The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hurlbut's Life of Christ, by Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut.

THE ENEMIES of Jesus thought that, perhaps, they might lead him to say some words against the Roman rulers over the land. If he would do this, then they could complain to the Roman governor and cause Jesus to be seized and put in prison, or even slain, as an enemy of the Roman state. These priests and Pharisees and rulers themselves hated the Romans, and would gladly throw off the Roman yoke if they dared to do it; but they were willing to pretend friendliness to their Roman masters, if only through them they could destroy Jesus.

With this purpose in mind, while Jesus was in the Temple on that Tuesday morning, they sent to him some men whom Jesus had never met, men who seemed honest and true; for they knew that if they came themselves Jesus would at once see through their plans and be on his guard against them. They did not know that Jesus as the Son of God knew all things, could look into every heart of man and read all their thoughts.

So these men came to Jesus in the Temple and tried at first to speak flattering words to him to win his favor.

"Teacher," they said, "we know that you are honest and speak the truth; that you are not afraid of anybody and do not try to please men, but say only what is right. There is a question that troubles us, for we do not know how to meet it. For that reason we bring it to you, for we know that you will give us a right answer. Tell us now what you think about it. Is it right for our people to pay taxes to the Roman rulers over the land? Shall we pay, or shall we refuse to pay?"

This was indeed a hard question to answer, especially to answer at once, without time for thinking about it. For if Jesus should say, "Do not pay the tax," the Romans would arrest him as an enemy to their rule, and might even put him to death, as they had seized and slain many for this very act of refusing to pay the taxes. At that very time hundreds of men were hiding from the Romans in caves and forests, trying to escape from paying this tax. On the other hand, if Jesus should say, "Pay the tax," all the common people would turn against him; for all the Jews hated this tax, which was a sign of the Roman power over them; and every man among them only paid it because he was afraid of the Roman governor and the Roman soldiers.

"You men of false heart, pretending to be honest!" he said, "why do you try to catch me in a snare? Let me see some of the tax money!"

They brought to him a piece of silver, a Roman coin. He looked at it closely and then asked:

"Whose head is this that I find upon the coin? What are the words around the edge?"

"Why, that is the head of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Cæsar, and those words are his title."

"Well, then," said Jesus, "give to Cæsar what belongs to Cæsar; and be sure to give to God what belongs to God."

There was nothing in that answer which they could make to appear either unfriendly or friendly to the Roman rule; nor yet was there anything that could be used against Jesus with the people. Wondering at the answer of Jesus, these men left him.

The Woman with Seven Husbands

WE HAVE heard much in the story, of the Pharisees, who were looked upon as leaders of the people in religion, because they regularly went to church, paid the church dues and obeyed all the rules, foolish as some of those rules seemed. These Pharisees, as you know, were bitter enemies of Jesus, and everywhere stirred up the people against him.

But there was another party among the Jews, the Sadducees, whom we have not mentioned up to this time. These people were equally opposed to the Pharisees and to Jesus. They were easy-living men, not paying much attention to the church rules; and in fact not going often to the church, which you know was called "the synagogue." But although they cared little for the churches in the different towns, they cared greatly for the Temple in Jerusalem, for most of the priests in the Temple were Sadducees, as also were many of the rulers in the great council of the Jews.

The Sadducees did not believe that there was any soul in man, nor any life after this life, nor any angels, nor any rising from the dead hereafter, nor any heaven or hell. They believed that when a man died and was buried, that was his end forever.

Some of these Sadducees tried to puzzle Jesus with a question. They came to him in the Temple that Tuesday while he was speaking to the people.

"Teacher," they said to him, "you remember that in the law of Moses it is ordered that if a man should die without any children, but leaving a wife, then the man's brother shall take the widow for his wife, and raise a family for his brother. Well, there were living seven brothers. The oldest of these married a wife, and after a time died, leaving no children. Then the second married her, and he too died without a child. The third took her and died, the fourth also, and all the rest of the seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, you have been teaching that there will come a day when the dead shall rise to life. When that day comes, and these seven men rise, all of whom were married to this woman, whose wife out of them all will she be, for every one of them in turn was married to her?"

"You make a mistake," answered Jesus, "because you do not understand the teachings of the Bible; nor do you know how great is the power of God, who can at a word call the dead up to life. In this world men and women marry because they live on earth only for a time, and must have families to live after them. But when the dead are raised up, they do not rise as husbands and wives, nor do they marry in that world to come, for they will have no need to raise up families to take their places. In that land all live forever, like the angels of God. And as to the resurrection, the rising from the dead, have you not read the words that God spoke to Moses at the burning bush?

"Now God is not the God of dead men, but of living men. For in the sight of God all men are alive, even after they have died on earth."

While Jesus was answering these questions—that of the rulers of the Temple about his right to drive out those that were buying and selling; that of the Pharisees about the paying of taxes; and that of the Sadducees about the resurrection, the rising from the dead—the people were standing around, listening. Although the rulers were enemies of Jesus, the common people were friendly, and heard him gladly. They saw how ready and how apt his answers were, and they were greatly pleased to find the enemies of Jesus put to confusion before him.

The Greatest of All the Commandments

WHILE JESUS was talking in the Temple and answering all these questions, a teacher of the law was standing near and listening. He saw how well Jesus answered all the questions put to him, and coming up to him, said:

We might suppose that he was speaking of the Ten Commandments and asking which of these is the most important. But that was not his purpose. He was thinking, not of the commandments given by God, but of the rules made by the scribes. One teacher would say that the rules about keeping the Sabbath were the greatest, another that the rules about washing were first; and so on, each scribe or teacher laying stress on one set of rules above another. Jesus looked upon all these little laws made by men as of no importance; and this was his answer to the scribe who had asked the question:

"The first and greatest of all the commandments is this, 'Hear, O ye people of Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.' And the second commandment is this, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' There is no other commandment greater than these two."

To love God with all the heart is to do God's will, not because we must do it, but because we love to do it and find joy in doing it. And to love our neighbor means to feel an interest in our fellow-men and to do for them whatever we would wish to have them do for us.

"You are right, Teacher!" said the scribe in answer to Jesus. "It is true, as you say, that there is one God; and there is no other God besides him. And to love God with the whole heart, and with the whole mind, and with the whole strength; and to love one's fellow-man as one's self—this is far beyond all offerings upon the altar!"

Jesus saw that this man's words were true and good and that he had the right thought of our duty to God and to our fellow-man. He said to him:

This was the last question put to Jesus. No one ventured to ask him any more, for they were afraid of his wonderful answers. The chief priests and the rulers were more and more angry at him, but the common people listened to him willingly.

While Jesus was teaching he in his turn asked a question of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

"Tell me," he said, "what you think of the Messiah-Christ, the King of Israel, promised to come. Whose son is he?"

"How is it then," asked Jesus again, "that David in one of the psalms calls him 'Lord'?

This they could not answer, and they dared not ask Jesus any more questions. But we know, from the words of the New Testament, that while Christ as a man was sprung from David's line, as the Son of God he was David's Lord.

After this Jesus spoke strong words to the priests, the scribes, and the rulers, for their wickedness of life for their leading the people away from God's will, and for their unjust, cruel purpose to put him to death. He told them that for their sins and the sins of their people, the Temple should be thrown down, the city of Jerusalem should be destroyed, and the land should be made desolate. These were his last words, and when he had spoken them, he rose up to go out of the Temple.

The Greatest Gift; and the Strangers from Afar

THE ROOM in the Temple where Jesus spoke on that Tuesday, the last day of his teaching in public, was called "The Treasury," because beside its walls were chests or boxes in which people who came to worship placed their money for gifts to pay for the offerings of poor people. As Jesus rose up to leave the room, he noticed the people dropping their money into these boxes. Some rich men made a show of giving large sums of money, letting it make a noise as they dropped it slowly, piece after piece, into the box.

There came in a poor woman, whose dress showed that she was a widow; and she dropped into the box two little copper coins, worth together only a quarter of a cent. Jesus saw her, and calling his disciples, he said:

"I tell you in truth, that in the sight of God this poor widow has put into the box more money than any of the others. All the rest have been putting in money that they could spare and did not need. But she in her need gave all that she had, her whole living!"

Then Jesus walked out of the Treasury through the door on the east, which was so richly decorated that it was called "The Beautiful Gate," his disciples with him. They stepped down into the Court of the Gentiles; and at the foot of the stairs met a number of men whose looks and dress showed that they were not Jews, but foreigners. These men were Greeks, from a land far away. They were waiting for Jesus at the foot of the stairs, for not being Jews they were forbidden to enter the inner courts of the Temple.

These Greeks stepped up to one of the twelve disciples, Philip, who had come from Bethsaida in the north of Galilee, and could speak their language.

Philip was not sure whether his Master would be willing to talk to these men; for Jews kept Gentiles or foreigners at a distance, would never eat with them, and would scarcely speak with them. Philip thought that Andrew, the brother of Peter, might know whether to bring these men to Jesus or not, so he spoke to Andrew, and Andrew took the lead in coming to Jesus with the Greeks.

"The time has now come," said Jesus, "for the Son of Man to be lifted up, and to die. For it is only by dying that I can bring forth fruit. When a kernel of wheat is dropped into the ground, unless its outside shell dies, it lives alone; but if it dies, then it becomes a seed and brings a harvest of many kernels of wheat. He who loves his life and keeps it, loses it; but he who takes no care of his life here shall have it forever. If any man is ready to serve me, let him follow me; and where I am going there shall my servant be with me. If any one is my servant, he shall have honor from my Father."

At that moment it came to the mind of Jesus that in less than three days he would be hanging dead upon the cross. For an instant the thought gave him pain. "I am deeply troubled, and have sorrow in my heart," said Jesus, "and what can I say? Shall I say, 'Father, save me from the hour that is coming so soon?' No, I will not say that, because it was for that hour of death on the cross that I have lived even until now. I will say, 'Father, give honor to thine own name!'"

Then a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "I have honored my name already, and I will honor it once more."

"It was not on my account that the voice came," said Jesus, "but on your account. Soon will come the hour when God will judge this world, and the prince of evil, who rules this world, shall be driven away."

Then Jesus thought of his coming death on the cross; what it was to bring to the world; how that everywhere after his death men should believe on him as their Lord and Saviour; not only Jews, but Greeks, and people of every land; and he said:

Soon after this Jesus walked out of the Temple, never again to set his foot within it.

Jesus Telling of Dark Days to Come

JESUS WALKED across the Court of the Gentiles or Strangers, the large outer court of the Temple, toward the Mount of Olives. On that side of the court stood Solomon's Porch, a double row of pillars, having a roof above to shield it from the sun. Under this porch they stepped down a marble staircase to pass out of the Temple grounds through a gate called "The Golden Gate." As they drew near this gate the disciples called his attention to the great stones in the wall, the pillars and the splendid buildings around.

"Are you looking at these stones and buildings?" said Jesus. "I tell you now, that the time is coming, and not far away, when all of these stones shall be torn apart, and of these fine buildings not one stone shall be left standing in its place; all shall be thrown down!"

The disciples heard these words with alarm and sadness. They knew that their Lord spoke as a prophet; and whatever he said would be sure to come to pass. But they looked upon Jerusalem as the holy city, and upon the Temple as the house of God. To them, the fall of the city and the Temple seemed like the end of the whole world. They walked after Jesus in silence across the valley of the brook Kedron and up the steep sides of the Mount of Olives. On its top they sat down to rest, and looked over the valley at the city, its towers and roofs rising in their view. While they were sitting on the mountain, Peter and Andrew, with the brothers James and John, came to Jesus, and said to him:

"Tell us, Master, what your words mean, and when these terrible things will come to pass? Are you going away, and then coming back again? How may we know when to look for you?"

Then, sitting on the mountain, with the twelve disciples around him, Jesus gave a long talk about the things that were to come. He began by warning them against following after men claiming to be Christ, the King of Israel.

"Take care," he said, "that no one lead you astray. For many will come saying, 'I am Christ, the King of Israel,' and they will lead away many people. But do not follow any of these false Christs.

"You will hear of wars that have come, and reports of wars that are coming; but do not be frightened. These must come, but they are not the end. Nation shall make war with nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and you shall hear of earthquakes in many places; and times shall come when there will be no bread for the hungry to eat. But all these are only the beginnings of the trouble; and the worst is yet to come.

"But before these take place there are some other sufferings that you must meet because you are my disciples. Enemies will rise up against you. You shall be brought before councils and courts to be tried; you shall be seized and beaten in the churches of the Jews; you shall stand before governors and kings to give account for yourselves as my followers. But when they seize you and bring you to be tried, do not be anxious as to what you shall speak; for the right words shall be given you in that hour of trial. It will not be you that speak, but the Spirit of God that speaks through you.

"In those times of trial fathers and mothers shall turn against their children, and brothers shall give up brothers who believe in me. Some of you shall be put to death in those days. And all men shall hate you because you are my disciples. But if you are faithful to the end, even to death, you shall be saved to everlasting life."

Then Jesus told of the terrible times that were coming to Jerusalem and the land of the Jews. He said:

"When you see great armies encamped on these hills all around Jerusalem, then know that the time has come for the city and the Temple to be destroyed. Let this be a sign for everyone in Judea to hide among the mountains. If a man at that time is on the roof of his house, let him not go down to take anything out of his house; nor a man in the field go home after his cloak; but hasten away just as he is, with the clothes that are upon his back, and find a safe hiding-place.

"If anyone tells you in such times as those, 'Here is Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it, for false Christs will come and false prophets will appear; and they will show signs and wonders, so as to lead astray even some of God's own people. I tell you truly that many who are now living shall see all these things come to pass."

Jesus had already told his disciples that he was soon going away to leave them, but in his own time he would come again. He now spoke about his "coming again."

"As to the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows about that day or hour; no man knows when it will be, nor the angels, nor even the Son himself, but only the Father. It will be then as it was in the days of Noah; they went on eating and drinking, marrying and being married, until the day Noah went into the ark; and they took no notice until the flood came and swept them all away.

"So will it be when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men working together in the field; one shall be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain with the hand mill; one shall be taken and the other left. Keep on the watch then, for you never know what day the Lord will come. Be sure of this, if the owner of the house had known at what time in the night the thief would come, he would have been on the watch for him, and would never have allowed his house to be broken into. So be ready all the time, for when you least expect him, the Son of Man will come."

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

AT THE CLOSE of a long talk with the disciples, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave three parables. The first parable was to show that his followers must watch and be ready for his sudden coming. It is "The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids."

"The coming of the Lord in his kingdom," said Jesus, "will be as when ten girls, the bridesmaids at a wedding, took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom with his friends, and go with them to the house of the bride. Five of these girls were foolish and thoughtless, and five of them were wise. The foolish young women brought their lamps, but never thought that they would need more oil to fill their lamps again. But each of the five wise girls carried a small flask of oil to refill her lamp when needed.

"As the bridegroom, the young man who was to be married, was late in coming, the ten bridesmaids grew sleepy, and finally all fell asleep. They slept until midnight, when suddenly they were awakened by the shout, 'Here comes the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

"Then all the girls got up and began trimming their lamps. The careless, foolish ones said to the wise and thoughtful ones:

"But the wise bridesmaids answered them, 'No, each one of us has brought just enough oil for her own lamp. If we should divide our oil with you, then none of us would have enough to keep her lamp burning and we should all be in the dark together. You must go to the store and buy for yourselves!'

"So, in the middle of the night, while the bridegroom was coming, those foolish women had to go to the town, and wake up the oil-sellers and buy more oil. While they were on their way buying oil, the bridegroom and his party came; and the bridesmaids who were ready went with them to the marriage-supper. When they were all inside the room, the door was shut to keep out strangers who had no right to enter.

"After a time, the rest of the bridesmaids came and found the door shut. They called out to the bridegroom:

"So," said Jesus, "I say to you, keep on the watch, and be ready at all times, for you do not know either the day or the hour when your Lord will come."

The Parable of the Talents

THE SECOND of the three parables with which Jesus closed his long talk to his disciples on the Mount of Olives was "The Parable of the Talents." In some parts it was like "The Parable of the Pounds," given to the crowd at Jericho only a week before, but in other parts it was different. In that parable, there was a king, going to a distant city to have a kingdom given to him. In this parable, it was a rich man going on a long journey. In the parable of the Pounds, all the servants began with the same amount of money; in this parable, they received different amounts, one of them five times as much as another received. In the parable of the Pounds, one gained ten times, the other five times what had been given to him; and they obtained different rewards, one the ruler over ten cities, another over five. But in the parable of the Talents, each faithful servant doubled what he had received, and both had the same reward. But we will give the parable of the Talents, and you can see how it differs from the parable of the Pounds. Jesus said:

"When the Son of Man comes, it will be as when a man returned from his journey into a far country. Before starting out upon his journey, this man called together his servants and gave his money into their charge. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. Each talent was worth about two thousand dollars, so that the first servant had ten thousand dollars, the second four thousand dollars, and the third two thousand dollars. To each man was given as much as his master thought that he was able to take care of. They were to use the money and gain with it until their master should come home again; and then bring it with their gains to him. After dividing his money, the man went away.

"At once the servant who had the five talents or ten thousand dollars, went to trade with his money, and made with it ten thousand dollars more, or twenty thousand dollars in all. The second servant, who had two talents or four thousand dollars, also used his money carefully, and doubled it, making eight thousand dollars. But the third servant, to whom had been given one talent, or two thousand dollars, instead of making use of his master's money, went away and dug a hole in the ground, and put the talent into the hole and left it there.

"After a long time the master of the servants came home again, and called for his servants, to see what each had gained. The one who had received the five talents came with bags of gold in his arms. He said:

"'My lord, you gave me ten thousand dollars. Here they are, and ten thousand dollars more, which I have gained with your money.'

"'Well done, you good servant!' said his master. 'You have done well in small things; now I will give you great things; come and share your master's feast!'

"'My lord,' said he, 'you trusted me with four thousand dollars. See, here it is with four thousand dollars more that I have gained for you!'

"'Well done, you good servant,' said his master. 'You too have done well in small things; now I will give you great things; come and share the feast with me!'

"Then came the servant to whom had been given one talent, two thousand dollars. In his hand was the same bag of gold that he had received, and no more.

"'Sir,' he said, 'I knew that you were a hard man, reaping where you never sowed, and taking grain that you did not harvest. So I was afraid, and hid your money in the ground. Look, here is what belongs to you.'

"'You lazy, worthless servant!' said his master. 'You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and that I take grain that I did not harvest? If you knew that I am such a man as that, you should have put my money into the savings bank; and then at least I might have had my own money with some gain added to it.

"'Therefore,' the master went on, 'take away the talent from this man, and give it to the one who has brought me the ten talents, the twenty thousand dollars; for that shows that he is fitted to take care of it. For to every one that has, more shall be given and still more. But from him that does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away.

"'And as for that good-for-nothing servant, turn him out of doors from the feast, into the darkness outside; there those who cannot come into the feast shall wail and gnash their teeth.'"

From this parable, as well as the parable of the Pounds, it is plain that by "every one who has," the Lord meant "every one who cares for and makes use of what he has"; and by "him who has not" he meant "the one who makes no use of what he has." Whoever uses rightly what he has, whether money, or knowledge, or powers of mind, or the chance to do good, will find more and more of it; and whoever neglects what he has will surely lose it.

The Last Great Day

AFTER THE two parables of "The Bridesmaids" and "The Talents," Jesus still with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, gave one more parable; a picture of "The Last Great Day." He said:

"When the Son of Man shall come again to earth, in all his glory as King, and with him all the angels of God, then he will take his seat upon his royal throne; and before him shall be gathered all the people of the world to be judged. At that time he will send out his angels and they shall divide the great multitude into two parts, as a shepherd divides his flock, putting the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King shall say to those on his right hand:

"'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Come, and take the kingdom made ready for you ever since the beginning of the world. For, when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger, you opened your doors and took me into your homes; when I had no clothes, you gave me clothing; when I was sick, you cared for me; when I was in prison, you came to visit me.'

"Then the good will answer, 'When was it that we found you hungry and gave you food? Or thirsty and gave you drink? When did we see you a stranger, and took you into our homes? Or without clothes, and gave you clothing? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and went to visit you?'

"And the King will answer them, 'I tell you, as often as you did any of these things to one of these my brothers who believe in me, even the least of them, you did it to me.'

"'Go away from me, you whom God has cursed, to the everlasting fires which have been kindled for the Devil and his angels, the wicked spirits. There shall be your home forever! For I was hungry, but you never gave me food; I was thirsty, but you never gave me drink; I was a stranger, but you never opened your doors to me; I was in need of clothes, but you never gave me any; I was sick and in prison, but you never cared for me.'

"'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothing, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?'

"And he shall answer them, 'In very truth I say to you, that as often as you did not help in their need these my brothers who believe in me, even the very least of them, you did not help me.' So these will go away to suffer punishment forever; but those who have done the right will go to life everlasting."

It was now late on Tuesday afternoon, and Jesus with his disciples went down the Mount of Olives to Bethany. On the way he said to them:

"You know that two days from now is the Feast of the Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be given up to his enemies; and they shall put him to death upon the cross."

But, although he had spoken of this many times, even now they could not believe it. They went together to Bethany, to the home of Martha and Mary and Lazarus.

Washing the Disciples' Feet

TUESDAY HAD been a busy day for Jesus, as we have already seen; but Wednesday must have been a quiet day, for none of the four gospels tells us of any events taking place on that day. Jesus knew that in two days more his sufferings were to begin, and he needed Wednesday, his last full day, for rest and for talking with his Father in heaven. On Wednesday, therefore, Jesus was alone with God, not talking much with his disciples.

On Thursday evening was to be held by all the Jews the great Feast of the Passover. This kept in mind the day, more than a thousand years before, when the Israelites went out of Egypt and became a free people. At that time each Israelite family in Egypt killed a lamb, roasted it, and ate it, their last meal in Egypt; and with it they ate "unleavened bread," that is, bread made without yeast; somewhat like soda biscuit. In memory of that day, the families of Israel went up to Jerusalem every year in the spring and ate a dinner of roasted lamb with unleavened bread, which they called "The Feast of the Passover," because on that night in Egypt the angel of death "passed over" the homes of the Israelites, while he brought death to the families of Egypt.

"Go into the city," answered Jesus, "and you will meet a man carrying a jar of water; follow him, and into whatever house he goes, say to the man living there, 'The Teacher says, I must eat the passover at your house tonight with my disciples—where is my room?' And this man will show you a large room upstairs; there make ready all things for the supper."

Peter and John went from Bethany into the city as they were told; they met the man with the water jar and followed him to the house. There they found the owner of the house, and spoke to him as Jesus had said. This man may have been a follower of Jesus, glad to have his Master take a meal at his house. He led Peter and John upstairs into a large room, with tables standing, and around them couches for the guests.

Then the two disciples went into the market and bought a lamb. This they carried upon their shoulders to the Temple. There it was killed and its blood was poured out at the foot of the great altar. The lamb was then roasted in an oven; and after sunset it was brought to the supper room and placed upon the table. Beside it were the flat biscuits of unleavened bread, and also some vegetables of a slightly bitter taste, to be eaten with the lamb.

Late on Thursday afternoon Jesus and the rest of his disciples left Bethany. Jesus alone knew that this was his last farewell to that home and its loving people; but he said nothing, not wishing to alarm them. Among his followers on that afternoon was Judas Iscariot, knowing that he had sold his Master to his enemies, and that the thirty silver pieces were even then in his money bag. Jesus knew it, too, but he said not a word of it, either to Judas or the disciples.

They went around the Mount of Olives, crossed the valley, and came through one of the gates into the city; then found their way among the streets on Mount Zion to the house where in the upper room the supper was all ready for them. Here, as many times before, arose a little quarrel over the question as to which of the twelve disciples should sit at the guest table with Jesus, for that table was the place of honor. Jesus stopped the dispute by saying to them what he had said before:

"He that would be greatest among you, let him take the lowest place; and he who would be chief, let him become your servant. But there is no need for you to be anxious about places. You have stood by me through all my trials, and I will give you all high places in my kingdom, for you shall sit on twelve thrones, each of you over one of the tribes of Israel."

But Jesus in teaching his disciples lowliness of mind and unselfishness of spirit, did not stop with words. He taught them by an act which made them wonder. Just before the supper, he rose from the couch where he was lying, took off his robe and outer garments, then tied a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples as they were reclining around the tables, their heads toward the tables, their feet away from them. Jesus came first to Simon Peter, and stood at his feet, holding the basin of water. Peter looked up at him, and saw that the Saviour was preparing to wash his feet.

"You do not understand now what this means," said Jesus, "but you will learn after a time."

"Then, Master," said Peter, "if that be so, wash not only my feet, but my hands and my head!"

"He who has already bathed," said Jesus, "is clean, and needs only to wash his feet. And you are clean—but not every one of you."

In those words "not every one of you," he was thinking of Judas, the traitor, who was there with the others.

So Jesus washed Peter's feet and wiped them dry with the towel around his waist; and he went around the couches, washing the feet of every disciple, even the feet of wicked Judas. When he had finished, he took off the towel, and put on his outer clothes, and took again his place at the table.

"Do you understand the meaning of what I have done to you?" said Jesus. "You call me your Teacher and your Lord, and you are right, for I am both Teacher and Lord. Well, if I, who am your Teacher and your Lord, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have set you an example, that you should do what I have done to you. I tell you truly, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sends him. If you know all this, you are happy if you do them."

Then Jesus went on, saying, "When I say 'you' I do not mean all of you; for there is one of you eating with me now who will give me up to my enemies. Truly, truly, I tell you one of you shall betray me!"

As Jesus said this his face showed that he was in deep trouble. The disciples looked at each other, not knowing of whom Jesus was speaking. They too were filled with sorrow, and began to say to him, all around the table, "Is it I, Lord?"

"One of you that puts his hand into the same dish with me," answered Jesus, "is the traitor. The Son of Man goes from earth, as has been written of him in the Scripture, but woe, woe to that man who betrays his Lord! It would have been well for that man if he had never been born!"

Next to Jesus at the table was reclining one of the disciples, John, whom Jesus loved greatly. Simon Peter made signs to John, which meant, "Find out who it is that he is speaking of."

"It is the one," answered Jesus, "to whom I shall hand this piece of bread, after dipping it in the dish."

Jesus dipped the bread into the dish holding the roasted lamb, and handed it to Judas Iscariot. At that moment the spirit of evil went fully into the heart of Judas. Jesus said to him:

But no one at the table understood what these words meant. As Judas kept the purse for the company, they thought that Jesus was telling him to buy some things for the feast, or perhaps to give some money to the poor. After taking the piece of bread, Judas at once went out into the night.