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When Christ had finished this description of the judgment, he said to his disciples, After two days will be the Feast of the Passover, and then the Son of man-meaning himself -will be betrayed, to be crucified by his enemies. The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled together in the palace of Caiaphas the high priest to consult how by some cunning trick they might take Jesus and then put him to death. But they agreed that they must not attempt to do this during the Feast of the Passover, lest it should cause a disturbance amongst the people. Multitudes flocked to Jerusalem to attend the feast, and amongst them were many who loved Jesus because of his character, his teachings, and his great miracles, and the priests and scribes were afraid of them.

Jesus came from the house of Zaccheus to Bethany, and there they made him a supper in the house of Simon, who had been a leper, but had been cured of his leprosy, probably by Jesus, and after his cure the name Simon the leper still clung to him.

Here at Bethany lived Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus, all dear friends of our Lord. Martha served at the supper, and Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, sat at the table with him.

People in the East did not sit at meals as we do, but reclined on long couches, which were nearly as high as the table, and were placed all around, while the inside was open and free, so that those who waited on the table could serve the guests that leaned on their left arms, and helped themselves with their right hands.

Spoons, knives, and forks were unknown. Each guest dipped a thin wafer, like a piece of bread, into the dish, and folding it up carried the food to the mouth.

The two persons nearest each other commonly ate from the same dish. While the guests reclined in this way, their feet were stretched out away from the table, and at the houses of the wealthy, servants were employed to scatter pleasant perfumes over the head and person of each guest.

Mary, the sister of Martha, took a pound of ointment, made of spikenard, which was very costly, worth as much as a

laboring man could earn in a whole year. With this she anointed the head and feet of Jesus, and then wiped them with the hairs of her head. The house was filled with the sweet odor of the precious ointment.

Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, he that was about to betray him, said, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and the money given to the poor? This he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and carried the bag or box in which the money was kept, and wanted as much money as possible put into it, so that he could use it for his own purposes.

Jesus said, Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has wrought a good work on me, against the day of my burying has she done this. For ye have the poor always with you, but ye will not have me always.

And Jesus told

them that wherever the gospel was preached over the whole world, this thing that Mary had done should be spoken of to keep her in remembrance. Judas went from this remarkable scene at Bethany to the chief priests to make a bargain with them for the betrayal of his Master. He was disappointed in not getting the price of the ointment into the bag, and hence into his own hands; and also, perhaps, because Jesus had just spoken again of his burial, showing that there was no prospect of his establishing an earthly kingdom, or of Judas attaining to wealth in this way. He asked the chief priests what they were willing to give if he would betray him to them.

We are not told how much strife there was in the making of the bargain, how much less the chief priests wanted to give, and how much more Judas wanted to get; but the price agreed upon was thirty pieces of silver (about nineteen dollars). This was the price paid for a slave. And from that time he watched Jesus closely, that he might find an opportunity to betray him to his enemies.

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CHAPTER XLI.

THE LAST SUPPER-WASHING THE DISCIPLES' feet—lord, is IT I?-PARABLE OF THE VINE-IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE JUDAS' KISS-THE ARREST OF JESUS.

On the first of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, or, as it was also called, the Feast of the Passover, the disciples came to Jesus and said, Where shall we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? At this feast each man took a lamb to the temple and presented it as a sacrifice before the altar. The offerer then took home all of the lamb except the fat, and roasted it with fire, and he and his family ate it during the night. While eating it they all had their staves in their hands and their shoes on their feet. The fat of the lamb the priests burned upon the altar before the Lord.

Jesus was going to keep the Passover with his disciples, and told Peter and John to go and make ready the Passover, that they might eat. They said to him, Where shall we do this? Jesus answered, When you enter the city, there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he goes, and say to the owner of the house, The Master wants you to show us the room where he shall eat the Passover with his disciples. And he will show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. So they went into the city and found the man as Jesus had said, and he showed them the room, and there they made ready the Passover.

In the evening Jesus sat down with his disciples at the table. And he said to them, I have heartily desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say unto you that I will not any more eat thereof until I have been offered up for the sin of the world.

Still clinging to the idea that Christ would establish a temporal kingdom. they began to dispute among themselves as to

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