The Pharisees, who were very proud of their own knowledge, not only despised all who were unlearned, but believed that _only_ the learned would enjoy happiness after death, whilst the ignorant would be miserable. They mistook knowledge for religion. But the Gospel teaches a very different lesson; worldly knowledge is good and useful, and those who have the means, do well to acquire it; but it cannot take a man to heaven, nor will ignorance of it, keep any man _out_ of heaven. A knowledge of our own sinfulness, of the Salvation brought by Jesus, and a consequent endeavour to please Him in all things, is the only knowledge that is really necessary as far as our Souls are concerned. Without _this_ knowledge, the most learned man can never gain admittance into heaven; with it, the most ignorant will be received into the kingdom of God. One of the councillors present on this occasion was Nicodemus, who, being a believer, had come to Jesus secretly, in the night, for fear of the Jews: he now ventured to speak in behalf of Jesus, showing that it was not according to their Law to condemn any one as teaching what was wrong, or untrue, until they had heard what he had to say for himself. His words had no effect but to make the other members of the council ask him, "Art thou also of Galilee?"--that is, art thou one of those who have the folly to believe in this Galilean. "Search and look" in the Scriptures, for they will show that "out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." Nothing more was at this time said or done, and the Pharisees probably broke up the council in anger, vexed at not having got Jesus into their power. "Every man went unto his own house." Jesus now went unto the Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet, where He doubtless passed part of the night in prayer. This Mount rose about half a mile east of Jerusalem, and the brook Kedron ran between it and the city. It took its name from the number of Olive trees which grew upon it; they were cultivated for the purpose of extracting oil from the fruit. On this Mount there were several villages: Bethphage was on that side farthest from Jerusalem; and on the side nearest to the city, stood the village of Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane means "the place of oil presses"; which shows that the people of the village were occupied in squeezing the oil out of the olives that were brought down from other parts of the Mount. It was up the Mount of Olives that King David went weeping, when the rebellion of Absalom had forced him to quit Jerusalem. After spending the night on the Mount of Olives, or in one of its villages, Jesus, early in the morning, "came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them."