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  A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook

  Title: Jesus the Son of Man (1928)

  Author: Kahlil Gibran

  eBook No.: 0301451.txt

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  Language: English

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  Date first posted: October 2003

  Date most recently updated: October 2003

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  A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook

  Title: Jesus the Son of Man (1928)

  Author: Kahlil Gibran

  HIS WORDS AND HIS DEEDS AS TOLD AND RECORDED BY THOSE WHO KNEW HIM

  [THE ILLUSTRATIONS IN THIS VOLUME ARE REPRODUCED FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY

  THE AUTHOR--Not reproduced in this eBook.]

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  JAMES THE SON OF ZEBEDEE

  On the Kingdoms of the World

  ANNA THE MOTHER OF MARY

  On the Birth of Jesus

  ASSAPH CALLED THE ORATOR OF TYRE

  On the Speech of Jesus

  MARY MAGDALEN

  On Meeting Jesus for the First Time

  PHILEMON A GREEK APOTHECARY

  On Jesus the Master Physician

  SIMON WHO WAS CALLED PETER

  When He and His Brother were Called

  CAIAPHAS

  The High Priest

  JOANNA THE WIFE OF HEROD'S STEWARD

  On Children

  RAFCA

  The Bride of Cana

  A PERSIAN PHILOSOPHER IN DAMASCUS

  Of Ancient Gods and New

  DAVID ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS

  Jesus the Practical

  LUKE

  On Hypocrites

  MATTHEW

  The Sermon on the Mount

  JOHN THE SON OF ZEBEDEE

  On the Various Appellations of Jesus

  A YOUNG PRIEST OF CAPERNAUM

  Of Jesus the Magician

  A RICH LEVI IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF NAZARETH

  Jesus the Good Carpenter

  A SHEPHERD IN SOUTH LEBANON

  A Parable

  JOHN THE BAPTIST

  He Speaks in Prison to His Disciples

  JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA

  On the Primal Jims of Jesus

  NATHANIEL

  Jesus was not Meek

  SABA OF ANTIOCH

  On Saul of Tarsus

  SALOME TO A WOMAN FRIEND

  A Desire Unfulfilled

  RACHAEL A WOMAN DISCIPLE

  On Jesus the Vision and the Man

  CLEOPAS OF BETHROUNE

  On the Law and the Prophets

  NAAMAN OF THE GADARENES

  On the Death of Stephen

  THOMAS

  On the Forefathers of His Doubts

  ELMADAM THE LOGICIAN

  Jesus the Outcast

  ONE OF THE MARYS

  On His Sadness and His Smile

  RUMANOUS A GREEK POET

  Jesus the Poet

  LEVI A DISCIPLE

  On Those who would Confound Jesus

  A WIDOW 114 GALILEE

  Jesus the Cruel

  JUDAS THE COUSIN OF JESUS

  On the Death of John the Baptist

  THE MAN FROM THE DESERT

  On the Money-changers

  PETER

  On the Morrow of His Followers

  MELACHI OF BABYLON, AN ASTRONOMER

  The Miracles of Jesus

  A PHILOSOPHER

  On Wonder and Beauty

  URIAH AN OLD MAN OF NAZARETH

  He was a Stranger in our Midst

  NICODEMUS THE POET

  On Fools and Jugglers

  JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA

  The Two Streams in Jesus' Heart

  GEORGUS OF BEIRUT

  On Strangers

  MARY MAGDALEN

  His Mouth was like the Heart of a Pomegranate

  JOTHAM OF NAZARETH TO A ROMAN

  On Living and Being

  EPHRAIM OF JERICHO

  The Other Wedding-Feast

  BARCA A MERCHANT OF TYRE

  On Buying and Selling

  PHUMIAH THE HIGH PRIESTESS OF SIDON

  An Invocation

  BENJAMIN THE SCRIBE

  Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

  ZACCHAEUS

  On the Fate of Jesus

  JONATHAN

  Among the Water-lilies

  HANNAH OF BETHSAIDA

  She Speaks of her Father's Sister

  MANASSEH

  On the Speech and Gesture of Jesus

  JEPHTHA OF CAESAREA

  A Man Weary of Jesus

  JOHN THE BELOVED DISCIPLE

  On Jesus the Word

  MANNUS THE POMPEIIAN, TO A GREEK

  On the Semitic Deity

  PONTIUS PILATUS

  Of Eastern Rites and Cults

  BARTHOLOMEW IN EPHESUS

  On Slaves and Outcasts

  MATTHEW

  On Jesus by a Prison Wall

  ANDREW

  On Prostitutes

  A RICH MAN

  On Possessions

  JOHN AT PATMOS

  Jesus the Gracious

  PETER

  On the Neighbor

  A COBBLER IN JERUSALEM

  A Neutral

  SUSANNAH OF NAZARETH

  Of the Youth and Manhood of Jesus

  JOSEPH SURNAMED JUSTUS

  Jesus the Wayfarer

  PHILIP

  And When He Died All Mankind Died

  BIRBARAH OF YAMMOUNI

  On Jesus the Impatient

  PILATE'S WIFE TO A ROMAN LADY

  A MAN OUTSIDE OF JERUSALEM

  Of Judas

  SARKIS AN OLD GREEK SHEPHERD, CALLED THE MADMAN

  Jesus and Pan

  ANNAS THE HIGH PRIEST

  On Jesus the Rabble

  A WOMAN, ONE OF MARY'S NEIGHBORS

  A Lamentation

  AHAZ THE PORTLY

  The Keeper of the Inn

  BARABBAS

  The Last Words of Jesus

  CLAUDIUS A ROMAN SENTINEL

  Jesus the Stoic

  JAMES THE BROTHER OF THE LORD

  The Last Supper

  SIMON THE CYRENE

  He who Carried the Cross

  CYBOREA

  The Mother of Judas

  THE WOMAN OF BYBLOS

  A Lamentation

  MARY MAGDALEN (THIRTY YEARS LATER)

  On the Resurrection of the Spirit

  A MAN FROM LEBANON

  Nineteen Centuries Afterward

  JESUS THE SON OF MAN

  JAMES THE SON OF ZEBEDEE

  UPON A DAY IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR Jesus stood in
the market-place of

  Jerusalem and He spoke to the multitudes of the kingdom of heaven.

  And He accused the scribes and the Pharisees of setting snares and

  digging pitfalls in the path of those who long after the kingdom; and He

  denounced them.

  Now amongst the crowd was a company of men who defended the Pharisees and

  the scribes, and they sought to lay hands upon Jesus and upon us also.

  But He avoided them and turned aside from them, and walked towards the

  north gate of the city.

  And He said to us, "My hour has not yet come. Many are the things I have

  still to say unto you, and many are the deeds I shall yet perform ere I

  deliver myself up to the world."

  Then He said, and there was joy and laughter in His voice, "Let us go

  into the North Country and meet the spring. Come with me to the hills,

  for winter is past and the snows of Lebanon are descending to the valleys

  to sing with the brooks.

  "The fields and the vineyards have banished sleep and are awake to greet

  the sun with their green figs and tender grapes."

  And He walked before us and we followed Him, that day and the next.

  And upon the afternoon of the third day we reached the summit of Mount

  Hermon, and there He stood looking down upon the cities of the plains.

  And His face shone like molten gold, and He outstretched His arms and He

  said to us, "Behold the earth in her green raiment, and see how the

  streams have hemmed the edges of her garments with silver.

  "In truth the earth is fair and all that is upon her is fair.

  "But there is a kingdom beyond all that you behold, and therein I shall

  rule. And if it is your choice, and if it is indeed your desire, you too

  shall come and rule with me.

  "My face and your faces shall not be masked; our hand shall hold neither

  sword nor sceptre, and our subjects shall love us in peace and shall not

  be in fear of us."

  Thus spoke Jesus, and unto all the kingdoms of the earth I was blinded,

  and unto all the cities of walls and towers; and it was in my heart to

  follow the Master to His kingdom.

  Then just at that moment Judas of Iscariot stepped forth. And he walked

  close up to Jesus, and spoke and said, "Behold, the kingdoms of the world

  are vast, and behold the cities of David and Solomon shall prevail

  against the Romans. If you will be the king of the Jews we shall stand

  beside you with sword and shield and we shall overcome the alien."

  But when Jesus heard this He turned upon Judas, and His face was filled

  with wrath. And He spoke in a voice terrible as the thunder of the sky

  and He said, "Get you behind me, Satan. Think you that I came down the

  years to rule an ant-hill for a day?

  "My throne is a throne beyond your vision. Shall he whose wings encircle

  the earth seek shelter in a nest abandoned and forgotten?

  "Shall the living be honored and exalted by the wearer of shrouds?

  "My kingdom is not of this earth, and my seat is not builded upon the

  skulls of your ancestors.

  "If you seek aught save the kingdom of the spirit then it were better for

  you to leave me here, and go down to the caves of your dead, where the

  crowned heads of yore hold court in their tombs and may still be

  bestowing honors upon the bones of your forefathers.

  "Dare you tempt me with a crown of dross, when my forehead seeks the

  Pleiades, or else your thorns?

  "Were it not for a dream dreamed by a forgotten race I would not suffer

  your sun to rise upon my patience, nor your moon to throw my shadow

  across your path.

  "Were it not for a mother's desire I would have stripped me of the

  swaddling-clothes and escaped back to space.

  "And were it not for sorrow in all of you I would not have stayed to

  weep.

  "Who are you and what are you, Judas Iscariot? And why do you tempt me?

  "Have you in truth weighed me in the scale and found me one to lead

  legions of pygmies, and to direct chariots of the shapeless against an

  enemy that encamps only in your hatred and marches nowhere but in your

  fear?

  "Too many are the worms that crawl about my feet, and I will give them no

  battle. I am weary of the jest, and weary of pitying the creepers who

  deem me coward because I will not move among their guarded walls and

  towers.

  "Pity it is that I must needs pity to the very end. Would that I could

  turn my steps towards a larger world where larger men dwell. But how

  shall I?

  "Your priest and your emperor would have my blood. They shall be

  satisfied ere I go hence. I would not change the course of the law. And I

  would not govern folly.

  "Let ignorance reproduce itself until it is weary of its own off spring.

  "Let the blind lead the blind to the pitfall.

  "And let the dead bury the dead till the earth be choked with its own

  bitter fruit.

  "My kingdom is not of, the earth. My kingdom shall be where two or three

  of you shall meet in love, and in wonder at the loveliness of life, and

  in good cheer, and in remembrance of me."

  Then of a sudden He turned to Judas, and He said, "Get you behind me,

  man. Your kingdoms shall never be in my kingdom."

  And now it was twilight, and He turned to us and said, "Let us go down.

  The night is upon us. Let us walk in light while the light is with us."

  Then He went down from the hills and we followed Him. And Judas followed

  afar off.

  And when we reached the lowland it was night.

  And Thomas, the son of Diophanes, said unto Him, "Master, it is dark now,

  and we can no longer see the way. If it is in your will, lead us to the

  lights of yonder village where we may find meat and shelter."

  And Jesus answered Thomas, and He said, "I have led you to the heights

  when you were hungry, and I have brought you down to the plains with a

  greater hunger. But I cannot stay with you this night. I would be alone."

  Then Simon Peter stepped forth, and said:

  "Master, suffer us not to go alone in the dark. Grant that we may stay

  with you even here on this byway. The night and the shadows of the night

  will not linger, and the morning shall soon find us if you will but stay

  with us."

  And Jesus answered, "This night the foxes shall have their holes, and the

  birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has not where on earth

  to lay His head. And indeed I would now be alone. Should you desire me

  you will find me again by the lake where I found you."

  Then we walked away from Him with heavy hearts, for it was not in our

  will to leave Him.

  Many times did we stop and turn our faces towards Him, and we saw Him in

  lonely majesty, moving westward.

  The only man among us who did not turn to behold Him in His aloneness was

  Judas Iscariot.

  And from that day Judas became sullen and distant. And methought there

  was danger in the sockets of his eyes.

  ANNA THE MOTHER OF MARY

  JESUS THE SON OF MY DAUGHTER, WAS BORN here in Nazareth in the month of

  January. And the night that Jesus was born we were visited by men from

  the East. They were Persians who came to Esdrael
on with the caravans of

  the Midianites on their way to Egypt. And because they did not find rooms

  at the inn they sought shelter in our house.

  And I welcomed them and I said, "My daughter has given birth to a son

  this night. Surely you will forgive me if I do not serve you as it

  behooves a hostess."

  Then they thanked me for giving them shelter. And after they had supped

  they said to me: "We would see the new-born."

  Now the Son of Mary was beautiful to behold, and she too was comely.

  And when the Persians beheld Mary and her babe, they took gold and silver

  from their bags, and myrrh and frankincense, and laid them all at the

  feet of the child.

  Then they fell down and prayed in a strange tongue which we did not

  understand.

  And when I led them to the bedchamber prepared for them they walked as if

  they were in awe at what they had seen.

  When morning was come they left us and followed the road to Egypt.

  But at parting they spoke to me and said: "The child is but a day old,

  yet we have seen the light of our God in His eyes and the smile of our

  God upon His mouth.

  "We bid you protect Him that He may protect you all."

  And so saying, they mounted their camels and we saw them no more.

  Now Mary seemed not so much joyous in her first-born, as full of wonder

  and surprise.

  She would look long upon her babe, and then turn her face to the window

  and gaze far away into the sky as if she saw visions.

  And there were valleys between her heart and mine.

  And the child grew in body and spirit, and He was different from other

  children. He was aloof and hard to govern, and I could not lay my hand

  upon Him.

  But He was beloved by everyone in Nazareth, and in my heart I knew why.

  Oftentimes He would take away our food to give to the passerby. And He

  would give other children the sweetmeat I had given Him, before He had

  tasted it with His own mouth.

  He would climb the trees of my orchard to get the fruits, but never to

  eat them Himself.

  And He would race with other boys, and sometimes, because He was swifter

  of foot, He would delay so that they might pass the stake ere He should

  reach it.

  And sometimes when I led Him to His bed He would say, "Tell my mother and

  the others that only my body will sleep. My mind will be with them till

  their mind come to my morning."

  And many other wondrous words He said when He was a boy, but I am too old

  to remember.

  Now they tell me I shall see Him no more. But how shall I believe what

  they say?

  I still hear His laughter, and the sound of His running about my house.

  And whenever I kiss the cheek of my daughter His fragrance returns to my

  heart, and His body seems to fill my arms.

  But is it not passing strange that my daughter does not speak of her

  first-born to me?

  Sometimes it seems that my longing for Him is greater than hers. She

  stands as firm before the day as if she were a bronzen image, while my

  heart melts and runs into streams.

  Perhaps she knows what I do not know. Would that she might tell me also.

  ASSAPH

  CALLED THE ORATOR OF TYRE

  WHAT SHALL I SAY OF HIS SPEECH? PERHAPS something about His person lent

  power to His words and swayed those who heard Him. For He was comely, and

  the sheen of the day was upon His countenance.

  Men and women gazed at Him more than they listened to His argument. But

  at times He spoke with the power of a spirit, and that spirit had

  authority over those who heard Him.

  In my youth I had heard the orators of Rome and Athens and Alexandria.

  The young Nazarene was unlike them all.

  They assembled their words with an art to enthrall the ear, but when you

  heard Him your heart would leave you and go wandering into regions not

  yet visited.

  He would tell a story or relate a parable, and the like of His stories