PAPER 177
WEDNESDAY, THE REST DAY
177:0.1
WHEN the work of teaching the people did not press
them, it was the custom of Jesus and his apostles to
rest from their labors each Wednesday. On this
particular Wednesday they ate breakfast somewhat
later than usual, and the camp was pervaded by an
ominous silence; little was said during the first
half of this morning meal. At last Jesus spoke: "I
desire that you rest today. Take time to think over
all that has happened since we came to Jerusalem and
meditate on what is just ahead, of which I have
plainly told you. Make sure that the truth abides in
your lives, and that you daily grow in grace."
177:0.2
After breakfast the Master informed Andrew that he
intended to be absent for the day and suggested that
the apostles be permitted to spend the time in
accordance with their own choosing, except that
under no circumstances should they go within the
gates of Jerusalem.
177:0.3
When Jesus made ready to go into the hills alone,
David Zebedee accosted him, saying: "You well know,
Master, that the Pharisees and rulers seek to
destroy you, and yet you make ready to go alone into
the hills. To do this is folly; I will therefore
send three men with you well prepared to see that no
harm befalls you." Jesus looked over the three
well-armed and stalwart Galileans and said to David:
"You mean well, but you err in that you fail to
understand that the Son of Man needs no one to
defend him. No man will lay hands on me until that
hour when I am ready to lay down my life in
conformity to my Father's will. These men may not
accompany me. I desire to go alone, that I may
commune with the Father."
177:0.4
Upon hearing these words, David and his armed guards
withdrew; but as Jesus started off alone, John Mark
came forward with a small basket containing food and
water and suggested that, if he intended to be away
all day, he might find himself hungry. The Master
smiled on John and reached down to take the basket.
1. ONE DAY ALONE WITH GOD
177:1.1
As Jesus was about to take the lunch basket from
John's hand, the young man ventured to say: "But,
Master, you may set the basket down while you turn
aside to pray and go on without it. Besides, if I
should go along to carry the lunch, you would be
more free to worship, and I will surely be silent. I
will ask no questions and will stay by the basket
when you go apart by yourself to pray."
177:1.2
While making this speech, the temerity of which
astonished some of the near-by listeners, John had
made bold to hold on to the basket. There they
stood, both John and Jesus holding the basket.
Presently the Master let go and, looking down on the
lad, said: "Since with all your heart you crave to
go with me, it shall not be denied you. We will go
off by ourselves and have a good visit. You may ask
me any question that arises in your heart, and we
will comfort and console each other. You may start
out carrying the lunch, and when you grow weary, I
will help you. Follow on with me."
177:1.3
Jesus did not return to the camp that evening until
after sunset. The Master spent this last day of
quiet on earth visiting with this truth-hungry youth
and talking with his Paradise Father. This event has
become known on high as "the day which a young man
spent with God in the hills." Forever this occasion
exemplifies the willingness of the Creator to
fellowship the creature. Even a youth, if the desire
of the heart is really supreme, can command the
attention and enjoy the loving companionship of the
God of a universe, actually experience the
unforgettable ecstasy of being alone with God in the
hills, and for a whole day. And such was the unique
experience of John Mark on this Wednesday in the
hills of Judea.
177:1.4
Jesus visited much with John, talking freely about
the affairs of this world and the next. John told
Jesus how much he regretted that he had not been old
enough to be one of the apostles and expressed his
great appreciation that he had been permitted to
follow on with them since their first preaching at
the Jordan ford near Jericho, except for the trip to
Phoenicia. Jesus warned the lad not to become
discouraged by impending events and assured him he
would live to become a mighty messenger of the
kingdom.
177:1.5
John Mark was thrilled by the memory of this day
with Jesus in the hills, but he never forgot the
Master's final admonition, spoken just as they were
about to return to the Gethsemane camp, when he
said: "Well, John, we have had a good visit, a real
day of rest, but see to it that you tell no man the
things which I told you." And John Mark never did
reveal anything that transpired on this day which he
spent with Jesus in the hills.
177:1.6
Throughout the few remaining hours of Jesus' earth
life John Mark never permitted the Master for long
to get out of his sight. Always was the lad in
hiding near by; he slept only when Jesus slept.
2. EARLY HOME LIFE
177:2.1
In the course of this day's visiting with John Mark,
Jesus spent considerable time comparing their early
childhood and later boyhood experiences. Although
John's parents possessed more of this world's goods
than had Jesus' parents, there was much experience
in their boyhood which was very similar. Jesus said
many things which helped John better to understand
his parents and other members of his family. When
the lad asked the Master how he could know that he
would turn out to be a "mighty messenger of the
kingdom," Jesus said:
177:2.2
"I know you will prove loyal to the gospel of the
kingdom because I can depend upon your present faith
and love when these qualities are grounded upon such
an early training as has been your portion at home.
You are the product of a home where the parents bear
each other a sincere affection, and therefore you
have not been overloved so as injuriously to exalt
your concept of self-importance. Neither has your
personality suffered distortion in consequence of
your parents' loveless maneuvering for your
confidence and loyalty, the one against the other.
You have enjoyed that parental love which insures
laudable self-confidence and which fosters normal
feelings of security. But you have also been
fortunate in that your parents possessed wisdom as
well as love ; and it was wisdom which led them to
withhold most forms of indulgence and many luxuries
which wealth can buy while they sent you to the
synagogue school along with your neighborhood
playfellows, and they also encouraged you to learn
how to live in this world by permitting you to have
original experience. You came over to the Jordan,
where we preached and John's disciples baptized,
with your young friend Amos. Both of you desired to
go with us. When you returned to Jerusalem, your
parents consented; Amos's parents refused; they
loved their son so much that they denied him the
blessed experience which you have had, even such as
you this day enjoy. By running away from home, Amos
could have joined us, but in so doing he would have
wounded love and sacrificed loyalty. Even if such a
course had been wise, it would have been a terrible
price to pay for experience, independence, and
liberty. Wise parents, such as yours, see to it that
their children do not have to wound love or stifle
loyalty in order to develop independence and enjoy
invigorating liberty when they have grown up to your
age.
177:2.3
"Love, John, is the supreme reality of the universe
when bestowed by all-wise beings, but it is a
dangerous and oftentimes semiselfish trait as it is
manifested in the experience of mortal parents. When
you get married and have children of your own to
rear, make sure that your love is admonished by
wisdom and guided by intelligence.
177:2.4
"Your young friend Amos believes this gospel of the
kingdom just as much as you, but I cannot fully
depend upon him; I am not certain about what he will
do in the years to come. His early home life was not
such as would produce a wholly dependable person.
Amos is too much like one of the apostles who failed
to enjoy a normal, loving, and wise home training.
Your whole afterlife will be more happy and
dependable because you spent your first eight years
in a normal and well-regulated home. You possess a
strong and well-knit character because you grew up
in a home where love prevailed and wisdom reigned.
Such a childhood training produces a type of loyalty
which assures me that you will go through with the
course you have begun."
177:2.5
For more than an hour Jesus and John continued this
discussion of home life. The Master went on to
explain to John how a child is wholly dependent on
his parents and the associated home life for all his
early concepts of everything intellectual, social,
moral, and even spiritual since the family
represents to the young child all that he can first
know of either human or divine relationships. The
child must derive his first impressions of the
universe from the mother's care; he is wholly
dependent on the earthly father for his first ideas
of the heavenly Father. The child's subsequent life
is made happy or unhappy, easy or difficult, in
accordance with his early mental and emotional life,
conditioned by these social and spiritual
relationships of the home. A human being's entire
afterlife is enormously influenced by what happens
during the first few years of existence.
177:2.6
It is our sincere belief that the gospel of Jesus'
teaching, founded as it is on the father-child
relationship, can hardly enjoy a world-wide
acceptance until such a time as the home life of the
modern civilized peoples embraces more of love and
more of wisdom. Notwithstanding that parents of the
twentieth century possess great knowledge and
increased truth for improving the home and ennobling
the home life, it remains a fact that very few
modern homes are such good places in which to
nurture boys and girls as Jesus' home in Galilee and
John Mark's home in Judea, albeit the acceptance of
Jesus' gospel will result in the immediate
improvement of home life. The love life of a wise
home and the loyal devotion of true religion exert a
profound reciprocal influence upon each other. Such
a home life enhances religion, and genuine religion
always glorifies the home.
177:2.7
It is true that many of the objectionable stunting
influences and other cramping features of these
olden Jewish homes have been virtually eliminated
from many of the better-regulated modern homes.
There is, indeed, more spontaneous freedom and far
more personal liberty, but this liberty is not
restrained by love, motivated by loyalty, nor
directed by the intelligent discipline of wisdom. As
long as we teach the child to pray, "Our Father who
is in heaven," a tremendous responsibility rests
upon all earthly fathers so to live and order their
homes that the word
father
becomes worthily enshrined in the minds and hearts
of all growing children.
3. THE DAY AT CAMP
177:3.1
The apostles spent most of this day walking about on
Mount Olivet and visiting with the disciples who
were encamped with them, but early in the afternoon
they became very desirous of seeing Jesus return. As
the day wore on, they grew increasingly anxious
about his safety; they felt inexpressibly lonely
without him. There was much debating throughout the
day as to whether the Master should have been
allowed to go off by himself in the hills,
accompanied only by an errand boy. Though no man
openly so expressed his thoughts, there was not one
of them, save Judas Iscariot, who did not wish
himself in John Mark's place.
177:3.2
It was about midafternoon when Nathaniel made his
speech on "Supreme Desire" to about half a dozen of
the apostles and as many disciples, the ending of
which was: "What is wrong with most of us is that we
are only halfhearted. We fail to love the Master as
he loves us. If we had all wanted to go with him as
much as John Mark did, he would surely have taken us
all. We stood by while the lad approached the Master
and offered him the basket, but when the Master took
hold of it, the lad would not let go. And so the
Master left us here while he went off to the hills
with basket, boy, and all."
177:3.3
About four o'clock, runners came to David Zebedee
bringing him word from his mother at Bethsaida and
from Jesus' mother. Several days previously David
had made up his mind that the chief priests and
rulers were going to kill Jesus. David knew they
were determined to destroy the Master, and he was
about convinced that Jesus would neither exert his
divine power to save himself nor permit his
followers to employ force in his defense. Having
reached these conclusions, he lost no time in
dispatching a messenger to his mother, urging her to
come at once to Jerusalem and to bring Mary the
mother of Jesus and every member of his family.
177:3.4
David's mother did as her son requested, and now the
runners came back to David bringing the word that
his mother and Jesus' entire family were on the way
to Jerusalem and should arrive sometime late on the
following day or very early the next morning. Since
David did this on his own initiative, he thought it
wise to keep the matter to himself. He told no one,
therefore, that Jesus' family was on the way to
Jerusalem.
177:3.5
Shortly after noon, more than twenty of the Greeks
who had met with Jesus and the twelve at the home of
Joseph of Arimathea arrived at the camp, and Peter
and John spent several hours in conference with
them. These Greeks, at least some of them, were well
advanced in the knowledge of the kingdom, having
been instructed by Rodan at Alexandria.
177:3.6
That evening, after returning to the camp, Jesus
visited with the Greeks, and had it not been that
such a course would have greatly disturbed his
apostles and many of his leading disciples, he would
have ordained these twenty Greeks, even as he had
the seventy.
177:3.7
While all of this was going on at the camp, in
Jerusalem the chief priests and elders were amazed
that Jesus did not return to address the multitudes.
True, the day before, when he left the temple, he
had said, "I leave your house to you desolate." But
they could not understand why he would be willing to
forego the great advantage which he had built up in
the friendly attitude of the crowds. While they
feared he would stir up a tumult among the people,
the Master's last words to the multitude had been an
exhortation to conform in every reasonable manner
with the authority of those "who sit in Moses'
seat." But it was a busy day in the city as they
simultaneously prepared for the Passover and
perfected their plans for destroying Jesus.
177:3.8
Not many people came to the camp, for its
establishment had been kept a well-guarded secret by
all who knew that Jesus was expecting to stay there
in place of going out to Bethany every night.
4. JUDAS AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS
177:4.1
Shortly after Jesus and John Mark left the camp,
Judas Iscariot disappeared from among his brethren,
not returning until late in the afternoon. This
confused and discontented apostle, notwithstanding
his Master's specific request to refrain from
entering Jerusalem, went in haste to keep his
appointment with Jesus' enemies at the home of
Caiaphas the high priest. This was an informal
meeting of the Sanhedrin and had been appointed for
shortly after 10 o'clock that morning. This meeting
was called to discuss the nature of the charges
which should be lodged against Jesus and to decide
upon the procedure to be employed in bringing him
before the Roman authorities for the purpose of
securing the necessary civil confirmation of the
death sentence which they had already passed upon
him.
177:4.2
On the preceding day Judas had disclosed to some of
his relatives and to certain Sadducean friends of
his father's family that he had reached the
conclusion that, while Jesus was a well-meaning
dreamer and idealist, he was not the expected
deliverer of Israel. Judas stated that he would very
much like to find some way of withdrawing gracefully
from the whole movement. His friends flatteringly
assured him that his withdrawal would be hailed by
the Jewish rulers as a great event, and that nothing
would be too good for him. They led him to believe
that he would forthwith receive high honors from the
Sanhedrin, and that he would at last be in a
position to erase the stigma of his well-meant but
"unfortunate association with untaught Galileans."
177:4.3
Judas could not quite believe that the mighty works
of the Master had been wrought by the power of the
prince of devils, but he was now fully convinced
that Jesus would not exert his power in
self-aggrandizement; he was at last convinced that
Jesus would allow himself to be destroyed by the
Jewish rulers, and he could not endure the
humiliating thought of being identified with a
movement of defeat. He refused to entertain the idea
of apparent failure. He thoroughly understood the
sturdy character of his Master and the keenness of
that majestic and merciful mind, yet he derived
pleasure from even the partial entertainment of the
suggestion of one of his relatives that Jesus, while
he was a well-meaning fanatic, was probably not
really sound of mind; that he had always appeared to
be a strange and misunderstood person.
177:4.4
And now, as never before, Judas found himself
becoming strangely resentful that Jesus had never
assigned him a position of greater honor. All along
he had appreciated the honor of being the apostolic
treasurer, but now he began to feel that he was not
appreciated; that his abilities were unrecognized.
He was suddenly overcome with indignation that
Peter, James, and John should have been honored with
close association with Jesus, and at this time, when
he was on the way to the high priest's home, he was
bent on getting even with Peter, James, and John
more than he was concerned with any thought of
betraying Jesus. But over and above all, just then,
a new and dominating thought began to occupy the
forefront of his conscious mind: He had set out to
get honor for himself, and if this could be secured
simultaneously with getting even with those who had
contributed to the greatest disappointment of his
life, all the better. He was seized with a terrible
conspiracy of confusion, pride, desperation, and
determination. And so it must be plain that it was
not for money that Judas was then on his way to the
home of Caiaphas to arrange for the betrayal of
Jesus.
177:4.5
As Judas approached the home of Caiaphas, he arrived
at the final decision to abandon Jesus and his
fellow apostles; and having thus made up his mind to
desert the cause of the kingdom of heaven, he was
determined to secure for himself as much as possible
of that honor and glory which he had thought would
sometime be his when he first identified himself
with Jesus and the new gospel of the kingdom. All of
the apostles once shared this ambition with Judas,
but as time passed they learned to admire truth and
to love Jesus, at least more than did Judas.
177:4.6
The traitor was presented to Caiaphas and the Jewish
rulers by his cousin, who explained that Judas,
having discovered his mistake in allowing himself to
be misled by the subtle teaching of Jesus, had
arrived at the place where he wished to make public
and formal renunciation of his association with the
Galilean and at the same time to ask for
reinstatement in the confidence and fellowship of
his Judean brethren. This spokesman for Judas went
on to explain that Judas recognized it would be best
for the peace of Israel if Jesus should be taken
into custody, and that, as evidence of his sorrow in
having participated in such a movement of error and
as proof of his sincerity in now returning to the
teachings of Moses, he had come to offer himself to
the Sanhedrin as one who could so arrange with the
captain holding the orders for Jesus' arrest that he
could be taken into custody quietly, thus avoiding
any danger of stirring up the multitudes or the
necessity of postponing his arrest until after the
Passover.
177:4.7
When his cousin had finished speaking, he presented
Judas, who, stepping forward near the high priest,
said: "All that my cousin has promised, I will do,
but what are you willing to give me for this
service?" Judas did not seem to discern the look of
disdain and even disgust that came over the face of
the hardhearted and vainglorious Caiaphas; his heart
was too much set on self-glory and the craving for
the satisfaction of self-exaltation.
177:4.8
And then Caiaphas looked down upon the betrayer
while he said: "Judas, you go to the captain of the
guard and arrange with that officer to bring your
Master to us either tonight or tomorrow night, and
when he has been delivered by you into our hands,
you shall receive your reward for this service."
When Judas heard this, he went forth from the
presence of the chief priests and rulers and took
counsel with the captain of the temple guards as to
the manner in which Jesus was to be apprehended.
Judas knew that Jesus was then absent from the camp
and had no idea when he would return that evening,
and so they agreed among themselves to arrest Jesus
the next evening (Thursday) after the people of
Jerusalem and all of the visiting pilgrims had
retired for the night.
177:4.9
Judas returned to his associates at the camp
intoxicated with thoughts of grandeur and glory such
as he had not had for many a day. He had enlisted
with Jesus hoping some day to become a great man in
the new kingdom. He at last realized that there was
to be no new kingdom such as he had anticipated. But
he rejoiced in being so sagacious as to trade off
his disappointment in failing to achieve glory in an
anticipated new kingdom for the immediate
realization of honor and reward in the old order,
which he now believed would survive, and which he
was certain would destroy Jesus and all that he
stood for. In its last motive of conscious
intention, Judas's betrayal of Jesus was the
cowardly act of a selfish deserter whose only
thought was his own safety and glorification, no
matter what might be the results of his conduct upon
his Master and upon his former associates.
177:4.10
But it was ever just that way. Judas had long been
engaged in this deliberate, persistent, selfish, and
vengeful consciousness of progressively building up
in his mind, and entertaining in his heart, these
hateful and evil desires of revenge and disloyalty.
Jesus loved and trusted Judas even as he loved and
trusted the other apostles, but Judas failed to
develop loyal trust and to experience wholehearted
love in return. And how dangerous ambition can
become when it is once wholly wedded to self-seeking
and supremely motivated by sullen and
long-suppressed vengeance! What a crushing thing is
disappointment in the lives of those foolish persons
who, in fastening their gaze on the shadowy and
evanescent allurements of time, become blinded to
the higher and more real achievements of the
everlasting attainments of the eternal worlds of
divine values and true spiritual realities. Judas
craved worldly honor in his mind and grew to love
this desire with his whole heart; the other apostles
likewise craved this same worldly honor in their
minds, but with their hearts they loved Jesus and
were doing their best to learn to love the truths
which he taught them.
177:4.11
Judas did not realize it at this time, but he had
been a subconscious critic of Jesus ever since John
the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. Deep down in his
heart Judas always resented the fact that Jesus did
not save John. You should not forget that Judas had
been a disciple of John before he became a follower
of Jesus. And all these accumulations of human
resentment and bitter disappointment which Judas had
laid by in his soul in habiliments of hate were now
well organized in his subconscious mind and ready to
spring up to engulf him when he once dared to
separate himself from the supporting influence of
his brethren while at the same time exposing himself
to the clever insinuations and subtle ridicule of
the enemies of Jesus. Every time Judas allowed his
hopes to soar high and Jesus would do or say
something to dash them to pieces, there was always
left in Judas's heart a scar of bitter resentment;
and as these scars multiplied, presently that heart,
so often wounded, lost all real affection for the
one who had inflicted this distasteful experience
upon a well-intentioned but cowardly and
self-centered personality. Judas did not realize it,
but he was a coward. Accordingly was he always
inclined to assign to Jesus cowardice as the motive
which led him so often to refuse to grasp for power
or glory when they were apparently within his easy
reach. And every mortal man knows full well how
love, even when once genuine, can, through
disappointment, jealousy, and long-continued
resentment, be eventually turned into actual hate.
177:4.12
At last the chief priests and elders could breathe
easily for a few hours. They would not have to
arrest Jesus in public, and the securing of Judas as
a traitorous ally insured that Jesus would not
escape from their jurisdiction as he had so many
times in the past.
5. THE LAST SOCIAL HOUR
177:5.1
Since it was Wednesday, this evening at the camp was
a social hour. The Master endeavored to cheer his
downcast apostles, but that was well-nigh
impossible. They were all beginning to realize that
disconcerting and crushing events were impending.
They could not be cheerful, even when the Master
recounted their years of eventful and loving
association. Jesus made careful inquiry about the
families of all of the apostles and, looking over
toward David Zebedee, asked if anyone had heard
recently from his mother, his youngest sister, or
other members of his family. David looked down at
his feet; he was afraid to answer.
177:5.2
This was the occasion of Jesus' warning his
followers to beware of the support of the multitude.
He recounted their experiences in Galilee when time
and again great throngs of people enthusiastically
followed them around and then just as ardently
turned against them and returned to their former
ways of believing and living. And then he said: "And
so you must not allow yourselves to be deceived by
the great crowds who heard us in the temple, and who
seemed to believe our teachings. These multitudes
listen to the truth and believe it superficially
with their minds, but few of them permit the word of
truth to strike down into the heart with living
roots. Those who know the gospel only in the mind,
and who have not experienced it in the heart, cannot
be depended upon for support when real trouble
comes. When the rulers of the Jews reach an
agreement to destroy the Son of Man, and when they
strike with one accord, you will see the multitude
either flee in dismay or else stand by in silent
amazement while these maddened and blinded rulers
lead the teachers of the gospel truth to their
death. And then, when adversity and persecution
descend upon you, still others whom you think love
the truth will be scattered, and some will renounce
the gospel and desert you. Some who have been very
close to us have already made up their minds to
desert. You have rested today in preparation for
those times which are now upon us. Watch, therefore,
and pray that on the morrow you may be strengthened
for the days that are just ahead."
177:5.3
The atmosphere of the camp was charged with an
inexplicable tension. Silent messengers came and
went, communicating with only David Zebedee. Before
the evening had passed, certain ones knew that
Lazarus had taken hasty flight from Bethany. John
Mark was ominously silent after returning to camp,
notwithstanding he had spent the whole day in the
Master's company. Every effort to persuade him to
talk only indicated clearly that Jesus had told him
not to talk.
177:5.4
Even the Master's good cheer and his unusual
sociability frightened them. They all felt the
certain drawing upon them of the terrible isolation
which they realized was about to descend with
crashing suddenness and inescapable terror. They
vaguely sensed what was coming, and none felt
prepared to face the test. The Master had been away
all day; they had missed him tremendously.
177:5.5
This Wednesday evening was the low-tide mark of
their spiritual status up to the actual hour of the
Master's death. Although the next day was one more
day nearer the tragic Friday, still, he was with
them, and they passed through its anxious hours more
gracefully.
177:5.6
It was just before midnight when Jesus, knowing this
would be the last night he would ever sleep through
with his chosen family on earth, said, as he
dispersed them for the night: "Go to your sleep, my
brethren, and peace be upon you till we rise on the
morrow, one more day to do the Father's will and
experience the joy of knowing that we are his sons."
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