he hurly-burly of passion. And the
Master's rarely sensitive spirit feels the change. Yet with quiet
resolution He steps out to face it. This is part of _the hour_, part of
His great task, the greatest part.
For the holy task of wooing is not changed. It still is wooing, but
there's a difference now. There's a shifting. The wooing goes from
closer to wider, from the disciples to the outer crowd, from the direct
wooing of the national leaders by personal plea to the indirect by
action, tremendously personal action.
It moves out into a yet wider sweep. It goes from the wooing of a nation
to the wooing of a race, from Jew distinctively to Roman
representatively, from Annas standing in God's flood light rejected to
Pilate in nature's lesser light obscured, from God's truant messenger
nation to the world's mighty ruling nation.
In the epochal event just at hand Jesus begins His great wooing of a
race. And that wooing has gone on ever since, wherever He has been able
to get through the human channels to the crowd. He was lifted up and at
once men began coming a-running broken in heart by the sight. He is
being lifted up, and men of all the race are coming as fast as the slow
news gets to them.
But back now to John's story. They pick their way over the stones of the
little Kidron into the garden of the olives. There, quite alone in the
deep shadows of the inner trees, Jesus has His great spirit-conflict,
and great victory. The touch with sin so close, so real, now upon Him
within a few hours, the sin of others upon His sinless soul,--this
shakes Him terrifically beyond our understanding, who don't know purity
as He did. But the tremendous strength of yielding brings victory, as
ever. And the battle of the morrow is fought in spirit, and won.
Now the trailers of hate come seeking with torch and lantern, soldiers
and officers, chief priests and rulers, the ever present rabble, and in
the lead the shameless traitor. They are pushing their quest now,
seeking Jesus in the hiding whence He had gone days before[122] led by
the man who knew His accustomed haunts.
But there's no need for seeking now. Jesus is full ready. He decides the
action that follows. He is masterful even in His purposeful yielding.
Quietly He walks out from the cover of the trees to meet them. And as
their torches turn full upon His advancing figure again that marvellous
power not only of restraint but decidedly more is felt by them. And the
whole co
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