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The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

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Such thoughts may have been with him, as he<br />

passed from his dungeon to <strong>the</strong> audience <strong>of</strong> Herod,<br />

<strong>and</strong> firom such bootless interviews back to his<br />

deep keep. Strange as it may seem, it was,<br />

perhaps, better for <strong>the</strong> Baptist when he was alone.<br />

Much as his disciples honoured <strong>and</strong> loved him,<br />

<strong>and</strong> truly zealous <strong>and</strong> jealous for him as <strong>the</strong>y were,<br />

it was best when <strong>the</strong>y were absent. <strong>The</strong>re are times<br />

when affection only pains, by forcing on our notice<br />

inability to underst<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> adding to our sorrow<br />

that <strong>of</strong> feeling our inmost being a stranger to those<br />

nearest, <strong>and</strong> who love us most. <strong>The</strong>n, indeed, is a<br />

man alone. It was so with <strong>the</strong> Baptist. <strong>The</strong> state <strong>of</strong><br />

mind <strong>and</strong> experience <strong>of</strong> his disciples has already<br />

appeared, even in <strong>the</strong> slight notices concerning<br />

<strong>the</strong>m. Indeed, had <strong>the</strong>y fully understood him, <strong>and</strong><br />

not ended where he began—which, truly, is <strong>the</strong><br />

characteristic <strong>of</strong> all sects, in <strong>the</strong>ir crystallisation,<br />

or, ra<strong>the</strong>r, ossification <strong>of</strong> truth—<strong>the</strong>y would not<br />

have remained his disciples; <strong>and</strong> this<br />

consciousness must %lso have brought exquisite<br />

pain. <strong>The</strong>ir very affection for him, aud

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