When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the
Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed every day, with tears,
saying: ‘O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah,’ yet when the Sun of
Truth dawned, they denied Him and rose against Him with the greatest enmity,
and eventually crucified that divine Spirit, the Word of God, and named Him
Beelzebub, the evil one, as is recorded in the Gospel. The reason for this was
that they said: ‘The Revelation of Christ, according to the clear text of the
Torah, will be attested by certain signs, and so long as these signs have not
appeared, whoso layeth claim to be a Messiah is an impostor. Among these signs
is this, that the Messiah should come from an unknown place, yet we all know
this man’s house in Nazareth, and can any good thing come out of Nazareth? The
second sign is that He shall rule with a rod of iron, that is, He must act with
the sword, but this Messiah has not even a wooden staff. Another of the
conditions and signs is this: He must sit upon the throne of David and
establish David’s sovereignty. Now, far from being enthroned, this man has not
even a mat to sit on. Another of the conditions is this: the promulgation of
all the laws of the Torah; yet this man has abrogated these laws, and has even
broken the sabbath day, although it is the clear text of the Torah that
whosoever layeth claim to prophethood and revealeth miracles and breaketh the
sabbath day, must be put to death. Another of the signs is this, that in His
reign justice will be so advanced that righteousness and well-doing will extend
from the human even to the animal world—the snake and the mouse will share one
hole, and the eagle and the partridge one nest, the lion and the gazelle shall
dwell in one pasture, and the wolf and the kid shall drink from one fountain.
Yet now, injustice and tyranny have waxed so great in His time that they have
crucified Him! Another of the conditions is this, that in the days of the
Messiah the Jews will prosper and triumph over all the peoples of the world,
but now they are living in the utmost abasement and servitude in the empire of
the Romans. Then how can this be the Messiah promised in the Torah?’
In this wise did they object to that Sun of Truth, although that Spirit of God was indeed the One promised in the Torah. But as they did not understand the meaning of these signs, they crucified the Word of God. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Written especially for Dr. Esslemont’s immortal work Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era)
In this wise did they object to that Sun of Truth, although that Spirit of God was indeed the One promised in the Torah. But as they did not understand the meaning of these signs, they crucified the Word of God. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Written especially for Dr. Esslemont’s immortal work Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era)
