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Ebook has 779 lines and 106968 words, and 16 pages

Flight of the Nine--Captive Lord--Peter and John Following--The Palace--Disciple Within and Disciple Without--Peter Brought In--The First Denial--John's Watch of Peter--Peter's Tears--His Restlessness--His Sin and John's Silence--Three Turning and Looking--John's Pity for Peter--John and Pilate--Christ a King--"What is Truth?"--The Mocked King--"Behold the Man"--"Behold your King"--John the Faithful Watcher and Comforter 176

JOHN THE LONE DISCIPLE AT THE CROSS

Following the Cross--Jesus Bearing the Cross--Wearing the Thorny Crown--Great Multitude Following--"Daughters of Jerusalem"--Calvary--John's Memories--Group of Four Enemies--Seamless Coat--Casting Lots--Jesus and the Gamblers--Three Marys and Salome--John their Companion--A Contrast--Other Apostles--John and Salome--A Mother's Love--Mary's Thoughts--Sword of Anguish--Comfort in Sorrow--Lonely Future--Loyal Son--New Relation--Mary's Return from the Cross--Why John Her Guardian--A Poet's Words to John--In the New Home 184

JOHN THE LONE DISCIPLE AT THE CROSS--CONTINUED

"I Thirst"--"It Is Finished"--The Bowed Head--The Women and John--His Anxious Thoughts Relieved--Pierced Side--Two Prophecies--Prayer in Song--Joseph of Arimathaea--Nicodemus--Two Secret Friends of Jesus--Two Gardens--The Stone Closing the Tomb--Two Mourners at the Tomb--John's Thoughts on Leaving the Tomb 195

JOHN AT THE TOMB

John and Mary Magdalene--Mary's Mistaken Inference--Her Report to Peter and John--Their Hastening Toward the Tomb--John Alone at the Tomb--Silent Witnesses--Peter's Entry and Discovery--John Within the Tomb--The Rolled Napkin--Seeing and Believing--Lingering in the Tomb--The Return from the Tomb--Weeping Mary--Silence of Angels--Mary and the Angels--Jesus Unknown to Mary--"Mary" and "Rabboni"--John's Two Records of Mary--Day of Days--Evening Benedictions--Pierced Side--Close of John's Gospel 204

"WHAT SHALL THIS MAN DO?"

An Added Chapter--Old Scenes Revived--Following Peter--Stranger on the Shore--John and Peter--John's Remembrance of the Miracle--"Fire of Coals"--Reverent Guests--"Lovest Thou Me?"--"Feed My Lambs and Sheep"--An Interested Listener--A Prophecy--John Following Peter--Question and Answer--Mistake Corrected by John--Partial Answer to Peter's Questions--A Former Hour Recalled 212

ST. JOHN A PILLAR-APOSTLE IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

On a Mount in Galilee--The Great Commission--Waiting for the Promised Comforter--Words of the Baptist Recalled--A Revived Hope and a Question--Jesus' Reply--The Ascension--Angels' Question--"The Upper Chamber"--Luke's Lists of the Apostles--The Lord's Mother, Brethren and Sisters--The Day of Pentecost--A Great Miracle--Pentecostal Gifts to John--Evening Prayer--Beautiful Gate--Lame man--A Gift Better than Alms--John Twice a Prisoner--Prison Angel--Preaching of Philip--John Sent to Samaria--John and the Samaritaness--His Changed Spirit--Death of James--The Pillar Apostles 219

LAST DAYS

Last Record--Meeting of Paul and John--Years of Silence--Leaving Jerusalem--New Home in Ephesus--City and Temple--Paul and John--Churches of Asia Minor--John in Patmos--Solitude--The Lord's Day--Aid to Meditation--Calm and Turmoil--A Voice and a Command--A Contrast--"As One Dead"--The Eagle--John's Three Kinds of Writings--The Revelation--John's Gospel--His First Epistle--The Apostle of Love--His Second Epistle--The Apostle of Childhood--"Little Children, Love one Another"--John's Death 231

A RETROSPECT

Boyhood--The Disciple--What John Saw--What He Heard--What He Made Known--John a Reflector of Christ--Alone in History--Our Glimpses of Him--In Everlasting Remembrance on Earth--With His Lord in Heaven 241

LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS OF ST. JOHN

St. John and the Robber-Chief--St. John and the Partridge--"Little Children, Love One Another"--Miraculous Preservation from Death--The Empty Grave--The Heaving Grave 251

Map of the Land Where St. John Lived 19

A Life of St. John

A Galilean boy, a fisherman, a follower of Jesus, one of the twelve Apostles, one of the favored three, the beloved one, the Apostle of love, the Apostle of childhood, the one of all men who gave to mankind the clearest view of Jesus Christ--such was St John.

For young people he is a fitting study. To aid such is the purpose of this volume.

Let us first glance at the land where he lived, surrounded by influences that directed his life, and moulded his character.

Palestine was called by God Himself "The Glory of All Lands." He made it the home of His people the Jews, who long waited for the promised time when it should have greater glory by becoming the home of the Messiah, the Son of God. Before He was born the Jews were conquered by the Romans, and governed by them instead of the Jewish judges and kings. The country was divided into three parts. The southern was called Judaea; the middle, Samaria; and the northern, Galilee, which was the most beautiful part. It contained the hills of Galilee, and the plain and sea of Gennesaret, hallowed by the presence of Jesus, and what He there did.

At the time of which we write, two thousand years ago, Galilee was not inhabited wholly or chiefly by Jews. Other peoples, called Gentiles, were mixed with the Jewish race which continued to cultivate the land, and to tend the vineyards and olive-yards, and to dwell in the fisherman's huts and moor their boats on the sandy beach. Some Jews were artisans, working at their trades in the smaller towns. But there were vast crowds of foreigners whose life was a great contrast to that of the Jews. Their customs were those of the nations to which they belonged. They spoke their own languages. They worshiped their own false gods. Their amusements were such as they were accustomed to in their distant homes. This was especially true of the Romans who had theatres, chariot races, and gladiatorial combats, by the peaceful waters of Galilee.

There were also Greeks who had sought new homes far from their native land. Many Arabians came from the deserts on swift horses, in roving bands in search of plunder. They wore brightly-colored dresses, and flashing swords and lances, carrying terror wherever they went. Egyptian travelers came with camels loaded with spices and balm. The bazaars were crowded with merchandise from India, Persia and Arabia. Long caravans from Damascus passed through Galilee, with goods for the markets of Tiberius on Lake Gennesaret, and the more distant cities of Jerusalem, Caesarea and Alexandria.

The gem of Galilee and of Palestine itself, is the Lake of Gennesaret, or the Sea of Tiberius. Its length is twelve and three-fourths miles; its greatest width, seven and one-fourth; its greatest depth, one hundred and sixty feet. On the west is the beautiful Plain of Galilee. On the east are rounded hills; and rugged mountains which rise nine hundred feet above the waters, with grassy slopes, and rocky cliffs barren and desolate. Bowers of olive and oleander deck the base of the hills whose sides yield abundant harvest. Around the lake is a level white beach of smooth sand. Gennesaret has been fittingly compared to a sapphire set in diamonds; and to a mirror set in a frame of richness and beauty.

"He hath made everything beautiful," says Solomon concerning God. It is a well-known saying of Jewish writers, "Of all the seven seas God created, He made choice of none but the Lake of Gennesaret." It was called the "beloved of God above all the waters of Canaan."

The writer of this volume gratefully recalls blessed memories of Gennesaret, wishing his young friends could view with their own eyes those scenes which he asks them to behold through his own. Then could they join him in singing with the saintly McCheyne,

"How pleasant to me thy deep blue wave, O Sea of Galilee! For the glorious One who came to save, Hath often stood by thee.

"O Saviour, gone to God's right hand, Yet the same Saviour still, Graved on Thy heart is this lovely strand, And every fragrant hill."

At the period of which we speak the region was full of people. Nine large towns, each containing fifteen thousand inhabitants, bordered on the lake. Numerous populous villages lined the shores, or nestled in the neighboring valleys, or were perched on the hilltops. Fishermen's huts--which were mere stone sheds--fringed the lake. They stood in every rift of rock, and on every knoll, with their little cornfields and vine ledges extending to the sandy beach.

On the seashore, among the chief buildings, were palaces for Roman princes, and quarters for Roman soldiers. The waters were covered with boats for pleasure, merchandise and fishing. Four thousand floated at one time on the narrow lake. Vast quantities of fish were caught in the waters, supplying not only the people of Galilee, but the populous city of Jerusalem, especially when crowded with pilgrims; and were even sent to distant ports of the Mediterranean. We shall see John's interest in such labors.

On the north-western shore of Gennesaret is a beautiful bay sheltered by hills and projecting cliffs. The sight is such as would be a fisherman's delight--a little haven from storm, with a broad beach of sand on which to moor his boats. There is no place like it in the region of Galilee. Close to the water's edge, it is supposed, was the town of Bethsaida, probably meaning House of Fish.

Bethsaida was honored as being the home of five of the Apostles of Jesus. We know nothing definitely concerning them until their manhood. We wish we knew of their childhood. It is only because of their relation to Jesus that they have been remembered. Had it not been for this they would, like many other boys of Galilee, have lived on the shores of Gennesaret, fished in its waters, died, and been forgotten. These five Bethsaidan boys were two pairs of brothers and a friend. The names of one pair were Andrew and Peter. They were the sons of Jonas, a fisherman. As they grew up they were engaged with him in casting the net and gathering fish, by day or by night, and thus securing a livelihood without thought of change of occupation. It was a Jewish custom for boys to learn a trade or business, which was generally that of their fathers.

The names of the other pair of brothers were James and John. Their father was named Zebedee. He also was a fisherman having so much prosperity in his business that he employed servants to help him. Judging by what we know of the family they must have been highly respected by the people among whom they lived.

We do not know the exact date of John's birth. He was probably younger than James, and several years younger than Peter.

The mother of James and John was named Salome. We know more of her than of her husband. She was a warm friend of Jesus, ministering to Him when He was living, and was one of the few who cared for His dead body. Her sons seemed to be greatly attached to her. All were of kindred spirit, having like thoughts, feelings and plans.

James and John were brothers indeed, companions until the death of James separated them. The feelings of boyhood must have been greatly strengthened in later scenes, and by influences which we shall have occasion to notice. As we know of them as daily companions in manhood, we think of the intimacy and affection of boyhood. It will help us to gain an idea of their companionship, and the influences of their surroundings, if we notice some things with which they were familiar in the region of their home.

Standing on one of the hills behind Bethsaida they beheld a magnificent panorama. In the northeast Hermon rose like a mighty giant, called by the people of the land the "Kingly Mountain." They knew it by the name Moses had given it--"the goodly mountain." They were to know it by the name which Peter would give in after years, "The Holy Mount," so called for a blessed reason of which all of them were to learn. Down from its snowy glittering sides a thousand streamlets blended in larger streams combining in the Jordan, which flowed through marshes and Lake Merom until it entered Gennesaret near their home. Eastward, across the lake, the rugged cliffs of Gadara cut off their view. Perhaps at this very hour the winds from Hermon rushed through the gorges, first ruffling the placid waters of the lake, and then tossing them as if in rage. They little thought of a coming time when they themselves would be tossed upon them until they heard a voice saying, "Peace be still." And now

"The warring winds have died away, The clouds, beneath the glancing ray, Melt off, and leave the land and sea Sleeping in bright tranquillity. Below, the lake's still face Sleeps sweetly in th' embrace Of mountains terraced high with mossy stone."

In another hour they watch the more quiet movements of pleasure boats,--gay barges and royal galleys--and trading vessels, and fishing boats,--all crowding together seemingly covering the lake.

As it narrows in the southern distance, the Jordan commences the second stage of its journey of one hundred and twenty miles through rugged gorges. As it leaves the quiet lake, we can almost hear them saying to it

"Like an arrow from the quiver, To the sad and lone Dead Sea, Thou art rushing, rapid river, Swift, and strong, and silently, Through the dark green foliage stealing, Like a silver ray of light."

Descending from the hill we may follow James and John in their rambles in the region near their home. On the northern extremity of the lake, among the colossal reeds, and meadow grass and rushes, they watch the little tortoises creeping among them; and the pelicans which make them their chosen home; and the blue and white winged jays that have strayed from the jungles through which the Jordan has pushed its way; and the favorite turtle-doves; and the blue birds so light that one can rest on a blade of grass without bending it; and the confiding larks and storks which, not fleeing, seem to welcome the visitors to their haunts. Here grow oleanders of such magnificence as is seen nowhere else in the country, twenty feet high, sometimes in clumps a hundred feet in circumference; and "masses of rosy red flowers, blushing pyramids of exquisite loveliness."

Our ramblers follow the western shore to the shallow hot stream, where boy-like,--or manlike as I did--they burn their hands in trying to secure pebbles from its bottom. They rest under the shade of an olive or a palm. They gather walnuts which are in great abundance; and grapes and figs, which can be done ten months in the year; and oranges and almonds and pomegranates.

They wander through meadows rich in foliage, and gay with the brightness and richness of flowers which retain their bloom in Galilee when they would droop in Judaea or Samaria.

We hear the poet Keble asking them,

"What went ye out to see O'er the rude, sandy lea, Where stately Jordan flows by many a palm, Or where Gennesaret's wave Delights the flowers to lave, That o'er her western slope breathe airs of balm?

"All through the summer night, These blossoms red and white Spread their soft breasts unheeding to the breeze, Like hermits watching still, Around the sacred hill, Where erst our Saviour watched upon His knees."

To the poet's question James and John would answer that they "went out to see the blue lupin and salvia, the purple hyacinth, the yellow and white crocus, the scarlet poppy, and gladiolus, the flowering almond, the crimson and pink anemone."

They also saw the cultivated fields, and the sower casting his seed which fell on the hardened pathway, or barren rocks, or bounteous soil. They watched the birds from mountain and lake gather the scattered grain. They thought not of the parable into which all these would be weaved; nor of Him who would utter it in their hearing near where they then stood. They saw the shepherds and their flocks, the sparrows and the lilies, that became object lessons of the Great Teacher yet unknown to them. In their rambles they may have climbed the hill, only seven miles from their home, not thinking of the time when they would climb it again; after which it would be forever known as the Mount of Beatitudes.

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