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My Dear Father:—How shall I thank you for your
forbearance with me, and your kind answers to all
my letters, filled as they are with so many inquiries and
opinions, which must surprise, and perhaps displease you.
You say that you have read all that I have written with
impartiality, and that you do not marvel that “one whom
you are pleased to call so imaginative and full of sensibility
as myself, should be affected by what has passed under
my observation in Judea.” You nevertheless refuse,
on your part, my dear father, to listen, with the least proximation
to belief, to the extraordinary recital I have given
you. You are pleased to question the reality of the voice
at Jordan, and the presence of the dove of fire, and to refer
it, as many others try to do who actually witnessed it, to
an illusion of the senses. You are willing to admit that
Jesus may be born at Bethlehem, for many whom you
know “who are not prophets, neither sons of prophets,
were born there.” You are willing to admit that he
“may be of the lineage of David, for David's descendants
are as numerous as they are poor and obscure, yet they are
not Messias, nor pretend to be Christs.” You are content
with doubting the accuracy of the memory of the mother

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of Lazarus, as to the scene in the Temple, though acknowledging
you have often seen both Simeon and Anna in the
Temple, and about the time stated by her. But your
main objection to receiving John's evidence that this is
the Christ, is, “that he is poor, of humble station, destitute
of influence, received baptism of a man, when the
Messias was to be the baptized of God.” “Who,” you
ask, “of the wise and the venerated, and the learned, and
the aged, with years and experience; who of the doctors,
and lawyers, and priests; who of the Scribes, and who of
the Pharisees, and of the great men of Israel, are to unite
in acknowledging as Him of whom Moses and the Prophets
did write, as the central sun around which all the
dazzling prophecies of Moses revolve; as the end and
crown of the law; as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; as
the Shiloh of the nations; as the Wonderful, the Counsellor,
the mighty God and the Prince of Peace; as the glory
of Israel, and the Joy of the whole Earth—an obscure
young man of thirty, unlearned in letters, the son of a
carpenter, a citizen of Nazareth, a city proverbially mean,
without name, character, power, rank, wealth, influence,
or talents, and the last that was heard of whom was, that
he had fled into the desert.” You add, dear father, that
this mere enumeration of what the true Christ ought to be,
with the enumeration of what is wanting in this man,
should be sufficient to convince me that I have given my
sympathies and faith to one who has no claim to them.
You say further, “that you do not call my Messias an impostor,
because so far as you can learn, he has professed
nothing, proclaimed nothing, declared nothing, respecting
himself. In silence he appeared, and in silence

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disappeared, none knowing whence or whither;” and you close
your review of my history by saying, “that you shall wait
for further development before you can give the subject
your serious consideration.”

In your next letter, where you again allude to the theme,
you say, that if this prophet reappears, and from his own
lips declares himself sent from God, and by an appeal
to undisputed miracles gives proof of his divine mission,
declaring himself to be the Christ, you will then believe
in Him, provided the whole of the prophecies can be shown
to meet in his person.

On this ground, I am willing that the issue should be
met, dearest father; and you add, with your usual candor,
“that you will not hesitate to acknowledge as the
Christ a man who fulfills all prophecy in his own person,
though he come in a state and condition contrary to
your preconceived notions of the character of the Messias;
for that it would be safer for you to question the correctness
of your own interpretation of the Messiac prophecies
hitherto, than the identity of one in whom, without
question, do meet all the golden threads of the predictions
relating to the Christ.” Here I am content, my
dear father, to let it remain, being fully persuaded that
though this humble young man, Jesus, hath come lowly
and obscure, yet He will prove himself to the world that
He is the true Messias, Christ of God.

Now, my dear father, let me resume the interesting
subject, of which my letters have been so full; and,
moreover, as you have desired me still to keep you informed
of all that transpires touching Jesus of Nazareth,
and as no theme upon which I can write is so pleasing

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to me, I will narrate all that I have heard since I last wrote
to you.

It is now eight weeks since our return from Gilgal.
For five weeks after we reached Jerusalem, we heard
nothing of Jesus until John re-appeared. He and Lazarus
came into the city together, and to the house of Rabbi
Amos. Our first inquiry was:

“Have you seen him? Have you heard anything
from him?”

“John has seen him,” answered Lazarus, seriously;
“ask him and he will tell you all.”

We looked at John, who sat sad and pensive, as if he
were dwelling in his mind upon some painful, yet tender
sorrow. The eyes of my cousin Mary, which always
caught their lustre from his, were shaded with an inquiring
look of sympathy and solicitude.

“You are not well, I fear,” she said, placing her fair
hand upon his white brow, and putting back the hair from
his temples. “You have been long away, and are weary
and ill.”

“Weary, Mary? I shall never complain of weariness
again, after what I have beheld.”

“What have you seen?” I asked.

“Jesus in the desert; and when I remember him there,
I shall forget to smile more.”

“You found him, then?” I eagerly asked.

“Yes, after days of painful search. I found him in
the very centre of the desert of Ashes, where foot of man
had never trod before. I saw him upon his knees, and
heard his voice in prayer. I laid down the sack of bread
and fishes, and the skin of water I had brought with

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me to succor him, and with awe drew near where He
stood.”

“How did you find him there?” I asked, with that
painful interest which exacts all details.

“By his footsteps in the sand and ashes. I saw where
He sat down to rest, and where two nights He reposed upon
the ground. I expected to find him perished, but each
day I discovered his progressing footsteps and followed
them. As I now drew near him, I heard him groan in
spirit, and He seemed to be borne down to the earth by
some mortal agony. He seemd to be talking to some
invisible evil beings who assailed him.

“Master, good Master, I said, I have brought thee food
and water. Pardon me if I have intruded upon thy awful
loneliness, which is sacred to some deep grief; but I weep
with thee for thy woes, and in all thy afflictions I am
afflicted. Eat, that thou mayest have strength to endure
thy mysterious sufferings.

“He turned his pale countenance full upon me, and
extended towards me his emaciated hands, while He smiled
faintly, and blessed me and said:

“`Son, thou art very dear to me. Thou shalt one day
be afflicted for me, but not now, and understand wherefore
I am now a sufferer in the desert.'

“Let me remain with thee, Divine Messias, I said.

“`Thou believest, then, that I am He?' he answered,
regarding me with love.

“I replied by casting myself at his desert parched feet,
and bathing them with my tears. He raised me, and said,
`Go thy way presently. When the time of my fasting
and temptation is past, I will see thee again.'

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“Nay, I will not leave thee, I asserted.

“`If thou lovest me, John, thou wilt obey me,' he answered,
with a tone of gentle reproof.

“But thou wilt first eat of the bread I have brought,
and drink of the water, I entreated.

“`Thou knowest not what temptation thou art offering
to me,' he replied, sadly. `Thou hast not enough for thine
own needs. Go, and leave me to gain the victory over
Satan, for which I was led by the Spirit thither!'

“I once more cast myself at his feet, and He lifted me
up, kissed me, and sent me away. You would not have
known him. Worn to a skeleton by long abstinence, weak
through suffering, He looked but the shadow of himself.
He could not have lived if there had not been a divine
power within to sustain him. His existence so long, for
He had been at the desert five weeks without food, when
I found him, was a miracle, proving the power of God to
be in him!”

“For what mighty work among men is God preparing
him?” said Rabbi Amos, with emotion. “Surely He is a
Prophet come from God.”

“Think you He is still alive?” I asked, with anxious
fears.

“Yes,” answered John; “I am come to tell you He
was sustained through all, and after forty days He came
forth from the wilderness, and suddenly presented himself
on the banks of Jordan, among John's disciples. I was
standing near John, discoursing of the Christ, and marvelling
when his exile to the desert would terminate, when
the Prophet, lifting up his eyes, cried with a loud voice
full of joy:

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“`Behold the Lamb of God, upon whom the Spirit descended!
He hath come forth from the furnace, like
gold seven times tried in the fire! He it is who taketh
away the sins of the world.'

“I turned, and beheld Jesus advancing. He was pale,
and wore an expression of gentle, uncomplaining suffering,
on his benign countenance. His calm, chastened, dignified
aspect, the serene composure and peace of his looks,
awed me, while they caused me to love him. I hastened
to meet him, and was kneeling in joy at his feet, when
He embraced me as a brother, and said, `Faithful, and
full of love, wilt thou follow me?'

“Whithersoever thou goest, I answered. `Where dwellest
thou, Divine Master?' then asked one of John's disciples,
Andrew by name, who was with me.

“`Come and see,' he answered; and we went after
him with joy unutterable that we had at length found
him.”

“What passed between him and the Baptizer,” asked
Rabbi Amos, “at the river side on this meeting?”

“Not a word. They met and parted like strangers, John
going away across Jordan into the wilderness, as Jesus
entered the village of Bethabara; and approaching the
house of a widow, where he abode, He went in and we
followed him, and took up our abode with him. Oh,
how shall I be able to make known by words,” added John,
“the sweet expression of his discourse? In one day in his
presence, I grew wise; his words filled the soul like new
wine, and made the heart glad. The next day He wished
to go into Galilee, and so to Nazareth, where his mother
dwelleth; and as I had made up my mind to follow him

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as his disciple henceforth, I have only come hither to
make known my purpose to Mary, to arrange my affairs
in the city. To-morrow I leave again, to join this, my
dear Lord, at Cana of Galilee.”

“Oh, happy, and to be envied, friend and brother,”
said Lazarus. How gladly would I go also and be one of
his disciples! but the care of my mother and sisters cometh
upon me, and I must deny myself the happiness of being
ever near this divine man, and listening to the heavenly
wisdom that flows from his lips. How blind I have been,
not to have discovered, under his gentle and loving character,
and unobtrusive wisdom, the Messias. Truly, he
was among us, and we knew him not.”

“Canst thou divine at all his purpose?” asked Rabbi
Amos of John, “whether He intends to found a school
of wisdom, to preach like the prophets, to reign like David,
or to conquer like his warrior namesake, Joshua!”

“I know not, save that he said He came to redeem that
which was lost, and to establish a kingdom that shall
have no end!”

Upon hearing this, all our hearts bounded with hope
and confidence in him, and we altogether burst forth into
a voice of thanksgiving, and sang this hymn of praise:

“O sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvellous
things: his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten the victory.

“The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness
hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

“He hath remembered his mercy and his truth towards the house
of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our
God.

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud
noise, and rejoice, and sing his praise.

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“Sing unto the Lord with the harp: with the harp, and the voice
of a psalm.

“With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before
the Lord, the King.

“Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof: the world, and they
that dwell therein.

“Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together.

“Before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth: with
righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity.”

There was this morning no little excitement produced
among the Chief Priests by a formal inquiry sent by Pilate
to Caiaphas the High Priest, asking whether this new
prophet was to be acknowledged by them as their Messiah,
“for if he is to be, it will be my duty,” said the Governor,
“to place him under arrest, inasmuch as we understand
the Jewish Messias is to declare himself king!”
Upon this, there was a tumultuous assembling together of
the Priests in the porch of the Temple, and with many
invectives they agreed to send answer to Pilate that they
did not acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ.
They were led to this the more urgently, inasmuch as
they feared an arrest of Jesus would give the Romans
occasion for arresting other Jews, and so bring on the nation
great troubles; just as, a few years ago, when a certain
impostor rose up and called himself the Christ, the
Romans were not satisfied with taking and destroying him,
but they punished with fines every city in Judah. Therefore
the Priests both denied to the Procurator any knowledge
of Jesus, and entreated him not to pay any attention
to him, till indeed he should find that he openly took the
lead of armed men. What Pilate will conclude to do, I
know not. Rabbi Amos informed us that the Procurator

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had got some news by a courier that morning, that Jesus,
on his way to Cana, had been followed by full a thousand
people, who, having recognized him as having seen him
baptized of John in Jordan, hailed him as the Christ.

Thus, you see my dear father, that this divine person
is already taking hold of the hearts of the people, and
arousing the jealousy of our enemies. Be assured that
the day will come when He will lift up his standard to the
Gentiles, and draw all men unto Him. The developments
of his power are daily taking place; and although
He has yet performed no such miracle as would be deemed
by you a test of his divine mission, yet I have no doubt
that in due time He will give this proof, and all other
needful manifestations, that He is the Christ of God.

p612-175

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