Christmas gold, p.275
Christmas Gold, page 275
This need was met in Judas. They had not even to seek him, for he came voluntarily to bargain with them how much they should give him for delivering his Master to them. They were glad, and promised to give him thirty pieces of silver, to be paid when they had their prey in their hands. Possibly, Judas felt in a measure justified by his knowledge of the miraculous powers of Christ, if He only chose to use them for escaping from His enemies, or even for destroying them. He, who could call Lazarus from the dead, had but to speak the word, and no foe could stand before Him. And if Jesus were bent upon death, it was but prudent to secure himself and make some provision for the dreary future, in place of that which he had forsaken to follow Him.
Did Judas go back in the fell of the evening to the tranquil company on Olivet, and take his place among them, with a smile upon his face, and news from the city on his lips? Did he sit down with them to their simple, homely supper, listening to catch up what arrangements had been made for the night; where his Master should sleep, and who would be nearest to Him, within hearing? Did he see the worn, anxious face of Mary, smiling only when she met the eyes of her son, who had lived with her so many peaceful years under their lowly roof at Nazareth? Did he join in the evening hymn sung before they separated for the night, the last they would thus spend together? We must suppose that he did something like this; that he was still their comrade and fellow-apostle, Judas; and that none guessed the business that had taken him to Jerusalem, nor the bargain he had made there.
CHAPTER III.
THE PASCHAL SUPPER.
Table of Contents
All the next day Judas was seeking a convenient opportunity to betray Christ. He soon discovered that it was his Master’s purpose to eat the Paschal supper in Jerusalem ; for there, and there only, could it be eaten. No doubt Mary, with that band of timid and faithful women, now gathered about Him, would urge Him to forego His determination, so great was the danger of venturing into the city and passing a night there. But with a strong desire had He desired to eat that passover with His disciples; the first and only one they could celebrate with Him. He called Peter and John to Him, and bade them go and prepare the passover. At last, then, Judas was satisfied that He would be caught in the double snare of the city and the feast
It was the day on which the passover must be killed. At noon all work was laid aside, and all leaven destroyed, unleavened bread alone being lawful food for the next eight days. In the Temple the evening sacrifice was offered an hour earlier than on other days, for the number of passover lambs to be slain before nightfall was immense. During this week the whole company of the priests was on duty; and the courts of the Temple were crowded with the multitudes of Jews who had come up to the city to keep the passover, and brought their lambs to slay for the Paschal supper, which had to be eaten that night; the first day of the passover beginning as soon as the stars became visible in the sky.
Peter and John, not Judas the purse-bearer, had been sent by Jesus to prepare the feast They had to choose and buy a suitable lamb, carry it up to the Temple, and see that it was roasted for supper. They had asked where they were to prepare it Their Master had friends in Jerusalem; but some prudence was needed in the choice of the house where He would celebrate the feast He probably choose the house of some old friend, where perhaps He had in former times eaten many a joyous passover with His mother and cousins; for in solemn hours we choose rather to be in familiar places than strange ones. ‘The good man of the house,’ ‘He said, will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready.’
On this day the evening sacrifice was offered about half-past two, immediately after which the slaying of the passover began. Probably the disciples were in the first division of those who brought their lambs; for at the fall of evening, as soon as the stars shone in the sky, the feast was ready. Christ had been lingering on Olivet, where the hymns and hallelujahs from the Temple might reach His ear, with the blast of the silver trumpets which told that the Paschal lamb was slain. But as the evening drew on, He descended the Mount with His disciples, and entered the city unobserved in the twilight. Most likely Judas did not know till then at what house the passover was to be eaten, and he had not yet found the convenient season he was seeking.
The preoccupation of the people freed the little group of men from observation, as well as the twilight, which was darkening the streets. Every Jew must eat the passover that night, in his best and festive garments. Many of those who had been latest in the Temple were hurrying homewards with the lamb that had yet to be roasted for the supper. All of them were too much engrossed in the celebration of the feast to give more than a passing thought to the band of Galileans, but dimly seen, who were following the prophet of Nazareth through the streets. None were with Him save the twelve apostles. Lazarus, whom He had called from the dead; Mary, His mother; His kinsmen from Nazareth, were not there. In some other guest-chamber, under another roof, they would keep the feast that night; they had seen Him for the last time, until they saw Him again next morning on the way to Calvary.
It was still early in the evening when they reached the large upper chamber, where the feast was prepared for them. It was enjoined that the Paschal supper should not be eaten standing, as slaves eat their food; but that all, even the poorest, must sit down, leaning, as free men, who have time to feast Again, four cups of wine must be drunk, though money must be had out of the poor-box for its purchase. No one was allowed to eat after the evening sacrifice until this meal was ready, that all might come to it with a hearty appetite. It was a festival for gladness; a solemn day of joy; and hymns of praises were to be sung.
Jesus was the head of this company, and He took the first cup of wine into His hand, and gave thanks over it; then passing it to His disciples, He said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.’ This was the beginning of the feast After it all were enjoined to wash their hands, before the Paschal meal of bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and the passover lamb was eaten. It was now that the Lord rose from the supper, and laid aside the white, festive robe He was wearing, and pouring water into a basin, washed and wiped the feet of His disciples. There had been a strife amongst them again as to which should be the greatest; or, probably, which should have the chief places at the table. To see Him rise, and thus minister to them, filled them with shame; but Peter alone ventured to protest against it. ‘Thou shalt never wash my feet!’ he cried impulsively. But when Christ said, ‘If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me,’ he prayed, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’ ‘He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet,’ answered Jesus; ‘and ye are clean, but not all.' It was the first word of heaviness at the thought of the traitor, whose feet He had washed with the rest Sitting down again to the table, He bade them do as He had done to them, and remember that the servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him, ‘I speak not of you all,’ He added: ‘I know whom I have chosen. The scripture must be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel against Me.’
This heart-heaviness deepened as the feast went on; the voice of Judas mingling in the hymns of praise—for he dared not be silent—must have jarred upon the ear of Jesus. He broke one of the cakes of unleavened bread, and distributed it, with the bitter herbs, to His disciples, saying plainly to them, ‘One of you shall betray Me.’ At last, then, they knew that the traitor was amongst the twelve. This filled them with surprise and exceeding sorrow; and they not only began to inquire among themselves who it should be, but every one of them, even Judas, said to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’ Jesus was Himself greatly troubled in spirit, and the joyousness which should have marked the feast fled, and was succeeded by a heavy gloom. The youngest of the disciples, John, was reclining next to his beloved Master, near enough to whisper to Him unheard by the others. Peter beckoned to Him to ask who the traitor was, and Jesus said, ‘He to whom I shall give this sop, when I have dipped it.’ He was then dipping portions of the unleavened cake into a preparation of raisins and dates, mixed with vinegar, and distributing them to the apostles. He gave it to Judas, who just then was asking Him, ‘Master, is it I?’ There was nothing in the action to call attention to the guilty man; but John knew certainly, and Peter guessed, that it was he who was about to betray his Lord.
The supper was only just beginning; and Judas considered the present opportunity to be too good to be lost, even though he should miss the Paschal meal. Jesus was within the walls of the city, with none but His little band of apostles around Him. Moreover, he now felt sure that his treachery was suspected, if not known; and he must succeed at once, if he wished to succeed at all He rose from the table whilst they were still in excitement as to who was the traitor among them. Such a movement, so suspicious and unaccountable, must have increased their excitement, and probably have caused an attempt at interfering with him, if Jesus had not said to him, ‘That thou doest, do quickly.’ They supposed something had been forgotten that was necessary for the feast, or that there was some poor person who depended upon their assistance to celebrate it; and that Judas would return in time to partake of the Paschal lamb. ‘Do it quickly,’ Jesus said. No doubt the guilty and miserable man hurried along the streets, now dark, but with the ringing notes of the Hallelujah sounding from every house as he passed by, the only Jew in the city who did not eat the passover that night.
The moment the traitor was gone Jesus recovered His serene composure. He spoke to His disciples tenderly; though when Peter boasted that he would lay down his life for Him, He forewarned him that he would that very night deny Him thrice. The supper was almost over, the lamb was eaten, when Jesus, taking into His hands the third cup of wine, called the cup of blessing, said, ‘Drink ye all of it. This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.' He did not partake of it Himself, and He repeated what He had said at the beginning of the feast, that He would drink no more of the fruit of the vine until they drank it with Him in His Father's kingdom.
He then addressed to them words of surpassing tenderness, beginning with, ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.’ Thomas put in a doubtful question; Philip, who had been so long with Him, asked Him to show to them the Father of whom He spoke; and Judas, his cousin, once more inquired why He did not manifest Himself to the world; but for each He had only a gentle reproof that could not grieve them. He promised them all a Comforter, who should never leave them, as He was leaving them. There was not now much time for Him to talk with them. The prince of this world was coming. ‘Arise,’ He said, as though He would not have Judas find Him lingering in the guest-chamber; ‘let us go hence.’
But still, as though reluctant to break up that loving circle, He lingered amongst them, to speak more comforting words, calling them no longer His disciples, but His friends. Possibly He shrank from quitting that quiet upper room for the scene of the mysterious agony that was coming. His work was almost finished; there was nothing for Him now to do, save to suffer. No more blind eyes would He open; no more deaf ears unstop. The leper would not come to Him for cleansing, nor the lame and palsy-stricken crowd about Him to be healed. Neither would He teach any more by parables. The next crowd of faces surrounding Him would not be those of eager listeners or faithful friends. How bitter the next few hours would be, He knew already. He lifted up His eyes, and prayed; yet not for Himself, but for those whom His Father had given Him out of the world.
The last cup of the passover was now taken by the disciples, and the last hymn sung. Then they went down into the streets, echoing with the songs of those who kept the feast The full moon flooded them with light; and the little company, feeling safer perhaps as they left the city walls behind them, crossed the brook Kedron, and passed on into the garden of Gethsemane, where their Master was wont to lead them often. They were on Olivet again, near their places of refuge; and their hearts were lighter than whilst they were within the city. There was not much danger here.
CHAPTER IV.
GETHSEMANE.
Table of Contents
But what had hindered Judas all this time? Jesus had not hastened from the guest-chamber to escape from his treachery. It was no great distance to the high priest's palace, or to the Temple, where there were guards on duty. But all were occupied in celebrating the passover, and none could sit down to it earlier than the Lord seems to have done. They must keep the feast first; the murder must be committed afterwards.
As soon, however, as the feast was over, the Temple guards hurried to their task. Possibly Judas may have discovered before they started that Jesus had left the city already, and it became necessary to procure a detachment of Roman soldiers from the Tower of Antonia, overlooking the Temple. The plea that they were about to arrest a dangerous leader, popular with the multitude, who must be taken by night, readily secured their aid. As the soldiers and the Temple guard passed through the streets, a number of fanatical Pharisees, armed with swords and staves, joined them; a few even of the chief priests and elders were there. Judas probably counselled them to carry also torches and lanterns; for, though the moon was at the full, there were dark and gloomy shades in the garden, where Jesus might escape from their search.
In the mean while Jesus, having left most of His disciples in the open part of the garden, had taken with Him Peter, and James, and John, and withdrawn into the more distant and darker glades, as Judas had foreseen. ‘Tarry ye here,’ he said to his favourite friends, ‘whilst I go'and pray yonder.’ It was no solitary mountain by the Lake of Galilee, such as had been His place of prayer the last passover night But He must be alone; no one must be too near to Him in that hour of agony. A mysterious anguish, a sorrow like no other sorrow, was crushing Him down. A degrading and painful doom was at hand: but first His soul must be poured out unto death. He had been despised and rejected of men: but now He was to be bruised for the iniquities of the world, wounded for its transgressions, put to grief by God. Even He began to be sore amazed at the profound gloom spreading over His soul. ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,’ He said to His disciples.
Withdrawing from them about a stone’s cast, He fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, this hour might pass from Him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he cried, ‘all things are possible to thee; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt’ But, restless in His great anguish, Jesus returned to His three friends, whom He had left sitting under the trees, and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, ‘Simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch with Me one hour?’ Then He added, gently, ‘The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’
Back into the solitude and gloom He went again to suffer alone the unutterable agony. None could help Him to bear that burden. He prayed more earnestly. ‘Oh, my Father, if this cup may not pass from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’ Then, returning to seek some sympathy with His disciples, He found them again asleep, and they knew not what to say, except that their eyes were heavy. Now utterly alone, conscious that these, His dearest friends, could take no part in His sorrow, He went away the third time, and prayed, saying the same words. At last one angel, one alone of all the heavenly host that sang at His birth, appeared to Him, strengthening Him to endure that anguish worse than death.
Strong enough now to meet the bitter end, Jesus came the last time to His sleeping disciples. Waking them, He said, ‘The hour is come. Lo, he that betrayeth Me is at hand.’ Even as He spoke, before they had time to shake off their drowsiness and bewilderment, they heard the tramp of many feet coming near, and saw the glimmering of torches among the trees. Jesus went forward to meet the band of soldiers, asking, ‘Whom seek ye?’ ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they answered ‘I am He,’ He said, calmly. There Was something in His manner which so overawed them that they shrank back from Him, and recoiling upon the crowd that pressed behind, cast some of them to the ground. But as they recovered themselves Judas came to the front, and too familiar to be swayed as they had been by the hidden majesty and the sacred dignity of great sorrow in his Lord, he stepped forth and kissed Him, saying, ‘Master, Master!’ It was the sign he had given to those who were come to arrest Jesus. ‘Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He: hold Him fast, and take Him away safely.’ ‘Judas,’ asked his Master, marvelling at the depth of his villany, ‘betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?’
Still the Temple guards hesitated to seize Him. They had heard His teachings, and seen His miracles in the Temple, and possibly they were afraid lest He should work by His miraculous power against them. There was something terrible about a man who could make the dead obey, or could convey Himself away unseen amid a throng of foes. They were reluctant to lay hands upon Jesus, though the traitor, who had kissed Him, still stood before them unhurt ‘Whom seek ye?’ He asked, again. ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they repeated. ‘I have told ye that I am He,’ He answered; ‘if therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way.’ His three disciples were probably hemmed in by the multitude, and the rest were looking on, terrified, from behind. Peter, with reckless desperation, drew a sword, and striking wildly, smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Jesus rebuked him, and healed the man; His last miracle wrought upon an enemy at the moment He was betrayed into their hands. He was yet free to do good: but now the captain and the Temple guard laid hold of Him and bound Him. ‘Are ye come out as against a thief?’ He asked indignantly, yet patiently. ‘I was daily with you in the Temple, and ye took Me not But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.’ Seeing that He suffered Himself to be bound, and that no legion of angels came to deliver Him, all the disciples, even Peter, even John, forsook Him, and fled None of His twelve apostles remained near to Him but Judas.
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