“What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” They replied, “The son of David.” Jesus rejoined, “How, then, doth David, by the Holy Ghost, call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David, then, call him Lord, how is he his son?”
They again being thus baffled, it is recorded, “And no man was able to answer him a word.”
Jesus then warned his disciples to beware of the pride, ambition, and ostentation of the scribes; of their ceremonial display, and of their moral corruption. In the temple were placed several money-boxes to receive the voluntary contributions of the people for the service of the temple. Jesus noticedthe people as they came with their contributions,—many of the rich casting in large sums, not at all unwilling that the amount should be known by the lookers-on. “And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God;but she, of her penury, hath cast in all the living that she hath.”[52]
Notwithstanding the abounding evidence of the divine mission of Jesus, there were many who hardened their hearts, and who refused to believe in him. Others there were, then as now, who, though they were convinced of his Messiahship, had not sufficient moral courage to confess him before men. It is recorded, “Nevertheless, among the chief rulers, also, many believed on him: but, because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”[53]
In reference to all who thus rejected him, Jesus exclaimed, “He that believeth on me, believeth, not on me, but on Him that sent me; and he that seeth me seeth Him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak, therefore,even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”[54]
He then, addressing the multitude, warned them in the most solemn manner to avoid the hypocrisy and haughty display of these proud and pompous ceremonialists. His denunciationsof them were terrible, and must have roused them to the highest pitch of rage.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” he said, “for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and, for a pretence, make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and, when he is made,ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves,” &c.[55]
A more terrible, and at the same time calm and truthful, denunciation cannot be found in any language. As Jesus left the temple, his disciples called his attention to the massive stones of which it was reared. Jesus assured them that the temple was to be so utterly destroyed, that not one stone should be left upon another. Departing from the city, he went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives. As he sat upon that eminence, which overlooked the city, he gave them an appalling account of the scenes which were to ensue at the time of its destruction. In reference to the persecutions which they were to encounter, he said, “For they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now, the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake;but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”[56]
In continuation of this wonderful discourse, and in reply toan inquiry what should be the sign of his coming and of the end of the world, Jesus added,—
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Verily I say unto you,This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”[57] He then adds, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”