Never Man | So Spake |) HOWARD B.GROSE | (am Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library | https://archive.org/details/nevermansospakesOOgros “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” HOWARD B. GROSE, D.D. BY HOWARD B. GROSE, D.D. EDITOR OF Missions ALIENS OR AMERICANS? THE INCOMING MILLIONS ADVANCE IN THE ANTILLES HEROES OF HOME MISSIONS And they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never Man so Spake. Joun 7:45, 46. “NEVER MAN SO a san OF F Hii a SPAKE” _gis#hitin, Studies in the Teachings of Je Dh AW ge Quilaoe g S “O¢ogicat gees BY HOWARD B. GROSE Ovdénore &AaAnGEv ovTwS AVS Panos Joun 7:46, NEW QB york GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE’ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA To GEORGE EDWIN HORR SCHOLAR, TEACHER, FRIEND We place Thy sacred name upon our brows; Our cycles from Thy natal day we score; Yet, spite of all our songs and all our vows, We thirst and ever thirst to know Thee more. For Thou art Mystery and Question still; Even when we see Thee lifted as a sign Drawing all men unto that hapless hill With the resistless power of Love Divine. Still Thou art Question—while rings in our ears Thine outcry to a world discord beset: Have I been with thee all these many years, O World—dost thou not know ME even yet? —Martha Foote Crow, in “Christ in the Poetry of To-day.” FOREWORD In the present day search for reality in religion men. are turning with ever-increasing interest to the teach- ings of Jesus Christ. These interpretative studies are in line with this tendency and intended to stimulate it. As Professor Glover points out, in “The Jesus of History,” it is a fact of enormous weight that wher- ever the Christian Church has put upon Jesus Christ a higher emphasis—above all where everything has been centered in Him—the Church has risen in power, in energy, in appeal, in victory. On the other hand, where men have minimized Jesus, where Christ is not the liv- ing center of everything, the value of the Church has declined, its life has waned. And he concludes, ‘One of the weaknesses of the Church to-day is—put bluntly —that Christians are not making enough of Jesus Christ.” It is the high privilege of the Christian Church in this hour of distracted thought to exalt our Lord to His rightful seat of authority as Divine Teacher, sit reverently at His feet, and then prove to the world by example and precept that it “has been with Jesus and learned of Him.” Only so can it regain and retain Sway among men as the true “body of Christ,” “the church of the living God.” Only so can the reproach be removed, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Pe BiG, New York City. He built no temple, yet the farthest sea Can yield no shore that’s barren of His place For bended knee. He wrote no book, and yet His words and prayer Are intimate on many myriad tongues, Are counsel everywhere. Without an effort to explain the wraith Which we call life, He bade men have in God Implicit faith. The life He lived has never been assailed, Nor any precept, as He lived it, yet Has ever failed. He built no Kingdom, yet a King from youth He reigned, is reigning yet; they call His realm The Kingdom of the Truth. —Therese Lindsay, “The Man Christ.” CONTENTS Part ONE: The Teacher and His School CHAPTER PAGE Lyre SCHOOT piel). eA en iy: II Tue TEACHER . My ee ee er oa III Tuer TEACHING f } : ; p 57 PART TWO: The Teaching of Jesus De CONCERNING GOD a ye ites inh ier eA 7 II CoNCERNING HIMSELF . : : Ni Oe IIt Concerninc THe Hory Spirir . . 129 TV CoNcCERNING CHARACTER HG rae AP AU cua Oats V CONCERNING SIN. Sheen uN OY VI CONCERNING SALVATION MU NR a Ray VII CoNCERNING PRAYER . ; A nay ole 3 VIII Concernine Lire HERE SUM, Dome a BS TS CONCERNING Like HEREARTER) (005° 447230 PART ONE: The Teacher and His School CHAPTER ONE THE SCHOOL Erect in youthful grace and radiant With spirit forces, all imparadised In a divine compassion, down the slant Of these remembering hills He came, the Christ. —Katherine Lee Bates. Jesus Christ is the universal seminary at which mankind is evermore learning. He is the most remarkable pheno- menon in human history. He is the Son of Man, the repre- sentative and exemplar of humanity—George Dana Board- man. He is not one among the world’s teachers; He is the Teach- er, unique in understanding, supreme in sympathy, and unparalleled in power to bless the human soul; and it is the comfort of the Christian and the crowning glory of Christ’s church that such a One is set forth for the homage and adoration of mankind.—/. W. G. Ward. Close, indeed, was the companionship of Jesus and His disciples. With Him they dwelt, with Him they walked, with Him they conversed, with Him they prayed, with Him they associated in all that affected their daily life. They were like a family, sharing their purse, their food, their joys, their sorrows.—Otis Cary. He chose Twelve, because He wanted those about Him who could enter into His life, who would by their cheerful companionship afford some relief from the critical and some- times cruel antagonists that would confront Him. The pupils had not been long with the Master before they found that while He was so human, He was also other than an ordinary human teacher.—J. W. G. Ward. “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” PART ONE: The Teacher and His School CHAPTER ONE THE SCHOOL Jesus is the World’s Teacher, unique and ultimate. This fact is more widely recognized to-day than ever before, in Christian and non-Christian lands alike.* However much men may differ about Jesus in other respects, or may disregard or disobey His teachings, few deny that these teachings are ideal and true. They are appealed to by the most diverse groups. Many who declare them too ideal and impracticable for common daily use, as things are, concede that if they could be put into universal practice they would create a new social and economic order and transform civilization. Many others believe that they ought to have a fairer trial before their practicability 1s denied. It is not without significance in this regard that a New York minister has unveiled in his church, with appropriate 1 Striking confirmation of this is found in the fact that at the Conference of the World’s Student Christian Federation in Peking, China, in 1922, the following creed was adopted by the Christian and non-Christian students representing nearly all lands: “The con- struction of our ideal society is based on the spirit and teaching of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we believe in the absolute sacred value of the individual, in love as the basis of human fellowship, and in mutual service as the means of human progress.” Noteworthy in- deed as the expression and action of the leaders of to-morrow in Orient and Occident. “5 14 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” exercises, a bronze tablet bearing the inscription, “We believe that business principles should conform to the teachings of Christ,” and has urged its adoption by the business men of his congregation.” Nor was he acting solely on his own initiative. In response to a letter sent to prominent professional and business men of the country, asking if they thought the teach- ings of Jesus would solve the social, industrial and political problems of the day, he received many replies written with ardor and deep conviction in the affirma- tive, and approving the spirit of the inscription. The incident is symptomatic of a new and growing appre- ciation of the immediate applicafiflgty to present con- ditions of the principles and precepts which Jesus Christ taught. Inadequately as they have been under- stood and interpreted, curiously as they have been distorted, poorly as they have been practised, it remains true nevertheless that they have been the creative and constructive forces in the development of Christian civilizations, and have inspired the leaders of thought and action in every great movement in human prog- ress. Never were they more needed than now. This is a time when the followers of Jesus Christ should devoutly and devotedly study His teachings. As Dean Robinson says in the preface to his recent little book which penetrates to the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, “that program of splendid unworldliness” : “There is only one remedy for the ‘reduced Christian- ity’ from which we have been suffering, and that is an increase of loyalty to the Person and the principles of Christ. In no way is such loyalty of faith and con- fidence so likely to be kindled in the heart of our gen- 2Rev. A. Edgar Keigwin, D.D., Pastor, West End Presbyterian Church. THE SCHOOL 15 eration as by a deepened understanding of the unique quality of the truths which He uttered when as a Teacher, and more than a Teacher, He appeared among men.” He says further that “in our search for right guidance as to the part which, at the new stage of civilization upon which we are entering, our Christian- ity ought to take in the reconstruction of the social order, we certainly shall not do better than put our- selves to school again with those who first listened to the lessons that were given to the earliest disciples.” * Let us then in imagination “put ourselves to school again,” join company with the Twelve who were spe- cially chosen “to b€ with Him” (Mark 3:14), and envisage as vividly as we may the Teacher and His School. Thus from His own lips we may learn the lessons of spiritual birth and growth, of true living and right relations to God and neighbor ; lessons about God and His Son, sin and salvation, faith and love, mercy and judgment; lessons as to ideals of character and possibilities of their realization, the significance of His sacrificial death on the cross, His resurrection and ascension. In regard to these infinite issues of life and destiny, while it may be of passing interest to know what men have thought, it is vital to faith and life to know what the Founder of our religion taught. That is the supreme object of our quest. The School of Jesus was unique. It was as unlike the schools of the Rabbis as He was unlike the Rabbis themselves. It had no tuition fees, no terms or semes- ters, no curriculum or graded classes, no set recita- tions or examinations, no diplomas or degrees, no buildings or endowment, save that endowment of the Divine Spirit which made all other unnecessary, and 3 “Studies in the Teaching of the Sermon on the Mount,” p. s. 16 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” no textbooks save the Old Testament Scriptures. Its lessons were drawn largely from these Scriptures,* which were to the Teacher an unfailing source of sanc- tion and support; from Nature, which was to Him an open book of illustrations; and from human nature, which He read by intuition as well as observation, for “He knew what was in man’ (John 2:25), and per- ceived the thoughts of men and their motives, whether curious, crafty or hostile, before they spake (Mark 2:8) 127157) (Mattiem2 i265 i22c\1hs ) ake) Opa rae a hg Its classrooms were mostly in the open: On hillside (Matt. 5:1; Mark 3:13) or seashore (Mark 2:13, 4:1), in cornfield (Matt. 12:1) or along the way (Mark 6:56; Luke 9:57); sometimes in homes, as with Levi and a mixed company at dinner (Mark 2:15), with Simon, the discourteous host, who was taught a severe lesson (Luke 7: 36-50), and with Zacchzeus, to whose hospitable house salvation came with the unexpected Guest (Luke 19: 1-10); some- times in the synagogues (Mark 6: 2; Luke 6:6) and in the Temple’ (John 7: 14-45) 13:20; Luke 2a937), where the bitterest malignity of the religious hierarchy was met. The nearest it came to having a headquarters was in the house in Capernaum which Jesus occupied at times (Mark 2:1). It was literally a School of the Peripatetics, Even more fittingly than the noted 4The Old Testament was Jesus’ Bible in the full sense of the word. Its language and incident were constantly on His lips. Next to nature it was His book of illustrations, the perpetual source from which He drew the sanctions and authenticities of His words. The Psalms, but especially Isaiah and the other prophets, were His fa- vorites. But he had made the whole collection His study, including the Law, and in His temptation draws all His weapons, one after another, from the Book of Deuteronomy. In Gethsemane and on the cross He turns to the Psalms for refuge, and as He dies their words are the last upon His lips—-Samuel Dickey, “The Constructive Revolution of Jesus,” p. 40. THE SCHOOL 17 school of Aristotle it might have taken that name, as a writer suggests, who says it is not without interest to notice that the Greek verb from which that name is derived is used to denote the “walking” of Jesus and His disciples (John 6: 66, 7:1). Wherever Jesus was, there the School was also. As “He went on his way through the cities and villages, teaching’ (Luke 13:22), the select group of pupils went with Him, re- ceiving instruction and experience together. He was “the way, the truth, and the life’ which He taught (John 14:6). His precepts were incomparable but His example was far greater. He left no written word, yet His spoken words sank so ineradicably into the minds and memories of the pupils that these words were passed on from one to another, and later put into writing and preserved for all future generations by the inspired Evangelists, in confirmation of His say- ing, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Thus we are enabled to share the privilege conferred by Luke on “most excellent Theophilus”: “that thou miughtest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed,” (Luke 1:3, 4), or as Moffatt trans- lates it, “to let you know the solid truth of what you have been taught.”’ Coming to the Gospel narratives as to a gallery of ‘life scenes, we find charming and graphic pictures of the School and the free and intimate intercourse of the Teacher and His pupils, from the first days in Caper- naum to the last in Jerusalem. We behold a company of congenial comrades. Someone has said _ that throughout His life Jesus had a genius for friendship. Doomed as an inevitable part of His self-sacrifice to loneliness in the critical experiences and crises of His 18 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” life, misunderstood and disbelieved in by those nearest Him in blood ties (Mark 3:21; John 7:5), He longed for companionship, and sought it in the “inner circle,” strangely assorted but welded into fellowship by His all-pervasive spirit. So we see them walking, talking, arguing, working, living together in the frank- ness and familiarity of friendship. Let us look at one or two of the living pictures. Take that incident which brings to Jesus His very first followers. John’s Gospel sketches it for us. John the Baptist for the second time sees his cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, whom he has baptized and recognized as the Son of God, walking about on Jordan’s bank at Bethany. Then to two of his disciples he preaches the shortest sermon on record, “Behold the Lamb of God!” To a Jew that was a volume in a sentence, needing no exposition, and the young men follow Jesus, who observes them and asks, “What do you want?’ They reply, “Teacher, where are you stay- ing?” and He says, “Come and see.’ So they go with Him and stay the rest of the day—it was then about four in the afternoon (John 1: 35-39; M.).° It was a great day for them, and we may count that the opening of the School, with Andrew and John as the first two pupils—for the Evangelist tells us that An- drew was one, and does not name himself but leaves that to be inferred. In her poem entitled “That Day,” Julia H. Thayer has voiced the feeling of many: “That day with Jesus! Who can guess All that it meant of blessedness? I sigh, ‘Oh, that I had been there To hear His words, His voice in prayer; 5 Where Moffatt’s translation is used, for purposes of comparison or to freshen interest in a familiar verse, it is indicated by the M. included in the reference if not otherwise specified. THE SCHOOL 19 To see the shining of His face And feel His touch of heavenly grace— To wear in memory for aye The halo-crown for that one day!’” Next morning Andrew tells his brother Simon, “‘We have found the Messiah,” and brings him to Jesus, who looks at him and says, “You are Simon, the son of John? Your name is to be Cephas” (meaning Peter or rock); thus discerning in him instantly qualities as yet latent and endowing him with a new name, one destined to play a large part in church history (John I: 41-42). So the enrollment begins, with Philip and Nathanael added as Jesus starts on His walk to Galilee (John 1: 43-51), where in the home environ- ment He is to enter upon His ministry of teaching, preaching and miracle-working, through which is to come the establishment of the Kingdom of heaven on earth. How simple and natural the beginning seems; yet seen more truly, how singular and superhuman the qualities it reveals in the new Leader. For a single further example at this point, passing by the many other scenes that attract, we pause before the one that delineates clearly what many regard as the most important session the School ever held, Its dramatic dialogue and lesson have furnished a theme for study and discussion in all the generations since, and men are still answering in one way or another the question which the Teacher put that day. The scene is laid in the northern district of Czsarea- Philippi, dominated by Mt. Hermon’s snow-clad sum- mit. As they are “in the way” (Matt. 16:13), touring the villages, after a season of prayer alone (Luke 9:18), the Teacher rejoins the little group, and sud- denly startles them with the question that had been 20 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” agitating the people of Galilee and Judea, “Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?’ What a study those twelve faces would make, if we could see them as the force of the question breaks upon them, and as they catch the earnest, expectant expression on the Teacher’s countenance. It is the hour of a great con- firmation to Him as well as that of a great affirmation by Peter. As this conviction has been pressing itself more and more deeply upon Him, Jesus wants to know how far His own conviction is that also of those who know Him best, who have been permitted to share His life and read His thoughts and have active part in His plans and purposes. It is one of the tense and telling moments of human history. One after another offers what he has heard —some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jere- miah, or one of the old prophets risen again. But now comes the home thrust that requires for its answer not what others are saying but personal conviction, “But who do you say I am?” It is Simon Peter the ‘impulsive whe breaks the deep silence, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”’ And the words that spring from the lips of Jesus prove how respon- sive His soul is to this utterance. ‘You are a blessed man, Simon Bar-Jonah, for it was my Father in heaven, not flesh and blood, that revealed this to you” (Matt. 16:17; M.). Wecan feel the hearty assent of all to Peter’s declaration, for this made them the chosen companions of the Messiah who, as they be- lieved, was to assume kingly authority and throw off the Roman yoke. The intensity of the Teacher’s emo- tions can be seen in the unexpected sequel. After charging them to tell no one that He is the Christ, Jesus proceeds to teach them that “the Son of Man THE SCHOOL 21 had to endure great suffering, to be rejected by the elders and the high priests and the scribes, to be killed and after three days to rise again,” speaking of this freely. While the others are shocked into silence by this dashing of their ambitions and hopes for their country and themselves, Peter presumes too far on his favored position and, “taking” Jesus, exclaims reprovingly, “God forbid, Lord, this must not be!’ But Jesus turns on him with a reproof whose sharp- ness testifies to the strain under which He is laboring: “Get behind me, you Satan! You are a hindrance to me. Your outlook is not God’s, but man’s!” A fall from the heights to the depths! (Matt. 16:23; M.). Then the Teacher enlarges the class for a wonderful lesson. Calling the crowd to join them, He teaches them concerning the conditions of discipleship, and the true evaluation of the individual soul, whose dig- nity and worth no other Teacher ever put so high, set- ting it in the balance above the whole world (Matt. 16: 21-28; M.). Thus we have been witnesses of one of the crisis hours of His earthly life, and have seen the Teacher turn to His pupils for counsel and sup- port. The narratives are full of these rich picture materials. A recent writer has some ingenious theories con- cerning the School, its Teacher and pupils.° He be- lieves there are reasons for thinking that Jesus may have taught in the Galilean schools before His minis- try began, in those “silent years,’ it being customary for a teacher to follow his trade. That Jesus was addressed as Rabbi would indicate that He wore the long, flowing white robes of the Rabbis, since garments 6 Otis Cary, “The First Christian School.” 22 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” told occupation, and had He worn the dress of a car- penter He would scarcely have been called Teacher. The author pictures Jesus as employed in one of the elementary schools, with a group of boys from six to fifteen years of age seated at His feet. “What a Teacher He would be! How His explanations would make their study of the Old Testament intensely in- teresting and profitable! What helpful thoughts of the heavenly Father He would give to those boys; what high ideals of the lives that they as children of God ought to live! The teaching would not be by words alone: their Teacher’s daily life would inspire in them the desire, ‘When I am a man I want to be like Him.’” Delightful to contemplate, but pure con- jecture, there being no proof positive from the nar- ratives that Jesus Himself ever went to school, though the presumption is strong that He did, and it is com- monly assumed as a fact. The schools in Galilee were by no means so numerous or carefully looked after as those in Judea. The author also tries to make out a case for the extreme youthfulness of nearly all the Twelve. What it is well to remember is that they were nearly all young men, full of the enthusiasm and readiness of youth to follow a fearless leader. Concerning such practical matters as the manner in which the Teacher and His pupils lived, and the sources of their support, the records evince little inter- est and supply only incidental suggestions. The men- tion of a bag which Judas Iscariot carried implies a common purse and sharing of whatever lot befell. The instructions given to the Twelve when they were sent out on their first evangelistic tour make it clear that they were to depend for their daily necessities on the people, as was customary in that hospitable day and THE SCHOOL 23 land. They were not to take gold or silver or coppers, for the workman is worthy of his meat. They were however to give before they got. Freely they had received miraculous power, freely they should give. Matthew presents the more detailed sketch (10: 7-15). In the case of the Seventy some further items are in- cluded. They too were to go without purse, wallet or sandals; to stay at the same house, eating and drink- ing what was provided, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherever they were received on entering into any town, they were to eat what was set before them, heal the sick, and declare, “The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (Luke 10: 1-9). Long afterward, on the night of His betrayal, Jesus asked the Twelve, “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing” (Luke 22: 35). This throws light upon the School life during the “walking” tours in Galilee and Judea, and the occa- sional reaches beyond. But there are other suggestions which show that the Master gradually gathered about Him a company of capable supporters. Thus Luke tells us that when Jesus took the Twelve with Him on a preaching tour, traveling from one town and village to another telling the good news of the Kingdom, He was accompanied by certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Mag- dalene, Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s chancellor, and Susanna, and many others ‘who ministered to him out of their substance” (Luke 8: 1-3). The records show other friends and disciples not openly knewn but ready to respond to His call, as in the instructions given for the passover preparation, “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, 24 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” - The Master saith, . . . I will keep the passover at thy house” (Matt. 26:18). The further details in Mark (12:16) imply a rich man, and previous arrangement. After the crucifixion, too, Joseph of Arimathea, a coun- cillor, and Nicodemus, who from his first interview by night had been a friend—both of them disciples but secretly for fear of the Jews—came forward to render openly the last service left to them ( Matt. 27:57; Mark Thess niukeresr SOR ORN MLO: aos 3O kt It is probable also that Matthew and Levi had means, and Zacchzus, a later recruit, was reputed a rich man. The sons of Zebedee would not be alto- gether without resources, and during the sojourns in Capernaum might easily have engaged at times in their former vocation. That they readily fell back into it is shown by the striking incident, after the resurrec- tion, when Simon Peter said to his companions, at the sea of Tiberias, “I am going to fish,” and they joined him, with the amazing results that followed (John 21: 1-23). Once the pupils had forgotten to bring any bread, and had only one loaf with them in the boat (Mark 8:14), which led to the lesson on the leaven of the Pharisees, and the searching questions born of their lack of spiritual apprehension, “Do ye not remember? How is it that ye do not understand?” (Mark 8:18-21). Still further, we have the many accounts of entertainment at feasts and dinners, in some of which the Pharisees were conspicuous. There could be no material want for a leader of this marvel- ous character, whose fame was spread abroad as a worker of miraculous and merciful deeds. Nor must we forget that they all lived the simple life, whose needs were easily supplied. It was a nomadic and uncertain life, homeless, as THE SCHOOL 25 the Teacher, in one of the rare revelations of His inner feeling, said to the scribe who offered to follow Him anywhere, “The foxes have their holes, the wild birds have their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt. 8: 19-20; M.). Yet we can- not help seeing that it was a blessedly full and happy life, with its deep undercurrents of joy. It was too crowded with helpful and unselfish service for any- thing else. The Teacher was the contagious inspira- tion. The pupils were with Him in all sorts of situa- tions and experiences, in training for their future work, That was the secret of it all—they were with Him. And while they never understood Him, because of that in Him which the world to this day has never fully comprehended, nor ever can, they were wise enough to know that they had a Teacher and Master such as had never before appeared among men. Wonderful School, of lecture, discussion, criticism, exposition, illustration, loving intercourse and living experience, in which the Teacher imparted to His pupils not only the principles of holy living and the wisdom that is from above, but also His own ideals and spirit. He taught the true way of life and the pupils walked with Him in it, enjoying the highest privilege ever granted to mortal men. He made them willing to die for the truth He taught them. “The greatest miracle in history,’ says Professor Glover, “seems to me the transformation that Jesus effected in those men.” The graduates show the character of the School. From it Jesus sent out first the Twelve (Mark 6:7), endowed with Divine power, to carry to the people the glad news of the Kingdom and the day of salvation. Then He commissioned the Seventy 26 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” (Luke 10:1) to make a similar missionary tour and thus widen the area of the Kingdom. Besides these who constituted a special class, there were the great numbers of others who enjoyed the benefits of His lessons, which were free to all who had ears to hear, without distinction of sex or condition. For about three years the Twelve continued their special course of instruction and training, and then came the tragic close. The final familiar meeting with the Teacher was in the upper room in Jerusalem, on the occasion of the Last Supper, that sacred Memorial in remembrance of Him which is now observed in every land (Luke 22: 13-20). “Having loved his own , ... hetloved them unto thevend(Johni127 1) waite had taught them the gospel of love, and now He gave them His new commandment, “That ye love one an- other, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). This was followed by the farewell address and the intercessory prayer that will forever be without a parallel (John 14 to 18). And when for the last time they had sung a hymn together (Matt. 26:30), they went out —the Teacher and His pupils, only eleven now—into the night. The temporary School was over, but its influence had only begun, and that of its Teacher “ever widens with the suns.” It has now become the spiritual university of the universe, and its students are in all continents. Because of its Teacher, its teachings, and its schol- ars, this School can never be forgotten. Out of it came graduates (Matt. 10:2) whose names are among the immortals by reason of their personal and intimate fellowship with Him who is not only the World’s Teacher but its Divine Saviour and Lord. Who can estimate the influence exerted by Matthew and John THE SCHOOL 27 through the Gospels which have borne their names and the teachings of their Master to the ends of the earth, and opened the way of eternal life to multitudes throughout the centuries of the Christian era? It was to His chosen pupils, too, that after His resurrection Jesus committed the continuance of His teaching work, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To them He gave the Great Commission to “teach all nations ... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’ (Matt. 28: 19-20). “We thank Thee, Lord, Thy paths of service lead To blazoned heights and down the slopes of need; They reach Thy throne, encompass land and sea, And He who journeys in them, walks with Thee.” Ure CHAPTER Two THE TEACHER Him evermore I behold Walking in Galilee, Through the cornfield’s waving gold, In hamlet or grassy wold, By the shores of the beautiful Sea. He toucheth the sightless eyes; Before Him the demons flee; To the dead He sayeth, Arise! To the living, Follow Me! And that voice still soundeth on From the centuries that are gone To the centuries that shall be! —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth—John’s Gospel, 1: 14. The holy of holies of the New Testament is the Gospels, because it is here we look directly into the eyes of Jesus.— Charles E. Jefferson. More striking than anything Jesus said or did is what He was. That which He worshipped in the God He trusted, He Himself embodied. The Evangelists do not attempt to describe what He was like; they let us hear Him and watch Him, as He lived in the memories of those who had been with Him; and He makes His own impression. The crown- ing tribute is that we have no loftier adjective in our vocab- ulary than “Christlike.’—Henry Sloane Coffin. What is of vital importance is that we should not relax our hold upon the fact that our Lord was, and is, far more than all it is in the power of our imagination to con- ceive. As we gaze upon Him, we still hear the challenge that sounded of old: “Who think ye that I the Son of Man am?” And we can but spell out in wonder the accents of the old reply, “Thou art the Son of the Living God!”—A. W. Robinson, CHAPTER Two THE TEACHER Tue Gospels contain no portrait of Jesus. They tell us nothing of His face or form. All reputed descrip- tions or likenesses are apocryphal and spurious. The master painters and sculptors, medieval and modern, have lavished their genius in the effort to put on canvas or carve in marble their conceptions of the Christ, and these have varied with the time and place and race of the artists. They have pictured many types, from the pale and haggard ascetic and the saintly spiritual to the blonde and robust mingler with men; from the worn but majestic Christ before Pilate to the strong and gracious Master looking on the rich young ruler; with the dominant ideal of Christian art, that of the Man of Sorrows, in accord with the pro- phetic tradition.* We know well however that no simula- tion can satisfy our ideal; and the works of art, though born of loftiest motives and often wonderful in con- ception and execution, only serve to emphasize the wisdom of the inspired reticence of the Evangelists. But while the Gospels do not give a description of the personal appearance of the Teacher, they do give glimpses which reveal mood, attitude and action; char- acteristic touches of detail and circumstance that help to make Him real to us—a living Person. ‘There are two allusions to the physical, both connected with the 1 Readers interested to know what a large place Jesus has held in the thought and works of the master artists should consult Farrar’s “Life of Christ as Represented in Art.” 31 32 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” early years. The first, covering the childhood, com- presses much in little in that single verse, “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom: and the favour of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). Dr. Henry van Dyke says in his poem on “The Nativity”: “Could every time-worn heart but see Thee once again A happy human child, among the homes of men, The age of doubt would pass,—the vision of Thy face Would silently restore the childhood of the race.’ The second allusion is aie contained in a single sen- tence which completes a home picture. We see the keenly alert boy of twelve in the Temple, bewildering the learned doctors of the law by the intellectual and spiritual penetration of His questions and answers; followed by the domestic scene between the amazed and anxious parents and the preoccupied son, with the mother’s rebuking question and the enigmatical reply. Then we are told that “He went down along with them to Nazareth and was subject unto them.” A. T. Robertson translates this, “continued obedient unto them,” and Moffatt says more tersely, “did as they told him” (Luke 2: 43-51), though this is a paraphrase and not a translation of the Greek. And the sequel to the story, which is all we have of biography for the years from twelve to thirty, is the simple statement, “And Jesus increased (kept making progress) in wis- dom and in stature and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Note the coupling of wisdom and stat- ure, of mental and physical development. All that we subsequently learn of the Teacher indicates a sound mind in a sound body, held in perfect poise in the one perfect life. How we should like to know more about those “silent years.” We can picture the common THE TEACHER 33 environment and activities from the history of the time, but as for the one life in which our interest centers we have conjecture and not knowledge.” We cannot go beyond the poet’s words: “So through those silent unrecorded years The matchless life grew slowly into power, Brooding its mystery of hopes and fears And moving ever forward toward the hour When He who first had served at Nazareth Life’s Lord became, obedient unto Death.” ® Through the mirror of the narratives we see the Teacher, entered now upon His public ministry, at the Jordan with John, symbolizing obedience by bap- tism and receiving the Father’s recognition as He ptayed (Luke 3:21, 22); in the desert, foiling the Scripture-quoting Tempter with Scripture quotation (Luke 4:14); returning for service “in the power of the Spirit into Galilee’ (Luke 4:14); mingling with all sorts and conditions of people as the only way to reach and redeem them (Mark 2: 15-17); happy with the little children clustering around Him and in His arms (Mark 10:15, 16); spending His last night be- fore crucifixion with “His own,” speaking imperish- able words (John 14 to 17); fearlessly facing down the hostile band in the Garden (John 18:5) ; standing before hesitating and pitiable Pilate in the imperturb- able calm of majestic superiority, “every inch a king” Clonnmeisaasa7. (Viatt. 27:11): and. on 'Calvaty’s cross, dying with forgiveness on His lips (Luke 33:34). In these and the many other life scenes 2 For an original and suggestive study of the early home life of Jesus, furnishing a needed background for the understanding of His public ministry, see Chapter II, ‘“‘The Jesus of History,’ by T. R. Glover. 3 Sarah J. Day, in the poem, “Was Subject Unto Them,” 34 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” appear the clear outlines of a marked and masterful personality. From the records we gather also clear impressions of His charm of manner and speech (Luke 4: 22) ; the swift changes of expression, from tender sympathy and compassion to “‘the play of humor and the touch of irony,’ from pity to the lightning flashes of rebuke, as His emotions were reflected in His countenance. His look must have been singularly penetrating, from the many allusions which mark it as the prominent trait impressed indeliby upon His disciples and biographers. Thus, Jesus is in the synagogue on the Sabbath, the man with the withered hand before Him and the Pharisees eagerly watching to catch Him in doing that which was unlawful on the Sabbath, according to their tradition. ‘And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand” (Mark 3: 1-6). What a window into His soul, in which pity and anger are commingled! ‘Told that His mother and brothers are without seeking for Him, and knowing why they have come, “looking round on them which sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren” (Mark 3:34). When the woman touched His robe in the throng, “He looked round about to see her” (Mark 5: 32), andin Moffatt’s graphic version, “He kept looking round,’ and then “turning and seeing her said, Daughter, be of good cheer ; thy faith hath made thee whole” (Matt. 9: 22). In the desert place, “Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes and seeing the multitude,’ in compassion com- mands their feeding (John 6:5). And when all were seated, ‘““He took the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and brake” THE TEACHER 35 (Luke 9: 16; Matt. 14:19). Before giving the sermon reported by Luke, “raising his eyes he looked at his disciples” (Luke 6:2; M.). How the look disclosed the feelings—by turns ten- der, severe, loving, reproachful, joyous, sorrowful, compassionate, scornful and appealing. Peter began to rebuke Him for foretelling His coming sufferings and death, “but when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33). In striking contrast, when the rich young ruler came running to Him, kneeling and asking, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus “looking upon him loved him.” And as the eager questioner turned away, “Jesus looked vound about,’ and spake unto His disciples (Mark 10:23), who were eye-witnesses both of the loving look of the Master and the expression on the face of the young man, who became “exceeding sorrowful” as he gave up the imperishable for the perishable riches (inke vis -i23:): After the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus came into the Temple courts, and “when he had looked round about upon all things’? He went to Bethany (Mark 11:11); but can we doubt that what He saw in that sweeping look determined the treatment He would give the Temple desecrators on the morrow. And we can see the glint in His eye and feel the flint in His voice as He began to cast out the buyers and sellers who had turned His Father’s “house of prayer” into a “den of thieves” (Matt. 21:12, 13). We can readily imagine also the burning intensity in His eyes on that striking occasion when, after the chief priests and scribes with the elders came upon Him as He was teaching the people in the Temple and 36 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” questioned His authority, He faced them with that scathing parable of the vineyard and the wicked hus- bandmen who at last killed the heir, with its warning ~ sequel of the destruction of those husbandmen by the lord of the vineyard. And when they cried out, “God forbid,’ “He looked upon them” and said, “the king- dom of God shall be taken away from you” (Luke 20:17). They would have killed Him then had they dared, but fear of the people restrained them (Luke 20:19; Mark 12:12) What a contrast in expres- sion when, after Peter’s third denial in the high priest’s courtyard, “the Lord turned round and looked at Peter’ (Luke 22:'613)7))) and) smitten Peter "went out and wept bitterly.”” And what love and pathos in the last recorded look of Jesus when, hanging on the cross in expiring agony, He “saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by,’ and gave them toveach othersCJohnviO720))) Other traits and attitudes are revealed in incidental touches which bring the Teacher near in His human relations. He appears in highly contrasting moods, showing how immediately responsive He was to every situation, whether it involved meeting with an individ- ual or a small group or a multitude, with the friendly or the hostile. Read the record of a single day of His ministry, such as that recorded in the fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel, note its swift transitions, and try to realize its drain upon the spiritual and physical vital- ity. Overflowing with sympathy and kindness, He freely manifests His feelings. He shows pity at sight of human suffering, sorrow and misfortune (Luke 7:13; Mark 1:43); “groans in spirit’? over Mary’s grief for her brother, and weeps at the grave of His friend (John 11:33, 35); is moved with compassion THE TEACHER 37 as He sees the multitude ‘as sheep without a shep- herd and began to teach them many things’ (Mark 6:34); and is equally moved with anger and indigna- tion as He stands in the presence of those who pro- fessed to be the religious leaders but were in reality the spiritual burden-binders and false guides of the people, blind leaders of the blind. Mingled with the indigna- tion we can imagine His strongly ironical expres- sion as He goes on in that inimitable twenty-third chap- ter of Matthew to tell how the Pharisees devour widows’ houses; tithe mint, anise and cummin and neg- lect justice, mercy and faithfulness; strain out a gnat and swallow a camel; make clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside full of extortion and excess, and expect the pretence of long prayers to cover their hypocrisy. These are word pictures that have photo- graphed themselves upon the world’s memory and made pharisaism forever marked and abhorrent. It has been aptly said that Jesus had a very prodi- gality of sympathy. The power of His sympathetic expression finds proof in the fact that on certain occa- sions the very tones of His voice so deeply impressed themselves upon the memory of His hearers that the syllables He spoke in his native tongue, the Aramaic, have been preserved by the Evangelists, who wrote in Greek. Professor Glover, in explaining these Aramaic sentences, says it looks like a human instinct that made the writers keep the very words and tones of their Master, as most of us would wish to keep the accents and phrases of those we love.* Was there no satisfac- tion to the people who had lived with Jesus, when they read in Mark the very syllables they had heard Him use, and caught His great accents again? Is there not 4T. R. Glover, “The Jesus of History,” p. 14. 38 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” for Christians in every age a joy and an inspiration in knowing the very sounds His lips framed? The first word that His mother taught Him survives in Abba (Father )—something of His own speech to let us begin at the beginning; something wrung from His lips in the agony of the Garden (Mark 14: 36) ; some- thing again, that takes us to the very heart of Him at the end, in His cry, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtham (Mark 15:34). Is it not true that we come nearer to Him in that cry inthe language strange to us, but His own? Would not the story, again, be poorer with- out the tender little phrase that He used to the daughter of Jairus, when He took the child by the hand and said to her, Talitha cumi (which is translated damsel, | maiden, and little girl in different versions), I say unto thee, Arise (Mark 5:41). ‘So when the man who could neither hear nor speak came to Him, deeply moved, “looking up to heaven he sighed and said unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened,’ and immediately the man both heard and spoke (Mark 7:34). He also introduced the word ‘“mammon” into the Greek language and universal adoption, His epigrammatic use of it being so effective that Matthew and Luke trans- ferred instead of translating it, an example which the English translators of the Authorized and Revised ver- sions have happily followed. Nothing can take the place of His saying, “Ye cannot serve God and mam- ~mon’’ (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13). *’ Ever sympathetic with others, Jesus had a longing for human sympathy in His own lonely and trying hours. He knew the bitterness of being misunderstood and misjudged, even by those He loved (Mark 3:21). What a heart cry there is in those words which betray the family faithlessness, ““A man’s foes shall be they THE TEACHER 39 of his own household” (Matt. 10: 36). And how this longing for companionship and the loyalty of friends shines out in that darkest hour of trial and self-con- quest in Gethsemane’s Garden. There is no more vivid word picture than this in the Gospels. The Evangel- ists have laid bare the soul of the Saviour, as though to show in some faint way the cost of humanity’s re- demption. Read the parallel descriptions in Matthew (26: 36-46) and Mark (14: 32-42), and note the spe- cial touches in Luke (22: 39-46). We see how Jesus, leaving the others, takes with Him Peter and James and John, the familiar three who have shared His most intimate fellowship, as He goes forward a little way to seek strength in prayer for the final ordeal which He must meet alone in communion with His Father. As He begins “to be sorrowful and sore troubled,” He turns to them and says, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; stay here and watch with me.” He wants the comfort of their presence. But while He agonizes in prayer, they fall asleep. And when He comes back and finds them sleeping, how quick His love to make excuse for them, “The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak,” following that touching appeal, “Simon, could ye not watch with me one hour?” Thrice He repeats this experience. Hu- man help and comfort have failed Him, but the Divine support has come, and He has won His victory in those great words, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done’’—words that summarize in a sentence the story of His life. The embodiment of animation, the Teacher’s ac- tions were often as expressive as His words. Signifi- cant was His use of the hand. We see the leper ap- proaching with his piteous appeal, “If thou wilt thou 40 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” canst make me clean” (Mark 1:40). The touch was unlawful and exposed the Master to contagion, but the action was spontaneous and like Him. Again, brought into Simon’s house, where his wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, “He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her’’ (Mark 1:31). At sunset in Capernaum, when all the sick were brought to Him, ‘He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them” (Luke 4:40). When Peter’s impulsive faith failed him and he began to sink, Jesus “stretched forth his hand and caught him,” with the question that should still go to the heart of every hesitating disciple, “Why didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14: 30-31). When He saw the woman in the synagogue bowed together with infirmity “He laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God” (Luke 13:13). At Bethsaida He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village “and laid his hands upon him,” and when the man saw men as trees walking, “then again he laid his hands upon his eyes,” and he “saw all things clearly’ (Mark 8: 23-26): for Jesus wanted him, as He wants all, to see true, to see men as men, and to have a full and not a half sight, which in many ways is more perilous than blindness. And in that fascinat- ing picture of the loving Master with the little ones, we can imagine the light in His eyes and the smile on His lips as “He put his arms round them, laid his hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10: 16; M.). Full of action himself, He inspired action in others. He bade the paralytic take up his pallet and go home (Mark 2:11), and he obeyed. He told the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth your hand” (Mark THE TEACHER 41 3:5), and he did, and it was made whole like the other. He commanded the impotent man at the pool to “Get up, lift your mat, and walk” (John 5:8), and obedience was instantly rewarded. After the trans- figuration, when the unclean spirit had torn the boy and left him for dead, “Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up,’ healed him and gave him back to his father (Mark 9:27; Luke 9:42). There was life in His touch, and the warmth of brotherhood. Thomas Curtis Clark has caught the spirit of it: “The touch of human hands— That is the boon we ask; The touch of human hands— Such care as was in Him Who walked in Galilee Beside the silver sea; We need a patient guide Who understands, And the warmth, the loving warmth, Of human hands.” Jesus created this atmosphere of loving warmth, of understanding sympathy with human heart-hunger and need, It was an atmosphere, too, in which buoyancy and gladness were predominant. The life was so joy- ous, indeed, as to create comment and question con- cerning their high spirits and their neglect of fasting, in contrast to the disciples of John and to the Pharisees. Wilton Rix suggests, in that original interpretation of his, “Jesus, Lover of Men,” that “the joyousness of His followers was very precious to Jesus,” and cites the fact that when John’s disciples brought this criti- cism to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?” it was the Master AQ “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Himself who put the question, “Can friends at a wed- ding fast while the bridegroom 1s beside them?” ( Matt. 9:14-15; Mark 2: 18-20; Luke 5: 33-35). In other words, ‘Should the groomsmen be gloomy while the preparations are going on? His disciples were too happy and expectant for restraint. They were looking for a heavenly reign to commence. The spirit of the new kingdom was already in their hearts.” And wherever the Master was, whether with His inner circle or among the people at‘large, there also was what met human need—warmth and affection, help and healing, life and light, and the gracious outgiving of a great heart. We are now in position to appraise the material which the records furnish as to characteristic traits and external demeanor, and judge how far this enables us to clothe with reality the Personality of the Teacher. We have discovered also that the Gospels contain some- thing of infinitely greater value than any description of the personal appearance of Jesus, in their rich and ample portrayal of His character. That is what mat- ters. We should love to see His face, but we desire above all to know Him, the Son, “Who turned the God of Fear To a Father bending near; Who saw in children’s eyes Eternal Paradise; Who looked through shame and sin At the sanctity within.” 5 This knowledge, so far as it can be gained from written records, is open to us in the Gospels, which present the conspicuous traits of “this character of singular posi- 5“The Passing of Christ,” Richard Watson Gilder. THE TEACHER 43 tiveness and consistency,” of unparalleled attractive- ness, beauty, strength and charm. We realize the truth of the statement that just as the Gospels were not writ- ten to satisfy the curiosity of future ages, but to per- petuate the record of the Master’s deeds and words, so “Jesus is not posing before the glass of the future. He is indifferent to great occasions or striking effects. He lavishes His care on single, obscure and unrespon- sive lives. He is marked by what has been called ac- cessibility, the unassuming candor of the unconstrained and unaffected life. He is occupied in doing not His own will, but the will of the Father who sends Him, and in accomplishing the work which is given Him to do. Thus it happens that we are more familiar with the spiritual traits of Jesus than with His outward form. His profoundest utterances and even His pri- vate thoughts have been preserved to us by the reten- tiveness of love, while the physical appearance can be at the best only inferred from the impression created by His acts and words. His face was once a key to His character; His character must now suggest His Tees, Coming now to consider these conspicuous traits of character, in the light of the Gospel records, we find that the first and the enduring impression made upon us by the Teacher is that of Power. He walked among men as a Master, and His mastery was acknowledged even by His enemies, who said, “All the world is gone after him” ‘(John 12:19). The Gospels reveal: in Him commanding power of intellect, of will, and of control over forces human and superhuman. This power of Personality radiated from Him, and drew people irresistibly to Him. He called strong men to 6 “Jesus Christ and the Christian Character,” p. 42. 4d “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” drop their business and follow Him, and “straight- way,” without hesitation or question they did it (Matt. 4: 20-21), and remained with Him, sharing His wan- dering life and uncertain lot.. We hear it said in ex- planation that those were primitive times and men were different, but there is no reason to believe that human nature has radically changed; and in fact, men have in every age since heard His call and given up all to fol- low Him. Power flowed forth as “healing virtue” from His touch, and eyen from His garment’s fringe at another’s touch of faith (Mark 5: 27-30); it bade the synagogue-president’s daughter and the widow’s son arise (Mark 5: 41; Luke 7: 14), and Death bowed before his only conqueror. The unclean spirits rec- ognized it and its source: “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?” (Mark 5:7), and came out of their victims at His command. Even the forces of nature met their Master, and wind and wave had no alternative when He said, “Peace, be still?’ (Mark 4: 39). No wonder the men marveled and feared exceedingly, saying, “What manner of man is this, that he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:25). Every- where the life of the Teacher displays this power, wielded in gentleness and pity, compassion and love, save where the occasion called for sterner measures. The same Master who looked with healing compassion upon the sick and maimed, turned upon the traders in the Temple with righteous wrath and lashed the irre- ligious Pharisees with cutting indignation. We must believe that spiritual and physical power were perfectly blended in this phenomenal Personality. The Gospels show us that He had physical limitations. Wearied with the heat and walk, He sat down by THE TEACHER AS Jacob’s well in Samaria to rest, but even then could not resist the opportunity to teach and save (John 4:5-26). Exhausted by His arduous labors and the incessant demands made upon His vital energy, He fell asleep in the storm-stricken boat on the lake (Mark 4:38). But while these natural effects of fatigue are noted, there is never mention of health or illness in connection with Jesus, a singular thing in biography. In the poise of perfect health—physicai, mental and spiritual soundness—He moved men by the might of a moral and spiritual authority that was felt by all, and not least by those who feared and opposed Him. The records do not leave in doubt the effect of His power upon the ecclesiastical rulers and leaders, who saw no way to check it except by putting Him to death. “Tf we let him thus alone, all men will believe in him,” they said (John 11:48). They tried every trick to thwart His power over the people, but in vain. “They could not find what they might do, for the people all hung upon him listening’ (Luke 19:48). As for the multitude who heard Him teaching in the Temple, many believed on Him. Now greatly alarmed, the chief priests and Pharisees sent some of their attendants to take Him; but there arose a division about Him, and while some of them were in favor of taking Him, no man laid hands on Him; and when the attendants came back alone, the chief priests and Pharisees asked, “Why did ye not bring Him?’ The attendants an- swered, “Never man so spake,” thus bearing the strong- est witness to the power of Jesus’ personality. And all the disappointed Pharisees could say was, “Are ye also led astray?” (John 7: 25-52). This study of the Gospels disposes of two portraits of the Teacher that have been fostered by ecclesiastical 46 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” tradition and by Christian art: the ascetic and the esthetic or effeminate. As we have seen, the records place Him at rather the other extreme. Those who would make Jesus of the ascetic type, as the truest representative of a holy life, have His own words and His life to face in contradiction. John the Baptist was the ascetic, spending those years in the desert, with- drawn from humanity, which Jesus spent in the car- penter shop at Nazareth, mingling in the village life, as each was preparing for his appointed mission. Jesus greatly admired his cousin John, as the eulogy shows which he gave after John’s disciples came with their question (Matt. 11: 7-14), but His views of life were His own and distinctly not those of a Nazarite. As_ He Himself described it, in one of those half-humor- ous, half-ironical utterances in which He pointed out how impossible it was to please the scribes and Phari- sees, “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matt. 11: 18-19). Again, when He was upbraided by the Pharisees for eating with a mixed group, wholly disreputable in their dainty sight, He said, with a fine sarcasm that could hardly have escaped them, “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance’ (Luke 5:32). It was one of the serious charges they brought against Him, “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them” (Luke 15:'2) No, the Teacher was notran ascetic, any more than He was a fanatic. He “does not teach bodily mortification, but bodily sanctifica- tion.” He was the fulfilment of the prophecies; He was smitten and bruised for our transgressions; He THE TEACHER 47 had His Gethsemane and Calvary; He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”; but we must not overlook what is made so clear in the Gospels, that He was also a man of deep and abiding joy and ac- quainted with life, and that He taught men to see life whole. It is impossible to imagine Him who was the light and life of men (John 1: 4) diffusing an atmos- phere of gloom, even in His darkest hours, and the evidence is all against it. He was sympathetic but not sentimental. If He sighed over sorrow, He also played with the children. He wept with those who wept and rejoiced with those who rejoiced. And He was the furthest remove from priestly assumption or rabbinical aloofness. In His School we have seen Him as the companion of His pupils, who were made com- rades and friends, yet always realized that He was the Master. It was the priestly and ecclesiastical caste system that He exposed for its irreligion and hypocrisy and opposed for its selfish exploitation of the people. He was the people’s prophet and friend, and freely mingled with all sorts and conditions of men, that He might make known to them God the Father and lead them into the Kingdom of heaven. _ It is equally clear from the records that there was nothing effeminate about the Teacher. No weakling could have done His work. As we have seen, it re- quired superhuman strength of personality to do what He did with men. His appeal was to men of sturdy sort, and these He gathered about Him; men who knew daily toil, as He Himself did; none of them of the priestly or professional class, whose preconceptions would have made it difficult if not impossible to mold them. We remember that two of the Twelve were nicknamed ‘“‘sons of Thunder,” and another was called 48 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” by the Master the “rock.” Those who have been wont to think of Jesus as wanting in manly strength and courage, mistaking His gentleness for weakness, should note that from the very beginning of His ministry He stood in outspoken and fearless opposition to the all- powerful religious organization of His people, con- stantly braving peril and death, and resolutely attack- ing entrenched evils and the forces of unrighteousness, the ‘principalities and powers, the rulers of the dark- ness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6712): As for His courage, take that incident where some Pharisees came up to tell Him, “Get away from here, for Herod intends to kill you.” Well He knew that Herod had the power. But mark the closing words of His message to “that fox.” Regardless of the known peril to Himself, He says calmly, “Nevertheless I must walk (go on my way) to-day, and to-morrow, and the next day: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem’ (Luke 13: 31-33). He foresaw clearly all that He must pass through, yet went straight forward. See Him, again, as He faces the band of men and officers that came to seize Him in the Garden, and after the Judas-kiss asks, ““Whom seek ye?” And when they answered, Jesus of Nazareth, He said, “I am he.’ Whereupon they “went backward and fell to the ground,” and only after He had asked again whom they sought, laid hold upon Him (John 18: 3- 12). What was it that so impressed and overcame these men? What proof of the spiritual power and moral majesty of the Master! But it must be remem- bered that the entire public life of Jesus was one of struggle against opposing forces, bitter and malignant, which were aroused and inflamed by His teaching and THE TEACHER 49 example. He was a Teacher of moral reforms and revolutionary principles, and only a dauntless courage and inflexible will could have carried Him through to the cross. True manliness and bravery, the supremacy of moral and spiritual character, shine out through all His story. In a fine chapter on “The Chivalry of Jesus,’ 7? Dr. Jefferson chooses chivalry as the word that best ex- presses a quality of Jesus that supplements courage. He says: “He was heroic but He was more than that. His heroism was a superb gallantry and something more. There was in it a delicious courtesy, a beautiful and gentle graciousness toward the weak and helpless. ... Jesus of Nazareth was a knight. On foot He traveled forth, clad in the armor of a peerless man- hood, to shield the weak, maintain the right, and live a life that should charm and win the world... .” Then the writer pictures the Knight whose heart was pierced by physical distress and ever open to the neg- lected and forlorn, the outcasts, even the despised Sa- maritans; who braved hostility and criticism by asso- ciating with publicans and sinners; and who in His attitude to woman displayed His chivalry in its finest expression. The one rule He laid down with author- ity was regarding divorce, where He revoked the lib- erty granted by Moses and declared the law of God, by Whom marriage is ordained. ‘He had the nerve, the mettle, and the intrepidity of the bravest of the knights, and along with this He had a sweet winsome- ness, a divine graciousness which history cannot match.”’ This is a note that needs to be sounded to-day. Our young people would do well to read that tonic volume 7 Charles E. Jefferson, “The Character of Jesus.” 50 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” by Thomas Hughes, “The Manliness of Christ.” Jesus Christ was and forever will be the manliest among the sons of men. He is as perfect an example of chivalry, courage and heroism as of purity, power and self-giv- ing. Tennyson saw it, as he sings: “Strong Son of God, Immortal Love; Whom we, that have not seen Thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace, Believing where we cannot prove; “Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, Thou: Our wills are ours, we know not how; Our wills are ours, to make them Thine.” These impressions are accompanied closely by others, such as the perfect blending of simplicity and sub- limity, sincerity and frankness, tenderness and firmness, kindness and justness, pity and patience, dignity and graciousness, humility and majesty, in the radiant Per- sonality of the Teacher. “Radiant” is the suggestion that comes from the one instance in which reference is made to the face or countenance of Jesus: in the Transfiguration, where it is said, “As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,” or as Moffatt translates it, “the appearance of his face altered” (Luke 9:29), while Matthew says, “His face shone like the sun’ (17:2). Principal Jacks says, in his suggestive little book on “The Lost Radiance of the Christian Religion,” that “at was in the form of a Person that the radiance of Christianity made its first appearance and its first impression on the world; and that this Personality made it the religion most encouraging, most joyous, of all religions.” This impression deepens as we study the Gospel narratives. There is always an THE TEACHER a underlying note of peace and joy in the Master’s life and teaching, and this was one of His precious legacies to His disciples (John 15:11). If it be true that this note has become largely mute in Christian experience to-day, that makes it the more essential that we should keep our place as pupils at the Teacher’s feet till we have learned the secret of His power and so imbibed His spirit as to be prepared to play nobly our part in restoring the lost joy and radiance to the church, and so to the world that is dun and dreary for want of it. Many other character qualities are mentioned in the _ records, that serve to fill out the picture of Personality. There are such traits as meekness and forbearance, sociability and isolation. He lives with the crowds by day, serving them unsparingly, and then withdraws to the mountain solitudes to spend the night in com- munion with His Father, renewing in prayer the power spent in service (Luke 6:12). We mark His deter- mination in that unusual phrase, “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), as we do His forbearance and forgiveness in the accompanying story. We note His modesty combined with self-con- sciousness. ‘What a self-consciousness of power must have been His,” says a recent writer, “who could de- scribe Himself as ‘meek and lowly in heart,’ while at the same time declaring, ‘Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and J will give you rest’ ”’ (Matt. 11:28). For a mere man to say that would at once be recognized by the hearers as a preposterous and empty boast. But it fell naturally from His lips, as did all His amazing utterances. It could only be said with-truth and significance by the Son of God, conscious of the infinite resources of Divine power at His command (Matt. 26: 53). 52 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Thus far we have been viewing the Personality of the Teacher through the glass of the Gospels, seeking to discover what He signified to those who were in direct personal contact with Him in His earthly life. With this limitation to His own time, we have found that He transcends our comprehension, even as He did that of His closest companions and friends, and of the Pharisees who were confounded by His wisdom (John 7:15). No Rabbi, and yet more than Rabbi. The realization has grown upon us, as we have been living in this atmosphere and association, of that “something more’’—the something more that drew the “publicans and sinners around Him’’; that made Him the life- restorer of the throngs of crippled, diseased, sin-tor- mented, demon-possessed and helpless; that led Peter to say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life’ (John 6:68); and that brought doubting Thomas in penitence to his knees with the ex- clamation, “My Lord, and my God” (John 20: 28). We are ready even now to join him in that declaration, and claim the blessing of those who, not having seen, have yet believed. But when we make the approach from our own day, with all the added light of Calvary, the Resurrection and Ascension, Pentecost and the New ‘Testament records ; and more than this, the immeasura- ble volume of testimony that has accumulated during the centuries of the Christian era, we see at once that human history shows no other Personality so com- manding and compelling, so powerful, so truly the archetypal, ideal man. There is no other that ap- proaches it in influence through all the ages, nor as a living force in the life of mankind at this hour. We are in the presence of the “Universal Homo, blending in Himself all races, ages, sexes, temperaments”; of THE TEACHER 53 the “Essential Vir, from the hem of whose robe virtue is ever flowing,” to quote George Dana Boardman’s quaint phrases; of the “Son of Man,” to adopt the sig- nificant biblical term which was a favorite with Jesus Himself. And surely we can say, with Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here’ (Luke 9:33). As we go on through the teachings, we shall all the time be learning more not only from the Teacher but of Him. And the more we know Him, the richer will be our lives, the stronger our will to follow, the greater our love. In closing this study, whose purpose is to make the Personality of our Lord real and near and living to us, we find suggestion and inspiration in the following passage by a writer whose spiritual insight has been most helpful to his readers: ® “When we make our picture of Him, does it suggest the man who has stirred mankind to its depths, set the world on fire (Luke 12:49) and played an infinitely larger part in all the affairs of men than any man we know of in history? Is it a great figure? Does our emphasis fall on the great features of that nature—are they within our vision, and in our drawing? Does our explanation of Him really explain Him, or leave Him more a riddle? What do we make of His origi- nality? What was it in Him that changed Peter and James and John and the rest from companions into worshipers, that in every age has captured and con- trolled the best, the deepest, and tenderest of men? Are we afraid our picture will be too modern, too little Jewish? These are not the real dangers. Again and again our danger is that we underestimate. But not to underestimate such a figure is hard. To see Him as 8 T. R. Glover, ““The Jesus of History,” pp. 21-22, 54 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” He is calls for all we have of intellect, of tenderness, of love, and of greatness. It is worth while to try to understand Him even if we fail. God, said St. Ber- nard, is never sought in vain, even when we do not find Him. Jesus Christ transcends our categories and classification; we never exhaust Him; and one element of Christian happiness is that there is always more in Him than we supposed.” In the words of Reverend J. Edgar Park: “We would see Jesus, Mary’s son most holy, Light of the village life from day to day; Shining revealed thro’ every task most lowly, The Christ of God, the Life, the Truth, the Way. “We would see Jesus, on the mountain teaching, With all the listening people gathered round; While birds and flowers and sky above are preaching, The blessedness which simple trust has found. “We would see Jesus, in His work of healing, At eventide before the sun was set; Divine and human, in His deep revealing Of God and man in loving service met.” CHAPTER THREE DEE bE ACHING Follow with reverent steps the great example Of Him whose holy work was “doing good”; So shall the wide earth seem our Father’s temple, Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. —J. G. Whittrer. Such is the Teacher of the Twelve. When shall He be accorded His rightful place as the Master of the World? He calls us to discipleship that we may not only know the blessedness of fellowship with Him, but that we may also be instructed and inspired for truer service in the world.— J.W. G. Ward. Look at His method of teaching. He said that the word is the overflow of the heart (Matt. 12:34). What a heart, then, His words reveal! How easy and straightforward His language is! To-day we all use abstract nouns to con- vey our meaning; we cannot do without words ending in -ality and -ation. But there is no recorded saying of Jesus where He uses even “personality.” He does not use abstract nouns. He sticks to plain words. When He speaks about God He does not say “the Great First Cause,” or “Provi- dence,” or any other vague abstract. Still less does He use an adverb from the abstract, like “providentially.” He says, “your heavenly Father.” He does not talk of “human- ity’; He says, “your brethren.” He has no jargon, no tech- nical terms, no scholastic vocabulary. ... His language is simple and direct, the inevitable expression of a rich nature and a habit of truth. ... His words caught the attention and lived in the memory; they revealed such a nature; they were so living and unforgettable—T. R. Glover. Cuarpter THREE THE TEACHING From the School and the Teacher we turn to the Teaching, to note its characteristics and methods. As the Teacher has His own ideas and ways of living, so He has His own methods of teaching. Teacher He is preeminently; He is so addressed nearly fifty times in the New Testament;* but He is as unique in in- struction as in all else. With His pupils it is constantly the unexpected that happens, and He must often have been as much of a surprise to His closest companions as to the scribes and Pharisees, and to the people who could only say, “We never saw it on this fashion,” or in Moffatt’s more colloquial phrasing, ““We never saw the like of it” (Luke 2:10). Realize that Jesus when He began to teach was about thirty years of age (Luke 3:23). The first characteristic we note in the Teaching is its quiet assumption of Authority. As the Gospels tell us, this was the immediate impression it made upon His hearers when, on the first Sabbath of His new ministry, He entered into the synagogue of Capernaum and taught; “and they were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them like an authority, not like the scribes” (Mark 1:22; M.). Matthew says the same profound impression was made upon the amazed crowds at the close of the Sermon on the Mount (7:29). The scribes or lawyers, who were the expositors of the Mosaic and Levitical law, with the innumerable addi- 1The Greek word Atddcxados, Teacher, is commonly translated “Master.” ey 58 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” tions of tradition, ventured no statement without jus- tifying it by the word of the famous Rabbis. But Jesus teaches, not from “a reservoir of quotations,” but as His own authority. He appeals to none; He does not argue or reason; He simply declares the truth, with an assurance that is absolute. He never speaks as if in doubt; always as if His word were sufficient : “T say unto you,” or “Verily. (or truly), I say unto you” (Matt. 5:18, 22, and frequently elsewhere). Calmly and deliberately He places His own words above the traditional interpretation of the ancient Law, which He said He came not to destroy but to fulfil (Matt. 5:17), which indeed He extends and spiritual- izes. Six times in the hillside teaching which we know as the Sermon on the Mount, He quotes command- ments from the Mosaic Law, and then restates them in His own way. For example: ‘Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself... but J say unto you, swear not at all” (Matt. 5: 33-35). There is the “I” of the Teacher put boldly with the air of finality over against the sayings of Rabbis and prophets and Moses himself. “Here was one,’ as Professor Dickey says, “who was con- scious that He was greater than Moses, that His knowl- edge of God’s will and sympathy with His spirit trans- cended even that of the founder of the Jewish re- ligion. His sense of sonship with the Father made Him the unique exponent of His will to men, and the new era He inaugurated original and independent, though not contradictory of what had gone before.” In this clear consciousness of Divine authority given Him by the Father (Matt. 11: 27), rests the compelling and enduring power of Jesus as Teacher, from His own day till now. In His certainty men have rested, in THE TEACHING 59 His words they have found “spirit and life” through the ages. In speaking of the difference between the style of the Rabbis’ teaching and that of Jesus, Professor Glover draws a striking comparison. He says Rabbi Eliezer of those times was praised as “‘a well trough that loses not a drop of water.” We all know that type of teacher—the tank-mind, full no doubt, supplied by pipes, and ministering its gifts by pipe and tap, regu- lated, tiresome, and dead. “The water that I shall give him,” says Jesus, “shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life’ (John 4:14). The metaphors of the New Testament are not of trough and tank.’ Nor is the teaching anywhere of the stilted and mem- orizing or catechetical kind. Originality is its striking quality. He quotes a saying and makes it new by the emphasis He supplies. “By emphasizing mercy in- stead of sacrifice he made religion new.” “Never man so spake” applies to the manner as well as to the mat- ter, and above all to the Personality behind them. But the matter is so unconventional, so novel, so full of living pictures drawn from nature and everyday life and events, as to make it stand entirely by itself. He “breeds illustrations as the sun breeds clouds,” and as naturally; and they are always illustrations that illus- trate. We see in them the close observation that treas- ured the incidents and experiences of the early days in the home and village life, and later brought forth from them their lessons. We see also the quick sympathy with living things which appeal to His heart, and the intimate understanding of men and women which en- ables Him to draw and win them. 2“The Jesus of History,” p. 58. 60 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Environment supplies Him with its special types of illustration, whether He is in fertile, agricultural, sunny, Gentile Galilee or barren, pastoral, gloomy, Pharisaic Judea. In Galilee, for example, where He spent the most of His life and ministry, where in the freer air He escaped the influence of the selfishness and bigotry that marked the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, everything has its lesson for His imagination—flowers and birds, fig tree and vine, storm winds and signs of seasons, sower and seed, fishing and the mending of nets, the varied soils and the varied life of the home, the farm, the workshop, and the cities. We see in the parables how He drew upon all sources—the house- wife with her leaven and coin-chain (Matt. 13: 33; Luke 15:4); the fisherman and his dragnet (Matt. 13:47); the sower and seed (Matt. 13: 3-9); the rich householders leaving their homes with the porters set to watch (Matt. 24:43; Luke 12:41); the market- places (Luke 7:32), streets, highways and hedges (Matt. 22: 2-10) ; the social feasts (Mark 2:15; Luke 7:36); the pulling down of barns and building greater (Luke 12:16-20); the grinding millstones (Matt. 24:41), and the chaff, tares and wheat (Matt. 13: 24- 30), making the commonplace in life reveal the sublime in truth. Then, as He passes from the sunshine of Galilee into the silence of the Ghor and the narrow and steep pas- sages that lie between Jericho and Jerusalem, the ex- perience yields Him the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29-37); and when He comes into Judea, province of pasture and vineyard, the contrasting scenes furnish to His sensitive eye and soul the exquisite similes of the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11); the vine and branches (John 15: 1-5); pruning and fruit-bear- THE TEACHING 61 ing (John 1:2); the wicked husbandmen (Matt. 21: 33-43); the fruitless fig tree (Luke 13:6); the parable of the sheep and goats (Matt. 25: 31-46) ; the vineyard laborers (Matt. 20:1-16); the one sheep fallen into the pit (Matt. 12:11); the sheep in the midst of wolves (Matt. 10:16); and that touching picture of the stray sheep and the shepherd going into the mountains after it (Matt. 18:12). The Temple courts suggest the Father’s house with the many man- sions (John 14:2). Observation of the Pharisees leads to His warning against hypocritical charity, prayers for publicity, fasting and pride (Matt. 6); denunciation of their wickedness in that acute delinea- tion of their character (Matt. 23); and disclosure of their nature in seeking the chief rooms at the feasts (Luke 14:7), and as seen in the Pharisee and publican praying (Luke 18:10-14). Thus the Teacher immor- talized Judea as well as Galilee in His teaching, and made Samaria known forever by a single lesson in which a woman was His only pupil (John 4: 7-26). There is in His teachings a freshness as perennial as their truth is timeless. His parables and illustrations fit all periods of time and all people in all lands. Wherever human nature is, there His lessons are ap- plicable, for He knew its innermost secrets and pos- sessed the power to meet its deepest needs. Every- thing quivered with life and meaning for Him. Who else could make the abstract concrete as He did? Who else would think of using the simple material which furnished Him with the most impressive illustrations ? As a recent writer says:? “He clothed divine truth in human garb till it came with irresistible charm and appeal. His matchless stories were so easily grasped 3jJ. G. W. ‘Ward, in “The Master and the Twelve,” p. 240. 62 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” that the untutored were able to apprehend some of their meaning, while on the other hand they were so pro- found that there were always unsounded depths for the thoughtful mind to plumb. He took the homeliest things and invested them with regal dignity. From the common ways of human life Jesus picked up the gems that other eyes had never seen, and when He held them up to the light of heaven, they flashed with the varied and scintillating rays of the diamond. The hen and her chickens illustrated the parental care of the Divine heart. The mother kneading bread, patch- ing a torn garment, salting the sparse portion of meat, or kindling the tiny lamp that gave light at eventide, were all pressed into the service of His gospel, and we feel how well Tennyson expressed it: “Though truths in manhood darkly join, Deep-seated in our mystic frame, We yield all blessing to the name Of Him that made them current coin.” His teaching reveals Him as master of all the arts and graces of rhetoric, yet without the slightest trace of pedantry. Metaphors and similes, epigrams and aphorisms flow from His lips as naturally as water flows from the fountain. Humor, delicate irony and keen satire are at His command. His words are born of the place and occasion, which never fail to furnish the suggestion and swift response, ‘quick realization of a situation, a character, or the meaning of a word.” Note the aptness and sententiousness of these exam- ples: No man can serve two masters; for he will love the one and hate the other. THE TEACHING 63 They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unright- eous also in much. The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Ye are the salt of the earth. — The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Love your enemies, and do them good. Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. The lamp of the body is the eye. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto his stature? Be not therefore anxious for the morrow, for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Give and it shall be given unto you. Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desola- tion; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest; nor any- thing secret that shall not be revealed. He that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. The harvest truly is plenteous but the labourers are few. O4 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” A pupil is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. The very hairs of your head are all numbered. A man’s foes shall be they of his own household. They are blind guides; and if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit. Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Many are called, but few are chosen. He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. I am the door. Woe unto you, lawyers, for ye took away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be re- quired. For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Render unto Cesar the things that are Czsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. For the Son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Every one of these detached sayings has its setting, and should be studied in its connection in order to be seen in the richness and fullness of its meaning. Each was probably a text expanded and expounded. The purpose here is to indicate the natural, picturesque and spontaneous quality of the teaching, which has nothing in it of the bookish or of the premeditated. Concerned THE TEACHING 65 primarily and fundamentally with life, the lessons and illustrations come out of life and nature, and have the immediate application of truth to present circum- stances, while at the same time they enunciate prin- ciples which are of eternal and universal validity. Here is a Teacher who knows that a man is more impor- tant than an institution, and makes truth interesting because He links it all in with life and makes the individual soul the supreme thing in the universe. The Teacher’s method recognizes the value of repeti- tion and emphasis. His pupils could not doubt that in His estimation Love is the greatest thing in the world. Himself the revelation of Divine Love, He teaches both the inexpressible love of God for man (John 3:16) and man’s supreme duty to love God and his neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). He uses the word love sixty-two times (as quoted in the Gospels) ; enjoining love to fellow man fourteen times: love to neighbor, love to enemies, love in life’s relationships. He gives but a single new commandment, “that ye love one an- other, even as I have loved you” (John 13: 34-35; Pete) eo Liis)he repeats in verse 17. ‘Note also the many repetitions of the word in the fourteenth and fif- teenth chapters of John, where He makes it clear who it is that truly loves Him, and gives that wonderful promise of the Father’s love and the abiding presence of the Father and Himself: “we will come’ (John 14:23). Love to God, to the Son, to one another and to neighbor, inseparably united in this Teaching which has never yet been taken seriously to heart by the world, but which, when it becomes a universal prac- tice, will make a new earth wherein dwelleth righteous- ness. (Note John 14:21, 23, 24, 313; 15:9, 10, 12, 13, 17; 16:27; 17:26.) How significant, too, that last 66 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” and trying lesson when the Teacher draws out the personal relationship in the thrice repeated question to Peter, on the shore of Tiberias, “Lovest thou me?” (John 21: 15-20). Not only in words, however, but through all the life with the Teacher love was diffused by His radiating personality. The Teacher’s use of the Scriptures shows both His perfect familiarity with them, and His aptness in select- ing precisely the passages which meet the occasion. The Old Testament was the one Book of His boyhood, and He had memorized it at home or in school, so that He could quote at pleasure and always to purpose. From the Temptation on, when His enemies sought to entrap Him, He confounded them from the Scriptures, until they dared no more to ask Him questions (Luke 20:40; Matt. 22:46). When the lawyer came tempt- ing, Jesus asked, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” (Luke 10:26). The Pharisees asked in wonder, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” His ready answer was, “My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me” (John 7:15, 16). But while He had not learned in the rabbinical schools the lore of the Rabbis, He had studied people and na- ture, and penetrated to the spiritual secret of life, thus acquiring the real learning, compared to which theirs was scholastic and superficial. They had minute and endless rules; He had intellectual insight, and declared the principles which underlie conduct and create char- acter, “‘What He taught,” says Robert Louis Steven- son, “was not a code of rules, but a loving spirit.” ‘Where the Pharisees were expounding precepts of casuistry, Jesus was teaching principles of morality. Instead of washings and tithings, He set forth the com- prehensive commandments upon which the whole law THE TEACHING 67 and prophets hung. . . . His teaching is not of a logic of doctrine, but of a way of life. ‘Follow me,’ He says, ‘Take up thy cross and follow me’; and along the way of the Christian character may be discovered the articles of the Christian creed.” * It is notable that in His use of the Scriptures Jesus not only puts His own interpretation upon many pas- sages, but also translates their negatives into positives, so that the ‘Thou shalt not” of the Old Testament be- comes the “Thou shalt” of the New. His teaching is a summons to the will, not simply an appeal to the emotions. ‘‘My meat is to do the will of him that sent me’ (John 4:34). Not those shall be accepted, He says, who say “Lord, Lord,’ but those who “do the will of my Father” (Matt. 7:21). He declares, “He that willeth to do the will shall know of the teach- ing” (John 7:17). To the Jews who sought to kill Him, His injunction is to “search the Scriptures” and find there the testimony concerning Him (John 5: 39). For it was in those same Scriptures, which He knew so much more truly and profoundly than did the doc- tors of the law who had made them a life study, that He had found Himself, and knew the fate that lay before Him as the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. As we go on in our study, applying the teaching of Jesus to specific subjects, we shall discover how inclu- sive and complete it is. We shall realize that the Teacher introduced a new note, which distinguishes His teaching from that of other moralists. Where they establish a system of rules which are bound as burdens on men’s backs, He lays down the great controlling principles which should govern conduct and life, and 4“Jesus Christ and the Christian Character,” pp. 75-77. 68 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” then makes obedience to these principles depend not upon outward authority but upon the inward motive. And this inward motive He supplies, this being some- thing beyond mere human power to do. This is the Divine dynamic that is ultimately to redeem the world. We shall see that this teaching is new, also, in its demand for self-surrender and self-renunciation (Luke 14:26, 33), which are to be clearly distinguished from asceticism, with its false interpretations and philosophy. It is new in its emphasis upon the individual, instead of the family or group, society or nation. While the teaching is social, it is unjustifiable to make this a primary motive and exploit Jesus as a social reformer, as many in these days do. As Professor Scott points out,” Jesus saw men not as units in a society or a group, but as personal beings, each having value, sepa- rate and absolute worth, in the sight of God. His social teaching had its roots in this individualism, and fail- ure to recognize this is where the social theorists mis- take the program of the Teacher and the elementary principles of His teaching. In the last analysis man is not a social unit but a soul, according to this Teacher, who has given man a new status in the universe, a new dignity and worth, as a son and heir, individually re- sponsible only to God his Father. His duty is to serve and obey God, for by obedience to the great commandments of love, goodness, holiness, he enters into actual fellowship with God. Thus is fulfilled the divine purpose, “that ye may be the children of your father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:45). Above all, this is a teaching of righteousness. In it are bound up all the elements of individual and social progress. Men will always marvel at its practical 5 “The Ethical Teaching of Jesus,” p. 57 ff. THE TEACHING 69 applicability to the complex problems of their own day —problems of which the Teacher could have no knowl- edge. Had He formulated rules, these would long ago have been outdated and discarded. But the teaching which has to do with the underlying and permanent needs of human life, which touches our humanity at its heart, can never be outdated or superseded. The principles which Jesus gave as guides of action in all human relations are recognized as those which best meet the needs of the world, and are in greater demand than ever before. If evidence were needed of the truth of the Teacher’s saying, “My words they are spirit and life,” it would be found incontestably in the fact that for two thousand years men have found their ini- tiative and program in these sayings, and never yet have they failed when put to the test. “Still in loving tenderness Doth the Master wait to bless; Still His touch upon the soul Bringeth balm and maketh whole; Still He comforts mourning hearts, Life and joy and peace imparts; Still the Friend of all is He, As of old by Galilee!” We have become aware that we cannot separate the Teacher from His teachings, for He was both opening to His pupils a way of life and actually walking with them in it. Much of the education in this School of Religion is learning by doing. This teaching is char- acteristic in that it demands that saying shall be coupled with acting. Ethical principles fruit at once in ethical action. “I have given you an example,” says Jesus, after that unique lesson of unselfish service in which He had washed the disciples’ feet, “that ye should do 70 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” as I have done to you” (John 13:15). That was His method, teaching by example, injecting His own sympathetic personality into His educative process. Could they ever forget the principle of true master- ship? As we review the hours we have spent in this as- sociation with the incomparable Teacher and His School of the Twelve, we are conscious anew of the graciousness, the comforting assurances, the uplifting qualities of this teaching by Him who has the words of eternal life. What life-giving words to the trem- bling, shrinking woman, “Daughter, be of good cheer” (Matt. 9:22). With what gladness He must have said, after giving that lesson of the Divine care drawn from the ravens and the lilies, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). What other term could have gathered them to His arms like that “little flock’? And how His heart must have throbbed with joy at the ability to speak those great words which have comforted and sustained countless multitudes in the trying and sorrowful hours of life: “Let not your heart be trou- bled, ye believe in God, believe also in me. In‘my Father’s house are many mansions. . . . I go to pre- pare “ax place, “for! yout (John vw 14 3.123). o sbbe shane respecter of persons. He casts the spell of His purity and charm over even the sinful and the social outcasts, so that the record says, “Now all the publicans and sin- ners were drawing near unto him to hear him” (Luke 15:1). He dealt plainly and honestly with them and they honored and believed in Him. His teaching is full of love, trust, faith, hope and joy, of all that makes for righteousness and the abundant life which He came to give to men (John 10: 10). THE TEACHING 71 But there should be no mistake at this point. This is no spineless, soft and flabby teaching. Jesus was the originator of reforms, and knew what it was to deal with unrighteous conditions and unrighteous men. We have missed the heart of His teaching if we have not realized that its keynote is sincerity. He tells men the truth, and the whole truth. While he points to the straight gate and narrow way that leads unto life, He also warns of the wide gate and broad way that leads unto destruction (Matt. 7: 13,14). This gracious and sympathetic, loving and compassionate Teacher can also be inexorably stern, righteously angry. Since He was the soul of sincerity, He was in deadly conflict with the hypocrites. The sins that He most severely con- demns are not those of appetite or passion, not those which are most commonly named, but the sins which come from within, the “‘better-than-thou” attitude, the moral perversions which lead to self-deception, pride and self-righteousness. The Pharisees exemplified these vices which aroused His fiery indignation as He witnessed their oppressions and false assumptions and deceptions. His denunciations and parables made the truth known to them, and in return they took His life. Nowhere perhaps is the Teacher more self-revealing than in the last meeting when He opens His heart to those who have shared His life for three years that have no parallel in our human history. In what more beautiful light could we behold Him than in that inner circle of His pupils, when in the closing moments He says to them, and through them to all sincere learners who should come after them, those wonderful words: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 72 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Surely we have not been so long in this high company without absorbing something of its spiritually quicken- ing atmosphere; without gaining a new sense of the truth that the commanding quality of this Teacher, underlying all His teaching and acts, is Love—the Love that dominated His life and carried Him to the cross as the supreme manifestation of the heart of God to humanity. Nor can we have failed to catch some- thing of His spirit that will abide with us, and a pro- found consciousness of His personality that will en- rich our days and ennoble our lives. This has been a blessed experience, which we may deepen and enlarge if we will, not only as we carry forward our present studies in His matchless Teaching, but also in the future as we continue to grow in His acquaintance and in the happy fellowship that is promised to all who hear His knock at the door of the heart and open to Him. We share in the feeling of Washington Glad- den: “O Master, let me walk with Thee In lowly paths of service free; Tell me Thy secret; help me bear The strain of toil, the fret of care. “Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee In closer, dearer company; In work that keeps faith sweet and strong; In trust that triumphs over wrong; “In hope that sends a shining ray Far down the future’s broadening way; In peace that only Thou canst give,— With Thee, O Master, let me live.” PART TWO: The Teaching of Jesus CHAPTER ONE THE TEACHING OF JESUS CONCERNING GOD When He walked the fields He drew From the flow’rs and birds and dew Parables of God; For within His heart of love All the soul of man did move, God had His abode. —Stopford A. Brooke. The first thing Jesus had to do, as a Teacher, was to induce men to rethink God. To see God, to know God—that is what Jesus means. To know that He is ours, to see Him smile, to realize that H@ is a real Father with a father’s heart—that is His teaching. Those who learn His secret enjoy God in reality. Wherever they see God with the eyes of Jesus, it is joy and peace. For Him God is real, living and personal.—T. FR. Glover. The word which Jesus applied to God was Father. Only occasionally in the long sweep of the ages had a soul here and there ventured to apply to Deity a name so familiar and sweet, but Jesus of Nazareth always thinks and speaks of God as Father. How much He has to teach us at this point—Charles E. Jefferson. God, said Jesus, is Spirit, and it is a definition of God which goes behind and beneath all the other names that are applied to Him. Christianity is essentially the religion of the Spirit. It was so to Jesus; it was so to St. Paul; and it should be so to us.—L. P. Jacks. Loyalty to Jesus compels us to begin with Him. If He is the Way, we are not justified in taking half a dozen other roads, and using Him as one path among many. We ask ourselves what was the highest inspiration of Jesus, what was the Being to whom He responded with His obedient trust and with whom He communed. ... Our highest inspirations come to us from Jesus, and He is, therefore, God’s self- unveiling to us, God’s ‘“Frankness,”’ His Word made Flesh. —Henry Sloane Coffin. PART TWO: T'he Teaching of Jesus CHAPTER ONE THE TEACHING OF JESUS CONCERNING GOD To know God is the most important of all knowledge. Our idea of God molds our character and shapes our conduct. No other idea has such sway as this over our lives. What God is to us determines what we will be for God and our fellow men. Upon a true and clear conception of God depends the reality of our religion and its power. It is vital therefore to have a true idea of God, and where shall we go to find it if not to the Son of God, who came to incarnate and reveal Him (John 14:9). This is assuredly the most nat- ural thing to do; yet it is one of the anomalies of Christian history that the men who have written our theologies and formulated our systems of doctrine have so seldom followed this course. Instead of making Jesus Christ the primary source of knowledge, He has too often been made secondary or tributary, and some- times practically neglected. In this study we hold Him first and all others secondary or supplementary. Rev- erently we come to the Supreme Teacher for our knowl- edge of God, as of all the essential Christian truths. We may be confident that He whose unique claim it was “that no man knoweth the Father save the Son and he to whom the Son will reveal Him’ (Matt. 11:27), will not fail to give us a sufficient and satis- 75 76 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” fying conception. Nor does He; and in the light of His revelation all other teaching must be interpreted and judged. Coming now directly to the teaching of Jesus con- cerning God, we note at once how He differs from other teachers in approaching the subject. Where they commonly begin with definition and argument, that is not at all His method. He offers no argument to prove the existence of God—He simply assumes it. That is as basal a fact.as His own existence. He gives no list of the Divine attributes—they will appear as He introduces them in illustration. He has no definitions, such as “The Power outside ourselves that makes for righteousness.” He makes His own a single word, Father, and puts it all in that. His teaching comes out of living fellowship, out of a deepening intimate sense of sonship, and is therefore always positive and free from any suggestion of doubt or indefiniteness. His words carry the axiomatic note of self-evidencing truth. As God is real to Him, so He would make God real to all. And it is true that since Jesus lived and taught, our world has been a new one and God a nearer Being to man. As to His teaching, Professor Glover has put it finely in the sentence: “I think it would be tight to say that Jesus puts before us no system of God, but rather suggests a great exploration, an inti- macy with the slow and sure knowledge that intimacy gives.” It is not system that we need here so much as the warmth and glow of life, and that we find. The first time that Jesus speaks of God, so far as recorded, is when in answer to His mother’s reproach- ful query, ‘Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing” (or as Moffatt phrases it, “Why have you behaved CONCERNING GOD 17 like this to us?) He makes the enigmatical reply, “How is it that ye sought me? Know ye not that I must be about my: Father’s business?” or “in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2: 46-49). Here is the boy of twelve, with a possessive sense as remarkable as the consciousness that gave birth to the name, saying “My Father,” in a tone and with a naturalness that add to the astonishment and perplexity of the learned doc- tors of the Temple among whom He is sitting; who indeed have already been filled with wonder at His insight and answers during the days He has spent with them. And as He begins, so He closes with the same word, which sounds the keynote to His whole teaching. On the cross, as the earthly redemptive work is fin- ished, He exclaims, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’ (Luke 23:46). The careful reader of the Gospels will not question that the consciousness of Fatherhood and Sonship was ever present in the mind of Jesus. And this brings us at once to the fact of infinite im- port that what Jesus did was so to use the word Father as to give mankind a new conception of God—a con- ception controlling in His own life, and fundamental to the establishment and final triumph of the Kingdom of God upon earth. It is true that Jesus did not orig- inate the name Father, as applied to God, and that we find the term in the Old Testament. But it is also true that Jesus first used it in such wise as to make it new and securely fix its place in human speech as the tenderest and most endearing name, expressing the relation of the Creator to His creatures in terms of affection, as that of a Father to His children. Every- body could understand this. No other name could bring God so close, no other could make so natural, / 78 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” clear and vivid our relation to Him. In the Old Testa- ment the term is found only a few times, and expresses relation to a people, as the head of a nation. Jesus places God in a fatherly relation to the individual, and represents Him as the Father of the human spirit. This is both new emphasis and new teaching. This conception of Jesus is absolutely original in that it brings God into direct relationship with each individual soul, without human intermediary, without medium of formal altar and sacrifice, without restriction of time or place. The Father is wherever His children are, and freely they may come to Him. Jesus makes the word Father nothing less than the vehicle of a supreme revelation. “QO Jesus, Lord, who cam’st to earth That men might see the Father’s face— How strong His love, how wide His grace— Thou art the Word of God.” Turning to the Gospels, we find that a collation of the utterances of Jesus concerning God is in itself - impressive and enlightening. Studied as a whole, these teachings not only furnish a clear idea of the character and attributes of God, but lead the student to place the emphasis where the Master placed it—a mat- ter of extreme importance in interpretation. Nor can the study fail to carry conviction as to the truths taught and their direct application to the individual life. The effect is cumulative, and brings out anew the spir- itual significance of the Teacher’s own characterization of His words as “spirit and life.”’ Here the human responds instinctively to the divine. The Teacher im- parts Himself to the taught. Going through the records, it is not idle curiosity that CONCERNING GOD 79 leads us to note that Jesus speaks of Ged as Father (0 Iaryp) 168 times; as Theos (6 O¢0s, object of worship, corresponding to the Hebrew Elohim) ninety times ; as Lord ( Kupzos ), the Hebrew adon or adonai, six times; as “Him that sent me,’ seven times; as Holy Spirit (ro &yiov mv&dpua), ten times; as the Highest (ovpzoros, Luke 6:35), once. Analysis dis- closes that Theos is used three times in quotation, in the Temptation ; nine times in phrases of specific char- acter ; and not less than fifteen times as clearly synony- mous with Father, which leaves about sixty uses of the word as synonymous with the Elohim and Jahveh of the Jews. The significance of this analysis lies in the fact that it denotes the habitual thought of Jesus. In every instance but one in which His personal relation to God is involved Jesus uses the word Father. The excep- ’ tion is the quotation from the 22nd Psalm, the heart- breaking cry on the cross, in the Aramaic, “Elo, elot, lama sabachthani,”’ “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). As Dr. H. R. Mackin- tosh says, “The recurrence of the sweet and deep name, Father, unveils the secret of His being. His heart is at rest in God.” Endless definition could not interpret God to us as does this one word on the lips of Jesus. The teaching proceeds by illustration drawn from life, the Master’s favorite method. In the second in- stance where Jesus speaks of God He stands at the threshold of His public ministry, a young man of thirty, in the radiant dawn of His world-changing mis- sion. The wilderness and the long fasting have not daunted His spirit. In reply to the Scripture-quoting Tempter He quotes back, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God;’ “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy 80 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:7, 10). The Hebrew word here is Elohim, the object of wor- ship. God is to be worshipped, not tried. That Jesus was familiar with the Hebraistic idea of God as taught in the Old Testament only makes it the more note- worthy that He does not limit Himself to the ancient conception, but from boyhood on employs His own distinctive and humanly revealing term. Thus it was the Son’s mission to declare the Father, and to put into that word the new content that alone could satisfy the yearnings of the human heart. Hence it comes about that in passing from the Old Testament to the Gospels of the New we find God called by what is practically a new name: the Jehovah and Lawgiver of Israel be- comes in the teaching of Jesus the Divine Father of mankind. ‘The God who is Love is made a living reality in the life of man. What this means to humanity is in part disclosed in that night interview with Nicodemus, the earnest seeker after truth, who has recognized that this is “a Teacher come from God” (John 3:2). After Jesus has made known to this learned “master of Israel” the essential requirement of the new spiritual birth as the condition of entrance into the kingdom of God, He testifies to His own knowledge of that which He has asserted (John 3:11), and then proclaims the infinite love of God in that wonderful saying which declares the gift of His only begotten Son (John 3:16, the “little Bible’), establishes the Son’s relationship, and discloses the Divine purpose of universal salvation, “that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). The Son involves the idea of Father, and however Nicodemus might be mystified by the teach- ing of the new birth, he could not fail to catch the CONCERNING GOD 81 meaning of Jesus as to God and Himself. The whole tenor of the teaching is love. It is not strange that Nicodemus should have been captivated and convinced by this ardent Teacher, whose personality was as ir- resistible as His words, which opened a new spiritual horizon to the religious ruler versed in tradition and the intricate regulations of an ecclesiastical system that had overlaid the Scriptures with the commandments of tiene Matters. O. Viark) 7:13) Phat) thecidearor love became germinant in Nicodemus’ heart is evident not only from his attempt to defend Jesus at a crucial moment (John 7:50), but from the fact that he came after the crucifixion to help embalm the body, and place it in the new tomb where the crucified Lord was laid (John 19: 39-41); forth from which He came in victory over death on the resurrection morning (John 20% Matt, 28: 1-8; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:6).* Thus far the teaching has revealed God as the all- loving Father. Jesus now adds another vital truth, teaching it in a most unusual place to a single pupil, and one whom the Twelve least expected to find, for the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans, and this was a Samaritan anda woman! They marveled but did not venture to question (John 4:27). When Jesus, wearied, rests by Jacob’s well near Sychar, while His pupils have gone away to get food, a woman comes to draw water and He asks for a drink, this leading to an interview and lesson. The idea of God as Father which He presents is wholly strange to the Samaritan woman, who knows only of the God of her fathers. 1 Bible students differ as to whether this declaration belongs to the interview with Nicodemus, placing it at a later date in Jesus’ ministry. It is taken here in the relation in which the Gospel puts it. Its revelation is not affected in any event, and “John 3: 16” gives the keynote of the Gospel. 82 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Then He seeks to enlighten her mind still further by explaining the meaning of true worship, transferring it from the familiar realm of time, form and place to that elusive one of spirit. Here is the scene, one of the most striking in the life of the Master and in all history, as Moffatt translates it: “Sir,” said the woman, “I see you are a prophet. Now our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, where- as you Jews declare the proper place for worship is at Jerusalem.” ‘Woman,’ said Jesus, “believe me, the time is coming when you will be worshipping the Father neither on this mountain nor at Jerusalem. You are worshipping something you do not know; we are wor- shipping what we do know—for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time is coming, it has come already, when the real worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in reality; for these are the worshippers that the Father wants. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in Spirit and in reality” Ce 4: 4-16). No wonder that the woman of Samaria failed to apprehend this profound truth, for has not the world, even that part of it which calls itself Christian, also failed largely to apprehend it, even to this day? How insistently still does the ritualistic and formalistic in our worship tend to obscure and supplant the plain teaching of Jesus as to the essential spiritual nature of worship, the free and untrammeled communication be- tween the Heavenly Father and His earthly child. This does not imply that formal services and consecrated places of worship are disapproved by the Master. In- deed, His practice with regard to the synagogue (Luke 4:16 and elsewhere) and public worship bears wit- ness to the contrary. It means that the spiritual reality CONCERNING GOD 83 must be maintained and that the emphasis must be kept where it belongs, so that the soul of man may enjoy that “liberty wherewith Christ makes free.” Jesus removed forever the traditional limitations of worship, making it as free as air, as natural as breathing, to the soul that has found its true relationship to God the Father. When the spirit of worship is present, God is there. He hears before we speak, if the thought and aspiration and desire are within us seeking utterance. When the spiritual is submerged in ritual and the freedom is cramped by form, our religion becomes a mechanism instead of a life, a habit instead of a real- ity. That worship is something quite distinct from mere verbal approach and lip-service Jesus makes clear in His answer to the scribes and Pharisees who com- plained that His disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders (Matt. 15:8-9). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus discloses certain attributes of God. Thus, in enjoining love to enemies He gives as the reason for such hitherto unheard of love and unselfishness, “that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:45, 48). Impartial kindness, goodness, merciful- ness—these are traits of the Divine character. “Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The lessons of God’s providence, His care for His children which should expel all anxiety, are exquisitely set forth (Matt. 6: 25-33). Equally plain is the teaching that entrance into the kingdom of heaven is conditioned on doing the will of God (Matt. Wine Wy: 84 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” The parables contain many lessons touching on the love, care and patient tenderness of God, His regard for the individual even down to the least important rela- tions, and His unceasing yearning after His erring and wandering children. That matchless parable of the Prodigal Son will forever disclose the Father-heart of God to human kind, the ready forgiveness for the penitent, and the glad welcome to the Father’s house (Luke 15:11-32). What multitudes of prodigals it has brought to themselves and then home! The parable of the Lost Sheep answers that crucial question, ‘Does God love me?” Jesus says that He does, and draws the picture of the recovery of the lost sheep by the tender Shepherd, with the striking analogy of “the joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” ‘We can be- lieve in such joy when God made the world,’ says Professor Glover, “‘but can we believe that there was the same joy in the presence of God yesterday when a coolie gave his heart to God? Jesus does. That is the central thing, it seems to me, in His teaching about God—that God cares for the individual to an extent far beyond anything we could think possible. If we can wrestle with that central thought and assimilate it, or as the old divine said, ‘appropriate’ it, make it our own, the rest of the Gospel is easy. But one can never manage it except with the help and in the com- pany of Jesus.” ? How could Jesus teach this infinite care of God for each of His children more forcibly? ‘Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye 2“The Jesus of History,” p. 96. CONCERNING GOD 85 are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6, 7). “Consider the lilies, God clothes them; how much more shall he clothe you, O ye of little faith? Your Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Luke 12:27-30). What greater assurance could Jesus give? How could He bring God closer to us? By parable and precept He introduces us into the pres- ence of a real Father with a heart full of love for us, and tries to make us comprehend that we too, like Himself, may have a living relation with the living God. He implores men to “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22); “Be not afraid, only believe’ (Mark 5: 36). But in the parables Jesus also teaches other attributes, such as justice and righteousness. Love is not true love that is not just, even as justice is not true justice that is not merciful. The parables show how the holy and just God must deal with those who place them- selves out of harmony with His will. We see what happened to the foolish farmer, with his false philosophy of life which forgot God in the pride of his too many goods stored up (Luke 12: 16-21). We note the fate that overtook the servant who misused the talents en- trusted to him for service (Matt. 24:24); that befell those who made light of the invitation to the marriage feast for the king’s son (Matt. 22: 1-7); and those wicked husbandmen who beat and killed the servants and finally the son of the owner of the vineyard (Mark 12: 1-12). Jesus makes it clear that those who deserve punishment shall not escape it, while emphasiz- ing the fact that God does not desire that any should through their own wilful sin and disobedience bring upon themselves His righteous judgment; in His ef- fort to prevent it even sending His own Son “‘to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10). 86 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” In the teaching of Jesus the Fatherhood of God is individual, universal, unconditioned by race or nation- ality. God is Father to all His children, has created them with capacity to know and serve Him and enjoy His love and protecting care, and intends all to enter into the joy of full sonship. But while this is the Father’s relation to His child, the child has something to do to complete the relationship, The child must share the Father’s ideals, aims and spirit, since the relation is spiritual and ethical, not physical. As Dr. A. B. Bruce says, Jesus’ teaching “concerned both sin- ners and saints, and was proclaimed to all on highway or in market place, irrespective of social or moral antecedents (Luke 15:1, 2). But the Fatherhood of God, as announced by Jesus, while having reference to all, does not mean the same thing for all. God cannot, any more than earthly parents, be a Father to His prodigal children to the same effect as to sons who dwell in His house and regard Him with trust, reverence and love. The full benefit of Divine Fatherhood can only be experienced where there is a spiritual attitude and spiritual receptivity. The Father’s will to bless may be frustrated by unbelief or alienation.’ This is fully illustrated in our earthly relationships. A father wishes his son to go to college and receive the advan- tages of liberal education. He provides all the means, but the son refuses. The father cannot compel the son to take the advantages or to educate himself. He is a son still, however disappointing and derelict. So with the Heavenly Father and His wilful children. Jesus shows that the unfilial conduct of the Prodigal Son did not destroy the fatherly relation and that love and forgiveness are ever ready for the penitent wan- derer (Luke 15: 20-24). But Jesus makes spiritual CONCERNING GOD 87 rebirth the condition of entrance into the sonship of the kingdom (John 3:3). He teaches in His own life what this sonship means to those who have close fel- lowship with God; and He makes the test of member- ship in the Divine family the doing of the Father’s will (Matt. 12:50). Making plain the Father’s love for all, He makes equally plain the special paternal providence exercised over those who have by faith and obedience become members of His new community, the kingdom He came to establish on earth. The disciples need have no anxiety about temporal affairs, the Heavenly Father will take care of such things. Theirs to care for the higher things of the spirit, the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6: 31, 33). Fatherly love and care—this is the persistent teaching of Jesus. And this revelation of the Father- hood of God is a vital factor in the new revelation which Jesus made. This brings God immediately into our lives, as a Person and a reality. And as a recent writer says, “The interpretation of life begins in God, and its revelation ends in Him.” Here is the secret of Jesus, revealed in His teaching and life—awareness of the presence of the Father. He saw the divineness of the world as none other ever saw it, because of this consciousness. He revealed, not a God throned outside the world, with only a supernat- ural and spasmodic connection with His creatures, but a God both transcendent and immanent in nature and man—One ever present, working through His Son and Spirit, indwelling, abiding, with the purpose to save, enlighten, guide, uphold, and keep His children to the end in an ascending spiritual progress toward the full realization of the glory of sonship and heirship to the inheritance of light and life eternal. How noble and 88 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” inspiring this conception! And how unlike that which we obtain from any other source. This is a vital point. The loving Father revealed by Jesus differs widely from the conception of a God of stern justice and wrath. The difference is one both of character and attitude. The one grows out of the Law, the legal aspect of Judaism; the other out of the sending of the only begotten Son in proof of the in- finite love of the Father. The heathen conception of a vengeful deity who must constantly be appeased can- not be reconciled with that of Jesus; nor can that of many of the theologies that have regarded themselves as Christian. Between the idea of sovereignty as the primal characteristic of God and that of love there is a radical divergence. Since the primary idea of Jesus cannot be questioned in the light of His explicit teach- ing, with great joy we put first things first and seek to find for ourselves such absolute trust and rest as He had in the Father’s love and care. “What Jesus meant by the fatherly character of God,” says Professor Evans, “was revealed by what He Himself did in His social relations. He was pa- tient; He was long-suffering; He had compassion for the weak and the erring; He forgave the penitent; He healed the broken in heart; He rebuked sin; He loved even to the extent of suffering death rather than inflict- ing punishment. To have seen Jesus act and speak --was to have had a chance to know what kind of God rules in human history. To have known Jesus was to have seen the Father-heart of God” (John 14:9).° Passing in review the study thus far made of the teaching of Jesus concerning God, we find that we have reached a clear and new conception, in the light and 3 Milton G. Evans, “What Jesus Taught,” p. 69. CONCERNING GOD 89 sublimity of which our souls may expand. This con- ception is instinct with love. The Father’s heart is the center. God’s love is not circumscribed; His Father- hood is not limited. In love the world was created; in the atmosphere of divine love man has ever dwelt, however insensible he has proved to the fact, however slow to apprehend it. After the prodigal the Father’s heart yearns, and every effort possible in consistency with the freedom of the individual will is made to win him back to the Father’s side. And if at last the stub- born and wilful child refuses all influence and appeal, and brings upon himself the dreadful penalty due to the crowning guilt of rejecting the Father’s persistent love, .still the Father’s heart sorrows over the self- destruction of the lost one. This is the God revealed by the Son who came to manifest the Father. This is the conception that inspires to loving and self-sacrific- ing service, to worship and devotion. This is the char- acter of God that appeals to all that is noble and worth- fulin man. There is here no weakness, no minimizing of the qualities that are essential to holiness and right- eousness, no sentimental effacement of the awfulness of sin and the just punishment of it, no failure to real- ize that the Father is also Lawgiver and Judge. But on the other hand there is no obscuring of the Father’s love as the light that shines through all, and is forever luminous in the teaching of Jesus. When we have considered the words of Jesus, we have by no means finished with His teaching. Much as we learn from what He said, we learn yet more from the way He lived. “We know God our Father in His Son,” says Dr. Coffin; “every aspect of Jesus’ character unveils for us an aspect of the character of the Lord of heaven and earth.” As we company with 90 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Him from the beginning of His unique ministry to its close, the deepest impression made upon us is His intimate association with His Father. He lives in the constant companionship of God. He delights in the beauties and glories of His Father’s world, and in the manifold phases and possibilities disclosed in the daily lives of His Father’s children. He does not talk about God as creator, nor use the many names with which the Old Testament made Him familiar. To Him the Father is the’supreme reality in a real world. This is God’s world and you cannot separate Him from it or from His children if you accept the life and teach- ing of Jesus. And as we see how naturally He talks and acts, as in the Father’s sight, doing not “mine own will but always those things that please him’ (John 8:29), through the contagion of contact with Him we become aware of that same Divine presence over- shadowing our spirits, and realize with profound grati- tude how near and living the Son has made the Father to us; more than that, inviting us to abide in the Divine association which means trust and peace and joy such as the world can neither give nor take away (JON WAC es V7. (TROT) ac Ornt0d). Saye inate “who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus ChristinihloGorn gai6). “O God, within us and above, Close to us in the Christ we love, Through Him, our only guide and way, May heavenly life be ours to-day!” CHAPTER Two THE TEACHING OF JESUS CONCERNING HIMSELF, One touch upon His garment’s fringe Still heals the hurt of bitter years; Before Him yet the demons cringe, He gives the wine of joy for tears. —Margaret Sangster. Christ was the temple of God, because in Him God has most fully revealed Himself—Spinocza. Jesus is the personal fact of God in terms of human ex- perience. The Gospel is constituted in His Personality. He did not preach His opinions, He preached Himself. It is who He was and what He did that gives Reality to Jesus. Jesus finds men, and men in Jesus find the Reality of the personal God.—J. H. Chambers Macaulay. The time will never come when we shall not relish the study of this man. He is the way to God. It is impossible to become too familiar with the way. He is the express image of the Father’s person. The more we study Him the richer _ is our knowledge of God. He has declared the Father. The more fully we understand Him the deeper we see into the heart of Deity—Charles E. Jefferson. Yes! He still lives, the divine Man and incarnate God, on the ever-fresh and self-authenticating records of the Gos- pels, in the unbroken history of nineteen centuries, and in the hearts and lives of the wisest and best of our race; and there He will live forever. His person and work are the Book of Life, which will never grow old. He is the glory of the past, the life of the present, the hope of the future—Philip Schaff. CHAPTER Two THE TEACHING OF JESUS CONCERNING HIMSELF In this day when so much discussion centers in and around the Person of Jesus Christ, we do well to turn to the original sources and let Him speak for Himself. To all statements which are made about Him, and to all questions that may be asked, we shall then be able to say, “Thus saith the Master.’”’ And we shall also have the satisfaction of having reached a sound and scriptural basis for definite conclusions in a mat- ter of vital importance to ourselves. For it is not pos- sible to exhaust that question of perennial interest with which Jesus put the tempting Pharisees to silence, “What think ye of Christ?” (Matt. 22: 42). In grouping this teaching of Jesus concerning Him- self we shall also be continuing our study of His teach- ing concerning God, since at many points it is not pos- sible to draw a distinct dividing line. The unique rela- tionship between the Father and Son is too close for that. Nor can the self-witness of Jesus be limited to His words. His assumptions are not less striking than His assertions. His self-revelation is both direct and indirect, by word and attitude, by affirmation and character, by illustration and life. Without prejudg- ing what is to come, we can say here that nowhere else in human history is there to be found such a record and revelation as that to which we now give our thought. 93 g4 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” We shall confine our attention first to the sayings of Jesus, following as nearly as may be the order of the Gospel records. On the day after John the Baptist had borne witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God, and John and Andrew had spent some hours with Him (John 1: 36-40), Jesus starts for Galilee, and finding Philip, says to him, “Follow me” (John 1:43). This was the first of those compelling calls to personal service which are inexplicable on ordinary grounds. That Jesus was at once recognized as» different from ordinary men is shown by the fact that Andrew, when he found his brother Simon, said to him, ‘““‘We have found the Mes- siah” (John 1:41); and by the similar statement of Philip to Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote in the law, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). And while Nathanael doubted whether any good thing could come out of Nazareth, yet when he had seen Jesus and heard himself characterized as “‘an Israelite, indeed, in whom there is no guile,” he said, “Rabbi (Teacher), thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” To which Jesus makes His first astonishing affirmation concerning Himself, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1: 46-51). This desig- nation, ‘Son of Man,” here applied to Himself for the first time, is a favorite with Jesus.* We next see Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem, as- suming a remarkable proprietorship in ““My Father’s house’ as He scourges the traders out (John 2: 14- 16), and uttering the saying about destroying and 1 For a scholarly treatment of the significance of the terms ‘Son of Man and Son of God, as used by and applied to Jesus, see dies in the Inner Life of Jesus,” by Principal A. E. Garvie, p. 304 ff. CONCERNING HIMSELF 95 rebuilding the Temple that was scoffed at by the Jews and only recalled and understood by His disciples after His resurrection (John 2: 19-22). It was inevitable that He should have been an enigma and a paradox; nor has He ceased to be that to multitudes to-day as in all past days since He came. It is to Nicodemus that Jesus first opens the gospel of regeneration and salvation, with Himself as the central figure. Whether the interview ended with the declaration concerning the Son of Man (John 3:13), or continued through to verse 21, Nicodemus had a revelation of the change that must come to his Phari- saic party and to all who would see the kingdom of God. The passage in John’s Gospel which follows (3: 14-21), containing the verse known as the “little Bible’ (John 3:16), coupling in Himself the names “Son of Man” and “Son of God,” is one of the most wonderful in the Gospels, and should be carefully stud- ied. Using an incident in the history of His people that every hearer would instantly appreciate and under- stand, Jesus here explicitly declares that He is the Son of Man; that He must be lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in order that whoso- ever believeth may in Him have eternal life; that God so loved the world that He gave His only begot- ten Son to open the gates of eternal life to whosoever believeth; that God sent not His Son to judge the world but to save it. (World redemption to be wrought through Him.) ‘Never man so spake.’”’ Unless it is more than man that speaks, the words are such as would naturally lead His family to seek to lay restrain- ing hold on Him, saying, “He is beside himself” (Mark 3: 21), or “He is out of his mind.” Not less notable is the acknowledgment to the woman 96 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” of Samaria of His Messiahship, a fact which for His own reason He wished to keep in the background, and which now was disclosed to the woman alone. It was when she said, “‘I know that Messiah cometh; when he is come, he will declare unto us all things,” that “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:26). When His disciples came back from the city with food and pressed Him to eat, He said, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of. . . . My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4: 32-34). Not yet able to comprehend spiritual things, they simply wondered whether any- body had brought Him anything to eat. Mark the assumption of divine power in that word to the nobleman who besought Him to come to Caper- naum to save his child: “Go thy way; thy son liveth” (John 4:50), accompanied as it was by the exercise of the same miraculous power which made His ministry one of healing, with its “signs” reaching even to the raising of the dead. In His home town of Nazareth, entering into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as His custom was, He opens the Roll to the place where the prophet Isaiah foretells the anointing of one who shall fulfill the predictions concerning the Messiah, and in words of grace which cause wonder declares, ‘“This scripture has this day been fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4: 18-21). But they ask, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” and because of His classing Himself as a prophet and teaching unpalatable.truths they cast Him out of the city. Then comes the case of the palsied man, and the charge of blasphemy against Jesus because He claims the power to forgive sins. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Very well, says Jesus, “whether is it CONCERNING HIMSELF 97 easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (he said unto him that was palsied), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch and go to thy house’ (Mark 2:7-9). There was no answer to this. They were all amazed, and glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day (Mark 2:12; Luke 5: 20-26). The scribes. and Pharisees were right in their idea that only God can forgive sins. If Jesus then had this power, there is but one fair inference from His words. One of the most remarkable of the declarations which Jesus made concerning Himself and His rela- tion to God followed upon the healing of the lame man at the pool. The Jews persecuted Him because He did these things on the Sabbath. Jesus answered them, as Moffatt translates it, ““As my Father has continued working to this hour, so I work too.” “But this only made the Jews the more eager to kill Him, because he not merely broke the sabbath but actually spoke of God as his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (John 5: 1-18). The remaining verses of this fifth chapter, together with John 7: 15- 24, must be given due weight by those who are desirous to learn from His own lips the claims that Jesus makes for Himself. Turn to the Gospel and endeavor to realize the stupendous character of this utterance. Here we have the unqualified assertion that the Son can do nothing of His own accord but what He sees the Father doing, and then He does the same (ver. 19) ; that the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He is doing, and will show Him still greater deeds, to make you wonder: for as the Father raises the dead and 98 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” makes them live, so the Son makes any one live whom He chooses (ver. 21, 22); that the Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all men may honour the Son even as they honour the Father: and he who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him (ver. 23); that he who “‘listens to my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life’’ and will incur no sentence of judgment (ver. 24) ; that the time is coming, has come, when the dead will listen to the-voice of the Son of God and live: for as the Father has life in Himself, so too he has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and to have authority to act as judge, since He is the Son of man (ver. 27) ; that a judgment time is coming for all, when the doers of good shall be raised to life and the doers of evil be raised for the sentence of judgment (ver. 28-29); that “I can do nothing of my own accord; I pass judgment on men as I am taught by God, and my judgment is just because my aim is not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (ver. 30); that His — “works” are His testimony that the Father has sent Him, and that the Father has also borne testimony to Him, but this they have not known because they do not believe Him whom He sent, refusing to come to Him for life while imagining they possess eternal life - in the Scriptures which testify of Him (ver. 36-40) ; that “Here am I, come in the name of my Father, and you will not accept me” (ver. 43) ; that “if you had be- lieved Moses you would have believed me, for he wrote of me; but if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?” (ver. 46-47). Then, when the amazed Jews asked, “How can this uneducated fellow manage to read?” Jesus replied, “My teaching is not my own but his who sent me; CONCERNING HIMSELF 99 any one who chooses to do his will, shall understand ‘whether my teaching comes from God or whether I am talking on my own authority” (7:15-17; M.). Here Jesus definitely ascribes the source of His teach- ing and authority to the Father, from whom and for whom He has come to bring the Divine message and the gift of life eternal. We have given this detailed analysis in order that the startling significance of the statements may be impressed upon our minds as our conclusions from the study are being formed. Going through the cornfields, Jesus tells the Phari- sees, sticklers for the traditional Sabbath laws, that “the Son of man is lord of the sabbath” (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5); in other words, His own lawmaker, a “greater than the temple” (Matt. 12:6). All through the Sermon on the Mount He speaks with the voice of absolute authority—“I say unto you”— meaningless if He were not what He claimed to be. In giving His test, “By their fruits ye shall know them,”’ Jesus assumes the power of admission to or exclusion from the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7: 20-21). In His message to John, who is in prison, the things which He tells John’s disciples to describe to their mas- ter are those which demand supernatural power (Matt. 11: 2-6), and which would be proof to John that Jesus was “He that should come.” To the crowds that followed Him across the lake to Capernaum, after their miraculous feeding, and who asked what they must do to work the works of God, Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that ye be- lieve on him whom he sent” (John 6: 24-29). And when they asked a “sign,” that they might believe, citing the fact that their fathers ate manna in the desert, Jesus answered with strange words. He said that His 100 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Father gave the true bread from heaven, and that the bread of God is He who came down from heaven and giveth life to the world. And when they said, “Lord, evermore give us this bread,’ He declared, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will who sent me, that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” What followed was natural. The Jews murmured at Him for saying He was the bread which came down from heaven. They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it that he saith, I came down from heaven?” Then Jesus told them to stop murmuring, and repeated His declarations. “‘No man can come to me,” He said, “except the Father who hath sent me draw him; every man that hath learned of the Father cometh unto me; not that any man hath seen the Father, save he who is | of God, he hath seen the Father; he that believeth on me hath everlasting life; I am that bread of life... the living bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die; the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” And when the Jews strove among them- selves over these mystifying words, Jesus followed them with others, harder yet to understand: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. . . . As the CONCERNING HIMSELF 101 living Father hath sent me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever’ (John 6: 30- 58). This he said as he taught in the synagogue at Caper- naum; and many of his disciples, on hearing it, said, “This is hard to take in! Who can listen to talk like this?” Jesus, inwardly conscious that his disciples were murmuring at it, said to them, “So this upsets you? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending to where he formerly existed? What gives life is the Spirit: flesh is of no avail at all. The words I have uttered to you are spirit and life.”’ After that many of his disciples drew back and would not asso- ciate with him any longer. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “You do not want to go, too?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, whom are we to go to? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe, we are certain, that you are the holy One of God” (John 6: 60-63, 66-69; M.). Compare the record of this wonderful self-revelation in the Authorized and Revised versions, and let us try to comprehend these claims—these hard sayings which take us into the realm of mysticism, and which could be uttered by none save one who declared Himself to be the Son of God, whose life and works bore witness to His truth and power. When with the Twelve in Cesarea-Philippi, Jesus makes to them the first definite acknowledgment of His Messiahship, in response to Simon Peter’s answer, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” say- ing, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 16: 13-17). He still bids them, however, to tell this to no man, and begins to 102 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” teach them of the fate which He must undergo (Matt. 16:21). After the transfiguration He charges Peter and James and John to tell no man what they had seen, “save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead” (Mark 9:9), plainly foretelling what He foresaw. He repeated this as they abode in Galilee, but they understood not His saying, and they were afraid to ask Him about it (Luke 9: 44-45; Matt. V7 eee si Teaching openly in the Temple, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus declares: “I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. I know him; because I am from him, and he sent me” (John 7:28-29). Many of the multitude believed on Him and the Pharisees sent officers to take Him. Jesus therefore said, “Yet a little while 1 am with you, and I go unto him that sent me” (John 7:33). Note the constant recurrence of this phrase,“ him that sent me.” Speaking unto the Pharisees again, Jesus pro- claims Himself to be “the light of the world” ; and when they accused Him of bearing witness of Himself which was not true, He said, “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. . . . If ye knew me, ye would know my Father also” (John 8:12, 19). And after further statements regarding their peril of dying © in their sins because of disbelief in Him, He said, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone’ (John 8: 28-30). The remaining verses of this eighth chapter of John’s Gospel are of the same remarkable character, containing sayings that we cannot imagine coming from CONCERNING HIMSELF 103 other lips than our Lord’s. Speaking to Jews who had believed His recent words, He makes assertions like these: “If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free;’ which leads to a discussion by men who pride themselves upon being Abraham’s seed and never yet in bondage. “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me.” “Which of you convicteth me of sin?” “I honour my Father and ye dishonour me.” “It is my Father that glorifieth me; of whom ye say that he is your God; and ye have not known him: but I know him, and keep his word. Your father Abraham re- joiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad.” And when the Jews said, as they picked up stones to throw at Him, “Thou art not fifty years old, and Abraham hath seen thee?’ Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8: 31-50). “Once again, O Man of Wonder, Let Thy voice be heard! Speak as with a voice of thunder; Drive the false Thy roof from under, Teach Thy priests Thy word.” After the Seventy returned from their missionary tour and made their glad report, Jesus “thrilled with joy at that hour in the Holy Spirit,’ and offered a prayer of praise to the “Father, Lord of heaven and earth” ; then turning to the disciples, made one of the most astounding of all His claims. The words are the same in Matthew and Luke: “All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any one know 104 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth (or chooseth) to reveal him’ (Matt. Rey tL Ake) 10 seer Speaking privately to the Twelve He said, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished” (Luke 18:31). Then He foretells ex- actly what is to happen, but they do not get His mean- ing, not being able to see their Master, the Messiah, in any role but that of conquering King, whose glory is to be revealed as He comes with His legions to break the power of Rome and set up once more the throne of David. Another remarkable incident occurs in connection with the healing of the man born blind—a story told dramatically in the ninth chapter of John. After the Pharisees had closed their interview with the man, whose unanswerable statement was that whereas he was blind, now he could see, they expelled him for presumption in assuming to teach them. Jesus heard they had expelled him, and on meeting him said, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?’ “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” And Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that talketh with thee.” And he said, “Lord, I believe;” and he worshipped him (John 9: 35-38). Then Jesus uttered one of His enigmatical sayings: “It is for judgment that I have come into this world, to make the sightless see, to make the seeing blind.” The Pharisees asked if they were blind, receiving another enigma in reply. Then again they were divided over His words. A number of them said, “He is mad. Why listen to him?’ Others said, ‘““These are not a mad- man’s words. Can a madman open the eyes of the CONCERNING HIMSELF 105 blind?” (Matt. 10: 19-21). So it has gone on through the centuries, many men of many minds and interpreta- tions “divided over his words’’; many of them illustrat- ing the truth of Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9: 41). In the parable of the Good Shepherd there are more of the sayings which are only explicable on the basis of a speaker consciously clothed with Divine authority and power. For example: “I know mine own, and mine own know me, even as the Father knoweth me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” “Therefore doth my Father love me, be- cause I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment received I from my Father” (John 10: 1-18). This was at Jerusalem during the feast of dedication ; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the Temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered round Him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus replied, “I have told you, but you do not believe; the works that I do in the name of my Father testify to me, but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them and they follow me; and I give them eternal life; they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who gave me them is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.’ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him, and when He asked for which of the many good works He had shown them 106 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” from the Father they stoned Him, they retorted, ‘““We mean to stone you, not for a good work, but for blas- phemy, because you, a mere man, make yourself God.” They had no doubt what His words had meant. Jesus, with an appeal to their law, answered, “Do you mean to tell me, whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, I am the Son of God? If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I am, then believe the works, though you will not believe me—that you may learn and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’’ Once more they tried to arrest Him, but He escaped their hands and went across Jordan, back to the spot where John had baptized at first. And many came and believed on Him, saying, “All things that John spake of this man were true’ (John 10: 2- 42). It is necessary to take this whole passage, in order to realize what Jesus is teaching concerning Himself, at the peril of His life. As the end is approaching, Jesus tells His disciples that “the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified” (John 12:23). Moffatt’s translation gives new meaning to the words of Jesus in the verses which follow (27, 28). “ ‘My soul is now disquieted. What am I to say, “Father, save me from this hour”? Nay, it is something else that has brought me to this hour: I will say, “Father, glorify thy name.’ Then came a voice from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ Compare this with the Authorized Version and see what a different meaning a question mark can make. Then follows that marvelous declaration, “But I, when I am lifted from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.’ This he said, signifying what kind of death he was to die. The people answered, ‘““We have CONCERNING HIMSELF 107 learned from the Law that the Christ is to remain for- ever; what do you mean by saying that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?’ (John 12: 32-34). Instead of a direct answer, Jesus said to them, “The Light will shine among you for a little longer yet... . While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may be sons of the Light.” And Jesus cried aloud, “He who believes in me be- lieves not in me but in him who sent me, and he who beholds me beholds him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, that no one who believes in me may remain in the dark. If any one hears my words and does not keep them, it is not I who judge him; for I have not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects me and will not receive my words has indeed a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day, for I have not spoken of my own accord—the Father who sent me, he it was who ordered me what to say and what to speak. And [ know his orders mean eternal life. Therefore when I speak, I speak as the Father has told me.” With these words Jesus went away and hid from them (John 12:35, 36; 44-50). But for all His miracles they did not believe on Him, though a number of the author- ities (chief rulers) believed but would not confess it for fear the Pharisees would put them out of the syna- gogue; for they preferred the approval of men to the approval of God (John 12:37-43; M.). Jesus identifies Himself as the manifestation and rep- resentative, the Son as the “express image” of the Father, in the words, ‘“He who beholds me beholds him who sent me” (John 12:45). This saying should be taken with the words spoken to Thomas and Philip in that last memorable interview before the betrayal. 108 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” When Thomas asks, “How know we the way?” Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father but by (or,through) me. If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him and have seen him.” Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus says, “Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father? .. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else, believe me for the very works’ sake’ (John 14: 5-11). And in the tender address that follows Jesus repeats this idea of the indwelling spirit and power of the Father again and again. It underlies and guarantees all the pronouncements and promises of that wonderful hour, in which He said, “I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28). “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:18, 20). This is the first promise of the inclusion of the disciples with Himself and the Father in a spiritual unity made pos- sible by the Father’s love for those who love and keep the words of the Son (John 14: 21, 23). We cannot fail to note the clear distinction which Jesus makes between the Father and Himself, the Son. While He claims His unique relationship and assumes its prerogatives reverently and modestly, He freely admits His limitations and confesses Himself inferior CONCERNING HIMSELF 109 to the Father in power, knowledge and character. He says to His disciples, “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). “I can of myself do nothing, as | hear I judge’ (John 5:30). It is the Father, who sent Him, to whose will He is ever sub- missive; whose works He came to perform and who does “mighty works” through Him; whose words He speaks as He is taught; with whom He communes in prayer, and from whom He draws the spiritual strength which sustains Him in the world enterprise He has been sent and commissioned to establish. “I do always those things that please him’’—what a story that tells of the perfect life of a loving and reverent Son! Confessing ignorance, He says concerning His return that “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father’ (Mark 13:32). Principal Garvie says, “It is of no common grace for a teacher to plead lack of knowledge before those who are learning of Him.” Jesus’ answer to the rich young ruler, “Why callest thou me good? None is good save One, even God” (Mark 8:18), is the mark not of a false humility or of moral imperfection, but of a keen consciousness, while under the stress of an unfinished and unparalleled task, of the Father’s glorious perfection, and of His own absolute depend- ence upon that Father’s unchanging love and power. But while Jesus thus always distinguishes Himself from God the Father, He positively identifies Himself with the Son of God. “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: yet, not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). In the intercessory prayer Jesus says: “Father, the hour has now come; glorify thy Son that thy Son 110 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” may glorify thee, since thou hast granted him power over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given to him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee, the only real God, and him whom thou hast sent, even Jesus Christ’ (John 17:1-3). To Peter, after the arrest in the Garden, He says, “The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). When the high priest asks Him, “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus says, “T am” (Mark 14:61-62). Matthew and Luke give His answer, ‘‘Thou hast said’ (Matt. 26:64; Luke 22:70). All add the prediction, “Ye shall.see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven;” the declaration either of “a truly divine man or a mad blasphemer,”’ which caused the high priest to tear his dress and cry out blasphemy, and the elders and council to pronounce His doom and spit in His face and buffet Him, crying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! tell us who struck you!” (Matt. 26:65-68). When Pilate asks Him if He is King of the Jews, the answer is the same, “Thou sayest” (Matt. ern Mark 15+ 2: 'lukegere)) | WhatiPilateminders stood is shown by the inscription which He had placed over the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19). ) The scoffers who passed by, as Jesus hung upon the cross, bore their witness to His claims, for they said, “Save thyself: if thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross.”” And the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, added theirs unwittingly when they cried in mockery, ““He saved others, but he cannot save him- self! He the ‘King of Israel’! Let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him! His trust is in God! Let God deliver him now if he cares for CONCERNING HIMSELF 111 him’! He said he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27: 41-43 M.). In what absolute contrast the words spoken by Jesus in His dying agony, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do;” “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46); and with these words He expired. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary and said, “Touch me not; for I have not ascended yet to the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, | ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God” (John 20:17). Entering and standing among the disciples, who at first in affright supposed they beheld a spirit, He spoke peace to them, showed them His hands and feet, and said, ““As the Father hath sent me, so send I[ you,” and breathed on them, saying, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” Later He convinced Thomas, who had doubted, but who now witnessed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20: 26-29). Then Jesus came to the eleven at the place He had appointed in Galilee and said, “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28: 26-30). And just before His parting blessing and ascension, He opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures : that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “Ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in 112 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.” And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Luke 24: 45-52). Thus we have gathered from the Gospel records the sayings of Jesus concerning Himself and God. Their cumulative effect is most impressive. We have now to consider those amazing assertions which derive their importance and value from His assumption that He was the Son of God, sent by the Father into the world with a unique commission to reveal God and redeem men. Without such Divine authority and power vested in Him, such utterances would be regarded as those of an insane man or a pretentious deceiver, making mock- ery of human needs, hopes and aspirations. Take for example that invitation and promise which have probably been as often on human lips as any other words of Scripture, bringing an infinite sense of re- freshment and comfort to the countless souls worn with the heat and burden of the day: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11: 28-30). Only He who could truthfully make such claims as we have been considering could speak such words as these. And human experience in all the generations since has proved them true, with a verdict of such range and sweep as cannot be explained away or evaded. Or take these further examples from Jesus’ lips: Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. CONCERNING HIMSELF 113 If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly. Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him also will I deny before my Father who is in heaven. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He that does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himseli, take up his cross, and follow me. I am the door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become a well of water springing up unto eternal life. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. No man can come unto me, except it be given him of the Father. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his works. 114 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judg- ment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. If any one is athirst, let him come to me and drink; he who believes in me—out of his body, as scripture says, streams of living water will flow. (Moffatt’s translation.) I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,-but shall have the light of life. Truly, truly, I say unto you, If a man keep my word he shall never see death. Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. Jesus said unto him (Bartimeus), Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will the Father honour. Be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Teacher, and all ye are brothers. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. He who is greatest among you must be your servant. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God. Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. But he that endureth to the end shall be saved. CONCERNING HIMSELF 115 . The declarations of the Sermon on the Mount, with their “I say unto you,” belong in the same category. “These are the most astounding and transcendent pre- tensions,’ says Dr. Schaff, “ever set up by any human being. . . . He makes them with perfect ease, free- dom and composure, as a native prince would speak of the attributes and scenes of royalty at his father’s court. He never apologizes or explains; He sets them forth as self-evident truths, which need only to be stated to challenge the belief and submission of mankind. Now, suppose a purely human teacher, however great and good; suppose a Moses or Elijah, a John the Baptist, an Apostle Paul or John—not to speak of any unin- puired Wteachelys 0." tOusay 21) lan tev Lignt) On tie World;’ ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; ‘T and the Father are one; and to call upon all men, ‘Come unto me;’ ‘Follow me,’ that you may find ‘life’ and ‘peace,’ which cannot be found elsewhere: would it not create a universal feeling of pity or indignation? No human being on earth could set up the least of these pretensions without being set down at once as a mad- man or blasphemer. But from the mouth of Christ they seem perfectly natural.” ? Again we must say, “Never man so spake.” But speaking is not all. As we have seen, the words and works of Jesus cannot be separated. Hence we must take His miracles into account, since these also bear witness concerning Himself, and may be regarded as His teaching in action. He does not use the word “miracles,” but speaks of His deeds as “signs,” “pow- ers” or “works,” once only as “wonders” (John 4: 48). The Gospel narratives show how profoundly they impressed His divine character upon the people, 2“The Person of Christ,” by Philip Schaff, p. 87. 116 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” who asked, “What wisdom is this that is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?” (Mark 6:2). As the Great Physician He was able to relieve genuine need and suffering. He refused to perform “signs” on demand as credentials of His mission or authority, telling the questioning scribes and Pharisees that a wicked and adulterous gen- eration should have no sign but that of the prophet Jonah (Matt. 12: 38-39). But He was ever respon- sive to the appeals for compassion and help. Some of the most beautiful pictures we have of the Master are those which reveal Him in His healing works. His fame was spread through all the region by the “begin- ‘ning of miracles’ at the wedding feast, which “mani- fested his glory and led his disciples to believe on him’’ (John 2:11); by the healing of the nobleman’s son by a word, spoken at a distance (John 4: 48-50); and by the casting out of the unclean spirit which recognized Him as the Holy One from God (Luke 4: 31-37). Then Luke gives this charming eventide picture at Capernaum: “And when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ” (4: 40-41). Thus on this as on many other occasions the evil spirits bore their unwilling testimony. Matthew and Mark also give the same story, Mark adding that all the city was gathered together at the door (1: 32-34), and Matthew seeing the fulfilment of prophecy (8:17). The healing of the leper added to the reports, and great CONCERNING HIMSELF 117 crowds came together to hear and be healed of their infirmities (Luke 5:15), forcing Jesus to withdraw into desert places for a time. Then He made a tour of Galilee, teaching and preaching, and healing all manner of disease and sickness; so that all Syria heard of Him and they brought unto Him all that were sick, possessed of demons, epileptic and palsied, and He healed them. Multitudes, too, came from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond Jordan (Matt. 4: 23-25). Luke says “they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed; and all the multitude sought to touch him: for power came forth from him and healed them all” (6: 18-19). Andasa further record, Mark gives this graphic portrayal: “And when they were come out of the boat, straightway the people knew him, and ran round about that whole region, and began to carry about on their beds those that were sick, where they heard that he was. And wheresoever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole” (Mark 6: 54-56). Many other passages tell of this sympathetic min- istry. The strand of miracle indeed runs through the whole Gospel story. Aside from the indirect references to miraculous action the records contain thirty-five ac- counts of signs or miracles wrought by Jesus. Five of these belong to the ‘‘nature” miracles—the changing of water into wine, the feeding of the multitudes, stilling the tempest, walking on the water, and the withering of the fig-tree. Three record the raising of the dead to life, and the other thirty-two have to do with sal- vaging bodies damaged by disease and infirmities or 118 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” possessed by demons. Yet in spite of the fact that these miracles form so large a part of the recorded activities of Jesus, He was always the Teacher and not merely the Healer. With the healing the teaching was in many instances inextricably interwoven: as in the case of the man with the withered hand (Matt. 12: 9-13; Mark 3: 1-5; Luke 6: 6-10) ; the man born blind (John Q); the raising of Lazarus (John 11: 1-44); and the sick man at the pool (John 5:1-16). It is not our concern here to follow the records in detail, or to con- sider the purpose of the miracles in Jesus’ plan. Our interest lies in the bearing which the miracles have as a living part of the teaching of Jesus concerning Him- selfi—‘‘declarations in deeds to match His words.” ‘The effect of them was not only to serve human need as it reached and touched the Master’s heart, and to show forth the Divine compassion, but to secure Him the widest hearing for the message of the Kingdom. What Fie sought was not belief in His power to do Signs, but belief in Him and His Father who sent Him. His own thought of what His “mighty works’—to use His own phrase—ought to have accomplished is shown in the woes He pronounced upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, wherein most of His miracles were done, because they repented not: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! Had the mighty works done in you been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes’ (Matt. 11;20-22)), | These “mighty works” bring their incontestable proof that Jesus possessed and exercised as the Son of God the power to perform Signs, even to the control of the forces of nature and the raising from the dead, as a part of that “all power’? which He declared the Father CONCERNING HIMSELF 119 | had given Him (Matt. 28:18); and that the infinite resources of the Father were at His disposal, to be used in His discretion for the highest welfare of human- ity. In the miracles faith was the condition which seemed most requisite, and which He sought to inspire: faith in Himself and in the love and power of the Father. (See Matt. 15:28; Mark 9: 23-24; Mark 10:52; Luke 8:48). In one instance it is said that for lack of faith on the part of His fellow townsfolk, He could do no mighty work there (Mark 6:5). And when He had stilled the storm, it was lack of faith in the Father’s care for which He chided the disciples: “How is it that ye have no faith?’ (Mark 4: 40). for the most part, however, His purpose to call forth faith was accomplished. Even those naturally opposed to Him were overcome by His “works” of mercy. When He was teaching in the Temple, declaring, “I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true,’ the record says many believed on Him, and they said, “When the Christ shall come, will he do more signs than this man?” (John 7:31). John the Evangelist gives us the reason why he included the seven Signs which he selected for his Gospel: “And many other signs truly did Jesus . . . which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name’ (20: 30-31). But whether the miracles impress us most by their proofs of the compassion of a Great Heart, or of a purpose to bring men to a real faith in God and His love, they do the one thing that is of supreme impor- tance—they reveal Jesus ever more clearly as the great- est of all miracles. “He shows Himself,’ says Dr. 120 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” D. S. Cairns, ‘Lord of the destroying powers of nature, Lord of the famine and the storm, of diseases of body and mind, and even over the power of the grave.” “It would be the greatest miracle indeed,” says Dr. Philip Schaff,~‘if He, who is a miracle Himself, should have performed no miracle.” No wonder He performed can match the wonder of His life; no physical power He exercised can equal the moral power of His char- acter ; no bodily healing can compare with His spiritual influence upon the lives of men. “Never man so spake,” never man so wrought, never man so lived. When we can explain the miracle of Jesus we shall have little trouble with other signs of*miraculous power. In the opinion of a recent writer, the miracles were “normal to Jesus: they were part of the way in which He expressed Himself; an inevitable outcome of His personality, irrepressible acts of help and love. He could not stand indifferent or impotent in face of sor- row, or need, or suffering.” He calls attention to the fact that Jesus rarely laid much stress on Signs, and says: “He came not as a worker of miracles but as a Teacher who sought to communicate Himself to His scholars and so to reveal to them the Father. And the miracles were an essential part of this teaching, ‘the translation of His gospel into life.’ They are the signs of His character as well as of His power, they declare His nature as truly as His mission.” * It is certain that they convinced the people of His time that FH{e was possessed of superhuman power and was at least worthy to rank with the greatest of the prophets (Matt. 16:14; 21:9-I1). 3G. R. H. Shafto, “The Wonders of the Kingdom,” p. 181. To readers who wish a concise and fresh study of the miracles in de- tail, in the light of recent knowledge, this volume, just published, is commended. CONCERNING HIMSELF 121 When to His words and works we have added the life of Jesus—His attitude and activities as ‘““He went about doing good,’ His entire submission to the _Father’s will, His unfaltering consecration to His mis- sion, even to the self-sacrificing finish on the cross— we are prepared to review and summarize His teaching concerning Himself. Consider first His direct and personal claims. He declares that He came forth from the Father, with Whom He had previously existed; that God so loved the world that He sent Him, His only begotten Son, to save it, not to condemn it; that He alone has seen the Father, that He knows the Father, and that no one else can know the Father unless the Son chooses to reveal Him; that He has life in Himself even as the Father has; that all authority has been given Him by the Father ; that no one can come to the Father except through Him; that as the Father raiseth the dead to life, so the Son raiseth whom He will; that He speaks as He is taught of the Father who sent Him; that He does not His own will but the will of the Father ; that He and the Father are one; that He does the works of His Father; that He has the power of life and death, of admission or rejection into the Kingdom of heaven; that He has power to forgive sins; that what He sees the Father do, He does also; that He the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath, greater than Moses or the Temple; that He is the bread of eternal life and the door to salvation; that He has power to lay down His life and power to take it up again; that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life; but that they who believe not shall not see life; and that all judgment has been committed unto Him by the Father. These are colossal claims, but they are not all. 122 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” Strongly asserting His humanity, calling Himself the Son of Man about eighty times in the Gospels, with its Messianic and other implications, Jesus equally as- serts His divinity by calling Himself the Son of God, a name by which the disciples also address Him, ac- companying the appellation in one instance by worship- ping Him (Matt. 14:33); while by this name even the demons recognize His divine character. Thus He assumes a unique relationship to man and God. The ideal, universal, absolute representative of humanity, He is also the Son sent by the Father to reveal both Father and Son to the world. He announces without hesitation truths hard to believe. “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins’ (John 8:24), He says to the Pharisees who charge Him with bearing false witness of Himself. He says He is from above, and constantly speaks of Himself as sent from God. When the time has come, He openly admits that He is the Christ, or Messiah, of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, and finally permits a public entry in Jerusalem in His honor, the multitudes hailing Him: “Hosanna to the Son of David: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 21: 8-9). He appoints the Twelve to the new spiritual Kingdom which He came to found, even as the Father has ap- pointed it to Him as its lawgiver and head (Luke 22:29, 30). Then in His parting word to His disciples He makes that majestic claim of universal authority, asserting that all power has been given unto Him in heaven and on earth, and as He bids them go and teach all nations He gives the solemn promise of His presence all the days even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28: 18-20). And in these words, says Dr. Hanna, Jesus “an- CONCERNING HIMSELF 123 nounced in the simplest and least ostentatious way the most original, the broadest, the sublimest enterprise that ever human beings have been called upon to ac- complish.”’ It would be indeed hopeless but for that “all authority” of the living Christ and the promise of His daily presence until its completion. The teaching of Jesus concerning Himself includes His death on the cross, for that He plainly predicted and understood. When He took the title Son of Man He knew its origin, and as His consciousness of His Messianic mission grew upon Him He realized that only by drinking the cup to its bitter dregs could He accom- plish the Father’s will and the redemptive work He was sent to do. The cross was His supreme revelation of the inmost heart of God. Therefore it is proper to add to the volume of testimony all that has resulted from that tragedy of Calvary and the Saviour’s daring declaration, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” But all the results can never be known until the final records are made up. What we do know is that the Man of Calvary is the most majestic figure in the world to-day. Having thus studied the Gospel records, we come again to the question, “What think ye of Christ?” What shall we say of His own witness? We have searched the Scriptures which tell His life story. We have heard strange words from His lips, and witnessed “mighty works’ performed, according to His own word, by His Father through Him. With those who gathered about Him in Galilee and Judea we can ask, “Whence hath this man these things?’ We have been walking in high places and with the Son of the Highest. We have felt the touch of a Personality such as the world never saw save in this solitary instance—a Per- 124 “NEVER MAN SO SPAKE” sonality that has exerted an unparalleled influence through more than nineteen centuries, and that is more vivid, inspiring and vitalizing in our time than ever before. ‘It is when Jesus speaks of Himself that we catch a note original in the music of the world,” says Professor Robertson, and we have been listening to that note. In the earthly life of Jesus we have seen the human life of God, to borrow a sentence from Dr. James A. Francis. We have discovered that while the Gospels give different shadings, they all picture the same imperial Person, the Son of Man and Son of God, superlatively human and superlatively divine, who brings to us in His words, works and life a revelation and certainty of God as a Father who is love, who cares for all His children, in whom we can find Joy, peace and rest—to whom His Son is the Way. It is in the line of our purpose that our study is confined to the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels, so that this might be considered independently. This does not mean any intention to overlook, slight or disregard the testimony concerning our Lord which is found in the words and attitude of the disciples or the enemies who gathered around Him, or in the New Testament aside from the Gospels. That, together with the vast volume of supplementary testimony contained in the history of the Christian Church and of the development of Christian civilization throughout the world, must all be taken into account in the forming of a final judg- ment. But our immediate interest lies in determining what we think of Jesus and His claims in the light of His own words and deeds and sinless life. We have sought to find the Gospel basis for individual judg- ment in this particular regard. Once having the sure foundations laid in the witness of the One who alone CONCERNING HIMSELF 125 can speak with ultimate and unassailable knowledge and authority, the building of an unshakable superstruc- ture will be possible. As Jesus said in the parable which closes the teaching of the highest ethics known to man, “Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock” (Matt. 7: 24). We have been with Jesus and have learned from Him of God the Father and of Himself the Son. It is through Him as the authorized interpreter and teacher that we know God (Matt. 11: 25-27). For Him God is real, living and personal, and He has made the Father real, living and personal to us, with a heart of infinite love. This cannot fail to have influence upon our life and thinking.