here Jesus loved to linger; here He passed the solemn hours of night in praying for the new Jerusalem and the miraculous new temple of the Lord, which He had come to build for all generations. It was from this Mount of Olives that He began, on the dreadful night of His agony and betrayal, His sad march across the soft-flowing Cedron, through the Ophla quarter of the city, up to the courts of Annas and Caiphas on Mount Sion.

In the time of Jesus, Jerusalem was divided into four parts, each surrounded with its own walls, towers, and moats, and protected by well-located fortifications. The traveler coming from the north advanced by a gently ascending road to what was called the new city, the least elevated part of the town, and inhabited chiefly by the working classes. At the time of our Saviour, this quarter of the city, together with the adjoining Mount Calvary, lay without the city proper, and was surrounded with walls only at a later period. Going in a southeasterly direction from this point, the traveler came upon the temple-mountain, or Mount Moria, in what was called the city of Solomon, where arose before him in majestic grandeur the temple of Jehova, surrounded by the habitations of the priests and Levites. On a still higher elevation stood the castle of Antonia, also built by Herod I, and near by was Pilate's Prætorium, or court of justice, with its marble halls and stately terraces, and within whose walls the Roman governors administered justice. On the southern slope of Mount Moria, toward the brook Cedron, lay the suburb of Ophla, occupied by the day-laborers and their families. On a hill toward the west, and separated from the temple-mountain by a deep gorge, rose the strong fortress of Akra, around whose base clustered a large population in the lower town.

On the south was what was called David's city, built upon Mount Sion, the highest point in all Jerusalem, and connected by a strong and massive bridge with the temple-mountain. This part, originally called Salem, was the oldest quarter of the city, and had been built by King Melchisedech. Here David, Solomon, and other kings of Juda, and in later days King Herod, had built strong forts and fine palaces, which were marvels of strength and beauty for those times and circumstances. Here David took up his first residence; here stood the noble palace in which Solomon displayed his grandeur; here towered aloft the royal castle of Herod, surrounded with its elegant gardens, fountains, and lakes; here stood the

house of the high-priest Caiphas; and here, too, was that privileged and ever memorable hall in which Jesus celebrated His last supper with His apostles, and instituted the ever blessed sacrament of the Eucharist. This quarter was the residence of the kings, high-priests, and principal citizens.

The sides of all the various hills were dotted with numerous habitations, mantled with charming gardens, and studded with lovely groves of the olive and fig tree. All about the city ran a moat 250 feet in width, and a wall of white marble 30 feet in height. Indeed, Jerusalem was the queen city of Israel, and not without cause did Jesus shed bitter tears as, standing upon Mount Olivet, He gazed in sadness on this large and splendid metropolis, with its glorious temples, its towers, spires, and palaces, and saw them with prophetic eye tottering to their very foundations. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, "if thou also had known, and that in this thy day, the things that are for thy peace" (Luke xix).

4. THE CHIEF-PRIESTS, THE SCRIBES, THE ELDERS, THE PHARISEES, THE SADDUCEES, THE HERODIANS, AND THE PUBLICANS Let us now turn from the contemplation of the material city of Jerusalem, and take a view of its inhabitants. We find that during the lifetime of Christ, the most important class of persons, after the king and Roman governor,1 were the high-priests. These had come down from the time of Moses in an unbroken line during 1,450 years, through the family of Levi, and had reached the fifty-second generation when Herod came to the throne. This prince assumed the undue prerogative of appointing to this office whomsoever he would, and of removing them according to his humor. The highpriests discharged the same duties in the temple, as in the days of Moses. They also presided over the chief council or Sanhedrim, the highest judicial court among the Jews, and in which sat, at the time of Christ, priests, Levites, scribes and pharisees, with Annas at their head. Besides the one high-priest, there were twenty-four chief-priests. These did not all dwell in Jerusalem, except during the specified week of service which, from time to time, they had to spend in the temple. The other priests, too, had the same duties to dis

'Six years after the birth of Christ, Archelaus, the son of Herod, was dethroned, and from that time the Romans appointed the rulers of Judea. Pontius Pilate was the sixth of these governors, A. D. 27 to 36. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Cruel, was prince of Galilee.

charge which had been promulgated on Mount Sinai, namely, to conduct, with the assistance of the Levites, divine service on the Sabbath-day in the various synagogues throughout the land; and to read and explain the holy scriptures to the people. In the history of our divine Saviour, not only the highpriests and Levites appear and act, but also the scribes, elders, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. Let us take a glance at each of these classes of persons. The scribes were the teachers of law and religion, and explained the scriptures, which Esdras, after the Babylonian captivity, had gathered together in one collection. These scribes were held in high esteem among the people, who believed that they derived their learning in a continued stream from Moses himself, through Josue, Phineas, Heli, Samuel, David, the prophets, and Esdras. In former generations, there had indeed been many good, holy, and inspired men among the scribes, but at the time of Christ they had been corrupted by the Pharisees, were divided among themselves, and instead of searching and seeking for the truth of God's law, they busied themselves with useless and trifling technicalities, advanced frivolous fictions and worldly principles in place of the divine precepts; and thus merited the rebuke of our divine teacher and master.

By the elders, the holy scripture means the judges and other civil functionaries, selected from among the oldest and most experienced inhabitants of each section of the country. In every city there was established a court of these elders, with twenty-three officials in each court. It was to this "council" that our Saviour alluded when He said: "Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca," that is, should curse his fellow-man, "shall be in danger of the council" (Matt. v. 22): meaning that the offender shall be brought before the council of the elders, and receive the penalty of his misdemeanor. These elders were first established by Josaphat, the fourth king of Juda, who warned them to act cautiously and justly, for they were to administer a law which came from God and not from men. Unhappily, most of the elders of Christ's time had forgotten this excellent advice of a pious king.

The class most injurious to the ordinary people were the Pharisees, who formed among themselves a sort of brotherhood composed of priests and laymen, and numbering at the time of Christ about 6,000 members. They fasted a good deal, prayed long prayers without moving eyes, arms, or hands, and gave tithes and alms, not as prescribed by the law, but

of the poorest quality of produce. Most of them practised these observances through hypocrisy, and to be seen by the people; for they proved by their pride and hard-heartedness that the sacred love of God and their neighbor had no place in their breasts. The simple and unsuspecting people respected them as holy men, and their word was often of more account than that of the high-priest. They knew how to take advantage of this respect on the part of the people, and lost no opportunity to mingle in the councils of the scribes and elders, to rule wherever they could, and to oppose violently all whose opinions did not agree with their own. Even the kings were sometimes made to fear their ill-will. Their pretended holiness was the deadly poison which infected the whole lower orders at the time of Christ. Now, as there are few more heinous crimes than that of abusing God's holy law, and perverting it to our personal advancement before the world, Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees in the severest terms; and for this they bitterly detested Him and became His most persistent enemies.

Another sect living among the Jews were the Sadducees. These were mostly wealthy, prominent, and liberal free-thinkers, who denied the resurrection, the immortality of the soul, and the ministration of angels. Rejecting all oral tradition, they maintained, according to their own whimsical notions, that the only law binding them was the written law of Moses. Although they entertained bitter hostility of feeling toward the Pharisees, they made common cause with them against Jesus; for they, in their sensuality, expected a Messias who would free them from the Roman yoke and bring them wealth and worldly success. They, in some respects, resembled the Herodians, a sect who pretended to believe that Herod was the Messias, hung around the royal palace of this monarch, led a loose and abandoned life, and in speech and action differed but little from the heathens.

In the last place, let us cast a glance at the peculiar sect called Publicans, or tax-gatherers. These were Jews who had made a bargain with the Roman Government, and for a price had agreed to collect the taxes so offensive and so oppressive to their conquered fellow-countrymen. As it was their interest to collect as much as possible, they were looked upon as avaricious, called public sinners, or publicans, and were universally despised and hated; the more so, as the Jews bore the yoke of Roman authority with much ill-will,

Thus we see that at the time of the birth of Christ corruption had pervaded and demoralized all classes and conditions among the Jews, so that the few honest and well-intentioned people might well sigh heavily and groan impatiently for the coming of Him who had been foretold by the prophets.

CHAPTER II

THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST 1. THE ROMAN EMPIRE. CESAR AUGUSTUS

AFTER this imperfect glance at the degradation of God's chosen people, the Jews, let us consider the still more dreadful degradation into which all the other nations of the earth had fallen, and especially the Roman people, who were the most powerful, most civilized, and most enlightened of them all. Countless nations had been reduced to subjection by their armies. All Italy, Switzerland, Germany as far as the Danube, Hungary, France, Spain, Northern Africa, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Asia Minor, and all the countries as far as the river Euphrates, bowed before the scepter of imperial Rome. In the midst of this immense empire rose the proud and haughty metropolis, Rome, the mistress of the universe. Founded about 753 years before Christ, this city was governed for some centuries by kings, who, in course of time, were expelled by the people, and their places supplied by a consul chosen every year. These consuls continued to govern the Romans till near the time of Christ, when Rome rose from a republic into an empire, and Julius Caesar, who had been consul sixty years before Christ, and who afterward became a distinguished and successful general, was, on account of brilliant achievements in war, declared emperor for life, about forty-five years before the birth of the Saviour. In the following year, however, he was slain by Brutus, the Roman tribune, and succeeded by Octavianus. This last was so successful in all his undertakings, and raised the city of Rome to such a pinnacle of prosperity and splendor, that he was solemnly crowned by the senate with imperial honors, and proclaimed emperor under the name of Cæsar Augustus. Like Cæsar, Octavianus enjoyed absolute sway and unlimited power. He proclaimed a universal peace, ordered a general census of all his subjects, and under his reign Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour, was born at Bethlehem.