A Life of St. John for the Young Part 7

"The fashion of His countenance was altered." "His face did shine as the sun." "His garments became exceeding white; so as no fuller on earth can whiten them," "white as the light," "glistering," "dazzling."

"Behold there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with Him." How did the disciples know the Lawgiver and the Prophet? We are not told.

There may have been given them some supernatural powers of discernment.

They may have known by the conversation between Jesus and His celestial visitants, as, in earthly language with heavenly tone, they "spoke of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem," of which He had told them on the plain below.

It was that Moses who fifteen hundred years before came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of the law in his hands, when Aaron and the children of Israel stood in awe before His shining face. But now He had come, not from the mount which Paul describes as "darkness," but unto that other whose snowy whiteness has given it the name of Lebanon. He had come from Heaven, to yield homage to Him to whom He would sing with us,

"My dear Redeemer and my Lord, I read my duty in Thy Word; But in Thy life the Law appears, Drawn out in living Characters."

"The children of Israel could not look steadfastly upon Moses for the glory of His face." In the "excellent glory" by which Peter describes the scene on Hermon, the whole figure of His Lord was bathed in light.

But the glory of that vision was not yet complete. A cloud, brighter than any on which the moon was shining, enwrapped Jesus and Moses and Elijah. It was no other than the Shechinah, once more returning to the earth,--"the symbol of Jehovah's presence."

This cloud overshadowed the disciples. As its light gleamed upon them, they were filled with reverential fear. They were ready to do the heavenly visitors immediate and humble service. But the mission of the two was ended. Their last words of comfort to Jesus had been spoken. If they could be detained, it must be done quickly. So, awed and confused by the strange vision, yet longing for its continuance, the disciples, Peter being the spokesman, proposed to make booths for their Master and His two heavenly visitors. But the two had gone, and the crown of glory that had enveloped them spread to the disciples, filling them with yet increasing awe. The silence that had followed Peter's call was broken.

"There came a voice out of the cloud, This is My Beloved Son; hear ye Him." Startled by such a response, "they fell on their face and were sore afraid." They did not dare to look about them. The Cloud of Glory lifted. How long they lay prostrate and trembling, we do not know.

At last a hand gently touched them. It was the hand of Jesus. His voice bid them, "Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no man, save Jesus only."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TRANSFIGURATION _Old Engraving_ Page 106]

The Transfiguration was over. Its grand purpose was accomplished. Master and disciples were prepared for the labors and trials to which they must return. The night ended. As the morning sun glistened on the peaks of Hermon, while darkness yet overspread the plain below, Jesus descended with the three, to the nine awaiting their return.

"And as they were coming down from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead. And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the raising again from the dead should mean."

Peter's and John's memories of that vision of their Lord were ever distinct and precious. When it was no longer a secret, Peter wrote in ecstasy of the hour in which they "were eyewitnesses of His majesty, ...

when they were with Him in the holy mount."

Let us notice the record by John. In the beginning of his gospel he says "The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us." By this he means that the Son of G.o.d became a man, and lived among men who witnessed His life. But of all the events of that life which John had seen, there was a special one in his mind, which not all men had witnessed. So he adds, "We beheld His glory." This probably refers to the Transfiguration and the Shechinah, which he and Peter and James had seen. And then he thinks of how much greater Jesus was than John the Baptist, "a man sent from G.o.d," "to bear witness of" Him. He thinks also of the great Lawgiver of whom he says, "the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

We imagine that ever after the Transfiguration, John thought of Moses and the Shechinah together. Had he with his companions been permitted to build three tabernacles or booths, "one for Moses," what delightful visits John would have made him there, like that one which he had made in the abode of Jesus on the banks of the Jordan.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOSES ON MT. PISGAH _Artist Unknown_ Page 109]

I seem to hear Moses telling John something of his own history when on the earth, and teaching him lessons from it in words like these: "This is not the first time I have heard the Lord's voice, from out this cloud of glory. Out of the burning bush He called me, 'Moses, Moses.' At Sinai He said, 'Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud.' And again He appeared in 'a pillar of a cloud,' and said, 'Behold thou shall sleep with thy fathers.' I saw not that cloud again on earth until you beheld it. My thoughts were about death. I prayed about it, not as your Master and mine has done in preparation therefor, but that I might not then die.

This was my prayer: 'Let me go over I pray Thee and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon,'--the very mountain where we now are. But the Lord would not hear me. I prayed yet again more earnestly, and the Lord said unto me, 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.' From yonder mountain of Nebo He showed me all the land we now see from Hermon; and then I died. The Lord buried me in yonder land of Moab. No man knoweth my sepulchre unto this day. I died, my great hope of forty years disappointed. My repeated earnest prayer was ungranted then, but it has not been unanswered. This 'goodly' Lebanon, to which I looked from Nebo with longing eyes, is more 'goodly' now than when it sadly faded from my dying vision. You, John, are one of the witnesses to the answer to my dying prayer. Never did the Shechinah at h.o.r.eb, or Sinai, or the Tabernacle, seem so resplendent as on this Mount Hermon. Here it has enwrapped Elijah and me, the favored two whose mission Gabriel might have envied. We were sent down from heaven to talk with Jesus concerning His death, of which He has told you. In view of it He has lead you, the favored three hither to pray.

It was while He prayed that ye 'beheld His glory.' Not only for me, but much more for Him, is Hermon _the_ mount--'The Holy Mount,' because the mount of Prayer, and therefore the mount of Transfiguration."

_CHAPTER XVII_

_St. John's Imperfections_

"Master, we saw one casting out demons in Thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us."--_John._

"Lord, wilt Thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?"--_James and John._

"Grant us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy glory."--_James and John._

"And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John."--_Mark_ x. 41.

John was not perfect. There were unlovely traits in his otherwise n.o.ble character. It is not pleasant to write of his faults. We would gladly be silent concerning them. But there are four reasons for making record of them. 1. If we think of his virtues and not of his faults, we do not have a just view of his character; it is one-sided; we have an imperfect picture. 2. We see how Jesus loved him notwithstanding his imperfections. While hating his sins he loved the man. 3. Remembering John's faults, we give him all the more credit when we see how he overcame them, and what he became under the example and teachings of Jesus. 4. Having failings ourselves, we are encouraged by the full and truthful story of John's life, to overcome our own sins. Such are good reasons why the imperfections of good men like David and Peter and John are recorded in the Bible.

In speaking of John's boyhood, we hinted at some of his faults. Let us now notice them more particularly as given by the Evangelists. Sometimes he was evidently included when Jesus rebuked the disciples for some wrong they had said or done. On one occasion, he alone is mentioned; on two others he and his brother James are rebuked together. The first recorded incident, showing imperfection, is soon after the descent from Hermon. Jesus seems to have accompanied Peter to his home in Capernaum, to which the other disciples followed them. The favor which Christ showed the three in taking them to the mount may have caused a feeling of pride in them, and of jealousy in the nine. Pride was John's besetting sin, as we shall see. A great privilege had been granted him.

Without telling the secret of Hermon to his fellow-disciples, he may, by improper word or act, or both, have shown a feeling of superiority, which displeased them, as the same spirit did on another occasion. At any rate, something led to a dispute who should be the greatest in the kingdom which they believed their Lord was to establish. This was a sad revelation of the ambitious spirit of these good men. It was probably on the way to Capernaum that an incident happened in which John seems to have been the chief actor. He exhibited a spirit of intolerance--a want of patience and forbearance toward a man whom they met. He was a disciple of Christ, in whose power he had such faith that he was enabled to cast out evil spirits in His name. He was doing a good work such as Christ gave His apostles power to do. They prided themselves in it, and felt as if they only had a right to it. So John, speaking for the rest, as if he had authority, forbade this man to use the power any more. On their reaching the house of Peter, Jesus asked, "What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" Perceiving that He knew their thoughts, they were silent with shame, until one of them, yet unconquered by His question of reproof, asked Him "Who is the greatest?"

He did not answer the question immediately. As if in preparation for something special, "He sat down and called the twelve" about Him; He uttered one reported sentence, "If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and minister of all." And then "He called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them." It was His object lesson. Through it He rebuked and taught them. He made childhood a test of character.

With solemnity and earnestness He declared, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

That child-spirit included simplicity, meekness, harmlessness, obedience, dutifulness, trustfulness and, especially at this time, humility.

The Lord's declaration must have startled the disciples. They thought of themselves as His chosen ones, superior to others, having special powers, and destined to special honors which none other might claim. In a spirit contrary to His declaration, they were contending who should be the greatest in His kingdom. He revealed to them, then and there, the nature of that kingdom which they had so greatly misunderstood.

Upon one at least, Christ's lesson was not altogether lost. That was John. He recalled his proud and unjust treatment of the humble man whom he had forbidden to do good work in the name of Christ. He saw that his own spirit had been contrary to that of which Christ had just spoken. He finally confessed his fault. But the lesson of his Master was not perfectly learned, or if learned, was not, as we shall see, perfectly obeyed. Though the beloved, he was still an imperfect, disciple, as is shown in another incident.

At the time when Jesus lived, and in the country where He journeyed, travelers were generally welcomed as guests in any home. Though strangers, they were treated as friends. This was a necessary kindness because there were no hotels such as we have in our day and country.

But to this hospitality there was a noted exception. We have noticed the hatred of the Samaritans to the Jews. This was especially shown to pilgrims going up to Jerusalem to attend the feasts.

Jesus was on His last journey thither. As ever, He was teaching and healing on the way. His own heart was burdened with the thought of what He was to endure, but He was steadfast in His purpose to reach the Holy City, willing there to suffer and to die. Nearing the first Samaritan village, He sent messengers before Him to prepare for Himself and His company. Even the common hospitality was refused, and that in a most unfriendly manner. The Master was treated as a teacher of falsehood.

Even the kind healer was not permitted to enter the village. He was a Jew on His way to Jerusalem. In the minds of the villagers, this was more than enough to balance all the good in Him.

James and John especially were indignant at the unkind treatment. They felt keenly the insult to their Lord, whom they believed was on His way to Jerusalem to establish His Kingdom, and was worthy of the most generous hospitality and the sincerest homage. They had a fresh remembrance of the glory in which they had seen Him on the Holy Mount in company with Elijah. They were reminded of that prophet's experience more than nine hundred years before. It was this: Ahaziah, a king of Israel, was seriously injured by a fall from the balcony of his house.

He sent to inquire of the false G.o.d Baal-zebub whether he should recover. G.o.d sent Elijah to reprove him for his idolatry and insult to Himself. The king sent a captain with fifty men to seize the prophet, but they were consumed by fire from heaven. Another captain and his fifty men were also destroyed in like manner.

Such a punishment James and John would call down on the Samaritans. They felt that it would be just. If fitting for the enemies of Elijah, how much more for those of Jesus. They were ready to give the command which G.o.d permitted Elijah to give, if Jesus would allow them to do likewise.

And so, being displeased, provoked, revengeful, with a fiery spirit, they said to Him, "Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?" But Jesus "turned and rebuked them," and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."

It was contrary to the spirit of meekness and love manifest in His declaration to them, "The Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And so He inspired them with another spirit, as He quietly led them "to another village." We sadly turn to another scene in which imperfection in the beloved disciple is especially revealed.

The favored brothers had not yet learned perfectly the lesson of humility which their Lord had tried to teach them. They were still devoted to Him, following Him, loving Him. But they still misunderstood what He said about His death, and His kingdom, in which they hoped for the most honored places. They wanted to be a.s.sured of promotion above their fellow-disciples. They were earnest in an unholy desire. They had a bold, ambitious request to make of the Lord. It was the chief occasion on which their pride was revealed. We have two accounts of it. In one of them the mother Salome appears as the speaker. She brings her sons to Jesus, prostrates herself before Him, and offers this pet.i.tion, "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left, in Thy Kingdom." She had a loving mother's pride. She was the aunt of Jesus, and perhaps felt that because of this relationship, her sons had a right which the other Apostles could not claim. She had given them to His service, and had proved her own love and devotion to Him by following Him with other women of Galilee, ministering to His comforts. Meanwhile James and John, according to another account, themselves urged their mother's request saying, "Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand, in Thy glory."

Mother and sons shared in the spirit of self-seeking and self-exaltation. But we must not forget that it was faith in Him as the Messiah, and in His coming "glory," that led them to show it, though in a mistaken way.

In sorrow and tenderness, and pity for their ignorance, Jesus replied, "Ye know not what ye ask." While His eye rested on them, His thoughts were on another scene. It was a cross with Himself upon it, and a malefactor on each side, instead of the brothers in their pride. As John at last stood by it, did he recall the hour of his mistaken ambitious request, which had never been repeated. There had been no need that the Lord should say to him, as to Moses, "Ask me not again," yet like Moses, he was to receive a most glorious answer in another form. In his pride, with an earthly throne in mind, he had asked, "Grant that I may sit with Thee in Thy glory?" Having conquered his unholy ambition there was fulfilled in him the promise of His Lord in glory, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me on My throne."

The time came when there was no longer occasion for the other ten apostles to be "moved with indignation concerning James and John,"

because of their pride and ambitious seeking. This John is the disciple whom, with all his imperfections, Jesus loved most of all; this the man known as the most lovable of men; this the one who well-nigh reached human perfection through his ardent and ever increasing love for Jesus; this the one who is called _the Apostle of Love_.

_CHAPTER XVIII_

_John and the Family of Bethany_

"He entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at the Lord's feet, and heard His word."--_Luke_ x. 38, 39.

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha."--_John_ xi. 1.