before you to my Father's house, and shall return to receive you thither, that we may at last be alway together. Still, however, their minds were not perfectly clear. Thomas, and Philip, and Judas, the brother of James, put questions to him, which showed that they were yet groping in the dark. He explained himself to them; reminded them how dear he was to the Father, and that therefore they should rather rejoice that he was going to him; assured them that they should not be left comfortless, that they should be objects of the Father's love and favor, and be blessed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And finally he said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you."

But his discourse did not consist wholly of words of comfort. The truest consolation is always found in the strength of virtuous principle and preparation for virtuous action; and it would have been of little avail to the apostles, that their present apprehensions were soothed, unless they had also been made to understand what was required of them, and nerved to bear the sufferings and do the work appointed them. They were going forth on the most important errand on which men had ever been commissioned. They were going into the midst of trials to which men had

John xv. xvi.

never been exposed. Every thing was to depend on the constancy and fidelity with which they should execute their trust. Jesus felt that in vain had he begun an enterprise the most beneficent to man and the most glorious to God, unless it were prosecuted in his spirit. This spirit he labored to infuse into them. He strove to make them comprehend how much was depending on their feeling their connexion to himself, and devoting themselves exclusively to his cause. He urged

them to adhere to him in all affection and confidence, because they could otherwise have no strength and success, any more than a branch could live and bear fruit without connexion with the vine. He urged them to adhere to one another in brotherly love, and thus to recommend their cause and their Master to the world. He pleaded with them the memory and example of his own love for them, and warned them against the ruinous consequences of remissness and unfaithfulness. At the same time, he did not disguise the perils to which this course would expose them; he told them, that they had much opposition to encounter and severe sufferings to endure. But they should not be unsupported. The spirit of God would be with them to guide, sustain, and bless them, and no request which they should make of the Father in his name would be denied them.

Much of this consoling and admonitory lan

guage appears to have been lost on the disciples at the time. There was still a mist before their eyes. They did not clearly see what he meant by "going to the Father." They whispered among themselves inquiring what he could mean; and Jesus explained himself to them more perfectly. Still there remained much, the full import of which could enter their minds only when, some time afterward, the resurrection of their Lord and the gifts of the Spirit, had opened their eyes to the true purposes of his mission, and the real character of their enterprise. Then the solemn, exciting, and soothing discourses of this painful evening, must have come to their recollection with a sustaining and invigorating influence; and, mingled with the image of their gracious friend and the tones of his benignant voice, must have filled their hearts with the confidence and peace of which he spoke in the concluding words: "These words I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world, ye will have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Having finished what he had to say to his disciples, Jesus lifted up his eyes, and prayed. He prayed for himself, for his apostles, for all his disciples, for his followers and his truth in all ages. He

John xvii.

poured out his earnest and affectionate desires in a strain of supplication unspeakably pathetic and sublime. His beloved disciple has put his prayer on record. In reading it we gain admittance into the soul of his Master; we feel how powerful and elevating is his truth. We are overcome with admiration, that one about to perish by a violent and ignominious death, should exhibit this consciousness of an intimate union with the supreme Father; should display this calm assurance, that the grandest purposes of the Divine government were connected with his own fate; should thus lift himself above the present time and present scenes, and speak of the invisible and eternal as if familiar with their glories. We know that no one before him had thus spoken; and, as we listen to his words we exclaim, “Truly this was the Son of God."

CHAPTER XX.

JESUS RETIRES TO GETHSEMANE-IS APPREHENDED. IS CONDEMNED BY THE SANHEDRIM-PETER DENIES HIM.

Ir is not perfectly clear, whether the whole of the scene just related took place in the room in which the Passover supper was eaten; or whether a large portion of the last discourse of Jesus were not held in the open air as he was proceeding with his disciples toward the Mount of Olives. The latter is thought by many to be the more probable; and they conceive, that the image which he used of the vine and its branches, was suggested by the vineyards through which they passed on their way.

However this may have been, they left the city, as had been their custom every night, and retired over the brook Kedron, to the Mount of Olives. This brook runs through the bottom of the valley which lies between Olivet and Jerusalem. After crossing it, they proceeded for about half a mile, when they came to a garden called Gethsemane, lying just at the foot of the mountain. It seems to have been a favorite resort of

Matt. xxvi. 36.

Mark xiv. 32.
John xviii. 1.

Luke xxii. 39.