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ANE IGE S g iS MAR 1'7 1932 A ~\ « Division BS 2420 Section (PG BS | THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER BY THE SAME AUTHOR LITERATURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (Now ready) LITERATURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT In collaboration with Carl Everett Purinton (Now ready) THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER In collaboration with Sadie Brackett Costello (Now ready) In Preparation THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ISRAEL CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER BY \/ Secon sew HERBERT R. PURINTON PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE AND RELIGION IN BATES COLLEGE AND SADIE BRACKETT COSTELLO NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS 1926 Copyricut, 1926, By CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS Printed in the United States of America PREFACE What did Jesus do that made him the central figure of human history? Did he so far surpass all others in his deeds and teachings that he will occupy permanently the supreme place in the thought and love of mankind? Did he discover and express the infinite worth of every human soul? Did he show the way, open and free, to all mankind, by which a man could reach God? Did he describe and show by his own character what kind of a life the Heavenly Father wants every person to live? The aim of this book is to answer these questions anew for a generation that is seeking for facts in every realm. For the past seven years the authors have tried to bring high school and college students face to face with the historical Jesus. They have used especially the three documents that present the earliest information about him—the Gospel of Mark, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Letters of Paul. The result has been a new sense of the actual achievements of the Master in both deeds and teachings. The methods suggested at the end of each chapter have proven their value. Having discovered the historical facts the students have been led to realize their spiritual meaning by a study of the best pictures and books, and to apply the principles thus discovered to actual cases in modern social and individual life. Sadie Brackett Costello has contributed out of her experience of twenty years as teacher in a city church Vv v1 PREFACE school most of the descriptive and illustrative material of all the chapters. The undersigned has furnished most of the critical and historical material that was necessary in describing the background and the events of the life of Jesus. May those who read this book come to value aright the achievements of Jesus in individual character and thought and to appreciate “the incomparable significance of his personality as a force still working in history!” HERBERT R. PurintTon. Lewiston, MaIne, August 1, 1926. CHAPTER I. II. Il. WALT: Vill. CONTENTS PART 1 PREPARATION PAGH The World into which Jesus Came...........--- 1 The Religion which Jesus Inherited............. 10 PART 2 OPENING EVENTS The Herald of the New Era...........--+-eee0- 19 The Baptism of Jesus.......-.sseeceeeeceeeeee , 28 The Temptation. 2s :/c)0 44 deka bbe slot» ees a ye 8 acs 37 PART 3 POPULAR PREACHER AND HEALER Jesus Wins the Masses in Galilee............... 45 Jesus Challenges the Religious Leaders.......... 56 ERIM ORAMINEADES <2) i905 ds. tisin's cists spe eid ls ee res 64 PART 4 THE TEACHER Announcement of the New Ideals............... 74 The New Religion Contrasted with the Old...... 87 Ao New Meaning in-Prayer: «..6.2. 2.05 tees ees ss 97 The Right Attitude toward Money...........--- 105 Jesus and the Race Problem’... ........esseeeees 113 vii Vili CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGH XIV. Things that Make for Happiness............... 121 XV. The Supreme Teacher and His Parables......... 128 PART 5 FAREWELL TO GALILEE XVI. A Decision that Meant Death.................. 137 XVII. ‘He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem” ......... 144 PART 6 THE LAST DAYS XVIII. Jesus Announces Himself as Messiah........... 151 XIX. Collision with the Priests...................... 157 XX. Condemnation of the Jerusalem Scribes......... 163 AI, The Night of the Betrayal. (0.0.45). (eo 170 PONT The ‘Trial of Jesus). ..a. 2. dene oe 177 XXIII. The Meaning of the Cross.................... 183 ALY,” Victory Over Death...) 0. 2. 190 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER Part 1 PREPARATION CHAPTER I THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS CAME Introduction. The Difference Jesus Made. As a spring of clear water on the mountain brings health to the people in the valley below, so Christ brings happiness to those who live in regions where his teach- ings prevail. Among the most hopeless and desolate of the nations of earth to-day—Palestine, Egypt, and Arabia—are the ones which in the early centuries re- jected Christ, while those that have tried to follow his teachings have been blessed above all others. Let us call four witnesses that we may appreciate at its true value his influence on mankind. First, the historian, George Holley Gilbert: “Tracing his way along the stream of Christian life back to its humble source in Galilee, observing what that stream has wrought across the wide expanse of years, the traveller comes at length to that far-distant spring with a mingled sense of awe and mystery. This stream of life, still rising slowly as it flows, has touched with hope a third of all the millions of mankind, and makes to grow along its banks the fairest things, the things of greatest promise, that we see in all the earth.” 1 2 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER Second, Thomas Carlyle, the great English author: “The life and death of the Divine Man in Judea (was) the cause of immeasurable change to all people in the world.”” An example of the changes caused by Jesus is the dating of modern history from his birth. Whether we profess to be Christians or not, we confess Christ in a sense whenever we date a letter. Third, a great dramatist, George Bernard Shaw: “I am ready to admit that, after contemplating the world and human nature for nearly sixty years, I see no way out of the world’s misery but the way which would have been found by Christ’s will, if he had undertaken the work of a modern practical statesman.” . Fourth, Richard Watson Gilder, late editor of The Century Magazine: “Tf Jesus Christ is a cok And only a man, I sa That of all mankind i cleave to him, And to him I cleave alway. If Jesus Christ is a God, And the only God, I swear I will follow him through heaven and hell, The earth, the sea, and the air.’ In this chapter we shall talk of the place where Jesus lived, and the conditions under which he did the deeds that are so transforming the world. A little study of maps, kings, and customs will help us understand him and his teachings. 1. Geography. On the hill that rises behind Nazareth to a height of sixteen hundred feet the boy Jesus often stood and gazed, no doubt, at the blue Mediterranean plainly visible only twenty miles away. Could he have looked THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS CAME 3 across the sea toward the west to a distance of twelve hundred miles he would have seen Rome, the capital of the world and the centre of the power that was to put him to death on the cross. The Roman Empire, under the rule of Augustus Cesar, controlled all the provinces on the Mediterranean. Here approximately fifty million people dwelt in comparative peace from the beginning of the reign of Augustus (80 B. C.) to about 180 A. D. How little these people dreamed of the mysterious event that was to change the whole world! Travel between the nations had begun to be a com- mon thing. Excellent roads led from Rome to every province. Even to little Palestine the way was well known, for more than half a century before Christ Pompey had marched his armies to Jerusalem. On these fine roads many peoples mingled in a strange confusion of language and race. The seven thousand miles of paved roads around the Mediterranean not only made possible the work of Saint Paul but also in- creased the spread of Christianity by making it easy for Christians to move about from city to city and province to province. In this way the gospel of Jesus became known in every large city of the world. Universal law, universal language, and safe travel on the great high- ways had very much to do with the fact that in less than three hundred years the Roman Empire was con- verted to Christianity. It was in a tiny province of this great empire that Jesus was born. Palestine, his birthplace, was at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. It was about the size of Vermont, or about one-third as large as the State of Maine. The length was no more than one hundred and fifty miles and the widest part of the land would not extend to a hundred miles. 4 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER 2. Government. From the birth of Jesus to the fall of Jerusalem, 70 A. D., the life of the little Jewish nation was a tragedy, ending with the slaughter of thousands of Jews and the destruction of their sacred temple. That King Herod was cruel is shown by the story of his murder of the children in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). He not only taxed the people heavily and murdered many leading citizens of whom he was suspicious, but also interfered in most provoking ways with the religious life of the Jews. An example of the bitter feeling against Herod is the affair of the Roman Eagle which the king had placed above the gate of the temple. A group of young Jews became excited over the matter and pulled down the eagle. Herod murdered these young men and later his son Archelaus, who had become king, enraged by the mourning for these murdered Jews, killed three thou- sand more. Archelaus was removed and Pilate made governor. That is how it happened that Pilate had charge of Judea in Jesus’ time. But even under a Roman governor life was almost as oppressive as under a Czar of Russia. Everybody had to pay annoying taxes. There were import and export duties, tolls in the market-place on food and clothing, land taxes and poll taxes. The tax-collectors, called publicans, were hated and despised especially because they overcharged the people so much. No one can appreciate Jesus and his teachings without re- calling that question which was uppermost in the minds of the people: ‘Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar?” Besides the constant fret of the taxes there was the presence of the Roman soldier in uniform to remind the Jews of their subjection to the heathen power. Jesus THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS CAME 5 had to solve his own personal life problem in view of this central problem of his people—the overshadowing dominion of Rome which was soon to lead to his nation’s doom. As Lincoln’s career was determined by the awiful tragedy of the Civil War, so, in a measure, it is true of Jesus, that his career was conditioned by the ceaseless struggle of the Jews with the Romans. 3. Curious Notions Held by the People of Jesus’ Time. Every age has its own science, which is but another name for the explanation of things. The people of Jesus’ day believed the earth was flat and the sky was a metal dome above it (Job 37:18 and 38:18). This flat * surface was circular in form, the circle being the meet- ing-place of sky and sea (Job 26:10, Proverbs 8: 27, and Isaiah 40:22). Palestine was the centre of the circle and Jerusalem was the centre of Palestine. The future abode of the dead, whether good or bad, was in Sheol, which was located in the lowest part of the earth. There the shadow of death reigns, and there are no glimmers of daylight, and from it there is no return (Job 10:21, 22). In the time of Jesus the upper part of Sheol was called ‘‘Abraham’s Bosom” and the lower part Gehenna, where sinners were tormented in flames (Luke 16: 22-28). The people believed that the world was full of little invisible demons more powerful than man. One day when Jesus was on the east side of the Sea of Galilee ‘‘there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. ... And always, night and day in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. ... He (Jesus) said unto him, come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man... 6 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER and the unclean spirits came out and rushed into the swine” (Mark 5:1-13). These demons could cause sickness, insanity, and make a man speak in ecstasy.’ The writers of the New Testament do not explain whether Jesus believed in demons, but they tell many stories about his casting them out. 4. Moral Bankruptcy. ~ Seneca describes Roman immorality in much the same language as Saint Paul (Romans 1 : 24-32). “ All things,” says Seneca, “are full of crimes and vices}; daily grows the appetite for sin; daily wanes the sense of shame. Iniquity is given such a range in public, and is so mighty in the breasts of all, that innocence is not merely rare; it has no existence.” Seneca himself, while he gave good advice to others, added to his fortune by loaning money at excessively high rates of interest and by writing false praises of the Emperors Claudius and Nero. These two emperors wasted the people’s money on luxury. Caligula spent half a million dollars on a single day’s banqueting. Nero built a palace in which was a circular banquet room which revolved perpetually day and night, in imitation of the motion of the celestial bodies. The supper rooms had ceilings with compart- ments inlaid with ivory, which were made to revolve and scatter flowers and to sprinkle costly perfumes on the guests. When Nero made a journey he had a retinue of a thousand carriages and the animals were shod with silver. One of the evils of the time was the corruption of family life. Divorces were very common. The practice of infanticide was frequent. One Roman judge, Paulus, decided that parents had the right to put newly born THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS CAME 7 children to death if they desired. Roman theatres pandered to the depraved taste of the populace. Gladia- torial shows were made exciting by inhuman spectacles in which captives in war were compelled to fight with wild beasts. One writer has shown that this wretched state of morals, though in many ways unfavorable _ to the coming of Christianity yet, on the other hand, created a demand for such teachings as Christ came to give. 5. A World Full of Religions. The low state of morals which we have been describ- ing does not imply a lack of religious systems. The old state religions of Rome and Greece were carried on in great splendor by hired officials. Temples, in which many gods were worshipped were very numerous. Every tribe and nation in the provinces of Rome had one or more religions. In Palestine Judaism held sway; in Persia there was Zoroastrianism; in India, Hinduism. But what the world needed was a new way of life, and a new idea of the present life and the future. Before Christianity reached Rome three great emo- tional religions had been brought in to meet this need. Mithraism, the worship of the sun-god, came to Rome from Asia Minor. Because of its exciting character it was accepted, among others, by many soldiers. Con- verts were baptized in the blood of a bull. Meetings were held in a small, underground chapel. Full member- ship was attained by seven successive initiations. They had in addition to baptism a sort of communion meal, and members were sealed on the forehead, as Chris- tians were sealed with the sign of the cross. Another popular religion was the worship of Isis and Osiris. A vivid reminder of this rival of Christianity 8 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER may be seen to-day in the little temple of Isis at Pom- peli. Isis worship came from Egypt and was so popular in Rome by 58 B. C. that the consul Gabinius stopped the building of any more altars to this goddess. But no official decrees could prevent the devotion of the masses to this Egyptian faith. They had little images of Isis that remind us of the Christian Madonna and Child. The worship in the temples was most attractive to women, for it gave them the assurance of a happy future life by its teaching about Osiris who was dead but who is alive again. The priests gave their whole time to the service of these gods, and there was some- thing for the worshipper to do every day. They had a sort of passion play in which the death and resurrection of Osiris were pictured. It was enacted once a year in Rome, beginning October 28, and lasting seven days. Another feature was a kind of revival meeting on the street corners conducted by a priest of Isis, who car- ried the paraphernalia of worship on a little cart and rang a bell to call a crowd around him. The Mystery Religions met the emotional needs of many people whom the state religions of Rome failed to help. The best known Mystery was the Eleusinian which had its centre at Eleusis, near Athens. It had baptism, communion, and sacred festivals. The scene at the final act admitting converts to membership made a powerful appeal to the feelings. Paul referred to the © Mysteries several times in I Corinthians, Colossians, and Ephesians. In these three rivals of Christianity there was a great appeal to the common people in two ways. First, they brought the worshipper into personal, sympathetic relations with a god. This meant that there was an emotional element in the worship. Second, they as- THE WORLD INTO WHICH JESUS CAME 9 sured the worshipper of immortality. Christianity sur- passed these powerful competitors and won the Roman Empire because it had a superior belief, a higher mo- rality, and conferred a greater joy. ont onanr wn oe 0 fb (et — DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY Written Work Give an example from national life of the difference that Jesus has made. Quote Gilbert. . In what ways had the Roman Empire prepared the way for the rapid spread of Christianity? Give the story of the Roman Eagle as an example of Herod’s treatment of the Jews. . Show how intimately the Roman government touched the life of the Jews in the matter of taxes. What was the cause of disease according to the people of Jesus’ day? . Give two or more examples of the moral bankruptcy of the social life. What three emotional religions had many followers in the Roman Empire? . Why{did Christianity win the empire over these competitors? Oral Discussion » Quote from memory Richard Watson Gilder’s verses about Christ. . How did Pilate happen to be governor of Judea in the time of Jesus? . How did the political subjection of his people to Rome affect the life of Jesus? Why was the luxury of Nero a public evil? . Describe the ancient notion of the world. Special Assignments . Draw an outline map of the Roman Empire and locate Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch. . Read Quo Vadis by Sienkiewicz for the light that it throws on social life in the Roman Empire. 3. Write an account of the passion play of Osiris. See Breasted, History of Egypt. CHAPTER II THE RELIGION WHICH JESUS INHERITED 1. A Striking Contrast. It has been said that the Jews got religion ready for the world, the Greeks prepared the language-vehicle in which it could safely be carried, and the Romans built the roads over which religion could be quickly sent to the limits of civilization. Jewish religion was the most important of the three gifts. From it sprang the world’s two most powerful faiths, Christianity and Moham- medanism. What gave Judaism such power and such endurance? One noticeable thing is the strange contrast between the Jews on the one hand and the Greeks and the Romans on the other. In Palestine life was serious and humble; in Rome life was gay and luxurious. Where Rome had grand temples and gorgeous religious processions, Palestine had unpretentious synagogues and a very lowly and simple religious life in home and village. It was this serious and humble religious life which Jesus inherited. 2. Home and Synagogue. What an impression the customs of the Sabbath and the simple services in the rustic synagogue must have made upon Jesus’ mind! The Sabbath service was the only excitement of the week. Just before sunset Friday every household was in a hurry to finish the last things, 10 THE RELIGION WHICH JESUS INHERITED 11 No work at all was permitted after sunset. Even the minister of the synagogue who, standing on his roof, announced the opening of the sacred day by blowing three times on a trumpet dared not profane the day by carrying the trumpet down from the roof. In the homes no fire could be built, no lamp moved, no insect killed, no fruit carried in the hand, no writing could be done or stitches taken. If a letter was to be sent, it must not be started as late as Wednesday or Thursday unless it was certain that it would reach its destination before the Sabbath. No one was to go about with false teeth lest they fall out and the wearer pick them up and -earry them in his hand, which would be sinful. If a hen laid an egg on the Sabbath, it was not lawful to eat it. For the great majority of Jews the temple in Jerusa- lem was too far away to serve as a real centre of worship. About the time of Judas Maccabeus there grew up in thecities and villages of Palestine many synagogues, which were places for the study of the Jewish Scrip- tures and for religious exhortation. They might be compared to our Sunday-schools, because the reading and study of the Scriptures had first place in them. The word ‘‘synagogue”’ means meeting-house, and one could be built wherever ten men agreed to support it. On the Sabbath it served for a Bible school and on week-days for a police court (Mark 13:9). By the time of Jesus the element of worship ‘had become a regular part of the synagogue activities, so that when the temple was destroyed in 70 A. D. the religious life of the Jews suffered no great loss, for by that time there was a synagogue in every village and many synagogues in the larger cities. One reason why there was little if any loss when the temple was de- 12 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER stroyed was the fact that the service of worship in the temple alluded to in Ecclesiasticus 50: 16-26, but no- where fully described, was transferred to the synagogue. This love for the temple was early given to the synagogue, which was from the beginning not a dupli- cate of the temple in its purpose but parallel to it. It was a place where one could listen to the word of the Lord, where those who were able could read and ex- pound the Old Testament. ‘These lessons from the law were conducted not in a perfunctory manner as to-day, but intelligently, so that the law was understood by the people. The words were not only read, but ex- plained. Later on the Hebrew language was succeeded by the Aramaic, and for the people at large it was necessary to translate the reading into Aramaic. The need of translating and explaining the Scrip- tures led to the sermon. There was no regular preacher or priest connected with the synagogue. The service - could be conducted by anybody. Whoever chose could step forward and read; then anybody who sat in the audience and felt that the spirit moved him was permitted and encouraged to step forward and give his message, and all listened to him. In time the read- ing in the synagogue developed into a chant. Then the chant developed into a formal service to which the people did not pay much attention. | 3- The Great Passover Feast. One of the memorable experiences of a Jewish boy was the celebration of the Passover. The Sacred Book had commanded: “Keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib, Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, THE RELIGION WHICH JESUS INHERITED 13 of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.”” (Deu- teronomy 16:1, 2). With untiring devotion the Jews from all over Palestine went up to Jerusalem every spring for the chief feast of the year. While it was not quite like our country fairs in their hilarity, yet it was a time of pleasure and the holiday spirit was abroad. Boys would not go up to Jerusalem to the Great Feast until they had become “Sons of the Law,”’ that is, until they reached the age of twelve or thirteen and became responsible members of the congregation. The first time a boy went on the annual pilgrimage with his parents and neighbors he would join in the singing of the pilgrim hymn with deep feeling, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122). We can imagine the scene when the cara- van of worshippers from Nazareth made their first camp on the east of the Jordan near the valley road. Around the camp-fires stories were told and psalms sung. One of the older men would recall a journey many years ago when a pilgrim group was attacked at night by robbers. After such a story the younger boys would observe with big eyes the arrangements for the men to take their turns for keeping watch, for robberies were very frequent in Palestine in those days. As they sang their good-night hymn they would see practical meaning in the words: They that trust in Jehovah are as Mount Zion Which cannot be moved but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about his people (Psalm 125). As the pilgrims travelled down the valley road, snow- capped Mount Hermon rose behind them. Later they 14 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER came to the Jabbok, where Jacob had wrestled all night with an angel and gained the name Israel, ‘‘ Prince of God.” They passed many historic scenes concerning which there was much talk among the Jews, and the boy Jesus would see the places which he afterward made famous: Jericho, Bethany, and the Mount of Olives. Such journeys amid the scenes of the romantic history of Israel were an important part of a Jewish boy’s education. Bethany was on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives and was the home of the three young people who later became intimate friends of Jesus: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It may be that Jesus’ family stopped with them the last night of the journey. If so, it is possible that Jesus went to the crest of Olivet to catch his first glimpse of the Holy City. The view of the towers and domes of Jerusalem from Olivet at sunset is wonderful even to-day. Before Jesus lay the Brook Kidron and just this side of it an old garden of olive- trees which Jesus was to make forever sacred. Rising up beyond Kidron were the ramparts of Jerusalem and higher still the white walls and golden roof of the Temple of Herod. The next day within the walls the family or group of families would buy a paschal lamb, which had to be killed at the temple by the priests. Jesus’ first visit: to the cathedral of Jewish faith was at passover time when everything was to be seen at best advantage. The scene must have been impressive to one standing in the Court of the Men. The processions of priests in their white robes, the fires on the great altar, the music of the temple choirs, and the waving in the wind of the colored curtain that hung before the entrance combined to make a picture that would never be erased from a THE RELIGION WHICH JESUS INHERITED 15 youthful mind. Above all was the high priest grand in appearance, ‘“When he put on his glorious robes And clothed himself in perfect splendor, When he went up to the altar of majesty And made glorious the courts of the sanctuary.” From many nations thousands and thousands of pilgrims streamed into Palestine after extensive jour- neys by land and sea to offer sacrifice in this holy place. When these were added to the people from the home- land it made a picturesque host. One who had once mingled with that throng and heard the tones of the silver trumpets and the music of the chorus and the temple bands might be pardoned for saying he would like ‘‘toodwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Jesus had a real affection for the temple, for as a boy he is reported to have said that his parents should not have hunted for him elsewhere in the city, for they should have known that “‘I must be at my Father’s house.” Only four or five days before his crucifixion he drove the traders out, and quoted Scripture, saying, ‘“‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” 4. The Temple. In a little land like Palestine the national temple at Jerusalem would be the outstanding feature. When Jesus saw it for the first time he was twelve years old, that age when boys are most open to new impressions. Let us try to see this greatest of Jewish institutions as he saw it. It was a beautiful marble church on a marble plat- form about a thousand feet long and a thousand feet wide. The front of the temple, facing the east, was 16 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER covered at least in part with plates of gold, The pil- grim coming from Galilee to the Passover Feast by the valley road would have a wonderful view of the front of the temple as he reached the brow of the Mount of Olives at the point where the city of Jerusalem came into sight. At this point Jesus, as he journeyed from Bethany on the Sunday of Passion week, wept over the city. Standing there one could look over the wall, forty-three feet high, which surrounded the three temple courts and see the costly gate of Corinthian bronze, called the “Gate Beautiful,’ which opened from the Court of the Women into the Court of Israel. Inside the gate was the temple with space around it. That part of this space which was in front of the temple was called the Court of the Men. To the right as you entered was the great altar of sacrifice. Directly in front was the temple, one hundred and twenty feet long and ninety feet wide with a facade rising one hun- dred and twenty feet into the air, and so wide that it extended thirty feet beyond the front on each side. The Gospel of Luke tells an interesting story about Christ talking with the rabbis. This incident took place, no doubt, as Hofmann in his Christ and the Doctors pictures it, in one of the porches formed by the lofty marble columns on the great marble platform. So not only the beauty of the building and the worship influenced Jesus, but also the teachings of the doctors who lectured in its courts. 5. Religious Parties that Influenced Jesus’ Career. A great deal is said in the Gospels about the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were the two most powerful parties in Palestine; the first religious and often devo- tional, the second political and worldly. The scribes THE RELIGION WHICH JESUS INHERITED 17 were the scholars and teachers among the Pharisees, and it was they who opposed Jesus from the first. They believed that God’s inspiration did not cease with the written law in the Old Testament, but continued in their oral explanations of the written law. Their numerous additions to the Law of Moses were just as binding on men as the written law. This was what started the trouble between them and Jesus. The Pharisees were the descendants of those who had opposed the Greek influence in Palestine in the time of the Maccabees. They stood for literal belief in the religion of their fathers, in the future life, and an unseen world full of spirits, good and bad. The Sadducees were successors of those who had fa- vored the foreign and liberal ideas in the time of the Maccabees. They did not believe in adding to the Law of Moses, rejected the belief in immortality and an unseen world of spirits. Most of the wealthy Jews were Sadducees because that party favored the Roman government, which helped maintain good business con- ditions. The Herodians were evidently members of a small party of royalists that favored the family of Herod. The Zealots were extremists who eagerly sought occa- sion to throw off the Roman control of the Jews by violent action. DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY Written Work 1. What was the most noticeable difference between the life of the Jews and the Romans? 2. Describe the scene in Jesus’ home and neighborhood on a Friday afternoon as sunset approached. 8. How would the journey to Jerusalem to attend the Passover affect a boy’s religious life? 18 oe FP BO Ne THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER . What hymns would be sung; what stories told? ; . Why is Jesus’ boyhood visit to Bethany so full of suggestions for us? What could Jesus see of Jerusalem at his first glimpse of it from the top of the Mount of Olives? . As Jesus stood in the Court of the Men during the Passover what memorable things did he see? . Give several reasons why Jesus’ religious life would be influ- enced by the temple. Oral Discussion . Compare the preparation for Christianity made by the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. . One difference between the temple and the synagogue. — . At what age did a boy become a member of the Congregation of the synagogue? . What event did the Passover celebrate? Is the Passover now observed ? . What was the difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Special Assignments . The origin of the synagogue. See Edersheim 1: 431-434. . Visit an orthodox synagogue and describe the formal character of the service. . Study Hofmann’s Christ and the Doctors and describe the expression on the face of each person in the picture. . Write a description of Psalms 120-134 as hymns for the an- nual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. . Read Bulwer Lytton’s Last Days of Pompeii for a better understanding of religious conditions in the first Christian century. Part 2 OPENING EVENTS CHAPTER III THE HERALD OF THE NEW ERA Noe! Mark 1: 1-8. 1. A Strange Prophet. One day there appeared by the River Jordan a hermit from the barren regions of Judea preaching a startling message. He declared that the great day fore- told by the prophets had come at last and that every- thing was to be changed. People crowded about him, attracted both by his unusual appearance and by his eloquence. His powerful young figure was clothed in the skins of wild beasts, he was brown and rugged and his hair and beard were uncut. He ate only wild honey and locusts. The people were excited because he reminded them of the Messiah which the Old Testament had predicted. They expected a bold, intense leader who would over- throw the government and place the Jews in power. They asked John if he was the Messiah. He said that he was not, but that he had come to help them prepare for the coming of that one. “What then shall we do?” the people asked. And he answered: ‘‘The man who has two shirts must share with those who have none,” 19 20 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER “‘How does this apply to me?” asked one who was a tax-collector. “Stop overcharging the poor. Ask a fair amount of taxes.” A soldier was interested and John turned to him: “Instead of trumping up false charges for purposes of blackmail be satisfied with the wages from the govern- ment.” 2. John Represented the Best in Old Testament Religion. | John will always be regarded as an important his- torical character because he stands in the gap between the Old Testament and the New. Jesus is reported as having given the following estimate of John: “ Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John” (Luke 7:28). His greatness largely con- sisted in his work of transferring to Christianity the essential elements of Jewish religion. In the last chapter of our Old Testament we read: ‘Behold I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come” (Malachi 4:5). In the first paragraph in the Gospels (Mark 1: 4) we read that “John came who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.” He brought over from the prophetic religion five things: God, lofty morals, demand for repentance, social justice, and the exalted ideal of the home life. 3. His Home and Boyhood. Luke reports that John’s father Zechariah was a priest and his mother Elizabeth was a very devout woman. They lived in a quiet place in southern Judea, for the father’s duties in the temple occupied only two THE HERALD OF THE NEW ERA 21 or three days a week. The birth of John was celebrated in a hymn, the Benedictus (Luke 1: 68-79), now one of the greatest hymns of the Christian church. And you, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the Lord to make his way ready, Bringing his people the way of salvation Through the forgiveness of their sins. An element of romance is added to the account by the story of the visit of Mary to Elizabeth shortly before the births of Jesus and John. Like the childhood of the Master, John’s early days are unrecorded save for the report in Luke that ‘‘the child grew and waxed strong in spirit.”” In almost the same words the growth of Jesus is described (compare Luke 1:80 and 2:40). Our imagination can picture him as a boy among the hills overlooking the Dead Sea. There is a charm in the barren steeps and long waste stretches, a deathly stillness of the great waters without life which would incline the youth to meditation. In a similar way the deserts of Egypt moved the monks of the Christian church, like Saint Anthony, to think of God and devote their lives to his service. John read the scrolls of the Prophets and under the bright stars of the oriental night he thought over the evils of the great cities of his time, until it seemed to him that the time had come that the prophet Malachi foretold when a revenger would come to condemn the people (Mal- achi 3:1). The conviction grew that he ought to go to the people of his land and preach ‘‘repentance for the remission of sin.” 4. Excitement concerning the Messiah in John’s Day. John said: “There cometh one after me that is might- ier than I. ... He shall baptize you with the Holy 2 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER Spirit.”” No explanation was given, for every one who attended a synagogue would know that it meant the Messiah. All Jews were familiar with the prophecy that King David’s throne should be established for- ever (II Samuel 7: 16) and that in the future “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed”? (Daniel 2:44). Every child in Palestine had been taught the glowing words of Isaiah, ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the in- crease of his government and of peace there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9:6, 7). To the poor and oppressed this meant that the Messiah would “have dominion from sea to sea,’’ and that he would change human so- ciety so that justice and happiness would be enjoyed by those who had been downtrodden (Psalm 72: 4-8). The Jewish ‘‘idea of the Kingdom of God was no Greek sweet dream of a past golden age, but an intoxicating belief in a new state in which righteousness was to reign”? (Mathews, Messianic Hope in the New Testa- ment). | While John was a boy the following poem appeared in Palestine: And then his kingdom will appear throughout all his creation, And then Satan will be no more, And sorrow will depart with him. For the Heavenly One will arise from his royal throne, And he will go forth from his holy habitation And his wrath will burn on account of his sons. For the Most High will arise, the Eternal God alone, And he will appear to punish the Gentiles, And he will destroy all their idols. (Assumption of Moses 10: 1, 3, 7.) This was written by a Pharisee who believed in the direct intervention of God. God would by a miracle THE HERALD OF THE NEW ERA 23 overthrow the Roman government and establish the Messianic Kingdom. When John began to preach there was a party called Zealots that took a different view from that of the Pharisees. They held that a military revolution was necessary in order to establish the Messianic Age. In the end the Zealots won the majority of the people and the result was that Rome sent an army and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A. D. While the revolutionists in the north of Palestine were urging the Jews to rebel against Rome, John was preaching repentance to the people in the south. He taught that the Messiah would not come until a religious and moral preparation had been made. In this he was a true forerunner of Jesus, for Jesus took this religious attitude rather than the political. From time to time pressure was brought to bear upon him to become a political leader, lead his people to victory against Rome, and end slavery, poverty, and the wicked manners and customs, including the public games so harmful to the morals of the Jewish youth. Jesus, as well as many of the people, knew that the senators at Rome and the royal court rolled in the lap of luxury yet nothing was done to relieve the burdens in Palestine. Spiritual life was his interest. It was not until late in his public career that Jesus admitted that he was the Messiah in any sense, and when he did acknowledge Peter’s great confession (Matthew 16), he immediately added the statement (verse 21) that he was the kind of a Messiah that would have to die to win. The gaining of this new insight concerning the meaning of the Kingdom of God -had cost Jesus many a struggle from the time of his temptation in the wilderness until that historic scene at Czsarea Philippi. His solution of the problem, hinted at in Isaiah 538, “became the most universal 24 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER achievement in the annals of mankind” (Simkhovitch, Toward an Understanding of Jesus). Jesus perceived that the Kingdom could only be within the souls of men. Israel could be left free to develop that spiritual life, so well exemplified in the life of Jeremiah, only by humility and non-resistance. On the basis of this idea Jesus developed some fundamental truths that to-day reveal ‘his intellectual grandeur and the purity and unswerving consistency”? of his thinking. Because they could not understand him they put him to death, but his death in the end won the world, or bids fair to win the world, to his view. It is this new insight of Jesus into religion that gives the Sermon on the Mount its great influence in the modern world; in his parables he put his new ideas in the form of pictures; combined, they constitute a religious message that is irresistible. 5. Two Chief Contributions of John to Religion. He recalled his people to the moral standards of the great prophets of Israel: Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. When his nation was looking for miraculous help out of all their difficulties he recalled them to the eternal truths which must underlie every permanent life, na- tional or individual, ‘‘What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8). John’s second contribution was a new meaning for baptism. Baptism was a common custom not only among the Jews but throughout the world. Other re- ligions had already used it as a sign of spiritual cleans- ing. What John said was that they could not be bap- tized until they had repented. It became the symbol of purity of soul, of a new birth in a certain sense. Josephus wrote that John employed baptism for puri- THE HERALD OF THE NEW ERA 25 fying both body and soul. This shows that John held that an essential condition for the coming of the Mes- siah was individual repentance and confession. On the other hand, the prophets regarded national and social repentance as the essential principle (Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, 246, 247). This is our Christian belief and we owe it to John. While John was like Jesus in much of histeaching, yet his neglect ofthe principle of love left much to be desired. Longfellow’s lines well represent the difference: ‘fA voice by Jordan’s shore, A summons stern and clear: Repent, be just, and sin no more God’s judgment draweth near! A voice by Galilee, A holier voice I hear: Love God, thy neighbor love! for see, God’s mercy draweth near.” 6. The Tragic Ending of John’s Life. Soon after Jesus appeared John was arrested for con- demning Herod, who had married Herodias, his brother’s wife. For many months he was in prison in the castle of the king which was nearest the scene of his preach- ing, the fortress of Macherus. From his dungeon he sent messengers to inquire whether Jesus was really the expected Messiah. He must have wondered why some miraculous aid had not freed him. But Jesus knew that it was best for the kingdom that political miracles should not be worked, for that would lead to violence and political revolution. Some time later, ac- cording to Mark 6:14-29, at a banquet, Salome, daughter of the queen Herodias, danced before the king. To reward her he asked what gift would please her most. After consulting her mother she replied, 26 THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MASTER “the head of John the Baptist.” And the king com- manded a soldier of his guard and he brought the head of John on a platter, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. 7. The Humility of John. Phillips Brooks once defined humility as the ability to see yourself as you are, not thinking too little of your worth, or too much. That is a valuable quality. One who underestimates himself fails to win a right estimate from others; one who thinks too much of himself makes many enemies and creates unnecessary opposition. John was in a position to claim an office that belonged to a greater man, but he was content to fulfil his own mission (Luke 3:15-17; John 1:19-23). He was willing to be a ‘‘voice”’ heralding the Master who was to follow. This was one reason why Jesus called him great (Luke 7: 28). DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY Written Work . Name two or more unusual things in the appearance of John. . What five good teachings did John bring over from the old prophetic religion? . How was John impressed by the surroundings of his boyhood? : Pee Old Testament passages was the messianic hope ase Name four elements of that hope. . Give three different views of the way in which the Messianic Age would be introduced. . Show that John was a true forerunner of Jesus. John’s two chief contributions to religion. . What was the tragic finish of John’s career? . Whatis humility? Luke 3: 4-6. Oral Discussion SOON OO PW Ne — 1. Show that John applied social tests to religion. 2. What in John’s preaching reminded the people of Elijah? THE HERALD OF THE NEW ERA 27 3. What shows that books written in the time of John the Baptist advocated the messianic hope? 4. What was Jesus’ solution of the problem concerning the kind of a Messiah he should be? Special Assignments . Read the Benedictus (Luke 1: 68-79) and make a list of the ideas contained in it. . In what respects is Del Sarto’s painting of the boy, John the Baptist, too idealistic? See Bailey, Art Studies in the Life of Christ, 67. - Reasons for thinking that John did not have any connection with the sect called Essenes. See Edersheim, vol. I, 325, 326. . Select passages from the Gospels to show that the people of Judea were expecting the Messiah. nS -& oO aN Cuaptrer IV THE BAPTISM OF JESUS Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21, 22. 1. A Sensation in Nazareth. When the news of John’s revival in Judea reached Nazareth it created a mild sensation. The two chief religious factions were affected in different ways. On the one hand there were the Zealots who were eager for a leader to appear who would stir up a rebellion against the Roman government. When they heard of the great crowd that thronged about John the Bap- tist they had hopes that he might be such a leader, but his stern preaching of moral reform quenched their hopes. On the other hand there were the “meek of the land” who were opposed to violence, although they also suffered at the hands of the Roman government. John’s preaching meant to them the possibility of a general reform among the Jews which would prepare the way for the establishment on earth of the Kingdom of Heaven. They believed that God would not fulfil his great prom- ises of that good day coming until all the people had repented of their sins. 2.