New Light on the Life of Jesus (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 Excerpt: ...no more openly among the Jews, but departed thence into the country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He tarried with the disciples."1 It became evident, therefore, that the next time Jesus appeared in Jerusalem He would meet His arrest and death. And it was not at all improbable that the Sanhedrim would send officers after Him to arrest Him on His journey. The little city of Ephraim on the borders of the wilderness and of Samaria afforded Him an easy and speedy way of escape from such a pursuit. There was now, therefore, no longer any reason for reticence as to His Messiahship on the part of Jesus. His enemies had decided upon His death. Indeed we may go back to the feast of Dedication for the beginning of this critical situation. He went up to that feast from Peraea to escape Herod and to continue His conflict with the Pharisees in Jerusalem. It was at this feast that He first advanced His Messianic relation as the Son of the Father to the assertion of His preexistence before Abraham, and only escaped stoning for blasphemy by hurried escape from the Temple. It was at this feast that He distinctly asserted His Messiahship to the blind man He had healed, and claimed his allegiance. The Messianic claims of Jesus, therefore, were brought clearly before the Sanhedrim and the people of Jerusalem. They themselves had forced the issue. They must either accept Jesus or reject Him. They determined to reject Him as a blaspheming pretender, and to expel the blind man, whom Jesus had healed, from the synagogue, as His disciple. This was the beginning of the policy of active persecution of Jesus and His disciples. Jesus, when he went up to Jerusalem to the raising of Lazarus, knew that He was entering into greater peril than He was expo...