88. The Triumphal Entry of Jesus Into Jerusalem
On Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter, Jesus rode from Bethany on the other side of the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem on a young ass. This came to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Zechariah: Tell ye the daughter of Zion: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek and riding upon the foal of an ass. Many of the people cut branches from the palm trees and spread them in the way, and the most part spread their garments in the way and cried, saying: Hosanna[7] to the Son of David; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
And when He drew nigh and saw the city, He wept over it, saying: If thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. Therefore the days shall come when thine enemies shall compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall dash thee to the ground, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation. And He entered into the city and went to the court of the temple, and healed the blind and the lame that came to Him.
In the evening He went out to Bethany, and every day He came into the temple and was teaching, and the people hung upon Him, listening. The priests and the scribes came together at the palace of Caiaphas, and consulted how they might by craft take Jesus. And Judas Iscariot came to them and said: What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray his Lord. (Matt. 21:1-17; 26:14-16; Luke 19:41-44.)
In the evening of Maundy Thursday Jesus sat down with His disciples to eat the Passover. As they were eating Jesus said: One of you shall betray me. The disciples looked sorrowfully upon one another, to know who was meant. Peter beckoned to John, who was reclining toward the breast of Jesus, that he should ask. Jesus answered: It is he to whom I give this morsel which I now dip in the dish. And He gave the morsel to Judas, saying: What thou doest, do quickly! The disciples understood not what Jesus meant; but Judas went out straightway to the priests. And it was night.
And Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, gave His disciples and said: Take, eat! this is my Body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me!
In like manner He also took the cup, after supper, saying: Drink ye all of it! This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me!
Jesus then said: I have yet much to say unto you, but ye can not bear it now. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I have said unto you. (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:14-23; John 13:21-30; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.)
90. Jesus in Gethsemane
Jesus thereupon went with the eleven disciples over the brook Kidron to the Mount of Olives; there was a garden called Gethsemane. In the way He said: All of you shall be offended because of me this night. Peter said: Even if all shall be offended, yet will not I be offended. Jesus answered: Before the cock crows twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
When they came to the place, Jesus said to the disciples: Remain ye here, while I go yonder and pray. And He took with Him Peter, James and John farther into the garden and said to them: Abide here, and watch with me! And he went away as far as a stone’s cast, fell upon His face and said: My Father, if it be possible, then take this cup from me! Nevertheless, not as I will but as Thou wilt!
And He came to the three disciples and found them sleeping. Then He said unto Peter: Could ye not watch one hour with me? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation! Again He went away and prayed the same prayer, and thus three times; and while He suffered the agony of death His sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling on the ground. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And when He rose up from His prayer, He came to His disciples and said unto them: The hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners; he that betrayeth me is near.
And while He yet spake Judas came with a band of soldiers and the servants of the chief priests, having weapons and torches. Judas had said: He whom I shall kiss, that is He: take Him. And he went up to Jesus and said: Hail, Master! And he kissed Him. Jesus answered: Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? Then the band stepped forth and laid hold on Jesus. But all the disciples forsook Him and fled. (All the Gospels.)
91. Jesus Before the Council
Jesus was brought to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the council was assembled. The council consisted of the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people, in all seventy-one members. They at first sought to convict Jesus by false witnesses; but the witnesses did not agree. Then the high priest arose and said: I adjure Thee by the living God that Thou tell us if Thou art Christ, the Son of God. Jesus answered: I am. Then the high priest rent his clothes and said: He has blasphemed God. What further need have we of witnesses? They all answered: He is worthy of death. And the servants struck Him in the face and mocked Him. (All the Gospels.)
92. Peter’s Denial. The Suicide of Judas
When Jesus had suffered them to take Him and lead Him away, Peter had followed Him afar off and had come into the court of the palace of the high priest. A maid said to him: Art not thou one of this Man’s disciples? He said: I know Him not. He went over to the servants, who sat by the fire warming themselves. Here another seeing him, said: This man also was with Him. But Peter denied again. Then a third one said: Verily, thou art one of them; for thou art a Galilean, thy speech betrays thee. Then Peter began to swear, saying: I know not this Man ye speak of. Then the cock crowed, and at the same time they brought Jesus through the court, and He turned and looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the Savior’s words, and he went out and wept bitterly. (All the Gospels.)
When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned to death, he regretted what he had done, and came to the priests with the thirty pieces of silver and said: I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. But they answered: What is that to us? See thou to it. And he cast the pieces of silver into the temple, and went and hanged himself, and falling headlong his bowels gushed out. (Matt. 27:3-5; Acts 1:18.)
93. Jesus before Pilate
Early in the morning of the day afterwards called Good Friday the Jews brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to have the sentence of death confirmed. Not wishing to defile themselves, the Jews kept outside of the hall of judgment, and Pilate came out to them and asked: What accusation bring ye against this Man? They answered: He perverts the people and forbids paying tribute to Caesar, and calls Himself Christ, a King. Pilate took him into the hall of judgment and asked: Art Thou a King? Jesus answered: I am King; but my kingdom is not of this world; for then my servants would have fought for me. I came into the world to bear witness unto the truth. Every one who is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate perceived that Jesus was innocent and would gladly have set Him free; but he feared the priests and the scribes, therefore he dared not do it openly, but went out to the people and said: Ye have a custom that I should release a prisoner at the Passover. Whom will ye have, Jesus or Barabbas? The priests stirred up the people against Jesus, and they cried: Away with Him! But give us Barabbas. Now, Barabbas was a murderer and robber.
Pilate then, hoping to excite the pity of the people, delivered Jesus to the soldiers to be scourged. And the soldiers stripped off His clothes and scourged Him; then they threw around Him a purple robe, put a reed in His hand and a crown of thorns upon His head, and fell down before Him and shouted: Hail, Thou King of the Jews! And they struck Him on the head with the reed. And Pilate brought Him out to the people and said: Behold the Man! But the Jews cried: Crucify Him, crucify Him! Pilate still sought to set Him free, but they cried: If thou release this Man, thou art not Caesar’s friend! Then Pilate took water and washed his hands before the people and said: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous Man! They said: His blood be upon us and upon our children! Then he delivered Jesus to be crucified. (All the Gospels.)
94. Jesus on the Cross
They now led Jesus out of the city to a place called Golgotha, to crucify Him. And He bore the cross Himself. Many weeping women followed Him, and Jesus turned to them and said: Weep not for me; but weep for yourselves and for your children!
Over the cross was written: JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS. It was about nine o’clock in the forenoon when they crucified Him. Two robbers were also crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left side.
While Jesus was hanging on the cross He said: (1) Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!—At the cross stood the mother of Jesus, and the disciple that Jesus loved. Jesus said: (2) Woman, behold thy Son! And to the disciple He said: Behold thy mother! And from that hour the disciple took her unto himself.—The soldiers and the priests mocked Him. And one of the robbers said: If thou art Christ, save Thyself and us! The other robber said: We suffer what we have deserved, but this Man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus: Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom! To him Jesus said: (3) Verily, today thou shalt be with me in Paradise!—From twelve o’clock there was darkness over the whole earth, until three o’clock, when Jesus cried with a loud voice: (4) My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?—And after that He cried: (5) I thirst! One of them ran and filled a sponge with vinegar and gave Him to drink.—Thereupon He said: (6) It is finished!—And again He cried with a loud voice: (7) Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit! And having said this, He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.
And the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened, and the veil between the Holy and the Holy of Holies in the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
That the bodies might be taken down from the crosses before the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the two robbers; but when they came to Jesus, they saw that He was dead already, therefore they broke not His legs; but to make sure one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and there came out blood and water. (All the Gospels.)
95. The Burial of Jesus
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, who until now secretly had been a disciple of Jesus, got permission from Pilate to take the body down from the cross and bury it. And Nicodemus, the same who came to Jesus by night, was with him, and brought a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. They anointed the body of Jesus and laid it in a sepulchre, hewn in stone, near by Golgotha, and rolled a great stone before the opening of the tomb.
The chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate and said: Sir, this Deceiver said, while He was yet alive: After three days I rise again. Command therefore that a guard be placed at the sepulchre, that His disciples may not come and steal the body away and say: He is risen. They received a guard, which they placed at the tomb, and they sealed the stone. (All the Gospels.)
96. The Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus was in the tomb until the third day, from Friday evening till Sunday morning. Before the sun rose on Sunday morning there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone from the tomb. Jesus arose from the dead, and a great fear fell upon those who stood guard, and they fled.
Early on the same Easter morn some women came to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. In the way they said to one another: Who shall roll us away the stone from the tomb? When they came to the tomb, they saw that the stone was rolled away. One of the women, named Mary Magdalene, ran to Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, and said: They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid Him. The other women went into the sepulchre, where an angel in white raiment was sitting, and he said: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here; He is risen.—When they had left, Peter and John came to the tomb. They went in and saw the linen clothes; but Him they found not. And they went away again. Then came Mary Magdalene again to the tomb, and stood outside and wept. And Jesus appeared unto her and said: Woman, why weepest thou? She knew Him not, but supposed Him to be the gardener, and said: Sir, if thou hast borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus said: Mary! Then she knew Him and said: Master! Jesus answered: Go unto my brethren and say to them: I ascend to my Father and your Father! And she came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. (The Gospels.)
97. Jesus Appears to His Disciples
The same day two disciples were going from Jerusalem to a village named Emmaus. And they communed with each other of all those things which had happened. Then Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. He said: What are ye speaking about, and why are ye looking so sad? They answered: Art thou alone a stranger in Jerusalem, and knowest not the things which are come to pass there in these days? The chief priests and our rulers have crucified Jesus of Nazareth. But He was a prophet mighty in deed and word, and we hoped that it was He who should redeem Israel. And this is now the third day since these things came to pass. Moreover, certain women, having been early at the tomb, came and told that the tomb was empty, and that they had seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. And certain disciples went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said; but Him they saw not. Jesus answered: O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe what Moses and the prophets have said! Behooved it not Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? And He interpreted to them all that was written concerning Himself.
When they drew nigh unto Emmaus, He made as though He would go farther. And they constrained Him, saying: Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And He went in to abide with them. But when He sat down with them to meat, He took bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him. But He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another: Was not our heart burning within us while He spoke to us in the way, while He opened to us the Scriptures? And they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the apostles gathered together, and told them the things that happened in the way, and how He was known of them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13-25.)
While they were speaking, Jesus stood in the midst of them and said unto them: Peace be unto you! They were terrified, for they knew Him not. But He showed them His hands and His feet, and they were glad.—But Thomas was not with them. When the others said: We have seen the Lord, he said: Except I shall put my finger in the print of the nails in His hands, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.
After eight days His disciples were again assembled, and the doors were shut. Then Jesus again stood in the midst of them and said: Peace be unto you! Unto Thomas He said: See my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side, and be no longer faithless, but believing! Thomas said: My Lord and my God! Jesus answered: Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:19-29.)
During forty days Jesus showed Himself several times to the apostles and spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He was also seen by others, once by five hundred brethren. He showed Himself to the eleven apostles on a mountain in Galilee, and said: All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
Forty days after His resurrection, on the day afterwards called Ascension Day, He appeared to them for the last time. He led them out to the Mount of Olives, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them; and while He blessed them, He parted from them, and was carried up into heaven; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And while they were looking into heaven, two men stood by them in white apparel and said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven. (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:1-2.)
99. Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
At His ascension Jesus had said to the apostles: John baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence. Until this came to pass, they were to abide at Jerusalem. On one of these days they chose one of the disciples named Matthias to be apostle in the place of Judas.
On the morning of the day of Pentecost, ten days after the ascension, the apostles were assembled as usual. And suddenly there came from heaven the sound as of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues as of fire, parting asunder; and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now, there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews from every nation. When this sound was heard, they came together and said: What is this? Are not all these men Galileans? And how hear we then every man in our own language speaking the mighty words of God? But Peter, standing up, spake forth unto them saying: Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye have crucified, sitteth now at the right hand of God, and has poured out His Holy Spirit. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and they said: What shall we do? Peter answered: Repent ye, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They then that received the word were baptized on the same day, about three thousand souls.
And all that believed were daily together in prayer, and in breaking the bread in the Lord’s Supper. They sold their possessions, and parted them to all, according as any man had need. And day by day the Lord added others to the congregation. (Acts 2.)
100. The Apostles Before the Council
Peter and John went up to the temple to pray. A man that had been lame from his birth was sitting outside the door asking alms. Peter said: Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that I give thee: In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and walk! And immediately he leaped up, and entered with them into the temple and praised God. And many were baptized.
But the priests and the scribes laid hands on the apostles and took them before the council. And they threatened them to preach no more in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered: Judge ye whether it be right to hearken unto you rather than unto God. Afterward they concluded to kill the apostles; but Gamaliel, a Pharisee, who was held in honor of all the people, arose and said unto them: Refrain from these men, and let them alone: For if this counsel be of men, it will be overthrown: but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them. To him they agreed, yet beat they the apostles, and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus. And the apostles departed from the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the Name; and they ceased not to preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 3-5.)
101. Stephen
When the congregation increased the apostles said: Choose seven men as overseers for the poor, for it is not fit that we should forsake the Word of God and serve tables. And the congregation chose Stephen and six others; and the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them.—Stephen was full of faith and power and wrought great wonders among the people. And certain scribes arose and disputed with Stephen. And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. Then they seized him and brought him before the council, and they suborned false witnesses, who said: We have heard him speak blasphemous words against the temple and against Moses. Stephen made a speech and showed that the Jews had always resisted God. When they heard this, they were enraged; but Stephen looked steadfastly up into heaven and said: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. But they rushed upon him and cast him out of the city and stoned him. But Stephen prayed: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Those who stoned Stephen laid down their garments at the feet of a young Pharisee named Saul. And Saul was consenting unto his death. (Acts 6-7.)
Stephen is the first Christian martyr; martyrs, that is, witnesses, are those who suffer death for the sake of Christ.
102. Cornelius
Our Savior had said: Go and make disciples of all nations. Still the apostles from the beginning preached only to the Jews; for it was not yet clear to them that heathens had the same access to the kingdom of God as the Jews.
One day, as Peter was sitting on the flat roof of a house, praying, he saw a vision: He saw a vessel, like a great sheet, come down from heaven, and in the sheet were all kinds of unclean animals, and a voice said to him: Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter answered: Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unclean. The voice said: What God hath cleansed, make not thou unclean. And this was done thrice, and the vessel was taken up to heaven.
While Peter was perplexed what the vision might mean, messengers came from a heathen, Cornelius by name. And Peter went with them, and preached to Cornelius and his household. And while he was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. Then Peter said: Can any man forbid the water that these should not be baptized that have received the Holy Spirit, as well as we? And he commanded that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. When the brethren in Jerusalem heard this, they said: Then unto the gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life. (Acts 10, 11:1-18.)
103. Paul
Saul was breathing threatening and slaughter against the Christians, and received from the high priest letters to go to Damascus and seize all them that were of the Christian faith, both men and women, and bring them bound to Jerusalem. When he drew nigh unto Damascus, there suddenly shone round about him a light from heaven. He fell upon the earth and heard a voice, saying: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the goad! Saul asked: What wilt thou, Lord, that I should do? The Lord answered: Arise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Saul rose up; he was blind, and had to be led by the hand.
There was in Damascus a Christian named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision: Go to Saul that he may receive his sight. Ananias answered: I have heard of this man, how much evil he did to Thy saints at Jerusalem, and to all that call upon Thy name. The Lord said: Go; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. And Ananias went, and laid his hands upon him. And straightway there fell as it were scales from his eyes, and he received his sight and was baptized. And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that He is the Son of God. Later on he was called Paul, and was acknowledged by the other apostles as a fellow-apostle; and by the grace of God he labored more than the other apostles.
He made three great journeys, going far abroad, and is called the Apostle of the Gentiles. At Antioch in Syria he preached for a whole year, and it was here the believers were first called Christians. He proceeded to Greece, Europe, and the Word made good progress, and he strengthened the converts by the letters he wrote to the churches.
But the Jews persecuted him in every place, and when he, after his third journey, came to Jerusalem, they laid hold on him and would kill him; but the Roman governor sent him to Rome to be judged by the emperor, to whom Paul had appealed; for he was a Roman citizen. The emperor Nero acquitted him, and it is told that he undertook a fourth missionary journey. During his absence Nero began the first great persecution against the Christians. When Paul came back from his last journey, he was beheaded at Rome, at the same time that Peter was crucified (about sixty-seven years after the birth of Christ.) (Acts 9, 13-28.)
104. The Destruction of Jerusalem
The Lord had foretold that there should not be left one stone upon another in Jerusalem. This was fulfilled in this way: The Romans set cruel governors over the country, and at last the Jews concluded that it was better for all to die at once than to be killed one by one. They revolted, and defended themselves with great bravery. Titus, who later on became emperor, came against Jerusalem with an army, and surrounded the city on all sides. It was at the time of the Passover, and a great multitude of Jews from all countries had come to Jerusalem to keep the feast. The famine became so terrible that a mother is said to have slaughtered her own child for food. Over one million of Jews are said to have perished during the siege, and about one hundred thousand were taken prisoners. Titus crucified multitudes of them, others were sold into slavery, or made to fight with wild animals for the amusement of the Romans. Titus had commanded that the temple be spared; but a soldier threw a firebrand into it, and it was consumed. This happened about seventy years after the birth of Christ.—Josephus, a leader of the Jews, has told about the destruction of Jerusalem. He was taken prisoner and was with Titus to the end of the war.
The Christians believed the prophecy of the Lord and left the city before Titus surrounded it.
Since that time the Jews have been scattered through all lands. The Lord has promised that even they once shall repent, and believe on Him, the crucified Redeemer.
Of all the other apostles it is stated that they suffered martyrdom, except John, who died a natural death in the city of Ephesus, one hundred years old; and he thus survived the destruction of Jerusalem. He was for some years exiled to the island of Patmos, but was afterwards permitted to return to Ephesus.
He has been called the Apostle of Love, as Paul has been called the Apostle of Faith. It is told of John that when he was very old, and could no longer walk to the assemblies of the Christians he was carried thither, and said each time only these words: My children, love one another!
106. The Writings of the New Testament
That part of the Bible called the New Testament contains twenty-seven writings, which have been written either by the apostles or their disciples. These writings are:
- 1-4. The four Gospels, written: 1. by Matthew; 2. by Mark; 3. by Luke; 4. by John. Mark was a disciple of Peter, and Luke a disciple of Paul.
- 5. The Acts of the Apostles, by Luke.
- 6-18. Thirteen epistles, or letters, of Paul: 1. The epistle to the Romans; 2 and 3. First and second epistles to the Corinthians; 4. The epistle to the Galatians; 5. The epistle to the Ephesians; 6. The epistle to the Philippians; 7. The epistle to the Colossians; 8 and 9. The first and the second epistle to the Thessalonians; 10 and 11. The first and the second epistle to Timothy, who was bishop in the church of Ephesus; 12. The epistle to Titus, bishop in the church on the island of Crete; 13. The epistle to Philemon.
- 19. The epistle to the Hebrews, supposed to have been written by one of the disciples of Paul.
- 20-26. Seven epistles, called general, or catholic, because they were written to several congregations: 1. James; 2 and 3. First and second epistles of Peter; 4, 5 and 6. First, second and third epistles of John; 7. Jude. James was the bishop, or overseer, of the church at Jerusalem. Jude, or Judas, is supposed to be the brother of James.
- 27. The last writing in our Bible is the Revelation of John. In this writing the apostle describes a vision, which he had on the island of Patmos, and in which the struggle and victory of the kingdom of God is described.