Jesus of Nazareth: who was He? and what is He now? ...

Front matter

BTsCH

Sheli'P3(o

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Introduction

concise history of Jesus of Nazareth, embodying the prominent facts of His life, is needed for general circulation. To meet this necessity this volume has been prepared. The Lives of Christ written by eminent scholars are of great value. Their learning, their illustrations of scenes and places, as well as their discussions about the miracles and teachings of our Lord, commend them. Their size and cost, however, limit their circulation.

As this narrative necessarily introduces other personages, especially the witnesses of the resurrection, enough of their biography is given to make manifest their temperament vi Introduction.

and character, and thus to render their testimony the more impressive.

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? and what is He now ? are questions vital to every human being. They deserve to be seriously pondered, and honestly and intelligently answered. It is not enough to say, He was the son of Mary ; or the son of the Virgin Mary. It is not enough to say, He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin by the Holy Ghost, "the power of the Highest overshadowing," though this fact is unique and of unparalleled importance. Perfectly to answer these questions, a comprehensive view must be taken of His entire life, teachings, and works, as they are recorded upon the inspired page.

I have the fullest confidence in His diversified miracles as demonstrations of His Divine power and goodness. I regard His parables as unsurpassed in beauty, simplicity, and point, and His teachings as unmatched for elevation, dignity, and purity. His replies to

Introduction. vii

the many entangling questions of His keenwitted enemies were terse, prompt, and exhaustive, with no mingling of human infirmity. All these concentrate their testimony, and tell us, in part, who and what Jesus of Nazareth was and is.

But these I leave in their massive and impressive grandeur. Their illustration would lead me into rich and instructive fields of thought, which would far transcend the limits I have fixed, and in some measure divert attention from the purpose I have in view. I therefore confine myself to some of the more salient facts of His human pilgrimage, as telling with unmistakable emphasis who Jesus of Nazareth was, and what He now is. I wish to consider, simply and devoutly, of the strange though bright incidents which cluster so richly around His annunciation and birth ; His baptism, with the affirming voice from heaven; His temptation, unequalled in length and intensity, with its triumphant issues ; His transfiguraviii Introduction.

tion, with its unearthly splendour and Divine testimonies ; the supper, as the memorial monument of His dishonoured death ; His agonies amid the deep shadows and enfolding darkness of the garden ; His base betrayal and arrest ; His trial, eminent for its mockery of justice ; His crucifixion, so tragic and graphic ; His burial, amid vigilant wrath and unconquerable love ; His resurrection, the essential foundation-fact of the Christian religion ; His ascension, when a cloud of brightness and glory received Him ; His mediatorial kingdom, administered from His throne at the right hand of God ; and, finally, the dispensation of His Spirit, His power among men, and the destined triumphs of His truth and love.

These and facts of kindred prominence discriminate Him from all other beings who have appeared upon the page of history. These render Him individual and unique. These place Him on the highest possible elevation, so that He stands out in lone but

Introduction. ix

brilliant conspicuousness as the Son of God, the King of men.

It is not the dead, but the living Christ that is the true life of every Christian. " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." x

" We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour ; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." 2

My design in this volume is not so much apologetic as expository. I write not so much for sceptics as for sincere believers in the Christian religion and in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. My design is to fix the attention of my reader upon this series of incidents, all found in one short life; incidents such as never centred in x Introduction.

whole or in part in any other being; and thus to produce a firm conviction that Jesus of Nazareth, though born of the Virgin Mary, and therefore " the Son of man," but being conceived by the Holy Ghost, is " the Son of God," and that in this union of the human and the Divine natures in one person He is the atoning Saviour, the risen, and reigning Mediatorial King.

Praying for the blessing of God to accompany this volume, I commend it

" To Z ion's friends and mine. 19

W. P

THE HARMONY

OF THE EVANGELISTS

On the Topics of this Volume.

SUBJECT.

MATT.

MARK.

LUKE.

JOHN.

Annunciation to Mary — Nazareth

1: 26-38

Angel instructs Joseph — Nazareth

...

Jesus born — Bethlehem

...

• ••

2: 1-7

Shepherds and Song of Angels —

Bethlehem

...

...

2: 8-20

Circumcision of Jesus — Bethlehem

•••

2: 21

...

Purification and testimony of

Simeon and Anna — Temple,

Jerusalem

...

...

2: 22-38

...

The Magi — Jerusalem and Bethlehem

...

...

Holy Family's Flight to Egypt

2: 13-14

...

Herod's Cruelty

...

Return of Jesus to Nazareth

...

In the Temple at Twelve Years old — Jerusalem

...

2: 41-52

...

The Genealogies

1: i-iy

3: 23-38

Baptism of Jesus — Jordan

3: 21-23

...

Testimony of John the Baptist —

Bethabara

The Temptation —Desert ofjudea

4: 1 -1 1

1: 12-13

4: 1-13

The Transfiguration — Region of

Ccesarea Philippi

17: 1-13

9: 2-13

9: 28-36

The Lord's Memorial Supper — ) Jerusalem j

14: 22-25

1 Cor. n:

2 3-25

Agony in Gethsemane — Mount \ of Olives j

26 : 30,

14:20,32-

18: 1

36-46

Betrayed by Judas — Gethsemane

26: 47-56

18: 2-12

Jesus before Annas — Jerusalem

Jesus before Caiaphas and the ) Sanhedrim — Jerusalem ]

26:57-58

22:54-62

69-75

25-27

Jesus before Pilate — Jerusalem

27: 1, 2, 11-14

18:28-38

Jesus before Herod — Jerusalem

23: 6-12

Barabbas preferred — Jerusalem

27: 15-26

23: 13-25

18:30-46

Pilate scourges Jesus and delivers

Him to the Jews — Jerusalem

27: 26-30

Xll

Harmony of the Evangelists.

SUBJECT.

MA TT.

MARK.

LUKE.

Pilate seeks to release Jesus —

Jerusalem i -

19: 4-16

Jesus led to Calvary — Calvary

'15: 20-23

Jesus crucified — Calvary The Superscription — Calvary

27: 36

19: 10-21

Jesus mocked — Calvary

27: 39-42

*5 : 20-33

2 3: 35-37

The Penitent Thief — Calvary

23- 39-43

Jesus commits His Mother to

John — Calvary

...

19: 25-27

The Darkness, and Jesus dies —

*7- 45-50

15: 33-37

23: 44-46

Veil of Temple rent— Temple

27: 51

23: 45

The Earthquake, and the Graves opened — Jerusalem

Centurion's Testimony — Calvary

2 7: 54

15: 39

23: 47

...

The Women Witnesses — Calvary

15:40-47

Prophecy fulfilled — Calvary

Pilate gives the Corpse to Joseph

15: 42-45

13-50-52

19:38

The Burial — Calvary

27:50-60

15:46

23: 53

19:38-42

The Guarding the Sepulchre —

27: 62-66

...

...

The Women at the Funeral —

27: 61

15: 47

23'55-56

The Resurrection — Calvary

27: 2-4

...

The Women early at the Tomb —

28: 1

16: 2-4

24: 1-3

20: 1

What they saw and heard — Calvary

28: 5-7

16: 5-7

24: 4-8

20: 2

Return to the City — Calvary

28: 8-10

16: 8

24: 0-1 1

Peter and John run to the Tomb ;

John saw and believed —Calvary

...

24: 12

20: 3-10

Jesus seen by Mary Magdalene — l6: Q-II

20: 11-18

Report of Roman Guard — Calvary

28: 11-15

...

Jesus at Emmaus — Emma us

...

16: 12-13

...

Jesus appears to the Apostles,

Thomas being absent — Jerusalem

...

20: ^9-27

Jesus appears to the Apostles with Thomas — Jerusalem

...

...

...

20: -2^-20

The Apostles see Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias — Galilee

28: 16

...

Jesus meets Five Hundred — \

28: 16-20

[1 Cor.

...

Galilee J

15:6]

16: 10-20

The Final Testimony

20:30-31

Table Of Contents

£r&Si

Chapter t.

BIRTH AND YOUTH OF JESUS.

Chapter I

THE BIRTH AND YOUTH OF JESUS. THE ANNUNCIATION.

|he birth of Jesus Christ was attended by such peculiar circumstances, both private and public, as to give it very marked distinction. The more private circumstances were known in the immediate family and the wider circle of relatives. " The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, cf the house of David ; and the virgin's name was Mary." " And the angel said unto her, 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." " 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." ■ Here are facts to be clearly authenticated or denied. The name of the virgin and her residence are given, and the additional incident that she " was espoused to a man whose name was Joseph." Not any Joseph, but " Joseph of the house of David ; " Joseph the lineal descendant from David the king; Joseph of the royal line. The appearance of the angel Gabriel and his wonderful announcement to the virgin doubtless were private, and known only to Mary and a few to whom she communicated the facts. They rest not alone on her veracity, but also on the corroborating circumstances of the birth of John the Baptist, whose mother Elisabeth, the wife of Zacharias, bore this son when she and her husband " were well stricken in years."*

THE BIRTH.

This did not take place at Nazareth, in Galilee, the residence of Joseph, but in

Bethlehem of Judea. This town was six miles south-west from Jerusalem and eighty miles from Nazareth. Though of great antiquity, it never was a place of political importance. It was, and is, illustrious chiefly as the birthplace of David and of Christ. In its neighbourhood stood the tomb of Rachel. In its fields Ruth gleaned. On its hills David watched his flocks. But that which gathers to it the interest of all the ages is the fact that Jesus was born there. " Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise : " * "It came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed." 2 This enrolment w r as not carried out, in the usual Roman manner, in the cities where the people resided or in the district to whose jurisdiction the places of their abode belonged. But the emperor ordered them to appear according to families, it being usual to register the Jews in the town where the family originated. This concession to the Jews was made because of their intense sensitiveness as to any tax being levied upon them by a heathen power by which they had

1 Matt. i. 18. 2 Luke ii. I.

been subjugated ; as also because of the tenacity with which they held to their genealogies. Matthew thus sums up the genealogy by Joseph : " So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations ; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. " x Luke (iii. 23-28) traces the genealogical line on the side of Mary. Thus both by Joseph and Mary Jesus was a lineal descendant of David. Dr. Edward Robinson, in his Harmony, says: " Matthew, as writing particularly for Jews, traces our Lord's descent only to David and to Abraham; but Luke, as writing for Gentiles, traces it rather to Adam. The two genealogies thus prove Jesus to be : 1. The Son of David, who should, according to promise, sit on the throne of Israel (Isa. ix. 6, 7; Luke i. 32 ; Acts ii. 30).

2. The Seed of Abraham, in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed, according to the covenant made with the father of the faithful (Gen. xxii. 18 ; Gal. iii. 14-16).

3. The Son of Man, or, 'the seed of the

x Matt. i. 17.

woman/ who should bruise the serpent's head (Gen. iii. 15 ; Heb. ii. 14). " The enrolment being made in Bethlehem, in accordance with Jewish usage, would be an authoritative recognition of the royal descent of Jesus both by Joseph and by Mary.

"All went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem ; (because he was of the house and lineage of David :) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. " x It was the Roman custom to number the women and children as well as the men, and therefore Mary, notwithstanding her then condition, accompanied Joseph. But from the genealogy as given by Luke there is ground for the belief that Mary went to be enrolled as the heiress of another ^branch of David's family. In obedience to this decree of the Roman emperor the prophecy of Micah v. 2 was fulfilled: " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall

1 Luke ii. 3-5.

He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel." This prediction was understood as referring to the Messiah. Those who rejected Him because of His residence in Galilee said, "Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" " Thus does Providence ahvays answer truly to prophecy.

The enrolment drew many strangers to this little town, in which there was but one khan, or inn. So that when Joseph and Mary arrived " there was no room for them in the inn." Necessity compelled them to seek the next best shelter. There " was attached to this inn a stable or court for cattle, having a partial shelter and a bench, or perhaps a trough, for provender, here called a manger."

Tradition, on the authority of some of the fathers, says that it was a cave. Caves, we know, were often used as stables. But as the inspired record is silent on this point, we prefer to adhere to the simple statement that the infant Saviour was laid in a manger to which the cattle resorted for their food.

The Birth and Youth of Jesus. g

" Among the hay and straw spread for the food and rest of the cattle, weary with their day's journey, far from home, in the midst of strangers, in the chilly winter night — in circumstances so devoid of all earthly comfort or splendour that it is impossible to imagine a humbler nativity — Christ was born." 1 "And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first- born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger ; because there was no room for them in the inn." 2 How long the mother, with the Holy Child, remained in this cattle enclosure is not intimated. Probably it was not long, as the many strangers, having accomplished their enrolment, would depart, leaving better accommodation for the Holy Family ; as by the Jewish law the mother could not leave the house for forty days.

THE SHEPHERDS.

The next incident connected with the birth of the Saviour is the announcement made by

1 Farrar's Life of Christ. 2 Luke ii. 6, 7.

io Jesus of Nazareth.

an angel to the shepherds, who, in the district of Bethlehem, were keeping the watches of the night over their flock: " Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them." This unexpected and overpowering splendour not only surprised but alarmed them: " they were sore afraid." Allaying theirfears, " the angel said unto them, 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." x These three appellations — Saviour, Christ, Lord — point to His saving work, His Divine appointment as the Anointed One, and His supreme dignity as Mediatorial King. The sign or evidence which was to confirm their faith in this announcement was the fact, " Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Immediately, yea, " 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." 2 Such was the historic song of the

The Birth and Youth of Jesus. n

angels celebrating the incarnation of Messiah, when " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." 1

When the angels had departed and the last echo of their song had died away, the shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem, where they " found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." They saw the appointed sign, and believed. Then " they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child." Those who heard wondered, but " Mary kept [in memory] all these things, and pondered in her heart." Having performed their mission to the city of David, the shepherds returned to their vigils over their flocks, but with hearts full, for they praised and glorified God "for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them." All these strange but significant facts cluster like stars of light around the birth of Christ.

THE CIRCUMCISION.

In obedience to the command, " Every man child among you shall be circumcised," " He that is eight days old shall be circumcised," 3 the infant Saviour was circumcised, and " His name was called Jesus. " 1 The conferring of this name was neither accidental nor in the ordinary course of things. So far as the two genealogies are given, there is no evidence that any of His kindred bore that name. It was given Him by Divine appointment. " Which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb." So also an angel told Joseph, " Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." Jesus was the proper name of our Lord, and to distinguish Him from others He is also called " Jesus of Nazareth" and " Jesus the Son of Joseph." Jesus is the English modification of the Greek form of the name. Its import is indicated by the reason assigned by the angel to Joseph, " because He shall save His people from their sins." Christ is not a proper name, but a designation of office, "the anointed." Instead of saying Jesus Christ, it is more accurate to say Jesus the Christ. "The Messiah" and "the Christ " (words of the same meaning in two different languages) designate

1 Luke ii. 21.

Fris office as the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King.

As the mother, according to the Jewish law, could not leave the house for forty days, the circumcision was doubtless performed by Joseph at Bethlehem. The narrative gives no further prominence to this event than the simple record of the fact that, in strict accordance with the legal requirement, He was circumcised on the eighth day.

THE PURIFICATION.

By the law, from the time of the birth of a male child, the mother was held to be unclean for forty days; during which time she was not allowed to leave the house. Accordingly, on the fortieth day the virgin mother, with her babe, presented herself at the Temple for purification.

The prescribed offering was " a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtle dove, for a sin offering, ,, which the priest shall offer " before the Lord, and make an atonement for her ; and she shall be cleansed. " But if the parent, through poverty, was unable to present the lamb,

" then she shall bring two turtles, or two youffg pigeons ; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean." ■ It was with this offering, clearly denoting the humble pecuniary condition of Joseph, that Mary presented herself for purification.

Under the law God claimed the first-born as peculiarly His, to be devoted to the Temple service. As all such would not be required, a provision for redemption was instituted: " Nevertheless the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem " "for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary." 2 The amount of the redemption in English coin would be about sixteen shillings.

By His circumcision the Lord was formally " placed under the law," and subjected to all its demands. So teaches the apostle : " But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." 3

This presentation of the babe at the Temple was deepened in significance by the recognition of this infant as the promised Messiah — the Saviour — by Simeon, " a just and devout man, waiting for the consolation of Israel; " and by Anna, a prophetess, who " served God with fastings and prayers." The Holy Ghost was upon Simeon, " and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ;" "the Lord's Anointed One." Under the influence and guidance of the Spirit, he came into the Temple — he took the babe " up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 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." 1 These wonderful utterances, forecasting the future greatness and blessedness of this child, deeply amazed Joseph and the mother : they " marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him." Simeon then " blessed them." To

Mary he said, " This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel ; and for a sign which shall be spoken against." It is not a life of peace and triumph and glory which is before Him, but of opposition and strife, of suffering and sorrow, of betrayal and death. " Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also ; " fulfilled most solemnly when, with tearless anguish, she saw Him nailed to the cross.

Anna the prophetess, 1 a widow aged about eighty-four years, who " departed not from the Temple, but served God. . . night and day," " coming in at that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." Perverted as w r ere the ideas of the Sanhedrim, who looked for a temporal conquering prince in the promised Messiah, and general as were the corruptions of the times, still there was a remnant of the truly pious in the Holy City who searched and understood the Scriptures, and who encouraged each other whilst looking for the promised One.

1 Luke ii. 36.

The attestation of Simeon is corroborative of the fact that the Jews, as instructed by the prophets, were at that time expecting the appearance of the Messiah. It is more than this. The facts, that " it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ," that he came by the Spirit into the Temple, and that he immediately recognised the babe as the promised Saviour, carry the Divine attestation that this Jesus is the Son of God, the Divine Redeemer, the " Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."

THE MAGI.

Incidents of intense interest crowd forward to add their testimony. We have heard from the devout in Israel that the Messiah had come, " a light to lighten the Gentiles ; " and now a deputation of wise men from the Gentile world of the East come to pay their homage.

These wise men, in their own country,

supposed to be Chaldssa, were called Magi.

They were men of distinction, as the leaders

in religion and learned in astronomy and astrology. At this time, throughout the East, there was a prevailing, and in some parts an intense, conviction that a powerful king would arise in Judea, who would obtain dominion over the whole world. The way in which this expectation originated and spread may^ be accounted for with a measurable degree of certainty. Suetonius says : " An old and firm opinion had prevailed over all the East that it w r as written in the Book of the Fates that some one coming out of Judea at that time should obtain the empire of the world. " Among the Jews this looking for a conqueror to deliver their nation and to have supreme authority, took its rise from the prophecies concerning the Messiah contained in their sacred books. Josephus intimates that among the Arabians, who descended from Ishmael, it was derived from the promise made to Abraham. Of this promise they preserved a traditional knowledge. Balaam, the Arabian, when importuned by Balak to curse Israel, said, " There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." " Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion. " The Septuagint version is : " A man shall come forth of his [Jacob's] seed, and shall rule many nations, and his kingdom shall be exalted above Gog [the name of the kings of the Scythian nations], and it shall be increased." The Jews, who in their several captivities were dispersed through the East, spread the knowledge of their prophecies of the Messiah, and thus begat that expectation which was so universal as to attract the notice of Tacitus, the Roman historian. Zoroaster, the reformer of discipline and worship in Persia, is maintained by many to have been a disciple of the prophet Daniel, whose predictions concerning the Messiah were most definite as to the time of His appearing. Thus was accomplished the prophecy in Haggai (ii. 7), " I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come : and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts."

The Magi noticed a new star, or luminous appearance, in the heavens, which, according to the then received doctrine, they recognised as the symbol of a new kingly power. What this star was cannot now be determined, but the design of its appearance is made manifest. Perceiving that it moved not as other stars did, but appeared to advance in a westerly course, they followed as it led the way, and, with its light upon their path, arrived at Jerusalem. Naturally and with propriety they presented themselves to Herod, then the king under the Roman empire, with the inquiry, " Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? " To give point and force to this question they state, " For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." This question and these testimonies troubled Herod, " and all Jerusalem with him." Herod being an Idumsean, a foreigner and a usurper, had good cause to fear one who by birth was King of the Jews. All Jerusalem reasonably dreaded fresh conflicts and wars, which would certainly lead to new and perhaps more aggravated cruelties on the part of Herod. The king, concealing his apprehensions, treated the Magi with respect, and having heard their request, he " gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together," and " demanded of them where

Christ should be born." 1 The highest intelligence, learning, and authority were thus convened ; and the scribes, from a careful examination of their sacred books, replied, " In Bethlehem of Judea." The apprehension and trouble of Herod were not allayed, but intensified, by this answer. It woke up new determinations, as the place of the nativity was in his own dominions and near at hand. " Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared." Knowing this, he could form a probable estimate of the time when this King of the Jews was born. He then sent the Magi to Bethlehem, with the injunction, " Go and search diligently for the youngchild; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and wwship Him also." The charge to " search diligently" arose from the belief that the parents of the Messiah would conceal Him until He should grow to manhood. If he had formed the purpose of killing this child, he covered it up with the proffered desire to worship Him ; another illustration of the truth that there are more hypocrites out of the Church than there are in it.