Jesus the Son of Man

by Kahlil Gibran

father were like our parents, and He was a man.

  But the Christ, the Word, who was in the beginning, the Spirit who would

  have us live our fuller life, came unto Jesus and was with Him.

  And the Spirit was the versed hand of the Lord, and Jesus was the harp.

  The Spirit was the psalm, and Jesus was the tune thereof.

  And Jesus, the Man of Nazareth, was the host and the mouthpiece of the

  Christ, who walked with us in the sun and who called us His friends.

  In those days the hills of Galilee and her valleys heard naught but His

  voice. And I was a youth then, and trod in His path and pursued His

  footprints.

  I pursued His footprints and trod in His path, to hear the words of the

  Christ from the lips of Jesus of Galilee.

  Now you would know why some of us call Him the Son of Man.

  He Himself desired to be called by that name, for He knew the hunger and

  the thirst of man, and He beheld man seeking after His greater self.

  The Son of Man was Christ the Gracious, who would be with us all.

  He was Jesus the Nazarene who would lead all His brothers to the Anointed

  One, even to the Word which was in the beginning with God.

  In my heart dwells Jesus of Galilee, the Man above men, the Poet who

  makes poets of us all, the Spirit who knocks at our door that we may wake

  and rise and walk out to meet truth naked and unencumbered.

  A YOUNG PRIEST IN CAPERNAUM

  HE WAS A MAGICIAN, WARP AND WOOF, AND a sorcerer, a man who bewildered

  the simple by charms and incantations. And He juggled with the words of

  our prophets and with the sanctities of our forefathers.

  Aye, He even bade the dead be His witnesses, and the voiceless graves His

  forerunners and authority.

  He sought the women of Jerusalem and the women of the countryside with

  the cunning of, the spider that seeks the fly; and they were caught in

  His web.

  For women are weak and empty-headed, and they follow the man who would

  comfort their unspent passion with soft and tender words. Were it not for

  these women, infirm and possessed by His evil spirit, His name would have

  been erased from the memory of man.

  And who were the men who followed Him?

  They were of the horde that are yoked and trodden down. In their

  ignorance and fear they would never have rebelled against their rightful

  masters. But when He promised them high stations in His kingdom of

  mirage, they yielded to His fantasy as clay yields to the potter.

  Know you not, the slave in his dreaming would always be master; and the

  weakling would be a lion?

  The Galilean was a conjuror and a deceiver, a man who forgave the sins of

  all the sinners that He might hear HAIL and HOSANNA from their unclean

  mouths; and who fed the faint heart of the hopeless and the wretched that

  He might have ears for His voice and a retinue at His command.

  He broke the sabbath with those who break that He might gain the support

  of the lawless; and He spoke ill of our high priests that He might win

  attention in the Sanhedrim, and by opposition increase His fame.

  I have said often that I hated that man. Ay, I hate Him more than I hate

  the Romans who govern our country. Even His coming was from Nazareth, a

  town cursed by our prophets, a dunghill of the Gentiles, from which no

  good shall ever proceed.

  A RICH LEVI

  IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF NAZARETH

  HE WAS A GOOD CARPENTER. THE DOORS HE fashioned were never unlocked by

  thieves, and the windows he made were always ready to open to the east

  wind and to the west.

  And He made chests of cedar wood, polished and enduring, and ploughs and

  pitchforks strong and yielding to the hand.

  And He carved lecterns for our synagogues. He carved them out of the

  golden mulberry; and on both sides of the support, where the sacred book

  lies, He chiseled wings outspreading; and under the support, heads of

  bulls and doves, and large-eyed deer.

  All this He wrought in the manner of the Chaldeans and the Greeks. But

  there was that in His skill which was neither Chaldean nor Greek.

  Now this my house was builded by many hands thirty years ago. I sought

  builders and carpenters in all the towns of Galilee. They had each the

  skill and the art of building, and I was pleased and satisfied with all

  that they did.

  But come now, and behold two doors and a window that were fashioned by

  Jesus of Nazareth.

  They in their stability mock at all else in my house.

  See you not that these two doors are different from all other doors? And

  this window opening to the east, is it not different from other windows?

  All my doors and windows are yielding to the years save these which He

  made. They alone stand strong against the elements.

  And see those cross-beams, how he placed them; and these nails, how they

  are driven from one side of the board, and then caught and fastened so

  firmly upon the other side.

  And what is passing strange is that that laborer who was worthy the wages

  of two men received but the wage of one man; and that same laborer now is

  deemed a prophet in Israel.

  Had I known then that this youth with saw and plane was a prophet, I

  would have begged Him to speak rather than work, and then I would have

  overpaid Him for his words.

  And now I still have many men working in my house and fields. How shall I

  know the man whose own hand is upon his tool, from the man upon whose

  hand God lays His hand?

  Yea, how shall I know God's hand?

  A SHEPHERD IN SOUTH LEBANON

  IT WAS LATE SUMMER WHEN HE AND THREE other men first walked upon that

  road yonder. It was evening, and He stopped and stood there at the end of

  the pasture.

  I was playing upon my flute, and my flock was grazing all around me. When

  He stopped I rose and walked over and stood before Him.

  And He asked me, "Where is the grave of Elijah? Is it not somewhere near

  this place?"

  And I answered Him, "It is there, Sir, underneath that great heap of

  stones. Even unto this day every passerby brings a stone and places it

  upon the heap."

  And He thanked me and walked away, and His friends walked behind Him.

  And after three days Gamaliel who was also a shepherd, said to me that

  the man who had passed by was a prophet in Judea; but I did not believe

  him. Yet I thought of that man for many a moon.

  When spring came Jesus passed once more by this pasture, and this time He

  was alone.

  I was not playing on my flute that day for I had lost a sheep and I was

  bereaved, and my heart was downcast within me.

  And I walked towards Him and stood still before Him, for I desired to be

  comforted.

  And He looked at me and said, "You do not play upon your flute this day.

  Whence is the sorrow in your eyes?"

  And I answered, "A sheep from among my sheep is lost. I have sought her

  everywhere but I find her not. And I know not what to do."

  And He was silent for a moment. Then He smiled upon me and said, "Wait

  here awhile and I will find your sheep." And He walked away and

  disappeared among the hills.

&nb
sp; After an hour He returned, and my sheep was close beside Him. And as He

  stood before me, the sheep looked up into His face even as I was looking.

  Then I embraced her in gladness.

  And He put His hand upon my shoulder and said, "From this day you shall

  love this sheep more than any other in your flock, for she was lost and

  now she is found."

  And again I embraced my sheep in gladness, and she came close to me, and

  I was silent.

  But when I raised my head to thank Jesus, He was already walking afar

  off, and I had not the courage to follow Him.

  JOHN THE BAPTIST TO ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES

  I AM NOT SILENT IN THIS FOUL HOLE WHILE THE VOICE OF

  Jesus is heard on the battlefield. I am not to be held nor confined while

  He is free.

  They tell me the vipers are coiling round His loins, but I answer: The

  vipers shall awaken His strength, and He shall crush them with His heel.

  I am only the thunder of His lightning. Though I spoke first, His was the

  word and the purpose.

  They caught me unwarned. Perhaps they will lay hands on Him also. Yet not

  before He has pronounced His word in full. And He shall overcome them.

  His chariot shall pass over them, and the hoofs of His horses shall

  trample them, and He shall be triumphant.

  They shall go forth with lance and sword, but He shall meet them with the

  power of the Spirit.

  His blood shall run upon the earth, but they themselves shall know the

  wounds and the pain thereof, and they shall be baptized in their tears

  until they are cleansed of their sins.

  Their legions shall march towards His cities with rams of iron, but on

  their way they shall be drowned in the River Jordan.

  And His walls and His towers shall rise higher, and the shields of His

  warriors shall shine brighter in the sun.

  They say I am in league with Him, and that our design is to urge the

  people to rise and revolt against the kingdom of Judea.

  I answer, and would that I had flames for words: if they deem this pit of

  iniquity a kingdom, let it then fall into destruction and be no more. Let

  it go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah, and let this race be forgotten by

  God, and this land be turned to ashes.

  Aye, behind these prison walls I am indeed an ally to Jesus of Nazareth,

  and He shall lead my armies, horse and foot. And I myself, though a

  captain, am not worthy to loose the strings of His sandals.

  Go to Him and repeat my words, and then in my name beg Him for comfort

  and blessing.

  I shall not be here long. At night 'twixt waking and waking I feel slow

  feet with measured steps treading above this body. And when I hearken, I

  hear the rain falling upon my grave.

  Go to Jesus, and say that John of Kedron whose soul is filled with

  shadows and then emptied again, prays for Him, while the grave-digger

  stands close by, and the swordsman outstretches his hand for his wages.

  JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA

  YOU WOULD KNOW THE PRIMAL AIM OF JESUS, and I would fain tell you. But

  none can touch with fingers the life of the blessed vine, nor see the sap

  that feeds the branches.

  And though I have eaten of the grapes and have tasted the new vintage at

  the winepress, I cannot tell you all.

  I can only relate what I know of Him.

  Our Master and our Beloved lived but three prophet's seasons. They were

  the spring of His song, the summer of His ecstasy, and the autumn of His

  passion; and each season was a thousand years.

  The spring of His song was spent in Galilee. It was there that He

  gathered His lovers about Him, and it was on the shores of the blue lake

  that He first spoke of the Father, and of our release and our freedom.

  By the Lake of Galilee we lost ourselves to find our way to the Father;

  and oh, the little, little loss that turned to such gain.

  It was there the angels sang in our ears and bade us leave the and land

  for the garden of heart's desire.

  He spoke of fields and green pastures; of the slopes of Lebanon where the

  white lilies are heedless of the caravans passing in the dust of the

  valley.

  He spoke of the wild brier that smiles in the sun and yields its incense

  to the passing breeze.

  And He would say, "The lilies and the brier live but a day, yet that day

  is eternity spent in freedom."

  And one evening as we sat beside the stream He said, "Behold the brook

  and listen to its music. Forever shall it seek the sea, and though it is

  for ever seeking, it sings its mystery from noon to noon.

  "Would that you seek the Father as the brook seeks the sea."

  Then came the summer of His ecstasy, and the June of His love was upon

  us. He spoke of naught then but the other man-the neighbor, the

  roadfellow, the stranger, and our childhood's playmates.

  He spoke of the traveller journeying from the east to Egypt, of the

  ploughman coming home with his oxen at eventide, of the chance guest led

  by dusk to our door.

  And He would say, "Your neighbor is your unknown self made visible. His

  face shall be reflected in your still waters, and if you gaze therein you

  shall behold your own countenance.

  "Should you listen in the night, you shall hear him speak, and his words

  shall be the throbbing of your own heart.

  "Be unto him that which you would have him be unto you.

  "This is my law, and I shall say it unto you, and unto your children, and

  they unto their children until time is spent and generations are no

  more."

  And on another day He said, "You shall not be yourself alone. You are in

  the deeds of other men, and they though unknowing are with you all your

  days.

  "They shall not commit a crime and your hand not be with their hand.

  "They shall not fall down but that you shall also fall down; and they

  shall not rise but that you shall rise with them.

  "Their road to the sanctuary is your road, and when they seek the

  wasteland you too seek with them.

  "You and your neighbor are two seeds sown in the field. Together you grow

  and together you shall sway in the wind. And neither of you shall claim

  the field. For a seed on its way to growth claims not even its own

  ecstasy.

  "Today I am with you. Tomorrow I go westward; but ere I go, I say unto

  you that your neighbor is your unknown self made visible. Seek him in

  love that you may know yourself, for only in that knowledge shall you

  become my brothers."

  Then came the autumn of His passion.

  And He spoke to us of freedom, even as He had spoken in Galilee in the

  spring of His song; but now His words sought our deeper understanding.

  He spoke of leaves that sing only when blown upon the wind; and of man as

  a cup filled by the ministering angel of the day to quench the thirst of

  another angel. Yet whether that cup is full or empty it shall stand

  crystalline upon the board of the Most High.

  He said, "You are the cup and you are the wine. Drink of yourselves to

  the dregs; or else remember me and you shall be quenched."

  And on our way to the southward He said,

  Jerusalem, which stands in pri
de upon the height, shall descend to the

  depth of Jahannum the dark valley, and in the midst of her desolation I

  shall stand alone.

  "The temple shall fall to dust, and around the portico you shall hear the

  cry of widows and orphans; and men in their haste to escape shall not

  know the faces of their brothers, for fear shall be upon them all.

  "But even there, if two of you shall meet and utter my name and look to

  the west, you shall see me, and these my words shall again visit your

  ears."

  And when we reached the hill of Bethany, He said, "Let us go to

  Jerusalem. The city awaits us. I will enter the gate riding upon a colt,

  and I will speak to the multitude.

  "Many are there who would chain me, and many who would put out my flame,

  but in my death you shall find life and you shall be free.

  "They shall seek the breath that hovers betwixt heart and mind as the

  swallow hovers between the field and his nest. But my breath has already

  escaped them, and they shall not overcome me.

  "The walls that my Father has built around me shall not fall down, and

  the acre He has made holy shall not be profaned.

  "When the dawn shall come, the sun will crown my head and I shall be with

  you to face the day. And that day shall be long, and the world shall not

  see its eventide.

  "The scribes and the Pharisees say the earth is thirsty for my blood. I

  would quench the thirst of the earth with my blood. But the drops shall

  rise oak trees and maple, and the east wind shall carry the acorns to

  other lands."

  And then He said, "Judea would have a king, and she would march against

  the legions of Rome.

  "I shall not be her king. The diadems of Zion were fashioned for lesser

  brows. And the ring of Solomon is small for this finger.

  "Behold my hand. See you not that it is overstrong to hold a sceptre, and

  over-sinewed to wield a common sword?

  "Nay, I shall not command Syrian flesh against Roman. But you with my

  words shall wake that city, and my spirit shall speak to her second dawn.

  "My words shall be an invisible army with horses and chariots, and

  without ax or spear I shall conquer the priests of Jerusalem, and the

  Caesars.

  "I shall not sit upon a throne where slaves have sat and ruled other

  slaves. Nor will I rebel against the sons of Italy.

  "But I shall be a tempest in their sky, and a song in their soul.

  "And I shall be remembered.

  "They shall call me Jesus the Anointed."

  These things He said outside the walls of Jerusalem before He entered the

  city.

  And His words are graven as with chisels.

  NATHANIEL

  THEY SAY THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS HUMBLE

  and meek.

  They say that though He was a just man and righteous, He was a weakling,

  and was of ten confounded by the strong and the powerful; and that when

  He stood before men of authority He was but a lamb among lions.

  But I say that Jesus had authority over men, and that He knew His power

  and proclaimed it among the hills of Galilee, and in the cities of Judea

  and Phoenicia.

  What man yielding and soft would say, "I am life, and I am the way to

  truth"?

  What man meek and lowly would say, "I am in God, our Father; and our God,

  the Father, is in me"?

  What man unmindful of His own strength would say, "He who believes not in

  me believes not in this life nor in the life everlasting"?

  What man uncertain of tomorrow would proclaim, "Your world shall pass