prisoner by His deadly enemies. Never surely was there sorrow like His sorrow ! Never may we forget, as we read this part of the Bible, that our sins were the cause of these sorrows ! Jesus was "delivered for our offences." (Rom. iv. 25,)
Let us notice, for one thing, in these verses, what gracious condescension marhed our Lord^s intercourse with His discijples.
We have this point proved by a deeply touching cir- cumstance at the moment of our Lord's betrayal. When Judas Iscariot undertook to guide the multitude to the place where his Master was, he gave them a sign by which they might distinguish Jesus in the dim moonlight from his disciples. He said, " Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he." And so, when he came to Jesus, he said, " Hail ! master, and kissed him." That simple fact reveals the affectionate terms on which the disciples associated with our Lord. It is an universal custom in Eastern countries, when friend meets friend, to salute one another with a kiss. (Exod. xviii. 7 ; 1 Sam. xx. 41.) It would seem therefore, that when Judas kissed our Lord, he only did that which all the apostles were accustomed to do, when they met their Master after an absence.
Let us draw comfort from this little circumstance for our own souls. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a most gracious and condescending Saviour. He is not an "austere man," repelling sinners, and keeping them at a distance. He is not a bein^ so different from us in nature, that we m.ust regard Him with awe rather than affection. He would have us rather regard Him as an elder Brother, and a beloved Friend. His heart in heaven is still the