The Brook Kerith: A Syrian story

  CHAP. XXXVI.

  In Ephesus stands a temple said to be one of the wonders of the world,the Temple of Diana; pilgrims come to it from all countries, and buystatues of the goddess to set upon their tables (little silver statues),and as the making of these is the principal industry in that city, thesilversmiths raised cries against me in the theatre, where once I stoodup to address the people. Great is Diana, goddess of the Ephesians! theycried out, and would have thrown me to the beasts. Yea, I fought withthe beasts, for they were nothing else, and had not Aquila and Priscillarisked their lives to save me I should have perished that day. That dayor another day; it matters not; we all perish sooner or later. My lifehas never been my concern, but God's, a thing upheld by God for so manyyears that I shun danger no longer. It has even come to pass that I amlonely in security, withdrawn from God in houses, and safe in his armswhen clinging to a spar in the dark sea. God and our Lord Jesus Christ,his beloved son, have walked on either side of me in mountain passeswhere robbers lie in wait. We are nearer to God in hunger and thirstthan when the mouth is full. In fatigue rather than in rest, and to knowoneself to be God's servant is good cheer for the traveller, better thanthe lights of the inn showing over the horizon, for false brethren mayawait him in the inn, some that will hale him before rulers, but if heknows that he is God's servant he will be secure in his own heart, wherealone security matters.

  It may have been my sin to weary too often at the length of the journey,and to cry out to the Lord Jesus to make an end of it. It may have beenthat I was often too eager to meet my death and to receive the reward ofall my labour, but who shall judge me? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the onlyjudge and his reign shall endure over this world till the last man hasvanished into death. And when the last man has perished? Mathias asked.Paul answered: Jesus shall pass into his Father's keeping and againthere shall be but one God. But, Paul, Mathias rejoined, if I understandthee rightly, there are now two Gods, and our hope is that in time tocome the twain may turn to one. Paul was about to answer, but his lipswere parched, and he raised the cup of water to his lips, and when hehad drunk he was about to answer Mathias, but Hazael said: Mathias, weare all eager to hear the story of Paul's own life. There will be timeafterwards to discuss his doctrine. Mathias waved his hand, a sign thatPaul might continue his story, which he did.

  From Ephesus we returned to Corinth and to Macedonia, and dreams beganto take hold on us of longer journeys than any we had yet undertaken; wedreamed of Rome, and then of Spain, for all should hear the joyfultidings that there is salvation for all, and we live in dread that thejudgment may come upon the world before the distant countries have heardthat the Christ has been born and has died and been raised by his Fatherfrom the dead, thereby abolishing the law, which was no longer needed,faith in Christ being sufficient. But if the judgment comes before allmen have heard of the Christ, then is God unjust. God forbid: our slothand tardy feet are responsible. Our fear is for the Jews that haveclosed their ears to the truth, and, therefore, we were warned not toleave Palestine without a last effort to save them. Once more my soulsaid unto me: Paul, go to Jerusalem, for the last time enter the Templeand comply with all the law, for these things matter not whether they bedone or left undone; all that matters is that Jerusalem should acceptJesus. Be all things, once more, to all men. And it was after thiscommand, given to me in the silence of the night, that I took leave ofthe brethren at Ephesus, saying to them: brethren, you knew from thefirst day that I came unto Asia what manner of man had come among you,directing you only towards repentance towards God, and faith in our LordJesus Christ. I would indeed remember all I said on that occasion, for Ispoke well, the Holy Ghost being upon me, putting the very words of theleave-taking into my mouth that I should speak, words which I cannotfind again, but which were written by me afterwards, as I wished them tobe preserved for the use of the faithful. They shall be sent to you. Butin this moment I'm too tired to remember them, and will continue mystory, telling how when the sails of the ship were lifted we came with astraight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and thencePatara, and finding a ship about to start for Phoenicia, we went aboardand set forth again. We left Cyprus on the left, and were landed atTyre, where there were many disciples who said to me that I must not goto Jerusalem. We kneeled on the shore and prayed; and when we had takenleave of one another, and I had said: my face you shall see no more, wetook ship, and they returned home.

  Next day we were at Caesarea and went to the house of Philip the Apostle(him of many daughters, and all prophetesses), and lived with him,tarrying till there came from Judea Agabus, who, when he saw me, took mygirdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said: so at Jerusalem shallthe Jews bind him that owns this girdle, and they shall deliver him intothe hands of the Gentiles. At which all my disciples there wept, and Isaid: why do ye weep? for your weeping breaks my heart. Think not ofwhat this man has said, even if he has spoken the truth, for I am readyto die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I comforted them and wentup to Jerusalem, and was received by the brethren. James and all theelders were present, and after having heard from me how widely the nameof our Lord Jesus Christ had been made known to the Gentiles and to theJews that lived among the Gentiles, they answered: brother, there are agreat many believers among the Jews, and all here are ardent followersof the law, and these have heard that thou teachest to the Jews in exilethat Moses may be forsaken, and that they need not circumcise theirchildren and may set aside our customs. Now, Paul, they asked, whatfavour dost thou expect from us if these things be as they have beenreported to us? And being sure within myself that it was not counselthey sought from me, but words out of my own mouth whereby they mightstir up the people against me, I answered only: upon whose testimony doye say these things? There are, they said, four holy men, who are undera vow; go with them and purify thyself and pay the money they need forthe shaving of their heads and all other expenses. Whereupon I was muchangered, seeing the snare that they were laying for me, but, as I havetold you, my rule is always to be all things to all men, and rememberingthat though Jesus Christ our Lord has set us free from the law, it wouldbe better to forgo this liberty than to scandalise a brother, I said: Iwill do, brethren, as you ask, and went with the four poor men to theTemple and remained there with them for five days, abstaining from wine,and cutting off--well, there was little hair for me to cut off, but whatthere was I cut off.

  All went well during the first days, but the emissaries and agents ofJames, seeing that my devotion in the Temple might win over the Jews tome, laid another snare, and I was accused of having held converse withTrophimus, an uncircumcised Greek, in the street the day of my arrivalin Jerusalem, and this not being a sufficient offence to justify them instoning me as they had stoned Stephen before my eyes, it was said that Ihad brought him into the Temple, and the agents of the priests came onthe fifth day to drag me out and kill me in some convenient byway, thesacristans closing the doors of the Temple behind me. We will make anend of this mischief, the hirelings said, and began to look around forstones wherewith to spatter out my brains; they cast off their garmentsand threw dust into the air, and I should have met my death if the noisehad been any less, but it was even greater than the day Stephen died,and the Roman guard came upon the people and drew me out of their hands,saying: what is the meaning of this? The Jews could not tell them sogreat was their anger.

  We'll take him to the castle, the centurion said, and the crowdfollowed, pressing upon us and casting stones at me till the soldiershad perforce to draw their swords so as to get me to the castle alive.We were thrown hither and thither, and the violence of the crowd at thefoot of the stairs and the pressure obliged the soldiers to carry me upthe steps in their arms. So I turned to the Chief Captain, who wastrying in vain to calm the rioters, and said to him in Greek: may Ispeak to them? So thou canst speak Greek? he answered, surprised, andgave me leave to speak, and I said: Hebrews, listen to a Hebrew likeyourselves, and I told of the vision on the road to Damascus, to whichthey listene
d, but as soon as the tale was over they cried: remove himfrom this world, he is not fit to live. At these words the centurion,who was anxious to appease the people, signed to his apparitors to seizeme, and before I had time to make myself heard these strapped me to thewhipping-post, my hands above me. But is it lawful to scourge a Romanand he uncondemned? I said to the centurion next to me. Whereupon thelictors withdrew and the centurion turned to the Chief Captain, wholooked me up and down, for, as you see, my appearance did not commandrespect. Is it true that thou'rt a Roman citizen? he asked, and Ianswered, yes, and he was astonished, for he had paid a great deal ofmoney for the title. But I was born free, I answered him, confusing andperplexing him and putting a great fear in his heart that belike hisoffice might be taken from him for having tied a Roman citizen to thewhipping-post, merely that and nothing more.

  It was to gain my favour that he promised to summon a council (theSanhedrin), and on the day appointed, ordering my chains to be unlocked,introduced me to the Jews as a free man, saying he would remain to hearthe discussion. Brothers, I have lived till to-day in good consciencebefore God. On that the High Priest ordered those that stood by him tostrike me on the face. God shall strike thee, thou whited wall, Ianswered him, for thou sittest to judge me according to the law, andbreaking the law thou orderest me to be struck. Those that were presentsaid: so that is how thou revilest the High Priest. I did not know hewas the High Priest, I answered: if I had I should not have spoken as Ispoke, for is it not written, thou must not insult the chief of thypeople?

  As I spoke these words, I saw that the assembly was divided into twoparts, that each part was inspired by different ideas, and that onepart, the Sadducees, were determined upon my death. Therefore my wordswere, brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee, do you knowof what they accuse me? Of saying that the dead will be raised out oftheir graves for judgment, a thing which you all believe. So did Idivide my enemies, persuading the Pharisees thereby to defend me, andthey, believing the story I told of my vision on the road to Damascus,said: let us hear nothing against him, a spirit or angel may have spokento him. But the Sadducees were the stronger party, and dividing thePharisees with their arms many rushed to kill me, and they would havedone this if the Captain of the Guard had not sent soldiers to myassistance, who with difficulty rescued me from the Jews and brought meback to the castle.

  I was sorry for the Captain of the Guard, who came to me and said: Iknow not how this will end or what to do with thee, and I answered him:there are knots in every business, and the clever man unties them, andthou'lt find a way of untying this knot in thy sleep to-night.... And Ilikewise, which was true, for a vision came to me that night, Jesushimself, and he said: thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem and thoushalt testify of me in Rome, and Jesus having said this much, I knewthat I should go to Rome, how I should go I knew not, but I knew that Ishould go and had no fear when my sister's son, my nephew, came to menext day and said: forty of the Jews have banded together to kill thee,Uncle, and this is how they will do it. They will present a petition tothe Chief Captain to have thee down among the council again so that theymay question thee regarding some points of the law which they affirmthou hast transgressed. Thou must not go down to them, Uncle, for theyhave knives concealed under their cloaks, and are upon oath neither toeat nor to drink until they have killed thee.

  So they are base enough for this, I answered, but I'll outwit them, andcalling to the centurion said: take this young man to the Chief Captainof the Guard; he has matter to relate which the Chief Captain shouldhear at once, and when he had told the plot Chief Captain Lysias said:they have sworn in vain. Thou shalt go with me to Caesarea and under astrong guard, two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundredspearmen; these will be able to resist any attack that the Jews mayattempt even should they hear of thy departure. At nine o'clock to-nightI shall put into thy hand a letter to Felix, the Governor, telling himthat I know nothing against thee that merits death or prison. The ordersof the Captain of the Guard were carried out punctually; we marched allnight, arriving at Antipatris in the morning, which is about half-waybetween Jerusalem and Caesarea, and all danger of surprise being now overthe escort divided, the four hundred men returning to Jerusalem, myselfgoing on to Caesarea with the horsemen, to be judged by Felix, who said:I shall sit in judgment as soon as thy accusers arrive from Jerusalem.

  And it was five days afterwards that my accusers began to come intoCaesarea, Ananias arriving first with some of the elders and with onenamed Tertullus, who began his speech against me with many coaxings ofthe Governor, saying that it was through him that Palestine enjoyed itsgreat peace and prosperity and for these gifts he was truly thankful,and though he feared he might prove tedious, still he would hope thatFelix in his great clemency might allow him to say a few further wordsabout a pestilential fellow, an agent of sedition among the Jewsthroughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect known as theNazarenes: one who came to Jerusalem but to profane the Temple, andwishing, he said, to judge him for his blasphemy according to our law,we laid hands upon him, but the Captain, Lysias, came upon us and withgreat violence took him out of our hands, and after hearing himdisputing with us in the council said, I find no fault with him but willsend him to the noble Felix. And you, most noble Felix, have sent forus, and we have come, and feel right well that we have not come in vain,for your knowledge and your justice are known in all the world. He saidthese things and many more of this sort till he feared that his firstwords were coming true and that he was beginning to weary Felix, whichwas the truth, for Felix raised his hand for me to speak, whereuponwithout cozenage and without preamble I told Felix that I had gone toJerusalem with alms collected from all parts of the world for the poorand also for worship in the Temple. Why then, if I am the pestilentialfellow that Tertullus says I am, is it that the Jews allowed me theTemple to abide therein for five days and that they have not broughtwitnesses to testify that they found me disputing therein or stirringthe people to riot in the synagogue and in the city. And I see none hereto bear witness that I do not believe in all that is written in the lawand in the prophets; only that I believe with a great part of thecitizens of Jerusalem that the dead will be raised from their graves forjudgment at the last day. If I am guilty of heresy so are many othershere. But you Essenes do not hold with the Pharisees, that thecorruptible body is raised from the dead, you believe that the soul onlyis immortal; I believe that there is a spiritual body also which israised; and Paul turned his searching eyes on Mathias, in whose mind ananswer began to form, but before he had time to speak it the brethrenbegan to evince a desire that Paul should continue his story.

  Felix after hearing me bade the Jews return to Jerusalem. I will deliverno sentence until I have conferred with Lysias, he said. The Jewsreturned discomfited, and Felix said to my jailer, let him be relievedof his chains and be free to see his friends and disciples and to preachwhat he pleases. Nor was this all: Felix came with his wife, Drusilla,who was a Jewess, and she heard me tell Felix that there would be ajudgment, and he answered: speak to me again of this, and they came tome many times to hear of the judgment, and to hint at a sum of moneywhich would be easy for me to collect; my disciples would pay for myliberty and the money would enable him to risk the anger of the Jews,who, he said, desired my death most savagely.

  But I was of no mind to ask my disciples to pay for my release; and thenFelix, desirous of obtaining the good will of the Jews, put chains uponme again, and so left me for two years, till Festus was appointed in hisplace.

  It was three days after Festus had disembarked at Caesarea that he wentup to Jerusalem, and no sooner had he arrived there than the High Priestasked for audience and besought him to send for Paul that he might bejudged in Jerusalem; the intention of the High Priest being that Ishould be waylaid and killed by a highwayman among the hills. But Festusthought it was unnecessary to bring me to Jerusalem, for he was about toreturn to Caesarea. Come, he said, with me, and accuse this man, and theyagreed. And it was ten days
afterwards that Festus returned to Caesareaand commanded me to be brought before his judgment seat. The Jews thathad come with him sat about, and with many voices complained against meof blasphemy, but their accusations were vain, for I answered: I havenot offended against the law of the Jews nor against Caesar, and theyanswered, so thou sayest, but wilt thou come to Jerusalem to be judgedby us? and Festus, who now only thought to avoid trouble and riot, saidto me, will you go to Jerusalem that I may hear you?

  But, Lord Festus, I answered, you can hear me here as well as inJerusalem, and these men desire but my death and ask that I shall bebrought to Jerusalem to kill me secretly, therefore I appeal to Caesar.

  Whereupon Festus answered that he had no fault to find with me, butsince I had appealed to Caesar I must go by the next ship, and as therewould be none for some weeks Festus, who had said to King Agrippa andBerenice, when they came to pay a visit to the new governor, and, beingJews, were curious about my gospel, I find no fault with this man andwould have set him at liberty, but he has appealed to Caesar and by thenext ship he goes to Rome, permitted me my liberty to go whither Ipleased and to preach as I pleased in the city and beyond the city if Ipleased. Whereupon I notified to Festus I would go to Jericho, a twodays' journey from Caesarea, and he said, go, and in three weeks a shipwill be here to take thee to Rome. But he said: if the Jews should hearof thee thou'lt lose thy life, and he offered me a guard, which Irefused as useless, knowing well that I should not meet my death atJericho. Why cherish a love for them that hate thee? he said, and Ianswered: they are my own people, and my heart was filled again with thememory of the elect race that had given birth to the prophets. Shallthese go down dead into their graves never to rise again, God's chosenpeople? I asked myself, and set out with Timothy, my son in the faith,for Jericho, a city I had never seen nor yet the banks of Jordan downwhich Jesus went for John's baptism. But for these things I had littlethought or care, but was as if propelled by some force that I could notunderstand nor withstand; and a multitude collected and hearkened to thestory of my conversion on the road to Damascus, but discontent broke outamong them when I said that Jesus had come neither to confirm nor toabolish the law, that the law was well while we were children but now wecould only enter into eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ ourLord.

  The rest of my story you know: how we fled into the hills for our lives'sake, and how Timothy in the dark of the evening kept to the leftwhereas I came round the shoulder of the hill and was upheld in the pathby God, who has still need of me. His ways are inscrutable, for, wishingto bring me to you, he sent me to preach in Jordan and urged the Jews tothreaten me and pursue me into the hills, for he wished you holy men wholive upon this ridge of rock in piety, in humility, in content, in peaceone with the other, fearing God always, to hear of Jesus and hisresurrection from the dead and the meaning thereof, which is that Christcame to redeem us from the bondage of the law and that sense of sinwhich the law reveals unceasingly and which terrifies and comes betweenus and love of Jesus Christ, who will (at the sound of the last trump)raise the incorruptible out of the corruptible. Even as the sown grainis raised out of its rotten grave to nourish and rejoice again at thelight, so will ye nourish again in the fields of heaven, never again tosink into old age and death if you have faith in Christ, for you haveall else, fear of God, and charity, piety and humility, brotherly love,peace and content in the work that the day brings to your hands and thepillow that the night brings to your head for reward for the work done.God that knows all knew you were waiting on this margin of rock for thejoyful tidings, and he sent me as a shepherd might send his servant outto call in the flock at the close of day, for in his justice he wouldnot have it that ten just men should perish. He sent me to you with adouble purpose, methinks, for he may have designed you to come to myaid, for it would be like him that has had in his heart since all timemy great mission to Italy and Spain, to have conceived this way toprovide me with new feet to carry the joyful tidings to the ends of theearth; and now I stand amazed, it being clear to me that it was not forthe Jews of Jericho that I was sent out from Caesarea but for you.

  Paul waited for one of the Essenes to answer, and his eyes falling onMathias' face he read in it a web of argument preparing wherein to catchhim, and he prayed that God might inspire his answers. At last Mathias,in clear, silvery voice, broke the silence that had fallen so suddenly,and all were intent to hear the silken periods with which the Egyptianthanked Paul for the adventurous story he had related to them, who, hesaid, lived on a narrow margin of rock, knowing nothing of the world,and unknown to it, content to live, as it were, immersed in God. Paul'snarrative was full of interesting things, and he regretted that Paul wasleaving them, for he would have liked to have given longer time to theexamination of the several points, but his story contained one thing ofsuch great moment that he passed over many points of great interest, andwould ask Paul to tell them why the resurrection of Jesus Christ shouldbring with it the abrogation of the law of Moses. If the law was trueonce, it was true always, for the law was the mind and spirit andessence of God. That is, he continued, the law spiritually understood;for there are those among us Essenes who have gone beyond the letter. I,too, know something of that spiritual interpretation, Paul cried out,but I understand it of God's providence in relation to man during acertain period; that which is truth for the heir is not truth to thelord. Mathias acquiesced with lofty dignity, and continued hisinterrogation in measured phrases: that if he understood Paul rightly,and he thought he did, his teaching was that the law only served tocreate sin, by multiplying the number of possible transgressions. Thymeaning would seem to be that Jews as well as Gentiles sin by acquiringconsciousness of sin, but by faith in Jesus Christ we get peace with Godand access unto his grace. Upon grace, Paul, we see thee standing as ona pedestal crying out, sin abounds but grace abounds, fear not sin. Thewords of my enemies, Paul cried, interrupting; sin so that grace mayabound, God forbid. Those that are baptized in Christ are dead to sin,buried with him to rise with him again and to live a new life. The oldman (that which we were before Christ died for us) was crucified withChrist so that we might serve sin no longer. Freed from the bondage ofthe law and concupiscence by grace we are saved through faith in ourLord Jesus Christ from damnation. It is of this grace that we would hearthee speak. Do we enter into faith through grace? Mathias asked, and,having obtained a sign of assent from Paul, he asked if grace were otherthan a free gift from God, and he waited again for a sign of assent.Paul nodded, and reminded him that God had said to Moses, I will havemercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom Iwill have compassion. Then, Mathias said, the law of Moses is notabrogated, thou leanest upon it when it suiteth thy purpose to lean, andpushest it aside when it pleases thee to reprove us as laggards intradition and among the beginnings of things. It was lest some mood ofinjustice might be imputed to God in neglecting us that we were invitedto become thy disciples, and to carry the joyful tidings into Italy andSpain. But we no longer find those rudiments in the law. We read it withthe eyes of the mind, and we receive not from thy lips that God is likea man--a parcel of moods, and obedient to them. It is true that Godjustifies whom he glorifies, Paul answered, but for that he is not anunjust God. If he did not spare his son, but delivered him to death thatwe might be saved, will he not give us all things? Who shall accuseGod's elect? He that chose them? Who will condemn them? Christ that willsit on the right hand of his Father, that intercedes for us? Neitherdeath nor life nor angels can separate me from the love of our LordJesus Christ, and if I came hither it is for the sake of my brothers, mykinsmen that might be saved. God has not broken his promise to hischosen people. A man may be born an Israelite and not be one; we aretrue Israelites, not by birth but by election. God calls whom hepleases, and without injustice. But, brethren, Mathias would ask of me:why does God yet find a fault though none may resist his will? We darenot reason with God or ask him to explain his preferences. Does the vaseask the potter: why hast thou made me thus? Had not the
potter powerover the clay to make from the same lump two vases, one for noble andthe other for ignoble use. Not in discourse of reason is the Kingdom ofGod, but in its own power to be and to grow, and that power ismanifested in my gospel.

  The approval of the brethren whitened Mathias' cheek with anger, and heanswered Paul that his denial of the law did not help him to rise to anyhigher conception of the deity than to compare him to a potter, and hewarned Paul that to arrive at any idea of God we must forget potters,rejecting the idea of a maker setting out from a certain moment of timeto shape things according to a pattern out of pre-existing matter. And Iwould tell thee before thou startest for the end of the earth that theJesus Christ which has obsessed thee is but the Logos, the principlethat mediates between the supreme God and the world formed out ofmatter, which has no being of its own, for being is not in that merepotency of all things alike, which thou callest Power, but in DivineReason.

  I have heard men speak like thee in Athens, Paul answered slowly andsadly, and I said then that the wisdom of man is but foolishness inGod's sight. But thy stay there was not long, and thou hast not spokenof my country, Egypt, Mathias answered, and rising from his seat he leftthe table and passed out on to the balcony like one offended, and,leaning his arms on the rail, he stood looking into the abyss.

  A Jew of Alexandria, Manahem whispered in Paul's ear, but he holds fastby the law in his own sense, and in telling of this Christ thou---- Wewould hear of Peter, Saddoc interrupted, the fisherman thou foundesteating unclean meat with the Gentiles. Have I not said, Paul answered,that what is eaten and what is drunk finds neither favour nor disfavourin God's eyes--that it is not by observance we are saved, but by faithin our Lord Jesus Christ that died to redeem us from the law, and wasraised from the dead by his Father, and who appeared to the twelve andto five hundred others, some of whom are dead, but many are still alive?But this Christ, who was he when he lived upon this earth? Manaheminquired. Son of the living God, Paul answered, that took on thebeggarly raiment of human flesh at Nazareth, was baptized by John inJordan, and preached in Galilee, went up to Jerusalem and was crucifiedby Pilate between two thieves; the third day he rose from the dead, thatour sins---- Didst say he was born in Nazareth? Hazael asked, the wordNazareth having roused him from his reveries, and was baptized by Johnin Jordan, preached afterwards in Galilee, and suffered under Pilate?Was crucified, Paul interjected; then you have heard, he said, of theresurrection? Not of the resurrection; but we know that our BrotherJesus was born in Nazareth, was baptized in Jordan by John, preached inGalilee and suffered under Pilate. Pilate condemned many men, Paulanswered, a cruel man even among the Romans. But born in Nazareth andwas baptized by John didst say? I said it, Hazael answered. Which amongyou, Paul asked, looking into every face, is he? Jesus is not here,Hazael replied, he is out with the flock. He slept by thy side on thisbalcony last night. We've listened to thy story with interest, Paul; wegive thee thanks for telling it, and by thy leave we will return to ourdaily duties and to our consciences.