 41 The last supper. On Thursday the feast of the Passover began. It celebrated the birth of the Jewish nation. The Jews had been slaves in Egypt, and on that day, ages before, they had escaped. They had been in a great hurry, for they knew not at what moment the Egyptians might pursue them, and there had been no time for them to make bread. They had eaten supper, each family in its own house, having a lamb for meat. The blood of the lamb they had sprinkled on the side-posts of the door, as assigned to the avenging angel that Jews and not Egyptians lived there, and the angel, seeing the blood, had passed over their houses. But in every house of the Egyptians there was mourning that night. For bread they mixed together flour and water, and baked it without yeast. This is what is called unleavened bread, and when the anniversary of that escape came round, centuries and centuries after, they kept it by sitting down to the same kind of supper. A lamb and bread unleavened, remembering how God had delivered their ancestors out of the Egyptian bondage. This they do even to this day. Jerusalem then was full of people, for the lamb must first be offered in the temple, and the supper must be eaten in the city. Every house was filled with guests, and all the markets men were buying lambs, and every kitchen women were making ready to roast them. Accordingly, that morning the disciples said to the master, Where do we go today to eat the Passover? In whose house shall we find a room and a table for our feast? But in the group stood Judas, listening. Today, for the first time, the master would stay in the city after dark. Where would he stay? There might the ruler sin to take him. There in the night, when all the people were sitting at their suppers and nobody was in the streets, they might be arrested without noise or to malt. Where would he go? But our Lord saw the face of Judas, a man who has such thoughts in his heart as Judas had, can hardly help showing them in his eyes, even if he does not reveal them with his lips. As the weeks had passed, since the day when Jesus told the disciples that he would be put to death, he had seen a change in Judas. Judas had continued with the twelve, and he had been ill at ease. He had hoped once, as did they all, that the king would appear in power. Indeed, as we have seen, they still had that hope, even as they drew near to Jerusalem on the last journey. But the hope of Judas had grown less and less. He had seen how our Lord's enemies increased in number and in hatred. For a moment, on the day of palms and psalms, he had held up his head, thinking that the city would receive its king. But the procession had been a failure, and after that Judas expected nothing. Then on Monday our Lord had driven out the traders, and the Sadducees, as he knew well, would not forgive that. It was plain to Judas that all would soon be over. It was plain also to Jesus that Judas had lost hope, and with it had lost faith. And therefore the Fought's Apostle listened eagerly to learn where the supper would be eaten. But our Lord had arranged it so that he should not know. Jesus turned to the two disciples in whom he felt he could put perfect trust and gave them his directions. "'Go into Jerusalem,' he said, and in the street as you pass the gate, you will see a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow that man, and when he goes into a house, go in after him. Ask for the master of the house and say to him, The Lord sends you this message. Where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room, furnished. Then make ready.' Thus Judas was no wiser than before. The two went, and there was the man with the water-pitcher, and as he turned about they followed. So they came to the house, and all happened as the master had arranged. There was a large upper room, reached by an outside stairway, and in it was a table, with couches placed about it. Then Peter and John carried a lamb to the temple, that a priest might kill it, and brought it back to have it cooked. And all things were made ready for the supper. The sun set, and the evening came, and under cover of the darkness our Lord and the others made their way down the Mount of Olives into the city to the upper room. Now as they took their places there was a strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest. That is, they desired each of them to sit beside the master in the place of honor. Peter said, The place is mine, I am the oldest. John said, No, it is mine, he likes me best. Our Lord seems not to have settled the matter, putting one above and one below. That was not his way. He showed them how it was all wrong, all that contention as to which should fare better than another. He rose from the table, and laid aside his cloak, and took a towel, and tied it about his waist. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel. For in that country where men wore sandals it was the custom for a servant to wash the feet of guests who came in from the heat and dust. Our Lord then, looking into the faces of the twelve who had been disputing which was the greatest, took the part of a servant. Peter indeed protested, as no doubt they all did. Peter said, Lord, does thou wash my feet? Thou shalt never wash my feet. But our Lord insisted. He washed their feet, even the feet of Judas. Then he said, as he put his cloak about him, and took his place again. Do you know what I have done? I, whom you all call greatest, have washed your feet like a servant. That is what the greatest ought to do. He only is truly great, who is serving others. Then they went on with the Passover supper. There was a roasted lamb upon the table, and a dish of bitter herbs, like lettuce, with vinegar in which to dip them, and cakes of unleavened bread, round and flat. After they had eaten came a solemn conclusion to the feast. A cup of wine was blessed and passed out, and then the herbs were eaten, each person dipping the leaves in the vinegar. Here our Lord paused, and looking about on the disciples said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. You know, he meant, how I sit here in peril of my life, how the rulers have passed a sentence against me that I must die, and are watching daily to take me. One of you, my friends, shall deliver me into their hands. This he said with sorrow in his face. The scripture must be fulfilled, he said, where it is written, he that Edith bread with me hath lifted up his hill against me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I, is it I? To which our Lord replied, he that dipeth his hand with me in this dish, the same shall betray me. One of you, my friends, who at this moment is eating this supper with me, shall do this deed. The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him. But woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas said in a faint voice, is it I? And John whispered, lying next to Jesus, Lord, who is it? And the Lord dipped leaves in the vinegar, and gave them to Judas, saying, What thou doest do quickly? But this he said in such a way that no man at the table knew the meaning of it. Some thought that Jesus was sending the treasurer on some necessary errand. Judas, however, knew. Up he started from the presence of his master, from the company of the friends among whom he had lived so long and intimately, and turned his back upon them all, and went out into the night. Then in the order of the feast came the blessing of a second cup, which was followed by the recitation of the story of the escape from Egypt, and by the singing of certain psalms, from the one hundred and thirteenth to the one hundred and fifteenth. And as he blessed the cup and gave thanks, and told them to take it and divided amongst themselves, he said, I say unto you that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. And they began to understand that the end was near at hand and that this was the last supper. Then he took bread, and when he had given thanks he break it and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And then the cup, with which the Passover supper ended, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Do this as often as you shall drink it in remembrance of me. He had told them that he was to die, but now he added that he was to die for them and for many, and he asked them to remember. When you sit at the table together after I am gone, break the bread as I am doing, and pour the wine and think of me, how my body was broken and my blood was shed. After that, he talked with them long and tenderly, trying to show them how it was best for them that he should go away, and telling them that they must show their love for him by doing the things which he had taught them. I see that you are very sorry, he said, sorrow hath filled your heart. Indeed, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. Yet I will give you peace, be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Then he prayed with them, and when they had sung another hymn, the Psalms, from the one hundred and fifteenth to the one hundred and eighteenth, they went out into the Mount of Olives. End of Chapter 41 Chapter 42 of When the King Came This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. When the King Came, Stories from the Four Gospels by George Hodges, Chapter 42, In the Garden of Gethsemane The full moon was shining as our Lord and the disciples came down the outer stairs from the upper room. The streets were still, except where sounds of merry voices came from the houses where happy people sat at the Passover table. The little company met no opposition on the way and passed without hindrance through the city gate. The road ran down the hill into a deep valley, crossed the bridge of a little stream called the Kidron, and then climbed the ascent of the Mount of Olives. Over the brook at the foot of the mountain was a little garden of olive trees called Gethsemane. On the way they had continued the conversation of the upper room. Did they remember as they went down the words of the psalms about the valley of the shadow of death? Into that dark valley they were now descending. The time has fully come, the master said, of which I have been telling you. The Pharisees and Sadducees will take me and mock me and scourge me and spit upon me and kill me. And you, my friends, my dear friends, whom I have chosen to be with, who have stayed beside me even when others turn their backs, even you will desert me. It is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Then Peter, speaking first of all, cried, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended? To which our Lord replied, I tell thee, Peter, that this very night before tomorrow dawns, even in this night before the cock-crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But Peter declared more earnestly than before. Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. Even if I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all. So they came into the garden, and he left the disciples by the gate, saying, Sitchie here, while I go and pray yonder. But he took Peter and James and John with him into the deeper shade of the olives. The other sat upon the grass in the moonlight. Some thinking, some sleeping, some listening to faint sounds as of one in great distress crying to God in prayer. But the words were lost in the babbling of the running brook, or in the rustle of the wind in the leaves of the trees. Peter and James and John went with the master, and he began to be both troubled and amazed. The more clearly he saw the certainty of his approaching death, the more impossible did it appear. He was not afraid. Even then he might have escaped easily. He had but to walk out of the garden gate, and on along the road over the Mount of Olives passed Bethany into the country, and no man would harm him. If he would but live in peace and quietness, no Pharisee nor Sadducee would touch him. All that they wished for was that he would be silent. He might still live if he would return to the bench of the carpenter. But that was utterly impossible. He had come, the Son of God, in the name of God, to teach the truth of God. That was his whole life. He could not imagine himself living and not doing that. But that he who thus came on such a mission, with such a message, should be rejected, that he whose heart was full of love should be hated, that they to whom he came should kill him. This amazed him with a sad and dreadful amazement. And he said to the three, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Terri ye here and watch with me. And he went forward a little and fell upon the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him. Must it be, must this calamity come? To die was little, but thus to die was terrible beyond all speech or thought. That the Pharisees and Sadducees should kill him, the very clergy of the church, with the approval of the church people. This was what broke his heart. If the common sinners of the street had hated him, he could have borne it. But that the good should hate him, that men should come out of church from the act of prayer and plan to kill him. This amazed him and crushed him to the ground. He fell upon his face and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Let me not thus die by the hands of those whom I love. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he came out of the shadow to the three disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, who had made such great promises, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? And then he added, seeing that they were very tired. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again he went back into the darkness, and being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer and was coming to his disciples, he found them again asleep, partly for weariness and partly for sorrow. Then going back he prayed a third time, saying the same words. And the third time, when he went for sympathy to the disciples, he found them again asleep. And when they waked at the sound of his steps, were ashamed and sorry, he said, sleep on now, and take your rest. But now there was a noise as of hurrying feet in the road which led from the city. Torches were seen flickering between the trees by the bridge across the Kidron. Jesus knew well what it all meant. It is enough, he cried, waking the three and calling the others. The hour is come. Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go to meet them. Lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. Jesus had gone from the last supper to find the men to whom he had sold his soul. He may have said, the Prophet is in such and such a house, in the upper room, with only the group of his apostles with him. Send a band with me, and we may take him before he goes. If so, they came too late, finding the place empty. But the next step was sure. He will be found then in the garden of Gethsemane. For with this quiet spot the apostles were familiar. Many times they had restored thither. Judas knew every tree and could find his way from corner to corner, even in the dim light of the moon. There he had lain in the heat of the day and in the cool of the evening, close by the Master, and had listened as he talked. Judas knew it well. To the garden accordingly he brought his band of service from the high priest's house, and now they came with lanterns and torches and weapons. And the trader had given them a sign, saying, whomever I shall kiss, that same is he. Take him, and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come he went straightway to Jesus, as if he were still one of the twelve friends, saying, Master, Master, and kissed him. Then they laid their hands on Jesus and took him. And Peter, quick and impulsive now as always, stretched out his hand and drew a sword which he had buckled to his side, and struck the nearest man, cutting off his ear. But the resistance went no further. One of the other apostles had a sword, but he did not draw it. Indeed, Jesus told Peter to put his sword into its sheath. Do you not know, he said, and if I were to ask my father, he would send me instantly an army of angels. But it may not be. And hearing that, all the apostles, first Peter, and then James, and John, and Thomas, and the others, forsook him and fled. Away they went, running in dreadful haste, this way and that among the trees of the garden. And Jesus was left alone. But as they who had arrested Jesus led him out of the gate, a single strange figure came in sight. A young man, evidently just from bed, came following after, having a sheath wrapped about him. Some of the band turned back and drove him away and chased him, catching the sheath but not succeeding in catching him. Out he went into the darkness and was lost to sight. It is in St. Mark's Gospel that this white-gowned person appears, and some have thought that he was none other than St. Mark himself. We know that Mark was then a lad living in Jerusalem, and that a few months later his mother's house was the meeting-place of the disciples. It may be that the upper room was in that house, and that Mark, awakened by Judas and his searching-party, had hurried, just as he was, to warn our Lord at Gethsemane, and had arrived in time to hear how Jesus prayed while the disciples slept, and to see the great drops as of blood upon his forehead. CHAPTER 43 Christ before Caiaphas It was past midnight, but the moon lighted the way. They that had laid hold on Jesus led him over the Kidron Bridge, beneath which the little river ran like a stream of silver. Before them, at the summit of the hill, rose the walls of the city and the open gate. At first, as they entered, the people seemed to be asleep. The streets were empty and all the windows dark. Only a century was pacing back and forth along the castle wall. But presently there was a sound of running feet. The palace of the High Priest was all alight, and out of the entrance, servants were running down this street and that, knocking on the doors of great houses. And men looked out and said, What is the matter? And the servants answered, He is taken. You know who. There is to be a meeting of the Sanhedrin immediately, that he may be put on trial. The Jewish people had two rulers. One was Pilate, the Roman governor, who was the head of the state. The other was Caiaphas, the High Priest, who was the head of the church. The High Priest could do nothing without the consent of the Standing Committee, the Sanhedrin. The members of this committee were, therefore, summoned out of their sleep. While our Lord was being led along in the midst of the police and the crowd, they were hastily putting on their clothes and making their way to the place of meeting. Jesus was brought in, and the trial began. The High Priest asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine. He answered, I spake openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me what I have said unto them. Behold, they know what I said." And as he finished speaking, an attendant, one of the lower officers of the court, struck him in the face with the palm of his hand. The servant, seeing no doubt how all was going, and thinking to gain favor with his master, struck the king, saying, Answerest thou the High Priest so? Our Lord turned and said quietly, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why smiteest thou me? But the High Priest did not rebuke the brutal servant. Instead of that, the priests and the elders and all the counsel sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death. They were determined to kill him, but they wished to kill him legally. They knew that many of the people believed him to be a prophet. They feared that they would be called to account for what they did. So they were careful to observe the form of law. There must be witnesses, too at least, to testify against a criminal. If they could find no true ones, false witnesses would do as well. So the servants hurried again into the night to bring in witnesses. Now one day, as he taught in the temple, Jesus had said something which nobody quite understood. Whether the word themselves were so mysterious, or whether there was so much confusion that they were not heard distinctly, we do not know. Anyhow, they were reported to the authorities, in one way and another, and they were now brought up against him. Two false witnesses came and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days. But they did not agree. They could not remember exactly what he said. Even the apostles did not understand it, though long after thinking it over, they concluded that he must have spoken of the temple of his body. But nobody knows. He had said something, however, about the destruction of the temple. That was plain. He had spoken, they believed, against that holy place in whose service the Sadducees were engaged, and so speaking he had spoken against the Sadducees. There they sat then, in the council, ready to vote against him. But the false witnesses had not agreed together. Another evidence must be found against him in order to convict him legally. So the high priest, clad in his robes of office, stood up solemnly in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answer us thou nothing? What is it which these witnesses against thee? But he held his peace and answered nothing, and the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tellest whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Thus the moment came which our Lord had long awaited. Do not tell, he said to Peter, on the day of the great recognition. Do not tell, he said to the three, as they came down from the mountain of the transfiguration. He himself would declare the great truth in his own time. Thus he stood, looking into the faces of the leaders of the people. Yes, he said, I am, I am the Christ, the Son of God. By and by you shall see me sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes. He grasped his flowing gown of linen, and tore it from top to bottom. As was then the way of men in great excitement. He hath spoken blasphemy, he cried. He claims to be the Christ, the Messiah promised of the prophets, the King of Glory, the Son of God. What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy, what think ye? Our Lord's mysterious words about the temple had determined the Sadducees to vote against him. This declaration decided the Pharisees. It was as they had suspected then. This Nazareth carpenter, who had despised their customs, claimed to be the Christ. But, indeed, they were all against him. The trial was no trial. Even as they came out of their houses their minds were made up. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Thus it all ended. He who had come from heaven, in whom God dwelt, and he in God, of whom the Father of all had said, This is my beloved Son. The King of Glory was condemned to death. He told them who he was. I am your king. And they cried out against him. The high priest rejected him. So did the lesser priests and the preachers of the synagogue and the whole church. The Church of God resolved to kill the Son of God. The church, however, had no power to put any man to death. That belonged to the State. Caiaphas had condemned Jesus, but in order that the false Christ, as he thought, should be killed, he must be given over into the hands of Pilate. It was as yet too early in the morning to see Pilate. The moon had gone down, but the Son had not yet risen. They must wait. Jesus was, therefore, given into the charge of the servants of the palace till the day should dawn. The scribes and elders returned to their homes. Jesus, with his hands tied, stood amidst the servants, and the servants, seeing in him one whom their masters had condemned to death, mocked him. They struck him first on one cheek, then on the other, and spat in his face. They put a cloth over his eyes to blindfold him. And each, in turn, dancing about him, beat him, crying with each blow. Thou, prophet, prophesy now. Who is he that smote thee? In the meantime two of the fleeing disciples, seeing that nobody was following them, had turned back. Keeping in the shadow of the walls and touses, they approached the palace of the High Priest, and at last, plucking up courage, entered. The first to go in was John, and finding that no attention was given to him, he went out and brought in Peter. The palace was built about an open court into which the rooms opened. Across this court were clattering little breathless groups of men, belated members of the council, servants going on hasty errands. In a hall whose lights shone out into the court, Christ was standing before Caiaphas. It was cold in the early spring morning, and the servants had built a charcoal fire on the stone pavement, and stood about it, warming themselves. And Peter joined in, holding out his cold hand to the blaze. But Peter, as we have already seen, was a talkative person, and now in his great excitement he could not keep silent. It was plain by the look of him that he was a stranger from the country. His clothes hinted that, and his voice proved it. For the fishermen of Galilee had a way of speaking which people in Jerusalem thought to be queer. They did not pronounce their words as the city people did. No sooner then had Peter opened his mouth than the man to whom he spoke knew that he was from Galilee. The first to address Peter was a maid-servant who attended the door. She said at once, as he came in, Are not thou also one of this man's disciples? And Peter, already tired from lack of sleep, nervous and afraid, and now taken by surprise, said, I am not. John and he had come to see the end, the end of all their hopes. There was no longer any disciples. That beautiful brotherhood had been broken up. The master was on trial for his life, and they who had followed him would see him no more. So Peter spoke out of the bitterness of his heart. He had been his disciple, but he was such no longer. Peter came in then and stood by the fire, getting what news he could about the proceedings in the palace, but looking so miserable that another maid-servant gazed curiously at him and said, And thou also wasst with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied it a second time, saying, I know not what you say. That is, I don't know what you are talking about. And he went out into the porch, into the passage which led from the court into the street. As he stood by the gate, a first faint streak of light began to appear in the east, and a rooster in some neighbouring barnyard sounded the signal of approaching day. The cock crew. What had the Lord said about the crowing of the cock? Peter started back, but as he did so, the woman at the gate called to the men at the fire. See this fellow, she cried. Is he not one of them? Yes, they answered, looking sharply at him. He is a Galilean. His speech shows that. And one of them, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter cut off, started up and said, Yes, yes, I saw him in the garden with him. And Peter began to call even heaven to witness that he was no disciple of the prophet. I do not even know this man of whom ye speak. And again the cock crew. And at that moment Jesus was led forth, and hearing Peter say these words, the Lord turned and looked upon him. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice, and he went out and wept bitterly. End of Chapter 43 Chapter 44 of When the King Came This Librivox recording is in the public domain. When the King came, stories from the Four Gospels by George Hodges, Chapter 44 Christ before Pilate At last the day came which we call Good Friday, and early in the morning the officers of the Sanhedrin took Jesus to deliver him to Pilate. They had already been to prayers in the temple. They had bowed down before God, asking him to bless them. They came from the trial before Caiaphas on their way to the trial before Pilate, and the service was a quiet interval between. There they prayed before the altar, while in the priest's house the Lord of life was being mocked and spat upon. And they were not bad men. That, as I have said, was the strangest part of it. They were quite sure that they were doing right. They said their prayers with as clear a conscience as any inquisitor before he burned his neighbor at the stake. They acted as they did, not because their hearts were full of sin, but because their minds were full of prejudice. They considered themselves good churchmen. They stood for the old way of the church. And he was not a good churchman, so they said. That was the heart of the whole matter. That is why they hated him and killed him. They were afraid that the Son of God would do harm to the church. But there was an unpleasant interruption in the midst of that early service. Suddenly, as they were saying their prayers, a man came in with a wild, excited voice, having his hands full of silver pieces. I have sinned, he cried, and that I have betrayed the innocent blood. Then he came out of a sleepless night, filled with bitter remorse. Judas had done a deed which has made his name despised and hated. He had betrayed his friend. But there was good in him, in spite of that. Nobody knows why he did it. The little money that he got for it seems an insufficient reason. Anyhow, he was sorry for it. However full his heart may have been of evil when Satan entered into him. It was full now of the old love. He came to make a desperate appeal. Let him go, he asked. He has done nothing amiss. I have betrayed the innocent blood. What is that to us? said the priest and the elders, scowling at him. See thou to that. Then Judas raised his hands and flung the silver from him. Away flew the thirty pieces, ringing and sliding over the temple floor, and the traitor went and hanged himself. The elders and scribes and the whole council carried Jesus bound to Pilate. But Pilate was a Roman and a heathen. When he thought of God, which was not very often, he thought of him as Jupiter, not as Jehovah. And when he said his prayers, he sprinkled grains of incense on burning coals before an idol. The scribes felt that God would not like them if they touched their feet to Pilate's floor. So they stood calling for Pilate, with a crowd gathering out of the neighboring streets, and the news spreading about the town that the prophet had been seized at last. He had been seized and made no resistance. One cried. He said that he could bring down twelve regiments of angels. Yes, answered another, but he did not do it. Thus the enthusiasm of Sunday and Monday, such as it was, passed away. Some there were who cared, but not many, and they were mostly in hiding. The crowd did not care. Pilate heard their voices as he sat at breakfast and went out. What accusation, said he, bring ye against this man? They said, he claims to be the king, the king of the Jews. That was indeed a serious accusation and a true one. They meant it for a charge of treason. Caesar at Rome was the king of the Jews. The scribes wished Pilate to believe that our Lord was the leader of a rebellion, that he was planning a revolution against Rome. It was easy to believe that. The Jews hated to be under the rule of the Romans, and many times rebelled, sometimes for a day in a single city, sometimes in a fierce and wide revolt. At that moment there was lying in Pilate's prison, a man named Barnabas, who had led a riot in the streets of Jerusalem, in which men had lost their lives. The charge, then, was a likely one. But Pilate did not believe it. He already knew something about Jesus. He knew that the priests had delivered him for envy because they feared that he would influence the people against them. He knew that the king of the Jews had undertaken no quarrel against Rome. So he took Jesus into his palace, leaving the council and the crowd outside, and said, Are it thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered, Why do you ask? Do you say this of yourself or did others tell it of me? Pilate replied, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What has thou done? Jesus said, I am indeed a king, but not of an earthly kingdom. In my kingdom there is neither crown nor army. I was born and came into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. The kingdom of God which I preach is the kingdom of the truth. Pilate did not understand. What is the truth? He said. But it was plain that here was no cause for the interference of a Roman governor. He went out to the multitude before the palace door and said, I find no fault in him at all. Then was the whole council filled with anger and great dread. They had delivered Jesus to Pilate, and Pilate was about to set him free. Thus the end would be worse than the beginning. They cried out with loud voices, making all manner of charges against him. One said, He forbids the people to pay taxes. And another, he has set the whole land in commotion, from Galilee to Judea. If he is a Galilean, said the governor, he belongs to Herod. The Herod who had beheaded John the Baptist. Pilate tried accordingly to transfer the case to Herod, but in vain. Still the crowd, continuously increasing, besieged the door. Pilate then thought of Barnabas. Here, he said to the people, is another man under a like accusation. He too has taken part in an insurrection, an evil part. You have your choice now, for I will follow the old custom and release a prisoner at the Passover. Which will you choose, Jesus or Barnabas? It seemed for a moment that the multitude would ask for the release of Jesus. Why should they not? He had gone about among them doing good, healing the sick, bringing cheer to the poor, making himself one of the people, and never seeking his own gain. And the people had heard him gladly. But the city is different from the country, and a crowd is different from the men who comprise it. A crowd will do what hardly a man in it would be willing to do alone. Moreover, the priests and the scribes, the influential people, persuaded the crowd. What was Ruben to say, coming from the farm, or Levi, from the fishing fleet, in answer to these great men? So the crowd obeyed the rulers, and when Pilate said, shall it be Jesus or Barnabas, they cried with a great voice. Barnabas! Pilate said, what will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews? And they cried out, Crucify him. Then said Pilate unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? But they had no other answer. They cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And with the other voices some were heard which said, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend, whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. And that word netled Pilate's mind. He was himself in peril then. They would carry a report to Rome, and there were enemies who were ready to make the most of it. Even as he sat, however, on the judgment-seat, ready to deliver to the death of the cross a man whom he knew to be guiltless of any wrong, his wife sent him a message. Do nothing, she said, against that just man. All night I dreamed about him, dreadful dreams. But it was too late. Pilate did indeed take a basin of water and wash his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person, see ye to it. But the crowd answered, His blood be on us and on our children. And Barnabas was released. Jesus was then given over to the soldiers, as was the way with a condemned prisoner that they might scourge him. And the soldiers took him into the common hall, and gathered the whole band together, and they took off his own clothes, and put a purple robe upon him. Some ragged and tarnished cast off finery, and they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And into his tight hands they thrust a reed for a scepter, and they pretended to do homage to him as a king, bowing down on their knees before him, each in order, saluting him, Hale, king of the Jews, then spitting in his face, and striking him with the reed. Even after this scourging and mocking, Pilate made one more effort to release his prisoner. He appealed to the pity of the multitude. The king was led before his people, with the mock crown on his head, and the mock scepter in his hand, and the ragged robe of royal purple over his shoulders. And Pilate said, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Look at him. Behold the man. But when they saw him, there was no pity in their hearts. They cried the same fierce cry. Crucify him. Crucify him. What, said Pilate, shall I crucify your king? And they all answered, We have no king but Caesar. Thus the last word was spoken. Our lords' own clothes were put again upon him, and he was led away to be crucified. CHAPTER 45 The death sentence was pronounced a little before nine o'clock, since there was danger of disturbance when the pilgrims from Galilee should hear that the prophet of Nazareth was to be crucified, it was decided to proceed without delay. Our lords' clothes, having been put again upon his back, covering the wounds made by the scourge, he was led out on the way to the place of execution. Pilate soldiers marched before and behind him. Two thieves who had been brought out of prison, having a like sentence, went the one on the right hand and the other on the left. And a crowd followed, made up partly of clergymen, partly of pitying women, and partly of idlers from the corners of the streets. Afarov came a few friends, the apostle John and his mother, who as you remember was our lords' aunt, and Mary Magdalene, and another Mary, mother of James the little, and with her the mother of our Lord himself. Thus the forlorn procession passed along the streets and out of the gate of the city to the place of execution. Our Lord, like the two thieves, carried his cross upon his back. One of the soldiers had a hammer and some stout nails. Another who walked in front had a board which bore an inscription. The board was to be nailed over the Lord's head upon the cross. The king of the Jews, it said, showing who he was and for what crime he suffered. Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. The priests had entreated Pilate to change it, so that it should read, I am the king of the Jews, meaning that this was a false claim which he made, but Pilate would not change a word. The cross was heavy, and our Lord was very weary. All night he had had no sleep. Since the sufferer in the upper room he had eaten nothing, and he had suffered much. The agony in the garden, the pain of betrayal by Judas and of denial by Peter, the shame of condemnation by Caiaphas and by Pilate, the distress of the scourging. Besides, he had been on his feet since midnight. It was too much. He stumbled and fell beside the city gate. Now at that same moment there was coming in out of the country a strong armed person named Simon of Sirene. Simon was the father of two sons, who were afterwards numbered among the disciples. They may have been with him that morning. Two boys, one named Alexander and one named Rufus, each holding a hand. The soldiers stopped this country man and taking the cross from the shoulders of our Lord, put it on the broad shoulders of Simon, and the procession moved again. The little boys, if they were there, coming on behind their father, very scared and silent. The women bewailed and lamented, seeing that our Lord could not carry the cross. But he turned to them and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children, for the city which thus crucifies the innocent shall be surely punished. Indeed the day came when the Romans set up hundreds of crosses along that same road and owned them crucified the chief citizens of Jerusalem and the city, as our Lord had said, was laid level with the ground. At last they came to the hill called Golgotha. The crosses were laid upon the ground. They who were to be crucified were fastened to them by nails driven through the hands and through the feet. The crosses were lifted up and thrust heavily into the earth, into holes dug to receive them. All this time our Lord had said no word. No cry had come from his lips when the nails pierced his hands and his feet. Now he spoke, praying for those who had done this. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. An opiate was offered him, as was the custom in crucifixion, to deaden the pain. Wine mingled with myrrh. But when he had tasted it and knew what it was, he would not drink it. He would meet death with a clear mind. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to every soldier apart, for the soldiers had the clothes of those who were crucified. But his coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it. Whose it shall be? So they cast lots. And the rulers derided him saying, He saved others, let him save himself if he be Christ the chosen of God. And the soldiers, each with his share of our Lord's garments under his arm, cried, If thou be the king of Israel, save thyself. Even the thieves joined in this cry of derision, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. Thus from all sides came this noise of hatred. He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ, the king of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. But one of the thieves joined but faintly in this uproar, and presently rebuked the other. Does not thou fear God? he said. And you in the hour of death, we indeed are punished justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he turned to Jesus, in the face of the soldiers and the deriding priest, and said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Fairly I say unto thee, Today shall thou be with me in paradise. Then our Lord saw his mother standing by the cross, and with her the apostle John, whom he loved the best of all, and he said to his mother, Behold thy son, meaning that John was now to be a son to her. And to John he said, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. So the painful moments passed, and noon day came, and black clouds rose up and covered the sky and hid the face of the sun, as if the world itself were going into mourning for this death. And darkness deepened into the soul of Jesus. Eloi, Eloi, he cried, Lama Sabakthani. The very words had been remembered, as if his voice had given them a meaning which could not be translated. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? This was the first sentence of a psalm which was written by one who thinking that God had deserted him, found that after all God loved him through all his suffering with an unfailing love. They who stood by faintly hearing what he said mistook the meaning. Eloi sounded like Elias. Behold, they said, he calleth for Elijah. Let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down. Even then they thought some miracle might happen. There might be a sudden shining in the black sky, and down might come the prophet of the old time, riding in his chariot of fire. And as Jesus said, I thirst. They filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on a reed and lifted it to his mouth, partly in pity, partly in awe. Jesus then cried with a loud voice. It is finished, adding a word of faith and prayer. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and so died. It was three o'clock, and the next day was the Sabbath, and the Sabbath, according to their custom, began at sundown on the day before. The priests accordingly asked Pilate for leave to put the thieves out of their misery, so that all the bodies might be removed before the holy day, and Pilate gave permission. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the two thieves and killed them. But Jesus, they found, was dead already, to make sure one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side. Then came forward two members of the council, men of eminence, who had been disciples of Jesus in secret for fear of their neighbors. He was now dead indeed, and at way too late as it seemed, to do anything for him, but remorse made them bold. Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Nicodemus brought Myrrh and Allows to embalm him. They took the body from the cross, and laid it in a cave in Joseph's garden. Then, because the hour was late, leaving the embalming unfinished, they rolled a great stone to the mouth of the cave, putting their shoulders to it, and depart it. When the moon arose, they remained only a group of soldiers, placed on guard, pacing up and down before the tomb of him, who had claimed to be the king of glory, and the son of God. End of Chapter 45 Chapter 46 of When the King Came This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. When the King Came Stories from the Four Gospels by George Hodges Chapter 46 The Empty Tomb The disciples of the dead prophet had one consolation. Nothing could rob them of the memory of their friend. All day Saturday they thought of him. It was the Sabbath, but it is not likely that they went to church. How could they worship in the temple with the Sadducees, or in the synagogue with the Pharisees, who had brought their master to the death upon the cross? Somewhere no doubt they met, perhaps in the upper room where they had sat with him at the last supper. There they prayed that God would give them comfort and understanding. There they remembered him. These men had had an experience such as nobody else has had since the world began. They had known a perfect man. It is true that the Pharisees and Sadducees did not think that he was perfect. They criticized him, as we have seen, and found such faults in him that they desired to kill him. But what seemed faults to them seemed virtues to the disciples, and all men since have agreed with the disciples. Jesus was the one perfect man of all time. In him our human nature came to its highest excellence. He lived our common life, and was tempted in all things like as we are, yet he sinned not. The best men that ever lived have tried and prayed to be like him, and none of them have succeeded. The perfect man died because in order to live he must submit to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and he could not do that. The most important thing in the world is true religion, because that means the good health of the soul. God had appointed the Jews to be the teachers of true religion, but they had fallen into error. The Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching that which was not true concerning God and concerning man. Our Lord came that he might establish the kingdom of the truth. That is, that he might show us how to live a right. He came to save our souls. But the Pharisees and Sadducees were so sure that they themselves were right that they put him to death. Thus he died in the endeavour to give us true religion. He lay down his life for our sake. But that was not all. Other men have died for love of God and man. He was not like other men. He was the Christ, the Son of God. He said mysterious words about himself, words which are still mysterious, declaring that he came from heaven and would come again, and that whosoever had seen him had seen the Father. God was in him, he said, and he in God. In him was fulfilled the saying, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Men had asked, does God care? He who made us and put us in this world where sin and pain abound, is he truly concerned about us? Does it matter to him that we suffer? Does it matter to him whether we do right or wrong? Does God care? There was no answer to this question in nature. So God sent his Son to answer it. The Son of God came to tell us of the love of God. He said that God cares for every one of us. He said that sin is a very dreadful thing and endangers our soul as disease endangers our bodies and grieves God. He said that God feels towards sinners as the Father felt towards the prodigal Son, and that every sinner who is truly sorry for his sin will be forgiven. And all this he showed by his life and by his death. He by whom God spoke to man went about healing the sick and comforting the sad and at last for our sake died upon the cross. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. Jesus in the name of God laid down his life even for his enemies. Then he said that his body would be broken and his blood shed for our sake to save us from our sins and that he came to give his life a ransom for the world. And in those words are great meanings of his death such as even now the wisest men do but dimly understand. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. But was that true? Was God in Christ? Was it indeed the most high God who spoke by him? Of course the perfect man will tell the truth. We may believe what he says because his life shows that he is in God and God in him that even the perfect man may not know it all. He may guess at some of it. We want to be absolutely sure. We want to know with certain knowledge that this which the perfect man says of the love of God is no guess but is the truth. We are not satisfied with the word even of the perfect man. We would have the word of God. But he who said that he was the son of God died like a man. Could he be the son of God and die like that? Even the men who had been his nearest friends could not give a good answer to that question. They lay awake all night Friday and Saturday thinking about it and talked of it all day. They had seen him die. They had seen the nails in his hands and feet and the wound of the spear in his side. He was as dead as the two thieves. Where were all his great words now? At the time when our Lord was buried certain women had stood by to see where he was laid. Two of them were mothers of apostles Salome, the mother of James and John, and Mary, the mother of James the Little. Two had been grievously sick and our Lord had healed them. Mary Magdalene and Joanna, the wife of Herod Stewart. There had been no time on Friday to embalm the body. It had been wrapped in linen and myrrh and aloes had been placed about it. But then the Sabbath had come. The women, accordingly, had gone away weeping and had agreed to meet very early on the first day of the week, as we say, on Sunday, to finish the embalming. So on the Sabbath, which we call Saturday, they sat still, thinking and talking and crying, and on Sunday morning, as the day began to dawn, they started from the city to go to the garden where the Lord was buried. It was a day in spring and the shadows of the night still lay upon the world. The women could but dimly see the way before them. There were deeper shadows in their hearts, as they came near to the garden, one of them said, The stone, the great stone which Joseph and Nicodemus rolled before the mouth of the cave. How shall we roll it away? They were all much troubled about it, but as they entered the garden and came inside of the place, behold, the stone was rolled away. They knew not what to think. Who had done this thing? There was the mouth of the cave, black and open in the dim light. They came near, trembling and afraid, and looked in, and the tomb was empty. They said one to another, They have taken away our Lord. But who had taken the body away? And where had they laid it? They could not imagine. The tomb was empty, that was plain. They said, We must go at once and tell the disciples. But as they turned to go, they became aware of two men in long, white, shining garments, and the women, when they saw them, fell down upon their faces in great fear. But the men said, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not there, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again? And they remembered his words. He had told them that he would rise again, but they had not understood. They had not thought of such a rising as this. The Lord is risen, said the man in white. He is alive for evermore. With this wonderful news the women hurried back to the city. The shadows were gone, the sun was shining, the sky was bright, and all the birds were singing. The women ran along the road in fear and joy and great amazement. Thus they came to the apostles lodging and knocked upon the door. The tomb, they cried, is empty, the great stone is rolled away, and the body is not there, and we saw a vision of angels which told us that he who was dead is now alive. But the apostles did not believe it. It might indeed be true that the tomb was empty, they believed that, but they paid no attention to what the women said about the angels. You imagined it, they said, there were no angels, that is an idle tale. Nevertheless they saw that the story of the women called them at once to examine the tomb. And two of them, Peter and John, started together for the garden. They ran both together, but John, probably because he was the younger, left Peter far behind, and came first to the sepulcher. He stooped down and looked in. The tomb was empty indeed. Nothing was to be seen except the linen which had been wrapped about the body. Then came Peter, breathing hard from running, and went into the sepulcher. Perhaps the body had been laid in some deeper recess of the cave. No, the tomb was empty. There on the ground laid the linen clothes, but the napkin which had been about his head was not lying with the linen clothes, but was wrapped together in a place by itself. There was no sign of violence or of haste. It did not look as if the grave had been robbed, but the grave was empty. John went in, and was as perplexed as Peter. So they went back to their own home, walking slowly, with their eyes upon the ground, thinking and wondering. All day the disciples had been perplexed with rumors. Now somebody said that the women had seen not only an angel, but the Lord himself. Jesus met them, saying, All hail! and they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then somebody else said that there had been an earthquake in the middle of the night, and that the angel of the Lord had descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. The women had seen him, and his face was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. Presently it was reported that Mary Magdalene had seen the Lord. Mary was standing by the door of the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher, and there were two angels sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they said, Why do you weep? and she answered, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said she turned back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus said, Why do you weep? Whom do you seek? She supposed that it was the gardener. The morning was still dark, and her eyes were full of tears. Sir, she said, speaking to the gardener, If thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said, Mary. She turned and recognized him and cried, My master! And Jesus told her not to touch him, but to go and tell his brethren, the disciples. So she went in haste and told them as they mourned and wept. He is alive, she said, I have seen him with my eyes. But even they did not believe. That morning two men, one of whom was named Cleopas, took a long walk. They lived in a village called Emmaus, half a dozen miles out of Jerusalem. They had been in the city over the Sabbath and were returning home. They may have stood beside the cross. They may have spent the days with the disciples. All that we know is that they had been friends and followers of our Lord. And as they went they talked together of all these things that had happened. The sun, which had been shrouded in darkness on Friday, was now shining brightly. And all the spring birds were singing Easter carols in the green trees, and Easter flowers were shining all along beside the road. It was a beautiful glad day. But the two men did not see the sun. They did not hear the birds, as for the buds and blossoms, they might have been briars and brambles. The men would not have known the difference. For do you know what they were doing as they walked between the pleasant fields? They were both crying. These grown men were crying as they went, so that everybody who passed them on the way noticed them. People stopped to look after them and said, What has happened? Have they had bad news? Are they returning from a funeral? Why do they cry? At last, as they came into the country and the city was out of sight behind them, one of the passers-by spoke to them. What are you talking about? He said, As you walk and are sad. And Cleopas answered, You must be a stranger in Jerusalem. You must have come to the Passover from a long way off, or you would not ask. Do you not know the things that are come to pass then in these days? And he said, What things? And they said, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty indeed and word, before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. We believe in him with all our hearts. We thought that he was the Christ, the deliverer of Israel. But he died and was buried. That was three days ago. There have been strange things said to-day. Certain women of our company went out very early this morning to the sepulcher and founded empty. They came back, declaring that they had seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive. But when some of the men went, they found only the empty tomb. They saw no angels, neither did they see the Lord. He was crucified and dead and buried, and his body has been taken away. This is all that we know. Do you wonder that we go home crying as we go? As they spoke, the stranger walked beside them, and when the tears came again into their eyes and voices, he said, Have you not read the Bible? Do you not know that the Christ must suffer all these things? What is meant by the psalm where it is written? They pierced my hands and my feet. What is meant by the chapter in Isaiah where it is written? He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. The words which he said and the voice in which he spoke impressed them deeply. You thought, he said, that Jesus could not be the Christ, the Son of God, because he died upon the cross. But you see that holy men of old time, looking forward to the time of Christ, saw that he must be put to death. It has all happened as the prophets said, Yes, and more also. Christ dies, but he rises again from the dead. Their hearts glowed within them as he spoke. So they drew near to the village where they lived, and as they came to a parting of the ways he made as though he would have gone farther, but they urged him, saying, Abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came time for supper, and they sat down together, Cleopas and his friend, and the women and the little children of the family, and the stranger. They asked the stranger to say the blessing. And as he said it, he took bread and break it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. It was the Lord himself, and he vanished out of their sight. Then they rose up immediately and hastened back to Jerusalem. But there were no more tears in their eyes as they ran along the road. That night the disciples were together with the doors fast shut, for they were still afraid of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Only ten of them were present, for Judas was dead, and Thomas was so ever come with grief and disappointment that he stayed by himself, thinking his own thoughts, asking only to be left alone. The ten were sitting at the table, having finished their supper. There was still some fish on the table, and some honey in the comb. Peter was talking excitedly. I have seen him, he was saying, he came and spoke to me, he is alive. Then there was a sound of hurrying steps upon the stairs, and a quick knock at the door, and when one said, who is it, what do you want? A voice said, this is Cleopas of Emmaus, with great news. Open the door. Cleopas and his friend were admitted, and the door was locked again. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Cleopas telling his story, and the ten crying, he is risen indeed and hath appeared to Peter. Jesus himself stood in the midst. The doors were shut, and stayed shut. He had not entered by the doors. He appeared as he had vanished out of Emmaus, suddenly out of the air. Peace be unto you, he said, but they were terrified and affrighted, supposing that they had seen a spirit. And he showed them his hands and his feet, with the marks of the nails, and taking fish and honey, ate before them to make them know then, that it was indeed himself. Peace be unto you, he said again, as my father hath sent me, even so, send I you. There he stood in their sight, the risen Lord, he who hath died was now alive. End of Chapter 47 Chapter 48 of When the King Came This Libervox recording is in the public domain. When the King Came, Stories from the Four Gospels by George Hodges Chapter 48 The Vision of the Seven Fishermen Our Lord had now shown himself alive to most of the apostles and to a few others. They were all able to say that they had seen him face to face. But there were two who would not believe, even on the word of all those honest persons. One of these unbelievers was James, our Lord's brother. James had never believed that Jesus was the Son of God. He believed, indeed, that the Son would come, the King of Glory, but that his own brother, with whom he had played as a boy, was the King of Glory, seemed to him impossible. James had not appeared when Jesus left the carpenter's bench and began to preach. At one time he had convinced himself and his brothers that Jesus was out of his right mind, and they had gone to bring him back. None of his brothers believed. They all loved him, we may be sure of that, but their love did not make them his disciples. All this must have grieved our Lord. He must often have remembered his unbelieving family in the midst of his new friends. And now that he had come back out of the grave, one of the first persons whom he sought was James. What he said and what James answered, we know not. But after that our Lord's brothers were always found in the company of the disciples. The other unbeliever was Thomas. He had, as we have seen, a gloomy way of thinking, and was always sure that things would turn out for the worse instead of for the better. Let us go with him, he said once, that we may die with him. Thomas had seen our Lord upon the cross, and he could think of nothing but the nails in his hands and feet and the gash of the spear in his side. The two came and said, Thomas, last night at supper while you were away, we saw the Lord. He came into the room where we were and blessed us. Thomas answered, I know that you all think so, but it is something which I cannot possibly believe on any evidence except that of my own senses. Except I shall see in his hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. So the days went on till Sunday came again, and that evening as they sat together, and Thomas with them, still having the doors tight shut, again came Jesus, and appeared of a sudden in the midst of them, saying as before, peace be unto you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas tried the tests. Down he fell upon his face crying, my Lord and my God. And Jesus said, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Sometimes even those who saw him did not believe, for though he was the same friend and master who had died upon the cross, and had in his body the marks of his suffering, yet he was mysteriously different. Two disciples could walk with him, and hear him talk, and yet have no idea who he was. He appeared and vanished. He lived, but the new life was not a continuation of the old. He did not come back as Lazarus did, having the body of our common human nature. He had now, as St. Paul says, a spiritual body. Though when we say that, we are not much wiser than we were before, for we do not know what a spiritual body is. At last there came a time when days and days passed by without a sight of him. Even on Sunday, which they were beginning to call the Lord's Day, he did not visit them. When he would come again, they did not know, and he had given them no directions. They knew not what to think or what to do. One day Peter and Thomas and Nathaniel and James and John and two others, all fishermen were talking together, and Peter said, I am going to fishing. The others answered, we also will go with thee. They could not bear to be idle. They would return to their old trade. So they got into a boat and went out upon the lake, as they had done so many times before, and fished all night with a torch in the stern of the boat to attract the fish. But they caught nothing, and it began to be morning. A faint light appeared in the east, the water changed from black to gray, and a dim line of shore appeared. And on the shore somebody stood and called. Boys, he cried, as one says to fishermen, have you called anything? They answered, no. He said, cast the net on the right side of the boat. So they cast the net on the right side of the boat, and so many fish came into it that they could not pull it over the side. Immediately John said, it is the Lord. And Peter, when he heard that, fastened his coat about him and jumped into the water, and so swam a shore. The others rode the boat, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then, as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals burning on the shore, and fish laid upon it, and bread, and the stranger standing beside it. The stranger said, bring me some of the fish which you have caught. Peter went to help, and they drew the net to land, and counted the great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three. And for all there were so many, yet was the net not broken. The stranger then invited them to breakfast. Come, he said, and eat of the meal which I have prepared. And he gave them bread and fish. All this time they looked at him, and at one another, and then back at him. He seemed a very friendly stranger. There was something familiar too about him, stranger though he was. Indeed, they all knew that he who stood beside the fire and fed them was the Lord himself. But was it the Lord indeed? They wished to say, Who are you? But they dared not ask the question. It was the Lord, but they did not know him as they would have known Andrew or Matthew. They recognized him with their hearts rather than with their eyes. So they breakfasted together on the sand, and after they had eaten the Lord turned to Peter. Simon, he said, calling him by his other name. Simon, son of Jonas, loveest thou me more than these? Yes, Lord, said Peter, thou knowest that I love thee. But he did not claim to be a better lover than the others. He had learned the hard lesson of humility. The Lord said, Feed my lambs. The fisherman was to be a shepherd. The lambs which he was to feed were to be the little children of the flock of Christ. He was to show his love by his great care for them. Then the Lord said a second and a third time. Simon, son of Jonas, loveest thou me? And when Peter again assured him of his love, he answered, Feed my sheep. Thus Peter, who had three times denied his master, spoke now these three times to tell him that he truly loved him. End of Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Of When the King Came This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. When the King came, stories from the Four Gospels by George Hodges. Chapter 49 The King Returns to Heaven. So forty days past some of them were days of wonder when the Lord came and talked to the disciples. Others were days of expectation when the disciples waited and he did not come. Indeed, they knew not at what moment or in what place he might appear. Now he was suddenly present with them in Judea, then in Galilee. Sometimes one of them walking by the lake or going to pray in the silence of the halls would find the Lord standing beside him. On one occasion he made himself known to more than five hundred disciples at once, most of whom were still living when St. Paul was writing his epistles. One purpose of these appearances was to make them certain that he who had died upon the cross had come to life again. They saw him face to face and heard him speak. Thus they knew beyond all doubt that he was indeed the Son of God. He who had lived so many quiet years at Nazareth and had been a carpenter there earning his bread like other men. He who had gone out preaching the kingdom of God and had taken them with him, treating them as dear familiar friends. He whom the Pharisees and Sadducees had hated and had brought at last to the death of the cross. He was the Son of God. He was the Word of God. That is, by him God spoke and the Word was God. In him, their friend, God dwelt here on earth. They had not understood it. When his enemies had seized him, his disciples had forsaken him and fled. But now seeing that death had no dominion over him, they cried with Thomas, my Lord and my God. Another purpose of the appearances was to assure them that death is not the end. It seems the end. The body dies, and so far as we can see, the soul dies with it. There is no voice nor answer after that. What we need is a clear word from beyond the grave. We want somebody to come back and tell us. Christ came back, declaring that death is not a wall, but a door. After we die, we shall live again, he said. Because I live, ye shall live also. Then he gave his disciples their last instructions. They were to go now and teach what he had taught them. What they had heard in secret, they were to proclaim openly. Those who received the teaching and believed and desired to live in the new way, they were to baptize. Thus they were to initiate them into a new society. He had already told them how they were to break bread and eat it and to pour wine and drink it in remembrance of him. This they were to do at the meetings of the new society. One day he took them out as far as Bethany. They went again over the familiar way, out of the Jerusalem gate, into the valley which had been to them, the valley of the shadow of death, past the Garden of Gethsemane, at whose gate they had deserted him, and up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, where palm branches still lay withered by the side of the road. Men who met them saw eleven disciples. The master, in the midst of them, they saw not. Only the disciples, who had the clear vision of faith, saw him. They knew now the answer to the question which one of them had asked. Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not into the world? But there was one matter which still perplexed them. The kingdom of God which they had so long expected, and of which the Lord had said so much, when and how was it to come? Even now they could not rid of the old notion of a kingdom with a palace and a throne, and a place of power among the nations. So they asked him as they went. Lord, would thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he answered, The time is in the hand of the Father, and this is not for you to know it. But the kingdom is in your own hearts and in the hearts of those who shall receive your words. You shall be the founders of it. You who today are poor and unknown in the great world, and hated by many men, shall be given power from on high. The power of goodness and of love and of the grace of God. You shall be witnesses unto me, telling how I came, the Son of God, from heaven, to give men life here and here after, teaching them to live as I have commanded you, showing my spirit in your lives, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the earth. When he had spoken these things, raising his hands over his disciples in farewell and blessing, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in wide apparel, saying, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven. And the disciples remembered the saying, A little while, and ye shall not see me. And again, a little while, ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. They began to understand it. They began to see that the Lord had appeared and disappeared during the forty days to teach them to expect him always and everywhere. Into the cloud he went, and out of the cloud he comes, the cloud of human need. They fell upon their faces, and worshiped the King of glory. Their hearts were full of faith, and love, and joy. He had gone away out of sight, only to return invisible, and to abide with them, and with us all, for ever.