THE GROWING HATRED OF THE HAGIOCRACY. 345 In reality, far more than this semi-heathen prince, it was the heads of the existing Hagiocracy itself, with their proud seat in Jerusalem and widely spread troops of Pharisees and other scholastics, whose hostility was constantly growing hotter, because their pretended religion was more and more reduced to straits by his perfect true one. His requirement was not, like that of the Baptist, simply a preparation for a new better time; he required a prompt entrance upon the duties of the kingdom of God; and he did not as the Baptist provoke by isolated rigorous utterances the wrath of the rulers of the world; he laboured calmly as a king in his own kingdom, which, though in the midst of the world, was still far above it. Accordingly, there was not kindled against him, as against the Baptist, a partial, a considerate and insulated wrath; the Hagiocracy itself, as the great centre of the true religion as it had then been developed in its most rigid shape, according to all the defects which still adhered to it, felt that it alone was assailed most directly and most strongly by him, and could not as it was exist together with him if it sought to maintain itself against him. This Hagiocracy was the entire spiritual power of the nation of the true religion, and by that religion the profoundest power of the whole world at that time; it had risen upon the basis of the most sublime truths, and, proud of an equally exalted and unparalleled history of many centuries, easily failed to see its own defects; it had, a few years before, been suddenly attacked by the Baptist, and then it was far more closely pressed by this Galilean; and it supposed that it would be able, by putting an end to the work of this man from Galilee, which did not seem difficult, to destroy also his following, which was after all mainly Galilean. A measure, which they might suppose to be a mild one, had already been taken against him by the heads of the Hagiocracy, though it did not include for the present his public adherents; they had, as we have seen,' suspended over him the smaller excommunication; and it appears that they gradually included the Galilean Synagogues also within the range of this punishment, just as his public adherents also were from this time more and more seriously threatened with it, and to some extent already actually came under it.2 But since this punishment was not of much use to them, they caused him and his most intimate disciples to be more narrowly watched, that they might lay hold of matter for fresh accusations. 1 Pp. 292 sq. We see all this from the purely incidental remarks John vii. 13, 21, ix. 22, 34, 35, xii. 42, comp. xvi. 1; but according to the earlier Gospels also, Jesus does not again enter a Synagogue from this time. This storm which now, notwithstanding all his innocence and all his reserve, rose against him with increasing violence, could not for a long time past have been unexpected by him ; he had from the very first known what he himself, and what the world sought; and after he had laid the foundation of his Community, the most destructive sting of the world's rage and the injury it could inflict had been extracted. But it was still necessary that he should evade its hostility as long as possible, that he might as long as possible continue the difficult work which he had commenced in the formation of his Community; for it has already appeared how much had yet to be done here subsequent to the first successful beginnings, and with how great difficulty the higher faith became quite habitual among his nearest disciples. Nevertheless, in consequence of the constantly growing suspicion and anger of his enemies on all sides, it was henceforth impossible that he should stay in one place in future for any length of time. Accordingly, from this time he undertook with the Twelve more frequent and more extended journeys, even as far as the more remote boundaries of the sacred land, and was able thus the more easily to habituate the Twelve, amid the numerous unforeseen events of every day, to that higher faith and that steadfastness of mind generally in which they were still lacking, also at the same time to bring help to all the more people that were deserving of his kind assistance. Indeed, it is as if the spirit had urged him to visit quietly all the other chief parts of the entire country, to call which to the perfect true religion while there was time was his most immediate work. But the more his life-work thus approached completion, the more closely must he permit the Twelve also to glance both into the whole power and the true nature of the hostility of the world with its ruling authorities, and also into the divine necessity of his approaching death, which was quite clear to him alone; and if for the latter object brief hints in his more profound instructions sufficed, for the former object emphatic utterances were required on every suitable occasion. We find that, for good reasons, the warnings of Christ against the perversities of the predominant schools became more frequent, intentional, and pointed only towards the end of his time; it is not until after his work has entered fully and clearly into the world, that the world on its part presents to him increasingly pronounced opposition; and it is only now that the Twelve also are sufficiently prepared more completely to understand and more justly to estimate this opposition. JOURNEY TO TYRE AND SIDON. 347 a. The distant journeys in the North. They occupied, at all events, the entire summer of his last year; and we know a good deal about them from Mark, only that the manner of narration peculiar to this Evangelist must not in this case either be overlooked. Christ still continued to prefer Galilee, and travelled through it with the Twelve in the most opposite directions, so that, besides the Decapolis,' he also touched the north-eastern neighbouring countries, which were then ruled over by the benign Tetrarch Philip; especially as his residence in Galilee under Antipas grew constantly more insecure. The frequent passage of the Lake, and the constant journeys to the three different territories that bordered on it, show how hastily his foot had now to pass over the earth; and undoubtedly we have in these perpetual crossings of the Lake, for the most part, quite reliable reminiscences. 1. While he was still staying in the district of Gennesaret above referred to,2 some Pharisees and Scribes just come from Jerusalem made it a reproach against him that his disciples did not strictly observe the laws regarding bodily purification;3 but he seized this occasion both to establish before them and the people generally, and particularly the Twelve, the true view, to regard everything pure or impure in relation to the inward man, and also to show the entire perversity of the Pharisaic doctrines and rules of life generally. He departed thence to the north-west, crossing the borders of the ancient city of Tyre, and entered a house with the intention of staying there somewhat longer, but desiring to remain quite unknown. However, a heathen woman, Greek by education, though born in that neighbourhood, soon hastened to him to beg from him as the Messiah, of whose power she had heard, the cure of her daughter, who was possessed by an evil spirit. At first he would have nothing at all to say to her; so much the more she clung to the Twelve, who were assembled before the house, so that even they, moved with pity, besought him to give her a decisive answer. Then he declared to her that he was not sent unto the heathen, but to the lost sheep of Israel,' who had a nearer claim upon his help. But as she succeeded in removing this obstacle also by the most modest humility, touched by such genuine faith he listened to her petition. So 1 Ante, p. 317. 2 P. 340. See Antiquities, pp. 146 sq. The entire passage Mark vii. 1-23 is remark able,inasmuch as it shows how Mark composed such didactic passages independently of the Collected Sayings. little, therefore, will he deny to the heathen either a share in his gifts and so keep them from his kingdom (for the latter is found wherever the former are in operation), if they, as is meet, overcome with a proportionately stronger faith the greater hindrances that separate them from it! Indeed, it is as if he sought intentionally to give a plain example of this, in that he turned into these districts with a mainly heathen population. We met, however, with a quite similar case above.1 The journey was then continued still further northwards into the ancient territory of Sidon, as far as ever portions of the people of Israel had once settled in these districts which had been again occupied principally by heathen. But thence he turned back again in a south-easterly direction, going probably to the north of the Lake of Galilee over the Jordan, then east of the latter into the district of the Decapolis, accordingly likewise amongst a principally heathen population. Here he healed a deaf and dumb man, according to a process of healing which was above referred to; 2 but it was in vain that he forbad most earnestly those who had brought the man to him to be healed to say nothing of the cure; from astonishment they could not refrain. A second feeding of the multitude, of which we have already spoken,3 is also placed in this region. 6 2. Passing over from the eastern side of the Lake, he went into the parts of Dalmanutha,' by which probably southwestern Galilee is meant.4 The Pharisees did not leave him here either in peace: they demanded of him a sign, but only to lead him into temptation. He refused decidedly to consider such demands of unbelief as it appeared under the mantle of faith, and explained, probably at that time with special purpose, how such demands of miraculous signs were generally to be estimated. The Collected Sayings, and still more John, interpret very clearly the sense of his answers to such demands: but no utterance of this kind from his mouth readily took deeper hold than this only one great sign will be given to this generation P. 313; compare also pp. 265 sq., Supposing that Magedan (comp. Die drei 268 sq. 2 Pp. 224 sq. 3 P. 338. It is true Jerome de loc. Hebr. supposes that the Magedan, which is found instead of Dalmanutha Matt. xv. 39, was near Gerasa on the other side Jordan, in which case Makéd 1 Mace. v. 26, 36, might be compared; but according to Mark vii. 31, comp. viii. 13, 22, 27, we cannot in the case of viii. 10 think of any district not on the western side of Jordan. ersten Evang. i. pp. 330 sq.) is identical with Megiddo, as this appears in Josephus also, Ant. viii. 6. 1, ix. 6. 3 in most MSS. written with one 8, and as the M'pharsho here supposes Megiddo, then probably Dalmanutha is only the Galilean way of pronouncing the name of the town, where according to the Mishna iv. 9. xvi. 6 many Jews dwelt, and which on account of its numerous vineyards must probably be sought in southern Galilee. RETURN TO THE EAST OF THE JORDAN. 349 sorely against its own will, but on that account the more surprisingly and overwhelmingly, the sign of the ancient prophet Jonah." Just as this prophet returned from the depths of the sea that he might both by his own person and his remarkable history speak the more powerfully as a witness for the truth of his words, so he also will after his visible destruction return only to speak to this generation with stronger words: this idea, the truth of which we shall see fulfilled marvellously enough, had now long been certain to his mind. Tired of such perverse demands, he escaped again over the Lake to the eastern shore: and the early narrative preserved a memorable utterance of his on this journey. They proposed to betake themselves again to that solitary district which has been already twice mentioned, on the eastern shore: but the Twelve had in the hasty departure taken only one loaf with them, and forgotten all other supplies: a circumstance first observed when they were in the boat. Thereupon he spoke to them of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herodians, and how they must beware of it so full was his heart still of displeasure at those who had made such perverse demands, who thereby only betrayed their own insincere hearts, whilst the members of the kingdom of God must always have as pure hearts as if they were constantly solemnising Easter with pure food after all the old leaven had been carefully put away. But they supposed that he meant, as they had forgotten to take bread, only to warn them against receiving any that had been leavened from the Pharisees and for the third time they required the most earnest admonition to let such low considerations and cares go. For evidently this piece of narrative was intended to complete the series which had been begun with the two pieces referred to above: even a small loaf easily suffices for them all, and it is better to forget the too anxious provision for material things than to forget and misunderstand higher things.2 They would naturally stay for a time in this solitary place: when subsequently on the same side beyond the Jordan they went into a small town the name of which is now somewhat doubtful, a blind man was brought to him, whom he healed, 3 1 Matt. xii. 39, xvi. 4; Luke xi. 29, 30, all passages from the Collected Sayings; and although the words Matt. xii. 40 are first added in this particular form in our present Matt. (comp. on these words vol. vi. p. 65 sq. [German]), yet the sense of the utterance is not donbtful. 2 Comp. further the remarks above, pp. 337 sq. The ordinary reading Mark viii. 22 has Bethsaida: and it is to be regretted that this entire narrative, vv. 22-26, has been omitted not only in Luke but also in Matt. If Bethsaida were the original reading, we should have to consider the north-eastern place of this name was intended, inasmuch as we saw that the connection of the entire previous narra |