Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-15

like all missed opportunities, to the irrepa-
rable past. Rise up" He says, "let us be
going" "Behold, the hour is at hand, and
the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands OF
sinners" behold, he is at hand that doth
betray Me-"
Apd away down along the road, across the
hedron bridge, they hear the sound OF
trampling feet and the discord of many
voices, and the gleam of torches shines
among the trees. A crowd comes, part OF
them soldiers from the Roman Governor,
part of them servants from the high priests
house, part of them curious idlers gathered
from the streets. They have been first, per-
haps, to the house where the large upper
room was, out OF which Judas had hurried
on his shameful errand. But the house was
empty. Tn garden at the foot of Olivet was
The next place, and so they come, Judas at
the head.
The Kiss of Judas.
Here is Christ; about Him stand the
Apostles, some of them, like Peter, inspired
with a rash and ill-considered boldness,
others meditating fight. In comes the
traitor through the gateway of the garden,
the red glimmer of the torches mingling
with the silver radiences of the moon.
Which is the prophet of Nazareth? In this
little company OF silent men, confronting
this noisy and disordered rabble, which is
He? Judas will tell them. He has given
them a sign. He has considered everything
and planned itall out. "Whomsoever 1 shall
kiss, the same is he; take him and hold him
fast" So he advances, the others follow
ing, clubs and slaves in their clenched
hands, and approaching.his Master he says,
Hail, Masterl" and kisses Him. Christ
utters no word of Indignation. "Judas,"
He says, "betrayest thou the Son OF Man
with a kiss?''
And Judas, what says he, what thinks
he? No word he utters; there is no answer
either on his lips or in his heart. The deed
is done, and there is no undoing it. But
oh, that it had never been donel Oh, that
the shameful thing had never been thought
of! Judas, L believe, would have given all
his life that minute to have taken back that
traitorous kiss. The face which Peter saw
before the night was over, and whose look
drove him out into the darkness to bitter
weeping, Judas saw, too. And there was
the same love in it, and grief intermingled.
Judas looked into the face of Christ, and
there was no more peace upon this earth Tor
Judas after that. But it is done. The
traitors deed has gone where all things
good and evil go, into the irreparable past.
And They Fell to the Ground.
Jesus advances to the crowd of servants
and soldiers. "Whom seek YEP" He asks.
Jesus of Nazareth, they answer.
81 am He"
Back sways the crowd. The boldest beats
retreat. Christ, whom no little timid child
was ever afraid of, to whom men sick and
sinful cried for help, recognizing the face of
a friend, and whom that little band OF
Syrian fishermen and peasants, the chosen
twelve, loved with all their hearts-Christ
had that about His face which filled men
with awe, too. Many times the Apostles
hesitated to ask Him some anxious question,
many times His enemies, against whom He
stood as one man against a multitude, burst
not lift their hands against Him. In the
Pickering light of the torches the rough
soldiers beheld Hin, and a sudden fear came
upon their hearts. "They went backward,
and fell to tine ground;" Judas among
them.
But this is their hour and the power of
darkness. The Master yields Himself. Peter
essays an Ill-considered help. Some I'M
known beholder wrapt in a garment of white
linen comes near to see, and the soldiers
chase him away into the night. Ropes are
bound about the hands of Jesus-those
blessed hands, laid so often and so tenderlv
upon the sick and the afflicted Away
moves the company out of the gate of the
garden. All the disciples have forsaken
Him and fled. Christ is lett alone.
So ends the first stage of the Savior's
journey to the cross.
GEORGE HODGES.