Pastor Pastorum Part 20

"Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is? And they said, Some _say_ John the Baptist; some, Elijah: and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ."(247)

The doctrinal and ecclesiastical bearings of this pa.s.sage are beyond my scope, they have been fully treated over and over again; but one point belongs to my special province-Peter's knowledge had not come from anything he had been told. Our Lord had not breathed it to him, but it had grown up in him as great truths have grown up in prophetic souls by the prompting of G.o.d. This is the true inspiration of G.o.d; He whispers thoughts into the hearts of men, some nurse them and bring them to maturity, with others they take no hold. Blessed are those with whom they rest. Our Lord had said in the synagogue at Capernaum

"No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day."(248)

Peter had been drawn towards Him in this way.

Another point is to be noted. Henceforth the Apostles had a secret-they were to "tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ."

So long as the belief in our Lord as the Messiah was only a surmise, growing in Peter's mind more and more into positive shape, he was not lifted up by it; but now he had become, as he thought, a species of chief minister, and he looked to the declaration of an earthly kingdom; so that when, immediately after the promise of power, our Lord speaks of sufferings and death, Peter replies, "These things be far from thee." He never doubts but that our Lord would use His powers in self-defence. He looks on His words only as evil boding, and it strikes him that it is impolitic to utter them, because they will confuse and dishearten both the disciples and the Twelve.

This remonstrance of Peter's drew from our Lord the first stern words which an Apostle had received from His lips, and very stern they were.

"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumblingblock unto me: for thou mindest not the things of G.o.d, but the things of men."(249)

It will help us to understand what moved our Lord so deeply if we go back to the Temptations. St Luke ends his account of the Temptations thus,

"And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season."(250)

The words "for a season" imply that Temptations recurred from time to time, and that our Lord, now and again, heard inward voices harping on the old themes, one of the most persistent being that which said "Employ supernatural might to bring your Kingdom about." Peter now spoke in the same strain. Could it be that even His "own familiar friend" had gone over to the foe.

The following discourse sounds a new note. Now for the first time our Lord speaks of the sufferings that awaited his followers.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it."(251)

The Apostles understood this probably as applying to the hardships and vicissitudes of the campaign which would result in the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel; for they looked for such a restoration up to the last (see St Luke xxiv. 21). This notion might have been removed no doubt; but what could have been put in its place? the idea of a Kingdom over men's consciences, could not be implanted in men by words or in a short time. It could come about only by long experience in seeing and sharing suffering and toil, and by turning again and again to the abiding recollections of the Cross. Notions mischievously erroneous would have sprouted up in the Apostles' minds from any thing they could have been told in a few words.

One promise however made at this time must have seemed to them to afford just what they wanted.

"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There be some here of them that stand _by_, which shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of G.o.d come with power."(252)

I understand this verse in a way with which not every body will agree.

I take it as referring entirely to the Transfiguration, and I consider that the strong expression "shall in no wise taste of death" means that the witnesses should see what is spoken of during their actual earthly lives. Many might be blessed enough to behold this after death; but what was to distinguish the chosen witnesses from other men was this, that _while in the body_ they should see the Kingdom of G.o.d come with power.

This boon is given, not to those who needed a.s.surance, but to those who possessed it most; it seems given only to those to whom it is superfluous.

The Law of the working of Signs (see pp. 142, 143) is rigorously observed.

The vision on the Mount of Transfiguration coerced no one into belief.

During those six days we may suppose that the Apostles were busy in their minds, they would wonder who these "some" were to be, and why, supposing that the Kingdom of G.o.d came with the kind of power they looked for-a legion of angels for instance-why they should not all see it at once. Of the Transfiguration itself and the lessons it contains, the superseding of the teaching of the Law and the Prophets by the revelation of the incarnate Word, I have spoken fully in Chap. IV. (p. 94). We shall see as we go farther on, that our Lord is careful that there shall be nothing so rigid in His teaching as to prevent its being applicable to all races and conditions of men. It was no longer Moses, and no longer the prophets embodied in the person of Elijah, to whom men were to listen now. Hitherto all had rested on authority-on the letter of written Law. In the place of this were given words which "were Spirit and which were life." Henceforth for their knowledge of G.o.d they were to turn to Christ. He manifests G.o.d unto the world, both in His own Personality depicted in the Gospels and by Spiritual Communion, whispering unto the end of the world to those who are ready to hear.

One point that was gained by this manifestation may be noted here.

Supposing that the foes of Jesus had dispatched Him at the Feast of Tabernacles, still something would have been already accomplished, something secured for the world. There would have been three witnesses-men not given to visions or dreaming-who could declare that a voice from Heaven had sounded in their ears, and that while Moses and Elias were standing by, a voice from Heaven had declared that they were superseded as the Divine teachers of men by Jesus of Nazareth, of whom it declared, "This is my beloved Son, HEAR HIM."

As soon as these words are uttered, all that is wondrous disappears. The Apostles find themselves with their Master on the mountain top, and all is as it was before He had begun to pray. If there had been but one witness he would have found it hard to convince men that he had seen all this with his waking eyes; but there were three Apostles to say "we were together and awake when we saw it." Is it likely that three men should have fallen asleep together and have waked at the same moment, having all dreamed the same dream?

The supposition, however, of a vision affords a means of escape from accepting the narration. This exemplifies the Law that in every revelation delivered to men not already convinced, room is left for them to disbelieve if they like, because a.s.sent to proof which is irrefragable is not moral belief at all. There were people who would have said of this Transfiguration "we would rather believe that you all three slept and dreamed the same dream than that your story is true." And some ground is left for such men to stand upon, though we who believe may think them straitened for room. With the three Apostles themselves, the conviction that their Master was Divine, already formed part of their being, it could hardly be strengthened; acceptance was not forced on them for they already accepted all. What they beheld did not act upon them as additional proof, but as a glimpse of another world, a revelation of new modes of existence-something to give shape to that message of eternal life which is henceforth the ground theme of our Lord's teaching.

It may seem surprising that this revelation of their Master's glory should cause so little disturbance in the Apostles' minds, or in their freedom of intercourse with the Lord. If one whom we ourselves held in honour changed his mortal guise in the way described, not only would the shock upset our judgment but never after could we approach our friend in the old familiar way; he would belong to another order and have his true existence in another plane. We read, it is true, that the Apostles were for a moment "sore afraid," but this was superficial fear due to the spectacle, to impression on the outward sense. St Peter, who is persuaded that they have been removed to a strange and blessed country, quickly regains self-possession. Following his instincts as a worker with his hands, he bethinks himself at once, as was said in Chapter VIII. (p. 248), of what is to be done. When our Lord and the three take their way down the mountain we find again the old confident relation of Master and disciple existing among them, it was so deep-rooted that all were sure that nothing could disturb that. Their Master's spiritual exaltation did not put a gulf between Him and them, because they were so far one with Him that they were in a measure uplifted together; what was His, was also in part their own; whether in earth or heaven, or wherever their Master's Kingdom should be, they felt sure they must be by His side. They could not be estranged from Him by awe of a newly discovered dignity, for they had been sure of His possessing this before, and only wondered that it had not come more patently to light.

Thus the complete love of the three which transfused their being into Christ and rendered the idea of separation inconceivable, made it possible for them to receive that as a blessing which if given to others might have proved a bewilderment. They already possessed something which made them capable of receiving more.

Our Lord makes no comment on the manifestation witnessed by the three beyond charging them "that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead."(253) What they had beheld contained a varied store of lessons, and men in the after times of the world would draw out one or another according to the turn taken by their thoughts. The Apostles, at the moment, only understood a small part of what this revelation conveyed. No exposition given in words could have brought to the comprehension of the three a perception of the whole bearing of what they had seen, but they would live into more of its meaning in time. If our Lord had discoursed on this manifestation, and represented its purport in this view or in that, men might have supposed that He meant His account to be exhaustive, and that the fact contained no lessons beyond those which He Himself set forth. Here we come I think upon a possible reason why our Lord is sparing of exposition regarding the facts of revelation. He could not briefly point out _every_ truth that a fact embodied, and if in an exposition, which was seemingly full, He should pa.s.s any lessons by, these it might be supposed He intended to exclude; in this way His reticence preserves for us the many-sidedness of Divine truth and engages men to ponder on it for themselves.

For the Apostles to have been allowed to spread abroad the story of the solemn scene upon the Mount would have been damaging to the work both for the world and themselves. The old cry might again have been raised to take Jesus and make Him a king; or the people might have been seized with a fever of curiosity, and the scribes would have grown all the more bitter in their hatred from its being leavened with awe. The ill effect on the Apostles of becoming authorised to promulgate such momentous tidings is easy enough to perceive. When people run about to disseminate some sc.r.a.p of news which they alone possess the result is usually not beneficial either to character or to mind. From this temptation the Apostles were guarded. What they have seen and heard is not matter which they may use to magnify their importance or excite envy-it is a sacred trust. This signal manifestation besides being a light to help to the understanding of what Christ meant by eternal life, was to furnish them with a reserve of cert.i.tude. The three might never need to draw on it for themselves, but it would be of no slight avail with Jewish converts to be able to a.s.sure them that Christ had visibly appeared in Glory and that G.o.d had directed men henceforth to listen, not to the Law or the Prophets, not to Moses or Elijah, but to Him.

It is significant that this is to be kept secret not only until our Lord's death but until His Resurrection. The three were not allowed to use it to comfort and rea.s.sure the rest as soon as their Master had suffered on the cross. The nine were to go through this trial unaided, eight stood the test, and held together in Jerusalem. When the Resurrection came, the Apostles "were glad when they saw the Lord," and then in the delight and exultation of that moment the three may have poured forth the secret they had in store.

The Apostles were not surprised at being told that they were to tell no man; they had received the same charge when they had seen Jairus' daughter raised to life; but they were greatly puzzled by the words "till the Son of man were risen from the dead." They believed probably in a Resurrection, but that was to be ages hence, whereas this rising of Christ from the dead must take place in their own lifetime, because after it had happened they were to be free to speak of the Vision on the Mount. They asked each other what this rising could be, and perhaps some fancied that our Lord would permanently a.s.sume the glorified existence of which He had given them a glimpse.

Then came the question of Elijah. Our Lord turns the allusion to the prophets towards His coming rejection. Men had ill-treated the prophets; they will set at nought the Son of man too. "Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them."(254) This news is broken to the disciples gently and little by little, but they never believe that it is literally true. Their cause must, they were sure, succeed in the end, Christ would not have engaged them in failure. What leader ever prophesied his own discomfiture and death? Our Lord first broke this truth to Peter at Caesaraea Philippi, then to the three, and again, as we shall see presently, to all the Twelve on their way to Capernaum; thus the stream of communication broadens out.

We learn from St Luke(255) that it was not till the next day that our Lord "came down from the hill and much people met him," so that in the night, and in the long day's walk down to the inhabited country, the Apostles had ample time for quietly thinking over all that had taken place. Our Lord is always careful to leave time for one impression to fix itself, before another takes its place.

CHAPTER XI. FROM THE MOUNT TO JERUSALEM.

The spot at which our Lord had left the disciples when He went up to the Mount of the Transfiguration must have been well peopled and provided with synagogues, for our Lord on His return finds a "great mult.i.tude about them and scribes questioning with them." The people were greatly amazed either at His sudden appearance or at something uplifted in His air. The Scribes were holding an altercation with the disciples, possibly exulting over the failure of these to cure the child, and our Lord, addressing the Scribes who were, it would seem, the a.s.sailing party, asks

"What question ye with them? And one of the mult.i.tude answered him, Master, I brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth, and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able. And he answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child. And oft-times it hath cast him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compa.s.sion on us, and help us. And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. And when Jesus saw that a mult.i.tude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and _the child_ became as one dead; insomuch that the more part said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, _saying_, We could not cast it out.

And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer."(256)

Our Lord's question to the father is just what a physician would ask, "How long is it since this hath come to him?"(257) It may have been that the longer the standing of the complaint the greater would be the effort required for the cure; for that in working these cures some physical strain on the nervous energy was incurred may be inferred from our Lord's feeling that "virtue was gone out of Him," when the woman touched the hem of His garment in the press round the house of Jairus.(258)

This force depended on spiritual life, and if this were lowered in the disciples by their Master's absence, or by any little rivalry or thought of personal display in the cure, we can understand that in this difficult case-for our Lord distinctly recognises its exceptional difficulty-they should fail of success. The words "faithless and perverse generation" may apply to all those whom he finds wrangling, more or less the disciples were faithless, and the Scribes perverse. He came from a region of serene peace and heavenly communion, and the contrast of that with what He finds as soon as he comes to the resort of men, draws from Him these stern words. From the disciples' surprise that they could not cast the devil out, it may be inferred that they had succeeded in what they regarded as similar cases before. The narrative proceeds thus

"And they went forth from thence, and pa.s.sed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it."(259)