Philochristus: Memoirs of a Disciple of the LordAbbott, Edwin Abbott
Religion
Philochristus: Memoirs of a Disciple of the Lord
Abbott, Edwin Abbott
Christian fiction; Jesus Christ -- Fiction
After this, I remember no more, save that I had a vision of the night in
my slumber, wherein I saw Jesus of Nazareth clothed in bright raiment,
glorious to behold. He stood and prayed upon the summit of a mountain.
Howbeit in my dream it seemed to be not Mount Olivet, but the Mount of the
Law in Galilee. And as I looked upon him, his stature grew larger and his
raiment brighter, till the brightness thereof filled the sky, and set it
all in a flame. With that I awoke on a sudden, and opening mine eyes, I
perceived that there were flames indeed around me; then, leaping up, I
found myself in the midst of torches, and armed men compassing me round.
Yet could I discern, through the midst of them all, Jesus, with a calm
countenance, stooping over John and Peter and James, and arousing them
from sleep.
Now all that came to pass thereafter was finished in a few moments, though
it take long to tell. For Judas, who was the guide of the armed men, ran
swiftly before the rest up to Jesus and said, “Hail, Master,” and saluted
him. And, as I was told by them that were nigh to see, Judas seemed as if
he knew not, even at the last, what would come to pass, nor scarce what he
himself was doing. For he embraced Jesus and pointed to the soldiers that
followed behind him, as if half expecting that Jesus would call down fire
upon them. But Jesus looked upon him as if looking upon a stranger, and
made him such answer as to shew that he perceived his treachery; whereat
Judas drew back, they said, as one distraught. Then Simon Peter drew a
sword and struck a blow at one of the soldiers; and the rest of us ran up
to have joined in the fray. But Jesus straightway rebuked us, and bidding
Peter put up his sword, he yielded himself up to the soldiers. Yet even to
the last he was as a son obeying the will of the Father, and not like unto
one acting from constraint; for I myself heard him say unto Simon Peter,
“Thinkest thou that I cannot pray to my Father and He shall presently give
me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures
be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”
Now up to this moment we had not yet fled; for we could not even then
believe that our Redeemer, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, would
be led captive; yea, even though he resisted not, yet were we assured that
the Lord God of Israel would stretch out His hand to deliver His Holy One.
So we still waited and were in expectation. But when at last the servants
of the high priests laid their hands on him and the soldiers bound him and
dragged him roughly away, and yet no fire from heaven came down upon them,
neither did the earth open her mouth to swallow them up; then we all
forsook him and fled.
CHAPTER XXIX
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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