the message of the Old
Testament was sealed until after the Saviour's Resurrection, when He
'_opened their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures._' (Luke xxiv. 45.) Then only did the wonderful truth dawn
upon them that in coming to earth, in suffering, rising from the dead,
and ascending to Heaven, their Master had not destroyed the Scriptures,
but had fulfilled them. (Matthew v. 17.)

CHAPTER IX

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM

[Illustration: (drop cap G) Ruins of a Synagogue]

God had given to His people a Book foretelling the coming of the
Christ--or Messiah, as the word is written in Hebrew--so that they
might be prepared and ready for His appearance. Yet when He came they
did not receive Him. They were looking for an earthly king, and the
beautiful words spoken by the ancient prophets had no meaning to them.

When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, the Jews were under the iron
rule of the Roman Empire, of which they formed a part, for although the
Jewish family of the Herods reigned over Judea, they only held their
throne under the Roman Emperor. This the Jews could not endure. They
longed to be a free and independent nation once again.

'When our Messiah comes He will be a great warrior,' they said. 'He
will utterly destroy all our enemies. He will make Jerusalem the
greatest and richest city in the whole earth; all other nations will
bow down before us, acknowledging that the Jews alone are the chosen
people of God.'

Thus they were expecting a Messiah who would begin his work by killing
all the Roman soldiers in Palestine.

Had Jesus of Nazareth been willing to become their earthly king and to
lead the nation against the Romans, the Jews would probably have
followed Him to a man. (John vi. 15.) But He saw that, even from a
human standpoint, the nation could not be helped in this way, and that
the Jews would only rebel against the Romans to their destruction.

Instead of widening the breach between them and their conquerors, the
Saviour sought to heal it. He called out the faith and gratitude of
the Roman centurion, and His answer to the Jewish leaders, '_Render to
Caesar the things that are Caesar's_ (Mark xii. 17) showed them the
right attitude in which to regard the Roman rule.

When, therefore, He was brought at last before Pilate, the Roman
Government had no quarrel with Him. '_Thine own nation ... hath
delivered Thee unto me,_' said Pilate who would have releas