Philochristus: Memoirs of a Disciple of the Lord

by Edwin Abbott Abbott

Now it came to pass that on the third day after we had returned to Capernaum, the fame of Jesus, how he had driven out the legion of swine into the abyss, having been now noised abroad on our side of the lake, behold, the common people thronged him more than [pg 137]before; insomuch that, when he began to teach the people on the shore after his manner, during the cool of the evening, they pressed in upon him and interrupted him, so that he was not able to continue his discourse. But Jesus, being grieved thereat, gave command to Peter and to Andrew that they should straightway launch a boat; and he went on board. When the people saw it, they made lamentation; but the boat was stayed at about fifty paces from the land; and Jesus sat in the boat and taught us while we stood on the shore.

When he opened his mouth, we perceived that he taught after a new fashion. For he no longer said “Do this,” “Do not that”; but he spake in parables. Now almost all the teaching of the Wise is in parables, and Jesus also had before taught in parables; but these parables had been short, and along with the parables there had been added the interpretation thereof. But it was not so now; for the parable was naught but a tale about a certain sower, how he sowed seed on several kinds of ground: of the seeds, some falling on rock were destroyed by birds; others by heat and the shallowness of the soil; others by weeds; but some brought forth fruit.

Hereat certain murmured, and Gorgias said aloud, “Doth he think to redeem Sion with a tale? Lo, the prophet John is in prison, and the men of Galilee wait but for a nod from Jesus to rescue him; and our Master rescueth him not, but openeth his mouth in dark sayings.” But the greater number listened all agape, as though spell-bound; for the very voice of Jesus had power to bind the souls of a multitude. Howbeit, when [pg 138]evening, or at the most when the morrow came, the parable had clean vanished out of the minds of the greater part. Notwithstanding some (but these only a very few) stored up the words of Jesus in their hearts, and diligently pondered them.

In the evening I went with the rest to Jesus; and we besought him to tell us what the parable might mean, and also why he taught thus in parables. When he had answered, I perceived the meaning of the parable, how that Abuyah the son of Elishah, and Eliezer the son of Arak, were the rocky ground from which the birds picked up the seed; but Baruch, and such as Baruch, were the shallow ground; and Manasseh and the rich merchants and artificers were the fertile ground wherein weeds choked the seed. But still we were fain to know why he spake in parables.

When we again questioned him of this, behold, Jesus cried aloud with an exceeding bitter cry, saying, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And the Lord said, ‘Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.’ ”

Then were we all sad, and sat silent for a while; for our Master’s face was full of sorrow, and this was, as it were, the first shadow of evil that had fallen upon our path. Moreover we began to fear that, as in the days of Isaiah, so it would be now. The Lord had sent his [pg 139]prophet, even Jesus of Nazareth; but the hearts of the people would be hardened against the words of the prophet; yea, the prophet himself would seem to make the hearts of the people hard and not soft, as it was with Abuyah the son of Elishah and Eliezer the son of Arak, whose hearts were made fat and their ears heavy by the words of Jesus of Nazareth.

For we perceived in part his meaning, to wit, not that he desired in truth to shut the eyes of the people, but that he was constrained of the Lord to preach the Gospel, and all pressed to hear it; yet could he in no wise preach it so as to make it plain to all, but only to a few. For behold, he had made trial of the plain way of teaching, and men had thought they had understood him, but they had understood him not; but had esteemed him lightly, as little better than an exorcist. For his words had not pierced into their hearts, but had rested without, as seeds on the wayside; insomuch that they had been carried away by the angels of Satan. Therefore must he now adventure a new path of teaching to the end that, at the least, some few of us might be convinced of our want of understanding, so that we might seek and find the truth; but, to the most, all things should be in darkness, yea, the light itself should be as darkness unto the most.

All this the Lord Jesus spake more clearly afterwards, when he perceived the will of the Father that only a few should be chosen, though many were called: but at this time (perchance because it had been but newly revealed to him) he spake more darkly and with a greater bitterness of sorrow. Howbeit when he had lifted up his head and perceived that we also [pg 140]were weighed down with his affliction, then straightway he made himself to be of a cheerful countenance, and comforted us, saying, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables.” Then he bade us take heed that we taught others even as he had taught us; for, said he, “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you.” He said also, “Take heed how ye hear; for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” These latter words we understood not then; but, as I take it, the meaning of Jesus was twofold; first, that whoso had not faith nor honesty would receive damage (even as Judas received damage, and not advantage) from the doctrine of Jesus; but, secondly, he seemed to mean that the doctrine was, as it were, lent to each of the disciples, as money upon usury; each being bound to traffic with the doctrine in the commerce of his own thoughts, so as to add thereto. In the same way he told us, at another time, that we were to bring forth out of our treasuries things new as well as old; and he also bade us to “be trustworthy bankers.”[7] For of all things Jesus misliked that we should repeat his words by rote; nor did he even bid us copy his actions exactly (but he even said that a time should come when we should do greater works than he had done); and the like also of his words. For this cause perchance, Jesus spake afterwards to us also, even to us his disciples, sometimes in dark sayings; to the intent that we might ponder, and ask and know the [pg 141]truth. For albeit we often feared to ask him questions (because of our folly and our want of faith), yet did he ever desire us to question him; teaching us that only to them that knock, is the door opened; and only to them that hunger, is given of the bread of Life.

When we went forth from the chamber, Gorgias said, “What meaneth the Prophet? Doth he say that whosoever is rich, he shall be made richer? And whosoever is poor, shall he also be made poorer?” Hereat we all smiled; for we knew that our Master spake not of money, but of wisdom: and one made answer to Gorgias to this effect. Then said Judas, “But if Jesus mean wisdom, then how sayeth he ‘With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you?’ ” But Jonathan the son of Ezra replied, “Is not this even according to the saying of the Wise, ‘Man is born to learn in order to teach?’ And again, ‘He that learneth the Law and doth not teach it, he it is that despiseth the Name of the Lord.’ Therefore the meaning of Jesus is, that if a man teach others what he hath learned, the angels give into his bosom a hundredfold reward.” To this Nathanael agreed, and he added, “The reward is not as a price that is paid, so many shekels for so much teaching; but it is even as the rain cometh from the cloud, or as heat cometh from the fire. Even so doth wisdom come from teaching. For wisdom is not as a dead block that wasteth with the using, but as a living thing that groweth with exercise. But most of all is this true of that kind of wisdom whereof our Master speaketh.”

Then Judas said, “But I would to God that our Master would leave off to speak of wisdom and would [pg 142]do somewhat.” And Gorgias said Amen to that. But Simon Peter replied: “It is said, ‘Take to thyself a master, and be quit of doubt.’ Now my Master is Jesus of Nazareth, and I purpose not to spend the time in doubting, nor to halt between many opinions. For the man that is given to much doubting, to what is he like? He is like unto a ship with many pilots, which attaineth not to the harbour. Therefore have I settled my mind to believe that whatsoever Jesus doeth, that is righteousness, and whatsoever he purposeth, that is wisdom.”