Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows by Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 28, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 25.

Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Chapter XVII.—The Bold Reformer—The Craven King

'Thou art a proselyte, and knowest the law,' replied the prophet mildly, as the tetrarch turned and angrily strode away.

'In a moment, however, the mood of the king changed,' continued Lazarus, 'the anger died out of his face, and a look of deep sadness and conviction settled upon it as he slowly retraced his steps with eyes bent upon the ground.

'Again he addressed the prophet:

'Thou knowest not the woman Herodias,' he began almost pitifully, as he gazed imploringly into the stern, sad eyes of the Baptizer. 'Verily,' he continued, 'her anger is terrible when aroused, and she hath me in her power. I dare refuse her nothing. Surely when she heareth of these thy words, I may come no more to thee. Her eyes are beautiful, but her heart is like the vulture's, and knoweth no pity. And now, behold, mine own spouse, even the daughter of Aretas, hath already departed into Arabia. Thou knowest I have it in my power to make thee great with riches, if thou wilt favor me. I remember that my sin is great; but is there not forgiveness with Jehovah?' and again the deep, craven eyes of the king sought the eyes of the Baptizer.

'Verily there is forgiveness with Jehovah,' he answered firmly, 'for so saith the prophet David, 'There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.' But wherefore should the Almighty forgive the sin which thou dost not put away from thee? Is it not also written, O Antipas, 'Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon'?'

'I have told thee,' exclaimed the tetrarch, with rising anger, 'that I can not put away my sin. Behold, I am bound as with bands of iron. Now, O thou man of God, answer me,—for verily I come to thee no more,—wilt thou not receive me—even Herod the tetrarch—as thy disciple except I put away the woman Herodias? Forget not, O son of Zacharias, that if thou dost answer me peaceably, well; if not, blame not King Herod for that which happeneth unto thee; for verily the heart of the woman Herodias submitteth not to reproof,—and vengeance will be sweet unto her.'

'Then,' continued Lazarus, 'the prophet made answer; and I shall not soon forget his words, or the flashing of his terrible eye, while his massive frame seemed to reach higher as he spake: 'Thinkest thou either to bribe or to terrify the messenger of the Most High, O Antipas? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance!'

'The face of the king turned livid with rage, and I saw his jeweled hand tremble as he fastened his purple cloak about him, and with his chariot and attendants hastened again toward Jericho; and I suppose as soon as he reacheth Tiberias, he will assuredly make known, to the cruel princess, even Herodias, the words of the prophet.'

The speaker paused and fixed his troubled eyes upon Simon: 'What thinkest thou? Will the life of the Baptizer be endangered?'

'Verily, I know not, O Lazarus,' he replied scornfully: 'but wherefore spake the Baptist so sternly unto the king? Of a truth it may be that he taketh his life in his hands; for surely this preacher goeth too far with his foolish tongue—prating of morality in the face of the king himself. Thinkest thou, O Lazarus, that the prophet remembereth that Malthace the mother of Antipas was a Samaritan? Now verily a man with so great a message as hath this prophet, should put aside the prejudices of our nation. Moreover, the king's father had many wives, and no man forbade him; and shall the royal son, King Antipas, receive the anathema of this rash prophet because he hath two wives?'

Lazarus of Bethany cast a look of indignation and astonishment at the speaker, while Martha impulsively answered:

'What wouldst thou, Simon? shall the wilderness prophet rebuke the sins of the publicans and of the harlots, while he excuseth those of the tetrarch? Of a truth thou art an offense unto me!'

'Verily, O Simon,' began Magdalene mildly, 'thou wouldst not that the grievous sin of Herod Antipas be unrebuked, and that the Baptist allow him publicly to profess himself his disciple, while yet his sin remaineth with him? Then would other men behold, and turn not from their iniquity. Surely Lazarus,' she continued, glancing at her brother, 'surely our friend Simon would not that iniquity prosper,—he only feareth for the life of the prophet. What sayest thou, Simon?'

'Thou sayest well, my Magdalene,' replied Simon, as he tossed his reckless head, 'but that which is sin to one man, is innocent pleasure to another. Let each man, therefore, judge what is right. If, as the Sadducees teach, there be no resurrection from the dead, it mattereth little.'

Mary Magdalene did not reply; but in her innocent heart she questioned to what length such a doctrine might lead. And perhaps for the first time in her life, a feeling of distrust and uneasiness came over her,—a kind of fear toward this man, her betrothed, and he a Pharisee, who could so easily, so carelessly, give expression to such thoughts as these.

Adah, the hostess, was just about to turn the conversation into another channel, for she was gifted with true Eastern tact and hospitality, and she feared that some misunderstanding or unpleasantness might arise between her guests; when suddenly the little maid announced the coming of Matthias, the servant of Machbor the ruler.

'Ho, Matthias, comest thou this day from Jericho?' questioned Adah, cordially. 'And how are Machbor and his wife Zilpha, and their household?'

'They are in good health; and they have sent me that I might tell you that the Man of Nazareth, the Messiah of the prophets, hath returned from the wilderness of Judea, and hath been seen by Machbor this day, and Machbor reckoneth that He will be at the camp of the Baptizer on the morrow.'

This announcement was received most joyfully by all, unless it may have been Simon; but Matthias continued:

'My master hath also received a letter from his friend Jairus, the ruler of Capernaum, and he cometh up to the Jordan to-morrow, with his wife and little daughter. Hast thou heard the prophet to-day?' he questioned, addressing Lazarus.

'We have just returned,' was the reply, 'and verily King Herod hath also been down, from Tiberias.'

'Sawest thou the cohort of Roman soldiers? They arrived from Jerusalem about the tenth hour. It hath already been told me,' continued Matthias, 'that many of the common soldiers and even some of the captains and centurions have confessed themselves disciples of the prophet, and have been baptized of him. Didst thou know the centurion Marcus?' questioned Matthias, turning toward Simon.

'Of a truth; and were all the army of Cæsar as soft hearted as this Marcus, verily the seed of Abraham might free themselves within a twelve-month. But what of Marcus the centurion?'

'I had heard of him from Jericho,' replied Matthias, 'but until to-day I had never seen or spoken unto him. There had been some discontent among the soldiers as to their wages, and so they came down to the prophet that he might point out to them that which was right in the sight of the one God. 'And what shall we do, master?' asked one of them, approaching the prophet.

'Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages,' he replied. The centurion Marcus heard the question and the reply, and turning to me, said: 'I believe it is indeed the will of Jehovah that we do violence to no man. My soul hath revolted against this life of violence, since in my young manhood, about thirty years ago, I was commissioned by King Herod the Great, together with the centurion Varro, who was indeed a bloody man, to go down to Bethlehem, and put all the male infants to the sword. But my hand saved some lives that night, from the sword of Varro.'

'Didst thou tell him, O Matthias, the story of thine own escape that night?' questioned Simon.

'Truly; and he declared that he himself remembered saving a mother and her babe from the sword of one of the soldiers. I also asked him concerning the centurion Varro, whom he had called the 'bloody man;' and he replied that long time ago he had become a shrieking madman, and that he dwelt among the tombs of Gadara,' and Matthias sighed as he thought of his own brother, poor Heber, and wondered, sadly, as to his fate.

At mention of the massacre at Bethlehem, the face of Adah, the hostess, took on a look of deep interest; and at her request, the young man Matthias repeated the story of the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem; of the shining star which guided the magi of the East; of the vision of the angels which appeared to the astonished shepherds; and of the massacre of the babes at Bethlehem. Matthias had often heard these stories from the lips of his father and his brother-in-law, Bar-jona, who still dwelt at Bethsaida, and had already been baptized by the prophet. He also told of the prophecy of the aged Simeon, and of the flight of the divine Babe and His parents into Egypt.

'Verily, it is the same—the same!' exclaimed Adah joyfully; 'and truly it is about thirty years since the mother of my Lord came unto us, bringing her Babe with her, when we were yet in Beersheba in the land of Simeon; for I said unto them, 'Whence came ye?' and they answered, 'Even from the land of Egypt, whither we fled with the Babe, from the wrath of King Herod.' But we understood not their words.'

'It is He! it is He!' exclaimed young Reuben. 'Said I not even thus unto you?'