"Granny's Chapters" Part 2

Chapter VII.--THE FIRST MIRACLE.

Nathanael, who was brought to Jesus by Philip, was one of those devout Jews who had studied the writings of Moses and the prophets, and was in consequence anxiously expecting the coming of the promised Messiah.

Philip went and told him that the Messiah was really come at last, and that he himself had seen the wondrous Being, of whom Moses and the prophets had written; and that He was no other than Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Now at that time the inhabitants of Nazareth did not generally bear a good character, and were not therefore held in esteem by their fellow countrymen; and besides, Nathanael had learned from the Scriptures, that Christ should be born in Bethlehem; hence he doubted the possibility of Jesus being the promised Redeemer, and asked in a tone of incredulity, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip, whose faith was firm, gave the best answer which ever can be given to those who doubt the testimony of others, "Come and see"; certain that if Nathanael were to see and talk with Jesus, he would be convinced that He was indeed the Messiah.

Nathanael, who was willing and anxious to learn the truth, laid aside all prejudice, and went to Jesus; and fully was he rewarded for his willingness to learn. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto Him, He spoke in a manner which surprised the latter, and made him ask, "Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." It seems that Nathanael, following a custom amongst the devout Jews, had gone into a quiet, retired part of his garden, to meditate and pray.

Here he knew that no human eye could see him, and therefore the words now spoken by Jesus convinced him that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the promised Messiah; he doubted no longer, but without hesitation, exclaimed, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of G.o.d, Thou art the King of Israel." Jesus, pleased with Nathanael's willing faith, told him that he should see greater proofs of His being indeed the Son of G.o.d, the promised Messiah. The word Rabbi means a "teacher having authority."

Andrew and Peter, James and John, of whom we have heard as the first disciples of Christ, did not at this time remain with Him as his constant attendants, but returned to their own occupation as fishermen: they all lived at Bethsaida, a town on the northern coast of the sea of Galilee.

The next event which we have to notice, is the first miracle worked by Christ, at Cana in Galilee, where with those who had already become his disciples, He attended a marriage feast. Here, when wine was wanted, Jesus performed His first miracle, by turning water into wine.

Thirty years had now pa.s.sed away since the birth of Christ; the Shepherds, and others who had seen or heard the wonderful things which took place at that time, had probably ceased to think much about them; or if they thought of them, it was probably to wonder what had become of the Holy Babe, Who had been declared by Angels to be "Christ the Lord." Such a miracle as that now worked at Cana, would be talked of far and wide; and those who remembered the birth of Mary's Son at Bethlehem, would have no difficulty in believing that Jesus Christ was that wondrous Child. To all who were inclined to listen to Jesus, miracles were a confirmation of their faith; for these wonderful displays of supernatural power plainly showed Him to be the Son of G.o.d; yet in spite of such unmistakable signs, few of the Jews accepted Jesus as their expected Messiah. The poorer people, the lower cla.s.ses, who benefited mostly by his miracles, "heard him gladly," for a time, at least; though at the period of His crucifixion their voices called out, "Crucify him, Crucify him!"

When we read the account of Christ's life and miracles, it does seem most extraordinary, that throughout His career on earth, very few of the higher cla.s.s of Jews, or of the Priests and those best acquainted with the Scriptures, would acknowledge Him. But we must remember that they had made up their minds, in spite of all that the prophets had said to the contrary, that the Messiah was to come as an earthly King and Conqueror, surrounded with pomp and splendour: this idea they would not give up: they were not like Nathanael, willing to be taught, and they could not bear the idea that a poor man, born in a humble rank of life, and only distinguished from other men by his holiness, should be their Messiah. Besides this, the greater part of the Jews had by this time grown careless about their religion; they still observed the outward forms and ceremonies ordered by the Law, but they did not obey the command given through Moses, to love the Lord their G.o.d with all their heart: they did not wish to be holy, as Jesus plainly told his disciples they must be. He went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, that is, telling all men that they must repent of all their sins, and leave off doing wrong, and try to please G.o.d in everything, if they would hereafter be received into the Kingdom of Heaven. Such doctrine was very displeasing to the Jews, and therefore they were determined not to own such a Teacher as their Lord: thus they rejected the true Messiah, whilst they pretended to be anxiously looking out for His coming.

Not very long after the miracle at Cana, we are told that "the Jews'

Pa.s.sover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." The Law of Moses commanded, that at this feast every male among the Jews, should appear before the Lord in His holy temple; and Jesus, Who was to set an example of perfect obedience to all the commandments of G.o.d, journeyed from Capernaum up to Jerusalem, to keep the feast in the place which the Lord had chosen. When Jesus went up to this Pa.s.sover, He drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple, an action repeated on a future occasion. At this time St. John says, that Jesus "found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise."

It is not meant that these animals, or the money changers, were in the _building of the temple itself_, but in one of the courts surrounding it.

So many creatures were required for sacrifices, that it was a great convenience for persons coming from a distance, to be able to buy what they wanted on the spot; and therefore it had long been the custom for traders to establish themselves outside of the outer Court of the temple, to supply the worshippers with oxen, sheep or doves. Then again, people coming from a distance, might bring their money in a large sum, and then they would want to have it changed for coins of less value; just as we might carry a sovereign, which would give us no trouble to carry, and then get it changed into shillings, when we wanted to spend it. Some Jews also, who came to the temple from time to time, lived in foreign countries, and they would naturally bring the money of those countries, which would be of no use in Judaea; and they would therefore wish to change their foreign money into the money current amongst the Jews. For these reasons the money changers were most useful; and they therefore established themselves with the traders, outside the temple Courts.

But the Priests, as well as the people, became careless about obeying G.o.d perfectly, or worshipping Him in a proper manner and honouring His house; and therefore, at length, these money changers and sellers of cattle, established themselves in the Court of the Gentiles, and so carried on their trade within the sacred precincts of the temple. This outer Court, in which the money changers and those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves appear to have established themselves, was the Court of the Gentiles; and was intended for the use of devout persons, who, though not willing in all respects to imitate the Jews, were to worship the One True G.o.d. In this Court also, all Jews who happened to be _unclean_, performed their devotions, as they were not then allowed to go into the inner Court. There were very many things which caused a Jew to be looked upon as unclean, without any fault of his. Illness, a death in the house, nursing the sick; and many other things, rendered a man "unclean," and unfit to enter the inner Court. Under these circ.u.mstances, there were always many unclean Jews, worshipping G.o.d in the Court of the Gentiles; and the presence of the traders and money changers was a great disturbance to both Jews and Gentiles; for they could not attend properly to their prayers, in the midst of all the noise and confusion made by the buyers and sellers. This wrong state of things Jesus put an end to, by driving all these traders out of the temple courts; telling the people not to make the house of G.o.d a house of business, a place for buying and selling.

The disciples of Jesus who witnessed his conduct on this occasion, remembered that David, speaking of the Messiah Who was to come, said, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," words that meant, that Jesus would not allow any dishonour or disrespect to be shown to the House of G.o.d.

By saying to the people, "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise," Jesus plainly declared himself to be the Son of G.o.d; and the Jews so understood His words, though they would not own him to be the Son of G.o.d, but immediately asked, "What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" that is, What proof can you give us that you are what you say, and that you have any right to turn these people out of the Court of the temple?

Had this question been asked in a proper spirit, from a real desire to know for certain, in order that they might worship Jesus as the Messiah, they would no doubt have received a plain and direct answer.

But they had no intention of following and obeying Jesus as their Lord and Master, and only wished to find excuses for not believing in Him; therefore our Lord, Who knew all the thoughts in their hearts, answered them in a very remarkable way, giving them a sign which would hereafter prove Him to be indeed the Son of G.o.d.

Chapter VIII.--NICODEMUS COMES BY NIGHT TO JESUS.

To the question, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." These words were a prophecy: Jesus "spake of the temple of his body," and thus declared that His own body would be killed, but that after three days He would rise to life again.

The Jews, thinking only of the building before their eyes now, exclaimed in astonishment, "Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?" It had taken Herod forty-six years to repair and beautify the second temple, and the Jews might well doubt its being done in three days: they thought of nothing further, and were probably quite satisfied that Jesus had now said what could not possibly be. But the disciples felt sure that these words of their Lord had some hidden meaning, though they did not understand what: they therefore remembered them; and after their accomplishment their faith was strengthened; for we read, "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

All Scripture, as we know, was written for our instruction, and therefore we must always think what we can learn from it: now the clearing of the temple court by Jesus teaches us two great lessons: first, that we must never use the House of G.o.d for any purpose but that for which it is intended. Now, to us, our Churches are the house of G.o.d; and if we do not use them as we ought, we sin as did the Jews.

Of course, we cannot make them a house of merchandise as the Jews did; but if we are thinking of our business, or our pleasure, or anything else, instead of attending to what is going on, we are not using the house of G.o.d in a proper manner. Our Churches are set apart for the worship of G.o.d as much as the Temple was; and if we do not worship G.o.d when we go for that purpose, we displease our heavenly Father.

Everything belonging to G.o.d must be treated with reverence, and honoured by being used according to His Will. In this way, therefore, we must reverence and honour His day, His house, and His word. You will thus see that being careless and inattentive at Church is a great sin. G.o.d sees your heart, and knows all your thoughts, so that if you are thinking of something else, though you may be sitting still and thus _appear_ good to man, He will be displeased.

In all the prayers you must join heartily: when the Lessons are read, you will generally be able to understand them. When the Clergyman begins to preach his Sermon, try to understand what he says: if you really cannot understand his sermon, then think about some person mentioned in Scripture, as Adam, Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, Samuel, and many others, and consider what they did to please or displease G.o.d; or say over your hymns and texts to yourself: this will prevent your thoughts from wandering off to your business, or pleasures, or any such things. In the house of G.o.d, you must _think_ of _nothing but_ G.o.d, and how to please Him.

Now let us talk of the other lesson, which we are to learn from what Jesus did.

Jesus spake of His body as a temple; and St. Paul tells us, that all who love and follow Christ are so joined together in Him, that they are like stones joined together to build up a holy temple, for an habitation of G.o.d through the Spirit. As Christians baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we have all become stones or parts of that holy temple the Church of Christ; members or parts of His body: for the Scripture calls the Church of Christ His body. Now as long as we are obedient and faithful members of Christ's body, the Church, the Holy Spirit will bless and help us: but if we give way to our own sinful feelings, we bring bad pa.s.sions into this holy temple, the Church of Christ, and "defile," or make it unclean, as the Jews defiled the temple built by hands by bringing oxen and sheep into its courts. St Paul warns us of the consequence of such sin: "If any man defile the temple of G.o.d, him will G.o.d destroy."

But further, the same Apostle St. Paul teaches each one of us to look upon our own body as a temple, for the abode of the Holy Spirit. Now, as a temple is devoted to the service of G.o.d, so we must employ our bodies in serving Him, and doing His will. The temple must not be defiled; so we must try hard to keep all naughty tempers out of our hearts. Disobedience, pa.s.sion, quarrelsomeness, idleness--in short, all the faults you can have--are evil things which defile the temple, and render it unfit for the abode of the Holy Spirit. If you try to resist evil, the Holy Spirit will help you to do so; but if you give way to bad pa.s.sions, and allow the Devil to govern you, you will grieve the Holy Spirit of G.o.d, and at last _force_ Him to leave you to follow your own ways. To be left to follow your own evil ways is the most dreadful thing that can happen to you. Pray to G.o.d, and try to have Him always for your friend.

We have said that during our Saviour's ministry on earth, few of the higher cla.s.s of Jews became His disciples; but there was one remarkable exception, in the case of a man named Nicodemus, whose conversation with our blessed Lord is particularly instructive. We read in the Gospel of St. John, "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from G.o.d: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except G.o.d be with him." Nicodemus was a man of sense, and the miracles of Jesus had convinced him; for he felt certain that no one but the Son of G.o.d, the Messiah, could do such things. He was willing to acknowledge this; but afraid of the ridicule or reproaches of his friends, he came to Jesus by night, that no man might know of his visit. Christ, who is very merciful, did not refuse to listen to Nicodemus, but began to show him that there must be some proof of faith in a holy life. So when Nicodemus declared his belief that Jesus came from G.o.d, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of G.o.d." Nicodemus, not understanding the real meaning of these words, "saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?" meaning that it was impossible for a man who had been born many years before, again to become a baby.

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of G.o.d.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Jesus meant that, as to the body or flesh, no man could of course be born again; but that by the help of the Holy Spirit, the man's nature might be changed so that he would become holy, trying in all things to please G.o.d: such a change in the character, temper, and disposition might be compared to a new birth; and without such a complete change, no one could enter into the kingdom of G.o.d. Such teaching might well cause Nicodemus great surprise; and Jesus said unto him, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." In these words our Saviour warns Nicodemus, that a man's conduct only can show whether he has been born of the Spirit: just as we cannot see the wind, but we know that it blows, because we hear the noise it makes, and see its effects in the way the trees and other things are blown about.

Nicodemus, in astonishment at all he heard, now said, "How can these things be?" and then Jesus told him how necessary it was to have faith when hearing of heavenly things, since it is impossible for man to understand how the great works of G.o.d are done. At this time Jesus uttered that remarkable prophecy, comparing His crucifixion to the setting up of the Brazen Serpent in the wilderness; saying, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." When the children of Israel were dying from the effects of the bites of the fiery flying serpents, those who so believed the words of Moses, as to look up at the brazen serpent, were saved at once from the death of the body. When all the children of men were dying from the effects of sin (the bite of that old serpent the Devil), all who would in faith look up to the cross of Christ, and believe in Him, would be saved from the far more dreadful death (or eternal misery) of the soul. And then our Saviour went on to speak of the great love of G.o.d, as shown by His giving His Son to die for man.

"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in aenon, near to Salim, because there was much water there": here many of the people came to John, and were baptized. Some of those who came to him, seem to have been rather distressed or surprised that Jesus was drawing men away from him; and they said, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him."

John immediately reminded his hearers, that he had always told them that he had only come as the messenger of Christ to prepare His way, and that now that Christ was come, his ministry was ended, and he had only to rejoice in the success of his Heavenly Master. He himself was but a man, "of the earth, earthy"; but of Him whose messenger he was, he said, "He that cometh from above, is above all." Moreover, John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Jesus had just begun His work, which would go on and increase; John's work was finished, and he himself would not long remain on earth.

And so it was; for very shortly afterwards, John the Baptist was shut up in prison by Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee.

Chapter IX.--JOHN PUT INTO PRISON.

Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great, was governor of Galilee: Philip, another of them, was governor or tetrarch of Itruria.

The word "tetrarch" means the governor of a certain portion of a kingdom. The land of Palestine being subject to the Romans, they had divided it into portions; and the governors of each portion were styled tetrarchs. Philip had a wife called Herodias, a bad woman, who behaved ill to her husband, and at length left him, and became the wife of his brother Herod. Now this was a great sin on the part of Herod, as well as that of Herodias, and John the Baptist reproved them for it: this holy man was not afraid to speak the truth, though doing so was sure to bring trouble upon himself, for Herod was a proud man, who would not like to be told of his faults, and Herodias would be much more angry.

But John had been sent by G.o.d the Father to prepare the way of the Lord, by teaching His Will to men, and exhorting them to repentance and amendment of life: this John was determined to do, undismayed by any fear of what man might do to him; and therefore he told Herod, that it was not lawful, not allowed by the Law of G.o.d, that he should thus take his brother's wife to be his wife.

The consequence was, that John was immediately put into prison.

Herodias, who hated him for reproving her, would gladly have had him put to death; but she could not yet prevail on Herod to consent to so wicked an act.

There seems to have been two reasons which made Herod unwilling to put his prisoner to death. In the first place, many of the Jews looked upon John as a prophet and a teacher sent by G.o.d; and Herod feared that there might be some riot amongst the people, in which case the Romans might accuse him of having misgoverned the country, and suffer him to be no longer governor. The other reason was, that although Herod was angry with John, he could not help seeing that he was a good and holy man; so much so, that he listened to his advice on many points, though he would not act according to it, in the matter of Herodias. Even after John was cast into prison, Herod often "sent for him, and heard him gladly, and did many things."

Well would it have been for Herod, if he had done _all_ things according to John's advice.

"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of G.o.d": preaching, that is, the good tidings of how sinful man might enter into the kingdom of G.o.d, from which the Fall of Adam had shut him out. "Repent ye and believe the Gospel," was the sum of his preaching: true repentance would make men leave off sinning; and belief in the Gospel would lead them to strive to be holy, out of love for the Saviour, who was come upon earth to deliver them from eternal misery.

He preached the Gospel of the kingdom of G.o.d to all who would hear him; they naturally told others; so that "there went out a fame of him through all the region round about." Besides this, "Jesus taught in their synagogues." Synagogues were buildings in which the Jews a.s.sembled to pray to G.o.d, and to hear the holy Scriptures read and explained. The use of synagogues began after the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon; and in our Saviour's time there were great numbers of them, not only in towns and villages, but all over the country: some writers tell us, that wherever there were ten grown-up men, able to form a congregation, the Jews thought it right to build a synagogue.

It would be well if Christians had in this matter followed the example of the Jews; for unhappily there are not now nearly enough Churches in our land, so that there are great numbers of men, women, and children in England, who could not go to Church if they wished to do so, because there is not room enough for them. This is very sad, and we should always be ready to give our money to help in building Churches, which are so much wanted all over the country.

The Synagogues were generally built close to rivers and brooks, so as to have water at hand for all the ceremonies of purification: it was right in the Jews to observe these outward ceremonies, but it would have been better for them if they had remembered, that they were only ordered, to show the necessity of purifying the heart and life from sin. Let _us_ remember this, and pray to G.o.d, "Make me a clean heart, O G.o.d."

The daily service in the Synagogue, consisted of prayers and the reading of a portion from the books of Moses, which was afterwards expounded or explained: on the Sabbath days, a second portion of Scripture, from the writings of the Prophets, was read in addition. A certain number of wise and serious men, were chosen to be Rulers of each Synagogue; that is, to settle all matters concerning it, and to arrange the services, and appoint the readers. The readers were usually some of the Scribes; but strangers were often allowed to read and expound the Scriptures in their place, and any one who was looked upon as a prophet, would be eagerly listened to. To show their reverence for the Scriptures, the Jewish doctors stood up whilst they read the daily portions, and then sat down, whilst they explained the meaning to their congregation. Whenever any person among the Jews set himself up as the founder or leader of a party, by teaching any peculiar doctrines, he was allowed by the Rulers to explain these doctrines publicly in the Synagogues; so that all men might have an opportunity of hearing his opinions, and judging whether such a teacher spoke according to the Scriptures, and ought to be listened to, and followed. In consequence of this custom, Jesus Christ, and in after times His Apostles also, were allowed to read and expound in the Synagogues.

Every considerable synagogue, that is, every one so situated as to have a large congregation, had attached to it an academy, or school for elder children, who here studied the Scriptures under the guidance of the Rabbis. But unfortunately, with the Scriptures, which are the Word of G.o.d, these Rabbis instructed the Jewish youth in the traditions of man. "Traditions" were sayings and doctrines which had never been written down, but had merely been told by word of mouth from father to son, and had thus been handed down through many generations. Many of these traditions, which had some truth in them at first, had become sadly altered by thus being told by one to another; so that some of them were, in our Saviour's time, quite contrary to the commandments and precepts of G.o.d.

Other traditions again had been entirely invented by men, and were not deserving of any attention; but the Jews received them all, and looked upon them as equal in authority, or rather as superior, to the Holy Scriptures themselves.