My Dear Father:

In my last letter to you I spoke of our return from Jordan to Gilgal. At the house were assembled not only John, the cousin of Mary, and the noble Lazarus, but also Gamaliel and Saul. The court of the dwelling was thronged with strangers, and the common people who, being far from their homes and without food, had freely been invited to lodgings and food by the hospitable priest.

As we sat up late conversing with deep interest upon the remarkable events of the day, an observation made by John, when speaking of the change in the face of Jesus, that "His face was marred more than the sons of men," led the venerable Gamaliel to say to us:

"Those are the words of the prophet Esaias, and are truly spoken by him of Messias, when he shall come."

"Let us consult Esaias, then, and see what further he hath said," cried Rabbi Amos. "Mary, bring hither the roll of the Prophets."

My Cousin Mary returned, and placed the book on a small stand before him.

"Read aloud, worthy Rabbi," said the philosopher Gamaliel, "we will all listen; for though I do not believe this young man who was to-day baptized is Messias and the Christ, who is to restore all things to us, yet I am prepared to reverence him as a great prophet."

"And," answered Rabbi Amos, "if we find the prophecies do meet in him that which we look for to meet in Messias when he cometh, wilt thou believe, venerable father?"

"I will believe and reverently adore," answered the sage, bowing his head till his flowing white beard almost touched his knees.

"Read Adina, for thy eyes are young," said my uncle; and I read as follows:

"'Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.'"

"How completely," said John, "those words describe his appearance on the verge of the desert, and yet I used them unconsciously."

"But," said Saul, Gamaliel's disciple, "if this be prophesied of the Christ, then we are to have a Christ of humiliation, and not one of honor and glory. Read one part which you have omitted, maiden."

I read on as follows: "'Behold, my Servant shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. He shall sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him. He shall lift up his hand to the Gentiles, and set up his standard to the people. Kings shall bow down to him with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of his feet!'"

"There! Such is our Messias!" exclaimed Saul.

"Yes, it is a Christ of power and dominion who is to redeem Israel," added Gamaliel; "not an unknown young man, scarcely thirty years of age, who came from whence no one knoweth, and hath gone as he came. As for the Christ, we shall know whence he cometh!"

At hearing this great and good man thus discourse, dear father, my heart sank within me, for Lazarus had already told us that his friend Jesus was of humble birth, a carpenter's son, and his mother a widow; that he had known him from boyhood, but known him only to love him. I now looked towards him, but I took courage when I saw that the words of Gamaliel did not in the least dim the light of faith and confidence which brightly sparkled in his eyes, that his friend Jesus was truly Messias of God. But my eye fell on what follows, and as I read it I gained more confidence: "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him."

"If the first part of this prophecy," said Lazarus, his fine eyes lighting up, as he looked at Saul, "be of the Christ, as you have just now confessed, then is this last of him; and the fact that you reject him is but the fulfillment of this part of the prophecy."

Hereupon arose a very warm discussion between Gamaliel and Saul on one side, and Rabbi Amos, John and Lazarus on the other.

"But let this be as it may," said John, after the arguments on both sides had been mainly exhausted, "how will you, O Gamaliel, and you, Saul, get over the extraordinary voice and fiery appearance which distinguished the baptism?"

"That must have been a phenomenon of nature, or done by the art of the famed Babylonish sorcerer, whom I saw prominent in the multitude," answered the philosopher.

"Did you not hear the words?" asked Rabbi Amos.

"Yes, Rabbi; nevertheless, they may have been thrown into the air from the lungs of this sorcerer; for they do marvelous things."

"Would you suppose that a sorcerer would be disposed to apply the sacred words of the Lord?" asked John, earnestly.

"By no means," he answered, reverently.

"If Rabbi Amos will allow me, I will show you the very words in King David's prophecies of Messias."

All looked with interest on John, as he took from his mantle a roll of the Psalms. He opened it and read as follows:

"'Why do the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed? I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son.'"

Upon hearing this read, Gamaliel was thoughtful.

"It is extraordinary," answered he. "I will search the Scriptures when I reach Jerusalem, to see if these things be so."

"But," said Saul, with some vehemence, "listen while I read some prophecies also." And he unrolled the book of the Prophets and read these words:

"'Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.'

"Now, you will confess, Rabbi Amos," he added, with a look of triumph, "that this word refers to our expected Messias?"

"Without doubt," answered my uncle, "but—"

"Wait, I beseech you, learned Rabbi," said Saul, "until I read you another prophecy." And he read: "'I have made a covenant with David, Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch.'

"Now, you will all admit, brethren, that these prophecies refer to Messias. He is therefore to come of the lineage of David, and he is to be born in Bethlehem. Show me that this Jesus, the Nazarene, fulfills both conditions in his own person, and I will prepare to believe in him."

This was said haughtily, and with the air of one who cannot be answered.

But immediately Lazarus rose to his feet and said: "Although I did not recollect this prophecy, that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, yet I am overjoyed to find the fact respecting Jesus fulfills it. He was born in Bethlehem of Judah. This I have known some years, and—"

Here, while my heart was bounding with joy, Gamaliel said sternly, "I thought this man was born in Nazareth?"

"He has lived," answered Lazarus, "in Nazareth from childhood only. During the days when CÆsar Augustus issued a decree that all the world should be taxed, his mother, and Joseph her husband, went up to the City of David to be taxed, which is Bethlehem, and there Jesus was born, as I have often heard from her lips."

"Admitting, then, that he was born in Bethlehem," said Saul, "you have to prove his lineage from David's line."

"Wherefore did his parents go to Bethlehem, David's city, unless they were of his royal line?" asked Rabbi Amos, "for none went to any other city to be taxed than that of their own family. The fact that they went there is strong evidence that they were of David's house."

"Every one born in the city of David," remarked Gamaliel, "is not of necessity of David's house; but it is surprising if this Jesus really was born in Bethlehem."

"But may not his lineage be ascertained without a doubt from the records of the tribes, and of their families, kept by command of the law of the Temple?" I asked of my uncle.

"Without question. These books of the generations of our people are to be relied on," he answered.

"In fact," said Gamaliel, "they are kept with the greatest accuracy, and it is so ordained by God, for the very reason that when Messias cometh we may know whether he who claims to be such be of the house of David or no. I will examine the book of the generations, and see if his mother and father come of the stock and seed of David."

"And if you find that they do," asked John, with emotion, "can you doubt any longer whether Jesus be the Christ? Will not the fact of his being born in Bethlehem, and of the lineage of David, not to speak of the witness of God's own audible voice, heard by our ears this day, will not these facts lead you to believe that he is the Christ?"

"They will prevent me from actually rejecting him," answered the cold philosopher. "But every child born in Bethlehem, and of the house of David, and there are many of them in Judah, fulfills, so far, the conditions of these two prophecies; these are not, therefore, Messiahs."

"What more can you ask for?" asked Mary, with feeling, for she strongly believed that Jesus was the Christ.

"Miracles," answered the disciple of Gamaliel, glancing at the face of his master inquiringly.

"Yes, miracles," also answered the sage. "The Messiah is to heal the sick by a word, restore sight to the blind, cast out devils, and even raise the dead."

"If he restore the blind and raise the dead, I will doubt no longer," answered Saul.

There was at this moment an interruption caused by noisy altercations in the court among some of John the Baptist's disciples. Rabbi Amos, as host, went out to put an end to these disputings, when Gamaliel retired to his chamber, and the conversation was not renewed.

Your daughter,

Adina.