He was not complaining nor had he lost his faith that God would heal him when he was the first to enter the pool. The fault, in his opinion, was not God’s but his own.
“Rise, take up your bed and walk,” Jesus told him. Immediately the man got to his feet, rolled up the scrap of quilt upon which he had been lying, and walked away from the terraces of the pool.
He had not gone far when a scribe stopped him. “It is the Sabbath,” the scribe said severely. “And it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
“He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk,’” the healed man replied.
“Who told you this?” the scribe demanded.
But Jesus was by now lost in the crowd that came and went around the pool, and the healed man could not point Him out. So the scribes were deprived of an opportunity to accuse Him of breaking the Law both in healing the man and in directing Him to carry a burden upon the Sabbath.
The next day Jesus saw in the temple the man who had been paralyzed. “See, you have been made well,” He told him. “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
Recognizing his benefactor, the man went to the scribes and pointed out Jesus as the one who had healed him and directed him to do work on the Sabbath. The scribes were naturally overjoyed. At last, it seemed, they had an opportunity to convict Jesus of a crime. And in Jerusalem they could be sure that the court which would hear the charges would be of their way of thinking.
When they began to accuse Jesus, He stopped them with the stern warning, “My Father works even now, so I work.”
At that His accusers set up a mighty clamor, accusing Him not only of having broken the Sabbath but of blasphemy in saying that God was His Father, for that would have made Him the equal of God, which in their sight, no man could be.
“The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do,” Jesus told them, “for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”
The scribes were taken aback by His words, for He spoke as He had in the synagogues of Galilee, with authority, not as one who was simply interpreting the Law. He had not named Himself the Son of whom He was speaking and, if He were the prophet many believed Him to be, the terms He used were lawful, for mystics were not expected to be bound by ordinary rules. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life,” Jesus told them. “He shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”
He looked pityingly at those who sought to condemn Him for healing a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. And unable to meet His gaze, they could only look away.
“You search the Scriptures,” He told them, “for in them you think you have eternal life; and they testify of Me. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me. How can you believe,” He added scathingly, “when you receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?”
By now the scribes, who had been sure they had Him trapped, were embarrassed and humiliated under the lash of His words as He denounced them for their excessive searching for honor from each other, rather than seeking to deserve the blessings of God for what they were within themselves.
“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father,” Jesus added. “There is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
II
The Great Sanhedrin was largely dominated by the Sadducees, and the more intolerant Pharisees who, with the high priest Caiaphas as their leader, made up the majority of its members. The membership did include a small number of Pharisees who, in both religious and political life, were more tolerant than those who sought to punish severely every infraction of the Law, but who were stricter than the worldly Sadducees. One of the most prominent among these conservatives was a lawyer named Nicodemus. When he heard how Jesus had parried the attack of the scribes, he determined to find out for himself just what it was that distinguished the Nazarene from the self-styled prophets who were constantly turning up at the temple during the religious festivals.
Jesus was resting at the camp His disciples had made on the slope of the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem when Nicodemus came to Him. “Rabbi,” the Pharisee said respectfully, “we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do the miracles that You do unless God is with Him.”
Recognizing the sincerity of the visitor and his real desire to know the truth, Jesus wasted no words but went to the very heart of His own doctrine.
“Most assuredly, I say to you,” He told Nicodemus, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time?”
“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit of God,” Jesus explained, “he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Nicodemus could see the difference now, the fact that a man could change in his soul with no actual change in his body.
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again,’” Jesus told him. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
“How can these things be?” Nicodemus protested, for it went against all his training and previous belief to say that a man could enter the kingdom of God merely by a spiritual regeneration without rigidly following the Law which every pious Jew believed to be the only route to eternal life.
“Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Jesus reproved him gently. “We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
Jesus knew Nicodemus had come to Him in a sincere desire to understand what His teachings were and what power He possessed, not, as had the scribes, with any desire to trap Him. So when He saw that the lawyer still did not understand, He used an example from the history of the Children of Israel. As they had journeyed from Egypt toward the Promised Land of Canaan, the Israelites had become discouraged and their faith had wavered, especially when they were troubled by a plague of venomous snakes. God had instructed Moses to place a serpent of brass on a pole in the center of the camp and to announce that if any who were bitten looked at the serpent they would be saved. The serpent of brass was not a cure in itself, but the act of looking was a test of faith in God’s willingness to help those who trusted Him.
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” Jesus said, “even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
To a Pharisee, whose testimony could destroy Him, Jesus had revealed the eternal truth of His mission on earth and His divine nature in a way which could not be misunderstood. If Nicodemus returned to the Great Sanhedrin and testified that Jesus had named Himself the Son of God, Caiaphas and his followers would then have all they needed to destroy Him, for few who had authority in Israel would believe that the Son of God could be a despised Galilean or, even worse, a Nazarene.
> As He saw the light of comprehension dawning in the eyes of the lawyer, Jesus added these clarifying words: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Jesus’ faith in Nicodemus was not misplaced; ever afterwards this high-ranking official was His devoted follower and friend.
III
It was Jesus’ custom to teach in the synagogue of Capernaum whenever He was in that city. Upon His return from Jerusalem He entered the building on the Sabbath to enjoy the service of worship He loved, and to teach here where He had so many friends and devoted followers. The critics who had followed Him from Jerusalem were also there, hoping to convict Him of a frank violation of the Law of Moses inside the synagogue where it might be possible to arouse the emotions of the worshipers to the point where they would immediately condemn Him. These men watched closely as the people entered the synagogue, and when a man with a withered hand appeared, they felt they had the pretext they needed.
As was the custom when there was a visiting rabbi, members of the congregation were allowed to ask questions concerning the Law after the sermon was finished. A lawyer from Jerusalem rose and asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?”
Knowing this to be a trap, Jesus swept the congregation with His eyes and noted the man with the withered hand sitting near the front. The afflicted man had no part in the scheme himself, and when Jesus asked him to stand up, he rose to his feet rather reluctantly.
Everyone could see the withered hand and Jesus turned to the lawyer who had asked the question. “I ask you,” He said, “is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Turning to the listeners, Jesus added, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?”
The lawyer could not refute Him, and Jesus spoke to the afflicted man. “Stretch out your hand,” He commanded.
A murmur of awe rose from the people when they saw that the palsied hand was now completely whole although Jesus had not touched him. No one could doubt that He had actually healed the afflicted man, yet He could not be accused of breaking the Sabbath for He had performed no work.
The rising favor with which the great mass of the people in Galilee regarded Jesus, in addition to their growing conviction that He was at the very least a prophet sent from God and perhaps actually the Messiah, inevitably brought Him to the attention of the agents of Herod Antipas. Jesus had not attacked the tetrarch, as had John the Baptist, so they limited their activities to following Him and listening for any utterances which might be treasonable to Herod or to Rome.
As for John, he had continued to denounce Herod, and when Herodias increased her nagging, the harried tetrarch finally ordered the arrest of the Baptist, using the excuse that the crowds who listened to him might be excited to revolt.
Shut up in Herod’s border castle of Machaerus among the hills overlooking the Sea of Judgment, John was quickly forgotten by many who had listened to him and deserted by most of his disciples. Word of his arrest came to Jesus following His return from Jerusalem. With the messenger who had cried in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” now silenced, Jesus began with increasing boldness to preach to a sinful people the message, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Chapter 15
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain.
Matthew 5:1
There was a new urgency to Jesus’ mission. John the Baptist had been arrested. Herod Antipas, through his agents in Galilee, had joined forces with the scribes and the chief priests in Jerusalem to oppose Him. He was in constant danger now of being imprisoned and silenced as John had been, and He could no longer act alone as teacher and healer. The time had come to send out disciples to preach His doctrine and heal the sick in His name.
From those who were closest to Him Jesus chose twelve men. They were no longer to be simply followers and listeners; now He gave them a part of His own authority as the Son of God.
For the ordination of the Twelve Jesus chose a mountain known as the Horns of Hattin, near a road leading from Tiberias to Akka on the seacoast. Here ancient volcanoes had long since cooled but the black basalt blocks and boulders characteristic of the area were everywhere. The mountaintop had once been the site of a city said to have been Madon, but it was now a ruin. Its vantage point afforded a sweeping view of the lake to the east and the countryside extending northwestward toward Nazareth. From a small flat area at the summit, the ground sloped gradually to the south, so that there was space enough for the people to gather, which they did as soon as the sun rose across the lake.
There were Simon, James, and John, the three who had followed Jesus almost from the beginning. To them and to Andrew, Simon’s brother, also chosen as one of the Twelve, He had spoken earlier on the shore of the lake, telling them He would make them fishers of men.
Levi (or Matthew) had been chosen as he sat at the customhouse and had followed Jesus ever since. In time, others had gradually entered the circle. There were Philip and Bartholomew (also called Nathanael) who had come to Jesus at Bethabara after His baptism by John. A close friend of Matthew’s named Thomas, sometimes called Didymus because he was one of a pair of twins, had also joined the group.
The sons of Zebedee were Jesus’ cousins, their mother Salome being a sister to Mary, and three of the others were relatives of His family through Joseph. These included James (often called the son of Alphaeus to distinguish him from James, the son of Zebedee), Judas (usually called Lebbaeus from his hearty nature, but sometimes Thaddeus), and another Simon who, since he had belonged to the Zealot party, was called Zelotes to distinguish him from the tall fisherman of Galilee who was already a close intimate of Jesus.
All these men were Galileans, most of them almost members of Jesus’ own household, since they were either related to His family or were friends of long standing. The only member of the Twelve not a Galilean was Judas, a native of Kerioth, a town of Judea. To Judas of Kerioth (referred to sometimes as Judas Iscariot from the words Ish Kerioth, a man of Kerioth), was given the thankless task of handling the common purse and making provision for the material needs of Jesus and His disciples.
When, on the morning after a night of prayer, the disciples came to Jesus on the site of ancient Madon, followed by a great number of people, He called those He had chosen to sit in a half-circle at His feet. Speaking directly to them but heard also by the people on the slope, He charged the Twelve with the doctrine which they would manifest abroad as His representatives.
II
Jesus opened this most important discourse with a set of simple precepts which put into words the way men everywhere could live in peace, respect, and love for each other:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Now He turned His eyes upon a group of scribes and Pharisees who sat just below the disciples, waiting to twist His words into false meanings. He regarded them broodingly for a moment before He turned again to the Twelve.
“You are the salt of the earth,” He said, His voice now warm and tender. “But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
From the Horns of Hattin everyone could see the Decapolis city of Hippos, its white Grecian columns shining upon a hilltop across the lake to the east. They were all familiar with His reference, for there was a saying in the lake region that Hippos could not be hidden.
“Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
His voice was like a sensitive musical instrument, swelling to full timbre when He wished to drive home a point and dropping to a normal tone when He spoke for only a few to hear.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets,” He assured His listeners. “I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
A murmur arose from the crowd at this assurance of His own devotion to the Law of Moses, for His enemies claimed that Jesus sought to destroy that Law, a crime for which He could be punished by death. Now He was admitting the primacy of the Law of Moses, as it had first been handed down, but not the mass of interpretations by the scribes and Pharisees which had put an unbearable burden upon the people.
The Crown and the Cross: The Life of Christ Page 15
