Christ was not widely known among the people—most would not recognize Him—and He would travel from village to village and from wilderness to wilderness; and so it was that when they set out to arrest Him they knew not where to find Him or how to recognize Him. Judas Iscariot came to them and said: “I will show Him to you.” They said: “When we enter that place, how will we know who is Christ?” Judas said: “The one whom I will kiss is Christ.” Bahá’u’lláh, however, was standing visibly and openly before His foes, was known to all, and withstood the onslaught of a mighty nation. The enemy arrayed against Christ was the feeble Jewish nation which suffered under Roman rule and which, like the present-day Jews of Tiberias and Safed, was a subjugated people. Bahá’u’lláh’s enemies, however, were the adherents of one of the most powerful nations of the world. When Christ was taken before the court, He was asked: “Art thou the King of the Jews?” And He replied in all meekness: “Thou sayest it.” [1] But, in the great assemblage of Ṭihrán, the voice of Bahá’u’lláh was raised in address to the highest heaven. [2]
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’; Online Baha’i Reference Library, Baha’i World Centre)
[1] Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3.
[2] Cf. The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 648–49.
