Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle/Chapter 22
CHAPTER XXII.
"THEN the Spirit of Truth took me by the hand and said: 'Come now and I will show thee the earth as it really is; not as it seemeth to thee. Thou shalt see into the hearts of men.'
"And, hand in hand, we flew over the houses of Jerusalem, and over the golden canopy of the Temple, and, as we passed, it was as if the roofs of the houses were removed, and we saw into the houses, and then it seemed as though a veil were torn from the hearts of them that dwelt therein, and we could read their thoughts. First the Spirit took me to the house of Pontius Pilate. His room was dark, but, while we stood at the window, our own radiance seemed to light it up and show us where he lay, tossing on his couch; and we heard him say: 'This Man hath done no evil by the Roman law. He shall not die.' Then he rose from his couch and paced the room, his fists clenched, and his voice rang out with a bitter cry: 'If I could but know whether He be the Christ! Is it, oh, is it indeed He?'
"Then I said to the Spirit of Truth: 'This man would fain believe; why, then, hath he not the power?' And the Spirit of Truth made answer: 'He will not let himself believe, for fear of Caiaphas. He knoweth the Roman law, and the Christ hath done naught against the Roman law, but he feareth Caiaphas; for once Caiaphas did send word to the Emperor about the pictures of his gods he had set up, and, again, about the Corban. Twice hath Pontius Pilate erred, and twice did Caiaphas obtain hearing of the Emperor, so now Pilate feareth to offend him. Thus in this world do men barter great things for little, and eternal salvation for the good opinion of men like unto themselves. Yet the heart of Pilate is such an one as God doth love. 'T is a noble heart that would do right, a kind heart and one that hateth to do injustice. Yet he hath so mystified himself that he knoweth no longer what Truth is.'
"Then he took me to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, and the heart I witnessed there in all its nakedness made my own heart faint, for on it I could see no white spot at all, only craft, and malice, and vengeance, and defiance. It was as if the spark of the Holy Spirit had been quenched. Greed and hate and suspicion were in that heart. Love could not lodge therein, nor Truth; it was like a garden choked with weeds. 'This man,' said the Spirit, 'is a devil, for he knoweth by the spirit of prophecy that is given to him through Aaron that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ; but he hath sold his soul to Satan, rather than have it said that a greater than he is on earth. He knoweth that He whom he persecuteth hath power given Him from above. He knoweth that the vengeance of God will come upon him, and, though he knoweth not for a surety that there is a future life, yet he feareth it, and that he will be eternally consumed. All this he knoweth, and therefore doth he sin wilfully; and wilful sin is the worst of all, and cometh rarely. For most men sin because they think not, or are too busy, or too careless, or are choked with the cares of this world; nearly all would fain believe, but cannot; but this man doth believe and will not.'
"Then Truth held a mirror before my eyes, and in that mirror I saw a vision. I saw Caiaphas struggling with a man in armour, and the man's armour flashed forth blue lights like tongues of dying fire, and he upheld his sword. Then he thrust his sword into the side of Caiaphas, and the blood spurted forth in jet-black streams, as if the heart of him had been corrupt. And, hovering over the High Priest's body, I saw once more the black-winged angel whom the Spirit of Truth did call Satan, and he cried exultingly: 'Thou art mine, Caiaphas, thou art mine forever!'
"And while he spoke, the look of despair I had seen on Satan's face o'erspread the countenance of Caiaphas, filling me with such horror and such dread that I longed to see somewhere a pure heart, or a ray of sunlight to relieve my soul of this darkness and desolation. Then turned I to the Spirit and I said: 'I can look no longer at this vision, for the despair doth penetrate my heart. '
"Then he took the mirror from me. 'Look now at no vision, but the Truth,' he said. And, even while he spoke, I saw that Caiaphas paced the room impatiently, and looked ever towards the door. And presently I saw it opened and a man enter crouching and ashamed, like one who thinketh himself too vile to live; and, as he approached Caiaphas, I could see his face upturned, and lo, it was the face of him that is called Iscariot, and I started when I saw him, for methought he had been the follower of Christ."
Here Lazarus paused, as though fearing to impart a secret that was not his own; but Martha, looking at him, said: "I have ever had a strange mistrust of Judas."
"Yet we must not speak of this," said Lazarus, "for 't was but as the vision of a dream."
But the women's eager faces seemed to impel him to proceed. Another day was dawning, and now, one by one, the members of the household came in silently to the hall, marvelling to find their master there at this early hour. They ranged themselves in rapt attention to hear the words that fell from him.
"And when I looked on Judas," continued Lazarus, "I saw he had the same despairing look that I had noted in the face of Caiaphas. Withal there was not that hatred in him, and I pitied him, for I saw that his was a weak, timid heart, and that he feared this Caiaphas. When Judas entered, Caiaphas looked sternly at him and his voice came angrily. 'What wouldst thou with me, Judas? Have I not done with thee? Didst thou not covenant for thirty pieces of silver to sell the Nazarene? Wherefore troublest thou me?'—'I come to crave thy pardon, noble Caiaphas, and to beg thee to release me from my promise, for I wot not what I said. Methinks I was drunk with wine to say I would betray the Lord for thirty pieces of silver.' 'Dost want more?' asked Caiaphas, eying him with doubt. 'Nay, I want none at all,' said Judas, 'only to be freed from this my promise. I cannot betray the Lord.' 'Fool!' roared Caiaphas, beyond himself with rage. Then, seizing Iscariot by the sleeve, he took him to the window and pointed to the pale mists of dawn that hovered in tenuous masses above the earth. 'Seest thou that sun just showing above yon mountain?' he asked the wretched man, whose despairing eyes were barely lifted and whose head was bent painfully beneath the iron grasp of Caiaphas. 'Before that sun shall rise again thou wilt be lying with thy eyes glazed in death, unless thou keep thy promise to betray this Jesus.'"
"Oh, poor Judas!" exclaimed the tender-hearted Mary. "Could we not help him to escape this man?"
"He hath the Lord," said Martha sternly.
But Lazarus continued: "And even while Caiaphas was speaking, methought I saw the frame of Judas shrink into an image half its own size; yet still I hoped that he would say: 'I will die, I will die gladly rather than betray my Lord.' But instead, as though greatly fearing Caiaphas, he turned and fled; and as he fled, Caiaphas laughed a laugh so full of scorn and hate that 't would have more fitly issued from the lips of devils. 'Ha, ha,' he scoffed, 'thou who wouldst betray thy friend for thirty pieces of silver, dost think to cozen Caiaphas? Like all traitors, thou fearest death, and 't is death I will hold over thee, thou red-haired poltroon!' And I wept to think that I could not go to Jesus and warn Him of His foe; but the Spirit of Truth had read my thoughts. He smiled and said: 'Poor fool, and who art thou to think thou canst inform thy Lord of aught? All that thou hast but now perceived hath been known to Him since Time began—aye, before Time was. 'Then, sick at heart at the sight of all this treachery, I turned me to the Spirit of Truth and said: 'Canst thou not show me some pure hearts to raise my drooping spirits? Are there no good upon the earth?' And Truth answered: 'There are few; none are wholly good, but some have trust.'
"Then he took me through palaces of the Jews and of the Romans and into the houses of great merchants; but nowhere saw I one heart that thirsted for knowledge of the Christ. The women were content to deck themselves with jewels and to scold their serving-maids, and each spake ill of another's beauty or her virtue. Here and there I saw little children who looked to heaven and asked their parents: 'Who liveth beyond the clouds?' But their parents only answered: 'Torment me not with questionings'; or, 'When thou art a grown man thou wilt know.' And therewith the child must needs be satisfied. It is thus that ignorance and darkness are continued from one generation to another.
"Then the Spirit took me into the houses of the rulers of the Synagogue, the governors of the people and the lawyers, and, looking into their hearts, I saw that there was but little knowledge in them, only such as was required to cozen other men. They cared not for their country's good, nor for the glory of the Lord. In their hearts was only love of money and great power, and they craved strength but to crush the lowly, not to oppose the foe. They laid tithes and taxes on the people, to fill their own coffers, not for the grandeur of the land; and of all there scarce one spoke the truth, and of the lawyers none; but all they strove for was to entangle men in their talk and to make them bear false witness. And all I saw were hypocrites and liars, and it seemed to me that no man could be saved on the face of the whole earth, and I marvelled that God consumed them not with fire.
"Then the Spirit of Truth spake yet again and said: 'Now will I show to thee the sweetest, greatest spirit of all women that are upon the earth.' And he took me far across fields and villages and hills till he came to a house in Nazareth, and I said: 'This I know is where dwelleth the mother of the Lord.' And the Spirit of Truth said: 'She is blessed above all women, and many nations will worship her. Nevertheless, she is not divine, for all she hath been chosen to give earthly life to the Son of God. But priests of many countries will seek to make her so, in that they may catch the souls of women; for 't is ever women whom Satan first entangleth.'
"Then said I: 'Who then is Satan? and if God hath so great power, why doth He leave this man to buffet and seduce the world?'
"Then the Spirit of Truth spoke sternly to me: 'Be silent, and inquire not into the things of God! I, too, know not whence is Satan, nor wherefore. He was before the world was made. Of that knoweth only God. Canst tell how the lights do hang in heaven and how the seas do rise and fall, yet go no farther? Dost know how the leaf of the flower unfoldeth, or the child is gendered in the womb? These things first find out, and when thou hast informed thyself of all earthly things—what whiteneth the snow, and whence the rivers rush to reach the sea; when thou hast learned how forms the fish within the shell, and why the mountains—quake then thou canst ask of God, if thou art bold enough, wherefore He did create thee, and whence is Satan. Wouldst be a scholar, wouldst learn philosophy, ere thou canst read; wouldst fight a battle ere thou canst buckle on the sword? Be content, and ask not, but for the spirit of a little child, and to be born again in faith and love.'
"And, thus rebuked, my eyes fell in confusion, and once more they sought the earth, and I saw the virgin mother kneeling on her floor. Never shall I forget the purity of that enraptured gaze, that seemed mutely to appeal to Heaven to ask the meaning of this grief that had befallen her; why she, who had preserved ever her virginity, and married Joseph of Nazareth but for a companion and protection, should have had a child, and further should have suffered the scorn of the world and the suspicion of her husband for so many months. She was dressed in a simple woollen gown that fell from neck to feet, and her hair, yellow as wheat that doth await the reaper, did shimmer in the sun, contrasting strangely with her dark pencilled eyebrows, but harmonising with the liquid lustre of her deep blue eyes. And, looking at this small, frail woman, I marvelled how she could endure so much and live; and I inquired of the Spirit of Truth: 'Doth this woman pray always?'
"And he answered : 'Always; and with prayer she hath achieved many things. When Joseph found that she was with child, he would have given her a bill of divorcement, and all her friends did scoff at her. "Wherefore didst thou marry Joseph?" inquired they of her. "To be the father of thy child?"
"'And, greatly troubled, Joseph did entreat her to advertise him whence was this child; and, loath to hold her up to public scorn, he said: "I will put thee privily away, if thou wilt tell me; I will neither stone thee, nor give thee a writing of divorcement; I will be as though I were the father of the child."
"'But she could do naught but cry: "I know not." And none would credit her, and all her kindred came about her murmuring and saying: "Why hath this reproach of the enemy come upon us in this day, and on the lineage of the House of David, that a virgin should be found with child?"
"'But Mary could only weep and say, "I know not, I know not"; and she shut herself up and denied herself to all, for the reviling of her enemies overwhelmed her. But, in her heart, she knew that the child was of the Lord; for the angel Gabriel had appeared to her, the same who had appeared also to Elisabeth her cousin before the birth of John the Baptist; and the two women talked much together of these things and were filled with the Holy Spirit, which is from the beginning given to all whose hearts are gentle and as little children's. But none could understand this thing, or believe that it was the doing of the Lord. For all that, Mary prayed on in patience that, even if all the world would not believe it, Joseph might receive assurance that she was a pure woman, true and faithful. And then one night her prayer was answered, for an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph, and thus he spake: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins."
" 'And when he woke from sleep, he went to Mary and fell down and worshipped her and said: "Mary, Mary, forgive me; I have done thee grievous wrong. Blessed art thou amongst women."
" 'And Mary, who was ever tender and loving and forgiving, looked at him kneeling at her feet, and said: "How wouldst thou know, Joseph, except the Lord did tell thee? But forbear to kneel to me, for I am but the Lord's hand-maiden." And then Mary opened her mouth and sang a beauteous song, a song so sweet that the nations will sing it evermore; and at the Judgment Day shall again be heard the song of this pure, faithful woman. And, as she sang, I heard a chorus of angels join in and sing, Praise, praise to God in the highest, and on earth peace."
"And again Truth handed me the mirror in which to see the vision of the future; and I saw one with a sword pierce the heart of the Virgin through and through. Again I saw her bowed down with grief and desolate, wandering towards the grave of her slain Son; and, as she walked, great drops fell from her eyes, and, wherever one did fall, a pure white lily did spring up to mark the place. 'See how even the righteous suffer! Why is this?' I asked. And the Spirit of Truth made answer: 'This too shalt thou know, when all things be made manifest; but I tell thee that the present suffering is as naught compared with the glory that shall be revealed.'
"Then he took me to where I longed to be, to Ephraim; but when I would fain have spoken to the Lord, he said: 'Thine hour is not yet come.'
"And I wept to think that I might not go to my Lord. Then the Spirit of Truth went on: 'So weep all in Hades that have loved the Lord. They sigh and long for Him; but 't is worse for those in hell, for they sigh and long in vain.' Then I said to the Spirit of Truth: 'I would see hell.'
"And the Spirit of Truth looked very stern and answered: 'Dost know that by the blood of the Lamb alone thou art saved from hell?' 'Verily,' I answered, 'I know that it is by the mercy of God and the love of Jesus that I too am not in the innermost hell.'
"And even while I spoke the Spirit answered: 'Yea, thou shalt see hell also, for two days are past, and in two days thou shalt see earth once more.' Then I said to the Spirit: 'Must this thing be, that I live again?' 'Yea, thou must live again and also die,' the Spirit answered; and my soul did faint within me at these words.
"Then the Spirit took me hither and thither, and I now saw every man did seek his own, and no other's glory, and how they who believed not sought to fashion their own destiny and straighten their own paths; and then I saw how some great judgment overtook them, such as they had never recked of. The miser's money was taken from him by his enemy; the lover of the wanton woman found her faithless. The steward of the rich man gave his lord's gains to another, and while the king went forth to conquer other lands an enemy came unawares and took his country. The husbandman who would reap his grain saw not the rain-clouds gathering above, or the thunder thickening behind the mountain; and the sailor who left the harbour in fair weather heard not the distant moaning of the wind that soon would lash the waves into a storm that would engulf him.
"And I saw, as the preacher saith, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but that victory is only for them who wait patiently for the Lord. And I wept at the remembrance of the years that I had lost, of the houses I had builded, the orchards and the gardens I had planted; and I saw that all the labour of man is for himself, and that yet withal he is never satisfied."