home community.

He lived the simple life, at peace with His fellows, in communion with His Father, thus increasing in favor with God and men. As shown by His public utterances after
He had become a man, these years of seclusion were spent in active effort, both physical and mental. Jesus was a close observer of nature and men. He was able to
draw illustrations with which to point His teachings from the varied occupations, trades and professions; the ways of the lawyer and the physician, the manners of the
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scribe, the Pharisee and the rabbi, the habits of the poor, the customs of the rich, the life of the shepherd, the farmer, the vinedresser and the fisherman-were all known
to Him. He considered the lilies of the field, and the grass in meadow and upland, the birds which sowed not nor gathered into barns but lived on the bounty of their
Maker, the foxes in their holes, the petted house dog and the vagrant cur, the hen sheltering her brood beneath protecting wings-all these had contributed to the wisdom
He lived the simple life, at peace with His fellows, in communion with His Father, thus increasing in favor with God and men. As shown by His public utterances after
He had become a man, these years of seclusion were spent in active effort, both physical and mental. Jesus was a close observer of nature and men. He was able to
draw illustrations with which to point His teachings from the varied occupations, trades and professions; the ways of the lawyer and the physician, the manners of the
scribe, the Pharisee and the rabbi, the habits of the poor, the customs of the rich, the life of the shepherd, the farmer, the vinedresser and the fisherman-were all known
to Him. He considered the lilies of the field, and the grass in meadow and upland, the birds which sowed not nor gathered into barns but lived on the bounty of their
Maker, the foxes in their holes, the petted house dog and the vagrant cur, the hen sheltering her brood beneath protecting wings-all these had contributed to the wisdom
in which He grew, as had also the moods of the weather, the recurrence of the seasons, and all the phenomena of natural change and order.

Nazareth was the abode of Jesus until He was about thirty years of age; and, in accordance with the custom of designating individuals by the names of their home towns
as additions to their personal names, our Lord came to be generally known as Jesus of Nazareth. He is also referred to as a Nazarene, or a native of Nazareth,
and this fact is cited by Matthew as a fulfillment of earlier prediction, though our current compilation of scriptures constituting the Old Testament contains no record of
such prophecy. It is practically certain that this prediction was contained in some one of the many scriptures extant in earlier days but since lost. That Nazareth was
an obscure village, of little honor or renown, is evidenced by the almost contemptuous question of Nathanael, who, on being informed that the Messiah had been found
in Jesus of Nazareth, asked: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" The incredulous query had passed into a proverb current even today as expressive
of any unpopular or unpromising source of good. Nathanael lived in Cana, but a few miles from Nazareth, and his surprise at the tidings brought by Philip concerning
the Messiah incidentally affords evidence of seclusion in which Jesus had lived.

So passed the boyhood, youth, and early manhood of the Savior of mankind.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 9

1. Archelaus Reigned in Herod's Stead.-"At his death Herod [the Great] left a will according to which his kingdom was to be divided among his three sons. Archelaus
was to have Judea, Idumea, and Samaria, with the title of king (Matt. 2:22). Herod Antipas was to receive Galilee and Perea, with the title of tetrarch; Philip was to
come into possession of the trans-Jordan territory with the title of tetrarch (Luke 3:1). This will was ratified by Augustus with the exception of the title given to
Archelaus. Archelaus, after the ratification of Herod's will by Augustus, succeeded to the rule of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, having the title of ethnarch, with the
understanding that, if he ruled well, he was to become king. He was, however, highly unpopular with the people, and his reign was marked by disturbances and acts of
oppression. The situation became finally so intolerable that the Jews appealed to Augustus, and Archelaus was removed and sent into exile. This accounts for the
statement in Matt. 2:22, and possibly also suggested the point of the parable (Luke 19:12, etc.)."-Standard Bible Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls Co., article "Herod."
Early in his reign he wreaked summary vengeance on the people who ventured to protest against a continuation of his father's violence, by slaughtering three thousand
or more; and the awful deed of carnage was perpetrated in part within the precincts of the temple. (Josephus, Antiquities xvii, 9:1-3.)

2. Herod Antipas.-Son of Herod I (the Great) by a Samaritan woman, and full brother to Archelaus. By the will of his father he became tetrarch of Galilee and Perea
(Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1; compare Luke 3:1). He repudiated his wife, a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, and entered into an unlawful union
with Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip I (not the tetrarch Philip). John the Baptist was imprisoned and finally put to death, through the anger of
Herodias over his denunciation of her union with Herod Antipas. Herodias urged Antipas to go to Rome and petition Caesar for the title of king (compare Mark 6:14,
etc.). Antipas is the Herod most frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Mark 6:17; 8:15; Luke 3:1; 9:7; 13:31; Acts 4:27; 13:1). He was the Herod to whom
Pilate sent Jesus for examination, taking advantage of Christ being known as a Galilean, and of the coincident fact of Herod's presence in Jerusalem at the time in
attendance at the Passover (Luke 23:6, etc.). For further details see Smith's, Cassell's, or the Standard Bible Dictionary.

3. Testimony of John the Apostle Concerning Christ's Development in Knowledge and Grace.-In a modern revelation, Jesus the Christ has confirmed the record of
John the apostle, which record appears but in part in our compilation of ancient scriptures. John thus attests the actuality of natural development in the growth of Jesus
from childhood to maturity: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but
continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first" (D&C 93:12-14).
Notwithstanding this graded course of growth and development after His birth in the flesh, Jesus Christ had been associated with the Father from the beginning, as is set
forth in the revelation cited. We read therein: "And he [John] bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the beginning before the world was; therefore in the
beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, the light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world,
because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made by him: all things were made
by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the
Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us" (verses 7-11).

4. Missing Scripture.-Matthew's commentary on the abode of Joseph, Mary and Jesus at Nazareth, "and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene" (2:23), with the fact that no such saying of the prophets is found in any of the books
contained in the Bible, suggests the certainty of lost scripture. Those who oppose the doctrine of continual revelation between God and His Church, on the ground that
the Bible is complete as a collection of sacred scriptures, and that alleged revelation not found therein must therefore be spurious, may profitably take note of the many
books not included in the Bible, yet mentioned therein, generally in such a way as to leave no doubt that they were once regarded as authentic. Among these extra-
Biblical scriptures, the following may be named; some of them are in existence today, and are classed with the Apocrypha; but the greater number are unknown. We
read of the Book of the Covenant (Ex. 24:7); Book of the Wars of the Lord (Num. 21:14); Book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13); Book of the Statutes (1 Sam. 10:25); Book
of Enoch (Jude 14); Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:41); Book of Nathan the Prophet, and that of Gad the Seer (1 Chr. 29:29); Book of Ahijah the
Shilonite, and visions of Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 9:29); Book of Shemaiah (2 Chr. 12:15); Story of the Prophet Iddo (2 Chr. 13:22); Book of Jehu (2 Chr. 20:34); the
Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz (2 Chr. 26:22); Sayings of the Seers (2 Chr. 33:19); a missing epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5:9); a missing
epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:3); missing epistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea (Col. 4:16); a missing epistle of Jude (Jude 3).

5. Nazareth.-A town or "city" in Galilee, of which Biblical mention is found in the New Testament only. Josephus says nothing concerning the place. The name of the
existing village, or the Nazareth of today, is En-Nazirah. This occupies an upland site on the southerly ridge of Lebanon, and "commands a splendid view of the Plain of
Esdraelon and Mount Carmel, and is very picturesque in general" (Zenos). The author of the article "Nazareth" in Smith's Bible Dict. identifies the modern En-Nazirah,
with the Nazareth of old on the following grounds: "It is on the lower declivities of a hill or mountain (Luke 4:29); it is within the limits of the province of Galilee (Mark
1:9); it is near Cana (John 2:1, 2, 11); a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luke 4:29); and a series of testimonials reaching back to Eusebius represent the place as
having occupied the same position." The same writer adds: "Its population is 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians. Most of the
houses are well built of stone, and appear neat and comfortable. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and after rain are so full of mud and mire as to be almost
impassable." At the time of Christ's life the town was not only regarded as unimportant by the Judeans who professed but little respect for Galilee or the Galileans, but
as without honor by the Galileans themselves, as appears from the fact that the seemingly contemptuous question, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
was uttered by Nathanael (John 1:46), who was a Galilean and a native of Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth (John 21:2). Nazareth owes its celebrity to its
association with events in the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke 1:26; 2:4; 4:23, 34; John 1:45, 46; 19:19; Acts 2:22).

Footnotes

Copyright (c) 2005-2009,
 1. Matt. 2:15;          Infobase
                compare Hos. 11:1. Media Corp.                                                                                                           Page 82 / 128

  2. Matt. 2:19-23.
association with events in the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke 1:26; 2:4; 4:23, 34; John 1:45, 46; 19:19; Acts 2:22).

Footnotes

  1. Matt. 2:15; compare Hos. 11:1.

  2. Matt. 2:19-23.

Note 5. Nazareth.-A town or "city" in Galilee, of which Biblical mention is found in the New Testament only. Josephus says nothing concerning the place. The name of
the existing village, or the Nazareth of today, is En-Nazirah. This occupies an upland site on the southerly ridge of Lebanon, and "commands a splendid view of the
Plain of Esdraelon and Mount Carmel, and is very picturesque in general" (Zenos). The author of the article "Nazareth" in Smith's Bible Dict. identifies the modern En-
Nazirah, with the Nazareth of old on the following grounds: "It is on the lower declivities of a hill or mountain (Luke 4:29); it is within the limits of the province of Galilee
(Mark 1:9); it is near Cana (John 2:1, 2, 11); a precipice exists in the neighborhood (Luke 4:29); and a series of testimonials reaching back to Eusebius represent the
place as having occupied the same position." The same writer adds: "Its population is 3000 or 4000; a few are Mohammedans, the rest Latin and Greek Christians.
Most of the houses are well built of stone, and appear neat and comfortable. The streets or lanes are narrow and crooked, and after rain are so full of mud and mire as
to be almost impassable." At the time of Christ's life the town was not only regarded as unimportant by the Judeans who professed but little respect for Galilee or the
Galileans, but as without honor by the Galileans themselves, as appears from the fact that the seemingly contemptuous question, "Can there any good thing come out of
Nazareth?" was uttered by Nathanael (John 1:46), who was a Galilean and a native of Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth (John 21:2). Nazareth owes its celebrity
to its association with events in the life of Jesus Christ (Matt. 2:23; 13:54; Mark 1:9; 6:1; Luke 1:26; 2:4; 4:23, 34; John 1:45, 46; 19:19; Acts 2:22).

   3. Note 1. Archelaus Reigned in Herod's Stead.-"At his death Herod [the Great] left a will according to which his kingdom was to be divided among his three sons.
Archelaus was to have Judea, Idumea, and Samaria, with the title of king (Matt. 2:22). Herod Antipas was to receive Galilee and Perea, with the title of tetrarch; Philip
was to come into possession of the trans-Jordan territory with the title of tetrarch (Luke 3:1). This will was ratified by Augustus with the exception of the title given to
Archelaus. Archelaus, after the ratification of Herod's will by Augustus, succeeded to the rule of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, having the title of ethnarch, with the
understanding that, if he ruled well, he was to become king. He was, however, highly unpopular with the people, and his reign was marked by disturbances and acts of
oppression. The situation became finally so intolerable that the Jews appealed to Augustus, and Archelaus was removed and sent into exile. This accounts for the
statement in Matt. 2:22, and possibly also suggested the point of the parable (Luke 19:12, etc.)."-Standard Bible Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls Co., article "Herod."
Early in his reign he wreaked summary vengeance on the people who ventured to protest against a continuation of his father's violence, by slaughtering three thousand
or more; and the awful deed of carnage was perpetrated in part within the precincts of the temple. (Josephus, Antiquities xvii, 9:1-3.)

   4. Note 2. Herod Antipas.-Son of Herod I (the Great) by a Samaritan woman, and full brother to Archelaus. By the will of his father he became tetrarch of Galilee
and Perea (Matt. 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1; compare Luke 3:1). He repudiated his wife, a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, and entered into an
unlawful union with Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip I (not the tetrarch Philip). John the Baptist was imprisoned and finally put to death, through the
anger of Herodias over his denunciation of her union with Herod Antipas. Herodias urged Antipas to go to Rome and petition Caesar for the title of king (compare
Mark 6:14, etc.). Antipas is the Herod most frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Mark 6:17; 8:15; Luke 3:1; 9:7; 13:31; Acts 4:27; 13:1). He was the Herod
to whom Pilate sent Jesus for examination, taking advantage of Christ being known as a Galilean, and of the coincident fact of Herod's presence in Jerusalem at the time
in attendance at the Passover (Luke 23:6, etc.). For further details see Smith's, Cassell's, or the Standard Bible Dictionary.

  5. Luke 2:40.

   6. Note 3. Testimony of John the Apostle Concerning Christ's Development in Knowledge and Grace.-In a modern revelation, Jesus the Christ has confirmed the
record of John the apostle, which record appears but in part in our compilation of ancient scriptures. John thus attests the actuality of natural development in the growth
of Jesus from childhood to maturity: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at
first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first" (D&C
93:12-14). Notwithstanding this graded course of growth and development after His birth in the flesh, Jesus Christ had been associated with the Father from the
beginning, as is set forth in the revelation cited. We read therein: "And he [John] bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the beginning before the world was;
therefore in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, the light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came
into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made by him: all
things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us" (verses 7-11).

  7. Compare His teachings after He had reached manhood, e.g., John 8:32.

  8. Deut. 16:1-6; compare Ex. 12:2.

  9. Josephus: Wars of the Jews, ii, 1:3.

  10. Luke 2:46; read 41-52.

  11. Compare Matt. 7:28, 29; 13:54; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:22.

  12. Luke 2:35.

  13. Luke 2:52.

6. Note 3. Testimony of John the Apostle Concerning Christ's Development in Knowledge and Grace.-In a modern revelation, Jesus the Christ has confirmed the
record of John the apostle, which record appears but in part in our compilation of ancient scriptures. John thus attests the actuality of natural development in the growth
of Jesus from childhood to maturity: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at
first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first" (D&C
93:12-14). Notwithstanding this graded course of growth and development after His birth in the flesh, Jesus Christ had been associated with the Father from the
beginning, as is set forth in the revelation cited. We read therein: "And he [John] bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the beginning before the world was;
therefore in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, the light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came
into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made by him: all
things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us" (verses 7-11).

 15. Matt.(c)
Copyright  13:55, 56; Mark
              2005-2009,   6:3; Luke
                         Infobase    4:22;Corp.
                                  Media    compare Matt. 12:46, 47; Gal. 1:19.
                                                                                                                                                           Page 83 / 128
  16. For illustrative examples see Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43); Mary Magdalene, so known from her native town of Magdala (Matt. 27:56); Judas Iscariot,
possibly named after his home in Kerioth (Matt. 10:4).
things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us" (verses 7-11).

  15. Matt. 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 12:46, 47; Gal. 1:19.

  16. For illustrative examples see Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43); Mary Magdalene, so known from her native town of Magdala (Matt. 27:56); Judas Iscariot,
possibly named after his home in Kerioth (Matt. 10:4).

  17. Matt. 21:11; John 18:5; John 19:19; Acts 2:22; Acts 3:6; see also Luke 4:16.

   18. Note 4. Missing Scripture.-Matthew's commentary on the abode of Joseph, Mary and Jesus at Nazareth, "and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene" (2:23), with the fact that no such saying of the prophets is found in any of the
books contained in the Bible, suggests the certainty of lost scripture. Those who oppose the doctrine of continual revelation between God and His Church, on the
ground that the Bible is complete as a collection of sacred scriptures, and that alleged revelation not found therein must therefore be spurious, may profitably take note
of the many books not included in the Bible, yet mentioned therein, generally in such a way as to leave no doubt that they were once regarded as authentic. Among
these extra-Biblical scriptures, the following may be named; some of them are in existence today, and are classed with the Apocrypha; but the greater number are
unknown. We read of the Book of the Covenant (Ex. 24:7); Book of the Wars of the Lord (Num. 21:14); Book of Jasher (Josh. 10:13); Book of the Statutes (1 Sam.
10:25); Book of Enoch (Jude 14); Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:41); Book of Nathan the Prophet, and that of Gad the Seer (1 Chr. 29:29); Book of
Ahijah the Shilonite, and visions of Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 9:29); Book of Shemaiah (2 Chr. 12:15); Story of the Prophet Iddo (2 Chr. 13:22); Book of Jehu (2 Chr.
20:34); the Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz (2 Chr. 26:22); Sayings of the Seers (2 Chr. 33:19); a missing epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 5:9); a
missing epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:3); missing epistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea (Col. 4:16); a missing epistle of Jude (Jude 3).

  19. John 1:45, 46.

CHAPTER 10

In the Wilderness of Judea

The Voice in the Wilderness

At a time definitely stated as the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, emperor of Rome, the people of Judea were greatly aroused over the strange preaching
of a man theretofore unknown. He was of priestly descent, but untrained in the schools; and, without authorization of the rabbis or license from the chief priests, he
proclaimed himself as one sent of God with a message to Israel. He appeared not in the synagogs nor within the temple courts, where scribes and doctors taught, but
cried aloud in the wilderness. The people of Jerusalem and of adjacent rural parts went out in great multitudes to hear him. He disdained the soft garments and flowing
robes of comfort, and preached in his rough desert garb, consisting of a garment of camel's hair held in place by a leathern girdle. The coarseness of his attire was
regarded as significant. Elijah the Tishbite, that fearless prophet whose home had been the desert, was known in his day as "an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of
leather about his loins";      and rough garments had come to be thought of as a distinguishing characteristic of prophets. Nor did this strange preacher eat the food
of luxury and ease, but fed on what the desert supplied, locusts and wild honey.

The man was John, son of Zacharias, soon to be known as the Baptist. He had spent many years in the desert, apart from the abodes of men, years of preparation for
his particular mission. He had been a student under the tutelage of divine teachers; and there in the wilderness of Judea the word of the Lord reached him; as in
similar environment it had reached Moses and Elijah of old. Then was heard "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight." It was the voice of the herald, the messenger who, as the prophets had said, should go before the Lord to prepare His way. The burden of his
message was "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And to such as had faith in his words and professed repentance, confessing their sins, he administered
baptism by immersion in water-proclaiming the while, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."

Neither the man nor his message could be ignored; his preaching was specific in promise to the repentant soul, and scathingly denunciatory to the hypocrite and the
hardened sinner. Where Pharisees and Sadducees came to his baptism, prating of the law, the spirit of which they ceased not to transgress, and of the prophets, whom
they dishonored, he denounced them as a generation of vipers, and demanded of them: "Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" He brushed aside their
oft-repeated boasts that they were the children of Abraham, saying, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have
Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." The ignoring of their claims to preferment as the
children of Abraham was a strong rebuke, and a cause of sore affront alike to aristocratic Sadducee and rule-bound Pharisee. Judaism held that the posterity of
Abraham had an assured place in the kingdom of the expected Messiah, and that no proselyte from among the Gentiles could possibly attain the rank and distinction of
which the "children" were sure. John's forceful assertion that God could raise up, from the stones on the river bank, children to Abraham, meant to those who heard that
even the lowest of the human family might be preferred before themselves unless they repented and reformed. Their time of wordy profession had passed; fruits were
demanded, not barren though leafy profusion; the ax was ready, aye, at the very root of the tree; and every tree that produced not good fruit was to be hewn down and
cast into the fire.

The people were astonished; and many, seeing themselves in their actual condition of dereliction and sin, as John, with burning words laid bare their faults, cried out:
"What shall we do then?" His reply was directed against ceremonialism, which had caused spirituality to wither almost to death in the hearts of the people. Unselfish
charity was demanded-"He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." The publicans or tax-farmers and
collectors, under whose unjust and unlawful exactions the people had suffered so long, came asking: "Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more
than that which is appointed you." To the soldiers who asked what to do he replied: "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your
wages."

The spirit of his demands was that of a practical religion, the only religion of any possible worth-the religion of right living. With all his vigor, in spite of his brusqueness,
notwithstanding his forceful assaults on the degenerate customs of the times, this John was no agitator against established institutions, no inciter of riot, no advocate of
revolt, no promoter of rebellion. He did not assail the tax system but the extortions of the corrupt and avaricious publicans; he did not denounce the army, but the
iniquities of the soldiers, many of whom had taken advantage of their position to bear false witness for the sake of gain and to enrich themselves by forcible seizure. He
preached, what in the now current dispensation we call the first fundamental principles of the gospel-"the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,"
comprising faith, which is vitalized belief, in God; genuine repentance, which comprises contrition for past offenses and a resolute determination to turn from sin; baptism
by immersion in water at his hands as the hands of one having authority; and the higher baptism by fire or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost by an authority greater than
that possessed by himself. His preaching was positive, and in many respects opposed to the conventions of the times; he made no appeal to the people through the
medium of miraculous manifestations; and though many of his hearers attached themselves to him as disciples, he established no formal organization, nor did he
attempt to form a cult. His demand for repentance was an individual call, as unto each acceptable applicant the rite of baptism was individually administered.
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To the Jews, who were living in a state of expectancy, waiting for the long-predicted Messiah, the words of this strange prophet in the wilderness were fraught with
deep portent. Could it be that he was the Christ? He spoke of One yet to come, mightier than himself, whose shoe-latchet he was not worthy to loosen, One who
by immersion in water at his hands as the hands of one having authority; and the higher baptism by fire or the bestowal of the Holy Ghost by an authority greater than
that possessed by himself. His preaching was positive, and in many respects opposed to the conventions of the times; he made no appeal to the people through the
medium of miraculous manifestations; and though many of his hearers attached themselves to him as disciples, he established no formal organization, nor did he
attempt to form a cult. His demand for repentance was an individual call, as unto each acceptable applicant the rite of baptism was individually administered.

To the Jews, who were living in a state of expectancy, waiting for the long-predicted Messiah, the words of this strange prophet in the wilderness were fraught with
deep portent. Could it be that he was the Christ? He spoke of One yet to come, mightier than himself, whose shoe-latchet he was not worthy to loosen, One who
would separate the people as the thresher, fan in hand, blew the chaff from the wheat; and, he added, that mightier One "will gather the wheat into his garner; but the
chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable."

In such wise did the predicted herald of the Lord deliver his message. Himself he would not exalt; his office, however, was sacred to him, and with its functions he
brooked no interference from priest, Levite, or rabbi. He was no respecter of persons; sin he denounced, sinners he excoriated, whether in priestly vestments, peasant
garb, or royal robes. All the claims the Baptist had made for himself and his mission were later confirmed and vindicated by the specific testimony of Christ. John
was the harbinger not alone of the kingdom but of the King; and to him the King in person came.

The Baptism of Jesus-to Fulfil All Righteousness

When Jesus "began to be about thirty years of age" He journeyed from His home in Galilee "to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.
Then he suffered him."

John and Jesus were second cousins; as to whether there had existed any close companionship between the two as boys or men we are not told. It is certain, however,
that when Jesus presented Himself for baptism, John recognized in Him a sinless Man who stood in no need of repentance; and, as the Baptist had been commissioned
to baptize for the remission of sins, he saw no necessity of administering the ordinance to Jesus. He who had received the confessions of multitudes now reverently
confessed to One whom he knew was more righteous than himself. In the light of later events it appears that at this time John did not know that Jesus was the Christ,
the Mightier One for whom he waited and whose forerunner he knew himself to be. When John expressed his conviction that Jesus needed no baptismal cleansing, our
Lord, conscious of His own sinlessness, did not deny the Baptist's imputation, but nevertheless pressed His application for baptism with the significant explanation:
"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." If John was able to comprehend the deeper meaning of this utterance, he must have found therein the truth that water
baptism is not alone the means provided for gaining remission of sins, but is also an indispensable ordinance established in righteousness and required of all mankind as
an essential condition for membership in the kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ thus humbly complied with the will of the Father, and was baptized of John by immersion in water. That His baptism was accepted as a pleasing and
necessary act of submission was attested by what immediately ensued: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens
were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." Then John knew his Redeemer.

The four Gospel-writers record the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the baptized Jesus as accompanied by a visible manifestation "like a dove"; and this sign had been
indicated to John as the foreappointed means by which the Messiah should be made known to him; and to that sign, before specified, was now added the supreme
testimony of the Father as to the literal Sonship of Jesus. Matthew records the Father's acknowledgment as given in the third person, "This is my beloved Son"; while
both Mark and Luke give the more direct address, "Thou art my beloved Son." The variation, slight and essentially unimportant as it is though bearing on so momentous
a subject, affords evidence of independent authorship and discredits any insinuation of collusion among the writers.

The incidents attending the emergence of Jesus from the baptismal grave demonstrate the distinct individuality of the three Personages of the Godhead. On that solemn
occasion Jesus the Son was present in the flesh; the presence of the Holy Ghost was manifest through the accompanying sign of the dove, and the voice of the Eternal
Father was heard from heaven. Had we no other evidence of the separate personality of each member of the Holy Trinity, this instance should be conclusive; but other
scriptures confirm the great truth.

The Temptations of Christ

Soon after His baptism, immediately thereafter as Mark asserts, Jesus was constrained by the promptings of the Spirit to withdraw from men and the distractions of
community life, by retiring into the wilderness where He would be free to commune with His God. So strong was the influence of the impelling force that He was led
thereby, or, as stated by the evangelist, driven, into solitary seclusion, in which He remained during forty days, "with the wild beasts" of the desert. This remarkable
episode in our Lord's life is described, though not with equal fulness, in three of the Gospels; John is silent thereon.

The circumstances attending this time of exile and test must have been related by Jesus Himself, for of other human witnesses there were none. The recorded narratives
deal principally with events marking the close of the forty-day period, but considered in their entirety they place beyond doubt the fact that the season was one of
fasting and prayer. Christ's realization that He was the chosen and foreordained Messiah came to Him gradually. As shown by His words to His mother on the
occasion of the memorable interview with the doctors in the temple courts, He knew, when but a Boy of twelve years, that in a particular and personal sense He was
the Son of God; yet it is evident that a comprehension of the full purport of His earthly mission developed within Him only as He progressed step by step in wisdom.
His acknowledgment by the Father, and the continued companionship of the Holy Ghost, opened His soul to the glorious fact of His divinity. He had much to think
about, much that demanded prayer and the communion with God that prayer alone could insure. Throughout the period of retirement, he ate not, but chose to fast, that
His mortal body might the more completely be subjected to His divine spirit.

Then, when He was hungry and physically weak, the tempter came with the insidious suggestion that He use His extraordinary powers to provide food. Satan had
chosen the most propitious time for his evil purpose. What will mortals not do, to what lengths have men not gone, to assuage the pangs of hunger? Esau bartered his
birthright for a meal. Men have fought like brutes for food. Women have slain and eaten their own babes rather than endure the gnawing pangs of starvation. All this
Satan knew when he came to the Christ in the hour of extreme physical need, and said unto Him: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made
bread." During the long weeks of seclusion, our Lord had been sustained by the exaltation of spirit that would naturally attend such all-absorbing concentration of mind
as His protracted meditation and communion with the heavens undoubtedly produced; in such profound devotion of spirit, bodily appetites were subdued and
superseded; but the reaction of the flesh was inevitable.

Hungry as Jesus was, there was a temptation in Satan's words even greater than that embodied in the suggestion that He provide food for His famishing body-the
temptation to put to proof the possible doubt implied in the tempter's "If." The Eternal Father had proclaimed Jesus as His Son; the devil tried to make the Son doubt
that divine relationship. Why not prove the Father's interest in His Son at this moment of dire necessity? Was it proper that the Son of God should go hungry? Had the
Father so soon forgotten as to leave His Beloved Son thus to suffer? Was it not reasonable that Jesus, faint from long abstinence, should provide for Himself, and
particularly so since He could provide, and that by a word of command, if the voice heard at His baptism was that of the Eternal Father. If thou be in reality the Son of
God, demonstrate thy power, and at the same time satisfy thy hunger-such was the purport of the diabolical suggestion. To have yielded would have been to manifest
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positive doubt of the Father's acknowledgment.

Moreover, the superior power that Jesus possessed had not been given to Him for personal gratification, but for service to others. He was to experience all the trials of
that divine relationship. Why not prove the Father's interest in His Son at this moment of dire necessity? Was it proper that the Son of God should go hungry? Had the
Father so soon forgotten as to leave His Beloved Son thus to suffer? Was it not reasonable that Jesus, faint from long abstinence, should provide for Himself, and
particularly so since He could provide, and that by a word of command, if the voice heard at His baptism was that of the Eternal Father. If thou be in reality the Son of
God, demonstrate thy power, and at the same time satisfy thy hunger-such was the purport of the diabolical suggestion. To have yielded would have been to manifest
positive doubt of the Father's acknowledgment.

Moreover, the superior power that Jesus possessed had not been given to Him for personal gratification, but for service to others. He was to experience all the trials of
mortality; another man, as hungry as He, could not provide for himself by a miracle; and though by miracle such a one might be fed, the miraculous supply would have
to be given, not provided by himself. It was a necessary result of our Lord's dual nature, comprising the attributes of both God and man, that He should endure and
suffer as a mortal while possessing at all times the ability to invoke the power of His own Godhood by which all bodily needs could be supplied or overcome. His reply
to the tempter was sublime and positively final: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The
word that had proceeded from the mouth of God, upon which Satan would have cast mistrust, was that Jesus was the Beloved Son with whom the Father was well
pleased. The devil was foiled; Christ was triumphant.

Realizing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to induce Jesus to use His inherent power for personal service, and to trust in Himself rather than rely upon the Father's
providence, Satan went to the other extreme and tempted Jesus to wantonly throw Himself upon the Father's protection. Jesus was standing upon one of the high
parts of the temple, a pinnacle or battlement, overlooking the spacious courts, when the devil said unto Him: "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is
written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Again appears the
implication of doubt. If Jesus was in fact the Son of God, could He not trust His Father to save Him, and particularly so as it was written that angels would guard
Him and bear Him up? Christ's reply to the tempter in the wilderness had embodied a scriptural citation, and this He had introduced with the impressive formula
common to expounders of sacred writ-"It is written." In the second attempt, the devil tried to support his suggestion by scripture, and employed a similar expression-
"for it is written." Our Lord met and answered the devil's quotation with another, saying: "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Beside the provocation to sin by wantonly placing Himself in danger, so that the Father's love might be manifested in a miraculous rescue, or by refusing so to challenge
the Father's interposition demonstrate that He doubted His status as the Beloved Son, there lurked an appeal to the human side of Christ's nature, in thought of the fame
which an astounding exploit, such as that of leaping from the dizzy height of the temple turrets and alighting unhurt, would surely bring. We cannot resist the thought,
though we be not justified in saying that any such had even momentary place in the Savior's mind, that to act upon Satan's suggestion, provided of course the outcome
proved to be such as he had indicated, would have been to insure public recognition of Jesus as a Being superior to mortals. It would have been a sign and a wonder
indeed, the fame of which would have spread as fire in the dry grass; and all Jewry would have been aflame with excitement and interest in the Christ.

The glaring sophistry of Satan's citation of scripture was unworthy a categorical reply; his doctrine deserved neither logic nor argument; his misapplication of the written
word was nullified by scripture that was germane; the lines of the psalmist were met by the binding fiat of the prophet of the exodus, in which he had commanded Israel
that they should not provoke nor tempt the Lord to work miracles among them. Satan tempted Jesus to tempt the Father. It is as truly a blasphemous interference with
the prerogatives of Deity to set limitations or make fixations of time or place at which the divine power shall be made manifest as it is to attempt to usurp that power.
God alone must decide when and how His wonders shall be wrought. Once more the purposes of Satan were thwarted and Christ again was victor.

In the third temptation the devil refrained from further appeal to Jesus to put either His own power or that of the Father to the test. Twice completely foiled, the tempter
abandoned that plan of assault; and, discarding all disguise of purpose, submitted a definite proposition. From the top of a high mountain Jesus looked over the land
with its wealth of city and field, of vineyard and orchard, of flocks and of herds; and in vision He saw the kingdoms of the world and contemplated the wealth, the
splendor, the earthly glory of them all. Then saith Satan unto Him, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." So wrote Matthew; the more
extended version by Luke follows: "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever
I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." We need not concern ourselves with conjecture as to whether Satan could have made good his
promise in the event of Christ's doing him homage; certain it is Christ could have reached out, and have gathered to Himself the wealth and glory of the world had He
willed so to do, and thereby have failed in His Messianic mission. This fact Satan knew full well. Many men have sold themselves to the devil for a kingdom and for
less, aye, even for a few paltry pence.

The effrontery of his offer was of itself diabolical. Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, tabernacled as He then was in mortal flesh, may not have remembered His
preexistent state, nor the part He had taken in the great council of the Gods; while Satan, an unembodied spirit-he the disinherited, the rebellious and rejected son-
seeking to tempt the Being through whom the world was created by promising Him part of what was wholly His, still may have had, as indeed he may yet have, a
remembrance of those primeval scenes. In that distant past, antedating the creation of the earth, Satan, then Lucifer, a son of the morning, had been rejected; and the
Firstborn Son had been chosen. Now that the Chosen One was subject to the trials incident to mortality, Satan thought to thwart the divine purpose by making the Son
of God subject to himself. He who had been vanquished by Michael and his hosts and cast down as a defeated rebel, asked the embodied Jehovah to worship him.
"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and
behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

It is not to be supposed that Christ's victorious emergence from the dark clouds of the three specified temptations exempted Him from further assaults by Satan, or
insured Him against later trials of faith, trust, and endurance. Luke closes his account of the temptations following the forty-day fast as follows: "And when the devil had
ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." This victory over the devil and his wiles, this triumph over the cravings of the flesh, the harassing doubts
of the mind, the suggested reaching out for fame and material wealth, were great but not final successes in the struggle between Jesus, the embodied God, and Satan,
the fallen angel of light. That Christ was subject to temptation during the period of His association with the apostles He expressly affirmed. That His temptations
extended even to the agony in Gethsemane will appear as we proceed with this study. It is not given to the rest of us, nor was it given to Jesus, to meet the foe, to fight
and overcome in a single encounter, once for all time. The strife between the immortal spirit and the flesh, between the offspring of God on the one hand, the world and
the devil on the other, is persistent through life.

Few events in the evangelical history of Jesus of Nazareth have given rise to more discussion, fanciful theory, and barren speculation, than have the temptations. All
such surmises we may with propriety ignore. To any believer in the holy scriptures, the account of the temptations therein given is sufficiently explicit to put beyond
doubt or question the essential facts; to the unbeliever neither the Christ nor His triumph appeals. What shall it profit us to speculate as to whether Satan appeared to
Jesus in visible form, or was present only as an unseen spirit; whether he spoke in audible voice, or aroused in the mind of his intended victim the thoughts later
expressed by the written lines; whether the three temptations occurred in immediate sequence or were experienced at longer intervals? With safety we may reject all
theories of myth or parable in the scriptural account, and accept the record as it stands; and with equal assurance may we affirm that the temptations were real, and that
the trials to which our Lord was put constituted an actual and crucial test. To believe otherwise, one must regard the scriptures as but fiction.

A question deserving some attention in this connection is that of the peccability or impeccability of Christ-the question as to whether He was capable of sinning. Had
there been no possibility of His yielding to the lures of Satan, there would have been no real test in the temptations, no genuine victory in the result. Our Lord was
sinless yet peccable; He had the capacity, the ability to sin had He willed so to do. Had He been bereft of the faculty to sin, He would have been shorn of His free
agency; and it was to safeguard and insure the agency of man that He had offered Himself, before the world was, as a redeeming sacrifice. To say that He could not sin
because He was the embodiment of righteousness is no denial of His agency of choice between evil and good. A thoroughly truthful man cannot culpably lie;
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nevertheless  his insurance against falsehood is not that of external compulsion, but of internal restraint due to his cultivated companionship of the spirit of truth.
honest man will neither take nor covet his neighbor's goods, indeed it may be said that he cannot steal; yet he is capable of stealing should he so elect. His honesty is an
armor against temptation; but the coat of mail, the helmet, the breastplate, and the greaves, are but an outward covering; the man within may be vulnerable if he can be
there been no possibility of His yielding to the lures of Satan, there would have been no real test in the temptations, no genuine victory in the result. Our Lord was
sinless yet peccable; He had the capacity, the ability to sin had He willed so to do. Had He been bereft of the faculty to sin, He would have been shorn of His free
agency; and it was to safeguard and insure the agency of man that He had offered Himself, before the world was, as a redeeming sacrifice. To say that He could not sin
because He was the embodiment of righteousness is no denial of His agency of choice between evil and good. A thoroughly truthful man cannot culpably lie;
nevertheless his insurance against falsehood is not that of external compulsion, but of internal restraint due to his cultivated companionship of the spirit of truth. A really
honest man will neither take nor covet his neighbor's goods, indeed it may be said that he cannot steal; yet he is capable of stealing should he so elect. His honesty is an
armor against temptation; but the coat of mail, the helmet, the breastplate, and the greaves, are but an outward covering; the man within may be vulnerable if he can be
reached.

But why proceed with labored reasoning, which can lead to but one conclusion, when our Lord's own words and other scriptures confirm the fact? Shortly before His
betrayal, when admonishing the Twelve to humility, He said: "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations." While here we find no exclusive
reference to the temptations immediately following His baptism, the exposition is plain that He had endured temptations, and by implication, these had continued
throughout the period of His ministry. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews expressly taught that Christ was peccable, in that He was tempted "in all points" as are
the rest of mankind. Consider the unambiguous declaration: "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin." And further: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."

NOTES TO CHAPTER 10

1. Raiment of Camel's Hair.-Through the prophet Zechariah (13:4) a time was foretold in which professing prophets would no longer "wear a rough garment to
deceive." Of the raiment of camel's hair worn by John the Baptist, the Oxford and other marginal readings render the expression "a garment of hair" as more literal than
the Bible text. Deems (Light of the Nations, p. 74, note) says: "The garment of camel's hair was not the camel's skin with the hair on, which would be too heavy to
wear, but raiment woven of camel's hair, such as Josephus speaks of (B. J. 1, 24:3)."

2. Locusts and Wild Honey.-Insects of the locust or grasshopper kind were specifically declared clean and suitable for food in the law given to Israel in the wilderness.
"Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may
eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind." (Lev. 11:21, 22.) At the present time
locusts are used as food by many oriental peoples, though usually by the poorer classes only. Of the passage referring to locusts as part of the Baptist's food while he
lived as a recluse in the desert, Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 97, note,) says: "The fancy that it means the pods of the so-called locust tree (carob) is a mistake. Locusts are
sold as articles of food in regular shops for the purpose at Medina; they are plunged into salt boiling water, dried in the sun, and eaten with butter, but only by the
poorest beggars." Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, pp. 354, 355) gives place to the following as applied to the Baptist's life: "His only food was the locusts
which leaped or flew on the bare hills, and the honey of wild bees which he found, here and there, in the clifts of the rocks, and his only drink a draught of water from
some rocky hollow. Locusts are still the food of the poor in many parts of the East. 'All the Bedouins of Arabia, and the inhabitants of towns in Nedj and Hedjaz, are
accustomed to eat them,' says Burckhardt. 'I have seen at Medina and Tayf, locust shops, where they are sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are eaten only by
the poorest beggars. The Arabs, in preparing them for eating, throw them alive into boiling water, with which a good deal of salt has been mixed, taking them out after a
few minutes, and drying them in the sun. The head, feet, and wings, are then torn off, the bodies cleansed from the salt, and perfectly dried. They are sometimes eaten
boiled in butter, or spread on unleavened bread mixed with butter.' In Palestine, they are eaten only by the Arabs on the extreme frontiers; elsewhere they are looked
on with disgust and loathing, and only the very poorest use them. Tristram, however, speaks of them as 'very palatable.' 'I found them very good,' says he, 'when eaten
after the Arab fashion, stewed with butter. They tasted somewhat like shrimps, but with less flavour.' In the wilderness of Judea, various kinds abound at all seasons,
and spring up with a drumming sound, at every step, suddenly spreading their bright hind wings, of scarlet, crimson, blue, yellow, white, green, or brown, according to
the species. They were 'clean,' under the Mosaic Law, and hence could be eaten by John without offence."

Concerning the mention of wild honey as food used by John, the author last quoted says in a continuation of the same paragraph: "The wild bees in Palestine are far
more numerous than those kept in hives, and the greater part of the honey sold in the southern districts is obtained from wild swarms. Few countries, indeed, are better
adapted for bees. The dry climate, and the stunted but varied flora, consisting largely of aromatic thymes, mints, and other similar plants, with crocuses in the spring, are
very favourable to them, while the dry recesses of the limestone rocks everywhere afford them shelter and protection for their combs. In the wilderness of Judea, bees
are far more numerous than in any other part of Palestine, and it is, to this day, part of the homely diet of the Bedouins, who squeeze it from the combs and store it in
skins."

3. John's Inferiority to the Mightier One He Proclaimed.-"One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose" (Luke 3:16), or "whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear" (Matt. 3:11); this was the way by which the Baptist declared his inferiority to the Mightier One, who was to succeed and supersede
him; and a more effective illustration would be difficult to frame. To loosen the shoe latchet or sandal thong, or to carry the shoes of another, "was a menial office
betokening great inferiority on the part of the person performing it." (Smith's Dict. of the Bible.) A passage in the Talmud (Tract. Kidduschin xxii: 2) requires a disciple
to do for his teacher whatever a servant might be required to do for his master, except the loosing of his sandal thong. Some teachers urged that a disciple should carry
his humility even to the extreme of carrying his master's shoes. The humility of the Baptist, in view of the widespread interest his call aroused, is impressive.

4. The Order in which the Temptations Were Presented.-But two of the Gospel-writers specify the temptations to which Christ was subjected immediately after His
baptism; Mark merely mentions the fact that Jesus was tempted. Matthew and Luke place first the temptation that Jesus provide for Himself by miraculously creating
bread; the sequence of the later trials is not the same in the two records. The order followed in the text is that of Matthew.

5. The Devil's "If."-Note the later taunting use of that diabolical if as the Christ hung upon the cross. The rulers of the Jews, mocking the crucified Jesus in His agony
said, "Let him save himself if he be the Christ." And the soldier, reading the inscription at the head of the cross derided the dying God, saying: "If thou be the king of the
Jews, save thyself." And yet again, the unrepentant malefactor by His side cried out, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." (Luke 23:35-39.) How literally did those
railers and mockers quote the very words of their father the devil (see John 8:44).

6. Baptism Required of All.-Baptism is required of all persons who live to the age of accountability in the flesh. None are exempt. Jesus Christ, who lived as a Man
without sin in the midst of a sinful world, was baptized "to fulfil all righteousness." Six centuries before this event, Nephi, prophesying to the people on the western
continent, foretold the baptism of the Savior, and thus drew therefrom the necessity of baptism as a universal requirement: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being
holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water. . . .
Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he sheweth unto the children of men, that according to the flesh, he humbleth himself before the
Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (2 Ne. 31:5, 7).

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kgs. 1:8.

  2. 2 Kgs. 1:8.
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   3. Note 1. Raiment of Camel's Hair.-Through the prophet Zechariah (13:4) a time was foretold in which professing prophets would no longer "wear a rough garment
to deceive." Of the raiment of camel's hair worn by John the Baptist, the Oxford and other marginal readings render the expression "a garment of hair" as more literal
  1. 2 Kgs. 1:8.

  2. 2 Kgs. 1:8.

   3. Note 1. Raiment of Camel's Hair.-Through the prophet Zechariah (13:4) a time was foretold in which professing prophets would no longer "wear a rough garment
to deceive." Of the raiment of camel's hair worn by John the Baptist, the Oxford and other marginal readings render the expression "a garment of hair" as more literal
than the Bible text. Deems (Light of the Nations, p. 74, note) says: "The garment of camel's hair was not the camel's skin with the hair on, which would be too heavy to
wear, but raiment woven of camel's hair, such as Josephus speaks of (B. J. 1, 24:3)."

  4. Matt. 3:1-5; compare Lev. 11:22; see also Mark 1:1-8.

Note 2. Locusts and Wild Honey.-Insects of the locust or grasshopper kind were specifically declared clean and suitable for food in the law given to Israel in the
wilderness. "Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of
them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind." (Lev. 11:21, 22.) At the
present time locusts are used as food by many oriental peoples, though usually by the poorer classes only. Of the passage referring to locusts as part of the Baptist's
food while he lived as a recluse in the desert, Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 97, note,) says: "The fancy that it means the pods of the so-called locust tree (carob) is a
mistake. Locusts are sold as articles of food in regular shops for the purpose at Medina; they are plunged into salt boiling water, dried in the sun, and eaten with butter,
but only by the poorest beggars." Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, pp. 354, 355) gives place to the following as applied to the Baptist's life: "His only food was
the locusts which leaped or flew on the bare hills, and the honey of wild bees which he found, here and there, in the clifts of the rocks, and his only drink a draught of
water from some rocky hollow. Locusts are still the food of the poor in many parts of the East. 'All the Bedouins of Arabia, and the inhabitants of towns in Nedj and
Hedjaz, are accustomed to eat them,' says Burckhardt. 'I have seen at Medina and Tayf, locust shops, where they are sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are
eaten only by the poorest beggars. The Arabs, in preparing them for eating, throw them alive into boiling water, with which a good deal of salt has been mixed, taking
them out after a few minutes, and drying them in the sun. The head, feet, and wings, are then torn off, the bodies cleansed from the salt, and perfectly dried. They are
sometimes eaten boiled in butter, or spread on unleavened bread mixed with butter.' In Palestine, they are eaten only by the Arabs on the extreme frontiers; elsewhere
they are looked on with disgust and loathing, and only the very poorest use them. Tristram, however, speaks of them as 'very palatable.' 'I found them very good,' says
he, 'when eaten after the Arab fashion, stewed with butter. They tasted somewhat like shrimps, but with less flavour.' In the wilderness of Judea, various kinds abound
at all seasons, and spring up with a drumming sound, at every step, suddenly spreading their bright hind wings, of scarlet, crimson, blue, yellow, white, green, or brown,
according to the species. They were 'clean,' under the Mosaic Law, and hence could be eaten by John without offence."

Concerning the mention of wild honey as food used by John, the author last quoted says in a continuation of the same paragraph: "The wild bees in Palestine are far
more numerous than those kept in hives, and the greater part of the honey sold in the southern districts is obtained from wild swarms. Few countries, indeed, are better
adapted for bees. The dry climate, and the stunted but varied flora, consisting largely of aromatic thymes, mints, and other similar plants, with crocuses in the spring, are
very favourable to them, while the dry recesses of the limestone rocks everywhere afford them shelter and protection for their combs. In the wilderness of Judea, bees
are far more numerous than in any other part of Palestine, and it is, to this day, part of the homely diet of the Bedouins, who squeeze it from the combs and store it in
skins."

  5. Luke 3:2.

  6. Ex. 3:1, 2.

  7. 1 Kgs. 17:2-7.

  8. Mark 1:3.

  9. Mark 1:2; compare Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:27.

  10. Matt. 3:11.

  11. Matt. 3:7-10; see also Luke 3:3-9.

  12. Compare a later instance, in which Christ similarly taught (John 8:33-59).

  13. Luke 3:10; compare Acts 2:37.

  14. Luke 3:10-15.

  15. Mark 1:1.

  16. John 10:41.

  17. John 1:35, 37; Matt. 11:2; Luke 7:18.

   18. Note 3. John's Inferiority to the Mightier One He Proclaimed.-"One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose" (Luke 3:16),
or "whose shoes I am not worthy to bear" (Matt. 3:11); this was the way by which the Baptist declared his inferiority to the Mightier One, who was to succeed and
supersede him; and a more effective illustration would be difficult to frame. To loosen the shoe latchet or sandal thong, or to carry the shoes of another, "was a menial
office betokening great inferiority on the part of the person performing it." (Smith's Dict. of the Bible.) A passage in the Talmud (Tract. Kidduschin xxii: 2) requires a
disciple to do for his teacher whatever a servant might be required to do for his master, except the loosing of his sandal thong. Some teachers urged that a disciple
should carry his humility even to the extreme of carrying his master's shoes. The humility of the Baptist, in view of the widespread interest his call aroused, is impressive.

  19. Luke 3:17; see also Matt. 3:12; compare Mal. 3:2.

  20. Matt. 11:11-14; 17:12; Luke 7:24-30.

  21. Luke 3:23.

  22. Matt. 3:13-15.
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  23. For treatment of Baptism as a universal requirement, see the author's Articles of Faith, pp. 128-34.
  21. Luke 3:23.

  22. Matt. 3:13-15.

  23. For treatment of Baptism as a universal requirement, see the author's Articles of Faith, pp. 128-34.

Note 6. Baptism Required of All.-Baptism is required of all persons who live to the age of accountability in the flesh. None are exempt. Jesus Christ, who lived as a
Man without sin in the midst of a sinful world, was baptized "to fulfil all righteousness." Six centuries before this event, Nephi, prophesying to the people on the western
continent, foretold the baptism of the Savior, and thus drew therefrom the necessity of baptism as a universal requirement: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being
holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water. . . .
Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he sheweth unto the children of men, that according to the flesh, he humbleth himself before the
Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (2 Ne. 31:5, 7).

  24. Matt. 3:16, 17; compare Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22.

  25. Shortly before His death, the Savior promised the apostles that the Father would send unto them the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (John 14:26; John
15:26). See the author's Articles of Faith, pp. 39-42.

  26. Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13.

  27. Matt. 4:4; compare Deut. 8:3.

   28. Note 4. The Order in which the Temptations Were Presented.-But two of the Gospel-writers specify the temptations to which Christ was subjected immediately
after His baptism; Mark merely mentions the fact that Jesus was tempted. Matthew and Luke place first the temptation that Jesus provide for Himself by miraculously
creating bread; the sequence of the later trials is not the same in the two records. The order followed in the text is that of Matthew.

   29. Note 5. The Devil's "If."-Note the later taunting use of that diabolical if as the Christ hung upon the cross. The rulers of the Jews, mocking the crucified Jesus in
His agony said, "Let him save himself if he be the Christ." And the soldier, reading the inscription at the head of the cross derided the dying God, saying: "If thou be the
king of the Jews, save thyself." And yet again, the unrepentant malefactor by His side cried out, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." (Luke 23:35-39.) How literally
did those railers and mockers quote the very words of their father the devil (see John 8:44).

  30. Matt. 4:6; Ps. 91:11, 12.

  31. Matt. 4:5-7; compare Deut. 6:16.

  32. Pages 6-9.

  33. Matt. 4:10, 11; compare Ex. 20:3; Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Josh. 24:14; Sam. 7:3.

  34. Luke 4:13.

  35. Luke 22:28.

  36. Luke 22:28.

  37. Heb. 4:14, 15.

  38. Heb. 5:8.

CHAPTER 11

From Judea to Galilee

The Baptist's Testimony of Jesus

During the period of our Lord's retirement in the wilderness the Baptist continued his ministry, crying repentance to all who would pause to hear, and administering
baptism to such as came duly prepared and asking with right intent. The people generally were greatly concerned over the identity of John; and as the real import of the
voice dawned upon them, their concern deepened into fear. The ever recurring question was, Who is this new prophet? Then the Jews, by which expression we may
understand the rulers of the people, sent a delegation of priests and Levites of the Pharisaic party to personally question him. He answered without evasion, "I am not
the Christ," and with equal decisiveness denied that he was Elias, or more accurately, Elijah, the prophet who, the rabbis said through a misinterpretation of Malachi's
prediction, was to return to earth as the immediate precursor of the Messiah. Furthermore, he declared that he was not "that prophet," by which was meant the
Prophet whose coming Moses had foretold, and who was not universally identified in the Jewish mind with the expected Messiah. "Then said they unto him, Who art
thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of
the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." The Pharisaic envoys then demanded of him his authority for baptizing; in reply he affirmed that the validity of his baptisms
would be attested by One who even then was amongst them, though they knew Him not, and averred: "He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose
shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose."

John's testimony, that Jesus was the Redeemer of the world, was declared as boldly as had been his message of the imminent coming of the Lord. "Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world," he proclaimed; and, that none might fail to comprehend his identification of the Christ, he added: "This is he of whom I
said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I
come baptizing with water." That the attestation of the ministering presence of the Holy Ghost through the material appearance "like a dove" was convincing to John
is shown by his further testimony: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but
he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." On the day following that of the utterance last quoted, John repeated his testimony to
two of his disciples, or followers, as Jesus passed, saying again: "Behold the Lamb of God."
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The First Disciples of Jesus
is shown by his further testimony: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but
he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth
with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." On the day following that of the utterance last quoted, John repeated his testimony to
two of his disciples, or followers, as Jesus passed, saying again: "Behold the Lamb of God."

The First Disciples of Jesus

Two of the Baptist's followers, specifically called disciples, were with him when for the second time he expressly designated Jesus as the Lamb of God. These were
Andrew and John; the latter came to be known in after years as the author of the fourth Gospel. The first is mentioned by name, while the narrator suppresses his own
name as that of the second disciple. Andrew and John were so impressed by the Baptist's testimony that they immediately followed Jesus; and He, turning toward them
asked: "What seek ye?" Possibly somewhat embarrassed by the question, or with a real desire to learn where He might be found later, they replied by another inquiry:
"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" Their use of the title Rabbi was a mark of honor and respect, to which Jesus did not demur. His courteous reply to their question assured
them that their presence was no unwelcome intrusion. "Come and see," said He. The two young men accompanied Him, and remained with Him to learn more.
Andrew, filled with wonder and joy over the interview so graciously accorded, and thrilled with the spirit of testimony that had been enkindled within his soul, hastened
to seek his brother Simon, to whom he said: "We have found the Messias." He brought Simon to see and hear for himself; and Jesus, looking upon Andrew's brother,
called him by name and added an appellation of distinction by which he was destined to be known throughout all later history: "Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou
shalt be called Cephas." The new name thus bestowed is the Aramaic or Syro-Chaldaic equivalent of the Greek "Petros," and of the present English "Peter," meaning "a
stone."

On the following day Jesus set out for Galilee, possibly accompanied by some or all of his newly-made disciples; and on the way He found a man named Philip, in
whom He recognized another choice son of Israel. Unto Philip He said: "Follow me." It was customary with rabbis and other teachers of that time to strive for
popularity that many might be drawn to them to sit at their feet and be known as their disciples. Jesus, however, selected His own immediate associates; and, as He
found them and discerned in them the spirits who, in their preexistent state had been chosen for the earthly mission of the apostleship, He summoned them. They were
the servants; He was the Master.

Philip soon found his friend Nathanael, to whom he testified that He of whom Moses and the prophets had written had at last been found; and that He was none other
than Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael, as his later history demonstrates, was a righteous man, earnest in his hope and expectation of the Messiah, yet seemingly imbued
with the belief common throughout Jewry-that the Christ was to come in royal state as seemed befitting the Son of David. The mention of such a One coming from
Nazareth, the reputed son of a humble carpenter, provoked wonder if not incredulity in the guileless mind of Nathanael, and he exclaimed: "Can there any good thing
come out of Nazareth?" Philip's answer was a repetition of Christ's words to Andrew and John-"Come and see." Nathanael left his seat under the fig tree, where
Philip had found him, and went to see for himself. As he approached, Jesus said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Nathanael saw that Jesus could read
his mind, and asked in surprise: "Whence knowest thou me?" In reply Jesus showed even greater powers of penetration and perception under conditions that made
ordinary observation unlikely if not impossible: "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." Nathanael replied with conviction: "Rabbi,
thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Earnest as the man's testimony was, it rested mainly on his recognition of what he took to be a supernatural power
in Jesus; our Lord assured him that he should see yet greater things: "And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

"The Son of Man"

In the promise and prediction made by Christ to Nathanael, we find the significant title-The Son of Man-appearing for the first time, chronologically speaking, in the
New Testament. It recurs, however, about forty times, excluding repetitions in parallel accounts in the several Gospels. In each of these passages it is used by the
Savior distinctively to designate Himself. In three other instances the title appears in the New Testament, outside the Gospels; and in each case it is applied to the Christ
with specific reference to His exalted attributes as Lord and God.

In the Old Testament, the phrase "son of man" occurs in ordinary usage, denoting any human son; and it appears over ninety times as an appellation by which
Jehovah addressed Ezekiel, though it is never applied by the prophet to himself. The context of the passages in which Ezekiel is addressed as "son of man" indicates
the divine intention of emphasizing the human status of the prophet as contrasted with the divinity of Jehovah.

The title is used in connection with the record of Daniel's vision, in which was revealed the consummation, yet future, when Adam-the Ancient of Days-shall sit to
judge his posterity; on which great occasion, the Son of Man is to appear and receive a dominion that shall be everlasting, transcendently superior to that of the
Ancient of Days, and embracing every people and nation, all of whom shall serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man.

In applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses the definite article. "The Son of Man" was and is, specifically and exclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a
matter of solemn certainty He was the only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortal man, He used the title in a way to conclusively
demonstrate that it was peculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expression is fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in common
usage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many to indicate our Lord's humble station as a mortal, and to connote that He stood as the type of
humanity, holding a particular and unique relationship to the entire human family. There is, however, a more profound significance attaching to the Lord's use of the title
"The Son of Man"; and this lies in the fact that He knew His Father to be the one and only supremely exalted Man, whose Son Jesus was both in spirit and in body-
the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh-and therefore, in a sense applicable to Himself alone, He was and is the Son of
the "Man of Holiness," Elohim, the Eternal Father. In His distinctive titles of Sonship, Jesus expressed His spiritual and bodily descent from, and His filial submission
to, that exalted Father.

As revealed to Enoch the Seer, "Man of Holiness" is one of the names by which God the Eternal Father is known; "and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of
Man, even Jesus Christ." We learn further that the Father of Jesus Christ thus proclaimed Himself to Enoch: "Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of
Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also." "The Son of Man" is in great measure synonymous with "The Son of God," as a title denoting
divinity, glory, and exaltation; for the "Man of Holiness," whose Son Jesus Christ reverently acknowledges Himself to be, is God the Eternal Father.

The Miracle At Cana in Galilee

Soon after the arrival of Jesus in Galilee we find Him and His little company of disciples at a marriage party in Cana, a neighboring town to Nazareth. The mother of
Jesus was at the feast, and for some reason not explained in John's narrative, she manifested concern and personal responsibility in the matter of providing for the
guests. Evidently her position was different from that of one present by ordinary invitation. Whether this circumstance indicates the marriage to have been that of one of
her own immediate family, or some more distant relative, we are not informed.

It was customary to provide at wedding feasts a sufficiency of wine, the pure though weak product of the local vineyards, which was the ordinary table beverage of the
time. On this occasion the supply of wine was exhausted, and Mary told Jesus of the deficiency. Said He: "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet
come."  The(c)
 Copyright   noun  of address,Infobase
                 2005-2009,    "Woman,"    as applied
                                        Media   Corp.by a son to his mother may sound to our ears somewhat harsh, if not disrespectful; but its use was really an
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expression of opposite import. To every son the mother ought to be preeminently the woman of women; she is the one woman in the world to whom the son owes
his earthly existence; and though the title "Mother" belongs to every woman who has earned the honors of maternity, yet to no child is there more than one woman
whom by natural right he can address by that title of respectful acknowledgment. When, in the last dread scenes of His mortal experience, Christ hung in dying agony
her own immediate family, or some more distant relative, we are not informed.

It was customary to provide at wedding feasts a sufficiency of wine, the pure though weak product of the local vineyards, which was the ordinary table beverage of the
time. On this occasion the supply of wine was exhausted, and Mary told Jesus of the deficiency. Said He: "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet
come." The noun of address, "Woman," as applied by a son to his mother may sound to our ears somewhat harsh, if not disrespectful; but its use was really an
expression of opposite import. To every son the mother ought to be preeminently the woman of women; she is the one woman in the world to whom the son owes
his earthly existence; and though the title "Mother" belongs to every woman who has earned the honors of maternity, yet to no child is there more than one woman
whom by natural right he can address by that title of respectful acknowledgment. When, in the last dread scenes of His mortal experience, Christ hung in dying agony
upon the cross, He looked down upon the weeping Mary, His mother, and commended her to the care of the beloved apostle John, with the words: "Woman, behold
thy son!" Can it be thought that in this supreme moment, our Lord's concern for the mother from whom He was about to be separated by death was associated with
any emotion other than that of honor, tenderness and love?

Nevertheless, His words to Mary at the marriage feast may have conveyed a gentle reminder of her position as the mother of a Being superior to herself; even as on
that earlier occasion when she had found her Boy, Jesus, in the temple, He had brought home to her the fact that her jurisdiction over Him was not supreme. The
manner in which she told Him of the insufficiency of wine probably suggested an intimation that He use His more than human power, and by such means supply the
need. It was not her function to direct or even to suggest the exercise of the power inherent in Him as the Son of God; such had not been inherited from her. "What
have I to do with thee?" He asked; and added: "Mine hour is not yet come." Here we find no disclaimer of the ability to do what she apparently wanted Him to do, but
the plain implication that He would act only when the time was right for the purpose, and that He, not she, must decide when that time had come. She understood His
meaning, in part at least, and contented herself by instructing the servants to do whatsoever He directed. Here again is evidence of her position of responsibility and
domestic authority at the social gathering.

The time for His intervention soon arrived. There stood within the place six water pots; these He directed the servants to fill with water. Then, without audible
command or formula of invocation, as best we know, He caused to be effected a transmutation within the pots, and when the servants drew therefrom, it was wine, not
water that issued. At a Jewish social gathering, such as was this wedding festival, some one, usually a relative of the host or hostess, or some other one worthy of the
honor, was made governor of the feast, or, as we say in this day, chairman, or master of ceremonies. To this functionary the new wine was first served; and he, calling
the bridegroom, who was the real host, asked him why he had reserved his choice wine till the last, when the usual custom was to serve the best at the beginning, and
the more ordinary later. The immediate result of this, the first recorded of our Lord's miracles, is thus tersely stated by the inspired evangelist: "This beginning of miracles
did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him."

The circumstances incident to the miraculous act are instructive to contemplate. The presence of Jesus at the marriage, and His contribution to the successful conduct of
the feast, set the seal of His approval upon the matrimonial relationship and upon the propriety of social entertainment. He was neither a recluse nor an ascetic; He
moved among men, eating and drinking, as a natural, normal Being. On the occasion of the feast He recognized and heeded the demands of the liberal hospitality of
the times, and provided accordingly. He, who but a few days before had revolted at the tempter's suggestion that He provide bread for His impoverished body, now
used His power to supply a luxury for others. One effect of the miracle was to confirm the trust of those whose belief in Him as the Messiah was yet young and untried.
"His disciples believed on him"; surely they had believed in some measure before, otherwise they would not have followed Him; but their belief was now strengthened
and made to approach, if indeed it did not attain, the condition of abiding faith in their Lord. The comparative privacy attending the manifestation is impressive; the
moral and spiritual effect was for the few, the inauguration of the Lord's ministry was not to be marked by public display.

Miracles in General

The act of transmutation whereby water became wine was plainly a miracle, a phenomenon not susceptible of explanation, far less of demonstration, by what we
consider the ordinary operation of natural law. This was the beginning of His miracles, or as expressed in the revised version of the New Testament, "his signs." In many
scriptures miracles are called signs, as also wonders, powers, works, wonderful works, mighty works, etc. The spiritual effect of miracles would be unattained were
the witnesses not caused to inwardly wonder, marvel, ponder and inquire; mere surprise or amazement may be produced by deception and artful trickery. Any
miraculous manifestation of divine power would be futile as a means of spiritual effect were it unimpressive. Moreover, every miracle is a sign of God's power; and
signs in this sense have been demanded of prophets who professed to speak by divine authority, though such signs have not been given in all cases. The Baptist was
credited with no miracle, though he was pronounced by the Christ as more than a prophet; and the chronicles of some earlier prophets are devoid of all mention of
miracles. On the other hand, Moses, when commissioned to deliver Israel from Egypt, was made to understand that the Egyptians would look for the testimony of
miracles, and he was abundantly empowered therefor.

Miracles cannot be in contravention of natural law, but are wrought through the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized. Gravitation is everywhere
operative, but the local and special application of other agencies may appear to nullify it-as by muscular effort or mechanical impulse a stone is lifted from the ground,
poised aloft, or sent hurtling through space. At every stage of the process, however, gravity is in full play, though its effect is modified by that of other and locally
superior energy. The human sense of the miraculous wanes as comprehension of the operative process increases. Achievements made possible by modern invention of
telegraph and telephone with or without wires, the transmutation of mechanical power into electricity with its manifold present applications and yet future possibilities,
the development of the gasoline motor, the present accomplishments in aerial navigation-these are no longer miracles in man's estimation, because they are all in some
degree understood, are controlled by human agency, and, moreover, are continuous in their operation and not phenomenal. We arbitrarily classify as miracles only such
phenomena as are unusual, special, transitory, and wrought by an agency beyond the power of man's control.

In a broader sense, all nature is miracle. Man has learned that by planting the seed of the grape in suitable soil, and by due cultivation, he may conduce to the growth of
what shall be a mature and fruitful vine; but is there no miracle, even in the sense of inscrutable processes, in that development? Is there less of real miracle in the so-
called natural course of plant development-the growth of root, stem, leaves, and fruit, with the final elaboration of the rich nectar of the vine-than there was in what
appears supernatural in the transmutation of water into wine at Cana?

In the contemplation of the miracles wrought by Christ, we must of necessity recognize the operation of a power transcending our present human understanding. In this
field, science has not yet advanced far enough to analyze and explain. To deny the actuality of miracles on the ground that, because we cannot comprehend the means,
the reported results are fictitious, is to arrogate to the human mind the attribute of omniscience, by implying that what man cannot comprehend cannot be, and that
therefore he is able to comprehend all that is. The miracles of record in the Gospels are as fully supported by evidence as are many of the historical events which call
forth neither protest nor demand for further proof. To the believer in the divinity of Christ, the miracles are sufficiently attested; to the unbeliever they appear but as
myths and fables.

To comprehend the works of Christ, one must know Him as the Son of God; to the man who has not yet learned to know, to the honest soul who would inquire after
the Lord, the invitation is ready; let him "Come and see."


NOTES TO CHAPTER 11
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1. Misunderstanding of Malachi's Prediction.-In the closing chapter of the compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi        thus/ 128
describes a condition incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of Christ: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
NOTES TO CHAPTER 11

1. Misunderstanding of Malachi's Prediction.-In the closing chapter of the compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi thus
describes a condition incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of Christ: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." The fateful prophecy concludes with the following blessed and
far-reaching promise: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." ( Mal. 4:1, 2, 5, 6.) It has been held by theologians and Bible
commentators that this prediction had reference to the birth and ministry of John the Baptist (compare Matt. 11:14; 17:11; Mark 9:11; Luke 1:17), upon whom rested
the spirit and power of Elias (Luke 1:17). However, we have no record of Elijah having ministered unto the Baptist, and furthermore, the latter's ministry, glorious
though it was, justifies no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its full realization. In addition, it should be remembered, that the Lord's declaration through
Malachi, relative to the day of burning in which the wicked would be destroyed as stubble, yet awaits fulfillment. It is evident, therefore, that the commonly accepted
interpretation is at fault, and that we must look to a later date than the time of John for the fulfillment of Malachi's prediction. The later occasion has come; it belongs to
the present dispensation, and marks the inauguration of a work specially reserved for the Church in these latter days. In the course of a glorious manifestation to Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, April 3d, 1836, there appeared unto them Elijah, the prophet of old, who had been taken from earth while
still in the body. He declared unto them: "Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before
the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.
Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the
doors." (D&C 110:13-16.) See also The House of the Lord, pp. 82-83.

2. The Sign of the Dove.-"John the Baptist . . . had the privilege of beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the sign of the dove, in witness
of that administration. The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a
dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost
cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence."-
From Sermon by Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 5, pp. 260-61.

3. The Testimony of John the Baptist.-Observe that the Baptist's testimony to the divinity of Christ's mission is recorded as having been given after the period of our
Lord's forty-day fast and temptations, and therefore approximately six weeks subsequent to the baptism of Jesus. To the deputation of priests and Levites of the
Pharisaic party, who visited him by direction of the rulers, probably by appointment from the Sanhedrin, John, after disavowing that he was the Christ or any one of the
prophets specified in the inquiry, said: "There standeth one among you whom ye know not; he it is who coming after me is preferred before me." On the next day, and
again on the day following that, he bore public testimony to Jesus as the Lamb of God; and on the third day after the visit of the priests and Levites to John, Jesus
started on the journey to Galilee (John 1:19-43).

John's use of the designation "Lamb of God" implied his conception of the Messiah as One appointed for sacrifice, and his use of the term is the earliest mention found
in the Bible. For later Biblical applications, direct or implied, see Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 17; etc.

4. "Come and See."-The spirit of our Lord's invitation to the young truth seekers, Andrew and John, is manifest in a similar privilege extended to all. The man who
would know Christ must come to Him, to see and hear, to feel and know. Missionaries may carry the good tidings, the message of the gospel, but the response must be
an individual one. Are you in doubt as to what that message means today? Then come and see for yourself. Would you know where Christ is to be found? Come and
see.

5. The Eternal Father a Resurrected, Exalted Being.-"As the Father hath power in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his life and take it again, so he
has a body of his own. The Son doeth what he hath seen the Father do: then the Father hath some day laid down his life and taken it again; so he has a body of his
own; each one will be in his own body."-Joseph Smith; see History of the Church, vol. 5, p. 426.

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil was rent to-day, and the Great
God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,-I say, if you were to see him to-day, you
would see him like a man in form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and likeness of
God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another."-Joseph Smith; see Compendium, p.
190.

6. Waterpots for Ceremonial Cleansing.-In the house at Cana there stood in a place specially reserved, six waterpots of stone "after the manner of the purifying of the
Jews." Vessels of water were provided, as a matter of prescribed order in Jewish homes, to facilitate the ceremonial washings enjoined by the law. From these pots or
jars the water was drawn off as required; they were reservoirs holding the supply, not vessels used in the actual ablution.

7. "The Attitude of Science Towards Miracles" is the subject of a valuable article by Prof. H. L. Orchard, published in Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria
Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, 1910, vol. 42, pp. 81-122. This article was the Gunning Prize Essay for 1909. After a lengthy analytical treatment of
his subject, the author presents the following summation, which was concurred in by those who took part in the ensuing discussions: "We here complete our scientific
investigation of Bible Miracles. It has embraced (1) the nature of the phenomenon; (2) the conditions under which it is alleged to have occurred; (3) the character of the
testimony to its occurrence. To the inquiry-Were the Bible miracles probable? science answers in the affirmative. To the further inquiry-Did they actually occur? the
answer of science is again, and very emphatically, in the affirmative. If we liken them to gold, she has made her assay and says the gold is pure. Or the Bible miracles
may be compared to a string of pearls. If science seeks to know whether the pearls are genuine, she may apply chemical and other tests to the examination of their
character; she may search into the conditions and circumstances in which the alleged pearls were found. Were they first found in an oyster, or in some manufacturing
laboratory? And she may investigate the testimony of experts. Should the result of any one of these examinations affirm the genuineness of the pearls, science will be
slow to believe that they are 'paste'; if all the results declare their genuineness, science will not hesitate to say that they are true pearls. This, as we have seen, is the case
of the Bible miracles. Science, therefore, affirms their actual occurrence."

8. The Testimony of Miracles.-The Savior's promise in a former day (Mark 16:17-18), as in the present dispensation (D&C 84:65-73), is definite, to the effect that
specified gifts of the Spirit are to follow the believer as signs of divine favor. The possession and exercise of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features of
the Church of Christ. Nevertheless we are not justified in regarding the evidence of miracles as infallible testimony of authority from heaven; on the other hand, the
scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritual powers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so to do, to the deceiving of many who lack
discernment. If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the
ordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as has Moses (Ex. 7:11). John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power working
miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing great wonders, even bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:11-18). Again he saw three unclean spirits, whom he knew to be
'the spirits of devils working miracles' (Rev. 16:13-14). Consider, in connection with this, the prediction made by the Savior:-'There shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets,
  Copyright and
              (c)shall show great
                  2005-2009,      signs and
                               Infobase      wonders,
                                          Media  Corp.insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect' (Matt. 24:24). The invalidity of miracles
                                                                                                                                                           Page    92as/ a128
proof of righteousness is indicated in an utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the great judgment:-'Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you;
depart from me, ye that work iniquity' (Matt. 7:22-23). The Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonders could be wrought by evil powers; for
discernment. If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the
ordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as has Moses (Ex. 7:11). John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power working
miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing great wonders, even bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:11-18). Again he saw three unclean spirits, whom he knew to be
'the spirits of devils working miracles' (Rev. 16:13-14). Consider, in connection with this, the prediction made by the Savior:-'There shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect' (Matt. 24:24). The invalidity of miracles as a
proof of righteousness is indicated in an utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the great judgment:-'Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you;
depart from me, ye that work iniquity' (Matt. 7:22-23). The Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonders could be wrought by evil powers; for
they charged Christ with working miracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils (Matt. 12:22-30; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15).-From The Articles of Faith,
pp. 230-31.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 3:4.

  2. John 1:21; compare Mal. 4:5.

Note 1. Misunderstanding of Malachi's Prediction.-In the closing chapter of the compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi thus
describes a condition incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of Christ: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." The fateful prophecy concludes with the following blessed and
far-reaching promise: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." ( Mal. 4:1, 2, 5, 6.) It has been held by theologians and Bible
commentators that this prediction had reference to the birth and ministry of John the Baptist (compare Matt. 11:14; 17:11; Mark 9:11; Luke 1:17), upon whom rested
the spirit and power of Elias (Luke 1:17). However, we have no record of Elijah having ministered unto the Baptist, and furthermore, the latter's ministry, glorious
though it was, justifies no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its full realization. In addition, it should be remembered, that the Lord's declaration through
Malachi, relative to the day of burning in which the wicked would be destroyed as stubble, yet awaits fulfillment. It is evident, therefore, that the commonly accepted
interpretation is at fault, and that we must look to a later date than the time of John for the fulfillment of Malachi's prediction. The later occasion has come; it belongs to
the present dispensation, and marks the inauguration of a work specially reserved for the Church in these latter days. In the course of a glorious manifestation to Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, April 3d, 1836, there appeared unto them Elijah, the prophet of old, who had been taken from earth while
still in the body. He declared unto them: "Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before
the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.
Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the
doors." (D&C 110:13-16.) See also The House of the Lord, pp. 82-83.

  3. Deut. 18:15, 18.

  4. John 1:22, 23; compare Isa. 40:3.

  5. John 1:25-27.

  6. John 1:29-31.

  7. John 1:32, 34; also verses 35, 36.

Note 2. The Sign of the Dove.-"John the Baptist . . . had the privilege of beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the sign of the dove, in
witness of that administration. The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign
of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost
cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence."-
From Sermon by Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 5, pp. 260-61.

   8. Note 3. The Testimony of John the Baptist.-Observe that the Baptist's testimony to the divinity of Christ's mission is recorded as having been given after the
period of our Lord's forty-day fast and temptations, and therefore approximately six weeks subsequent to the baptism of Jesus. To the deputation of priests and Levites
of the Pharisaic party, who visited him by direction of the rulers, probably by appointment from the Sanhedrin, John, after disavowing that he was the Christ or any one
of the prophets specified in the inquiry, said: "There standeth one among you whom ye know not; he it is who coming after me is preferred before me." On the next day,
and again on the day following that, he bore public testimony to Jesus as the Lamb of God; and on the third day after the visit of the priests and Levites to John, Jesus
started on the journey to Galilee (John 1:19-43).

9. John 1:35-51.

   10. Note 4. "Come and See."-The spirit of our Lord's invitation to the young truth seekers, Andrew and John, is manifest in a similar privilege extended to all. The
man who would know Christ must come to Him, to see and hear, to feel and know. Missionaries may carry the good tidings, the message of the gospel, but the
response must be an individual one. Are you in doubt as to what that message means today? Then come and see for yourself. Would you know where Christ is to be
found? Come and see.

  11. The name thus given was afterward confirmed, with accompaniments of promise; Matt. 16:18.

  12. To the apostles the Lord said on a subsequent occasion: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16; see also 6:70).

  13. A favorite situation for rest, meditation, and study; 1 Kgs. 4:25; Micah 4:4.

  14. Acts 7:56; Rev. 1:13; Rev.14:14.

  15. Job 25:6; Ps. 144:3; Ps. 146:3; see also 8:4 and compare Heb. 2:6-9.

  16. Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; Ezek. 3:1, 3, 4; 4:1; etc.
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  17. Dan. 7:13.

  18. D&C 27:11; D&C 78:15, 16; 107:54-57; 116.
  15. Job 25:6; Ps. 144:3; Ps. 146:3; see also 8:4 and compare Heb. 2:6-9.

  16. Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; Ezek. 3:1, 3, 4; 4:1; etc.

  17. Dan. 7:13.

  18. D&C 27:11; D&C 78:15, 16; 107:54-57; 116.

  19. D&C 49:6; D&C 58:65; 65:5; 122:8. Observe that in modern revelation the title is used only as applying to the Christ in His resurrected and glorified state.

  20. Note 5. The Eternal Father a Resurrected, Exalted Being.-"As the Father hath power in himself, so hath the Son power in himself, to lay down his life and take it
again, so he has a body of his own. The Son doeth what he hath seen the Father do: then the Father hath some day laid down his life and taken it again; so he has a
body of his own; each one will be in his own body."-Joseph Smith; see History of the Church, vol. 5, p. 426.

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil was rent to-day, and the Great
God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,-I say, if you were to see him to-day, you
would see him like a man in form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image, and likeness of
God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another."-Joseph Smith; see Compendium, p.
190.

  21. Page 35.

  22. Moses 6:57; Moses 7:35; see also 7:24, 47, 54, 59, 65. Observe that Satan addressed Moses as "son of man" in a blasphemous attempt to coerce Moses into
worshiping him by emphasizing the mortal weakness and inferiority of the man in contrast with his own false pretension of godship. ( Moses 1:12.)

  23. John 2:1-11.

  24. "The address 'Woman' was so respectful that it might be, and was, addressed to the queenliest." - (Farrar, The Life of Christ, p. 134.)

  25. John 19:26.

  26. On a few occasions Jesus used the address "Woman" in a general way: Matt. 15:28; Luke 13:12; John 4:21; John 8:10; etc.

  27. Note 6. Waterpots for Ceremonial Cleansing.-In the house at Cana there stood in a place specially reserved, six waterpots of stone "after the manner of the
purifying of the Jews." Vessels of water were provided, as a matter of prescribed order in Jewish homes, to facilitate the ceremonial washings enjoined by the law.
From these pots or jars the water was drawn off as required; they were reservoirs holding the supply, not vessels used in the actual ablution.

  28. John 2:11.

  29. The absence of all false austerity and outward show of abnormal abstinence in His life furnished an imagined excuse for unfounded charges of excess, through
which He was said to be a glutton and a winebibber. (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34.)

  30. Matt. 7:22; Matt. 11:20; 12:38; 16:1; 24:24; Mark 6:14; Luke 10:13; John 2:18; John 7:21; 10:25; 14:11; Acts 6:8; Acts 8:6; 14:3; 19:11; Rom. 15:19; Rev.
13:13; etc.

  31. John 10:41; Matt. 11:9.

  32. For example Zechariah and Malachi.

  33. Ex. 3:20; Ex. 4:1-9.

Note 8. The Testimony of Miracles.-The Savior's promise in a former day (Mark 16:17-18), as in the present dispensation (D&C 84:65-73), is definite, to the effect
that specified gifts of the Spirit are to follow the believer as signs of divine favor. The possession and exercise of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features
of the Church of Christ. Nevertheless we are not justified in regarding the evidence of miracles as infallible testimony of authority from heaven; on the other hand, the
scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritual powers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so to do, to the deceiving of many who lack
discernment. If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the
ordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as has Moses (Ex. 7:11). John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power working
miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing great wonders, even bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:11-18). Again he saw three unclean spirits, whom he knew to be
'the spirits of devils working miracles' (Rev. 16:13-14). Consider, in connection with this, the prediction made by the Savior:-'There shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect' (Matt. 24:24). The invalidity of miracles as a
proof of righteousness is indicated in an utterance of Jesus Christ regarding the events of the great judgment:-'Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you;
depart from me, ye that work iniquity' (Matt. 7:22-23). The Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonders could be wrought by evil powers; for
they charged Christ with working miracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils (Matt. 12:22-30; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15).-From The Articles of Faith,
pp. 230-31.

   34. Note 7. "The Attitude of Science Towards Miracles" is the subject of a valuable article by Prof. H. L. Orchard, published in Journal of the Transactions of the
Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, 1910, vol. 42, pp. 81-122. This article was the Gunning Prize Essay for 1909. After a lengthy analytical
treatment of his subject, the author presents the following summation, which was concurred in by those who took part in the ensuing discussions: "We here complete
our scientific investigation of Bible Miracles. It has embraced (1) the nature of the phenomenon; (2) the conditions under which it is alleged to have occurred; (3) the
character of the testimony to its occurrence. To the inquiry-Were the Bible miracles probable? science answers in the affirmative. To the further inquiry-Did they
actually occur? the answer of science is again, and very emphatically, in the affirmative. If we liken them to gold, she has made her assay and says the gold is pure. Or
the Bible miracles may be compared to a string of pearls. If science seeks to know whether the pearls are genuine, she may apply chemical and other tests to the
examination of their character; she may search into the conditions and circumstances in which the alleged pearls were found. Were they first found in an oyster, or in
some manufacturing laboratory? And she may investigate the testimony of experts. Should the result of any one of these examinations affirm the genuineness of the
pearls, science will be slow to believe that they are 'paste'; if all the results declare their genuineness, science will not hesitate to say that they are true pearls. This, as we
 Copyright
have seen, is(c)
               the2005-2009,   Infobase
                   case of the Bible     MediaScience,
                                     miracles.  Corp. therefore, affirms their actual occurrence."                                                             Page 94 / 128
CHAPTER 12
the Bible miracles may be compared to a string of pearls. If science seeks to know whether the pearls are genuine, she may apply chemical and other tests to the
examination of their character; she may search into the conditions and circumstances in which the alleged pearls were found. Were they first found in an oyster, or in
some manufacturing laboratory? And she may investigate the testimony of experts. Should the result of any one of these examinations affirm the genuineness of the
pearls, science will be slow to believe that they are 'paste'; if all the results declare their genuineness, science will not hesitate to say that they are true pearls. This, as we
have seen, is the case of the Bible miracles. Science, therefore, affirms their actual occurrence."

CHAPTER 12

Early Incidents in Our Lord's Public Ministry

First Clearing of the Temple

Soon after the marriage festivities in Cana, Jesus, accompanied by His disciples, as also by His mother and other members of the family, went to Capernaum, a town
pleasantly situated near the northerly end of the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret and the scene of many of our Lord's miraculous works; indeed it came to be
known as His own city. Because of the unbelief of its people it became a subject of lamentation to Jesus when in sorrow He prefigured the judgment that would
befall the place. The exact site of the city is at present unknown. On this occasion Jesus tarried but a few days at Capernaum; for the time of the annual Passover
was near, and in compliance with Jewish law and custom He went up to Jerusalem.

The synoptic Gospels, which are primarily devoted to the labors of Christ in Galilee, contain no mention of His attendance at the paschal festival between His twelfth
year and the time of His death; to John alone are we indebted for the record of this visit at the beginning of Christ's public ministry. It is not improbable that Jesus had
been present at other Passovers during the eighteen years over which the evangelists pass in complete and reverent silence; but at any or all such earlier visits, He, not
being thirty years old, could not have assumed the right or privilege of a teacher without contravening established customs. It is worth our attention to note that on
this, the first recorded appearance of Jesus in the temple subsequent to His visit as a Boy, He should resume His "Father's business" where He had before been
engaged. It was in His Father's service that He had been found in discussion with the doctors of the law, and in His Father's cause He was impelled to action on this
later occasion.

The multitudinous and mixed attendance at the Passover celebration has already received passing mention; some of the unseemly customs that prevailed are to be
held in mind. The law of Moses had been supplemented by a cumulative array of rules, and the rigidly enforced requirements as to sacrifices and tribute had given rise
to a system of sale and barter within the sacred precincts of the House of the Lord. In the outer courts were stalls of oxen, pens of sheep, cages of doves and pigeons;
and the ceremonial fitness of these sacrificial victims was cried aloud by the sellers, and charged for in full measure. It was the custom also to pay the yearly poll tribute
of the sanctuary at this season-the ransom offering required of every male in Israel, and amounting to half a shekel for each, irrespective of his relative poverty or
wealth. This was to be paid "after the shekel of the sanctuary," which limitation, as rabbis had ruled, meant payment in temple coin. Ordinary money, varieties of which
bore effigies and inscriptions of heathen import, was not acceptable, and as a result, moneychangers plied a thriving trade on the temple grounds.

Righteously indignant at what He beheld, zealous for the sanctity of His Father's House, Jesus essayed to clear the place; and, pausing not for argument in words, He
promptly applied physical force almost approaching violence-the one form of figurative language that those corrupt barterers for pelf could best understand. Hastily
improvising a whip of small cords, He laid about Him on every side, liberating and driving out sheep, oxen, and human traffickers, upsetting the tables of the exchangers
and pouring out their heterogeneous accumulations of coin. With tender regard for the imprisoned and helpless birds He refrained from assaulting their cages; but to
their owners He said: "Take these things hence"; and to all the greedy traders He thundered forth a command that made them quail: "Make not my Father's house an
house of merchandise." His disciples saw in the incident a realization of the psalmist's line: "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."

The Jews, by which term we mean the priestly officials and rulers of the people, dared not protest this vigorous action on the ground of unrighteousness; they, learned in
the law, stood self-convicted of corruption, avarice, and of personal responsibility for the temple's defilement. That the sacred premises were in sore need of a cleansing
they all knew; the one point upon which they dared to question the Cleanser was as to why He should thus take to Himself the doing of what was their duty. They
practically submitted to His sweeping intervention, as that of one whose possible investiture of authority they might be yet compelled to acknowledge. Their tentative
submission was based on fear, and that in turn upon their sin-convicted consciences. Christ prevailed over those haggling Jews by virtue of the eternal principle that
right is mightier than wrong, and of the psychological fact that consciousness of guilt robs the culprit of valor when the imminence of just retribution is apparent to his
soul. Yet, fearful lest He should prove to be a prophet with power, such as no living priest or rabbi even professed to be, they timidly asked for credentials of His
authority-"What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" Curtly, and with scant respect for this demand, so common to wicked and adulterous
men Jesus replied: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."

Blinded by their own craft, unwilling to acknowledge the Lord's authority, yet fearful of the possibility that they were opposing one who had the right to act, the
perturbed officials found in the words of Jesus reference to the imposing temple of masonry within whose walls they stood. They took courage; this strange Galilean,
who openly flouted their authority, spoke irreverently of their temple, the visible expression of the profession they so proudly flaunted in words-that they were children
of the covenant, worshipers of the true and living God, and hence superior to all heathen and pagan peoples. With seeming indignation they rejoined: "Forty and six
years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?" Though frustrated in their desire to arouse popular indignation against Jesus at this time, the
Jews refused to forget or forgive His words. When afterward He stood an undefended prisoner, undergoing an illegal pretense of trial before a sin-impeached court, the
blackest perjury uttered against Him was that of the false witnesses who testified: "We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three
days I will build another made without hands." And while He hung in mortal suffering, the scoffers who passed by the cross wagged their heads and taunted the dying
Christ with "Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross." Yet His words to the Jews who had
demanded the credentials of a sign had no reference to the colossal Temple of Herod, but to the sanctuary of His own body, in which, more literally than in the man-
built Holy of Holies, dwelt the ever living Spirit of the Eternal God. "The Father is in me" was His doctrine.

"He spake of the temple of His body," the real tabernacle of the Most High. This reference to the destruction of the temple of His body, and the renewal thereof after
three days, is His first recorded prediction relating to His appointed death and resurrection. Even the disciples did not comprehend the profound meaning of His words
until after His resurrection from the dead; then they remembered and understood. The priestly Jews were not as dense as they appeared to be, for we find them coming
to Pilate while the body of the crucified Christ lay in the tomb, saying: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise
again." Though we have many records of Christ having said that He would die and on the third day would rise again, the plainest of such declarations were made to
the apostles rather than openly to the public. The Jews who waited upon Pilate almost certainly had in mind the utterance of Jesus when they had stood, nonplussed
before Him, at the clearing of the temple courts.

Such an accomplishment as that of defying priestly usage and clearing the temple purlieus by force could not fail to impress, with varied effect, the people in attendance
at the feast; and they, returning to their homes in distant and widely separated provinces, would spread the fame of the courageous Galilean Prophet. Many in Jerusalem
believed on Him at the time, mainly because they were attracted by the miracles He wrought; but He refused to "commit himself unto them," realizing the insecure
foundation of their professions. Popular adulation was foreign to His purpose; He wanted no motley following, but would gather around Him such as received the
testimony of His Messiahship from the Father. "He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."
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The incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is a contradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentle and unassertive in demeanor as to
appear unmanly. Gentle He was, and patient under affliction, merciful and long-suffering in dealing with contrite sinners, yet stern and inflexible in the presence of
at the feast; and they, returning to their homes in distant and widely separated provinces, would spread the fame of the courageous Galilean Prophet. Many in Jerusalem
believed on Him at the time, mainly because they were attracted by the miracles He wrought; but He refused to "commit himself unto them," realizing the insecure
foundation of their professions. Popular adulation was foreign to His purpose; He wanted no motley following, but would gather around Him such as received the
testimony of His Messiahship from the Father. "He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."

The incident of Christ's forcible clearing of the temple is a contradiction of the traditional conception of Him as of One so gentle and unassertive in demeanor as to
appear unmanly. Gentle He was, and patient under affliction, merciful and long-suffering in dealing with contrite sinners, yet stern and inflexible in the presence of
hypocrisy, and unsparing in His denunciation of persistent evil-doers. His mood was adapted to the conditions to which He addressed Himself; tender words of
encouragement or burning expletives of righteous indignation issued with equal fluency from His lips. His nature was no poetic conception of cherubic sweetness ever
present, but that of a Man, with the emotions and passions essential to manhood and manliness. He, who often wept with compassion, at other times evinced in word
and action the righteous anger of a God. But of all His passions, however gently they rippled or strongly surged, He was ever master. Contrast the gentle Jesus moved
to hospitable service by the needs of a festal party in Cana, with the indignant Christ plying His whip, and amidst commotion and turmoil of His own making, driving
cattle and men before Him as an unclean herd.

Jesus and Nicodemus

That the wonderful deeds wrought by Christ at and about the time of this memorable Passover had led some of the learned, in addition to many of the common people,
to believe in Him, is evidenced by the fact that Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee in profession and who occupied a high place as one of the rulers of the Jews, came to
Him on an errand of inquiry. There is significance in the circumstance that this visit was made at night. Apparently the man was impelled by a genuine desire to learn
more of the Galilean, whose works could not be ignored; though pride of office and fear of possible suspicion that he had become attached to the new Prophet led him
to veil his undertaking with privacy. Addressing Jesus by the title he himself bore, and which he regarded as one of honor and respect, he said: "Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Whether his use of the plural pronoun "we" indicates
that he was sent by the Sanhedrin, or by the society of Pharisees-the members of which were accustomed to so speak, as representatives of the order-or was
employed in the rhetorical sense as indicating himself alone, is of little importance. He acknowledged Jesus as a "teacher come from God," and gave reasons for so
regarding Him. Whatever of feeble faith might have been stirring in the heart of the man, such was founded on the evidence of miracles, supported mainly by the
psychological effect of signs and wonders. We must accord him credit for sincerity and honesty of purpose.

Without waiting for specific questions, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." Nicodemus appears to have been puzzled; he asked how such a rejuvenation was possible. "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born?" We do Nicodemus no injustice in assuming that he as a rabbi, a man learned in the scriptures, ought to have known that
there was other meaning in the words of Jesus than that of a mortal, literal birth. Moreover, were it possible that a man could be born a second time literally and in the
flesh, how could such a birth profit him in spiritual growth? It would be but a reentrance on the stage of physical existence, not an advancement. The man knew that the
figure of a new birth was common in the teachings of his day. Every proselyte to Judaism was spoken of at the time of his conversion as one new-born.

The surprise manifested by Nicodemus was probably due, in part at least, to the universality of the requirement as announced by Christ. Were the children of Abraham
included? The traditionalism of centuries was opposed to any such view. Pagans had to be born again through a formal acceptance of Judaism, if they would become
even small sharers of the blessings that belonged as a heritage to the house of Israel; but Jesus seemed to treat all alike, Jews and Gentiles, heathen idolaters and the
people who with their lips at least called Jehovah, God.

Jesus repeated the declaration, and with precision, emphasizing by the impressive "Verily, verily," the greatest lesson that had ever saluted the ears of this ruler in Israel:
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." That the new birth thus declared to be
absolutely essential as a condition of entrance into the kingdom of God, applicable to every man, without limitation or qualification, was a spiritual regeneration, was
next explained to the wondering rabbi: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be
born again." Still the learned Jew pondered yet failed to comprehend. Possibly the sound of the night breeze was heard at that moment; if so, Jesus was but utilizing the
incident as a skillful teacher would do to impress a lesson when He continued: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Plainly stated, Nicodemus was given to understand that his worldly learning and
official status availed him nothing in any effort to understand the things of God; through the physical sense of hearing he knew that the wind blew; by sight he could be
informed of its passage; yet what did he know of the ultimate cause of even this simple phenomenon? If Nicodemus would really be instructed in spiritual matters, he
had to divest himself of the bias due to his professed knowledge of lesser things.

Rabbi and eminent Sanhedrist though he was, there at the humble lodging of the Teacher from Galilee, he was in the presence of a Master. In the bewilderment of
ignorance he asked, "How can these things be?" The reply must have been humbling if not humiliating to the man: "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these
things?" Plainly a knowledge of some of the fundamental principles of the gospel had been before accessible; Nicodemus was held in reproach for his lack of
knowledge, particularly as he was a teacher of the people. Then our Lord graciously expounded at greater length, testifying that He spoke from sure knowledge, based
upon what He had seen, while Nicodemus and his fellows were unwilling to accept the witness of His words. Furthermore, Jesus averred His mission to be that of the
Messiah, and specifically foretold His death and the manner thereof-that He, the Son of Man, must be lifted up, even as Moses had lifted the serpent in the wilderness
as a prototype, whereby Israel might escape the fatal plague.

The purpose of the foreappointed death of the Son of Man was: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life"; for to this end, and out of
His boundless love to man had the Father devoted His Only Begotten Son. And further, while it was true that in His mortal advent the Son had not come to sit as a
judge, but to teach, persuade and save, nevertheless condemnation would surely follow rejection of that Savior, for light had come, and wicked men avoided the light,
hating it in their preference for the darkness in which they hoped to hide their evil deeds. Here again, perhaps, Nicodemus experienced a twinge of conscience, for had
not he been afraid to come in the light, and had he not chosen the dark hours for his visit? Our Lord's concluding words combined both instruction and reproof: "But he
that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

The narrative of this interview between Nicodemus and the Christ constitutes one of our most instructive and precious scriptures relating to the absolute necessity of
unreserved compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel, as the means indispensable to salvation. Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, through whom
alone men may gain eternal life; the forsaking of sin by resolute turning away from the gross darkness of evil to the saving light of righteousness; the unqualified
requirement of a new birth through baptism in water, and this of necessity by the mode of immersion, since otherwise the figure of a birth would be meaningless; and the
completion of the new birth through baptism by the Spirit-all these principles are taught herein in such simplicity and plainness as to make plausible no man's excuse for
ignorance.

If Jesus and Nicodemus were the only persons present at the interview, John, the writer, must have been informed thereof by one of the two. As John was one of the
early disciples, afterward one of the apostles, and as he was distinguished in the apostolic company by his close personal companionship with the Lord, it is highly
probable that he heard the account from the lips of Jesus. It was evidently John's purpose to record the great lesson of the occasion rather than to tell the circumstantial
story. The record begins and ends with equal abruptness; unimportant incidents are omitted; every line is of significance; the writer fully realized the deep import of his
subject and treated it accordingly. Later mention of Nicodemus tends to confirm the estimate of the man as he appears in this meeting with Jesus-that of one who was
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early disciples, afterward one of the apostles, and as he was distinguished in the apostolic company by his close personal companionship with the Lord, it is highly
probable that he heard the account from the lips of Jesus. It was evidently John's purpose to record the great lesson of the occasion rather than to tell the circumstantial
story. The record begins and ends with equal abruptness; unimportant incidents are omitted; every line is of significance; the writer fully realized the deep import of his
subject and treated it accordingly. Later mention of Nicodemus tends to confirm the estimate of the man as he appears in this meeting with Jesus-that of one who was
conscious of a belief in the Christ, but whose belief was never developed into such genuine and virile faith as would impel to acceptance and compliance irrespective of
cost or consequence.

From City to Country

Leaving Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went into the rural parts of Judea, and there tarried, doubtless preaching as opportunity was found or made; and those who
believed on Him were baptized. The prominent note of His early public utterances was that of His forerunner in the wilderness: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand." The Baptist continued his labors; though doubtless, since his recognition of the Greater One for whose coming he had been sent to prepare, he considered
the baptism he administered as of somewhat different significance. He had at first baptized in preparation for One who was to come; now he baptized repentant
believers unto Him who had come.

Disputation had arisen between some of John's zealous adherents and one or more Jews concerning the doctrine of purifying. The context leaves little room for
doubt that a question was involved as to the relative merits of John's baptism and that administered by the disciples of Jesus. With excusable ardor and well-intended
zeal for their master, the disciples of John, who had been embroiled in the dispute, came to him saying: "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou
bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." John's supporters were concerned at the success of One whom they regarded in some measure
as a rival to their beloved teacher. Had not John given to Jesus His first attestation? "He to whom thou bearest witness" said they, not deigning even to designate Jesus
by name. Following the example of Andrew, and of John the future apostle, the people were leaving the Baptist and gathering about the Christ. John's reply to his
ardent followers constitutes a sublime instance of self-abnegation. His answer was to this effect: A man receives only as God gives unto him. It is not given to me to do
the work of Christ. Ye yourselves are witnesses that I disclaimed being the Christ, and that I said I was one sent before Him. He is as the Bridegroom; I am only as the
friend of the bridegroom, His servant; and I rejoice greatly in being thus near Him; His voice gives me happiness; and thus my joy is fulfilled. He of whom you speak
stands at the beginning of His ministry; I near the end of mine. He must increase but I must decrease. He came from heaven and therefore is superior to all things of
earth; nevertheless men refuse to receive His testimony. To such a One, the Spirit of God is not apportioned; it is His in full measure. The Father loveth Him, the Son,
and hath given all things into His hand, and: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him."

In such a reply, under the existent conditions, is to be found the spirit of true greatness, and of a humility that could rest only on a conviction of divine assurance to the
Baptist as to himself and the Christ. In more than one sense was John great among all who are born of women. He had entered upon his work when sent of God so
to do; he realized that his work had been in a measure superseded, and he patiently awaited his release, in the meantime continuing in the ministry, directing souls to
his Master. The beginning of the end was near. He was soon seized and thrown into a dungeon; where, as shall be shown, he was beheaded to sate the vengeance of a
corrupt woman whose sins he had boldly denounced.

The Pharisees observed with increasing apprehension the growing popularity of Jesus, evidenced by the fact that even more followed after Him and accepted baptism
at the hands of His disciples than had responded to the Baptist's call. Open opposition was threatened; and as Jesus desired to avert the hindrance to His work which
such persecution at that time would entail, He withdrew from Judea and retired to Galilee, journeying by way of Samaria. This return to the northern province was
effected after the Baptist had been cast into prison.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 12

1. Sea of Galilee.-This, the largest body of fresh water in Palestine, is somewhat pear-shape in outline and measures approximately thirteen miles in extreme length on a
northerly-southerly line and between six and seven miles in greatest width. The river Jordan enters it at the northeast extremity and flows out at the south-west; the lake
may be regarded, therefore, as a great expansion of the river, though the water-filled depression is about two hundred feet in depth. The outflowing Jordan connects the
sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea, the latter a body of intensely saline water, which in its abundance of dissolved salts and in the consequent density of its brine is
comparable to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, though the chemical composition of the waters is materially different. The sea of Galilee is referred to by Luke, in
accordance with its more appropriate classification, as a lake (Luke 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23, 33). Adjoining the lake on the northwest is a plain, which in earlier times was
highly cultivated: this was known as the land of Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:53); and the water body came to be known as the sea or lake of Gennesaret (Luke
5:1). From the prominence of one of the cities on its western shore, it was known also as the sea of Tiberias (John 6:1, 23; 21:1). In the Old Testament it is called the
sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11) or Chinneroth (Josh. 12:3) after the name of a contiguous city (Josh. 19:35). The surface of the lake or sea is several hundred feet
below normal sea-level, 681 feet lower than the Mediterranean according to Zenos, or 700 feet as stated by some others. This lowlying position gives to the region a
semi-tropical climate. Zenos, in the Standard Bible Dictionary, says: "The waters of the lake are noted for abundant fish. The industry of fishing was accordingly one of
the most stable resources of the country round about. . . . Another feature of the sea of Galilee is its susceptibility to sudden storms. These are occasioned partly by its
lying so much lower than the surrounding tableland (a fact that creates a difference of temperature and consequent disturbances in the atmosphere), and partly by the
rushing of gusts of wind down the Jordan valley from the heights of Hermon. The event recorded in Matt. 8:24 is no extraordinary case. Those who ply boats on the
lake are obliged to exercise great care to avoid peril from such storms. The shores of the sea of Galilee as well as the lake itself were the scenes of many of the most
remarkable events recorded in the Gospels."

2. The Four Gospels.-All careful students of the New Testament must have observed that the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, treat the events of the Savior's
sayings and doings in Galilee with greater fulness than they accord to His work in Judea; the book or Gospel of John, on the other hand, treats particularly the incidents
of our Lord's Judean ministry, without excluding, however, important events that occurred in Galilee. In style of writing and method of treatment, the authors of the first
three Gospels (evangelists as they and John are collectively styled in theologic literature) differ more markedly from the author of the fourth Gospel than among
themselves. The events recorded by the first three can be more readily classified, collated, or arranged, and in consequence the Gospels written by Matthew, Mark,
and Luke are now commonly known as the Synoptics, or Synoptic Gospels.

3. Thirty Years of Age.-According to Luke (3:23) Jesus was about thirty years of age at the time of His baptism, and we find that soon thereafter, He entered publicly
upon the work of His ministry. The law provided that at the age of thirty years the Levites were required to enter upon their special service (Num. 4:3). Clarke, Bible
Commentary, treating the passage in Luke 3:23 says: "This was the age required by the law to which the priests must arrive before they could be installed in their
office." Jesus may possibly have had regard for what had become a custom of the time, in waiting until He had attained that age before entering publicly on the labors of
a Teacher among the people. Not being of Levitical descent He was not eligible to priestly ordination in the Aaronic order, and therefore, certainly did not wait for such
before beginning His ministry. To have taught in public at an earlier age would have been to arouse criticism, and objection, which might have resulted in serious
handicap or hindrance at the outset.

4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival.-While it is admittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of the Jewish people could be present at the
annual Passover gatherings at Jerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance of the feast, the usual attendance at the temple celebration in the
days of Jesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs "an innumerable multitude" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars, vi, 9:3) states
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Josephus says that for the purpose of giving the emperor Nero information as to the numerical strength of the Jewish people, particularly in Palestine, the chief priests
were asked by Cestius to count the number of lambs slain at the feast, and the number reported was 256,500 which on the basis of between ten and eleven persons to
4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival.-While it is admittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of the Jewish people could be present at the
annual Passover gatherings at Jerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance of the feast, the usual attendance at the temple celebration in the
days of Jesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs "an innumerable multitude" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars, vi, 9:3) states
that the attendance reached the enormous aggregate of three millions of souls; such is the record, though many modern writers treat the statement as an exaggeration.
Josephus says that for the purpose of giving the emperor Nero information as to the numerical strength of the Jewish people, particularly in Palestine, the chief priests
were asked by Cestius to count the number of lambs slain at the feast, and the number reported was 256,500 which on the basis of between ten and eleven persons to
each paschal table would indicate the presence, he says, of at least 2,700,200 not including visitors other than Jews, and such of the people of Israel as were debarred
from participation in the paschal meal because of ceremonial unfitness.

The scenes of confusion, inevitable under the conditions then prevailing, are admirably summarized by Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, chap. 30), who cites many
earlier authorities for his statements: "The streets were blocked by the crowds from all parts, who had to make their way to the Temple, past flocks of sheep, and
droves of cattle, pressing on in the sunken middle part of each street reserved for them, to prevent contact and defilement. Sellers of all possible wares beset the
pilgrims, for the great feasts were, as has been said, the harvest time of all trades at Jerusalem, just as, at Mecca, even at this day, the time of the great concourse of
worshippers at the tomb of the Prophet, is that of the busiest trade among the merchant pilgrims, who form the caravans from all parts of the Mohammedan world.

"Inside the Temple space, the noise and pressure were, if possible, worse. Directions were posted up to keep to the right or the left, as in the densest thoroughfares of
London. The outer court, which others than Jews might enter, and which was, therefore, known as the Court of the Heathen, was in part, covered with pens for sheep,
goats, and cattle, for the feast and the thank offerings. Sellers shouted the merits of their beasts, sheep bleated, and oxen lowed. It was, in fact, the great yearly fair of
Jerusalem, and the crowds added to the din and tumult, till the services in the neighboring courts were sadly disturbed. Sellers of doves, for poor women coming for
purification from all parts of the country, and for others, had a space set apart for them. Indeed, the sale of doves was, in great measure, secretly, in the hands of the
priests themselves: Hannas, the high priest, especially, gaining great profits from his dove cotes on Mount Olivet. The rents of the sheep and cattle pens, and the profits
on the doves, had led the priests to sanction the incongruity of thus turning the Temple itself into a noisy market. Nor was this all. Potters pressed on the pilgrims their
clay dishes and ovens for the Passover lamb; hundreds of traders recommended their wares aloud; shops for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed for sacrifices, invited
customers; and, in addition, persons going across the city, with all kinds of burdens, shortened their journey by crossing the Temple grounds. The provision for paying
the tribute, levied on all, for the support of the Temple, added to the distraction. On both sides of the east Temple gate, stalls had for generations been permitted for
changing foreign money. From the fifteenth of the preceding month money-changers had been allowed to set up their tables in the city, and from the twenty-first,-or
twenty days before the Passover,-to ply their trade in the Temple itself. Purchasers of materials for offerings paid the amount at special stalls, to an officer of the
Temple, and received a leaden cheque for which they got what they had bought, from the seller. Large sums, moreover, were changed, to be cast, as free offerings, into
one of the thirteen chests which formed the Temple treasury. Every Jew, no matter how poor, was, in addition, required to pay yearly a half-shekel-about eighteen
pence-as atonement money for his soul, and for the support of the Temple. As this would not be received except in a native coin, called the Temple shekel, which was
not generally current, strangers had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the money-changers, to get the coin required. The trade gave
ready means for fraud, which was only too common. Five per cent exchange was charged, but this was indefinitely increased by tricks and chicanery, for which the
class had everywhere earned so bad a name, that like the publicans, their witness would not be taken before a court."

Touching the matter of the defilement to which the temple courts had been subjected by traffickers acting under priestly license, Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 152) gives us
the following: "And this was the entrance-court to the Temple of the Most High! The court which was a witness that that house should be a House of Prayer for all
nations had been degraded into a place which, for foulness, was more like shambles, and for bustling commerce more like a densely crowded bazaar; while the lowing
of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the Babel of many languages, the huckstering and wrangling, and the clinking of money and of balances (perhaps not always just), might
be heard in the adjoining courts, disturbing the chant of the Levites and the prayers of priests!"

5. The Servility of the Jews in the Presence of Jesus.-The record of the achievement of Jesus, in ridding the temple courts of those who had made the House of the
Lord a market place, contains nothing to suggest the inference that He exercised superhuman strength or more than manly vigor. He employed a whip of His own
making, and drove all before Him. They fled helter-skelter. None are said to have voiced an objection until the expulsion had been made complete. Why did not some
among the multitude object? The submission appears to have been abject and servile in the extreme. Farrar, (Life of Christ, pp. 151, 152) raises the question and
answers it with excellent reasoning and in eloquent lines: "Why did not this multitude of ignorant pilgrims resist? Why did these greedy chafferers content themselves
with dark scowls and muttered maledictions, while they suffered their oxen and sheep to be chased into the streets and themselves ejected, and their money flung rolling
on the floor, by one who was then young and unknown, and in the garb of despised Galilee? Why, in the same way we might ask, did Saul suffer Samuel to beard him
in the very presence of his army? Why did David abjectly obey the orders of Joab? Why did Ahab not dare to arrest Elijah at the door of Naboth's vineyard? Because
sin is weakness; because there is in the world nothing so abject as a guilty conscience, nothing so invincible as the sweeping tide of a Godlike indignation against all that
is base and wrong. How could these paltry sacrilegious buyers and sellers, conscious of wrongdoing, oppose that scathing rebuke, or face the lightnings of those eyes
that were enkindled by an outraged holiness? When Phinehas the priest was zealous for the Lord of Hosts, and drove through the bodies of the prince of Simeon and
the Midianitish woman with one glorious thrust of his indignant spear, why did not guilty Israel avenge that splendid murder? Why did not every man of the tribe of
Simeon become a Goel to the dauntless assassin? Because Vice cannot stand for one moment before Virtue's uplifted arm. Base and grovelling as they were, these
money-mongering Jews felt, in all that remnant of their souls which was not yet eaten away by infidelity and avarice, that the Son of Man was right.

"Nay, even the Priests and Pharisees, and Scribes and Levites, devoured as they were by pride and formalism, could not condemn an act which might have been
performed by a Nehemiah or a Judas Maccabaeus, and which agreed with all that was purest and best in their traditions. But when they had heard of this deed, or
witnessed it, and had time to recover from the breathless mixture of admiration, disgust, and astonishment which it inspired, they came to Jesus, and though they did not
dare to condemn what He had done, yet half indignantly asked Him for some sign that He had a right to act thus."

6. Jewish Regard for the Temple.-The Jews professed high regard for the temple. "An utterance of the Savior, construed by the dark-minded as an aspersion upon the
temple, was used against Him as one of the chief accusations on which His death was demanded. When the Jews clamored for a sign of His authority He predicted His
own death and subsequent resurrection, saying, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' (John 2:19-22; see also Matt. 26:61; 27:40; Mark 14:58;
15:29). They blindly regarded this remark as a disrespectful allusion to their temple, a structure built by human hands, and they refused to forget or forgive. That this
veneration continued after the crucifixion of our Lord is evident from accusations brought against Stephen, and still later against Paul. In their murderous rage the people
accused Stephen of disrespect for the temple, and brought false witnesses who uttered perjured testimony saying, 'This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words
against this holy place.' (Acts 6:13.) And Stephen was numbered with the martyrs. When it was claimed that Paul had brought with him into the temple precincts, a
Gentile, the whole city was aroused, and the infuriated mob dragged Paul from the place and sought to kill him. (Acts 21:26-31.)"-The House of the Lord, pp. 60, 61.

7. Some of the "Chief Rulers" Believed.-Nicodemus was not the only one among the ruling classes who believed in Jesus; but of most of these we learn nothing to
indicate that they had sufficient courage to come even by night to make independent and personal inquiry. They feared the result in loss of popularity and standing. We
read in John 12:42, 43: "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put
out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Note also the instance of the scribe who proffered to become a professed disciple,
but, probably because of some degree of insincerity or unfitness, was rather discouraged than approved by Jesus. (Matt. 8:19, 20.)

8. Nicodemus.-The course followed by this man evidences at once that he really believed in Jesus as one sent of God, and that his belief failed of development into a
condition
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                                        Media   realized, might have led to a life of devoted service in the Master's cause. When at a later stage than that of his 98
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with Christ the chief priests and Pharisees upbraided the officers whom they had sent to take Jesus into custody and who returned to report their failure, Nicodemus,
one of the council, ventured to mildly expostulate against the murderous determination of the rulers, by stating a general proposition in interrogative form: "Doth our law
judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" He was answered by his colleagues with contempt, and appears to have abandoned his well-intended
but, probably because of some degree of insincerity or unfitness, was rather discouraged than approved by Jesus. (Matt. 8:19, 20.)

8. Nicodemus.-The course followed by this man evidences at once that he really believed in Jesus as one sent of God, and that his belief failed of development into a
condition of true faith, which, had it but been realized, might have led to a life of devoted service in the Master's cause. When at a later stage than that of his interview
with Christ the chief priests and Pharisees upbraided the officers whom they had sent to take Jesus into custody and who returned to report their failure, Nicodemus,
one of the council, ventured to mildly expostulate against the murderous determination of the rulers, by stating a general proposition in interrogative form: "Doth our law
judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" He was answered by his colleagues with contempt, and appears to have abandoned his well-intended
effort (John 7:50-53; read preceding verses 30-49). We next hear of him bringing a costly contribution of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-weight, to be used in the
burial of Christ's then crucified body; but even in this deed of liberality and devotion, in which his sincerity of purpose cannot well be questioned, he had been preceded
by Joseph of Arimathea, a man of rank, who had boldly asked for and secured the body for reverent burial (John 19:38-42). Nevertheless Nicodemus did more than
did most of his believing associates among the noble and great ones; and to him let all due credit be given; he will not fail of his reward.

9. "The Jews" or "A Jew."-We read that "there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying" (John 3:25). Bearing in mind that the
expression "the Jews" is very commonly used by the author of the fourth Gospel to designate the officials or rulers among the people, the passage quoted may be
understood to mean that the Baptist's disciples were engaged in disputation with the priestly rulers. It is held, however, by Biblical scholars generally, that "the Jew" in
this passage is a mistranslation, and that the true rendering is "a Jew." The disputation concerning purifying appears to have arisen between some of the Baptist's
followers and a single opponent; and the passage as it appears in the King James version of the Bible is an instance of scripture not translated correctly.

10. Friend of the Bridegroom.-Judean marriage customs in the days of Christ required the appointing of a chief groomsman, who attended to all the preliminaries and
made arrangements for the marriage feast, in behalf of the bridegroom. He was distinctively known as the friend of the bridegroom. When the ceremonial requirements
had been complied with, and the bride had been legally and formally given unto her spouse, the joy of the bridegroom's friend was fulfilled inasmuch as his appointed
duties had been successfully discharged. (John 3:29.) According to Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, p. 148), by the simpler customs prevalent
in Galilee a "friend of the bridegroom" was not often chosen; and (pp. 663-64) the expression "children of the bridechamber" (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34, in all
of which citations the expression is used by Jesus), was applied collectively to all the invited guests at a wedding festival. He says: "As the institution of 'friends of the
bridegroom' prevailed in Judea, but not in Galilee, this marked distinction of the 'friend of the bridegroom' in the mouth of the Judean John, and 'sons (children) of the
bridechamber' in that of the Galilean Jesus, is itself evidential of historic accuracy."

11. The Atonement Money.-In the course of the exodus, the Lord required of every male in Israel who was twenty years old or older at the time of a census the
payment of a ransom, amounting to half a shekel (Ex. 30:12-16). See pages 355 and 367 herein. As to the use to which this money was to be put, the Lord thus
directed Moses: "And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may
be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls" (Ex. 30:16; see also 38:25-31). In time, the tax of half a shekel,
equivalent to a bekah (Ex. 38:26), was collected annually, though for this exaction no scriptural authority is of record. This tax must not be confused with the
redemption money, amounting to five shekels for every firstborn male, the payment of which exempted the individual from service in the labors of the sanctuary. In
place of the firstborn sons in all the tribes, the Lord designated the Levites for this special ministry; nevertheless He continued to hold the firstborn males as peculiarly
His own, and required the payment of a ransom as a mark of their redemption from the duties of exclusive service. See Ex. 13:2, 13-15; Num. 3:13, 40-51; 8:15-18;
18:15, 16.

Footnotes

   1. Note 1. Sea of Galilee.-This, the largest body of fresh water in Palestine, is somewhat pear-shape in outline and measures approximately thirteen miles in extreme
length on a northerly-southerly line and between six and seven miles in greatest width. The river Jordan enters it at the northeast extremity and flows out at the south-
west; the lake may be regarded, therefore, as a great expansion of the river, though the water-filled depression is about two hundred feet in depth. The outflowing
Jordan connects the sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea, the latter a body of intensely saline water, which in its abundance of dissolved salts and in the consequent density
of its brine is comparable to the Great Salt Lake in Utah, though the chemical composition of the waters is materially different. The sea of Galilee is referred to by Luke,
in accordance with its more appropriate classification, as a lake (Luke 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23, 33). Adjoining the lake on the northwest is a plain, which in earlier times was
highly cultivated: this was known as the land of Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34; Mark 6:53); and the water body came to be known as the sea or lake of Gennesaret (Luke
5:1). From the prominence of one of the cities on its western shore, it was known also as the sea of Tiberias (John 6:1, 23; 21:1). In the Old Testament it is called the
sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11) or Chinneroth (Josh. 12:3) after the name of a contiguous city (Josh. 19:35). The surface of the lake or sea is several hundred feet
below normal sea-level, 681 feet lower than the Mediterranean according to Zenos, or 700 feet as stated by some others. This lowlying position gives to the region a
semi-tropical climate. Zenos, in the Standard Bible Dictionary, says: "The waters of the lake are noted for abundant fish. The industry of fishing was accordingly one of
the most stable resources of the country round about. . . . Another feature of the sea of Galilee is its susceptibility to sudden storms. These are occasioned partly by its
lying so much lower than the surrounding tableland (a fact that creates a difference of temperature and consequent disturbances in the atmosphere), and partly by the
rushing of gusts of wind down the Jordan valley from the heights of Hermon. The event recorded in Matt. 8:24 is no extraordinary case. Those who ply boats on the
lake are obliged to exercise great care to avoid peril from such storms. The shores of the sea of Galilee as well as the lake itself were the scenes of many of the most
remarkable events recorded in the Gospels."

  2. John 2:12; compare Matt. 4:13; Matt. 9:1.

  3. Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15.

   4. Note 2. The Four Gospels.-All careful students of the New Testament must have observed that the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, treat the events of the
Savior's sayings and doings in Galilee with greater fulness than they accord to His work in Judea; the book or Gospel of John, on the other hand, treats particularly the
incidents of our Lord's Judean ministry, without excluding, however, important events that occurred in Galilee. In style of writing and method of treatment, the authors
of the first three Gospels (evangelists as they and John are collectively styled in theologic literature) differ more markedly from the author of the fourth Gospel than
among themselves. The events recorded by the first three can be more readily classified, collated, or arranged, and in consequence the Gospels written by Matthew,
Mark, and Luke are now commonly known as the Synoptics, or Synoptic Gospels.

   5. Note 3. Thirty Years of Age.-According to Luke (3:23) Jesus was about thirty years of age at the time of His baptism, and we find that soon thereafter, He
entered publicly upon the work of His ministry. The law provided that at the age of thirty years the Levites were required to enter upon their special service (Num. 4:3).
Clarke, Bible Commentary, treating the passage in Luke 3:23 says: "This was the age required by the law to which the priests must arrive before they could be installed
in their office." Jesus may possibly have had regard for what had become a custom of the time, in waiting until He had attained that age before entering publicly on the
labors of a Teacher among the people. Not being of Levitical descent He was not eligible to priestly ordination in the Aaronic order, and therefore, certainly did not
wait for such before beginning His ministry. To have taught in public at an earlier age would have been to arouse criticism, and objection, which might have resulted in
serious handicap or hindrance at the outset.

  6. Luke 2:46-49.
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   7. Note 4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival.-While it is admittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of the Jewish people could be
present at the annual Passover gatherings at Jerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance of the feast, the usual attendance at the temple
celebration in the days of Jesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs "an innumerable multitude" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars,
serious handicap or hindrance at the outset.

  6. Luke 2:46-49.

   7. Note 4. Throngs and Confusion at the Passover Festival.-While it is admittedly impossible that even a reasonably large fraction of the Jewish people could be
present at the annual Passover gatherings at Jerusalem, and in consequence provision was made for local observance of the feast, the usual attendance at the temple
celebration in the days of Jesus was undoubtedly enormous. Josephus calls the Passover throngs "an innumerable multitude" (Wars, ii, 1:3), and in another place (Wars,
vi, 9:3) states that the attendance reached the enormous aggregate of three millions of souls; such is the record, though many modern writers treat the statement as an
exaggeration. Josephus says that for the purpose of giving the emperor Nero information as to the numerical strength of the Jewish people, particularly in Palestine, the
chief priests were asked by Cestius to count the number of lambs slain at the feast, and the number reported was 256,500 which on the basis of between ten and
eleven persons to each paschal table would indicate the presence, he says, of at least 2,700,200 not including visitors other than Jews, and such of the people of Israel
as were debarred from participation in the paschal meal because of ceremonial unfitness.

The scenes of confusion, inevitable under the conditions then prevailing, are admirably summarized by Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, chap. 30), who cites many
earlier authorities for his statements: "The streets were blocked by the crowds from all parts, who had to make their way to the Temple, past flocks of sheep, and
droves of cattle, pressing on in the sunken middle part of each street reserved for them, to prevent contact and defilement. Sellers of all possible wares beset the
pilgrims, for the great feasts were, as has been said, the harvest time of all trades at Jerusalem, just as, at Mecca, even at this day, the time of the great concourse of
worshippers at the tomb of the Prophet, is that of the busiest trade among the merchant pilgrims, who form the caravans from all parts of the Mohammedan world.

"Inside the Temple space, the noise and pressure were, if possible, worse. Directions were posted up to keep to the right or the left, as in the densest thoroughfares of
London. The outer court, which others than Jews might enter, and which was, therefore, known as the Court of the Heathen, was in part, covered with pens for sheep,
goats, and cattle, for the feast and the thank offerings. Sellers shouted the merits of their beasts, sheep bleated, and oxen lowed. It was, in fact, the great yearly fair of
Jerusalem, and the crowds added to the din and tumult, till the services in the neighboring courts were sadly disturbed. Sellers of doves, for poor women coming for
purification from all parts of the country, and for others, had a space set apart for them. Indeed, the sale of doves was, in great measure, secretly, in the hands of the
priests themselves: Hannas, the high priest, especially, gaining great profits from his dove cotes on Mount Olivet. The rents of the sheep and cattle pens, and the profits
on the doves, had led the priests to sanction the incongruity of thus turning the Temple itself into a noisy market. Nor was this all. Potters pressed on the pilgrims their
clay dishes and ovens for the Passover lamb; hundreds of traders recommended their wares aloud; shops for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed for sacrifices, invited
customers; and, in addition, persons going across the city, with all kinds of burdens, shortened their journey by crossing the Temple grounds. The provision for paying
the tribute, levied on all, for the support of the Temple, added to the distraction. On both sides of the east Temple gate, stalls had for generations been permitted for
changing foreign money. From the fifteenth of the preceding month money-changers had been allowed to set up their tables in the city, and from the twenty-first,-or
twenty days before the Passover,-to ply their trade in the Temple itself. Purchasers of materials for offerings paid the amount at special stalls, to an officer of the
Temple, and received a leaden cheque for which they got what they had bought, from the seller. Large sums, moreover, were changed, to be cast, as free offerings, into
one of the thirteen chests which formed the Temple treasury. Every Jew, no matter how poor, was, in addition, required to pay yearly a half-shekel-about eighteen
pence-as atonement money for his soul, and for the support of the Temple. As this would not be received except in a native coin, called the Temple shekel, which was
not generally current, strangers had to change their Roman, Greek, or Eastern money, at the stalls of the money-changers, to get the coin required. The trade gave
ready means for fraud, which was only too common. Five per cent exchange was charged, but this was indefinitely increased by tricks and chicanery, for which the
class had everywhere earned so bad a name, that like the publicans, their witness would not be taken before a court."

Touching the matter of the defilement to which the temple courts had been subjected by traffickers acting under priestly license, Farrar (Life of Christ, p. 152) gives us
the following: "And this was the entrance-court to the Temple of the Most High! The court which was a witness that that house should be a House of Prayer for all
nations had been degraded into a place which, for foulness, was more like shambles, and for bustling commerce more like a densely crowded bazaar; while the lowing
of oxen, the bleating of sheep, the Babel of many languages, the huckstering and wrangling, and the clinking of money and of balances (perhaps not always just), might
be heard in the adjoining courts, disturbing the chant of the Levites and the prayers of priests!"

  8. Ex. 30:11-16.

11. The Atonement Money.-In the course of the exodus, the Lord required of every male in Israel who was twenty years old or older at the time of a census the
payment of a ransom, amounting to half a shekel (Ex. 30:12-16). See pages 355 and 367 herein. As to the use to which this money was to be put, the Lord thus
directed Moses: "And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may
be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls" (Ex. 30:16; see also 38:25-31). In time, the tax of half a shekel,
equivalent to a bekah (Ex. 38:26), was collected annually, though for this exaction no scriptural authority is of record. This tax must not be confused with the
redemption money, amounting to five shekels for every firstborn male, the payment of which exempted the individual from service in the labors of the sanctuary. In
place of the firstborn sons in all the tribes, the Lord designated the Levites for this special ministry; nevertheless He continued to hold the firstborn males as peculiarly
His own, and required the payment of a ransom as a mark of their redemption from the duties of exclusive service. See Ex. 13:2, 13-15; Num. 3:13, 40-51; 8:15-18;
18:15, 16.

  9. John 2:14-17.

  10. Compare Ps. 69:9.

   11. Note 5. The Servility of the Jews in the Presence of Jesus.-The record of the achievement of Jesus, in ridding the temple courts of those who had made the
House of the Lord a market place, contains nothing to suggest the inference that He exercised superhuman strength or more than manly vigor. He employed a whip of
His own making, and drove all before Him. They fled helter-skelter. None are said to have voiced an objection until the expulsion had been made complete. Why did
not some among the multitude object? The submission appears to have been abject and servile in the extreme. Farrar, (Life of Christ, pp. 151, 152) raises the question
and answers it with excellent reasoning and in eloquent lines: "Why did not this multitude of ignorant pilgrims resist? Why did these greedy chafferers content themselves
with dark scowls and muttered maledictions, while they suffered their oxen and sheep to be chased into the streets and themselves ejected, and their money flung rolling
on the floor, by one who was then young and unknown, and in the garb of despised Galilee? Why, in the same way we might ask, did Saul suffer Samuel to beard him
in the very presence of his army? Why did David abjectly obey the orders of Joab? Why did Ahab not dare to arrest Elijah at the door of Naboth's vineyard? Because
sin is weakness; because there is in the world nothing so abject as a guilty conscience, nothing so invincible as the sweeping tide of a Godlike indignation against all that
is base and wrong. How could these paltry sacrilegious buyers and sellers, conscious of wrongdoing, oppose that scathing rebuke, or face the lightnings of those eyes
that were enkindled by an outraged holiness? When Phinehas the priest was zealous for the Lord of Hosts, and drove through the bodies of the prince of Simeon and
the Midianitish woman with one glorious thrust of his indignant spear, why did not guilty Israel avenge that splendid murder? Why did not every man of the tribe of
Simeon become a Goel to the dauntless assassin? Because Vice cannot stand for one moment before Virtue's uplifted arm. Base and grovelling as they were, these
money-mongering Jews felt, in all that remnant of their souls which was not yet eaten away by infidelity and avarice, that the Son of Man was right.

"Nay, even the Priests and Pharisees, and Scribes and Levites, devoured as they were by pride and formalism, could not condemn an act which might have been
performed by a Nehemiah or a Judas Maccabaeus, and which agreed with all that was purest and best in their traditions. But when they had heard of this deed, or
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                                              breathless mixture of admiration, disgust, and astonishment which it inspired, they came to Jesus, and though100
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dare to condemn what He had done, yet half indignantly asked Him for some sign that He had a right to act thus."
money-mongering Jews felt, in all that remnant of their souls which was not yet eaten away by infidelity and avarice, that the Son of Man was right.

"Nay, even the Priests and Pharisees, and Scribes and Levites, devoured as they were by pride and formalism, could not condemn an act which might have been
performed by a Nehemiah or a Judas Maccabaeus, and which agreed with all that was purest and best in their traditions. But when they had heard of this deed, or
witnessed it, and had time to recover from the breathless mixture of admiration, disgust, and astonishment which it inspired, they came to Jesus, and though they did not
dare to condemn what He had done, yet half indignantly asked Him for some sign that He had a right to act thus."

  12. Matt. 12:38, 39; compare 16:1; Mark 8:11; John 6:30; 1 Cor. 1:22.

  13. John 2:19; read verses 18-22.

   14. Note 6. Jewish Regard for the Temple.-The Jews professed high regard for the temple. "An utterance of the Savior, construed by the dark-minded as an
aspersion upon the temple, was used against Him as one of the chief accusations on which His death was demanded. When the Jews clamored for a sign of His
authority He predicted His own death and subsequent resurrection, saying, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' (John 2:19-22; see also Matt.
26:61; 27:40; Mark 14:58; 15:29). They blindly regarded this remark as a disrespectful allusion to their temple, a structure built by human hands, and they refused to
forget or forgive. That this veneration continued after the crucifixion of our Lord is evident from accusations brought against Stephen, and still later against Paul. In their
murderous rage the people accused Stephen of disrespect for the temple, and brought false witnesses who uttered perjured testimony saying, 'This man ceaseth not to
speak blasphemous words against this holy place.' (Acts 6:13.) And Stephen was numbered with the martyrs. When it was claimed that Paul had brought with him into
the temple precincts, a Gentile, the whole city was aroused, and the infuriated mob dragged Paul from the place and sought to kill him. (Acts 21:26-31.)"-The House of
the Lord, pp. 60, 61.

  15. Mark 14:58.

  16. Mark 15:29, 30.

  17. John 10:38; John 17:21.

  18. John 2:19-22; compare 1 Cor. 3:16, 17;1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; see further Col. 2:9; Heb. 8:2.

  19. Matt. 27:63.

  20. As Canon Farrar has tersely written, "Unless the 'we remember' was a distinct falsehood, they could have been referring to no other occasion than this." (Life of
Christ, p. 155.)

  21. John 2:23-25.

22. John 3:1-21.

   23. Note 7. Some of the "Chief Rulers" Believed.-Nicodemus was not the only one among the ruling classes who believed in Jesus; but of most of these we learn
nothing to indicate that they had sufficient courage to come even by night to make independent and personal inquiry. They feared the result in loss of popularity and
standing. We read in John 12:42, 43: "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they
should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Note also the instance of the scribe who proffered to become a
professed disciple, but, probably because of some degree of insincerity or unfitness, was rather discouraged than approved by Jesus. (Matt. 8:19, 20.)

  24. John 3:2; read verses 1-21.

  25. Num. 21:7-9.

   26. Note 8. Nicodemus.-The course followed by this man evidences at once that he really believed in Jesus as one sent of God, and that his belief failed of
development into a condition of true faith, which, had it but been realized, might have led to a life of devoted service in the Master's cause. When at a later stage than
that of his interview with Christ the chief priests and Pharisees upbraided the officers whom they had sent to take Jesus into custody and who returned to report their
failure, Nicodemus, one of the council, ventured to mildly expostulate against the murderous determination of the rulers, by stating a general proposition in interrogative
form: "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" He was answered by his colleagues with contempt, and appears to have abandoned
his well-intended effort (John 7:50-53; read preceding verses 30-49). We next hear of him bringing a costly contribution of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-weight,
to be used in the burial of Christ's then crucified body; but even in this deed of liberality and devotion, in which his sincerity of purpose cannot well be questioned, he
had been preceded by Joseph of Arimathea, a man of rank, who had boldly asked for and secured the body for reverent burial (John 19:38-42). Nevertheless
Nicodemus did more than did most of his believing associates among the noble and great ones; and to him let all due credit be given; he will not fail of his reward.

See Articles of Faith, pp. 96-100.

  27. John 3:22; compare 4:2.

  28. Matt. 4:17; compare Mark 1:15.

   29. Note 9. "The Jews" or "A Jew."-We read that "there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying" (John 3:25). Bearing in
mind that the expression "the Jews" is very commonly used by the author of the fourth Gospel to designate the officials or rulers among the people, the passage quoted
may be understood to mean that the Baptist's disciples were engaged in disputation with the priestly rulers. It is held, however, by Biblical scholars generally, that "the
Jew" in this passage is a mistranslation, and that the true rendering is "a Jew." The disputation concerning purifying appears to have arisen between some of the Baptist's
followers and a single opponent; and the passage as it appears in the King James version of the Bible is an instance of scripture not translated correctly.

  30. John 3:25-36.

   31. Note 10. Friend of the Bridegroom.-Judean marriage customs in the days of Christ required the appointing of a chief groomsman, who attended to all the
preliminaries and made arrangements for the marriage feast, in behalf of the bridegroom. He was distinctively known as the friend of the bridegroom. When the
ceremonial requirements had been complied with, and the bride had been legally and formally given unto her spouse, the joy of the bridegroom's friend was fulfilled
inasmuch as his appointed duties had been successfully discharged. (John 3:29.) According to Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, p. 148), by the
simpler
 Copyrightcustoms   prevalent inInfobase
              (c) 2005-2009,     Galilee aMedia
                                          "friendCorp.
                                                 of the bridegroom" was not often chosen; and (pp. 663-64) the expression "children of the bridechamber"  Page(Matt.
                                                                                                                                                                   1019:15;
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Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34, in all of which citations the expression is used by Jesus), was applied collectively to all the invited guests at a wedding festival. He says: "As the
institution of 'friends of the bridegroom' prevailed in Judea, but not in Galilee, this marked distinction of the 'friend of the bridegroom' in the mouth of the Judean John,
and 'sons (children) of the bridechamber' in that of the Galilean Jesus, is itself evidential of historic accuracy."
   31. Note 10. Friend of the Bridegroom.-Judean marriage customs in the days of Christ required the appointing of a chief groomsman, who attended to all the
preliminaries and made arrangements for the marriage feast, in behalf of the bridegroom. He was distinctively known as the friend of the bridegroom. When the
ceremonial requirements had been complied with, and the bride had been legally and formally given unto her spouse, the joy of the bridegroom's friend was fulfilled
inasmuch as his appointed duties had been successfully discharged. (John 3:29.) According to Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, p. 148), by the
simpler customs prevalent in Galilee a "friend of the bridegroom" was not often chosen; and (pp. 663-64) the expression "children of the bridechamber" (Matt. 9:15;
Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34, in all of which citations the expression is used by Jesus), was applied collectively to all the invited guests at a wedding festival. He says: "As the
institution of 'friends of the bridegroom' prevailed in Judea, but not in Galilee, this marked distinction of the 'friend of the bridegroom' in the mouth of the Judean John,
and 'sons (children) of the bridechamber' in that of the Galilean Jesus, is itself evidential of historic accuracy."

  32. John 3:27-36.

  33. Matt. 11:11.

  34. Luke 3:2, 3.

  35. Matt. 14:3-12.

  36. Matt. 4:12.

CHAPTER 13

Honored By Strangers Rejected By His Own

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

The direct route from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria; but many Jews, particularly Galileans, chose to follow an indirect though longer way rather than traverse the
country of a people so despised by them as were the Samaritans. The ill-feeling between Jews and Samaritans had been growing for centuries, and at the time of our
Lord's earthly ministry had developed into most intense hatred. The inhabitants of Samaria were a mixed people, in whom the blood of Israel was mingled with that
of the Assyrians and other nations; and one cause of the animosity existing between them and their neighbors both on the north and the south was the Samaritans' claim
for recognition as Israelites; it was their boast that Jacob was their father; but this the Jews denied. The Samaritans had a version of the Pentateuch, which they revered
as the law, but they rejected all the prophetical writings of what is now the Old Testament, because they considered themselves treated with insufficient respect therein.

To the orthodox Jew of the time a Samaritan was more unclean than a Gentile of any other nationality. It is interesting to note the extreme and even absurd restrictions
then in force in the matter of regulating unavoidable relations between the two peoples. The testimony of a Samaritan could not be heard before a Jewish tribunal. For a
Jew to eat food prepared by a Samaritan was at one time regarded by rabbinical authority as an offense as great as that of eating the flesh of swine. While it was
admitted that produce from a field in Samaria was not unclean, inasmuch as it sprang directly from the soil, such produce became unclean if subjected to any treatment
at Samaritan hands. Thus, grapes and grain might be purchased from Samaritans, but neither wine nor flour manufactured therefrom by Samaritan labor. On one
occasion the epithet "Samaritan" was hurled at Christ as an intended insult. "Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?" The Samaritan conception
of the mission of the expected Messiah was somewhat better founded than was that of the Jews, for the Samaritans gave greater prominence to the spiritual kingdom
the Messiah would establish, and were less exclusive in their views as to whom the Messianic blessings would be extended.

In His journey to Galilee Jesus took the shorter course, through Samaria; and doubtless His choice was guided by purpose, for we read that "He must needs go" that
way. The road led through or by the town called Sychar, "near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph." There was Jacob's well, which was
held in high esteem, not only for its intrinsic worth as an unfailing source of water, but also because of its association with the great patriarch's life. Jesus, travel-worn
and weary, rested at the well, while His disciples went to the town to buy food. A woman came to fill her water-jar, and Jesus said to her: "Give me to drink." By the
rules of oriental hospitality then prevailing, a request for water was one that should never be denied if possible to grant; yet the woman hesitated, for she was amazed
that a Jew should ask a favor of a Samaritan, however great the need. She expressed her surprise in the question: "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,
which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." Jesus, seemingly forgetful of thirst in His desire to teach, answered her by saying:
"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." The
woman reminded Him that He had no bucket or cord with which to draw from the deep well, and inquired further as to His meaning, adding: "Art thou greater than our
father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?"

Jesus found in the woman's words a spirit similar to that with which the scholarly Nicodemus had received His teachings; each failed alike to perceive the spiritual
lesson He would impart. He explained to her that water from the well would be of but temporary benefit; to one who drank of it thirst would return. "But," he added,
"whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
The woman's interest was keenly aroused, either from curiosity or as an emotion of deeper concern, for she now became the petitioner, and, addressing Him by a title
of respect, said: "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." She could see nothing beyond the material advantage attaching to water that
would once and for all quench thirst. The result of the draught she had in mind would be to give her immunity from one bodily need, and save her the labor of coming to
draw from the well.

The subject of the conversation was abruptly changed by Jesus bidding her to go, call her husband, and return. To her reply that she had no husband Jesus revealed to
her His superhuman powers of discernment, by telling her she had spoken truthfully, inasmuch as she had had five husbands, while the man with whom she was then
living was not her husband. Surely no ordinary being could have so read the unpleasing story of her life; she impulsively confessed her conviction, saying: "Sir, I perceive
that thou art a prophet." She desired to turn the conversation, and, pointing to Mount Gerizim, upon which the sacrilegious priest Manasseh had erected a Samaritan
temple, she remarked with little pertinence to what had been said before: "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men
ought to worship." Jesus replied in yet deeper vein, telling her that the time was near when neither that mountain nor Jerusalem would be preeminently a place of
worship; and He clearly rebuked her presumption that the traditional belief of the Samaritans was equally good with that of the Jews; for, said He: "Ye worship ye
know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." Changed and corrupted as the Jewish religion had become, it was better than that of her
people; for the Jews did accept the prophets, and through Judah the Messiah had come. But, as Jesus expounded the matter to her, the place of worship was of lesser
importance than the spirit of the worshiper. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

Unable or unwilling to understand Christ's meaning, the woman sought to terminate the lesson by a remark that probably was to her but casual: "I know that Messias
cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things." Then, to her profound amazement, Jesus rejoined with the awe-inspiring declaration: "I that
speak unto thee am he." The language was unequivocal, the assertion one that required no elucidation. The woman must regard Him thereafter as either an impostor or
the Messiah. She left her pitcher at the well, and hastening to the town told of her experience, saying: "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not
this the Christ?"
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Near the conclusion of the interview between Jesus and the woman, the returning disciples arrived with the provisions they had gone to procure. They marveled
finding the Master in conversation with a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that, yet none of them asked of Him an explanation. His manner must have impressed
them with the seriousness and solemnity of the occasion. When they urged Him to eat He said: "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." To them His words had no
speak unto thee am he." The language was unequivocal, the assertion one that required no elucidation. The woman must regard Him thereafter as either an impostor or
the Messiah. She left her pitcher at the well, and hastening to the town told of her experience, saying: "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not
this the Christ?"

Near the conclusion of the interview between Jesus and the woman, the returning disciples arrived with the provisions they had gone to procure. They marveled at
finding the Master in conversation with a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that, yet none of them asked of Him an explanation. His manner must have impressed
them with the seriousness and solemnity of the occasion. When they urged Him to eat He said: "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." To them His words had no
significance beyond the literal sense, and they queried among themselves as to whether someone had brought Him food during their absence; but He enlightened them in
this way: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

A crowd of Samaritans appeared, coming from the city. Looking upon them and upon the grain fields nearby, Jesus continued. "Say not ye, There are yet four months,
and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white and already to harvest." The import of the saying seems to
be that while months would elapse before the wheat and the barley were ready for the sickle, the harvest of souls, exemplified by the approaching crowd, was even
then ready; and that from what He had sown the disciples might reap, to their inestimable advantage, since they would have wages for their hire and would gather the
fruits of other labor than their own.

Many of the Samaritans believed on Christ, at first on the strength of the woman's testimony, then because of their own conviction; and they said to the woman at
whose behest they had at first gone to meet Him: "Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Saviour of the world." Graciously He acceded to their request to remain, and tarried with them two days. It is beyond question that Jesus did not share in the
national prejudice of the Jews against the people of Samaria; an honest soul was acceptable to Him come whence he may. Probably the seed sown during this brief
stay of our Lord among the despised people of Samaria was that from which so rich a harvest was reaped by the apostles in after years.

Jesus Again in Galilee: At Cana and Nazareth

Following the two days' sojourn among the Samaritans, Jesus, accompanied by the disciples who had traveled with Him from Judea, resumed the journey northward
into Galilee, from which province He had been absent several months. Realizing that the people of Nazareth, the town in which He had been brought up, would be
probably loath to acknowledge Him as other than the carpenter, or, as He stated, knowing that "a prophet hath no honour in his own country," He went first to
Cana. The people of that section, and indeed the Galileans generally, received Him gladly; for many of them had attended the last Passover and probably had been
personal witnesses of the wonders He had wrought in Judea. While at Cana He was visited by a nobleman, most likely a high official of the province, who entreated
Him to proceed to Capernaum and heal his son, who was then lying at the point of death. With the probable design of showing the man the true condition of his mind,
for we cannot doubt that Jesus could read his thoughts, our Lord said to him: "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." As observed in earlier
instances, notably in the refusal of Jesus to commit Himself to the professing believers at Jerusalem, whose belief rested solely on their wonder at the things He did,
our Lord would not regard miracles, though wrought by Himself, as a sufficient and secure foundation for faith. The entreating nobleman, in anguish over the precarious
state of his son, in no way resented the rebuke such as a captious mind may have found in the Lord's reply; but with sincere humility, which showed his belief that Jesus
could heal the boy, he renewed and emphasized his plea: "Sir, come down ere my child die."

Probably the man had never paused to reason as to the direct means or process by which death might be averted and healing be insured through the words of any
being; but in his heart he believed in Christ's power, and with pathetic earnestness besought our Lord to intervene in behalf of his dying son. He seemed to consider it
necessary that the Healer be present, and his great fear was that the boy would not live until Jesus could arrive. "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And
the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way." The genuineness of the man's trust is shown by his grateful acceptance of the Lord's
assurance, and by the contentment that he forthwith manifested. Capernaum, where his son lay, was about twenty miles away; had he been still solicitous and doubtful
he would probably have tried to return home that day, for it was one o'clock in the afternoon when Jesus spoke the words that had given him such relief; but he
journeyed leisurely, for on the following day he was still on the road, and was met by some of his servants who had been sent to cheer him with the glad word of his
son's recovery. He inquired when the boy had begun to amend, and was told that at the seventh hour on the yesterday the fever had left him. That was the time at which
Christ had said, "Thy son liveth." The man's belief ripened fast, and both he and his household accepted the gospel. This was the second miracle wrought by Jesus
when in Cana, though in this instance the subject of the blessing was in Capernaum.

Our Lord's fame spread through all the region round about. During a period not definitely stated, He taught in the synagogs of the towns and was received with favor,
being "glorified of all." He then returned to Nazareth, His former home, and, as was His custom, attended the synagog service on the Sabbath day. Many times as a
boy and man He had sat in that house of worship, listening to the reading of the law and the prophets and to the commentaries or Targums relating thereto, as
delivered by appointed readers; but now, as a recognized teacher of legal age He was eligible to take the reader's place. On this occasion He stood up to read, when
the service had reached the stage at which extracts from the prophetical books were to be read to the congregation. The minister in charge handed Him the roll, or
book, of Isaiah; He turned to the part known to us as the beginning of the sixty-first chapter, and read: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me
to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Handing the book to the minister, He sat down. It was allowable for the reader in the service of
the Jewish synagog to make comments in explanation of what had been read; but to do so he must sit. When Jesus took His seat the people knew that He was about to
expound the text, and "the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him." The scripture He had quoted was one recognized by all classes as
specifically referring to the Messiah, for whose coming the nation waited. The first sentence of our Lord's commentary was startling; it involved no labored analysis, no
scholastic interpretation, but a direct and unambiguous application: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." There was such graciousness in His words that all
wondered, and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

Jesus knew their thoughts even if He heard not their words, and, forestalling their criticism, He said: "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself:
whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country." In their
hearts the people were eager for a sign, a wonder, a miracle. They knew that Jesus had wrought such in Cana, and a boy in Capernaum had been healed by His word;
at Jerusalem too He had astonished the people with mighty works. Were they, His townsmen, to be slighted? Why would He not treat them to some entertaining
exhibition of His powers? He continued His address, reminding them that in the days of Elijah, when for three years and a half no rain had fallen, and famine had
reigned, the prophet had been sent to but one of the many widows, and she a woman of Sarepta in Sidon, a Gentile, not a daughter of Israel. And again, though there
had been many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha, but one leper, and he a Syrian, not an Israelite, had been cleansed through the prophet's ministration, for Naaman
alone had manifested the requisite faith.

Then great was their wrath. Did He dare to class them with Gentiles and lepers? Were they to be likened unto despised unbelievers, and that too by the son of the
village carpenter, who had grown from childhood in their community? Victims of diabolical rage, they seized the Lord and took Him to the brow of the hill on the slopes
of which the town was built, determined to avenge their wounded feelings by hurling Him from the rocky cliffs. Thus early in His ministry did the forces of opposition
attain murderous intensity. But our Lord's time to die had not yet come. The infuriated mob was powerless to go one step farther than their supposed victim would
permit. "But he passing through the midst of them went his way." Whether they were overawed by the grace of His presence, silenced by the power of His words, or
stayed by some more appalling intervention, we are not informed. He departed from the unbelieving Nazarenes, and thenceforth Nazareth was no longer His home.
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In Capernaum

Jesus wended His way to Capernaum,         which became to Him as nearly a place of abode as any He had in Galilee. There He taught, particularly on Sabbath days;
attain murderous intensity. But our Lord's time to die had not yet come. The infuriated mob was powerless to go one step farther than their supposed victim would
permit. "But he passing through the midst of them went his way." Whether they were overawed by the grace of His presence, silenced by the power of His words, or
stayed by some more appalling intervention, we are not informed. He departed from the unbelieving Nazarenes, and thenceforth Nazareth was no longer His home.

In Capernaum

Jesus wended His way to Capernaum, which became to Him as nearly a place of abode as any He had in Galilee. There He taught, particularly on Sabbath days;
and the people were astonished at His doctrine, for He spoke with authority and power. In the synagog, on one of these occasions, was a man who was a victim of
possession, and subject to the ravages of an evil spirit, or, as the text so forcefully states, one who "had a spirit of an unclean devil." It is significant that this wicked
spirit, which had gained such power over the man as to control his actions and utterances, was terrified before our Lord and cried out with a loud voice, though
pleadingly: "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." Jesus
rebuked the unclean spirit, commanding him to be silent, and to leave the man; the demon obeyed the Master, and after throwing the victim into violent though harmless
paroxysm, left him. Such a miracle caused the beholders to wonder the more, and they exclaimed: "What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth
the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about."

In the evening of the same day, when the sun had set, and therefore after the Sabbath had passed, the people flocked about Him, bringing their afflicted friends and
kindred; and these Jesus healed of their divers maladies whether of body or of mind. Among those so relieved were many who had been possessed of devils, and these
cried out, testifying perforce of the Master's divine authority: "Thou art Christ the Son of God."

On these as on other occasions, we find evil spirits voicing through the mouths of their victims their knowledge that Jesus was the Christ; and in all such instances the
Lord silenced them with a word; for He wanted no such testimony as theirs to attest the fact of His Godship. Those spirits were of the devil's following, members of the
rebellious and defeated hosts that had been cast down through the power of the very Being whose authority and power they now acknowledged in their demoniac
frenzy. Together with Satan himself, their vanquished chief, they remained unembodied, for to all of them the privileges of the second or mortal estate had been denied;
    their remembrance of the scenes that had culminated in their expulsion from heaven was quickened by the presence of the Christ, though He stood in a body of
flesh.

Many modern writers have attempted to explain the phenomenon of demoniacal possession; and beside these there are not a few who deny the possibility of actual
domination of the victim by spirit personages. Yet the scriptures are explicit in showing the contrary. Our Lord distinguished between this form of affliction and that of
simple bodily disease in His instructions to the Twelve: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." In the account of the incidents under
consideration, the evangelist Mark observes the same distinction, thus: "They brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils." In
several instances, Christ, in rebuking demons, addressed them as individuals distinct from the human being afflicted, and in one such instance commanded the demon
to "come out of him, and enter no more into him."

In this matter as in others the simplest explanation is the pertinent truth; theory raised on other than scriptural foundation is unstable. Christ unequivocally associated
demons with Satan, specifically in His comment on the report of the Seventy whom He authorized and sent forth, and who testified with joy on their return that even the
devils had been subject unto them through His name; and to those faithful servants He said: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." The demons that take
possession of men, overruling their agency and compelling them to obey Satanic bidding, are the unembodied angels of the devil, whose triumph it is to afflict mortals,
and if possible to impel them to sin. To gain for themselves the transitory gratification of tenanting a body of flesh, these demons are eager to enter even into the bodies
of beasts.

Possibly it was during the interval between the rebuking of the evil spirit in the synagog and the miracles of healing and casting out devils in the evening of that Sabbath,
that Jesus went to the house of Simon, whom He had before named Peter, and there found the mother-in-law of His disciple lying ill of fever. Acceding to the request
of faith He rebuked the disease; the woman was healed forthwith, rose from her bed, and ministered the hospitality of her home unto Jesus and those who were with
Him.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 13

1. Animosity Between Jews and Samaritans.-In any consideration of the Samaritans, it must be kept in mind that a certain city and the district or province in which it
was situated were both known as Samaria. The principal facts pertaining to the origin of the Samaritans and the explanation of the mutual animosity existing between the
people and the Jews in the time of Christ, have been admirably summarized by Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, pp. 495-6). Omitting his citation of authorities,
we quote: "After the deportation of the Ten Tribes to Assyria, Samaria had been repeopled by heathen colonists from various provinces of the Assyrian empire, by
fugitives from the authorities of Judea, and by stragglers of one or other of the Ten Tribes, who found their way home again. The first heathen settlers, terrified at the
increase of wild animals, especially lions, and attributing it to their not knowing the proper worship of the God of the country, sent for one of the exiled priests, and,
under his instructions, added the worship of Jehovah to that of their idols-an incident in their history from which later Jewish hatred and derision taunted them as
'proselytes of the lions,' as it branded them, from their Assyrian origin, with the name of Cuthites. Ultimately, however, they became even more rigidly attached to the
Law of Moses than the Jews themselves. Anxious to be recognized as Israelites, they set their hearts on joining the Two Tribes, on their return from captivity, but the
stern puritanism of Ezra and Nehemiah admitted no alliance between the pure blood of Jerusalem and the tainted race of the north. Resentment at this affront was
natural, and excited resentment in return, till, in Christ's day, centuries of strife and mutual injury, intensified by theological hatred on both sides, had made them
implacable enemies. The Samaritans had built a temple on Mount Gerizim, to rival that of Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed by John Hyrcanus, who had also levelled
Samaria to the ground. They claimed for their mountain a greater holiness than that of Moriah; accused the Jews of adding to the word of God, by receiving the writings
of the prophets, and prided themselves on owning only the Pentateuch as inspired; favoured Herod because the Jews hated him, and were loyal to him and equally
hated Romans; had kindled false lights on the hills, to vitiate the Jewish reckoning by the new moons, and thus throw their feasts into confusion, and, in the early youth
of Jesus, had even defiled the very Temple itself, by strewing human bones in it, at the Passover.

"Nor had hatred slumbered on the side of the Jews. They knew the Samaritans only as Cuthites, or heathens from Cuth. 'The race that I hate is no race,' says the son of
Sirach. It was held that a people who once had worshipped five gods could have no part in Jehovah. The claim of the Samaritans that Moses had buried the
Tabernacle and its vessels on the top of Gerizim, was laughed to scorn. It was said that they had dedicated their temple, under Antiochus Epiphanes, to the Greek
Jupiter. Their keeping the commands of Moses even more strictly than the Jews, that it might seem they were really of Israel, was not denied; but their heathenism, it
was said, had been proved by the discovery of a brazen dove, which they worshipped, on the top of Gerizim. It would have been enough that they boasted of Herod
as their good king, who had married a daughter of their people; that he had been free to follow, in their country, his Roman tastes, so hated in Judea; that they had
remained quiet, after his death, when Judea and Galilee were in uproar, and that for their peacefulness a fourth of their taxes had been remitted and added to the
burdens of Judea. Their friendliness to the Romans was an additional provocation. While the Jews were kept quiet only by the sternest severity, and strove to the
utmost against the introduction of anything foreign, the Samaritans rejoiced in the new importance which their loyalty to the empire had given them. Shechem flourished:
close by, in Caesarea, the procurator held his court: a division of cavalry, in barracks at Sebaste-the old Samaria-had been raised in the territory. The Roman strangers
were more than welcome to while away the summer in their umbrageous valleys.

"The  illimitable hatred, rising from so many sources, found vent in the tradition that a special curse had been uttered against the Samaritans, by Ezra, Zerubbabel, and
 Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.
Joshua. It was said that these great ones assembled the whole congregation of Israel in the Temple, and that three hundred priests, with three hundred Page    104 /and
                                                                                                                                                           trumpets,  128
three hundred books of the Law, and three hundred scholars of the Law, had been employed to repeat, amidst the most solemn ceremonial, all the curses of the Law
against the Samaritans. They had been subjected to every form of excommunication; by the incommunicable name of Jehovah; by the Tables of the Law, and by the
close by, in Caesarea, the procurator held his court: a division of cavalry, in barracks at Sebaste-the old Samaria-had been raised in the territory. The Roman strangers
were more than welcome to while away the summer in their umbrageous valleys.

"The illimitable hatred, rising from so many sources, found vent in the tradition that a special curse had been uttered against the Samaritans, by Ezra, Zerubbabel, and
Joshua. It was said that these great ones assembled the whole congregation of Israel in the Temple, and that three hundred priests, with three hundred trumpets, and
three hundred books of the Law, and three hundred scholars of the Law, had been employed to repeat, amidst the most solemn ceremonial, all the curses of the Law
against the Samaritans. They had been subjected to every form of excommunication; by the incommunicable name of Jehovah; by the Tables of the Law, and by the
heavenly and earthly synagogues. The very name became a reproach. 'We know that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil,' said the Jews, to Jesus, in Jerusalem. . . .
A Samaritan egg, as the hen laid it, could not be unclean, but what of a boiled egg? Yet interest and convenience strove, by subtle casuistry, to invent excuses for what
intercourse was unavoidable. The country of the Cuthites was clean, so that a Jew might, without scruple, gather and eat its produce. The waters of Samaria were
clean, so that a Jew might drink them or wash in them. Their dwellings were clean, so that he might enter them, and eat or lodge in them. Their roads were clean, so that
the dust of them did not defile a Jew's feet. The Rabbis even went so far in their contradictory utterances, as to say that the victuals of the Cuthites were allowed, if
none of their wine or vinegar were mixed with them, and even their unleavened bread was to be reckoned fit for use at the Passover. Opinions thus wavered, but, as a
rule, harsher feeling prevailed."

That the hostile sentiment has continued unto this day, at least on the part of the Jews, is affirmed by Frankl and others. Thus, as quoted by Farrar (p. 166 note): "'Are
you a Jew?' asked Salameh Cohen, the Samaritan high priest, of Dr. Frankl; 'and do you come to us, the Samaritans, who are despised by the Jews?' (Jews in the
East, 2, 329). He added that they would willingly live in friendship with the Jews, but that the Jews avoided all intercourse with them. Soon after, visiting Sepharedish
Jews of Nablous, Dr. Frankl asked one of that sect, 'if he had any intercourse with the Samaritans?' The women retreated with a cry of horror, and one of them said,
'Have you been among the worshipers of the pigeons?' I said that I had. The women again fell back with the same expression of repugnance and one of them said,
'Take a purifying bath!'" (idem, p. 334). Canon Farrar adds, "I had the pleasure of spending a day among the Samaritans encamped on Mount Gerizim, for their annual
passover, and neither in their habits nor apparent character could I see any cause for all this horror and hatred."

2. Sychar.-The town where dwelt the Samaritan woman with whom Jesus conversed at Jacob's well, is named Sychar in John 4:5; the name occurs nowhere else in the
Bible. Attempts have been made to identify the place with Shechem, a city dear to the Jewish heart because of its prominence in connection with the lives of the early
patriarchs. It is now generally admitted, however, that Sychar was a small village on the site of the present Askar, which is, says Zenos, "a village with a spring and
some ancient rock-hewn tombs, about five eighths of a mile north of Jacob's well."

3. The Nobleman of Capernaum.-The name of the nobleman whose son was healed by the word of Jesus is not given. Attempts to identify him with Chuza, the steward
of Herod Antipas, are based on unreliable tradition. The family of the nobleman accepted the teachings of Christ. "Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward" (Luke
8:3) was among the grateful and honorable women who had been recipients of our Lord's healing ministry, and who contributed of their substance for the furtherance of
His work. Unconfirmed tradition should not be confounded with authentic history.

4. The Targums are ancient Jewish paraphrases on the scriptures, which were delivered in the synagogs in the languages of the common people. In the time of Christ
the language spoken by the Jews was not Hebrew, but an Aramaic dialect. Edersheim states that pure Hebrew was the language of scholars and of the synagog, and
that the public readings from the scriptures had to be rendered by an interpreter. "In earliest times indeed," says he, "it was forbidden to the Methurgeman [interpreter]
to read his translation, or to write down a Targum, lest the paraphrase should be regarded as of equal authority with the original." The use of written targums was
"authoritatively sanctioned before the end of the second century after Christ. This is the origin of our two oldest extant Targumim-that of Onkelos (as it is called) on the
Pentateuch; and that on the Prophets, attributed to Jonathan the son of Uzziel. These names do not indeed, accurately represent the authorship of the oldest Targumim,
which may more correctly be regarded as later and authoritative recensions of what, in some form, had existed before. But although these works had their origin in
Palestine, it is noteworthy that in the form in which at present we possess them, they are the outcome of the schools of Babylon." (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,
vol. 1, pp. 10, 11.)

5. Capernaum.-"The name Capernaum signifies, according to some authorities, 'the Village of Nahum,' according to others, 'the Village of Consolation.' As we follow
the history of Jesus we shall discover that many of His mighty works were wrought, and many of His most impressive words were spoken in Capernaum. The infidelity
of the inhabitants, after all the discourses and wonderful works which He had done among them, brought out the saying of Jesus, 'And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be cast down to hell.' (Matt. 11:23.) So thoroughly has this prediction been fulfilled that no trace of the city remains, and the very site which it
occupied is now a matter of conjecture, there being even no ecclesiastical tradition of the locality. At the present day two spots have claims which are urged, each with
such arguments of probability as to make the whole question the most difficult in sacred topography. . . . We shall probably never be able to know the exact fact. Jesus
damned it to oblivion, and there it lies. We shall content ourselves with the New Testament notices as bearing on the work of Jesus.

"We learn that it was somewhere on the borders of Zabulun and Nephthalim, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (compare Matt. 4:13, with John 6:24). It was
near or in 'the land of Gennesaret' (compare Matt. 14:34, with John 6:17, 20, 24), a plain about three miles long and one mile wide, which we learn from Josephus was
one of the most prosperous and crowded districts of Palestine. It was probably on the great road leading from Damascus to the south, 'by the way of the sea.' (Matt.
4:15.) There was great wisdom in selecting this as a place to open a great public ministry. It was full of a busy population. The exceeding richness of the wonderful plain
of Gennesaret supported the mass of inhabitants it attracted. Josephus (B. J., iii, 10:8) gives a glowing description of this land."-Deems, Light of the Nations, pp. 167,
168.

6. Knowledge Does Not Insure Salvation.-James of old chided his brethren for certain empty professions (James 2:19). Said he in effect: You take pride and
satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; you boast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen because you accept one God; you do well to so profess,
and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and, we may add, so firmly that they tremble at the thought of the fate which that belief
makes sure. Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God, were founded on knowledge; yet their knowledge of the great truth did not change their
evil natures. How different was their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master's question "Whom say ye that I am?" replied in practically
the words used by the unclean spirits before cited, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:15-16; see also Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Peter's faith had
already shown its vital power; it had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to put away worldliness
with all its fascinations, the sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was perhaps
no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation, to him it was a means of salvation.-Abridged
from The Articles of Faith, pp. 97-98.

Footnotes

   1. Note 1. Animosity Between Jews and Samaritans.-In any consideration of the Samaritans, it must be kept in mind that a certain city and the district or province in
which it was situated were both known as Samaria. The principal facts pertaining to the origin of the Samaritans and the explanation of the mutual animosity existing
between the people and the Jews in the time of Christ, have been admirably summarized by Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, pp. 495-6). Omitting his citation
of authorities, we quote: "After the deportation of the Ten Tribes to Assyria, Samaria had been repeopled by heathen colonists from various provinces of the Assyrian
empire, by fugitives from the authorities of Judea, and by stragglers of one or other of the Ten Tribes, who found their way home again. The first heathen settlers,
terrified at the increase of wild animals, especially lions, and attributing it to their not knowing the proper worship of the God of the country, sent for one of the exiled
priests, and,(c)
 Copyright     under his instructions,
                  2005-2009,   Infobaseadded  the worship
                                          Media   Corp. of Jehovah to that of their idols-an incident in their history from which later Jewish hatred and   derision
                                                                                                                                                         Page     105taunted
                                                                                                                                                                        / 128
them as 'proselytes of the lions,' as it branded them, from their Assyrian origin, with the name of Cuthites. Ultimately, however, they became even more rigidly attached
to the Law of Moses than the Jews themselves. Anxious to be recognized as Israelites, they set their hearts on joining the Two Tribes, on their return from captivity, but
the stern puritanism of Ezra and Nehemiah admitted no alliance between the pure blood of Jerusalem and the tainted race of the north. Resentment at this affront was
between the people and the Jews in the time of Christ, have been admirably summarized by Geikie (Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, pp. 495-6). Omitting his citation
of authorities, we quote: "After the deportation of the Ten Tribes to Assyria, Samaria had been repeopled by heathen colonists from various provinces of the Assyrian
empire, by fugitives from the authorities of Judea, and by stragglers of one or other of the Ten Tribes, who found their way home again. The first heathen settlers,
terrified at the increase of wild animals, especially lions, and attributing it to their not knowing the proper worship of the God of the country, sent for one of the exiled
priests, and, under his instructions, added the worship of Jehovah to that of their idols-an incident in their history from which later Jewish hatred and derision taunted
them as 'proselytes of the lions,' as it branded them, from their Assyrian origin, with the name of Cuthites. Ultimately, however, they became even more rigidly attached
to the Law of Moses than the Jews themselves. Anxious to be recognized as Israelites, they set their hearts on joining the Two Tribes, on their return from captivity, but
the stern puritanism of Ezra and Nehemiah admitted no alliance between the pure blood of Jerusalem and the tainted race of the north. Resentment at this affront was
natural, and excited resentment in return, till, in Christ's day, centuries of strife and mutual injury, intensified by theological hatred on both sides, had made them
implacable enemies. The Samaritans had built a temple on Mount Gerizim, to rival that of Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed by John Hyrcanus, who had also levelled
Samaria to the ground. They claimed for their mountain a greater holiness than that of Moriah; accused the Jews of adding to the word of God, by receiving the writings
of the prophets, and prided themselves on owning only the Pentateuch as inspired; favoured Herod because the Jews hated him, and were loyal to him and equally
hated Romans; had kindled false lights on the hills, to vitiate the Jewish reckoning by the new moons, and thus throw their feasts into confusion, and, in the early youth
of Jesus, had even defiled the very Temple itself, by strewing human bones in it, at the Passover.

"Nor had hatred slumbered on the side of the Jews. They knew the Samaritans only as Cuthites, or heathens from Cuth. 'The race that I hate is no race,' says the son of
Sirach. It was held that a people who once had worshipped five gods could have no part in Jehovah. The claim of the Samaritans that Moses had buried the
Tabernacle and its vessels on the top of Gerizim, was laughed to scorn. It was said that they had dedicated their temple, under Antiochus Epiphanes, to the Greek
Jupiter. Their keeping the commands of Moses even more strictly than the Jews, that it might seem they were really of Israel, was not denied; but their heathenism, it
was said, had been proved by the discovery of a brazen dove, which they worshipped, on the top of Gerizim. It would have been enough that they boasted of Herod
as their good king, who had married a daughter of their people; that he had been free to follow, in their country, his Roman tastes, so hated in Judea; that they had
remained quiet, after his death, when Judea and Galilee were in uproar, and that for their peacefulness a fourth of their taxes had been remitted and added to the
burdens of Judea. Their friendliness to the Romans was an additional provocation. While the Jews were kept quiet only by the sternest severity, and strove to the
utmost against the introduction of anything foreign, the Samaritans rejoiced in the new importance which their loyalty to the empire had given them. Shechem flourished:
close by, in Caesarea, the procurator held his court: a division of cavalry, in barracks at Sebaste-the old Samaria-had been raised in the territory. The Roman strangers
were more than welcome to while away the summer in their umbrageous valleys.

"The illimitable hatred, rising from so many sources, found vent in the tradition that a special curse had been uttered against the Samaritans, by Ezra, Zerubbabel, and
Joshua. It was said that these great ones assembled the whole congregation of Israel in the Temple, and that three hundred priests, with three hundred trumpets, and
three hundred books of the Law, and three hundred scholars of the Law, had been employed to repeat, amidst the most solemn ceremonial, all the curses of the Law
against the Samaritans. They had been subjected to every form of excommunication; by the incommunicable name of Jehovah; by the Tables of the Law, and by the
heavenly and earthly synagogues. The very name became a reproach. 'We know that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil,' said the Jews, to Jesus, in Jerusalem. . . .
A Samaritan egg, as the hen laid it, could not be unclean, but what of a boiled egg? Yet interest and convenience strove, by subtle casuistry, to invent excuses for what
intercourse was unavoidable. The country of the Cuthites was clean, so that a Jew might, without scruple, gather and eat its produce. The waters of Samaria were
clean, so that a Jew might drink them or wash in them. Their dwellings were clean, so that he might enter them, and eat or lodge in them. Their roads were clean, so that
the dust of them did not defile a Jew's feet. The Rabbis even went so far in their contradictory utterances, as to say that the victuals of the Cuthites were allowed, if
none of their wine or vinegar were mixed with them, and even their unleavened bread was to be reckoned fit for use at the Passover. Opinions thus wavered, but, as a
rule, harsher feeling prevailed."

That the hostile sentiment has continued unto this day, at least on the part of the Jews, is affirmed by Frankl and others. Thus, as quoted by Farrar (p. 166 note): "'Are
you a Jew?' asked Salameh Cohen, the Samaritan high priest, of Dr. Frankl; 'and do you come to us, the Samaritans, who are despised by the Jews?' (Jews in the
East, 2, 329). He added that they would willingly live in friendship with the Jews, but that the Jews avoided all intercourse with them. Soon after, visiting Sepharedish
Jews of Nablous, Dr. Frankl asked one of that sect, 'if he had any intercourse with the Samaritans?' The women retreated with a cry of horror, and one of them said,
'Have you been among the worshipers of the pigeons?' I said that I had. The women again fell back with the same expression of repugnance and one of them said,
'Take a purifying bath!'" (idem, p. 334). Canon Farrar adds, "I had the pleasure of spending a day among the Samaritans encamped on Mount Gerizim, for their annual
passover, and neither in their habits nor apparent character could I see any cause for all this horror and hatred."

  2. John 8:48.

  3. John 4:4; for incidents following, see verses 5-43.

   4. Note 2. Sychar.-The town where dwelt the Samaritan woman with whom Jesus conversed at Jacob's well, is named Sychar in John 4:5; the name occurs
nowhere else in the Bible. Attempts have been made to identify the place with Shechem, a city dear to the Jewish heart because of its prominence in connection with
the lives of the early patriarchs. It is now generally admitted, however, that Sychar was a small village on the site of the present Askar, which is, says Zenos, "a village
with a spring and some ancient rock-hewn tombs, about five eighths of a mile north of Jacob's well."

  5. Gen. 33:19; and Josh. 24:32.

  6. Acts 8:5; Acts 9:31; 15:3.

  7. John 4:44; compare Matt. 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24.

  8. John 4:48.

  9. John 2:23, 24.

  10. Note 3. The Nobleman of Capernaum.-The name of the nobleman whose son was healed by the word of Jesus is not given. Attempts to identify him with
Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, are based on unreliable tradition. The family of the nobleman accepted the teachings of Christ. "Joanna the wife of Chuza
Herod's steward" (Luke 8:3) was among the grateful and honorable women who had been recipients of our Lord's healing ministry, and who contributed of their
substance for the furtherance of His work. Unconfirmed tradition should not be confounded with authentic history.

  11. Luke 4:14, 15; read verses 16-32.

   12. Note 4. The Targums are ancient Jewish paraphrases on the scriptures, which were delivered in the synagogs in the languages of the common people. In the time
of Christ the language spoken by the Jews was not Hebrew, but an Aramaic dialect. Edersheim states that pure Hebrew was the language of scholars and of the
synagog, and that the public readings from the scriptures had to be rendered by an interpreter. "In earliest times indeed," says he, "it was forbidden to the Methurgeman
[interpreter] to read his translation, or to write down a Targum, lest the paraphrase should be regarded as of equal authority with the original." The use of written
 Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.
targums was "authoritatively sanctioned before the end of the second century after Christ. This is the origin of our two oldest extant Targumim-thatPage      106(as
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                                                                                                                                                                       it is
called) on the Pentateuch; and that on the Prophets, attributed to Jonathan the son of Uzziel. These names do not indeed, accurately represent the authorship of the
oldest Targumim, which may more correctly be regarded as later and authoritative recensions of what, in some form, had existed before. But although these works had
   12. Note 4. The Targums are ancient Jewish paraphrases on the scriptures, which were delivered in the synagogs in the languages of the common people. In the time
of Christ the language spoken by the Jews was not Hebrew, but an Aramaic dialect. Edersheim states that pure Hebrew was the language of scholars and of the
synagog, and that the public readings from the scriptures had to be rendered by an interpreter. "In earliest times indeed," says he, "it was forbidden to the Methurgeman
[interpreter] to read his translation, or to write down a Targum, lest the paraphrase should be regarded as of equal authority with the original." The use of written
targums was "authoritatively sanctioned before the end of the second century after Christ. This is the origin of our two oldest extant Targumim-that of Onkelos (as it is
called) on the Pentateuch; and that on the Prophets, attributed to Jonathan the son of Uzziel. These names do not indeed, accurately represent the authorship of the
oldest Targumim, which may more correctly be regarded as later and authoritative recensions of what, in some form, had existed before. But although these works had
their origin in Palestine, it is noteworthy that in the form in which at present we possess them, they are the outcome of the schools of Babylon." (Life and Times of Jesus
the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 10, 11.)

  13. Luke 4:18, 19; compare Isa. 61:1, 2.

  14. Luke 4:22; compare Matt. 13:55-57; Mark 6:3; John 6:42.

   15. Note 5. Capernaum.-"The name Capernaum signifies, according to some authorities, 'the Village of Nahum,' according to others, 'the Village of Consolation.' As
we follow the history of Jesus we shall discover that many of His mighty works were wrought, and many of His most impressive words were spoken in Capernaum.
The infidelity of the inhabitants, after all the discourses and wonderful works which He had done among them, brought out the saying of Jesus, 'And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be cast down to hell.' (Matt. 11:23.) So thoroughly has this prediction been fulfilled that no trace of the city remains, and the very
site which it occupied is now a matter of conjecture, there being even no ecclesiastical tradition of the locality. At the present day two spots have claims which are
urged, each with such arguments of probability as to make the whole question the most difficult in sacred topography. . . . We shall probably never be able to know the
exact fact. Jesus damned it to oblivion, and there it lies. We shall content ourselves with the New Testament notices as bearing on the work of Jesus.

"We learn that it was somewhere on the borders of Zabulun and Nephthalim, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (compare Matt. 4:13, with John 6:24). It was
near or in 'the land of Gennesaret' (compare Matt. 14:34, with John 6:17, 20, 24), a plain about three miles long and one mile wide, which we learn from Josephus was
one of the most prosperous and crowded districts of Palestine. It was probably on the great road leading from Damascus to the south, 'by the way of the sea.' (Matt.
4:15.) There was great wisdom in selecting this as a place to open a great public ministry. It was full of a busy population. The exceeding richness of the wonderful plain
of Gennesaret supported the mass of inhabitants it attracted. Josephus (B. J., iii, 10:8) gives a glowing description of this land."-Deems, Light of the Nations, pp. 167,
168.

  16. Luke 4:32; compare Matt. 7:28, 29; Matt. 13:54; Mark 1:22.

  17. Luke 4:33-37; and Mark 1:23-28.

Note 6. Knowledge Does Not Insure Salvation.-James of old chided his brethren for certain empty professions (James 2:19). Said he in effect: You take pride and
satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; you boast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen because you accept one God; you do well to so profess,
and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and, we may add, so firmly that they tremble at the thought of the fate which that belief
makes sure. Those confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God, were founded on knowledge; yet their knowledge of the great truth did not change their
evil natures. How different was their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master's question "Whom say ye that I am?" replied in practically
the words used by the unclean spirits before cited, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:15-16; see also Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). Peter's faith had
already shown its vital power; it had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to put away worldliness
with all its fascinations, the sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was perhaps
no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation, to him it was a means of salvation.-Abridged
from The Articles of Faith, pp. 97-98.

  18. The Jews' Sabbath began at sunset Friday and ended with the setting of the sun on Saturday.

  19. Luke 4:41; compare Mark 1:34; Mark 3:11, 12; 5:1-18; Matt. 8:28-34.

  20. Pages 6-7.

  21. Matt. 10:8; see verse 1; compare 4:24; Mark 1:32; Mark 16:17, 18; Luke 9:1.

  22. Matt. 8:32; Mark 1:25; Luke 4:35.

  23. Mark 9:25.

  24. Luke 10:17, 18; compare Rev. 12:7-9.

  25. Matt. 8:29-33; Mark 5:11-14; Luke 8:32-34.

  26. Matt. 8:14, 15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38, 39.

CHAPTER 14

Continuation of Our Lord's Ministry in Galilee

A Leper Made Clean

Early in the morning following that eventful Sabbath in Capernaum, our Lord arose "a great while before day" and went in quest of seclusion beyond the town. In a
solitary place He gave Himself to prayer, thus demonstrating the fact that, Messiah though He was, He was profoundly conscious of His dependence upon the Father,
whose work He had come to do. Simon Peter and other disciples found the place of His retirement, and told Him of the eager crowds who sought Him. Soon the
people gathered about Him, and urged that He remain with them; but "he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I
sent." And to the disciples He said: "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." Thence He departed, accompanied by
the few whom He had already closely associated with Himself, and ministered in many towns of Galilee, preaching in the synagogs, healing the sick, and casting out
devils.

Among    the (c)
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                 2005-2009,     the aid that He alone
                                          Media       could give came a leper, who knelt before Him, or bowed with his face to the ground, and humbly
                                                  Corp.                                                                                               Page  professed  his
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faith, saying: "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The petition implied in the words of this poor creature was pathetic; the confidence he expressed is inspiring. The
question in his mind was not-Can Jesus heal me? but-Will he heal me? In compassionate mercy Jesus laid His hand upon the sufferer, unclean though he was, both
ceremonially and physically, for leprosy is a loathsome affliction, and we know that this man was far advanced in the disease since we are told that he was "full of
sent." And to the disciples He said: "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." Thence He departed, accompanied by
the few whom He had already closely associated with Himself, and ministered in many towns of Galilee, preaching in the synagogs, healing the sick, and casting out
devils.

Among the afflicted seeking the aid that He alone could give came a leper, who knelt before Him, or bowed with his face to the ground, and humbly professed his
faith, saying: "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The petition implied in the words of this poor creature was pathetic; the confidence he expressed is inspiring. The
question in his mind was not-Can Jesus heal me? but-Will he heal me? In compassionate mercy Jesus laid His hand upon the sufferer, unclean though he was, both
ceremonially and physically, for leprosy is a loathsome affliction, and we know that this man was far advanced in the disease since we are told that he was "full of
leprosy." Then the Lord said: "I will: be thou clean." The leper was immediately healed. Jesus instructed him to show himself to the priest, and make the offerings
prescribed in the law of Moses for such cases as his.

In this instruction we see that Christ had not come to destroy the law, but, as He affirmed at another time, to fulfil it; and at this stage of His work the fulfillment was
incomplete. Moreover, had the legal requirements been disregarded in as serious a matter as that of restoring an outcast leper to the society of the community from
which he had been debarred, priestly opposition, already waxing strong and threatening against Jesus, would have been augmented, and further hindrance to the Lord's
work might have resulted. There was to be no delay in the man's compliance with the Master's instruction; Jesus "straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away."
Furthermore He explicitly directed the man to tell nobody of the manner of his healing. There was perhaps good reason for this injunction of silence, aside from the very
general course of our Lord in discountenancing undesirable notoriety; for, had word of the miracle preceded the man's appearing before the priest, obstacles might have
been thrown in the way of his Levitical recognition as one who was clean. The man, however, could not keep the good word to himself, but went about "and began to
publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him
from every quarter."

A Palsied Man Healed and Forgiven

It must be borne in mind that no one of the evangelists attempts to give a detailed history of all the doings of Jesus, nor do all follow the same order in relating the
incidents with which they associate the great lessons of the Master's teachings. There is much uncertainty as to the actual sequence of events.

"Some days" after the healing of the leper, Jesus was again in Capernaum. The details of His employment during the interval are not specified; but, we may be sure that
His work continued, for His characteristic occupation was that of going about doing good. His place of abode in Capernaum was well known, and word was soon
noised about that He was in the house. A great throng gathered, so that there was no room to receive them; even the doorway was crowded, and later comers could
not get near the Master. To all who were within hearing Jesus preached the gospel. A little party of four approached the house bearing a litter or pallet on which lay a
man afflicted with palsy, a species of paralysis which deprived the subject of the power of voluntary motion and usually of speech; the man was helpless. His friends,
disappointed at finding themselves unable to reach Jesus because of the press, resorted to an unusual expedient, which exhibited in an unmistakable way their faith in the
Lord as One who could rebuke and stay disease, and their determination to seek the desired blessing at His hands.

By some means they carried the afflicted man to the flat roof of the house, probably by an outside stairway or by the use of a ladder, possibly by entering an adjoining
house, ascending the stairs to its roof and crossing therefrom to the house within which Jesus was teaching. They broke away part of the roof, making an opening, or
enlarging that of the trapdoor such as the houses of that place and time were usually provided with; and, to the surprise of the assembled crowd, they then let down
through the tiling the portable couch upon which the palsied sufferer lay. Jesus was deeply impressed by the faith and works of those who had thus labored to place
a helpless paralytic before Him; doubtless, too, He knew of the trusting faith in the heart of the sufferer; and, looking compassionately upon the man, He said: "Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee."

Among the people there assembled were scribes, Pharisees, and doctors of the law, not only representatives of the local synagog but some who had come from distant
towns in Galilee, and some from Judea, and even from Jerusalem. The official class had opposed our Lord and His works on earlier occasions, and their presence in
the house at this time boded further unfriendly criticism and possible obstruction. They heard the words spoken to the paralytic, and were angered thereat. In their
hearts they accused Jesus of the awful offense of blasphemy, which consists essentially in claiming for human or demon power the prerogatives of God, or in
dishonoring God by ascribing to Him attributes short of perfection. These unbelieving scholars, who incessantly wrote and talked of the coming of the Messiah, yet
rejected Him when He was there present, murmured in silence, saying to themselves: "Who can forgive sins but God only?" Jesus knew their inmost thoughts, and
made reply thereto, saying: "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?" And then to emphasize, and to put beyond question His possession of divine authority, He added: "But that ye may know that the Son
of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." The man
arose, fully restored; and, taking up the mattress upon which he had been brought, walked out before them. The amazement of the people was mingled with reverence,
and many glorified God, of whose power they were witnesses.

The incident demands our further study. According to one of the accounts, the Lord's first words to the afflicted one were: "Son, be of good cheer"; followed directly
by the comforting and authoritative assurance: "Thy sins be forgiven thee." The man was probably in a state of fear; he may have known that his ailment was the
result of wicked indulgences; nevertheless, though he may have considered the possibility of hearing only condemnation for his transgression, he had faith to be brought.
In this man's condition there was plainly a close connection between his past sins and his present affliction; and in this particular his case is not unique, for we read that
Christ admonished another, whom He healed, to sin no more lest a worse thing befall him. We are not warranted, however, in assuming that all bodily ills are the
result of culpable sin; and against such a conception stands the Lord's combined instruction and rebuke to those who, in the case of a man born blind, asked who had
sinned, the man or his parents to bring so grievous an affliction upon him, to which inquiry our Lord replied that the man's blindness was due neither to his own sin nor
to that of his parents.

In many instances, however, disease is the direct result of individual sin. Whatever may have been the measure of past offense on the part of the man suffering from
palsy, Christ recognized his repentance together with the faith that accompanied it, and it was the Lord's rightful prerogative to decide upon the man's fitness to receive
remission of his sins and relief from his bodily affliction. The interrogative response of Jesus to the unuttered criticism of the scribes, Pharisees, and doctors, has been
interpreted in many ways. He inquired which was easier, to say, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," or to say, "Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk." Is it not a rational
explanation that, when spoken authoritatively by Him, the two expressions were of allied meaning? The circumstance should have been a sufficient demonstration to all
who heard, that He, the Son of Man, claimed and possessed the right and the power to remit both physical and spiritual penalties, to heal the body of visible disease,
and to purge the spirit of the no less real malady of sin. In the presence of people of all classes Jesus thus openly asserted His divinity, and affirmed the same by a
miraculous manifestation of power.

The charge of blasphemy, which the rabbinical critics formulated in their minds against the Christ, was not to end as a mental conception of theirs, nor to be nullified by
our Lord's later remarks. It was through perjured testimony that He finally received unrighteous condemnation and was sent to His death. Already, in that house at
Capernaum, the shadow of the cross had fallen athwart the course of His life.

Publicans and Sinners
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From the house Jesus repaired to the seaside, whither the people followed Him; there He taught them again. At the close of His discourse He walked farther and saw a
man named Levi, one of the publicans or official collectors of taxes, sitting at the custom-house where the tariff levied under Roman law had to be paid. This man
was known also as Matthew, a name less distinctively Jewish than is Levi. He afterward became one of the Twelve and the author of the first of the evangelical
Capernaum, the shadow of the cross had fallen athwart the course of His life.

Publicans and Sinners

From the house Jesus repaired to the seaside, whither the people followed Him; there He taught them again. At the close of His discourse He walked farther and saw a
man named Levi, one of the publicans or official collectors of taxes, sitting at the custom-house where the tariff levied under Roman law had to be paid. This man
was known also as Matthew, a name less distinctively Jewish than is Levi. He afterward became one of the Twelve and the author of the first of the evangelical
Gospels. To him Jesus said, "Follow me." Matthew left his place and followed the Lord. Some time later the new disciple provided a great feast at his house, in honor
of the Master; and other disciples were present. So obnoxious to the Jews was the power of Rome to which they were subject, that they regarded with aversion all
officials in Roman employ. Particularly humiliating to them was the system of compulsory taxation, by which they, the people of Israel, had to pay tribute to an alien
nation, which in their estimation was wholly pagan and heathen.

Naturally, the collectors of these taxes were abhorred; and they, known as publicans, probably resented the discourteous treatment by inconsiderate enforcement of the
tax requirements, and, as affirmed by historians, often inflicted unlawful extortion upon the people. If publicans in general were detested, we can readily understand how
bitter would be the contempt in which the Jews would hold one of their own nation who had accepted appointment as such an official. In this unenviable status was
Matthew when Jesus called him. The publicans formed a distinct social class, for from the community in general they were practically ostracized. All who associated
with them were made to share in the popular odium, and "publicans and sinners" became a common designation for the degraded caste. To Matthew's feast many of his
friends and some of his fellow officials were invited, so that the gathering was largely made up of these despised "publicans and sinners." And to such an assemblage
went Jesus with His disciples.

The scribes and Pharisees could not let pass such an opportunity for faultfinding and caustic criticism. They hesitated to address themselves directly to Jesus, but of the
disciples they asked in disdain: "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" The Master heard, and replied with edifying incisiveness mingled with splendid
irony. Citing one of the common aphorisms of the day, He said: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." To this He added: "I am not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The hypercritical Pharisees were left to make their own application of the rejoinder, which some may have understood to
mean that their self-righteousness was arraigned and their claims to superiority derided. Aside from the veiled sarcasm in the Master's words, they ought to have
perceived the wisdom enshrined in His answer and to have profited thereby. Is not the physician's place among the afflicted ones? Would he be justified in keeping
aloof from the sick and the suffering? His profession is that of combating disease, preventing when possible, curing when necessary, to the full extent of his ability. If the
festive assembly at Matthew's house really did comprise a number of sinners, was not the occasion one of rare opportunity for the ministrations of the Physician of
Souls? The righteous need no call to repentance; but are the sinners to be left in sin, because those who profess to be spiritual teachers will not condescend to extend a
helping hand?

The Old and the New

Shortly after the entertainment provided by Matthew, the Pharisees were ready with another criticism, and in this they were associated with some of the Baptist's
adherents. John was in prison; but many of those who had been drawn to his baptism, and had professed discipleship to him, still clung to his teachings, and failed to
see that the Greater One of whom he had testified was then ministering amongst them. The Baptist had been a scrupulous observer of the law; his strict asceticism vied
with the rigor of Pharisaic profession. His non-progressive disciples, now left without a leader, naturally fell in with the Pharisees. Some of John's disciples came to
Jesus, and questioned Him concerning His seeming indifference in the matter of fasting. They propounded a plain question: "Why do the disciples of John and of the
Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?" To the friends of the now imprisoned Baptist our Lord's reply must have brought memories of their beloved leader's words,
when he had compared himself to the Bridegroom's friend, and had plainly told them who was the real Bridegroom. "Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom
shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days."

If the questioners were able to comprehend the true import of this reply, they could not fail to find therein an implied abrogation of purely ceremonial observances
comprised in the code of rabbinical rules and the numerous traditions associated with the law. But to make the subject clearer to their biased minds, Jesus gave them
illustrations, which may be classed as parabolic. "No man also," said He, "seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh
away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the
bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles."

In such wise did our Lord proclaim the newness and completeness of His gospel. It was in no sense a patching up of Judaism. He had not come to mend old and torn
garments; the cloth He provided was new, and to sew it on the old would be but to tear afresh the threadbare fabric and leave a more unsightly rent than at first. Or to
change the figure, new wine could not safely be entrusted to old bottles. The bottles here referred to were really bags, made of the skins of animals, and of course they
deteriorated with age. Just as old leather splits or tears under even slight strain, so the old bottle-skins would burst from the pressure of fermenting juice, and the good
wine would be lost. The gospel taught by Christ was a new revelation, superseding the past, and marking the fulfillment of the law; it was no mere addendum, nor was it
a reenactment of past requirements; it embodied a new and an everlasting covenant. Attempts to patch the Judaistic robe of traditionalism with the new fabric of the
covenant could result in nothing more sightly than a rending of the fabric. The new wine of the gospel could not be held in the old time-worn containers of Mosaic
libations. Judaism would be belittled and Christianity perverted by any such incongruous association.

Fishers of Men

It is improbable that the disciples who followed Jesus in the early months of His ministry had remained with Him continuously down to the time now under
consideration. We find that some of those who were later called to the apostleship were following their vocation as fishermen even while Jesus was actively engaged as
a Teacher in their own neighborhood. One day, as the Lord stood by the lake or sea of Galilee, the people pressed about Him in great numbers, eager to hear more of
the wondrous words He was wont to speak. Near the place were two fishing boats drawn in upon the beach; the owners were close by, washing and mending their
nets. One of the boats belonged to Simon Peter, who had already become identified with the Master's work; this boat Jesus entered, and then asked Simon to thrust
out a little from the land. Seating Himself, as teachers of that time usually did in delivering discourses, the Lord preached from this floating pulpit to the multitude on
shore. The subject of the address is not given us.

When the sermon was ended, Jesus directed Simon to launch out into deep water and then let down the nets for a draught. Presumably Andrew was with his brother
and possibly other assistants were in the boat. Simon replied to Jesus: "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let
down the net." It was soon filled with fishes; so great was the haul that the net began to break, and the busy fishermen signalled to those in the other boat to come to
their assistance. The catch filled both boats so that they appeared to be in danger of sinking. Simon Peter was overcome with this new evidence of the Master's power,
and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he exclaimed: "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Jesus answered graciously and with promise: "Fear not; from henceforth
thou shalt catch men." The occupants of the second boat were Zebedee and his two sons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had left the
Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan. Zebedee and his sons were partners with Simon in the fishing business. When the two boats were brought to land, the brothers
Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's two sons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.
The foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record; the briefer and less circumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident of thePage          109 draught
                                                                                                                                                         miraculous  / 128
of fishes, and emphasize the calling of the fishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." The
contrast thus presented between their former vocation and their new calling is strikingly forceful. Theretofore they had caught fish, and the fate of the fish was death;
thou shalt catch men." The occupants of the second boat were Zebedee and his two sons James and John, the last named being he who with Andrew had left the
Baptist to follow Jesus at the Jordan. Zebedee and his sons were partners with Simon in the fishing business. When the two boats were brought to land, the brothers
Simon and Andrew, and Zebedee's two sons James and John, left their boats and accompanied Jesus.

The foregoing treatment is based on Luke's record; the briefer and less circumstantial accounts given by Matthew and Mark omit the incident of the miraculous draught
of fishes, and emphasize the calling of the fishermen. To Simon and Andrew Jesus said: "Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." The
contrast thus presented between their former vocation and their new calling is strikingly forceful. Theretofore they had caught fish, and the fate of the fish was death;
thereafter they were to draw men-to a life eternal. To James and John the call was no less definite; and they too left their all to follow the Master.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 14

1. Leprosy.-In Biblical usage this name is applied to several diseases, all, however, having some symptoms in common, at least in the earlier stages of the malady. The
real leprosy is a scourge and a plague in many oriental lands today. Zenos, in Standard Bible Dict., says: "True leprosy, as known in modern times, is an affection
characterized by the appearance of nodules in the eyebrows, the cheeks, the nose, and the lobes of the ears, also in the hands and feet, where the disease eats into the
joints, causing the falling off of fingers and toes. If nodules do not appear, their place is taken by spots of blanched or discolored skin (Mascular leprosy). Both forms
are based upon a functional degeneration of the nerves of the skin. Its cause was discovered by Hansen in 1871 to be a specific bacillus. Defective diet, however,
seems to serve as a favorable condition for the culture of the bacillus. Leprosy was one of the few abnormal conditions of the body which the Levitical law declared
unclean. Elaborate provision was therefore made for testing its existence and for the purification of those who were cured of it."

Deems, Light of the Nations, p. 185, summing up the conditions incident to the advanced stages of the dread disease, writes: "The symptoms and the effects of this
disease are very loathsome. There comes a white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair on the part from its natural hue to yellow; then the appearance
of a taint going deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. Then it spreads and attacks the cartilaginous portions of the body. The nails loosen and drop
off, the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fall out; the breath is a stench, the nose decays; fingers, hands, feet, may be lost, or the eyes eaten out. The human
beauty has gone into corruption, and the patient feels that he is being eaten as by a fiend, who consumes him slowly in a long remorseless meal that will not end until he
be destroyed. He is shut out from his fellows. As they approach he must cry, 'Unclean! unclean!' that all humanity may be warned from his precincts. He must abandon
wife and child. He must go to live with other lepers, in disheartening view of miseries similar to his own. He must dwell in dismantled houses or in the tombs. He is, as
Trench says, a dreadful parable of death. By the laws of Moses (Lev. 13:45; Num. 6:9; Ezek. 24:17) he was compelled, as if he were mourning for his own decease,
to bear about him the emblems of death, the rent garments; he was to keep his head bare and his lip covered, as was the custom with those who were in communion
with the dead. When the Crusaders brought the leprosy from the East, it was usual to clothe the leper in a shroud, and to say for him the masses for the dead. . . . In all
ages this indescribably horrible malady has been considered incurable. The Jews believed that it was inflicted by Jehovah directly, as a punishment for some
extraordinary perversity or some transcendent act of sinfulness, and that only God could heal it. When Naaman was cured, and his flesh came back like that of a little
child, he said 'Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.' (2 Kgs. 5:14, 15.)"

The fact that leprosy is not ordinarily communicable by mere outward contact is accentuated by Trench, Notes on the Miracles, pp. 165-168, and the isolation of
lepers required by the Mosaic law is regarded by him as an intended object lesson and figure to illustrate spiritual uncleanness. He says: "I refer to the mistaken
assumption that leprosy was catching from one person to another; and that the lepers were so carefully secluded from their fellowmen lest they might communicate the
disease to others, as in like manner that the torn garment, the covered lip, the cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev. 13:45) were warnings to all that they should keep aloof, lest
unawares touching a leper, or drawing unto too great a nearness, they should become partakers of this disease. So far from any danger of the kind existing, nearly all
who have looked closest into the matter agree that the sickness was incommunicable by ordinary contact from one person to another. A leper might transmit it to his
children, or the mother of a leper's children might take it from him; but it was by no ordinary contact communicable from one person to another. All the notices in the
Old Testament, as well as in other Jewish books, confirm the statement that we have here something very much higher than a mere sanitary regulation. Thus, when the
law of Moses was not observed, no such exclusion necessarily found place; Naaman the leper commanded the armies of Syria (2 Kgs. 5:1) Gehazi, with his leprosy
that never should be cleansed (2 Kgs. 5:27); talked familiarly with the king of apostate Israel (2 Kgs. 8:5). . . . How, moreover, should the Levitical priests, had the
disease been this creeping infection, have ever themselves escaped it, obliged as they were by their very office to submit the leper to actual handling and closest
examination? . . . Leprosy was nothing short of a living death, a corrupting of all the humors, a poisoning of the very springs, of life; a dissolution, little by little, of the
whole body, so that one limb after another actually decayed and fell away. Aaron exactly describes the appearance which the leper presented to the eyes of the
beholders, when, pleading for Miriam, he says, 'Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.' (Num.
12:12.) The disease, moreover, was incurable by the art and skill of man; not that the leper might not return to health; for, however rare, such cases are contemplated in
the Levitical law. . . . The lepor, thus fearfully bearing about the body the outward and visible tokens of sin in the soul, was created throughout as a sinner, as one in
whom sin had reached its climax, as one dead in trespasses and sins. He was himself a dreadful parable of death. He bore about him the emblems of death (Lev.
13:45); the rent garments, mourning for himself as one dead; the head bare as they were wont to have it who were defiled by communion with the dead (Num. 6:9;
Ezek. 24:27); and lip covered (Ezek. 24:17). . . . But the lepor was as one dead, and as such was shut out of the camp (Lev. 13:46; Num. 5:2-4), and the city (2 Kgs.
7:3), this law being so strictly enforced that even the sister of Moses might not be exempted from it (Num. 12:14, 15); and kings themselves, as Uzziah (2 Chr. 26:21; 2
Kgs. 15:5) must submit to it; men being by this exclusion taught that what here took place in a figure, should take place in the reality with every one who was found in
the death of sin."

For the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recovered leper see Lev., chap. 14.

2. Blasphemy.-The essence of the deep sin of blasphemy lies not, as many suppose, in profanity alone, but as Dr. Kelso, Stand. Bible Dict., summarizes: "Every
improper use of the divine name (Lev. 24:11), speech derogatory to the Majesty of God (Matt. 26:65), and sins with a high hand-i.e. premeditated transgressions of
the basal principles of the theocracy (Num. 9:13; 15:30; Ex. 31:14)-were regarded as blasphemy; the penalty was death by stoning (Lev. 24:16)." Smith's Bible Dict.
states: "Blasphemy, in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, and in this sense it is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24, etc. . . . On this
charge both our Lord and Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. When a person heard blasphemy he laid his hand on the head of the offender, to symbolize
his sole responsibility for the guilt, and rising on his feet, tore his robe, which might never again be mended." (See Matt. 26:65.)

3. Publican.-"A word originally meaning a contractor for public works or supplies, or a farmer of public lands, but later applied to Romans who bought from the
government the right to collect taxes in a given territory. These buyers, always knights (senators were excluded by their rank), became capitalists and formed powerful
stock companies, whose members received a percentage on the capital invested. Provincial capitalists could not buy taxes, which were sold in Rome to the highest
bidders, who to recoup themselves sublet their territory (at a great advance on the price paid the government) to the native (local) publicans, who in their turn had to
make a profit on their purchase money, and being assessors of property as well as collectors of taxes, had abundant opportunities for oppressing the people, who hated
them both for that reason and also because the tax itself was the mark of their subjection to foreigners."-J. R. Sterrett in Standard Bible Dict.

4. Fishers of Men.-"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," said Jesus to fishermen who afterward became His apostles (Matt. 4:19). Mark's version is nearly
the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10) reads: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." The correct translation is, as commentators practically agree, "From
henceforth thou shalt take men alive." This reading emphasizes the contrast given in the text-that between capturing fish to kill them and winning men to save them.
Consider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah (16:16), that in reaching scattered Israel, "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and
they shall fish them"; etc.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                            Page 110 / 128
5. "Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee."-The following commentary by Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 505, 506) on the incident under
consideration is instructive: "In this forgiveness of sins He presented His person and authority as divine, and He proved it such by the miracle of healing which
immediately followed. Had the two been inverted, [i.e. had Christ first healed the man and afterward told him that his sins were forgiven] there would have been
the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10) reads: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." The correct translation is, as commentators practically agree, "From
henceforth thou shalt take men alive." This reading emphasizes the contrast given in the text-that between capturing fish to kill them and winning men to save them.
Consider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah (16:16), that in reaching scattered Israel, "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and
they shall fish them"; etc.

5. "Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee."-The following commentary by Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 505, 506) on the incident under
consideration is instructive: "In this forgiveness of sins He presented His person and authority as divine, and He proved it such by the miracle of healing which
immediately followed. Had the two been inverted, [i.e. had Christ first healed the man and afterward told him that his sins were forgiven] there would have been
evidence, indeed, of His power, but not of His divine personality, nor of His having authority to forgive sins; and this, not the doing of miracles, was the object of His
teaching and mission, of which the miracles were only secondary evidence. Thus the inward reasoning of the scribes, which was open and known to Him who readeth
all thoughts, issued in quite the opposite of what they could have expected. Most unwarranted, indeed, was the feeling of contempt which we trace in their unspoken
words, whether we read them: 'Why does this one thus speak blasphemies?' or, according to a more correct transcript of them: 'Why does this one speak thus? He
blasphemeth!' Yet from their point of view they were right, for God alone can forgive sins; nor has that power ever been given or delegated to man. But was He a mere
man, like even the most honored of God's servants? Man, indeed; but 'the Son of Man.' . . . It seemed easy to say: 'Thy sins have been forgiven.' But to Him, who had
authority to do so on earth, it was neither more easy nor more difficult than to say: 'Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.' Yet this latter, assuredly, proved the former, and
gave it in the sight of all men unquestioned reality. And so it was the thoughts of these scribes, which, as applied to Christ, were 'evil'-since they imputed to Him
blasphemy-that gave occasion for offering real evidence of what they would have impugned and denied. In no other manner could the object alike of miracles and of
this special miracle have been so attained as by the 'evil thoughts' of these scribes, when, miraculously brought to light, they spoke out the inmost possible doubt, and
pointed to the highest of all questions concerning the Christ. And so it was once more the wrath of man which praised Him."

Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:42-44.

  2. Mark 1:38.

  3. Mark 1:40-45; Matt. 8:2-4; Luke 5:12-15.

  4. Lev. 14:2-10.

Note 1. Leprosy.-In Biblical usage this name is applied to several diseases, all, however, having some symptoms in common, at least in the earlier stages of the malady.
The real leprosy is a scourge and a plague in many oriental lands today. Zenos, in Standard Bible Dict., says: "True leprosy, as known in modern times, is an affection
characterized by the appearance of nodules in the eyebrows, the cheeks, the nose, and the lobes of the ears, also in the hands and feet, where the disease eats into the
joints, causing the falling off of fingers and toes. If nodules do not appear, their place is taken by spots of blanched or discolored skin (Mascular leprosy). Both forms
are based upon a functional degeneration of the nerves of the skin. Its cause was discovered by Hansen in 1871 to be a specific bacillus. Defective diet, however,
seems to serve as a favorable condition for the culture of the bacillus. Leprosy was one of the few abnormal conditions of the body which the Levitical law declared
unclean. Elaborate provision was therefore made for testing its existence and for the purification of those who were cured of it."

Deems, Light of the Nations, p. 185, summing up the conditions incident to the advanced stages of the dread disease, writes: "The symptoms and the effects of this
disease are very loathsome. There comes a white swelling or scab, with a change of the color of the hair on the part from its natural hue to yellow; then the appearance
of a taint going deeper than the skin, or raw flesh appearing in the swelling. Then it spreads and attacks the cartilaginous portions of the body. The nails loosen and drop
off, the gums are absorbed, and the teeth decay and fall out; the breath is a stench, the nose decays; fingers, hands, feet, may be lost, or the eyes eaten out. The human
beauty has gone into corruption, and the patient feels that he is being eaten as by a fiend, who consumes him slowly in a long remorseless meal that will not end until he
be destroyed. He is shut out from his fellows. As they approach he must cry, 'Unclean! unclean!' that all humanity may be warned from his precincts. He must abandon
wife and child. He must go to live with other lepers, in disheartening view of miseries similar to his own. He must dwell in dismantled houses or in the tombs. He is, as
Trench says, a dreadful parable of death. By the laws of Moses (Lev. 13:45; Num. 6:9; Ezek. 24:17) he was compelled, as if he were mourning for his own decease,
to bear about him the emblems of death, the rent garments; he was to keep his head bare and his lip covered, as was the custom with those who were in communion
with the dead. When the Crusaders brought the leprosy from the East, it was usual to clothe the leper in a shroud, and to say for him the masses for the dead. . . . In all
ages this indescribably horrible malady has been considered incurable. The Jews believed that it was inflicted by Jehovah directly, as a punishment for some
extraordinary perversity or some transcendent act of sinfulness, and that only God could heal it. When Naaman was cured, and his flesh came back like that of a little
child, he said 'Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.' (2 Kgs. 5:14, 15.)"

The fact that leprosy is not ordinarily communicable by mere outward contact is accentuated by Trench, Notes on the Miracles, pp. 165-168, and the isolation of
lepers required by the Mosaic law is regarded by him as an intended object lesson and figure to illustrate spiritual uncleanness. He says: "I refer to the mistaken
assumption that leprosy was catching from one person to another; and that the lepers were so carefully secluded from their fellowmen lest they might communicate the
disease to others, as in like manner that the torn garment, the covered lip, the cry, 'Unclean, unclean' (Lev. 13:45) were warnings to all that they should keep aloof, lest
unawares touching a leper, or drawing unto too great a nearness, they should become partakers of this disease. So far from any danger of the kind existing, nearly all
who have looked closest into the matter agree that the sickness was incommunicable by ordinary contact from one person to another. A leper might transmit it to his
children, or the mother of a leper's children might take it from him; but it was by no ordinary contact communicable from one person to another. All the notices in the
Old Testament, as well as in other Jewish books, confirm the statement that we have here something very much higher than a mere sanitary regulation. Thus, when the
law of Moses was not observed, no such exclusion necessarily found place; Naaman the leper commanded the armies of Syria (2 Kgs. 5:1) Gehazi, with his leprosy
that never should be cleansed (2 Kgs. 5:27); talked familiarly with the king of apostate Israel (2 Kgs. 8:5). . . . How, moreover, should the Levitical priests, had the
disease been this creeping infection, have ever themselves escaped it, obliged as they were by their very office to submit the leper to actual handling and closest
examination? . . . Leprosy was nothing short of a living death, a corrupting of all the humors, a poisoning of the very springs, of life; a dissolution, little by little, of the
whole body, so that one limb after another actually decayed and fell away. Aaron exactly describes the appearance which the leper presented to the eyes of the
beholders, when, pleading for Miriam, he says, 'Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.' (Num.
12:12.) The disease, moreover, was incurable by the art and skill of man; not that the leper might not return to health; for, however rare, such cases are contemplated in
the Levitical law. . . . The lepor, thus fearfully bearing about the body the outward and visible tokens of sin in the soul, was created throughout as a sinner, as one in
whom sin had reached its climax, as one dead in trespasses and sins. He was himself a dreadful parable of death. He bore about him the emblems of death (Lev.
13:45); the rent garments, mourning for himself as one dead; the head bare as they were wont to have it who were defiled by communion with the dead (Num. 6:9;
Ezek. 24:27); and lip covered (Ezek. 24:17). . . . But the lepor was as one dead, and as such was shut out of the camp (Lev. 13:46; Num. 5:2-4), and the city (2 Kgs.
7:3), this law being so strictly enforced that even the sister of Moses might not be exempted from it (Num. 12:14, 15); and kings themselves, as Uzziah (2 Chr. 26:21; 2
Kgs. 15:5) must submit to it; men being by this exclusion taught that what here took place in a figure, should take place in the reality with every one who was found in
the death of sin."

For the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recovered leper see Lev., chap. 14.

Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.
 5. Matt. 5:17.                                                                                                                                          Page 111 / 128

  6. Mark 1:45.
the death of sin."

For the elaborate ceremonies incident to the cleansing of a recovered leper see Lev., chap. 14.

  5. Matt. 5:17.

  6. Mark 1:45.

  7. Acts 10:38.

  8. Mark 2:1-12; compare Matt. 9:2-8; Luke 5:17-24.

  9. Compare James 2:14-18.

   10. Note 2. Blasphemy.-The essence of the deep sin of blasphemy lies not, as many suppose, in profanity alone, but as Dr. Kelso, Stand. Bible Dict., summarizes:
"Every improper use of the divine name (Lev. 24:11), speech derogatory to the Majesty of God (Matt. 26:65), and sins with a high hand-i.e. premeditated
transgressions of the basal principles of the theocracy (Num. 9:13; 15:30; Ex. 31:14)-were regarded as blasphemy; the penalty was death by stoning (Lev. 24:16)."
Smith's Bible Dict. states: "Blasphemy, in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God, and in this sense it is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24,
etc. . . . On this charge both our Lord and Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. When a person heard blasphemy he laid his hand on the head of the
offender, to symbolize his sole responsibility for the guilt, and rising on his feet, tore his robe, which might never again be mended." (See Matt. 26:65.)

  11. See another instance of our Lord reading unuttered thoughts, Luke 7:39-50.

  12. Matt. 9:2.

Note 5. "Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee."-The following commentary by Edersheim (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 505, 506) on the incident under
consideration is instructive: "In this forgiveness of sins He presented His person and authority as divine, and He proved it such by the miracle of healing which
immediately followed. Had the two been inverted, [i.e. had Christ first healed the man and afterward told him that his sins were forgiven] there would have been
evidence, indeed, of His power, but not of His divine personality, nor of His having authority to forgive sins; and this, not the doing of miracles, was the object of His
teaching and mission, of which the miracles were only secondary evidence. Thus the inward reasoning of the scribes, which was open and known to Him who readeth
all thoughts, issued in quite the opposite of what they could have expected. Most unwarranted, indeed, was the feeling of contempt which we trace in their unspoken
words, whether we read them: 'Why does this one thus speak blasphemies?' or, according to a more correct transcript of them: 'Why does this one speak thus? He
blasphemeth!' Yet from their point of view they were right, for God alone can forgive sins; nor has that power ever been given or delegated to man. But was He a mere
man, like even the most honored of God's servants? Man, indeed; but 'the Son of Man.' . . . It seemed easy to say: 'Thy sins have been forgiven.' But to Him, who had
authority to do so on earth, it was neither more easy nor more difficult than to say: 'Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.' Yet this latter, assuredly, proved the former, and
gave it in the sight of all men unquestioned reality. And so it was the thoughts of these scribes, which, as applied to Christ, were 'evil'-since they imputed to Him
blasphemy-that gave occasion for offering real evidence of what they would have impugned and denied. In no other manner could the object alike of miracles and of
this special miracle have been so attained as by the 'evil thoughts' of these scribes, when, miraculously brought to light, they spoke out the inmost possible doubt, and
pointed to the highest of all questions concerning the Christ. And so it was once more the wrath of man which praised Him."

  13. John 5:14.

  14. John 9:1-3.

  15. Compare John 10:33; John 5:18; Matt. 26:65, 66.

   16. Note 3. Publican.-"A word originally meaning a contractor for public works or supplies, or a farmer of public lands, but later applied to Romans who bought
from the government the right to collect taxes in a given territory. These buyers, always knights (senators were excluded by their rank), became capitalists and formed
powerful stock companies, whose members received a percentage on the capital invested. Provincial capitalists could not buy taxes, which were sold in Rome to the
highest bidders, who to recoup themselves sublet their territory (at a great advance on the price paid the government) to the native (local) publicans, who in their turn
had to make a profit on their purchase money, and being assessors of property as well as collectors of taxes, had abundant opportunities for oppressing the people,
who hated them both for that reason and also because the tax itself was the mark of their subjection to foreigners."-J. R. Sterrett in Standard Bible Dict.

  17. Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32.

  18. Mark 2:18-22; Matt. 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39.

  19. Page 154.

  20. Mark 2:19, 20.

  21. Mark 2:21, 22.

  22. See The Great Apostasy, chap. 7, para. 5.

  23. Luke 5:1-11; compare Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20.

   24. Note 4. Fishers of Men.-"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," said Jesus to fishermen who afterward became His apostles (Matt. 4:19). Mark's
version is nearly the same (1:17), while that of Luke (5:10) reads: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." The correct translation is, as commentators practically agree,
"From henceforth thou shalt take men alive." This reading emphasizes the contrast given in the text-that between capturing fish to kill them and winning men to save
them. Consider in this connection the Lord's prediction through Jeremiah (16:16), that in reaching scattered Israel, "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord,
and they shall fish them"; etc.

CHAPTER 15

The Lord of the Sabbath
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                           Page 112 / 128
The Sabbath Distinctively Sacred to Israel
CHAPTER 15

The Lord of the Sabbath

The Sabbath Distinctively Sacred to Israel

The observance of the Sabbath as a holy day was prominent among the Lord's requirements of His people, Israel, from a very early period in their history as a nation.
Indeed, the keeping of the Sabbath as a day of surcease from ordinary toil was a national characteristic, by which the Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples,
and rightly so, for the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant between the chosen people and their God. The sanctity of the Sabbath had been
prefigured in the account of the creation, antedating the placing of man upon the earth, as shown by the fact that God rested after the six periods or days of creative
work, and blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. In the course of Israel's exodus, the seventh day was set apart as one of rest, upon which it was not allowed to
bake, seethe, or otherwise cook food. A double supply of manna had to be gathered on the sixth day, while on other days the laying-by of a surplus of this daily bread
sent from heaven was expressly forbidden. The Lord observed the sacredness of the holy day by giving no manna thereon.

The commandment to celebrate the Sabbath in strictness was made definite and explicit in the decalog, written by the hand of God amidst the awful glory of Sinai; and
the injunction was kept before the people through frequent proclamation. It was unlawful to kindle a fire on that day; and record is made of a man who was put to
death for gathering sticks on the seventh day. Under the administration of later prophets, the holiness of the Sabbath, the blessings promised to those who sanctified
the day unto themselves, and the sin of Sabbath desecration were reiterated in words of inspired forcefulness. Nehemiah admonished and reproved in the matter,
and attributed the affliction of the nation to the forfeiture of Jehovah's favor through Sabbath violation. By the mouth of Ezekiel the Lord affirmed that the institution of
the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between Himself and the people of Israel; and with stern severity He upbraided those who heeded not the day. To the
separate branch of the Israelitish nation that had been colonized on the western hemisphere, regard for the sanctity of the Sabbath was no less an imperative
requirement.

The observance demanded, however, was the very opposite of affliction and burden; the Sabbath was consecrated to rest and righteous enjoyment, and was to be a
day of spiritual feasting before the Lord. It was not established as a day of abstinence; all might eat, but both mistress and maid were to be relieved from the work of
preparing food; neither master nor man was to plow, dig or otherwise toil; and the weekly day of rest was as much the boon of the cattle as of their owners.

In addition to the weekly Sabbath, the Lord in mercy prescribed also a sabbatic year; in every seventh year the land was to rest, and thereby its fertility was enhanced.
    After seven times seven years had passed, the fiftieth was to be celebrated throughout as a year of jubilee, during which the people should live on the accumulated
increase of the preceding seasons of plenty, and rejoice in liberality by granting to one another redemption from mortgage and bond, forgiveness of debt, and general
relief from burdens-all of which had to be done in mercy and justice. The Sabbaths established by the Lord, whether of days, of years, or of weeks of years, were to
be times of refreshing, relief, blessing, bounty, and worship.

To the many who profess to regard the necessity of toil as a part of the curse evoked through Adam's fall, the Sabbath should appeal as a day of temporary reprieve, a
time of exemption from labor, and as affording blessed opportunity of closer approach to the Presence from which mankind has been shut out through sin. And to those
who take the higher view of life, and find in work both happiness and material blessing, the periodical relief brings refreshment and gives renewed zest for the days that
follow.

But long before the advent of Christ, the original purpose of the Sabbath had come to be largely ignored in Israel; and the spirit of its observance had been smothered
under the weight of rabbinical injunction and the formalism of restraint. In the time of the Lord's ministry, the technicalities prescribed as rules appended to the law were
almost innumerable; and the burden thus forced upon the people had become well nigh unbearable. Among the many wholesome requirements of the Mosaic law,
which the teachers and spiritual rulers of the Jews had made thus burdensome, that of Sabbath observance was especially prominent. The "hedge," which by
unwarranted assumption they professedly set about the law, was particularly thorny in the sections devoted to the Jewish Sabbath. Even trifling infractions of
traditional rules were severely punished, and the capital penalty was held before the eyes of the people as a supreme threat for extreme desecration.

The Healing of a Cripple on the Sabbath

In view of these conditions, we are not surprised to find our Lord confronted with charges of Sabbath violation relatively early in the course of His public work. An
instance attended with many great developments is recorded by John, whose narrative covers the incident of a very impressive miracle. Jesus was again in Jerusalem,
at the time of one of the Jewish festivals. There was a pool of water, called Bethesda, near the sheep market in the city. From the recorded description, we may
understand this to have been a natural spring; possibly the water was rich in dissolved solids or gases, or both, making it such as we would call today a mineral spring;
for we find that the water was reputed to possess curative virtues, and many afflicted folk came to bathe therein. The spring was of the pulsating variety; at intervals its
waters rose with bubbling disturbance, and then receded to the normal level. Mineral springs of this kind are known today in many parts of the world. Some believed
that the periodical upwelling of the Bethesda waters was the result of supernatural agency; and it was said that "whosoever then first after the troubling of the water
stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." The Bethesda pool was wholly or partly enclosed; and five porches had been built for the shelter of those
who waited at the spring for the intermittent bubbling up of the water.

On a certain Sabbath day, Jesus visited the pool and saw many afflicted folk thus waiting. Among them lay a man who for thirty-eight years had been grievously
afflicted. From the man's statement of his helplessness we may infer that his malady was paralysis, or possibly an extreme form of rheumatism; whatever his affliction, it
was so disabling as to give him little chance of getting into the pool at the critical time, for others less crippled crowded him away; and, according to the legends
regarding the curative properties of the spring, only the first to enter the pool after the agitation of the water might expect to be healed.

Jesus recognized in the man a fit subject for blessing, and said to him: "Wilt thou be made whole?" The question was so simple as almost to appear superfluous. Of
course the man wanted to be made well, and on the small chance of being able to reach the water at the right moment was patiently yet eagerly waiting. There was
purpose, however, in these as in all other words of the Master. The man's attention was drawn to Him, fixed upon Him; the question aroused in the sufferer's heart
renewed yearning for the health and strength of which he had been bereft since the days of his youth. His answer was pitiful, and revealed his almost hopeless state of
mind; he thought only of the rumored virtues of Bethesda pool, as he said: "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am
coming, another steppeth down before me." Then spake Jesus: "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Immediately strength returned to the man, who for nearly four
decades had been a helpless invalid; he obeyed the Master, and, taking up the little mattress or pallet on which he had rested, walked away.

He had not gone far, before the Jews, that is to say, some of the official class, for so the evangelist John employs the term, saw him carrying his bed; and it was the
Sabbath day. To their peremptory reprimand he replied out of the gratitude and honest simplicity of his heart, that He who had healed him had told him to take up his
bed and walk. The interest of the inquisitors was instantly turned from the man toward Him who had wrought the miracle; but the erstwhile cripple could not name his
Benefactor, as he had lost sight of Jesus in the crowd before he had found opportunity for question or thanks. The man who had been healed went to the temple,
possibly impelled by a desire to express in prayer his gratitude and joy. There Jesus found him, and said unto him: "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a
worse thing come unto thee." The man had probably brought about his affliction through his own sinful habits. The Lord decided that he had suffered enough in body,
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                                                subsequent admonition to sin no more.                                                                 Page 113 / 128

The man went and told the rulers who it was that had healed him. This he may have done with a desire to honor and glorify the Giver of his boon; we are not justified in
bed and walk. The interest of the inquisitors was instantly turned from the man toward Him who had wrought the miracle; but the erstwhile cripple could not name his
Benefactor, as he had lost sight of Jesus in the crowd before he had found opportunity for question or thanks. The man who had been healed went to the temple,
possibly impelled by a desire to express in prayer his gratitude and joy. There Jesus found him, and said unto him: "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a
worse thing come unto thee." The man had probably brought about his affliction through his own sinful habits. The Lord decided that he had suffered enough in body,
and terminated his physical suffering with the subsequent admonition to sin no more.

The man went and told the rulers who it was that had healed him. This he may have done with a desire to honor and glorify the Giver of his boon; we are not justified in
ascribing to him any unworthy purpose, though by his act he was instrumental in augmenting the persecution of his Lord. So intense was the hatred of the priestly faction
that the rulers sought a means of putting Jesus to death, under the specious pretense of His being a Sabbath-breaker. We may well ask for what act they could possibly
have hoped to convict Him, even under the strictest application of their rules. There was no proscription against speaking on the Sabbath; and Jesus had but spoken to
heal. He had not carried the man's bed, nor had He attempted even the lightest physical labor. By their own interpretation of the law they had no case against Him.

Our Lord's Reply to the Accusing Jews

Nevertheless, the Jewish officials confronted Jesus with accusations. Whether the interview took place within the temple walls, on the open street, at the market place,
or in the judgment hall, matters not. His reply to their charges is not confined to the question of Sabbath observance; it stands as the most comprehensive sermon in
scripture on the vital subject of the relationship between the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

His first sentence added to the already intense anger of the Jews. Referring to the work He had done on the holy day, He said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work." This remark they construed to be a blasphemy. "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also
that God was his Father, making himself equal with God." To their spoken or unuttered protest, Jesus replied, that He, the Son, was not acting independently, and in
fact could do nothing except what was in accordance with the Father's will, and what He had seen the Father do; that the Father so loved the Son as to show unto Him
the Father's works.

Be it observed that Jesus in no way attempted to explain away their construction of His words; on the contrary He confirmed their deductions as correct. He did
associate Himself with the Father, even in a closer and more exalted relationship than they had conceived. The authority given to Him by the Father was not limited to
the healing of bodily infirmities; He had power even to raise the dead-"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom
he will." Moreover, the judgment of men had been committed unto Him; and no one could honor the Father except by honoring the Son. Then followed this incisive
declaration: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but
is passed from death unto life."

Christ's realm was not bounded by the grave; even the dead were wholly dependent upon Him for their salvation; and to the terrified ears of His dumbfounded accusers
He proclaimed the solemn truth, that even then the hour was near in which the dead should hear the voice of the Son of God. Ponder His profound affirmation: "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." The murderous rage of the
Jews was rebuffed by the declaration that without His submission they could not take His life: "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have
life in himself." Another utterance was equally portentous: "And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." He, the Son of the
exalted and glorified Man of Holiness and now Himself a mortal Man, was to be the judge of men.

No wonder they marveled; such doctrine they had never before heard nor read; it was not of the scribes nor of the rabbis, of neither the Pharisaic nor Sadducean
schools. But He reproved their amazement, saying: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

This enunciation of the resurrection, so plainly made that the most unlettered could understand, must have offended any Sadducees present, for they emphatically
denied the actuality of the resurrection. The universality of a resurrection is here unquestionably affirmed; not only the righteous but even those who merit condemnation
are to come forth from their graves in their bodies of flesh and bones.

Then, renewing His solemn asseveration of the unity of His Father's will and His own, Christ discussed the matter of witnesses to His work. He admitted what was a
recognized tenet of the time, that no man's unsupported witness of himself was sufficient; but, He added: "There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that
the witness which he witnesseth of me is true." He cites John the Baptist, and reminds them that they had sent a delegation to him, and that John had answered them by
bearing testimony of the Messiah; and John had been a burning and a shining light, in whose illuminating ministry many had temporarily rejoiced. The hostile Jews were
left to see that the witness of John was valid under their strictest construction of the rules of evidence; "But," He continued, "I receive not testimony from man: . . . But I
have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent
me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me."

Then in terms of unqualified condemnation, He told them they were devoid of the Father's word, for they refused to accept Himself whom the Father had sent. With
humiliating directness He admonished these learned men of the law, these interpreters of the prophets, these professional expounders of sacred writ, to betake
themselves to reading and study. "Search the scriptures," said He, "for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Convictingly He
continued-that they who admitted and taught that in the scriptures lay the way to eternal life, refused to come to Him, of whom those same scriptures testified, though
by coming they might obtain eternal life. "I receive not honour from men," He added, "But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." They knew that they
sought for honor among men, received honors from one another, were made rabbis and doctors, scribes and teachers, by the bestowal of titles and degrees-all of men;
but they rejected Him who came in the name of One infinitely greater than all their schools or societies-He had come in the supreme name of the Father. The cause of
their spiritual ignorance was pointed out-they relied upon the honors of men, and sought not the honor of real service in the cause of God.

He had spoken of the authority of judgment that had been committed to Himself; now He explained that they should not think He would accuse them before the Father;
a lesser one than He would accuse, even Moses, another of His witnesses in whom they professed such trust-Moses whom they all were said to believe-and, driving
home the full effect of His powerful arraignment, the Lord continued: "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not
his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Such was the illuminating instruction combined with burning denunciation that these men had called forth by their futile
attempt to convict Jesus on the charge of Sabbath desecration. This was but one of many evil machinations by which they so determinedly plotted, and strove to attach
the stigma and invoke the penalty of Sabbath-breaking upon the very One who had ordained the Sabbath and was in truth and verity the one and only Lord thereof.

The Disciples Charged With Sabbath-Breaking

We may profitably consider in this connection other instances of good work done by our Lord on Sabbath days; and this we may do without undue regard to the order
of the events in time. We again find Jesus in Galilee, whether prior to or after His visit to Jerusalem at the time of the unidentified feast, on which occasion He wrought
the miracle of healing at the Bethesda pool, matters not. On a certain Sabbath, He and the disciples walked through a field of grain, and, being hungry, the disciples
began to pluck some of the ripening ears; rubbing out the kernels between their hands, they ate. There was no element of theft in what they did, for the Mosaic law
provided that in passing through another's vineyard or corn field one might pluck grapes or corn to relieve hunger; but it was forbidden to use a sickle in the field, or to
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                                                                                                                                                                      lawful
privilege, there were Pharisees on the watch, and these came at once to the Master, saying: "Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath
day." The accusers doubtless had in mind the rabbinical dictum that rubbing out an ear of grain in the hands was a species of threshing; that blowing away the chaff was
of the events in time. We again find Jesus in Galilee, whether prior to or after His visit to Jerusalem at the time of the unidentified feast, on which occasion He wrought
the miracle of healing at the Bethesda pool, matters not. On a certain Sabbath, He and the disciples walked through a field of grain, and, being hungry, the disciples
began to pluck some of the ripening ears; rubbing out the kernels between their hands, they ate. There was no element of theft in what they did, for the Mosaic law
provided that in passing through another's vineyard or corn field one might pluck grapes or corn to relieve hunger; but it was forbidden to use a sickle in the field, or to
carry away any of the grapes in a vessel. The permission extended only to the relief of present need. When the disciples of Jesus availed themselves of this lawful
privilege, there were Pharisees on the watch, and these came at once to the Master, saying: "Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath
day." The accusers doubtless had in mind the rabbinical dictum that rubbing out an ear of grain in the hands was a species of threshing; that blowing away the chaff was
winnowing; and that it was unlawful to thresh or winnow on the Sabbath. Indeed, some learned rabbis had held it to be a sin to walk on grass during the Sabbath,
inasmuch as the grass might be in seed, and the treading out of the seed would be as the threshing of grain.

Jesus defended the disciples by citing a precedent applicable to the case, and of much greater import. The instance was that of David, who with a small company of
men had asked bread of the priest Ahimelech; for they were hungry and in haste. The priest had none but consecrated bread, the loaves of shewbread which were
placed in the sanctuary at intervals, and which none but the priests were allowed to eat. In view of the condition of urgent need the priest had given the shewbread to
the hungry men. Jesus also reminded the critical Pharisees that the priests in the temple regularly did much work on the Sabbath in the slaughtering of sacrificial
victims and in altar service generally, yet were held blameless because of the higher requirements of worship which rendered such labor necessary; and added with
solemn emphasis: "But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." He cited the word of God spoken through Hosea, "I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice," and reproved at once their ignorance and their unrighteous zeal by telling them that had they known what that scripture meant they would not have
condemned the guiltless. Be it remembered, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."

His reproof was followed by the affirmation of His personal supremacy: "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." What can we gather from the
declaration but that He, Jesus, there present in the flesh, was the Being through whom the Sabbath had been ordained, that it was He who had given and written in
stone the decalog, including "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," and, "the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God"?

A Pharisaical Plot

Again on a Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagog, and saw in the congregation a man whose right hand was withered. There were Pharisees present, and they watched
to see whether Jesus would heal the man, their purpose being to accuse Him if He did so. The Pharisees asked: "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?" Our Lord
countered their poorly veiled purpose by asking: "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days?" and extended the question, "or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" They
held their peace, for the question was double-edged. To reply in the affirmative would have been to justify the work of healing; a negative answer would have stultified
them. He put another question: "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and
lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?"

As the Pharisees could not or would not reply, He summed up the whole matter thus: "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." He called upon the man
with the withered hand to stand forth before the congregation. Grief and anger were mingled in His penetrating and sweeping glance; but, turning with compassion
toward the afflicted one, He commanded him to stretch forth his hand; the man obeyed, and lo! the hand "was restored whole, like as the other."

The discomfited Pharisees were furious, "filled with madness" Luke says; and they went out to plot anew against the Lord. So bitter was their hatred that they allied
themselves with the Herodians, a political party generally unpopular among the Jews. The rulers of the people were ready to enter into any intrigue or alliance to
accomplish their avowed purpose of bringing about the death of the Lord Jesus. Aware of the wicked determination against Him, Jesus withdrew Himself from the
locality. Other accusations of Sabbath-breaking, brought against Christ by Jewish casuists, will be considered later.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 15

1. Rabbinical Requirements Concerning Sabbath Observance.-"No feature of the Jewish system was so marked as their extraordinary strictness in the outward
observance of the Sabbath, as a day of entire rest. The Scribes had elaborated from the command of Moses, a vast array of prohibitions and injunctions, covering the
whole of social, individual, and public life, and carried it to the extreme of ridiculous caricature. Lengthened rules were prescribed as to the kinds of knots which might
legally be tied on the Sabbath. The camel driver's knot and the sailor's were unlawful, and it was equally illegal to tie or to loose them. A knot which could be untied
with one hand might be undone. A shoe or sandal, a woman's cup, a wine or oil-skin, or a flesh-pot might be tied. A pitcher at a spring might be tied to the body-sash,
but not with a cord. . . . To kindle or extinguish a fire on the Sabbath was a great desecration of the day, nor was even sickness allowed to violate Rabbinical rules. It
was forbidden to give an emetic on the Sabbath-to set a broken bone, or put back a dislocated joint, though some Rabbis, more liberal, held that whatever endangered
life made the Sabbath law void, 'for the commands were given to Israel only that they might live by them.' One who was buried under ruins on the Sabbath, might be
dug for and taken out, if alive, but, if dead, he was to be left where he was, till the Sabbath was over."-Geikie, Life and Words of Christ, chap. 38.

2. The Unnamed Feast.-There has been no little discussion as to the particular festival referred to in John 5:1, at the time of which Jesus healed the cripple at the pool of
Bethesda. Many writers hold that it was the Passover, others that it was the feast of Purim, or some other Jewish celebration. The only semblance of importance
attaching to the question is the possibility of learning from the fact, if it could be proved, something of the chronological order of events at this period of our Lord's life.
We are not told which feast this was, neither the year nor the time of the year when it occurred. The miracle wrought on the occasion, and the doctrinal discourse
delivered as a result thereof, depend for their value in no degree on the determination of date.

3. Shewbread.-The name means "bread of the presence," signifying that it was placed in the presence of Jehovah. The bread so sanctified consisted of twelve loaves,
made without leaven. They were to be deposited in the Holy Place in two columns of six loaves each. Zenos, in Stand. Bible Dict. writes: "They were allowed to remain
there for a whole week, at the end of which period they were removed, and eaten by the priest upon holy ground, i.e. within the precincts of the sanctuary. For other
persons than priests to eat of the loaves of the shewbread was regarded as sacrilegious, for they were 'holy.'" See Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9; 1 Sam. 21:1-6.

4. The Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the Sabbath.-Edersheim (vol. 1, pp. 57, 58) says: "When on his flight from Saul, David had, 'when an hungered,'
eaten of the shewbread and given it to his followers, although, by the letter of the Levitical law, it was only to be eaten by the priests, Jewish tradition vindicated his
conduct on the plea that 'danger to life superseded the Sabbath law,' and hence, all laws connected with it. . . . In truth, the reason why David was blameless in eating
the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath labor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath law was not one merely of rest, but of rest for worship. The
service of the Lord was the object in view. The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object of the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of
the shewbread, not [solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but because he pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and needed this provision.
The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly on the service of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the temple, for He was greater than
the temple. If the Pharisees had believed this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so doing have themselves infringed that higher law which enjoined
mercy, not sacrifice."

Footnotes

  1. Gen. 2:3.
Copyright (c) 2005-2009, Infobase Media Corp.                                                                                                           Page 115 / 128
  2. Ex. 16:16-31.
Footnotes

  1. Gen. 2:3.

  2. Ex. 16:16-31.

  3. Ex. 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-15; 34:21; Lev. 19:3; 23:3; Deut. 5:12-14.

  4. Ex. 35:3; Num. 15:32-36.

  5. Isa. 56:2; 58:13; Jer. 17:21-24.

  6. Neh. 8:9-12; 13:15-22.

  7. Ezek. 20:12-24.

  8. Jar. 1:5; Mosiah 13:16-19; Mosiah 18:23.

  9. Lev. 25:1-8; compare 26:34, 35.

  10. Lev. 25:10-55.

  11. Page 60.

  12. Note 1. Rabbinical Requirements Concerning Sabbath Observance.-"No feature of the Jewish system was so marked as their extraordinary strictness in the
outward observance of the Sabbath, as a day of entire rest. The Scribes had elaborated from the command of Moses, a vast array of prohibitions and injunctions,
covering the whole of social, individual, and public life, and carried it to the extreme of ridiculous caricature. Lengthened rules were prescribed as to the kinds of knots
which might legally be tied on the Sabbath. The camel driver's knot and the sailor's were unlawful, and it was equally illegal to tie or to loose them. A knot which could
be untied with one hand might be undone. A shoe or sandal, a woman's cup, a wine or oil-skin, or a flesh-pot might be tied. A pitcher at a spring might be tied to the
body-sash, but not with a cord. . . . To kindle or extinguish a fire on the Sabbath was a great desecration of the day, nor was even sickness allowed to violate
Rabbinical rules. It was forbidden to give an emetic on the Sabbath-to set a broken bone, or put back a dislocated joint, though some Rabbis, more liberal, held that
whatever endangered life made the Sabbath law void, 'for the commands were given to Israel only that they might live by them.' One who was buried under ruins on the
Sabbath, might be dug for and taken out, if alive, but, if dead, he was to be left where he was, till the Sabbath was over."-Geikie, Life and Words of Christ, chap. 38.

  13. John 5.

   14. Note 2. The Unnamed Feast.-There has been no little discussion as to the particular festival referred to in John 5:1, at the time of which Jesus healed the cripple
at the pool of Bethesda. Many writers hold that it was the Passover, others that it was the feast of Purim, or some other Jewish celebration. The only semblance of
importance attaching to the question is the possibility of learning from the fact, if it could be proved, something of the chronological order of events at this period of our
Lord's life. We are not told which feast this was, neither the year nor the time of the year when it occurred. The miracle wrought on the occasion, and the doctrinal
discourse delivered as a result thereof, depend for their value in no degree on the determination of date.

  15. See another instance, pages 177-81.

  16. For further justification of this act of healing on the Sabbath, see John 7:21-24.

  17. Page 134.

  18. Compare D&C 76:16, 17.

  19. Pages 22-24.

  20. Matt. 12:1-8; compare Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.

  21. Deut. 23:24, 25.

   22. Note 3. Shewbread.-The name means "bread of the presence," signifying that it was placed in the presence of Jehovah. The bread so sanctified consisted of
twelve loaves, made without leaven. They were to be deposited in the Holy Place in two columns of six loaves each. Zenos, in Stand. Bible Dict. writes: "They were
allowed to remain there for a whole week, at the end of which period they were removed, and eaten by the priest upon holy ground, i.e. within the precincts of the
sanctuary. For other persons than priests to eat of the loaves of the shewbread was regarded as sacrilegious, for they were 'holy.'" See Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:5-9; 1 Sam.
21:1-6.

  23. Hos. 6:6; compare Micah 6:6-9.

  24. Mark 2:27.

Note 4. The Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the Sabbath.-Edersheim (vol. 1, pp. 57, 58) says: "When on his flight from Saul, David had, 'when an
hungered,' eaten of the shewbread and given it to his followers, although, by the letter of the Levitical law, it was only to be eaten by the priests, Jewish tradition
vindicated his conduct on the plea that 'danger to life superseded the Sabbath law,' and hence, all laws connected with it. . . . In truth, the reason why David was
blameless in eating the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath labor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath law was not one merely of rest, but of rest for
worship. The service of the Lord was the object in view. The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object of the Sabbath; and David was
allowed to eat of the shewbread, not [solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but because he pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and
needed this provision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly on the service of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the temple, for
He was greater than the temple. If the Pharisees had believed this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so doing have themselves infringed that higher
law which enjoined mercy, not sacrifice."
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  25. Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-8.

  26. For instances, see Luke 13:14-16; Luke 14:3-6; John 9:14-16.
allowed to eat of the shewbread, not [solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but because he pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and
needed this provision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly on the service of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the temple, for
He was greater than the temple. If the Pharisees had believed this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so doing have themselves infringed that higher
law which enjoined mercy, not sacrifice."

  25. Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-8.

  26. For instances, see Luke 13:14-16; Luke 14:3-6; John 9:14-16.

CHAPTER 16

The Chosen Twelve

Their Call and Ordination

The night preceding the morn on which the Twelve Apostles were called and ordained was spent by the Lord in solitary seclusion; He had "continued all night in prayer
to God." Then, when day had come, and while many people were gathering to hear more of the new and wonderful gospel of the kingdom, He called to come closer
some who had theretofore been devotedly associated together as His disciples or followers, and from among them He chose twelve, whom he ordained and named
apostles. Prior to that time none of these had been distinguished by any special delegation of authority or appointment; they had been numbered with the disciples in
general, though, as we have seen, seven had received a preliminary call, and had promptly responded thereto by abandoning wholly or in part their business affairs, and
had followed the Master. These were Andrew, John, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael, James, and Levi Matthew. Prior to this eventful day, however, none of the
Twelve had been ordained or set apart to their sacred office.

The three Gospel-writers who make record of the organization of the Twelve place Simon Peter first and Judas Iscariot last in the category; they agree also in the
relative position of some but not of all the others. Following the order given by Mark, and this may be the most convenient since he names as the first three those who
later became most prominent, we have the following list: Simon Peter, James (son of Zebedee), John (brother of the last-named), Andrew (brother of Simon Peter),
Philip, Bartholomew (or Nathanael), Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alpheus), Judas (also known as Lebbeus or Thaddeus), Simon (distinguished by his surname
Zelotes, also known as the Canaanite), and Judas Iscariot.

The Twelve Considered Individually

Simon, named as the first apostle, is more commonly known as Peter-the appellation given him by the Lord on the occasion of their first meeting, and afterward
confirmed. He was the son of Jona, or Jonas, and by vocation was a fisherman. He and his brother Andrew were partners with James and John, the sons of
Zebedee; and apparently the fishing business was a prosperous one with them, for they owned their boats and gave employment to other men. Peter's early home
had been at the little fishery town of Bethsaida, on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee; but about the time of his first association with Jesus, or soon thereafter, he,
with others of his family, removed to Capernaum, where he appears to have become an independent householder. Simon Peter was a married man before his call to
the ministry. He was well to do in a material way; and when he once spoke of having left all to follow Jesus, the Lord did not deny that Peter's sacrifice of temporal
possessions was as great as had been implied. We are not justified in regarding him as unlettered or ignorant. True, both he and John were designated by the council of
rulers as "unlearned and ignorant men," but this was spoken of them as indicating their lack of training in the schools of the rabbis; and it is worthy of note, that the
members of that same council were amazed at the wisdom and power manifested by the two apostles, whom they professed to despise.

In temperament Peter was impulsive and stern, and, until trained by severe experience, was lacking in firmness. He had many human weaknesses, yet in spite of them all
he eventually overcame the temptations of Satan and the frailties of the flesh, and served his Lord as the appointed and acknowledged leader of the Twelve. Of the time
and place of his death the scriptures do not speak; but the manner thereof was prefigured by the resurrected Lord, and in part was foreseen by Peter himself.
Tradition, originating in the writings of the early Christian historians other than the apostles, states that Peter met death by crucifixion as a martyr during the persecution
incident to the reign of Nero, probably between A.D. 64 and 68. Origen states that the apostle was crucified with his head downward. Peter, with James and John, his
associates in the presidency of the Twelve, has ministered as a resurrected being in the present dispensation, in restoring to earth the Melchizedek Priesthood, including
the Holy Apostleship, which had been taken away because of the apostasy and unbelief of men.

James and John, brothers by birth, partners in business as fishermen, brethren in the ministry, were associated together and with Peter in the apostolic calling. The Lord
bestowed upon the pair a title in common-Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder -possibly with reference to the zeal they developed in His service, which, indeed, at times
had to be restrained, as when they would have had fire called from heaven to destroy the Samaritan villagers who had refused hospitality to the Master. They and
their mother aspired to the highest honors of the kingdom, and asked that the two be given places, one on the right the other on the left of Christ in His glory. This
ambition was gently reproved by the Lord, and the request gave offense to the other apostles. With Peter these two brothers were witnesses of many of the most
important incidents in the life of Jesus; thus, the three were the only apostles admitted to witness the raising of the daughter of Jairus from death to life; they were the
only members of the Twelve present at the transfiguration of Christ; they were nearest the Lord during the period of His mortal agony in Gethsemane; and, as
heretofore told, they have ministered in these modern days in the restoration of the Holy Apostleship with all its ancient authority and power of blessing. James is
commonly designated in theological literature as James I, to distinguish him from the other apostle bearing the same name. James, the son of Zebedee, was the first of
the apostles to meet a martyr's violent death; he was beheaded by order of the king, Herod Agrippa. John had been a disciple of the Baptist, and had demonstrated
his confidence in the latter's testimony of Jesus by promptly turning from the forerunner and following the Lord. He became a devoted servant, and repeatedly refers
to himself as the disciple "whom Jesus loved." At the last supper John sat next to Jesus leaning his head upon the Master's breast; and next day as he stood
beneath the cross he received from the dying Christ the special charge to care for the Lord's mother; and to this he promptly responded by conducting the weeping
Mary to his own house. He was the first to recognize the risen Lord on the shores of Galilee, and received from His immortal lips encouragement of his hope that his life
would be continued in the body, in order that he might minister among men until the Christ shall come in His glory. The realization of that hope has been attested by
revelation in modern days.

Andrew, son of Jona and brother of Simon Peter, is mentioned less frequently than the three already considered. He had been one of the Baptist's followers, and with
John, the son of Zebedee, left the Baptist to learn from Jesus; and having learned he went in search of Peter, solemnly averred to him that the Messiah had been found,
and brought his brother to the Savior's feet. He shared with Peter in the honor of the call of the Lord on the sea shore, and in the promise "I will make you fishers of
men." In one instance we read of Andrew as present with Peter, James and John, in a private interview with the Lord; and he is mentioned in connection with the
miraculous feeding of the five thousand, and as associated with Philip in arranging an interview between certain inquiring Greeks and Jesus. He is named with
others in connection with our Lord's ascension. Tradition is rife with stories about this man, but of the extent of his ministry, the duration of his life, and the
circumstances of his death, we have no authentic record.

Philip may have been the first to receive the authoritative call "Follow me" from the lips of Jesus, and we find him immediately testifying that Jesus was the long expected
Messiah.   His home was in Bethsaida, the town of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. It is said that Jesus found him, whereas the others concerned in that early
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affiliation seem to have come of themselves severally to Christ. We find brief mention of him at the time the five thousand were fed, on which occasionPage    117
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                                                                                                                                                                  asked him
"Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" This was done to test and prove him, for Jesus knew what would be done. Philip's reply was based on a statement
of the small amount of money at hand, and showed no expectation of miraculous intervention. It was to him the Greeks applied when they sought a meeting with
circumstances of his death, we have no authentic record.

Philip may have been the first to receive the authoritative call "Follow me" from the lips of Jesus, and we find him immediately testifying that Jesus was the long expected
Messiah. His home was in Bethsaida, the town of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. It is said that Jesus found him, whereas the others concerned in that early
affiliation seem to have come of themselves severally to Christ. We find brief mention of him at the time the five thousand were fed, on which occasion Jesus asked him
"Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" This was done to test and prove him, for Jesus knew what would be done. Philip's reply was based on a statement
of the small amount of money at hand, and showed no expectation of miraculous intervention. It was to him the Greeks applied when they sought a meeting with
Jesus as noted in connection with Andrew. He was mildly reproved for his misunderstanding when he asked Jesus to show to him and the others the Father-"Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?" Aside from incidental mention of his presence as one of the Eleven after the ascension, the
scriptures tell us nothing more concerning him.

Bartholomew is mentioned in scripture by this name only in connection with his ordination to the apostleship, and as one of the Eleven after the ascension. The name
means son of Tolmai. It is practically certain, however, that he is the man called Nathanael in John's Gospel-the one whom Christ designated as "an Israelite indeed, in
whom is no guile." He is named again as among those who went fishing with Peter after the resurrection of Christ. His home was in Cana of Galilee. The reasons
for assuming that Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same person are these: Bartholomew is named in each of the three synoptic Gospels as an apostle, but Nathanael
is not mentioned. Nathanael is named twice in John's Gospel, and Bartholomew not at all; Bartholomew and Philip, or Nathanael and Philip, are mentioned together.

Matthew, or Levi, son of Alpheus, was one of the seven who received a call to follow Christ before the ordination of the Twelve. He it was who gave a feast, for
attending which Jesus and the disciples were severely criticized by the Pharisees, on the charge that it was unseemly for Him to eat with publicans and sinners.
Matthew was a publican; he so designates himself in the Gospel he wrote; but the other evangelists omit the mention when including him with the Twelve. His
Hebrew name, Levi, is understood by many as an indication of priestly lineage. Of his ministry we have no detailed account; though he is the author of the first Gospel,
he refrains from special mention of himself except in connection with his call and ordination. He is spoken of by other than scriptural writers as one of the most active of
the apostles after Christ's death, and as operating in lands far from Palestine.

Thomas, also known as Didymus, the Greek equivalent of his Hebrew name, meaning "a twin," is mentioned as a witness of the raising of Lazarus. His devotion to
Jesus is shown by his desire to accompany the Lord to Bethany, though persecution in that region was almost certain. To his fellow apostles Thomas said: "Let us also
go, that we may die with him." Even as late in his experience as the night before the crucifixion, Thomas had failed to comprehend the impending necessity of the
Savior's sacrifice; and when Jesus referred to going away and leaving the others to follow, Thomas asked how they could know the way. For his lack of understanding
he stood reproved. He was absent when the resurrected Christ appeared to the assembled disciples in the evening of the day of His rising; and on being informed by
the others that they had seen the Lord, he forcefully expressed his doubt, and declared he would not believe unless he could see and feel for himself the wounds in the
crucified body. Eight days later the Lord visited the apostles again, when, as on the earlier occasion, they were within closed doors; and to Thomas the Lord said:
"Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side." Then Thomas, no longer doubting but with love and reverence
filling his soul, exclaimed "My Lord and my God." The Lord said unto him: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not
seen, and yet have believed." Of Thomas no further record appears in the New Testament aside from that of his presence with his fellows after the ascension.

James, son of Alpheus, is mentioned in the Gospels only in the matter of his ordination to the apostleship; and but once elsewhere in the New Testament by the
appellation "Son of Alpheus." In writings other than scriptural he is sometimes designated as James II to avoid confusing him with James the son of Zebedee. There is
acknowledged uncertainty concerning the identity of James the son of Alpheus as the James or one of the Jameses referred to in the Acts and the Epistles; and a
plenitude of controversial literature on the subject is extant.

Judas is called Lebbeus Thaddeus by Matthew, Thaddeus by Mark, and Judas the brother of James by Luke. The only other specific reference to this apostle is
made by John, and is incident to the last long interview between Jesus and the apostles, when this Judas, "not Iscariot," asked how or why Jesus would manifest
Himself to His chosen servants and not to the world at large. The man's question shows that the really distinguishing character of the apostleship was not fully
comprehended by him at that time.

Simon Zelotes, so designated in Acts, and as Simon called Zelotes in Luke's Gospel, is distinguished by both Matthew and Mark as the Canaanite. The last
designation has no reference to the town of Cana, nor to the land of Canaan, neither is it in any sense of geographical signification; it is the Syro-Chaldaic equivalent of
the Greek word which is rendered in the English translation "Zelotes." The two names, therefore, have the same fundamental meaning, and each refers to the Zealots, a
Jewish sect or faction, known for its zeal in maintaining the Mosaic ritual. Doubtless Simon had learned moderation and toleration from the teachings of Christ;
otherwise he would scarcely have been suited to the apostolic ministry. His zealous earnestness, properly directed, may have developed into a most serviceable trait of
character. This apostle is nowhere in the scriptures named apart from his colleagues.

Judas Iscariot is the only Judean named among the Twelve; all the others were Galileans. He is generally understood to have been a resident of Kerioth, a small town in
the southerly part of Judea, but a few miles west from the Dead Sea, though for this tradition, as also for the signification of his surname, we lack direct authority. So
too we are uninformed as to his lineage, except that his father's name was Simon. He served as treasurer or agent of the apostolic company, receiving and disbursing
such offerings as were made by disciples and friends, and purchasing supplies as required. That he was unprincipled and dishonest in the discharge of this trust is
attested by John. His avaricious and complaining nature revealed itself in his murmuring against what he called a waste of costly spikenard, in the anointing of the Lord
by Mary but a few days before the crucifixion; he hypocritically suggested that the precious ointment could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. The
crowning deed of perfidy in the career of Iscariot was his deliberate betrayal of his Master to death; and this the infamous creature did for a price, and accomplished
the foul deed with a kiss. He brought his guilty life to a close by a revolting suicide and his spirit went to the awful fate reserved for the sons of perdition.

General Characteristics of the Twelve

A survey of the general characteristics and qualifications of this body of twelve men reveals some interesting facts. Before their selection as apostles they had all
become close disciples of the Lord; they believed in Him; several of them, possibly all, had openly confessed that He was the Son of God; and yet it is doubtful that any
one of them fully understood the real significance of the Savior's work. It is evident by the later remarks of many of them, and by the instructions and rebuke they called
forth from the Master, that the common Jewish expectation of a Messiah who would reign in splendor as an earthly sovereign after He had subdued all other nations,
had a place even in the hearts of these chosen ones. After long experience, Peter's concern was: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have
therefore?" They were as children to be trained and taught; but they were mostly willing pupils, receptive of soul, and imbued with a sincere eagerness to serve. To
Jesus they were His little ones, His children, His servants, and His friends, as they merited. They were all of the common people, not rabbis, scholars, nor priestly
officials. Their inner natures, not their outward accomplishments, were taken into prime account in the Lord's choosing. The Master chose them; they did not choose
themselves; by Him they were ordained, and they could in consequence rely the more implicitly upon His guidance and support. To them much was given; much of
them was required. With the one black exception they all became shining lights in the kingdom of God, and vindicated the Master's selection. He recognized in each the
characteristics of fitness developed in the primeval world of spirits.

Disciples and Apostles
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Discipleship is general; any follower of a man or devotee to a principle may be called a disciple. The Holy Apostleship is an office and calling belonging to the Higher or
Melchizedek Priesthood, at once exalted and specific, comprising as a distinguishing function that of personal and special witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the
characteristics of fitness developed in the primeval world of spirits.

Disciples and Apostles

Discipleship is general; any follower of a man or devotee to a principle may be called a disciple. The Holy Apostleship is an office and calling belonging to the Higher or
Melchizedek Priesthood, at once exalted and specific, comprising as a distinguishing function that of personal and special witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the
one and only Redeemer and Savior of mankind. The apostleship is an individual bestowal, and as such is conferred only through ordination. That the Twelve did
constitute a council or "quorum" having authority in the Church established by Jesus Christ is shown by their ministrations after the Lord's resurrection and ascension.
Their first official act was that of filling the vacancy in their organization occasioned by the apostasy and death of Judas Iscariot; and in connection with this procedure,
the presiding apostle, Peter, set forth the essential qualifications of the one who would be chosen and ordained, which comprised such knowledge of Jesus, His life,
death, and resurrection, as would make the new apostle one with the Eleven as special witnesses of the Lord's work.

The ordination of the Twelve Apostles marked the inauguration of an advanced epoch in the earthly ministry of Jesus, an epoch characterized by the organization of a
body of men invested with the authority of the Holy Priesthood, upon whom would rest, more particularly after the Lord's departure, the duty and responsibility of
continuing the work He had begun, and of building up the Church established by Him.

The word "apostle" is an Anglicized form derived from the Greek apostolos, meaning literally "one who is sent," and connoting an envoy or official messenger, who
speaks and acts by the authority of one superior to himself. In this sense Paul afterward applied the title to Christ as one specially sent and commissioned of the Father.


The Lord's purpose in choosing and ordaining the Twelve is thus enunciated by Mark: "And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send
them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." For a season following their ordination the apostles remained with Jesus, being
specially trained and instructed by Him for the work then before them; afterward they were specifically charged and sent forth to preach and to administer in the
authority of their priesthood, as shall be hereafter considered.


NOTES TO CHAPTER 16

1. Judas Lebbeus Thaddeus.-This Judas (not Iscariot) is designated in the authorized version of Luke 6:16, and Acts 1:13, as "the brother of James." That the words
"the brother" are an addition to the original text is indicated by italics. The revised version of these passages reads in each instance "the son of James," with italics of
corresponding significance. The original reads "Judas of James." We are uninformed as to which James is referred to, and as to whether the Judas here mentioned was
the son, the brother, or some other relative of the unidentified James.

2. The Meaning of "Apostle."-"The title 'Apostle' is likewise one of special significance and sanctity; it has been given of God, and belongs only to those who have been
called and ordained as 'special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, thus differing from other officers in the Church in the duties of their calling' (D&C
107:23). By derivation the word 'apostle' is the English equivalent of the Greek apostolos, indicating a messenger, an ambassador, or literally 'one who is sent.' It
signifies that he who is rightly so called, speaks and acts not of himself, but as the representative of a higher power whence his commission issued; and in this sense the
title is that of a servant, rather than that of a superior. Even the Christ, however, is called an Apostle with reference to His ministry in the flesh (Hebrews 3:1), and this
appellation is justified by His repeated declaration that He came to earth to do not His own will but that of the Father by whom He was sent.

"Though an apostle is thus seen to be essentially an envoy, or ambassador, his authority is great, as is also the responsibility associated therewith, for he speaks in the
name of a power greater than his own-the name of Him whose special witness he is. When one of the Twelve is sent to minister in any stake, mission or other division
of the Church, or to labor in regions where no Church organization has been effected, he acts as the representative of the First Presidency, and has the right to use his
authority in doing whatever is requisite for the furtherance of the work of God. His duty is to preach the Gospel, administer the ordinances thereof, and set in order the
affairs of the Church, wherever he is sent. So great is the sanctity of this special calling, that the title 'Apostle' should not be used lightly as the common or ordinary form
of address applied to living men called to this office. The quorum or council of the Twelve Apostles as existent in the Church to-day may better be spoken of as the
'Quorum of the Twelve,' the 'Council of the Twelve,' or simply as the 'Twelve,' than as the 'Twelve Apostles,' except as particular occasion may warrant the use of the
more sacred term. It is advised that the title 'Apostle' be not applied as a prefix to the name of any member of the Council of the Twelve; but that such a one be
addressed or spoken of as 'Brother---,' or 'Elder---,' and when necessary or desirable, as in announcing his presence in a public assembly, an explanatory clause may
be added, thus, 'Elder---, one of the Council of the Twelve.'"-From "The Honor and Dignity of Priesthood," by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 409-
410.

3. "Of Alpheus," or "Son of Alpheus."-In all Bible passages specifying "James son of Alpheus" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) the word son has been
supplied by the translators, and therefore properly appears in italics. The phrase in the Greek reads "James of Alpheus." This fact must not be given undue weight in
support of the thought that the James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word son has been similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all of
which italics are used to indicate the words supplied, e.g. "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2; see Mark 3:17).

Footnotes

1. Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16.

  2. Luke 6:12.

  3. Luke 3:13; compare John 15:16; see also Acts 1:22.

  4. John 1:42; compare Matt. 16:18.

  5. Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:10.

  6. John 1:44; John 12:21.

  7. Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:29; Luke 4:38.

  8. Acts 4:13.

  9. John 21:18, 19.
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  10. 2 Pet. 1:14.
  8. Acts 4:13.

  9. John 21:18, 19.

  10. 2 Pet. 1:14.

  11. D&C 27:12.

  12. Mark 3:17.

  13. Luke 9:54. See also Mark 9:38, for instance of John's impulsive zeal.

  14. Mark 10:35-41; compare Matt. 20:20-24.

  15. Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51.

  16. Matt. 17:1-2; Luke 9:28-29.

  17. Matt. 26:36, 37.

  18. D&C 27:12.

  19. Acts 12:1, 2.

  20. John 1:35-40.

  21. John 13:23; John 19:26; 20:2.

  22. John 13:23, 25.

  23. John 19:25-27.

  24. John 21:7, 21-23.

  25. D&C 7; compare 3 Ne. 28:1-12.

  26. John 1:35-40.

  27. Matt. 4:18, 19.

  28. Mark 13:3.

  29. John 6:8.

  30. John 12:20-22.

  31. Acts 1:13.

  32. John 1:43-45.

  33. John 6:5-7.

  34. John 14:8, 9.

  35. John 1:45-51.

  36. John 21:2, 3.

  37. Pages 181-83.

  38. Matt. 10:3.

  39. John 11:16.

  40. John 14:1-7.

  41. John 20:24-29.

  42. Acts 1:13.

Note 3. "Of Alpheus," or "Son of Alpheus."-In all Bible passages specifying "James son of Alpheus" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) the word son has
been supplied by the translators, and therefore properly appears in italics. The phrase in the Greek reads "James of Alpheus." This fact must not be given undue weight
in support of the thought that the James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word son has been similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all of
which italics are used to indicate the words supplied, e.g. "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2; see Mark 3:17).

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 43. Acts (c) 2005-2009,
          12:17;         Infobase
                 Acts 15:13-21;   Media
                                21:18;    Corp.
                                       1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; and the Epistle of James.                                                 Page 120 / 128

  44. Concerning the James's mentioned in the New Testament, the opinion of Bible scholars is divided, the question being as to whether two or three individuals are
been supplied by the translators, and therefore properly appears in italics. The phrase in the Greek reads "James of Alpheus." This fact must not be given undue weight
in support of the thought that the James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word son has been similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all of
which italics are used to indicate the words supplied, e.g. "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2; see Mark 3:17).

  43. Acts 12:17; Acts 15:13-21; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12; and the Epistle of James.

   44. Concerning the James's mentioned in the New Testament, the opinion of Bible scholars is divided, the question being as to whether two or three individuals are
indicated. Those who hold that there were three men of this name distinguish them as follows: (1) James the son of Zebedee and brother of John the apostle; all
scriptural references to him are explicit; (2) James the son of Alpheus; and (3) James the brother of the Lord (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19). If we accept this
classification, the references given in note 498 apply to James the Lord's brother. Both the Oxford and Bagster Bible "Helps" treat James the son of Alpheus and James
the Lord's brother as one person, the expression "son of" being understood in a general sense only. The Bagster designation is: "James II, apostle, son of Alpheus,
brother or cousin to Jesus."

Note 3. "Of Alpheus," or "Son of Alpheus."-In all Bible passages specifying "James son of Alpheus" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13) the word son has
been supplied by the translators, and therefore properly appears in italics. The phrase in the Greek reads "James of Alpheus." This fact must not be given undue weight
in support of the thought that the James spoken of was not the son of Alpheus; for the word son has been similarly added in the translation of other passages, in all of
which italics are used to indicate the words supplied, e.g. "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt. 10:2; see Mark 3:17).

The Nave "Student Bible" states (page 1327) that the question as to whether James the Lord's brother "is identical with James the son of Alpheus is one of the most
difficult questions in the biographical history of the Gospels. " Faussett (in his Cyclopedia Critical and Expository) supports the contention that but one James is meant;
and other acknowledged authorities treat the two as one. For detailed consideration of the subject the reader is referred to special works.

   45. Note 1. Judas Lebbeus Thaddeus.-This Judas (not Iscariot) is designated in the authorized version of Luke 6:16, and Acts 1:13, as "the brother of James." That
the words "the brother" are an addition to the original text is indicated by italics. The revised version of these passages reads in each instance "the son of James," with
italics of corresponding significance. The original reads "Judas of James." We are uninformed as to which James is referred to, and as to whether the Judas here
mentioned was the son, the brother, or some other relative of the unidentified James.

  46. Acts 1:13; compare Luke 6:15.

  47. John 6:71;John 12:4; 13:26.

  48. John 12:6;John 13:29.

  49. John 12:1-7; compare Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9.

  50. Matt. 27:5; see Acts 1:18; also John 17:12; D&C 76:31-48; 132:27.

  51. Matt. 19:27.

  52. Matt. 10:42; John 21:5; John 13:16, compare verse 13; 15:14, 15.

  53. John 15:16.

  54. Pages 8 and 16.

  55. D&C 18:27-33; D&C 20:38-44; 107:1-9, 23, 24, 39.

  56. Acts 1:15-26.

  57. Heb. 3:1;

Note 2. The Meaning of "Apostle."-"The title 'Apostle' is likewise one of special significance and sanctity; it has been given of God, and belongs only to those who have
been called and ordained as 'special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, thus differing from other officers in the Church in the duties of their calling' (D&C
107:23). By derivation the word 'apostle' is the English equivalent of the Greek apostolos, indicating a messenger, an ambassador, or literally 'one who is sent.' It
signifies that he who is rightly so called, speaks and acts not of himself, but as the representative of a higher power whence his commission issued; and in this sense the
title is that of a servant, rather than that of a superior. Even the Christ, however, is called an Apostle with reference to His ministry in the flesh (Hebrews 3:1), and this
appellation is justified by His repeated declaration that He came to earth to do not His own will but that of the Father by whom He was sent.

"Though an apostle is thus seen to be essentially an envoy, or ambassador, his authority is great, as is also the responsibility associated therewith, for he speaks in the
name of a power greater than his own-the name of Him whose special witness he is. When one of the Twelve is sent to minister in any stake, mission or other division
of the Church, or to labor in regions where no Church organization has been effected, he acts as the representative of the First Presidency, and has the right to use his
authority in doing whatever is requisite for the furtherance of the work of God. His duty is to preach the Gospel, administer the ordinances thereof, and set in order the
affairs of the Church, wherever he is sent. So great is the sanctity of this special calling, that the title 'Apostle' should not be used lightly as the common or ordinary form
of address applied to living men called to this office. The quorum or council of the Twelve Apostles as existent in the Church to-day may better be spoken of as the
'Quorum of the Twelve,' the 'Council of the Twelve,' or simply as the 'Twelve,' than as the 'Twelve Apostles,' except as particular occasion may warrant the use of the
more sacred term. It is advised that the title 'Apostle' be not applied as a prefix to the name of any member of the Council of the Twelve; but that such a one be
addressed or spoken of as 'Brother---,' or 'Elder---,' and when necessary or desirable, as in announcing his presence in a public assembly, an explanatory clause may
be added, thus, 'Elder---, one of the Council of the Twelve.'"-From "The Honor and Dignity of Priesthood," by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 409-
410.

  58. Mark 3:14, 15.

CHAPTER 17

The Sermon on the Mount

At some time
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be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew presents an extended account occupying three chapters of the first Gospel; Luke gives a briefer synopsis.
Circumstantial variations appearing in the two records are of minor importance; it is the sermon itself to which we may profitably devote attention. Luke introduces in
different parts of his writings many of the precious precepts given as parts of the sermon recorded as a continuous discourse in the Gospel written by Matthew. In our
CHAPTER 17

The Sermon on the Mount

At some time very near that of the ordination of the Twelve, Jesus delivered a remarkable discourse, which, in reference to the place where it was given, has come to
be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew presents an extended account occupying three chapters of the first Gospel; Luke gives a briefer synopsis.
Circumstantial variations appearing in the two records are of minor importance; it is the sermon itself to which we may profitably devote attention. Luke introduces in
different parts of his writings many of the precious precepts given as parts of the sermon recorded as a continuous discourse in the Gospel written by Matthew. In our
present study we shall be guided principally by Matthew's account. Some portions of this comprehensive address were expressly directed to the disciples, who had
been or would be called to the apostleship and in consequence be required to renounce all their worldly interests for the labors of the ministry; other parts were and are
of general application. Jesus had ascended the mountain side, probably to escape the crowds that thronged Him in or near the towns. The disciples gathered about
Him, and there He sat and taught them.

The Beatitudes

The opening sentences are rich in blessing, and the first section of the discourse is devoted to an explanation of what constitutes genuine blessedness; the lesson,
moreover, was made simple and unambiguous by specific application, each of the blessed being assured of recompense and reward in the enjoyment of conditions
directly opposite to those under which he had suffered. The blessings particularized by the Lord on this occasion have been designated in literature of later time as the
Beatitudes. The poor in spirit are to be made rich as rightful heirs to the kingdom of heaven; the mourner shall be comforted for he shall see the divine purpose in his
grief, and shall again associate with the beloved ones of whom he has been bereft; the meek, who suffer spoliation rather than jeopardize their souls in contention, shall
inherit the earth; those that hunger and thirst for the truth shall be fed in rich abundance; they that show mercy shall be judged mercifully; the pure in heart shall be
admitted to the very presence of God; the peacemakers, who try to save themselves and their fellows from strife, shall be numbered among the children of God; they
that suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness shall inherit the riches of the eternal kingdom. To the disciples the Lord spake directly, saying: "Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward
in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

It is evident that the specified blessings and the happiness comprised therein are to be realized in their fulness only beyond the grave; though the joy that comes from the
consciousness of right living brings, even in this world, a rich return. An important element in this splendid elucidation of the truly blessed state is the implied distinction
between pleasure and happiness. Mere pleasure is at best but fleeting; happiness is abiding, for in the recollection thereof is joy renewed. Supreme happiness is not
an earthly attainment; the promised "fulness of joy" lies beyond death and the resurrection. While man exists in this mortal state he needs some of the things of the
world; he must have food and clothing and provision for shelter; and besides these bare necessities he may righteously desire the facilities of education, the incidentals of
advancing civilization, and the things that are conducive to refinement and culture; yet all of these are but aids to achievement, not the end to attain which man was made
mortal.

The Beatitudes are directed to the duties of mortal life as a preparation for a greater existence yet future. In the kingdom of heaven, twice named in this part of the
Lord's discourse, are true riches and unfailing happiness to be found. The kingdom of heaven was the all-comprising text of this wonderful sermon; the means of
reaching the kingdom and the glories of eternal citizenship therein are the main divisions of the treatise.

Dignity and Responsibility in the Ministry

The Master next proceeded to instruct with particular directness those upon whom would devolve the responsibility of the ministry as His commissioned
representatives. "Ye are the salt of the earth," said He. Salt is the great preservative; as such it has had practical use since very ancient times. Salt was prescribed as an
essential addition to every meat offering under the Mosaic law. Long before the time of Christ, the use of salt had been accorded a symbolism of fidelity, hospitality,
and covenant. To be of use salt must be pure; to be of any saving virtue as salt, it must be salt indeed, and not the product of chemical alteration or of earthy
admixture, whereby its saltiness or "savor" would be lost; and, as worthless stuff, it would be fit only to be thrown away. Against such change of faith, against such
admixture with the sophistries, so-called philosophies, and heresies of the times, the disciples were especially warned. Then, changing the figure, Jesus likened them to
the light of the world, and enjoined upon them the duty of keeping their light before the people, as prominently as stands a city built upon a hill, to be seen from all
directions, a city that cannot be hid. Of what service would a lighted candle be if hidden under a tub or a box? "Let your light so shine before men," said He, "that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

That they should make no error as to the relationship of the ancient law and the gospel of the kingdom which He was elucidating, Jesus assured them that He had not
come to destroy the law nor to nullify the teachings and predictions of the prophets, but to fulfill such and to establish that for which the developments of the centuries
gone had been but preparatory. The gospel may be said to have destroyed the Mosaic law only as the seed is destroyed in the growth of the new plant, only as the bud
is destroyed by the bursting forth of the rich, full, and fragrant flowers, only as infancy and youth pass forever as the maturity of years develops. Not a jot or a tittle of
the law was to be void. A more effective analogy than the last could scarcely have been conceived; the jot or yod, and the tittle, were small literary marks in the
Hebrew script; for present purposes we may regard them as equivalent to the dot of an "i" or the cross of a "t"; with the first, the jot, our English word "iota," signifying
a trifle, is related. Not even the least commandment could be violated without penalty; but the disciples were admonished to take heed that their keeping of the
commandments was not after the manner of the scribes and Pharisees, whose observance was that of ceremonial externalism, lacking the essentials of genuine devotion;
for they were assured that by such an insincere course they could "in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

The Law Superseded By the Gospel

The next section of the sermon deals with the superiority of the gospel of Christ over the law of Moses, and contrasts the requirements of the two in particular
instances. Whereas the law forbade murder, and provided a just penalty for the crime, Christ taught that one's giving way to anger, which might possibly lead to
violence or even murder, was of itself a sin. To maliciously use an offensive epithet such as "Raca" laid one liable to punishment under the decree of the council, and to
call another a fool placed one "in danger of hell fire." These objectionable designations were regarded at that time as especially opprobrious and were therefore
expressive of hateful intent. The murderer's hand is impelled by the hatred in his heart. The law provided penalty for the deed; the gospel rebuked the evil passion in its
incipiency. To emphasize this principle, the Master showed that hatred was not to be atoned by a material sacrifice; and that if one came to make an offering at the
altar, and remembered that he was at enmity with his brother, he should first go to that brother and be reconciled, even though such a course involved the interruption of
the ceremonial, which was a particularly grievous incident according to the judgment of the priests. Differences and contentions were to be adjusted without delay.

The law forbade the awful sin of adultery; Christ said that the sin began in the lustful glance, the sensual thought; and He added that it was better to become blind than
to look with evil eye; better to lose a hand than to work iniquity therewith. Touching the matter of divorcement, in which great laxity prevailed in that day, Jesus
declared that except for the most serious offense of infidelity to marriage vows, no man could divorce his wife without becoming himself an offender, in that she,
marrying again while still a wife not righteously divorced, would be guilty of sin, and so would be the man to whom she was so married.

Of  old it had(c)been
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                                         or take Corp.
                                                 oaths except in solemn covenant before the Lord; but in the gospel dispensation the Lord forbade that men swear at all;
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and the heinousness of wanton oaths was expounded. Grievously sinful indeed it was and is to swear by heaven, which is the abode of God; or by earth, which is His
creation and by Him called His footstool; or by Jerusalem, which was regarded by those who swore as the city of the great King; or by one's own head, which is part
of the body God has created. Moderation in speech, decision and simplicity were enjoined, to the exclusion of expletives, profanity and oaths.
declared that except for the most serious offense of infidelity to marriage vows, no man could divorce his wife without becoming himself an offender, in that she,
marrying again while still a wife not righteously divorced, would be guilty of sin, and so would be the man to whom she was so married.

Of old it had been forbidden to swear or take oaths except in solemn covenant before the Lord; but in the gospel dispensation the Lord forbade that men swear at all;
and the heinousness of wanton oaths was expounded. Grievously sinful indeed it was and is to swear by heaven, which is the abode of God; or by earth, which is His
creation and by Him called His footstool; or by Jerusalem, which was regarded by those who swore as the city of the great King; or by one's own head, which is part
of the body God has created. Moderation in speech, decision and simplicity were enjoined, to the exclusion of expletives, profanity and oaths.

Of old the principle of retaliation had been tolerated, by which one who had suffered injury could exact or inflict a penalty of the same nature as the offense. Thus an
eye was demanded for the loss of an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life. In contrast, Christ taught that men should rather suffer than do evil, even to the extent of
submission without resistance under certain implied conditions. His forceful illustrations-that if one were smitten on one cheek he should turn the other to the smiter; that
if a man took another's coat by process of law, the loser should allow his cloak to be taken also; that if one was pressed into service to carry another's burden a mile,
he should willingly go two miles; that one should readily give or lend as asked-are not to be construed as commanding abject subservience to unjust demands, nor as an
abrogation of the principle of self-protection. These instructions were directed primarily to the apostles, who would be professedly devoted to the work of the kingdom
to the exclusion of all other interests. In their ministry it would be better to suffer material loss or personal indignity and imposition at the hands of wicked oppressors,
than to bring about an impairment of efficiency and a hindrance in work through resistance and contention. To such as these the Beatitudes were particularly applicable-
Blessed are the meek, the peace-makers, and they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

Of old it had been said: "Love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy"; but the Lord now taught: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." This was a new doctrine. Never before had Israel been required to love their foes.
Friendship for enemies had found no place in the Mosaic code: indeed the people had grown to look upon Israel's enemies as God's enemies; and now Jesus required
that tolerance, mercy, and even love be meted out to such! He supplemented the requirement by an explanation-through the course indicated by Him men may become
children of God, like unto their Heavenly Father to the extent of their obedience; for the Father is kind, long-suffering and tolerant, causing His sun to shine on the evil
and on the good, and sending rain for the sustenance of both just and unjust. And further, what excellence has the man who gives only as he receives, acknowledges
only those who salute him with respect, loves only as he is loved? Even the publicans did that much. Of the disciples of Christ much more was expected. The
admonition closing this division of the discourse is an effective and comprehensive summary of all that had preceded: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect."

Sincerity of Purpose

In the matter of alms-giving the Master warned against, and inferentially denounced, ostentation and hypocritical display. To give to the needy is praiseworthy; but to
give for the purpose of winning the praise of men is rank hypocrisy. The tossing of alms to a beggar, the pouring of offerings into the temple treasure chests, to be seen
of men, and similar displays of affected liberality, were fashionable among certain classes in the time of Christ; and the same spirit is manifest today. Some there be
now who cause a trumpet to be sounded, through the columns of the press perchance, or by other means of publicity, to call attention to their giving, that they may have
glory of men-to win political favor, to increase their trade or influence, to get what in their estimation is worth more than that from which they part. With logical
incisiveness the Master demonstrated that such givers have their reward. They have received what they bid for; what more can such men demand or consistently
expect? "But," said the Lord, "when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth
in secret himself shall reward thee openly."

In the same spirit did the Preacher denounce hypocritical prayers-the saying of prayers in place of praying. There were many who sought places of public resort, in the
synagogs, and even on the street-corners, that they might be seen and heard of men when saying their prayers. They secured the publicity they sought; what more could
they ask? "Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." He who would really pray-pray as nearly as possible as Christ prayed, pray in actual communion with God
to whom the prayer is addressed-will seek privacy, seclusion, isolation; if opportunity permits he will retire to his chamber, and will shut the door, that none may
intrude; there he may pray indeed, if the spirit of prayer be in his heart; and this course was commended by the Lord. Wordy supplications, made up largely of
iterations and repetitions such as the heathen use, thinking that their idol deities will be pleased with their much speaking, were forbidden.

It is well to know that prayer is not compounded of words, words that may fail to express what one desires to say, words that so often cloak inconsistencies, words
that may have no deeper source than the physical organs of speech, words that may be spoken to impress mortal ears. The dumb may pray, and that too with the
eloquence that prevails in heaven. Prayer is made up of heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of the soul, of supplication based on the realization of need, of
contrition and pure desire. If there lives a man who has never really prayed, that man is a being apart from the order of the divine in human nature, a stranger in the
family of God's children. Prayer is for the uplifting of the suppliant. God without our prayers would be God; but we without prayer cannot be admitted to the kingdom
of God. So did Christ instruct: "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

Then gave He unto those who sought wisdom at His feet, a model prayer, saying: "After this manner therefore pray ye:

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." In this we acknowledge the relation we bear to our Heavenly Father, and while reverencing His great and
holy Name, we avail ourselves of the inestimable privilege of approaching Him, less with the thought of His infinite glory as the Creator of all that is, the Supreme Being
above all creation, than with the loving realization that He is Father, and that we are His children. This is the earliest Biblical scripture giving instruction, permission, or
warrant, for addressing God directly as "Our Father." Therein is expressed the reconciliation which the human family, estranged through sin, may attain by the means
provided through the well beloved Son. This instruction is equally definite in demonstrating the brotherhood between Christ and humanity. As He prayed so pray we to
the same Father, we as brethren and Christ as our Elder Brother.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." The kingdom of God is to be a kingdom of order, in which toleration and the recognition of individual
rights shall prevail. One who really prays that this kingdom come will strive to hasten its coming by living according to the law of God. His effort will be to keep himself
in harmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to the spirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things that God loves. To make the will of
God supreme on earth as it is in heaven is to be allied with God in the affairs of life. There are many who profess belief that as God is omnipotent, all that is is according
to His will. Such a supposition is unscriptural, unreasonable, and untrue. Wickedness is not in harmony with His will; falsehood, hypocrisy, vice and crime are not
God's gifts to man. By His will these monstrosities that have developed as hideous deformities in human nature and life shall be abolished, and this blessed
consummation shall be reached when by choice, without surrender or abrogation of their free agency, men shall do the will of God.

"Give us this day our daily bread." Food is indispensable to life. As we need it we should ask for it. True, the Father knows our need before we ask, but by asking we
acknowledge Him as the Giver, and are made humble, grateful, contrite, and reliant by the request. Though the sun shines and the rain falls alike upon the just and the
unjust, the righteous man is grateful for these blessings; the ungodly man receives the benefits as a matter of course with a soul incapable of gratitude. The capacity to be
grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which we should be further grateful. We are taught to pray day by day for the food we need, not for a great store to be laid
by for the distant future. Israel in the desert received manna as a daily supply, and were kept in mind of their reliance upon Him who gave. The man with much finds
it easier to forget his dependence than he who must ask with each succeeding day of need.
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"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." He who can thus pray with full intent and unmixed purpose merits forgiveness. In this specification      personal
supplication we are taught to expect only as we deserve. The selfish and sinful would rejoice in exemption from their lawful debts, but being selfish and sinful would
exact the last farthing from those who owe them. Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to be cast at the feet of the unforgiving; and, without the sincerity that springs
grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which we should be further grateful. We are taught to pray day by day for the food we need, not for a great store to be laid
by for the distant future. Israel in the desert received manna as a daily supply, and were kept in mind of their reliance upon Him who gave. The man with much finds
it easier to forget his dependence than he who must ask with each succeeding day of need.

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." He who can thus pray with full intent and unmixed purpose merits forgiveness. In this specification of personal
supplication we are taught to expect only as we deserve. The selfish and sinful would rejoice in exemption from their lawful debts, but being selfish and sinful would
exact the last farthing from those who owe them. Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to be cast at the feet of the unforgiving; and, without the sincerity that springs
from a contrite heart, no man may justly claim mercy. If others owe us, either in actual money or goods as suggested by debts and debtors, or through some
infringement upon our rights included under the broader designation as a trespass, our mode of dealing with them will be taken into righteous account in the judgment of
our own offenses.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:" The first part of this petition has occasioned comment and question. We are not to understand that God
would ever lead a man into temptation except, perhaps, by way of wise permission, to test and prove him, thereby affording him opportunity of overcoming and so of
gaining spiritual strength, which is the only true advancement in man's eternal course of progress. The one purpose of providing bodies for the preexistent spirits of the
race, and of advancing them to the mortal state, was to "prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them."
The plan of mortality involved the certainty of temptation. The intent of the supplication appears to be that we be preserved from temptation beyond our weak powers
to withstand; that we be not abandoned to temptation without the divine support that shall be as full a measure of protection as our exercise of choice will allow.

How inconsistent then to go, as many do, into the places where the temptations to which we are most susceptible are strongest; for the man beset with a passion for
strong drink to so pray and then resort to the dramshop; for the man whose desires are lustful to voice such a prayer and then go where lust is kindled; for the dishonest
man, though he say the prayer, to then place himself where he knows the opportunity to steal will be found! Can such souls as these be other than hypocrites in asking
God to deliver them from the evils they have sought? Temptation will fall in our way without our seeking, and evil will present itself even when we desire most to do
right; for deliverance from such we may pray with righteous expectation and assurance.

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Herein we acknowledge the supremacy of the Being whom we addressed at the beginning as
Father. He is the Almighty in whom and through whose provision we live and move and have our existence. To assert independence of God is both sacrilege and
blasphemy; to acknowledge Him is a filial duty and a just confession of His majesty and dominion. The Lord's Prayer is closed with a solemn "Amen," set as a seal to
the document of the supplication, attesting its genuineness as the true expression of the suppliant's soul; gathering within the compass of a word the meaning of all that
has been uttered or thought. So let it be is the literal signification of Amen.

From the subject of prayer the Master turned to that of fasting, and emphasized the important truth that to be of avail fasting must be a matter between the man and his
God, not between man and his kind. It was a common thing in the Master's day to see men parading the fact of their abstinence as an advertisement of their assumed
piety. That they might appear haggard and faint, this class of hypocrites disfigured their faces, went with unkempt hair, gazed about with sad countenances. Of these
also the Lord said, "Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." Believers were admonished to fast secretly, with no outward display, and to fast unto God, who
could see in secret and would heed their sacrifice and prayer.

Treasures of Earth and of Heaven

The transitory character of worldly wealth was next contrasted with the enduring riches of eternity. Many there were and many there are whose principal effort in life
has been that of amassing treasures of earth, the mere possession of which entails responsibility, care, and disturbing anxiety. Some kinds of wealth are endangered by
the ravages of moths, such as silks and velvets, satins and furs; some are destroyed by corrosion and rust-silver and copper and steel; while these and others are not
infrequently made the booty of thieves. Infinitely more precious are the treasures of a life well spent, the wealth of good deeds, the account of which is kept in heaven,
where the riches of righteous achievement are safe from moth, rust, and robbers. Then followed the trenchant lesson: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also."

Spiritual light is shown to be greater than any product of physical illuminants. What does the brightest light avail the man who is blind? It is the bodily eye that discerns
the light of the candle, the lamp, or the sun; and the spiritual eye sees by spiritual light; if then man's spiritual eye be single, that is, pure and undimmed by sin, he is filled
with the light that shall show him the way to God; whereas if his soul's eye be evil, he will be as one full of darkness. Solemn caution is expressed in the summary, "If
therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Those whom the Master was addressing had received of the light of God; the degree of belief
they had already professed was proof of that. Should they turn from the great emprise on which they had embarked, the light would be lost, and the succeeding
darkness would be denser than that from which they had been relieved. There was to be no indecision among the disciples. No one of them could serve two
masters; if he professed so to do he would be an untrue servant to the one or the other. Then followed another profound generalization: "Ye cannot serve God and
mammon."

They were told to trust the Father for what they needed, taking no thought of food, drink, clothing, or even of life itself, for all these were to be supplied by means
above their power to control. With the wisdom of a Teacher of teachers, the Master appealed to their hearts and their understanding by citing the lessons of nature, in
language of such simple yet forceful eloquence that to amplify or condense it is but to mar:

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

The weakness of faith was reproved in the reminder that the Father who cared even for the grass of the field, which one day flourishes and on the next is gathered up to
be burned, would not fail to remember His own. Therefore the Master added: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you."

Hypocrisy Further Condemned

Men are prone to judge their fellows and to praise or censure without due consideration of fact or circumstance. On prejudiced or unsupported judgment the Master
set His disapproval. "Judge not, that ye be not judged," He admonished, for, according to one's own standard of judging others, shall he himself be judged. The man
who is always ready to correct his brother's faults, to remove the mote from his neighbor's eye so that that neighbor may see things as the interested and interfering
friend would have him see, was denounced as a hypocrite. What was the speck in his neighbor's vision to the obscuring beam in his own eye? Have the centuries
between the days of Christ and our own time made us less eager to cure the defective vision of those who cannot or will not assume our point of view, and see things as
we see them?

These disciples, some of whom were soon to minister in the authority of the Holy Apostleship, were cautioned against the indiscreet and indiscriminate scattering of the
sacred truths and precepts committed to them. Their duty would be to discern the spirits of those whom they essayed to teach, and to impart unto them in wisdom. The
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words  of the(c) 2005-2009,
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                                  "Give       Corp.
                                        not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underPage     124
                                                                                                                                                     their feet, and/ turn
                                                                                                                                                                      128
again and rend you."
we see them?

These disciples, some of whom were soon to minister in the authority of the Holy Apostleship, were cautioned against the indiscreet and indiscriminate scattering of the
sacred truths and precepts committed to them. Their duty would be to discern the spirits of those whom they essayed to teach, and to impart unto them in wisdom. The
words of the Master were strong: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn
again and rend you."

Promise and Reassurance

That their supplications would be heard and answered followed as a rich promise. They were to ask and they would receive; they were to knock and the door would
be opened. Surely the Heavenly Father would not be less considerate than a human parent; and what father would answer his son's plea for bread by giving him a
stone, or who would give a serpent when a fish was desired? With greater certainty would God bestow good gifts upon those who asked according to their need, in
faith. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

The straight and narrow way by which man may walk in Godliness was compared with the broad highway leading to destruction. False prophets were to be shunned,
such as were then among the people, comparable in their pretense to sheep, and in their reality to ravening wolves. These were to be recognized by their works and the
results thereof, even as a tree is to be judged as good or bad according to its fruit. A thorn bush does not produce grapes, nor can thistles bear figs. Conversely, it is as
truly impossible for a good tree to produce evil fruit as for a useless and corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit.

Religion is more than the confession and profession of the lips. Jesus averred that in the day of judgment many would pretend allegiance to Him, saying: "Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Only by doing the will of the Father is the saving grace of the Son obtainable. To assume to speak and act in the
name of the Lord without the bestowal of authority, such as the Lord alone can give, is to add sacrilege to hypocrisy. Even miracles wrought will be no vindication of
the claims of those who pretend to minister in the ordinances of the gospel while devoid of the authority of the Holy Priesthood.

Hearing and Doing

The Sermon on the Mount has stood through all the years since its delivery without another to be compared with it. No mortal man has ever since preached a discourse
of its kind. The spirit of the address is throughout that of sincerity and action, as opposed to empty profession and neglect. In the closing sentences the Lord showed
the uselessness of hearing alone, as contrasted with the efficacy of doing. The man who hears and acts is likened unto the wise builder who set the foundation of his
house upon a rock; and in spite of rain and hurricane and flood, the house stood. He that hears and obeys not is likened unto the foolish man who built his house upon
the sand; and when rain fell, or winds blew, or floods came, behold it fell, and great was the fall thereof.

Such doctrines as these astonished the people. For His distinctive teachings the Preacher had cited no authority but His own. His address was free from any array of
rabbinical precedents; the law was superseded by the gospel: "For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."


NOTES TO CHAPTER 17

1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount.-Matthew gives the address early mention, placing it even before the record of his own call from the seat of custom-
which call certainly preceded the ordination of the Twelve as a body-and before his account of many sayings and doings of the Lord already considered in these pages.
Luke's partial summary of the sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthew tells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that He sat while
speaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and the Twelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where they were met by the multitude,
and that Jesus preached unto them, standing. Critics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightier matters, have tried to make much of these seeming variations.
Is it not probable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to the disciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and that after finishing His
discourse to them He descended with them to the plain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeated parts of what He had before spoken? The
relative fulness of Matthew's report may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was present at the first and more extended delivery.

2. Pleasure Versus Happiness.-"The present is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for sensations that do but excite and
disappoint. In this day of counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture of
pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled, Happiness. In this soul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has
had centuries of experience and practice, and by his skill he controls the market. He has learned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and
arouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in bright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds flock to his bargain counters, hustling
and crushing one another in their frenzy to buy.

"Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudy packet, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gilded wrapping? He has
expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only an inferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.

"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but gilded brass, which corrodes in
the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure
is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass,
soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.

"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a
deceiving stimulant which, like spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly
malady.

"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes
necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction.

"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like
a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish.

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears.
Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep? I have."-Article by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73.

3. Salt of the Earth.-Dummelow's Commentary, on Matt. 5:13, states: "Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoes chemical changes by which
 Copyright
its           (c) 2005-2009,
    flavor is destroyed        Infobase
                        while its        Media
                                  appearance    Corp. Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, "if the salt have lost his savour," may be
                                              remains."                                                                                                       suggested
                                                                                                                                                            Page    125by/ the
                                                                                                                                                                            128
fact that salt mixed with insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving the insoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord's illustration is that
spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. The corresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephites after His resurrection reads: "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing,
Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep? I have."-Article by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73.

3. Salt of the Earth.-Dummelow's Commentary, on Matt. 5:13, states: "Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoes chemical changes by which
its flavor is destroyed while its appearance remains." Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, "if the salt have lost his savour," may be suggested by the
fact that salt mixed with insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving the insoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord's illustration is that
spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. The corresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephites after His resurrection reads: "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." (3 Ne. 12:13.)

4. Reference to Publicans.-Observe that Matthew, who had been a publican, frankly records this reference (5:46, 47) to his despised class. Luke writes "sinners"
instead of "publicans" (6:32-34). Of course, if the accounts of the two writers refer to separate addresses (see Note 1, above), both may be accurate. But we find
Matthew's designation of himself as a publican in his list of the apostles (10:3) and the considerate omission of the unenviable title by the other evangelists (Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:15).

5. Relative Perfection.-Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be construed otherwise than as
implying the possibility of such achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in the sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified
Being. It is possible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a sense analogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in their several spheres; yet the
relative perfection of the lower is infinitely inferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman or sophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore;
his record may possibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency and achievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and the attainment of
graduation is to him remote, but of assured possibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end.

Footnotes

  1. Matt. 5, 6, 7; Luke 6:20-49. See also the version of the Sermon as delivered by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to the Nephites on the western continent; 3
Ne. 12, 13, 14. See also chapter 39 herein.

   2. Note 1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount.-Matthew gives the address early mention, placing it even before the record of his own call from the seat of
custom-which call certainly preceded the ordination of the Twelve as a body-and before his account of many sayings and doings of the Lord already considered in
these pages. Luke's partial summary of the sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthew tells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that
He sat while speaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and the Twelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where they were met by
the multitude, and that Jesus preached unto them, standing. Critics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightier matters, have tried to make much of these
seeming variations. Is it not probable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to the disciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and that
after finishing His discourse to them He descended with them to the plain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeated parts of what He had before
spoken? The relative fulness of Matthew's report may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was present at the first and more extended delivery.

  3. Matt. 4:23-25; read these verses in connection with 5:1; see also Luke 6:17-19.

   4. Note 1. Time and Place of the Sermon on the Mount.-Matthew gives the address early mention, placing it even before the record of his own call from the seat of
custom-which call certainly preceded the ordination of the Twelve as a body-and before his account of many sayings and doings of the Lord already considered in
these pages. Luke's partial summary of the sermon follows his record of the ordination of the apostles. Matthew tells us that Jesus had gone up the mountain and that
He sat while speaking; Luke's account suggests the inference that Jesus and the Twelve first descended from the mountain heights to a plain, where they were met by
the multitude, and that Jesus preached unto them, standing. Critics who rejoice in trifles, often to the neglect of weightier matters, have tried to make much of these
seeming variations. Is it not probable that Jesus spoke at length on the mountain-side to the disciples then present, and from whom He had chosen the Twelve, and that
after finishing His discourse to them He descended with them to the plain where a multitude had assembled, and that to these He repeated parts of what He had before
spoken? The relative fulness of Matthew's report may be due to the fact that he, as one of the Twelve, was present at the first and more extended delivery.

5. Matt. 5:3-12; compare Luke 6:20-26; and 3 Ne. 12:1-12.

  6. Matt. 5:11, 12; compare Luke 6:26; 3 Ne. 12:11, 12.

   7. Note 2. Pleasure Versus Happiness.-"The present is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for sensations that do but excite
and disappoint. In this day of counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture
of pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled, Happiness. In this soul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he
has had centuries of experience and practice, and by his skill he controls the market. He has learned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and
arouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in bright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds flock to his bargain counters, hustling
and crushing one another in their frenzy to buy.

"Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudy packet, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gilded wrapping? He has
expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only an inferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.

"Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but gilded brass, which corrodes in
the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure
is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart's blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass,
soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.

"Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a
deceiving stimulant which, like spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly
malady.

"Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes
necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction.

"True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like
a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish.

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears.
Have you never
 Copyright      been so happy
           (c) 2005-2009,        that you
                             Infobase       haveCorp.
                                         Media    had to weep? I have."-Article by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73.
                                                                                                                                                         Page 126 / 128
  8. D&C 93:33.
a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish.

"Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears.
Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep? I have."-Article by the author, Improvement Era, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172-73.

  8. D&C 93:33.

9. Matt. 5:13-20; compare Luke 14:34-35; 3 Ne. 12:13-20.

  10. Lev. 2:13; compare Ezra 6:9; Ezek. 43:24.

  11. Note the expression "covenant of salt," indicating the covenant between Jehovah and Israel, Lev. 2:13; Num. 8:19; compare 2 Chr. 13:5.

    12. Note 3. Salt of the Earth.-Dummelow's Commentary, on Matt. 5:13, states: "Salt in Palestine, being gathered in an impure state, often undergoes chemical
changes by which its flavor is destroyed while its appearance remains." Perhaps a reasonable interpretation of the expression, "if the salt have lost his savour," may be
suggested by the fact that salt mixed with insoluble impurities may be dissolved out by moisture, leaving the insoluble residue but slightly salty. The lesson of the Lord's
illustration is that spoiled salt is of no use as a preservative. The corresponding passage in the sermon delivered by Jesus to the Nephites after His resurrection reads:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be
thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." (3 Ne. 12:13.)

13. Matt. 5:21-48; Luke 6:27-36; compare 3 Ne. 12:21-48.

  14. Ex. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:17-22; Deut. 19:21.

  15. Compare Lev. 19:18; Deut. 23:6; Ps. 41:10.

  16. Compare the lesson taught in the Parable of the Tares, Matt. 13:24-30.

   17. Note 4. Reference to Publicans.-Observe that Matthew, who had been a publican, frankly records this reference (5:46, 47) to his despised class. Luke writes
"sinners" instead of "publicans" (6:32-34). Of course, if the accounts of the two writers refer to separate addresses (see Note 1, above), both may be accurate. But we
find Matthew's designation of himself as a publican in his list of the apostles (10:3) and the considerate omission of the unenviable title by the other evangelists (Mark
3:18; Luke 6:15).

   18. Note 5. Relative Perfection.-Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be construed
otherwise than as implying the possibility of such achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in the sense in which God is perfect as a
supremely glorified Being. It is possible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a sense analogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in their several
spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitely inferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman or sophomore year may be perfect as freshman
or sophomore; his record may possibly be a hundred per cent on the scale of efficiency and achievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and the
attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assured possibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end.

19. Matt. 6:1-18; compare Luke 11:2-4; 3 Ne. 13:1-18.

  20. Consider the incident of the gifts of the rich and the widow's mite, Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4.

  21. Page 17.

  22. Ex. 16:16-21.

  23. Note the lesson of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Matt. 18:23-25.

  24. Compare Matt 7:6.

  25. Abr. 3:25.

  26. Acts 17:28.

  27. Compare the instance connected with the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18:10-14.

28. Matt. 6:19-34; compare Luke 12:24-34; Luke 16:13; 18:22; 3 Ne. 13:19-34.

  29. Luke 11:34-36.

  30. Compare Gal. 1:10; 1 Tim. 6:17; James 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15.

31. Matt. 7:1-5; Luke 6:37, 38, 41, 42; compare 3 Ne. 14:1-5.

  32. Matt. 7:6; compare 3 Ne. 14:6.

33. Matt. 7:7-23; Luke 6:43-46; Luke 11:9-13; 13:24-30; compare 3 Ne. 14:7-23.

  34. Articles of Faith, pp. 179-89; 198-211.

35. Matt. 7:24-29; Luke 6:46-49; compare 3 Ne. 14:24-27.

CHAPTER 18

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35. Matt. 7:24-29; Luke 6:46-49; compare 3 Ne. 14:24-27.

CHAPTER 18




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