We are not told that Peter made any remark upon what Jesus told him, "signifying by what death he should glorify God:" we only read, "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?" This you will remember was John, one of the sons of Zebedee; the same John who alone gives us any account of what passed on this occasion. "Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?" Jesus, instead of satisfying Peter's curiosity, gave him an answer, which should teach us all, that we must not seek curiously to know things hidden from us; and that the great point is, for every man to follow Christ by faith and practice, and not to concern himself too much about others; any further than by setting a good example, and using what influence he may have over others, for a good purpose. In answer to Peter's question, "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die," but should tarry, or remain alive upon earth, until the Saviour should come again to judge the world. There was no ground for the disciples to form such a mistaken notion; for as St. John truly says, "yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Jesus then appeared again to His Apostles at Jerusalem, and gave them His last directions as to their conduct, when He should have left them to return to His Father in heaven. "Being assembled together with them, (he) commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence." In these words, Jesus reminded the disciples of His frequent promises to send upon them the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be their guide; and He bade them wait in Jerusalem, until this promise should be fulfilled. "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which Such were our Lord's last directions to the Apostles whom He was about to leave; and either immediately after this conversation, or a few days later, "he led them out as far as to Bethany," where He purposed to take His final leave of them on earth. The Bethany here meant, was not the actual village of that name, which was about two miles from Jerusalem, but a part of Mount Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, nearer to the city. The Mount Olivet began about 5 furlongs (little more than half a mile) from Jerusalem: the first tract or part of the Mount was called Bethphage, and in this tract was the village bearing that name: another portion of the Mount went by the name of Bethany, and in that tract was the village of Bethany. Jesus led his Apostles to the spot where the tract of Bethany joined that of Bethphage. "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" The Apostles had not yet a clear idea of the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, nor of the time which was to elapse, before it should be established upon earth; and they seem even to have thought that now, when by His rising from the dead He had proved Himself to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews, He would at once restore them to their former state of prosperity, and make JudÆa again an independent kingdom. Jesus reproved them for asking such a question, and "said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own hand." There are, indeed, many things said of future blessings in store for the Children of Israel; but how or when God will give them, is one of the secret things, which are at present hidden from us. After reproving His disciples for undue curiosity as to future events, Jesus calls "And he said unto them, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." By being baptized, those who heard the Gospel preached, showed their faith in Christ, and their determination to follow His precepts and commands: and by Baptism, God gave them grace and strength to do so. By Baptism, we are now received into Christ's Church—we become Christians. In the time of the Apostles, of course, the grown-up people were baptized: when they had heard the Gospel preached, and believed that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, they would repent of all their sins, and try to serve and obey Him; and then they would be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; to show that they did mean to dedicate, or give themselves up, to the service of God: and He, in return, would pour out upon them His Holy Spirit, to enable them to do so. But God, who is a merciful Father, does not require His creatures to wait for the blessings of Baptism, until they are old enough to understand and value them; and therefore amongst Christian nations, Infants are baptized long before they can either After Jesus had given His Apostles commands to preach the Gospel to every creature, and to baptize all who were willing, He told them, as we have read, that they should have power to work miracles, in order to prove to all men that they really were the chosen messengers of God, giving His messages to His people: for if they were able to cast devils out of the bodies of men, to heal the sick, to speak languages which they had never learned, and to take up venomous serpents, or drink poison without suffering any harm, it would be quite plain that God was with them; since only by His special grace could a man do any of these things. "And when he had spoken these things, he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight, and (he was) carried up into heaven." "So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." "And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." From the question asked by these angels, it would seem that even now the Apostles could hardly believe that their beloved Lord was gone from their sight for ever, upon the earth. They are therefore reminded, that their "gazing up" is useless; but that a day shall come when He shall return to earth: but then it will be as a judge, to pass sentence of happiness or misery upon every living creature. We know not how soon that awful day may come; let us therefore watch and pray, that we may find The words of the angels recalled the disciples' minds to earth, and to the work which their Master had left them to do. "And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem, from the mount called Olivet, with great joy. And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God." "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." Not immediately, however; but in these words St. Mark, as it were, sums up the future history of the Apostles; stating how they at once set to work to fulfil the commandments given to them by Jesus Christ. Here, then, the History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ must end; and we cannot do better than close it with the words of St. John himself, speaking of our Lord's miracles: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name." St. John ends his account of His Master's life and death with the following words: "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." |