The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-03-24
Review of the First Quarter

relief. There is a back group-Herod
Herodias, and Salome. This is the
Herod (Antipas) who mockingly cloth
ed Jesus with royal robes and sent
Him back to Pilate-the Herod who
took a postgraduate course in the arr
of luxury at Rome, and finished it by
his incestuous and adultrOus connec.
ton with Herodias. The latter had
ambition as her ruling vice. For it
she had discarded her rightful but
untitled husband, and married one
who already sustained the relation oil
uncle and brother-in-law TO her
though by doing so she displaced Il
loyal wife from her husbands side
Salome, Herodias's daughter by her
first husband, seems only to have
been paragon of voluptuous beauty,
skilled in the lascivious dance of the
Orient
From such bad company il is a re.
lief to turn to the four apostles whom
NCtiiCds IHiGC vi tAtl ,
James, az, John-are destined to be
come very conpicuous in the narrative
of the New Testament. 1t is honor
enough for Andrew, however, that he
brought his brother, Simon Peter, to
Jesus.
Above all who have been named,
John the Baptist is the towering per
sonality. In his person and mission
he seemed the last effort of Providence
to awaken the Hebrew nation. Had
he never uttered word, his very self
would have been a sermon. His plain
fare and coarse raiment were a pro-
test against purple and fine linen and
faring sumptuously every day. He
took some jutting rock for pulpit,
and had the whole heavens for a
sounding board and river for bap-
tismal laver. Add to these scenic
incidents the most searching speech
that ever fell from human lips, and is
it to be wondered that whole nation
went out to hear him, and went down
into his font, confessing their sins?
He was no reed, bowling obsequiously
under the breath of imperialism. The
burden of his preaching was the i'm
manence of the kingdom of God The
application was call to repentance
and thorough reformation: the sign
was baptism.
But a greater than John the Baptist
appeares. When Jesus comes, all the
persons of this narrative fade as the
stars do when the sun rises. The only
recorded incident of Jesus boyhood
is found in this narrative. 1t is ONLY
only one incident butiif analysed it
will be found to be the whole period
in epitome-the spirit, traits, acquire
ments Of Jesus before entering upon
His public career. In the rapidly
shifting scenes of the vivid narrative,
Jesus appeared as candidate for
baptism, and in this connection we
have His second recorded utterance,
Suffer it to be so now" This first
word OF His publiministry identifies
Him with humanity 1t is as if He
had said, What is obligatory upon
man is binding upon Me-" From
this radiant scene of Inauguration
Jesus is hurried to the somber place
of his temptation. There, in His hui
man soul, and with His human re-
sourses, Jesus fought to finish sub
jective moral battle which included
in its issues all the principles of His
public career. The rejection of Jesus
at Nazareth is His rejection by the
nation in epitome. The synagogue
had judicial prerogatives. Each was
little independent republic; each
could pronounce sentence for penal
offense. This is exactly what the
synagogue of Nazareth did. 1t excom-
municated Jesus on the spot; it cast
Him out judicially; it proceeded to
put him to death in a legal manner
Jesus did not elude His enraged neigh
bors by either striking them with
blindness or making Himself invisible
to them. HE passed through the
midst of them" They saw Him as
He passed, but We're powerless to de-
tain Him.
Next in interest to the persons are
the places named in the course of these
lessons. The home of Jesus had a
beautiful setting of physical scenery.
Nazareth, with its white homes and
abundant foliage, has been described
as handful of pearls in a goblet of
emerald. Hermon, Tabor, Carmel. the
sea, and Esdraelon were in sight. The
impression made upon Jesus mind
is evident for its reproduction in His
parallels. From the provincial town
we are transported to the ecclesias-
tical metropolis and to the golden
and marble temple that could accom-
modate a quarter of a million worshi-
pers. 1t was here, no doubt, that.
the Messianic idea first dawned in
Jesus boyish consciousness. Next