The Sin of the Nations.
Now, a certain Herodian, who was among them whom Jesus confounded with a penny,
Came unto him privily by night, and saith unto him:
Master, I was with them this day who asked thee if it were lawful to render tribute unto Cæsar;
And I heard thee say, Inasmuch as the penny hath Cæsar's image and superscription that they should render therefore unto Cæsar the things that be Cæsar's.
Behold, the people are despoiled by the publicans; they give tithes of all they possess;
And their masters bear rule over them.
They take reward against the innocent; they devour widows' houses;
And keep back by fraud the hire of them who reap down their fields.
Tell me, Master, is the penny Cæsar's?
Then Jesus, answering, saith unto the Herodian, Why didst thou not say these things unto me in the day; and why comest thou privily by night?
Verily, I know why thou hast come privily, for thou fearest the powers that be. And the powers that be are ordained of God.
For God is spirit, and giveth to every man the reward of his own doing.
Unto the peaceful He giveth peace; unto the righteous He giveth righteousness; unto the faithful He giveth faith;
And unto the nations also He giveth rulers and governors.
And they shall rule the people with a rod of iron.
For the sin of their slavery is upon them: upon the sinner the sin of himself, and upon the nations their sin.
Lo! now, I say unto thee, seek peace, cleave to righteousness, be ye faithful;
Remember the fatherless; plead the cause of the widow; heal the broken-hearted.
And this is my cause,—the cause of Him that sent me, that I have made mine own:
To point the way, to live the life, and that in me the truth should live.
Lo! the day cometh when the nations shall be purified; when they shall not make war any more, and none shall molest or make afraid.
For with my stripes shall they be healed, and I shall be an example unto them,
In a way they think not, and in a time they wot not of.
But peace shall prevail because of the sword, and mercy shall come because of the death of the just.
For without shedding of blood is no remission of the sin of the nations.
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
And when my Gospel shall be published among all nations;
The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and in my righteousness shall the nations be exalted.
And I will put down all rule and all authority and power, and God, even the living God that abideth in you, shall be all in all.
