Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-08-02
THE MASTER BUILDER

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In the Outlook, published this week,
DR.. Lyman Abbott draws a lesson
from the life of Christ and applies IL
to conditions in the world today.
Christ, he tells us, was a lion fight
ing for the helpless and because of
that he was slain. The successors
of his foes are here in America
here the corrupt politician. here their
jcynical allies.
ITO follow the Master is to
fight those enemies of poular rights
and popular welfare. 1t is to make
war against vested wrongs that call
themselves vested rights and buy
sanction from lawyers and acqui
essence from churches"
Jesus was now 80 years of age. He
had given himself by public dedica-
| ton to a work of spiritual ministry.
He had pOndered his mission determ-
ined it's character and resolved upon
his methods. He went up the long
ascent which led from the valley OF
the Jordan to Jerusalem. 1t was
eighteen years since he had visited
this ecclesiastical capital. One cannot
but wonder whether he went, as
Luther had gone to Rome, hoping
to find in the holy city some inspira-
ton to aid him in his sacred task.
If so, he met with a shock to HIS
hopes and began his ministry by a
challenge to the self-constituted lead
ers of Israel who should have been his
allies.
J The Temple of Jerusalem was one
of the architectural splendors of the
world. 1t had been rebuilt by Herod,
! the last king of the decaying king
dom of the Jews. who was fond of
architectural display. ambitious to
found a dynasty which should accord
in splendor with that of SOlomon's
and DESTROYS to ingratiate himself
with the Jewish people by ministering
to their ecclesiastical pride. He there
fore initiated his reign by measures
for the rebuilding of the ruined tenn
pie. Skilled workmen were gathered
from various parts of Palestine: a
| thousand priests were especially in
structed in the arts of the stOnecutter
and the carpenter 1t was forty-six
years before the last workmen finally
left the sacred edifice. The result was
a temple whose architectural magnfi-
cence has perhaps never been sur
passed in either ancient or modern
times.
1t covered an area of over nineteen
acres a little larger than the COM
bined area of St. Peters at Rome
and St. PauTs at London. The ma
terial was white marble, the roof
cedar, the architecture probably an
admiXture of the Greek and the RO-
man. Magnificently ornamented gates
admitted the worshipper to its outer
court, which completely encircled the
\ temple proper within. This. the larg
est of the courts, the Stoa Basilica
alone comprised an area larger than
the largest English cathedral rows
of marble pillars supported a roof
of cedar elaboratey carved and divided
the court into three aisles like those
iof a Gothic cathedral. The floor was
a mosaic of many cOIOred stones; a
carved balustrade of marble surround
ed the temple proper, which was
built within this court and was raised
a few steps above it. Inscriptions in
Greek and Latin forbade the heather
from advancing further under pain of
death but the privileged Jew, ascend
ing a flight of steps and passing
through one of the richly Ornamented
doors which admitted to the sacred
inclosure. found himself in the true
temple, with it's terraced courts for
the women, for the men and for the
priests, rising one above the other
with an innermost temple, itself the
size of an ordinary modern cuhrch
within which was the Holy of Holes.
yelled even from priestly gaze by the
impenetrable curtain.
But the sight which met the eyes
of Jesus as he assembled to this sacred
temple which he had not seen since
his boyhood, aroused not his admir-
ing gaze, but his fiery indignation.
The magnificent tOa Bascilica had
been converted into a market place.
The temple, from being the center of
Jewish trade. Pilgrims coming to
Jerusalem from afar could not bring
with them their sacrifices for the
altar; they had to purchase them in
Jerusalem. The corrupt priesthood
had combined with the market men
and money changers to compel the
worshippers to exchange their money
with and buy their sacrifices of ap-
pointed marketmen at such prices
as they chose to charge. For greater
facility in the transactions of the
market, and for the better securing
OF the marketmen's monopoly, the
market had been transferred to the
outer court of the temple. The aisles
were filled with the booths of the
traders; the tesselated pavement was
covered with the straw and filth OF
the stable the magnificent marble
pillars were made to serve as hitch
ing posts for the sheep and the cat