Behold the Lamb of God

I fared forth from the habitations of men. I was weary of those whom I knew best. They had posed as the custodians of virtue, the representatives of the Almighty, and the guides of our race in all that was pure and right. I discerned nothing but what was base, unworthy, yea, even wicked, in all their loud professions, and the stench of their vile schemings and jealousies revolted my very soul.

Then, with a deep sense of my commission burning in my soul, down there by Jordan's banks I commenced my task as the herald of the Highest. At first, a few  curious shepherds and some who were going forth to their day's toil were all who heard me. But the news spread. My message had been thrust upon me from above, and the burden of it was, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

...

It was the next day. How the memory of it lingers! We were walking by Jordan's banks, Andrew, John, and I, when I saw Jesus in the distance. Immediately I stopped. I saw the look of wonder in the faces of my two friends, for they knew not why I had thus suddenly halted. They followed the direction of my finger, and to my lips rose the words, 'Behold, the Lamb of God.'

My mind had spanned the centuries. I now saw these things glowing with new meaning. The scourge of judgment for wrongdoing none could escape. Life was so constituted. But in the infinite mercy of the Holy One repentance brought forgiveness. Yet it could be only at the incalculable cost to the love that would reclaim the sinner. And thus, the Incarnate Son of God had assumed our mortal life to show us what God is like and what man should be. He had come to give himself for man's redemption. And as that lamb of the Old Covenant signified deliverance through faith, though only by the sacrifice of its life, so here was the fulfillment of the ancient figure which, on our Day of Remembrance, had been perpetuated.

~ J.W.G. Ward, The Glorious Galilean

The Man Born Blind: That the Works of God Should be Made Manifest In Him

Then he replied, 'Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me.'

"Suddenly, I sprang to my feet and flung myself prostrate before him. Imploring his mercy and help, I remember how I turned my sightless eyes upon him, stretching out my arms in entreaty. Would he be moved by the cry of a forlorn beggar? The favors of the great were freely bestowed only upon those who could make some adequate recompense. And I--naught could I offer by way of bribe, inducement, or reward. Thus it flashed across my darkened mind how vain and futile such a plea as mine.

But even while I thus reasoned, I felt his hands pressing moist clay gently upon my eyelids. Then came the commanding word, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam.' Without a word, unquestioning the sincerity of his implied promise, I began to thread my way through the streets. That was indeed a test both of patience and faith--patience, for you, to whom eyes are not as precious as the costliest gems that ever merchant found, cannot know how hard is the path of the sightless; and my faith also was tried, for, evil though I know now those thoughts to be, as I wandered on, doubts arose in my mind like the fever-laden vapors of the swamp. What could it mean? Was it only a pretense? Perhaps it was to rid himself of my importunity, and while I pursued some foolish quest, I was losing what little gain might otherwise be mine.

Then my heart rose in revolt against such unworthy thoughts. Had I trained myself to read the soul in a man's voice in vain? I knew that Jesus would not, yea could not, mock one in such a plight. And thus to Siloam's waters I came. As I stood by the edge and laved my eyes, lo! it was as though the curtains of night had been suddenly torn aside. There lay the pool like a silver mirror, the blue sky above my head, and people leisurely passing along the highway beyond. It was all so unbelievable, so wonderful!

I now stumbled on my way to the synagogue. My brain was set on fire. Two things I must do. First I must render thanks to the Almighty Benefactor of the race for the mercy that was mine. Then I must search out him to whom I owed so much. Even though none might tell me where he was, though I did not know his face, I had but to hear once more that soul-compelling voice to find my Master and Lord.

...

And from that distant day to this hour I have grown more fully thankful that to me was the promise of our ancient prophet Isaiah, fulfilled: "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.' Yea, a living faith in Christ is, as I have said, like our noble river. But a superficial pretense of religion may best be likened to yonder Dead Sea. It receives all to itself; it gives forth nothing. It takes the bounty of God; it turns naught to account. Therefore it is dead. For in that sea no fish cleave the waters. No luscious vegetation clothes its shores. No bird will even wing its way across its sullen expanse. Rightly is it called dead. But is not the hollow profession of religion also dead and profitless? Tell me, do I not speak true? And what, therefore shall our own faith be likened to? To see, as this world reckons wisdom, is to be blind. But to be responsive to the touch of Christ, to obey his bidding, is, verily, to see indeed!"

~ The Glorious Galilean, J.W.G. Ward

Zacchaeus, Once the Avaricious, Now the Aspiring

'Behold, Lord,' I blurted out, ' the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any many by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.'

"My voice quavered with emotion. I dared not look at the Master. But instinctively I knew that he was not condemning my baseness unduly. He was glad that I had turned from it to the nobler way. That I desired to do above all else. By making a renunciation of half of what I had acquired, I sought to prove my penitence and detestation of my wrongdoing. But that was easier than acknowledging before others that I was no better than a common thief. And all who heard me that night perceived that that was how I rated myself.

You may know that, according to our Law, when one has inadvertently wronged another, he is required to repay the sum, with on-fifth added thereto. In the case of a convicted thief, four times the full sum must be paid. And in that pure gaze stood all my sins remembered, and all my guilt lay bare. Jesus knew what it had cost me publicly to avow my shame. He must have done so. A heart so good and so sensitive, would understand as none other could. He turned those piercing eyes upon me again. I was now constrained to look him in the face. A smile of supreme satisfaction irradiated his countenance as he said, 'This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.'

I could scarcely believe my ears. Why should he dignify me with the term, A son of Abraham'? While it was meant to encourage one, yet it humbled one to the dust. But when he said that his purpose was to save the lost, and that even the most perverse were not beyond his succor, my heart beat high with hope. Gladly I felt he had not failed; the lost had been found, yea, what I had bartered away, even my birthright, had been restored to me.

Thus, in grateful devotion, have I sought to live unto his glory. I cannot tell if I have wholly succeeded. It has been hard, and many indeed the jesting words and the stinging taunts I have had to bear. They have cut me to the soul like whips of steel. And yet, it seems to me, no man can live his life in vain. His example, his influence, as well as the countless opportunities of doing some service for his fellows, abide in their effects long after life itself has ended. Thus do I counsel all men everywhere not to lose sight of the eternal riches. Thus would I point them to the pure delight and deep contentment of spirit that come to those who will, as the sacred Prophet says, 'Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.'"

~ The Glorious Galilean, J.G.W. Ward

The Glorious Galilean

I'm enjoying a book I purchased off of eBay entitled The Glorious Galilean by J.W.G. Ward. While I'm reading it, I'll post a few snippets. This is from the forward:

The story of the divine Son of God is so familiar that many people have almost entirely lost the sense of reverent wonder. On the other hand, there are those who have so idealized the central Figure of the Christian faith that Christ has become for them both shadowy and unreal. It is admittedly difficult to grasp the fact that he suffered and sorrowed, that he knew weariness and disappointment, that he walked the rough paths of daily duty as we do. In a word, we have well-nigh forgotten that he actually lived our life on this earth, and that the people whom he blessed were flesh and blood like ourselves.

In these pages, with fullest reverence, our object has been to make these men and women live again. We have sought their story, as they might tell it, in order that a keener sense of the real divine-human Christ may be awakened. Taking the scriptural records as the basis, we have allowed imagination to play around the facts in the earnest hope that a richer faith in the Living Lord may emerge. It is with this purpose that we send these studies forth on their wider mission.