heavenly companionship, and in bewilderment absurdly proposed the erection on the mountain of three booths for the comfort of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. 'While he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: . . . and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him." There was no need of detaining Moses and Elijah; if the Master remained with his disciples, that was enough. Henceforth all that the Law and the Prophets had foreshadowed would be completely revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ Part of that revelation was made in his death; the full revelation will come when he returns in that glory of which the Mount of Transfiguration gave a foregleam. 5. The Demoniac Boy. Ch. 9 : 37-45 37 And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. 38 And behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child: 39 and behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely. 40 And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not. 41 And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son. 42 And as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare him grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marvelling at all the things which he did, he said unto his disciples, 44 Let these words sink into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. It is not strange that artists love to paint the contrast between the picture of Jesus on the mountain encompassed by glory and of the demoniac boy surrounded by the multitudes on the plain; yet it requires no canvas or artificial color to heighten the contrast presented by the historian in his simple story. Jesus long before had learned what it was to exchange the glories of heaven for the shadows and sufferings of earth and the compassion which drew him from the skies was never withheld, even at times when he naturally might have been absorbed in thoughts concerning his coming suffering and redeeming work. He was instantly moved with tender pity as he heard the agonizing words of the father and saw the distress of the son. However, he was even more moved by the unbelief and sin and anguish and godlessness of the world which he had come to save, and of which this scene was but a symbol and a picture. "O faithless and perverse generation," he cried, "how long shall I be with you, and bear with you?" Can it not be said reverently that the contrasted experiences of the mountain and the plain made Jesus for the moment homesick for heaven? Yet Jesus neither hesitated nor delayed in the path of duty or in the presence of human need. He "rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.' While all were wondering and astonished at his divine power and marvelous works, he turned to his disciples to impress upon them the dark secret which was resting on his soul. He told them that the time was near when he was to be given up to suffer and to die; “But they understood not this saying.' Here was a Man whose sympathy was tender toward all; but who sympathized with him? How often some one of his followers has borne a burden of hidden sorrow, even in the company of friends and when surrounded by admiring throngs! 6. Jesus Rebuking Pride and Bigotry. Ch. 9: 46-50 46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. 47 But when Jesus saw the reasoning of their heart, he took a little child, and set him by his side, 48 and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same is great. 49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. 50 But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you. This was no new dispute in which the followers of Jesus were engaged. The question was as to which of them should be the greatest in his Kingdom. There was something admirable in the discussion, for it revealed their faith. To them the Master was yet to be King of kings and Lord of lords, and they desired to have places nearest to his throne. Our conception of his Kingdom may be more correct, but if its glories were as real to us as they were to them, if we had faith enough to see this Kingdom in its real importance, we, too, might at times question what our relative places in this Kingdom are or will be. However, Jesus rebuked them, for there is no place for pride among the followers of Christ. Our nearness to him is not won by selfish effort or granted by arbitrary decree; it is conditioned upon the humble service we may render in his name. "He took a little child, and set him by his side"; not because a child is a picture of humility-most children are self-conscious and absurdly proud—but because the care of a child is a symbol of humble service, and it was this spirit which Jesus praised. To care for a child, or for men and women who like children are in need of our help and sympathy and support, if done for the sake of Christ and in the name of Christ, is a service rendered to the Master himself and not only to him but also to his Father. The willingness to undertake such humble service is the measure of true greatness. The mention of service in the mind of the Master reminded John of a recent incident which he felt to be quite to his credit; so "John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. There was something admirable in the spirit and action of John. He was so devoted to Christ that he wished everyone professing his name to join the company of disciples, to live and to labor and to suffer with them. There is always something admirable in loyalty to a denomination or a sect. If one has found what he believes to be the highest form of Christian life and service, if one feels that he is treading the surest and shortest road to heaven, it is certainly commendable in him to wish others to share his peculiar blessedness. Jesus, however, rebuked him, and said, "Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you. After all, there is no place for bigotry among the followers of Christ. We may love and admire our sect or society, but we are never to stop the work of a fellow Christian however much he may differ from us. There are only two questions to ask: First, Is he casting out demons? That is to say, is he really accomplishing good? Second, Is he doing the work in the name of a divine, crucified, risen Christ? If so, "Forbid him not." We must not expect all Christians to repeat the same creed or to enjoy the same ritual or to accept the same polity or to employ the same methods of . work. We should remember the word of the Master, "He that is not against you is for you." V. THE JOURNEYS TOWARD Jerusalem A. THE FIRST STAGES Ch, 9:51 to 13: 21 1. The Inhospitable Samaritans. Ch. 951-56 51 And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them. 56 And they went to another village. The record of the last journeys of our Lord toward Jerusalem forms a unique feature in the Gospel of Luke. In the other Gospels some of these incidents are included but they occupy only one or two chapters; here, however, they fill ten chapters with events most of which are no where else related. The direction of the journeying was first eastward through the borders of Galilee and Samaria, then across the Jordan and then southward through the region of Perea. This region is not so designated in the Bible but is described by the phrase, "beyond the Jordan," and as most of these incidents occurred there, this period of the life of Jesus is commonly called his "Perean ministry." Luke here emphasizes the divine prevision and at the same time the human courage of our Lord. He indicates that Jesus saw plainly his coming death and also his glorious ascension, but that he unfalteringly moved forward to the intervening agonies of the cross. The first incident of these journeys was in a village of the Samaritans. Certain messengers had gone before to prepare entertainment for the large company which followed Jesus, but the Samaritans would not receive him; then his |