SECTION XVII.

THE PROCESSION TO JERUSALEM. THE DISCIPLES, THE LEADERS OF THE PROCESSION, AND THE BEGGAR. ZACCHEUS. THE CHILIASTS. THE ORDERING OF THE ASS'S COLT. THE REJOICING OF THE DISCIPLES, AND THE WEEPING OF THE LORD, ON LOOKING DOWN ON THE CITY OF JERUSALEM FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, AND THE MINISTRY OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.

(Luke xviii. 31-xix. 48.)

Thus had the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem been prepared, not only outwardly by His journey, but also inwardly, by His works, His experiences and acts, and especially also by the instructions and directions which He had given to the disciples. He had done all to make their procession into Jerusalem a procession into the kingdom of God, according to its inward spiritual character. But His labours had not yet borne the desired fruit.

He now made to them a more distinct avowal than before: 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and reviled, and spitted on: and they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death; and the third day He shall rise again.'

But these preparatory intimations of His death found the minds of the disciples still in the same state at the close, as when they were first imparted. The Evangelist had remarked of the first communication which the Lord had made to them of His approaching end (chap. ix. 45), They understood not this saying; and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask Him of that saying. Quite in the same tone must he here again say, They understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, and they knew not the things which were spoken (what He meant to say).¹

It must be remarked, that Luke also in this place brings out in strong relief the circumstance, that the sufferings of Christ had to be accomplished, according to the prophecies concerning the Son of man in the writings of the prophets.

The want of understanding on the part of the disciples may be thus explained. The minds of the followers of Jesus were full of expectation regarding the great things which were to happen. They expected the manifestation of the kingdom of God. Even the beggar on the wayside saluted Him as the Son of David. The atmosphere was filled with chiliastic dreams and anticipations. This frame of mind was still shared by the disciples themselves, although in its nobler form. Therefore it was that they could not understand Him.

The festive procession had now been formed, with which Jesus meant to proceed to Jerusalem. Even beyond Jericho His pilgrim's journey had become a triumphal procession. In this form they approached the city. A blind man sat by the wayside begging, as Jesus came nigh. He heard that a great company of people passed by, and asked what that meant (the tumultuary noise). They told him, 'Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.' And he began to cry, 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me! 'But those who were at the head of the procession rebuked him, and commanded him to hold his peace. He, however, cried so much the more, 'Thou Son of David, have mercy on me! 'Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he was come near, He asked him, 'What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? 'He answered, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight.' And Jesus said unto him, 'Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee.' And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

The train entered and passed through Jericho. The Lord, however, tarried for a time, accepting the hospitality of Zaccheus, a chief among the publicans. This fact is again narrated alone by that Evangelist, who has specially magnified the grace with which Christ received publicans and sinners. Zaccheus was rich: thus not only his occupation, but his position in life, might have alienated him from the kingdom of God. Nevertheless his mind was turned to that which is eternal. He had therefore an intense desire to see Jesus, who He was — to find out Jesus Himself amidst the press of the people. Being small of stature, he could not succeed in this. He resolved therefore on an extraordinary measure to attain his end. Neither allowing himself to be restrained by the religious contempt in which, as a publican, he was held, nor by the respect procured for him by his wealth, he climbed up into a sycamore-tree, at a place where the train had to pass. Jesus approached, looked up, saw him, and called unto him, 'Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house.' And he came down in haste, and received Him with joy. When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, 'He is gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner.' But what was meanwhile transacted inside the house served to rebuke the hard pharisaical temper of the multitude. Zaccheus came near to the Lord, and said, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any man, I restore him fourfold.' And Jesus said unto him, 'This day is salvation come to this house.' He then added, with reference to the harsh judgment of His attendants, 'Forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.'

The Pharisaical spirit, which had just before found renewed utterance, stood in close connection with the sensual, impure chiliastic expectations concerning the kingdom which moved the multitude, and which perhaps also received new nourishment from the extraordinary contributions in money which Zaccheus had made on its behalf. As the departure for Jerusalem was now about to commence, and they were of opinion that the kingdom of God would immediately appear, the Lord spake a parable with a view to instruct His audience concerning the course of events which should attend its establishment: —

'A man of noble descent (well-born, εὐγενής, above others, furnished with the highest title to command, by right of birth) went into a far country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and then to return. He called therefore his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds,² and said unto them. Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, declaring (before the tribunal of last resort in the foreign land), We will not have this man to reign over us.³ And it came to pass, on his return, after he had received the kingdom (having brought with him the credentials of investiture), that he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had entrusted the money, to learn how much each man had gained by trading. Then came the first, and said, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he answered unto him. Well, thou good servant, thou hast been faithful in the least: thou shalt have authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying. Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he spake likewise to him. Thou shalt be over five cities. And another came, and said, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man; thou callest in what thou hast not laid out, and thou reapest what thou hast not sown. But he said unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I am an austere man, that I call in what I have not laid out, that I reap what I have not sown. Wherefore then didst thou not give my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have received mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the one pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him. Lord, he hath ten pounds. But he answered, I say unto you, Unto every one that hath shall be given; and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.' To this he added one sentence more: —

'But those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before me,'

This parable was intended to convey to the hearers of Jesus the following important facts: that previous to the manifestation of the glory of His kingdom. He must first go into a distant land (the other world), in order to obtain investiture of the kingdom; that meanwhile. He would leave behind His servants, with apparently insignificant outward means, in the position of spiritual merchants, with instructions to turn His pound to profit; that, on their part, the citizens generally would send after Him a protest, refusing to accept His supreme authority; and that, on His return. He would first call His servants to account regarding their traffic with the goods entrusted to them, and then also execute judgment on His enemies. Thus they were given to know in the most distinct manner, that His servants, during the intervening period, were not to occupy themselves with outwardly combating His rebellious subjects, but must only make a faithful use of His pounds. And just here lies the central point of this parable. Its seeming duality (which has occasioned several modern critics to find here two heterogeneous parables linked together; see above, i. 517) belongs to the proper representation of its one fundamental idea.

And if the parable be characterized by unity, it is equally so by the definiteness of its contents, and thus by its difference from the parable of the servants with the various talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30). There, the question is of different gifts of grace; here, of the same vocation and office, appertaining to all Christians, to spread the Gospel; and accordingly the parable before us is also different from the other in its chief individual elements.

Those among the hearers of Jesus who had conceived hopes of speedily sharing in the world-wide dominion of the Messiah, were thus informed that Christ could leave behind for His servants nothing further than to each man a single pound — a mina (the poor and insignificant position of a witness for the truth); and that they must labour for a long time in great self-denial, amidst the continued tumult of His enemies, quietly and noiselessly, as poor spiritual traffickers, if they would enjoy the prospect of one day having a share in the administration of the government of the world.

It hardly needs to be noticed how much this evangelical representation (which again only Luke records) is in accordance with the conception of the world, as given in the Hellenic Gospel.

With this word — thus with this as a watchword — Jesus opened the procession, and journeyed upwards towards Jerusalem. When He approached to Bethphage and Bethany,⁴ at the so-called Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, saying, 'Go ye into the village over against you; and on your entering it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat; loose him and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him: The Lord hath need of him.' And they that were sent went their way, and found even as He had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, 'Why loose ye the colt? 'They answered in the terms prescribed: 'The Lord hath need of him.' And they brought the colt to Jesus, cast their garments upon him, and set Jesus thereon. Thus does the Lord appear as the mysterious King, at whose disposal His faithful subjects place themselves during His royal journeys, and to whom, at the word of His messengers, they offer the assistance which He requires. As He now proceeded, they (His attendants) spread their clothes in the way. And when He was come nigh to the point of the descent of the Mount of Olives (to the summit), the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice, and to praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed be the King that cometli in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven, and glory in the highest! 'And some of the Pharisees, from among the people, said unto Him, 'Master, rebuke Thy disciples.' And He answered and said unto them: —

'I say unto you, if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.'

The spirit which ruled the city had already met Him in a melancholy form, in this demand of the pharisaical spirits, who had mingled in the train. Still more did the sight of the city itself affect Him. As the procession descended from the Mount of Olives, and approached the city — when, with its temple, the city presented itself to the eye of Jesus in all its magnificence — when He beheld it. He wept over it. The rejoicing of His attendants was responded to on His part by tears, by the lamentation, 'If thou knewest, even thou — like thy King — even now, still in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall form a besieging wall around thee, and shall enclose thee, and press thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.'

Thus, according to the Pauline Gospel of the universal love and grace of Christ, did the true Friend of man weep over Jerusalem — the poor, doomed Zion — which, especially through pharisaical self-righteousness, had become so blinded and darkened as not to recognize the great and glorious day when its Messiah -held His festive entry within its walls, or the salvation intended for it in this day of visitation. Whilst the disciples of Jesus, with a song of the heart, shouted aloud — spake with tongues — of the glory of this day, His word, on the contrary, in a deep, mournful strain, depicted the future of Jerusalem, as it presented itself to His prophetic eye, in all its terrible distinctness.

And He went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought therein, saying unto them, 'My house is an house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves'

He now taught daily in the temple. But the Pharisees and the scribes, and generally the first men among the people, sought to destroy Him. Yet they could not find what they should do to Him. For all the people clung to Him and heard Him. They formed a defensive circle of enthusiastic hearers around Him.

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