"Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) / The New Testament, with a Sketch of the Subsequent History of the Jews.

by Lady Mary Ross

Archelaus, as we have already said, had for his misconduct been banished by the Romans into Gaul, and the province of Judæa was governed by a Roman, called Pontius Pilate. Augustus Cæsar, who was the Emperor of Rome when Jesus Christ was born, died when our Lord was about fourteen years old; and another Emperor, called Tiberius Cæsar, ruled over the vast possessions of the Romans, when Jesus and His forerunner John the Baptist, entered upon their public ministry.

The Bible tells us, that at this time Annas and Caiaphas were high priests: by the Law of Moses, the Jews could only have one high priest at a time, and when once appointed, he continued to hold that high office as long as he lived; but when the Romans took possession of the Holy Land, they appointed the high priest at their pleasure—often depriving one of the office, in order to bestow it upon another. Annas was high priest for eleven years, and then the Roman Governor deprived him of the office, and made Caiaphas, who had married the daughter of Annas, high priest in the place of his father-in-law.

According to the will of the Romans, therefore, Caiaphas was actually high priest at this time; though, according to the Law of Moses, he had no right to be so, as long as Annas was alive. No doubt the more devout Jews, who wished to keep their Law, looked upon Annas as their high priest; whilst those who were careless and indifferent, and wished rather to please the Romans, acknowledged Caiaphas: for this reason St. Luke speaks of them both as high priests.

We must remember that John was born a few months before Jesus, to "go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways," consequently he was the first to appear in public. He went first as a Messenger, to prepare the people to listen to the Messiah: John came, and called upon all men to repent of their sins and wickedness, to leave off doing wrong, and to do such things as God commanded them to do. John also invited the people to be baptized. Baptism was a rite or ceremony in use amongst the Jews before this time, by way of admitting strangers into their Church: for instance, if any Gentiles wished to join the Jews, and worship God as they did, they were baptized, or washed with Water; and after this ceremony, they were looked upon as new creatures, fit to be admitted into the Jewish Church.

The Jews, by baptizing the heathen, admitted them into their Church, into a new religion; John called upon the Jews to be baptized, because they were to change their religion, and become members of a Church, which should have Christ for her head. The Jews baptized persons who, according to their Law, were unclean, in order to purify them; but John called upon those, who according to the Law were clean already, to come to him and be baptized, in order to show, that all who would belong to Christ must purify their hearts, and obey the spirit as well as the letter of all the commandments.

This distinction between the letter and the spirit of any commandment, must be carefully and constantly borne in mind, by every Christian.

For example, the Sixth Commandment says, "Thou shalt do no murder"; therefore all, who do not actually kill a fellow creature, may be said to obey the letter, or exact words, of this commandment; but to obey the spirit, we must never do anything wilfully to hurt our neighbour in any way; we must, on the contrary, do all the good we possibly can to our fellow creatures.

To make this plainer, suppose a mother to say to her children, "You may go out, but it is so hot that you must not run about": the children go out, and then amuse themselves by jumping—they have obeyed the letter of their mother's commands, for they did not run, but they have broken the spirit—she wished them not to heat themselves,—that was the spirit and meaning of the precept; and that they have broken, just as much as if they had run about.

The Jews must have well understood, that when John the Baptist called upon them to be baptized as if they were unclean, he meant to show them that the Messiah required men to be holy, far beyond what they then were; and great numbers of the people listened to his teaching, and went out unto him, and were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." John spake of the baptism administered by him, as "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins"; meaning that those who repented and were baptized, would have their sins forgiven and done away with, so that they would no longer be looked upon as guilty. John knew that Jesus was perfectly holy, and had no need of the baptism of repentance, so necessary for mere mortals. John had also told those who came to him to be baptized "with water unto repentance," that they still needed another baptism from the Son of God; even the gift of the Holy Spirit, without which no man could please the Lord. He told them, "there cometh one mightier than I after me, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear,"—"the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose,"—"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."