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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

The World's
Best Man

Tlie World's Best Man

Story of Jesus, in Scripture Words, as
Published in the Seattle Union Record,
During the Season of Lent, With Com
ments by Sydney Strong

CHRISTIANS

We are unconquered: —
Though hated we refuse to hate;
Though bound our spirits still are free;
Though murdered we refuse to slay.
We stand serene and dare affirm —
Our country is the world;
Our brothers are all men;
Our law is Love:
Freedom and peace our cause.
We are not beasts that we should desolate
The earth in blood and tears and broken lives;
We are not fiends that we should make hell real-
But we are men with courage and with vision.
And we shall build the world anew!
Your chains can never bind our souls,
Your swords can never kill our dream.
It is unconquerable —
It shall endure
Until mankind is free!
And war in field or shop shall be no more!
—RUTH LB PRADB

To the Reader

Many millions believe that Jesus is the World's
Best Man.
I have here given a broken story of his life, in
scripture words, with comments in parallel columns
— fitted for swift but earnest readers of a daily
newspaper. I have sought to eliminate unprofitable questions
and to interpret his words and experience as I
would the life of Socrates or Lincoln.
To understand how he spoke and acted in various
situations; how the forces of state, church and
business gradually closed in upon him, is to appre
ciate his greatness, goodness and power.
My idea is to give to the Man of the Street a
picture of Jesus of the Street; — in other words, a
real Man..
To me there is little value in the life of Jesus
as presented by theology, ritualism or ecclesiasti
cism, — which are akin to idolatry and superstition.
Such ideas of Jesus are promoted by selfish and
vested interests in order to get the sanction of a
great name to keep them in power. (The names
of Lincoln and Washington, to give an illustration,
are used in the same way.) These were the very
interests — rulers, judges, soldiers, priests, merchants
— that crucified him, as the story relates.
There is tremendous value in the life of Jesus
when viewed as human. When treated that way,
his divinity will need no apology.
Best wishes to the reader. SYDNEY STRONG.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 2

In a Stable

And there were shepherds in
the same country abiding' in the
field, and keeping- watch by
night over their flock. And an
angel of the Lord stood by them,
and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they
were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them,
"Be not afraid; for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of great
joy which shall be to all the peo
ple: for there is born to you
this day in the city of David a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this is the sign unto you:
Ye shall find a, babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a
manger." And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God, and
saying, "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among
men in whom he is well
pleased."
And it came to pass, when the
angels went away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one
to another, "Let us now go even
unto Bethlehem, and see this
thing that is come to pass, which
the Lord hath made known unto
us." And they came with haste, and
found both Mary and Joseph,
and the babe lying in the man
ger. And all that heard it wondered
at the things which were spoken
unto them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept these sayings,
pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for
all the things that they' had
heard and seen, even as it was
spoken unto them.

Birth.

Jesus was born in a . stable.
The expectant mother found "no
room in the inn" — the "Olympic"
of Bethlehem. They were sent
to the barn for shelter. The
"lowing of cattle" and stamping
of horses make good poetry, but
poor accompaniments to a birth.
There was no room for Mary in
the Inn, but room would have
been made for Dempsey or Chap
lin. The manger is generally the
cradle of goodness and great
ness. Study history.
God generally travels incog
nito, and is put up in the barn.
Study history.
The reception committee was
not composed of the mayor,
banker, merchant, bishop and
chief of police — but of some
simple-hearted shepherds, who
got the first tip from heaven of
what was going on. The radio
still works and such tips are not
exhausted. Note, that workers,
outdoor workers, were the first
to be in at the birth of Christian
ity. As to the question of angels,
I am not concerned. Of course,
we all "believe in angels" — at
least as much as we do in "Uncle
Sam." I am interested, however,
in the fact that the beginning of
Christianity was ushered in by
a proclamation of peace. All
Christians should put that in
their pipes and smoke it until the
atmosphere is charged with the
idea. I wish Secretary Wilbur- — he
"knows scripture"- — would fill
his iron-clads (I disavow part
ownership) with peace and good
will" instead of "shot, shell,
hate and hell." America then
might hear the chorus of angels,
as did the shepherds, instead of
being deafened by the jazz of the
"Star Spangled Banner." Chris
tianity can never be introduced
with such songs as, "O, Say Can
You See."

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 3

Gifts and Plots
When Jesus was born in Beth
lehem, of Judea, Wise-men from
the East came to Jerusalem, say
ing, "Where is he that is born
King of the Jews? For we saw
his star in the east, and are come
to worship him."
Then Herod privily called the
Wise-men, and learned of them
exactly what time the star ap
peared. And they, having heard
the king, went their way; and lo,
the star went before them, till
it came and stood over where the
young child was. And when they
saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy. And they
came into the house and saw the
young child with Mary his moth
er; and they fell down and wor
shipped him; and opening their
treasures Uhey offered unto him
gifts, gold and frankincense and
myrrh. And being warned of God in a
dream that they should not re
turn to Herod, they departed into
their own country another way.
Now when they were departed,
behold, an angel of the Lord ap-
peareth to Joseph in a dream,
saying, "Arise and take the
young child and his mother, and
flee into Egypt."
Then Herod, when he saw that
he was mocked of the Wise-men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent
forth, and slew all the male
children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the borders thereof,
from two years old and under.

The Cradle.

""'fts and plots mark this
e. Wise-men Jjring gifts
uquets) while king Herod
brings a sword. So, men of
learning and rulers run true to
form. The Wise-men say, they are
out seeking a new social order.
Like men of learning, they had
traveled by star-light, across a
barren desert — the "Wisdom
route" from 1925 B. C. to 1925
A. D. They come a long way,
these philosophers with stoop,
cap and gown. The camel's
tread, soft and soggy, fits their
mood. After the desert journey,
they turn to the king's palace,
to enjoy its warmth and wine,
true to form. They display their
knowledge to the king, which
later is used for the butchery o£
children. The Wise-men, after a
long journey, after they have en
joyed the king's wine and given
away the secret, after they have
presented their bouquets (conclu
sions) — they steal away into the
desert again, and with star
light and camels are heard of no
more. Exit Wise-men.
Herod, the king, too ran true
to form. In the king's palace
were insincerity, fear, secrecy,
spies, plots, soldiers, cruelty.
Always there. With all his
show of interest, Herod was plot
ting to destroy, at the slightest
rumor. He was ready to butch
er babies — take note, modern
rulers and legislators — for the
"sacred rights" of property and
privilege. Surrounded by spies,
soldiers, priests, lawyers — called
"King" — he was, in fact, a
"Baby-butcher." The dark vis
age of Herod peering over the
cradle is that of a murderer of
innocence and truth; only this
Herod has been often out-
Heroded.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 4

Boyhood
And his parents (after return
from Egypt to Nazareth) went
every year to Jerusalem at the
feast of the passover. And when
he was 12 years old, they went
up after the custom of the feast;
and when they had fulfilled the
days, as ihey were returning, the
boy Jesus tarried behind in Je
rusalem; and his parents knew it
not; but supposing him to be in
the company, they went a day's
journey; and they sought for
him among their kinsfolk and
acquaintance; and when they
found him not, they returned to
Jerusalem, seeking for him.
And it came to pass, after
three days they found him in
the temple, sitting in the midst
of the teachers, both hearing
them, and asking them ques
tions; and all that heard him
were amazed at his understand
ing and his answers.
And when they saw him, they
were astonished; and his mother
said unto him, "Son, why hast
thou thus dealt with us? Behold,
thy father and I sought thee sor
rowing." And he said unto them, "How
is it that ye sought me? Knew
ye not that I must be in my fa
ther's house?"
And he went down with them,
and came to Nazareth; and he
was subject unto them; and his
mother kept all these sayings in
her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with
God and men.

Education

Opposite is the whole record of
the boyhood life of Jesus. Fic
tion, legend and fancy have not
failed to fill in the void. A few
years in Egypt may have helped
to give him a world outlook.
After the manner of all ortho
dox Jews — and anti - Semites
should not overlook the fact that
Jesus was a Jew — when he was
12 years old he went to Jerusa
lem, for the annual feast He
was one of a big company, that
stopped at camps along the road,
beside springs, sleeping on grass
or boughs — as thousands do now.
That he was subject t& his par
ents; that his mother kept "his
sayings in her heart," and that
he "advanced in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God
and man," may be said of many
lads in all generations. It is a
picture of a normal home life. Its
excellence lies in its normality.
There is little evidence of his
being a "wonder child." What
strikes me is his freedom. He
grew up free. Freedom is the
chief element in a true education.
(Three months of free life, on
seashore, are more valuable to a
child than nine months in a
schoolhouse.) When others left
for home he decided to tarry be
hind. He walked about the tem
ple without fear. He went to
the temple, because it was the
most interesting place in Jerusa
lem to a wideawake, curious boy;
he didn't go to become a seraph
ic-faced choirboy. His mother
chided him. He frankly put her
in her place, and told her t£at
this was the very place she ought
to expect to find him. He talked
to the "doctors of divinity," as he
would to big brothers. His wis
dom was the understanding that
comes to a free curiosity. Such
understanding is not evidence of
precocity, but of a normal mind
given freedom to roam, like a
bee to gather honey. More free
dom In modern education would
produce more boys like Jesus.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 5

A Revolutionist

And John came into all the
region round about the Jordan,
preaching the baptism of repent
ance unto remission of sins; and
saying, "Repent ye; for the king
dom of heaven is at hand."
And there went out to him all
the country of Judea, and all
they of Jerusalem, and they were
baptized of him in the river Jor
dan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming
to his baptism he said unto them,
"Ye offspring of vipers, who
warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repent
ance, and begin not to say with
in yourselves, 'We have Abraham
to our father': for I say unto
you, that God is able of these
stones to raise up children unto
Abraham. And even now the
axe also lieth at the root of the
trees; every tree therefore that
bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the
Are." And the multitudes asked him,
saying, "What then must we
do?" And he answered and said un
to them, "He that hath two
coats, let him impart to him that
hath none; and he that hath
food, let him do likewise."
And there came also publicans
to be baptized, and they said
unto him, "Teacher, what must
we do?"
And he said unto them, "Ex
tort no more than that which is
appointed you."
And soldiers also asked him,
saying, "And we, what must we
do?" And he said unto them, "Ex
tort from no man by violence,
neither accuse anyone wrongful
ly; and ba content with your
wages."

John

The first man Jesus publicly
met was John, a revolutionist. It
was down by the Jordan. John
— a Ghandl-like evangelist — was
calling upon men to "repent."
Repentance means revolution.
And, said he, the new order can
not come without revolution.
Jesus said the same thing.
John and Jesus constituted a
pair — not an unusual occurrence
in great movements. To under
stand Jesus one must understand
John. When Jesus heard John
preach, they clasped hands. And
what did John preach?
He first scorched the leaders,
the 'saviors of society," with one
word, "Vipers!" Quit boasting
about being hundred percenters.
It doesn't count. Prove your
selves by fruits. Unless a tree
brings forth good fruit it is cut
down. Already the axe is laid
at the root of the tree. . . Then
the crowd shouted, "What shall
we do?" John turned on them:
"Everyone who has two coats,
give one to someone who has
none." The same with food.
Sounds like communism. Yes,
more than sounds; it is.
To tax collectors, public offi
cials, who swarmed in that day:
"Quit grafting." It would be
interesting to watch John oper
ating at the national capitol.
How long would he last?
To soldiers: "Extort from no
man by violence. Lie not. Quit
grumbling about your wages."
With this, soldiery would curl up
and die.
Quite a revolution in the of
fing. "Revolution" is a Christian
word and was not invented by
Socialists. To get ready for the
new society, said John, things
must be revolutionized, turned
over. He was a forerunner to
Jesus. John preached. Jesus
was to put the gospel of the rev
olution into fact.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 6

Triple Test

And he was with the wild
beasts in the wilderness, and did
eat nothing. And when he had
fasted 40 days and 40 nights,
he afterward hungered.
And the tempter came and
said unto him, "If thou art the
Son of God, command that these
stones become bread."
But he answered and said, "It
is written, 'Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God.' "
Then the devil taketh him into
the holy city; and he set him
on the pinnacle of the temple,
and saith unto him, "If thou art
the Son of God, cast thyself
down: for it is written,
" 'He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee, to guard
thee,' and
" 'On their hands they shall
bear thee up, lest haply thou
dash thy foot against a stone.' "
Jesus said unto him, "Again it
is written. 'Thou shalt not make
trial of the Lord thy God.' "
Again, the devil taketh him
unto an exceeding high moun
tain, and showeth him all the
kingdoms of the world in a mo
ment of time, and the glory of
them. .,
And the devil said unto hlnC
"To thee will I give all this au
thority, and the glory of them:
for it hath been delivered unto
me; and to whomsoever I will
I give it. If thou therefore wilt
worship before me, it shall all be
thine." Then saith Jesus unto him,
"Get thee hence, Satan; for it is
written, 'Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.' "
And when the devil had com
pleted every temptation, he de
parted from him for a. season;
and behold, angels came and
ministered unto him.

Preparation
Before Jesus began his pub
lic work, he had an important
experience. He went off into the
mountains for 40 days, where he
was with the wild beasts. Fiction
and fancy have both played with
the narrative, but one clear fact
stands out: he met a triple test
before facing the world of hu
manity. Several years ago, Frazier
Hunt visited Gandhi. Referring
to his tremendous power, he
said, Gandhi is nontemptable, at
points where most men are weak
and fail. Some men fall through
lust; some for moneys some for
food; some for position. At all
these points, Gandhi is unassail
able. The triple test of Jesus was
along similar lines. Food, posi
tion, material power — he is seen
putting all these temptations un
der foot. Here is a great fact.
The triple test — which every man
must really take and pass, if be
hopes to have a constructive part
in any new order of justice — pre
ceded the public life of Jesus.
He did not dare go out among
his fellowmen, to establish the
principles of the revolution, un
til he "had it out with himself," *
until he had stood the triple test.
This is a remarkable story —
with plenty of puzzling ingredi
ents, over which tt would be pos
sible to waste much time and get
nowhere — yet here stands out
clear the ethical imperative of
self mastery to make one fit for
entering upon world conquest for
truth and justice.
Millions of men and move
ments have failed, because there
had been unwillingness, for the
sake of truth and justice, to give
up a single meal, a. position or
notoriety.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 7

Disciples
And passing along by the sea
of Galilee, he saw Simon and
Andrew the brother of Simon
casting a net in the sea: for
they were fishers. And Jesus
said unto them, Come ye after
me, and I will make you to be- ~
come fishers of men. And
straightway they left the nets,
and followed him. And going on
a little further, he saw James
the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, who also were in
the boat mending the nets. And
straightway he called them: and
they left their father Zebedee in
the boat with the hired servants,
and went after him. ,
And Jesus went forth again by
the sea side; and all the multi
tude resorted unto him, and he
taught them. And as he passed
by, he saw a man, called Levi
Matthew, the son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the place of toll, and
he saith unto him, "Follow me."
And he forsook all, and arose
and followed him.
And Levi made him a great
feast in his house. And there
was a great multitude of pub
licans and sinners that were sit
ting at meat with Jesus and his
disciples. And when the Pharisees saw
it, they said unto his disciples,
"Why eateth your Teacher with
the publicans and sinners?"
But when he heard it, he said,
"They that are whole have no
need of a physician, but they
that are sick. But go ye and
learn what this meaneth, 'I de
sire mercy, and not sacrifice';
for I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners."

Popularity

Jesus at first enjoyed popular
ity. His popularity was of the
kind that avoids publicity and is
won by service, not by self-ad
vertisement. He drew people
like a magnet after him, so that
they followed him into the des
ert. His popularity was not sen
sational, but dynamic.
Note the kind of men he drew,
fishermen and tax^* collectors.
With such people — people of no
social standing — like the folks,
say, down by Yesler Way — the
new social order began. This in
itself was revolutionary, for it
had been the habit of the race
to wait for the "leaders" —
kings, priests, captains .
Jesus reversed the order. He
began to build with common
humanity, fishermen and outcast
folks like Matthew, the tax col
lector. In this he showed his
faith in mankind..
This made him popular with
the people, but unpopular with
the leaders. Those that fol
lowed Jesus — John, James, Pe
ter, Andrew, Matthew — had a
social standing like that of
pawnbrokers and water front
dwellers of Seattle. ... It
caused just the same comment
then as the choice of pawn
brokers and longshoremen to
head some social enterprise
would cause now. . . . No
one thinks of starting an enter
prise in Seattle without getting
the "key-folks" together. Jerus
alem was no exception.
So when Jesus began to put
this fisherman and that tax
gatherer on his board of di
rectors, the deacons of the First
Church and the priests at the
Cathedral sneered. He was
right, A Hindu seer once said, "It .
will be one of the common peo
ple that will save the country."
The Hindu saw this revolution
ary idea, which is to his credit.
Jesus did an infinitely greater
thing when he started in to prac
tice it. This requires genius and
courage. He moved from the
realm of ideas into the realm
of deeds. He was acting con
trary to the rules of the estab
lished order. He was looked
upon as a revolutionist. And he
was, but he was right.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 8

Pharisees and Scribes
At that season Jesus went on
the Sabbath day through the
grainfields; and his disciples
were hungry and began to pluck
ears and to eat, rubbing them in
their hands.
But the Pharisees, when they
saw it, said unto him, "Behold,
thy disciples do that which it is
not lawful to do upon the Sab
bath." But he said unto them, "Have
ye not read what David did
when he had need and was
hungry, and they that were with
him; how he entered into the
house of God, and ate the show-
bread, which it was not lawful
for him to eat, neither for them
that were with him, but only for
the priests? But I say unto you,
that one greater than the tem
ple is here. But if ye had known
what this meaneth, 'I desire
mercy, and not sacrifice,' ye
would not have condemned the
guiltless." And he said unto them, "The
Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath; so that
the Son of Man is lord even of
the Sabbath."
And one of the scribes came
and asked him, "What com
mandment is the first of all?"
Jesus answered, "The first is,
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our
God, the Lord is one; and thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and
with all thy strength. The sec
ond is this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. There is
none other commandment great
er than these."
And the scribe said unto him,
"Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast
well said that he is one: and
there is none other but he: and
to love him with all thy heart,
and with all the understanding
and with all the strength, and to
love his neighbor as himself, is
much more than all the whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he
answered discreetly, he said unto
him, "Thou art not far from the
kingdom of God."

Opposition

Jesus' popularity with the peo
ple caused his overthrow in the
end. The reason he so often
avoided publicity was a desire
not to awaken dissension and
jealousy. And still, hostility quite
early manifested itself. This runs
true to human nature.
The center of opposition to Je
sus was the Pharisees and
scribes, those learned in the law.
The Jew had as many statutes
as the Anglo-Saxon, and there
were many 100 per cent stick
lers for the "law and prophets."
The appearance of Jesus dis
turbed them. He was too free, a
radical. He technically, at least,
broke many laws.
The scribes and Pharisees were
"good men" — of the "law and
order" type. The kind of Phari
sees who opposed Jesus and
helped to crucify him were men
who loved to sit in prominent
seats, to wear robes with broad
hems; who loved to be called
"doctor" and "judge": to build
monuments to good men dead,
and stone good men living. Many
such people may be found at the
federal building, the city hall,
the university — law-abiding citi
zens, acting according to prece
dent, but vain and lacking "the
heart of mercy."
They were not all alike. . . .
Here are two striking incidents
that show in one case a carping
attitude concerning Sabbath des
ecration. In this Jesus points
out the difference between an
institution and humanity. The
rights of property stop where the
necessity of life begins. Here is
where the over-law comes in,
which so many fail to see, en
gaged as they are in preserving
institutions and traditions.
These words have been an in
spiration to millions standing for
liberty of the spirit. "The Sab
bath is made for man, and not
man for the Sabbath."
There were "discerning"
scribes. Here is one who hears
Jesus say, the chief principles of
life are love to God, and love to
neighbor — and he comments on
this remark of Jesus, and adds.
Yes, that is so, and this love is
more than all 'worship and burnt
offerings. . . . You are very close
to the heart of the truth, re
marked Jesus.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 9

Beatitudes
And he lifted up his eyes on
his disciples, and said:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. "Blessed are they that mourn;
for they shall be comforted
"Blessed are the meek; for
they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness;
for they shall be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful; for
they shall obtain mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart;
for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers;
for they shall be called sons of
God. "Blessed are they that have
been persecuted for righteous
ness' sake; for theirs is the king
dom of heaven. Blessed are ye
when men shall reproach you,
and persecute you, and say all
manner of evil against you false
ly, for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so perse
cuted they the prophets that
were before you.
"Ye are the salt of the earth:
but if the salt has lost its savor,
wherewith shall it be salted? it
is thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out and trodden
under foot of men.
"Ye are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a lamp, and
put it under the bushel, but on
the stand; and it shineth unto all
that are in the house. Even so
let your light shine before men;
that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father
who is in heaven.

Sermon on the Mount
And now we come to the "Ser
mon on the Mount," which will
occupy eight days. It is a state
ment of Jesus' teachings. Multi
tudes affirm that they are the
foundation of a sound social or
der. Nearly everyone — Jew, Prot
estant, Catholic, the man in the
corner grocery, the barber — "be
lieves in the Sermon on the
Mount." Alas, few there be who
practice its teachings. The open
ing words — the "beatitudes" —
should be taken slowly and per
mitted to soak into the subintel-
ligence. They describe the joys
of the new order and spring from
a new faith.
They contradict about all our
inherited notions, as well as the
rules by which men live. They
are in sharp contrast with the
ideas floating round the city
market. For here are the "be
atitudes" of the market place:
Blessed are the proud . . .
Blessed are those who have not
suffered. . . . Blessed are the
pushers. . . . Blessed are they
who hunger for riches. . . .
Blessed are those who hold
grudges . . . Blessed are the expe
dient. . . . Blessed are the war
riors. . . . Blessed are the favorite
sons The "beatitudes" of Jesus are
in direct contradiction. My ob
servation and experience for 60
years convince me that Jesus
here gives a picture of real hap
piness. These are the fundamen
tal principles of life. . . "Funda
mentalists," take notice; and
"Modernists," too. Ponder over
these fundamentals, instead of
engaging in fratricidal strife.
Verily the man who is meek . . .
pure ... a peacemaker . . . per
secuted . . . hungry for the right
. . . merciful . . poor in spirit . . .
is in paradise, the kingdom of
heaven, on earth. Such are the
salt of the earth, and the light of
the world. They are the first
people — the pioneers of the new
order. The realm of God is
theirs.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 10

Anger
"Think not that I came to de
stroy the law or the prophets: I
came not to destroy, but to ful
fill. For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass away from the law, till
all things be accomplished. I
say unto you, that except your
righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no wise
enter into the kingdom of
heaven. "Ye have heard that it was
said to them of old time, 'Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of
the judgment'; but I say unto
you, that every one who is an
gry with his brother shall be in
danger of the judgment; and
whosoever shall say to his broth
er, 'Raca,' shall be in danger of
the council; and whosoever shall
say, 'Thou fool,' shall be in dan
ger of the hell of fire.
"If, therefore, thou art offer
ing thy gift at the altar, and
there rememberest that thy
brother hath aught against thee,
leave there thy gift before the
altar, and go thy way, first be
reconciled to thy brother, and
then eome and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary
quickly, while thou art with him
in the way; lest haply the ad
versary deliver thee to the judge,
and the judge deliver thee to' the
officer, and thou be cast into
prison. Verily I say unto thee,
Thou shalt by no means come
out thence, till thou have paid
the last farthing.

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus makes three points here.
First, while the new order is a
revolution it is not destructive.
Institutions may be destroyed,
but the stream of progress rushes
on. Not a jot of the past will
be lost, says Jesus, but the past
will be fulfiled in the evolution
of life. Be not alarmed over
change, rather rejoice, for
change proves the presence of
life. Destruction awaits those
who refuse to respond to change.
Second, beware of the road
traveled by the Pharisees. Their
pious show is camouflage. They
become mere actors. It is im
possible for such to understand
the new order and enter it.
Third, anger is akin to mur
der. This is a main point in Je
sus' sermon. The murderer has
the right to shake hands with the
one who is angry with his broth
er, whether there be "cause" or
not. Anger and murder are in
the same train of powder that
explodes and blows up the build
ing. . . . No matter what "raca"
or "judgment" or "hell of fire"
means. (Look these up in the
dictionary.) The point that Jesus
was pushing into the minds of
his hearers — and us — is that hu
man relations are so sensitive
and so sacred that a minor ex
plosion of anger, even like call
ing one's brother a "fool," is
akin to murder, in its power to
destroy. The whole social order is jeo
pardized by anger. The man who
gets angry is worthy to be haled
before the court or confined in
an asylum. He is a murderer
at large. He is participating in
the work of destruction and
murder going on in the world.
The man who got angry, during
the war, and called his brother
man a "Hun" or 'brute" helped
a soldier in France to pull the
trigger that killed a man. Those
who wish to accept the guilt
may: for it is there. Thus guilt,
in the new society, is widely and
fairly distributed. With men get
ting angry, no social order is se
cure.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 11

Purity and Truth
"Ye have heard that it was
said, 'Thou shalt not commit
adultery*; but I say unto you,
that every one that looketh on a
woman to lust her hath commit
ted adultery with her already in
his heart. And if thy right eye
causeth thee to stumble, pluck
it out, and cast it from thee: for
it is profitable for thee that one
of thy members should perish,
and not thy whole body be cast
into hell. And if thy right hand
causeth thee to stumble, cut it
off, and cast it from thee: for it
is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish, and
not thy whole body go into hell.
"It was said also, 'Whoever
shall put away his wife, let him
give her a. writing of divorce
ment'; but I say unto you, that
every one that putter away his
wife, saving for the cause of for
nication, maketh her an adulter
ess: and whosoever shall marry
her when she is put away com
mitteth adultery.
"Again ye have heard that it
was said of them of old time,
'Thou shalt not forswear thyself,
but shalt perform unto the Lord
thine oaths; but I say unto you.
Swear not at all; neither by the
heaven, for it is the throne of
God; nor by the earth, for it is
the footstool of his feet; nor by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great king. Neither shalt
thou swear by thy head, for thou
canst not make one hair white or
black. But let your speech be,
'Yea, yea; nay, nay'; and
whatsoever is more than these is
of the evil one.

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus here raises two ques
tions: adultery and oath taking.
I know of no country needing
a sermon on sex more than
America. In no country where I
have been — Africa, Australia,
Russia, England— is sex con
sciousness so marked as among
us, and sex suggestion so preva
lent. >
Jesus says that an adulterer
and a man with adulterous
thoughts are partners. A case
again of a train of powder. The
first grain and the last grain are
the partners in the explosition.
The taking of oaths is part of a
pious show and impedes the real
ization of justice.
The higher men build their
judgment seats and pile up oaths,
the lower justice sinks.
The right social order must be
built on sex purity and truth.
Impurity and oath taking are de
structive agencies.
In speaking of the importance
of purity, Jesus says, it is better
to have an eye plucked out or a
hand cut off than to have the
whole body destroyed.
As to divorce, he is not giving
a treatise on divorce laws. He
takes divorce laws as then prac
ticed. (Do not forget that wom
an was a nuptial chattel. Jesus
was after the transgressor, the
male.) He affirms that where
lust is the motive, divorce is
adultery. The man is affected,
the woman, too, and the disease
spreads rotting and destroying
human society.
As to taking oaths and the
whole vain court show, he says
that a man should have such a
wholesome fear of getting out of
the realm of truth as to confine
his speech to "yes" and "no."
What about current practices?
Are the disciples of Jesus trying
to harmonize their conduct with
his teachings, or to harmonize
his teachings with their conduct?
My opinion about thesre things is
not important. I have stated
what is in Jesus' mind. People
must deal with him, if they are
disciples; or with the truth so far
as they see his teachings to be
true.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

ho. va

Treatment of Evil
"Ye have heard that it was
said, 'An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth'; but I say unto
you, resist not him that is evil:
but whosoever smiteth thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the
other also. And if any man
would go to law with thee, and
take away thy coat, let him have
thy cloak also. And whosoever
shall compel thee to go one mile,
go with him two. Give to every
one that asketh thee; and of him
that taketh away thy goods ask
them not again, and from him
that would borrow of thee turn
not thou away.
"Ye have heard that it was
said, 'Thou shalt love thy neigh
bor, and hate thine enemy'; but
I say unto you, love your ene
mies, do good to them that hate
you, bless them that curse you,
pray for them that despitefully
use you, that ye may be sons of
your father who is in heaven;
for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and send-
eth rain on the just and the un
just. For if ye love them that
love you, what reward have ye?
Do not even the publicans the
same? And if ye salute your
brethren only, what do ye more
than others? Do not even the
Gentiles the same? And if ye
do good to them that do good to
you, what thank have ye, for
even sinners do the same. But
16ve your enemies, and do them
good, and lend, never despairing;
and your reward shall be great,
and ye shall be sons of the Most
High: for he is kind toward the
unthankful and evil. Ye, there
fore shall be perfect, as your
heavenly father is perfect.

Sermon on the Mount

This is the highest peak of the
sermon; Christianity "in a nut
shell." Jesus is speaking of how to
treat evil, our chief problem. ' He
points out two methods, one neg
ative, . the other positive. They
are nonviolence and love. Other
methods are obsolete — -like tal
low candles — good enough for
the dead past. (The trouble is
that men of our airplane and
radio age are using pagan and
Mosaic methods in the treatment
of evil.)
As to nonviolence, here is a
message from Gandhi, who ad
mits his indebtedness to Jesus.
"My study and experience of
nonviolence have proved to me
that it is the greatest force in
the world. It is the surest meth
od of discovering truth, and it is
the quickest because there is no
other. It works silently, almost
imperceptibly, but none the less
surely. It is the one construc
tive process of nature in the
midst of incessant destruction
going on about us. I hold it to
be a superstition to believe that
it can work only in private life.
There is no department of life,
public or private, to which that
force cannot be applied. But
this nonviolence is impossible
without complete self-efface
ment." As to love of enemies, Jesus
points out that this method has
the backing of the universe. In
using this method, one allies
himself to the "father." With
out the principle of love of ene
mies mankind's civilization is
built over a volcano. Enemies
cannot be conquered, broken
friendships cemented, without
love. Economic and political al
liance will burst asunder at the
first appearance of a storm.
The bloody pages of recent
history are replete with proof
that Jesus is right. Until the
governments of America, Ger
many, Russia, Japan "are kind
toward the unthankful" — there
will be no settlement of debts;
no peace.
Nonviolence and love as con
quering, constructive forces — de
scribed by Jesus — look to me to
be the only statesmanlike, prac
tical method for treating eviL
that is being proposed.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 13

Hypocrisy
"Take heed that ye do not your
righteousness before men, to be
seen of them: else ye have no
reward with your father who is
in heaven.
"When therefore thou doest
alms, sound not a trumpet be
fore thee, as the hypocrites do
in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you,
they have received their reward.
But when- thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy
right hand doeth: that thine alms
may be in secret: and thy father
who seeth in secret shall recom
pense thee.
"And when ye pray, ye shall
not be as the hypocrites: for they
love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and in the corners
of the streets, that they may be
seen of men. Verily I say unto
you, they have received their re
ward. But thou, when thou
prayest, enter into thine inner
chamber, and having shut thy
door, pray to thy father who is
in secret, and thy father who
seeth in secret shall recompense
thee. And in praying use not
vain repetitions, as the Gentiles
do, for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speak
ing. Be not therefore like unto
them: for your father knoweth
what things ye have need of be
fore ye ask him. After this man
ner therefore pray ye:
Our father who are in heaven
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, as in heaven,
so on earth.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we
also have forgiven our debtors.
And bring us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
"For if ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly
father will also forgive you. But
if ye forgive not men their tres
passes, neither will your father
forgive your trespasses.

Sermon On the Mount

The truths of the Sermon on
the Mount are as exact and ra
tional as those of science — and
more important. I give a few.
They are simple, as all truth is
simple. First, whoever craves publicity
is a hypocrite. Highest actions,
like charity and praying, when
attended with trumpet-sounding,
are an abomination.
What, then, is to be said of the
ministers in the 300 churches of
Seattle who publicly pray for a
quarter of an hour every Sunday
morning; or of the business men
in their trumpet-blowing, street-
corner publicity drives for ben
evolence? This: it is contrary to
the teaching of Jesus.
What place is there for long
prayers and broad-hemmed
gowns? Are they a vain show
and a copying of pagans? There
are mistaken people, who claim
that by them reverence is culti
vated. No, says Jesus; they en
courage hypocrisy. A righteous
life is a "secret" life. Jesus is
not discussing prayer or giving;
he is insisting upon these things
being done in "secret." He gives
a short prayer, as a kind of a
sample of what a. man might use
— not in public — but in secret. It
is the only prayer Jesus, creator
of the Christian religion, ever
gave, except once he commended
this prayer: "Lord, be merciful
to me, a sinner."
Jesus insists upon self-efface
ment, the eliminations of ego
isms. No righteous enterprise
can be carried through without
self-effacement. It is essential to
greatness and power.
Jesus also insists upon forgive
ness — wiping the slate clean
every morning. If you forgive,;
the whole universe is back of
you. If you forgive not, the whole
universe is against you.
This exact truth applies to na
tions, to America, as to individu
als. Of course, America should for
give the debts of England,
France, Germany, Russia — con
tracted in days of debauchery,
insanity and strife. If she does
not forgive debts, she'll find the
whole world, the universe,
against her. We're seeing evi
dences of this already in China,
Japan, Russia — everywhere.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 14

A Deep Gulf
"Moreover, when ye fast, be
not, as the hypocrites, of a sad
countenance: for they disfigure
their faces, that they may be
seen of men to fast. Verily I say
unto you, they have received
their reward. But thou, when
thou fastest, anoint thy head,
and wash thy face; that thou be
not seen of men to fast, but of
thy father who is in secret: and
thy father, who seeth in secret,
shall recompense thee.
"Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon the earth, where
moth and rust consume, and
where thieves break through and
steal: but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where nei
ther moth nor rust doth con
sume, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal: for
where thy treasure is, there will
thy heart be also.
"The lamp of the body is the
eye: if therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be
full of light. But if thine eye
be evil, thy whole body shall be
full of darkness. If, therefore,
the light that is in thee be dark
ness, how great is the darkness!
"No man can serve two mas
ters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else
he will hold to one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon.

Sermon On the Mount

Fasting was a common cus
tom. If it is done, he says, it
should be done, NEVER to be
seen of men.
Jesus here is not urging fast
ing, but insisting upon the neces
sity of doing it "in secret." To
overlook this, fact is to miss
eevrything. Instead of having a
"sad countenance" and "disfig
ured faces" — putting on crepe
and mourning — which is hypo
crisy — look happy and clean and
bright, before men.
One must get this truth clear
or run the danger of losing Jesus'
whole meaning.
Nothing — prayer, charity, fast
ing — is of value that is done for
appearances. It is hypocrisy.
Do everything — prayer, giving,
fasting — in "secret."
Here follow several sharp con
trasts between material and
spiritual life. You are in a uni
verse, in which the results are
inescapable, by both individuals
and nations.
Go on laying up treasure on
earth (material). Take your
choice. Proceed merrily. You
cannot escape moth, rust,
thieves. Lay up treasures in
heaven (spiritual — Jesus is not
referring to some place beyond
the grave, but here and now)
and you will escape moth, rust,
thieves. Take your choice.
Everyone has a single purpose.
If the purpose be material, dark
ness. If the purpose be spirit
ual, light and life.
Try as you may — and men do
try — no man can serve two mas
ters. "You cannot serve God
and Mammon." Simply, cannot.
Every listener knew what Jesus
meant. Every reader knows. . . .
And nations the same. ¦'

. WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 15

The Ruling Purpose

"Therefore I say unto you, be
not anxious for your life, what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink: nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the
life more than the food, and the
body than the raiment? Behold
the birds of the heaven, that they
sow not, neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns; and your
heavenly father feedeth them.
Are not ye of much more value
than they? And which of you
by being anxious can add one
cubit unto the measure of his
life? "And why are ye anxious con
cerning raiment? ' Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they
spin; yet I say unto you, that
even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of
these. But if God does so clothe
the grass of the field, which to
day is, and tomorrow is cast Jnto
the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Be not therefore anxious, saying,
'What shall we eat?' or, 'What
shall we drink?' or, 'Wherewith
al shall we be clothed?" For
after all these things do the Gen
tiles seek; for your heavenly fa
ther knoweth that ye have need
of all these things. But seek
ye first his kingdom, and his
righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.
Fear not, little flock; for it is
your father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.
"Be not therefore anxious for
the morrow: for the morrow will
be anxious for itself. Sufficient
I unto the day is the evil thereof.

Sermon on the Mount

This is probably the climax of
the sermon.
It is another "Christianity in
a nut-shell."
If this teaching were preached
and practiced, in Seattle, in the-
world, the social order of right
eousness that men claim to be
seeking would arrive.
It is very practical — in fact,
no other way of life is.
Anyone — Nordic or Hindu,
black or white — who under
stands and practices these words
— 3,000 or less — will learn.
How to be beautiful,
How to be good,
How to be free from worry,
How to be free from fear,
How to succeed.
Educators may learn here how
to teach; legislators how to make
laws; nations how to gain eternal
life. And it is simple.
Put the spiritual first. Put
humanity before property; jus
tice before reverence; man be
fore institutions. It's making the
spiritual — love, truth, righteous
ness, forgiveness — supreme, as
Jesus did. However, it must be
something more than talk and
music. It is very simple and pro
found. Put supreme faith in
God. (By God Jesus meant the
creating, invisible power — the
"Father" within the universe,
within every man.) Get hold of
this power. Food, clothes, beauty,
freedom from fear and worry
will be the fruitage, as naturally
as beauty comes to a lily — and
by the same law of growth.
Enough said.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 16

Golden Rule
"Be ye merciful, even as your
father is merciful. And judge
not, and ye shall not be judged.
For with what measure ye mete
it shall be measured to you
again." "And why beholdest thou the
mote that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye? Or how
canst thou say to thy brother,
'Brother, let me cast out the
mote that is in thine eye,' when
thou thyself beholdest not the
beam that is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out flrst the
beam out of thine own eye, and
then shalt thou see clearly to cast
out the mote that is in thy broth
er's eye.
"Give not that which is holy
unto the dogs, neither cast your
pearls before the swine, lest
haply they trample them under
their feet, and turn and rend
you." "And I say unto you, ask, and
it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you: for every
one that asketh receiveth; and
he that seeketh findeth; and to
him that knocketh it shall be
opened. Or what man is there
of you that is a father, who, if
his son shall ask him for a loaf,
will give him a stone; or if he
shall ask for a fish, will give him
a serpent; or if he shall ask an
egg, will give him a scorpion ? If
ye then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts unto your chil
dren, how much more shall your
father who is in heaven give
good things to them that ask
him? "All things therefore whatso
ever ye would that rpen should
unto you, even so do ye alst> -_L*ito
i them: for this is the law and

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus is closing his sermon.
There drop in succession from
his lips several pearls of truth.
One, "Judge not that ye be not
judged." Men have tried to evade
this teaching, by clever sophis
try. It condemns every court
room in Christendom. Law is
better than war. Granted. But
love and mercy are better than
law. No man, no collection of
men, knows enough to sit in
judgment on his fellow man. The
high business of every man, of
every group of men, is to love
and forgive, not to sit in judg
ment. The latter is hypocrisy,
it is worse. It presages the doom
of those who judge.
Where will you find a cleverer
cartoon than one drawn by
Jesus in the picture of a man
with a stick in his eye trying to
pick a speck out of his neigh
bor's eye? Take heed, nations
and individuals.
"Pearls before swine" de
scribes a state of heart hardened
beyond the reach of truth. Men
and nations who with sticks in
their own eyes sitting upon judg
ment seats! Yet, says Jesus,
about us all, about everyman, is
a realm of life, in waiting: a.
"kingdom of heaven." Every
man only has to ask, to seek, to
knock, and he will be flooded
with divine energy. Fathers do
not give their children stones for
bread, serpents for fish, when
they ask. Even more, the "hea
venly father" gives good things
to those asking.
Then follows the "Golden
Rule" — as men named it. If in
doubt, men and nations, what to
do, here is a simple rule, which
governs life: "Whatever you
would like men to do to you, do
just the same to them."
This covers the whole case,
says Jesus.
There is no occasion for men
to rise from the dead or for
friends to speak from an invis
ible realm. This simple rule!
Belief and practice of it would
carry all needed evidence of ii*
truth.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 17

Two Classes
"Enter ye in by the narrow
gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and many are
they that enter in thereby. For
narrow is the gate, and strait
ened the way, that leadeth unto
life, and few are they that find it.
"Beware of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly are rav
ening wolves. By their fruits ye
shall know them. Do men gath
er grapes of thorns, or figs or
thistles? "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. Many will say
to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy by thy
name, and by thy name cast out
demons, and by thy name do
many mighty works?* And then
will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity.
"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: and the rain de
scended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and it fell not:
for it was founded upon the rock.
And every one that heareth these
words of mine, and doeth them
not, shall be likened unto a fool
ish man, who built his house
upon the sand: and the rain de
scended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and smote
upon that house; and it fell: and
great was the fall thereof."

Sermon on the Mount

This closes the Sermon on the
Mount. He began it describing the
kind of people, who were the
"salt of the earth"; people who
were qualified for the "kingdom
of heaven." They were the
meek, the merciful, the pure in
heart, the persecuted, the hun
gry for righteousness. He de
clared such to be the right sort
— for this world.
He pointed out the principles
to govern human life. Be not
angry, he pure, Speak the truth.
Practice non-violence, Love your
enemies. Do nothing to "be seen
of men," Trust in God, Judge
not, and the Golden Rule which
was the cornerstone.
These are the RULES OF
LIFE. Jesus recognized a class-
struggle, even more marked and
running deeper than the indus
trial class-struggle.
The struggle is between those
who make the spiritual supreme
and those who make the ma
terial supreme. "God and Mam
mon" expresses it. It creates two
classes, with a gulf between
them. These classes have "noth
ing in common."
Jesus states all this without
brass bands, chorus or emo
tional exhortation, but with the
calmness of a scientist expound
ing the laws of gravitation.
Comparatively few find the
spiritual way, although it leads
to life. The way of the flesh
is crowded by the multitude, al
though it leads to destruction.
The difference is revealed in
the fruitage.
Reverence and worship — say
ing "Lord, Lord" — and eermons,
doing "many mighty works"
count nothing. Only those who
"DO the will of the Father"
gain life.
Everyone — all colors, races,
nations, ages — who DO these
truths is building his house upon
Rock. Here is security. Every
one who DOES NOT these truths
is building upon Sand. Here is
destruction. For individuals, for nations.
Few find the way of life. All
may.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 18

A Woman, a Sinner
And one of the Pharisees de
sired him that he would eat with
them. And he entered into the
Pharisee's house, and sat down
to meat. And behold, a woman
who was in the city, a sinner;
and when she knew that he was
sitting at meat in the Pharisee's
house, she brought an alabaster
cruse of ointment, and standing
behind at his feet, weeping, she
began to wet his feet with her
tears, and wiped them with the
hair of her head, and kissed his
feet, and anointed them with
the ointment.
The Pharisee spake within
himself, "This man, if he were a
prophet, would have perceived
who and what manner of woman
this is that toucheth him, that
she is a sinner." Jesus answer
ing said unto him, "A certain
lender had two debtors: the one
owed 500 shillings and the other
50. When they had not where
with to pay, he forgave them
both. Which of them therefore
will love him most?"
Simon answered and said, "He,
I suppose, co whom he forgave
the most."
And he said unto him, "Thou
hast rightly judged." And turn
ing to the woman, he said unto
Simon, "Seest thou this woman?
I entered into thy house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet:
but she hath wetted my feet with
her tears, and wiped them with
her hair. Wherefore I say unto
thee, Her sins, which are many,
are forgiven; for she loved
much: but to whom little is for
given, the same loveth little."
And he said unto her, "Thy
sins are forgiven."
And they that sat at meat
with him began to say within
themselves, "Who is this that
even forgiveth sins?"
And he said unto the woman,
"Thy faith hath saved thee; go
in peace."

At Dinner

Jesus was democratic. He ate
with publicans and sinners —
the "unorthodox" — but did not
refuse to dine with Pharisees.
He was not an ascetic. He at
tended weddings. He dropped
into conversation with children
and wayside people.
While he was sitting at Si
mon's table, a woman slipped in
from the street, as described in
the beautiful story. She was not
a "bad" woman, in the modern
sense, for "sinner" meant un
orthodox. She was one of the many who
had been drawn to Jesus, be
cause he did not reproach the
erring, but spoke in the spirit of
mercy, forgiveness and love. He
was human. Driven by a strong
emotion, akin almost to worship,
she followed him into the house
— not an unusual procedure in
that land.
But Simon, his host, was or
thodox. He judged that Jesus
could not be a prophet, since he
failed to detect and rebuke a
"sinner." Simon's idea of a
good man was of one who be
longed to the "Untouchables."
Jesus' idea of a good man was
of one who loved all, of one who
mingled with all men. Jesus
turns to Simon and speaks to
him, in a parable, of debtors.
(Listen, O nations.)
The greater the debt forgiven,
the greater the love of the debt
or. That's so, said Simon. Well,
said Jesus, The many errors of
this woman have sprung out of
a heart of great love. She is
better than the orthodox, who
love little, and therefore err lit
tle. Those who love much err
much. Did you notice, said Jesus,
that this woman from the time
she entered the house until now
has revealed a depth of nature
and heart of love that overflowed
and wash out her errors?
Those that sat at meat did
not understand. Do we? Jesus
said to the woman (part of the
greatness of Jesus is seen in his
correct valuation of woman
hood), Your faith is salvation
and security; go in peace.
The intruding "sinner" was
more praiseworthy than the
"orthodox" host..

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 19

John Beheaded
And Herod on his birthday
made a. supper to his lords, and
the high captains, and the chief
men of Galilee. And the daugh
ter of Herodias danced in the
midst, and pleased Herod, and
them that sat at meat with him,
and the king said unto the dam
sel, "Ask of me whatsoever
thou wilt, and I will give it
thee." And he swore unto her,
"Whatsoever thou shalt ask of
me, I will give it to thee, unto
the half Of my kingdom."
And she went out, and said
unto her mother, "What shall I
ask?" And she said, "The head of
John the Baptist."
And she came in straightway
with haste unto the king, and
asked, saying, "I will that thou
forthwith give me on a platter
the head of John the Baptist."
And the king was exceedingly
sorry; but for the sake of his
oaths, and of them that sat at
meat, he would not reject her.
And straightway the king sent
forth a soldier of his guard, and
commanded to bring his head:
and he went and beheaded him
in the prison, and brought his
head on a platter, and gave it to
the damsel; and the damsel gave
it to her mother.
And when his disciples heard
thereof, they came and took up
his corpse, and laid it in a tomb;
and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus said: "Among them that
are born of women there hath
not arisen a greater than John
the Baptist."

Persecution

Several comments:
King Herod had a birthday
banquet, with wine and dancing.
A birthday celebration is a. glor
ification of self. Like ancestor-
worship, it should pass out.
When attended with wine and
dancing, a birthday is likely to
be crowned by murder.
I have no good words for
kings. I cannot recall a single
king in scripture story who was
not up to some deviltry. Pha
raoh, all the kings in "Kings,"
Ahab, Belshazzar, etc. David
and Solomon are praised for po
etry and wisdom, due to the fact
that they had good press a>gents.
When we come to the New Test
ament, we meet the Herods and
Agrippas. Yet, men raise monu
ments to kings. It is disquieting,
how Americans court the worn-
out royalties of Europe.
Persecution is inevitable to a
brave follower of truth. If a
preacher or teacher is not per
secuted, there is somethiag
wrong with his teaching. Per
secution is inevitable. ;
John got into prison, because
he spoke the truth.
Too much fuss is made in try
ing to get people out of prison,
when the logic of their truth
telling takes them there.
The dance and wine are nar-
ural concomitants of deviltry.
This scene reinforces an opin
ion I have always held.
Great causes have been lost —
by thousands — through dancing
and wine. They shove psople
close to the edge of stupidity.
Where religion has been >pium
to workers by thousands, wine
and dancing have slain ns of
thousands. The king is said to have been
"sorry." Nonsense! It was sim
ply the stirring of conscience in
a blubbering sot. The head of
John, on a platter, shows how
"sorry" he was. John was great,
because he was a brave man,
morally great. He spoke, not
what tickled his hearers' ears,
but what they should hear. A
true preacher presents truth,
which people do not believe.
Truth that men do not see is
what they need.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 20

The Relatives

And he cometh into a house.
And the multitude cometh to
gether again, so that they could
not so much as eat bread. And
when his friends heard it, they
went out to lay hold of him; for
they said, "He is beside him
self." And there came to him, his
mother and brethren, and they
could not come at him for the
crowd. And it was told him,
"Thy mother and thy brethren
stand without, desiring to see
thee." But be answered and said un
to him that told him, "Who is
my mother? and who are my
brethren?" And he stretched
forth his hand towards his disci
ples, and said, "Behold, my
mother and my brethren! For
whosoever shall do the will of
my Father who is in heaven, he
is my brother, and sister, and
mother."

Misunderstood

Jesus was misunderstood.
No one, indeed, should expect
to be understood, means of com
munication are so clogged.
No one should be troubled,
when misunderstood, since it is
inevitable. All we should ask is
tolerance. Of course, a man like Jesus is
sure to be misunderstood. No
tice what form it took. He had
been popular. His "friends"
were troubled. If friends would
only mind their own business,
but they won't. Their solicitude
is a selfish one. When the
"friends" are solicitous, it's about
themselves. If the reformer goes
to jail, the 'friends" are con
cerned over their own reputa
tion. This is a delicious scene. Je
sus' "friends" seek to 'lay hold
on him," for, said they, he is
crazy. How many great souls
have been damned, by "friends'*
solemnly pointing the index fin
ger at the place where the brain
is lodged. He is "good fellow,
means well" — but "a little unbal
anced." <
Then the "family" enters —
mother and brothers. Millions
and millions of souls have been
stopped short of achievement by
the family handicap. As many
more have begun to grow, on
their leaving home.
His mother and brothers — lit
tle ground here for Mariolatry —
thought he was out of his head.
They sent word to him that they
wished to see him. This gave the
occasion for one of Jesus' pro
foundest utterances, "Whoever
does the will of my Father, the
same is my mother and broth
er." These few words settle what is
the supreme relationship — not to
country, not to business, not
even to mother — but to the "Fa
ther," the central, creating, con
trolling, organizing power of the
universe. The obligations of
other relationships do not bind
when the great Call of the Voice
is heard.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 21

His Home Town
And he went out from thence;
and he cometh into his own
country to Nazareth, where he
had been brought up; and his
disciples follow him. And when
the Sabbath was come, he en
tered, as his custom was, into
the synagogue, and stood up to
read. And he opened the book,
and found the place where it was
written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me,
Because he anointed me to
preach good tidings to the
poor;
He hath sent me to proclaim re
lease to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the
blind,
To set at liberty them that are
bruised,
To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord."
And he closed the book, and
gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down; and the eyes of
all in the synagogue were fas
tened on him.
And he began to say unto
them, "Today hath this scrip
ture been fulfilled in your ears."
And all bare him witness, and
wondered at the words of grace
Which proceeded out of his
mouth: and they said, "Whence
hath this man these things?"
and, "What is the wisdom that is
given unto this man, and what
mean such mighty works wrought
by his hands? Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary, and
brother of James, and Joses, and
Judas, and Simon and are not
his sisters here with us?" And
they were offended in him.
And he said, "Verily I say
unto you, A prophet is not with
out honor, save in his own coun
try, and among his own kin, and
in his own house.
And they were all filled with
wrath in the synagogue, as they
heard these things; and they
rose up, and cast him forth out
of the city, and led him unto the
brow of the hill whereon their
city was built, that they might
throw him down headlong. But
he passing through the midst of
thnro w«nt his way.

Dishonored

Jesus visited his home town.
The reader may recall his own
experience when going "back
home." There is an ambition to
appear well, when walking up
Main St. old acquaintances are
met. Jesus went back home. As
was his custom, he went to
church. The scripture roll was
handed him, and he was asked
to read the lesson for the day.
Let the imagination play over
this scene, that has the prophetic
breath of spring, as he reads
about a new world. . . . Good
news to the poor. . . Freedom
to prisoners. . . . Opening of
blind eyes. . . . Relieving the
oppressed. . . . Proclamation of
the Era of Justice.
He stood before them, the her
ald of a new social order.
The words they had heard be
fore, but not the application,
"Today, this scripture is fulfilled
in your ears."
The claim is not so startling.
It is one that might be made by
any "spirit-filled" man. The swift
succession of events is what is
startling. The home folks won
dered, they questioned, they ad
mired. They remarked that he
was one of them, a fact that was
for him and against him. Some
of his family were in the con
gregation. The scripture rebuked
their practices. The calm ap
plication of this glorious young
man amazed them. Then their
lower natures were stirred. Who
was he, this carpenter of Naza
reth, to make such a claim?
They were offended.
This scene is a wonderful mir
ror of human motives, showing
what every herald of the dawn
must meet
Jesus drew the eternal moral
out of the situation. A prophet
is honored everywhere but in his
own town, among his own kin. It
is a sad truth, especially since it
is not the fault of the prophet.
It is the fault of those of us who
do not love truth, will not see it
at their own doors, or in familiar
garb and faces. And the oppor
tunity passes by.
A strange scene of violence
follows. The one citizen that has
made Nazareth immortal was
taken to the brow of the hill
back of the town, to be flung
over. Plenty of honor to Jesus may
be found in the town of Naza
reth today, but such honor, like
honor to Lincoln and Washing
ton is idolatry.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 22

Source of Evil
And there are gathered togeth
er unto him the Pharisees, and
certain of the scribes, who had
come from Jerusalem, and had
seen that some of his disciples
ate their bread with defiled, that
is, unwashen hands. And the
Pharisees and the scribes ask
him, "Why walk not thy disci
ples according to the tradition of
the elders, but eat their bread
with defiled hands?"
And he said unto them, "Well
did Isaiah prophesy of you hypo
crites, as it is written,
" 'This people honoreth me with
their lips,
But their heart is far from me.
But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as their doctrines the
j precepts of men.'
"Ye leave the commandment
of God, and hold fast the tradi
tion of men."
And he called to him the mul
titude again, and said unto them,
"That which proceedeth out of
the man, that defileth the man.
For from within, out of the heart
of men, evil thoughts proceed,
fornications, thefts, murders,
adulteries, covetings, wickedness,
deceit, false witness, lascivious
ness, an evil eye, railing, pride,
foolishness: all these evil things
proceed from within, and defile
the man; but to eat with un
washen hands, defileth "not the
man."

Gathering Clouds

The source of evil is a real
problem. No one, in practice, doubts the
existence of evil thoughts, mur
ders, adulteries, pride, thefts,
covetings, etc. To know the
source is one step toward rem
edy. In every age, a majority as
serts that evil arises from trans
gression of the law. I have late
ly heard many speakers shout
ing about the necessity of law
and order. They have an idea
that law courts, police, reverence
for the constitution will work
the charm of eliminating evil.
There were people in Jesus' day
who had the notion that to be
good one must wash his hands
before eating. These critics con
demned Jesus' disciples with vio
lating this law. They were like
critics of our day who complain
if they see another not rising to
the "Star Spangled Banner" or
not saluting the flag, nor mak
ing the sign of the cross. Such
people, it is said, cannot be pa
triotic nor religious.
The source of evil is not where
you are looking for it. It is fol
ly to judge men by appearances.
Some of the greatest rogues sa
lute the flag reverently (and the
flag saluted must be of tradi
tional dimensions), or cross
themselves reverently (and hap
py are they ifthey have a bit of
the "true cross"). Such prac
tices are neither good nor bad;
just forms. They may be good
for exercise. They may be tol
erated in the unthinking and un
spiritual; but even this good is
more than counterbalanced by
the fact that these exercises con
sume time and energy that could
be better utilized, and keep out
the good by stupefying people
with stupid superficialities.
All evil comes from within —
from the heart.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 23

Saving Life
And it came to pass on a Sab
bath, that he entered into the
synagogue and taught: and there
was a man there, and his right
hand was withered. And the
scribes and Pharisees watched
him, whether he would heal on
the Sabbath; that they might
find how to accuse him.
But he knew their thoughts;
and he said to the man that had
his hand withered, "Rise up, and
stand forth in the midst."
i And he rose up and stood
forth. And Jesus said unto them,
"I ask you, is it lawful on the
Sabbath to do good, or to do
harm? To save life or to do-
stroy it? What man shall there
be of you, that shall have one
sheep, and if this fall into a pit
on the Sabbath day, will he not
lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man of
more value than a sheep!
Wherefore it is lawful to do good
on the Sabbath day."
But they held their peace. And
when he had looked round about
on them with anger, being
grieved at the hardening of their
hearts, he saith unto the man,
"Stretch forth thy hand."
And he stretched it forth; and
his hand was restored whole, as
the other.
But they were filled with mad
ness; and communed one with
another what they might do to
Jesus. And the Pharisees went out,
and straightway with the Hero
dians took counsel against him,
how they might destroy him.

Spies

Jesus was surrounded by spies.
They "watched" him.
This story is a good study of
spies — about the most despicable
specimen of humanity. I can
think of nothing good to say in
behalf of the spy.
Any organization that employs
spies is decaying. When a spy
is used to track husband or wife
— there ought to be an immedi
ate divorce. Spies in the class
room, in the college indicates
that honor is going out of the
faculty as well as the students.
When a nation feels impelled to
use spies, it is time that its form
of government were changed. A
man is running a dishonest busi
ness so far as he is utilizing
spies. Spies are of the jungle. It
proves that we have reached a.
point where we have lost faith
in mankind, when we turn to the
clever crook to defend ourselves.
No man like Jesus can escape
having spies set upon him.
A spy is out to catch his vic
tim. He is a human trap.
The spy is looking for evil, not
for good. His work cannot be
reconciled with Christianity. The
more good a spy finds, the more
he is disappointed; the madder
he gets. The sight of the good
ness of Jesus made them double
their efforts to destroy him. Je
sus was saving life. No matter,
they were only concerned that he
did it on the Sabbath. The hypo
crites! They wove their webs all
the faster.
One finds in this incident a
clear revelation of the serpen
tine deviltry of the spy system;
it is the same if called espionage.
There is never a justification
for the spy, in peace or in war.
The spy is always the symptom
of disease and points to the ne
cessity of a radical change.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 24

The Church
And Jesus went forth, and his
disciples, into the villages of
Caesarea Philippi.
And it came to pass, as he was
praying apart, the disciples were
with him: and he asked them,
saying, "Who do the multitudes
say that I am?"
And they answering, said:
"Some say John the Baptist;
some Elijah; and others, Jere
miah; and others, that one of the
old prophets is risen again."
And he said unto them, "But
who say ye that I am?"
And Simon Peter answered
and said, "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God."
And Jesus answered and said
unto him, "Blessed art thou, Si
mon Bar- Jonah; for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father who is in
heaven. And I also say unto
thee, that thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it. I
will give unto thee the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in heav
en." Then charged he the disciplies
that they should tell no man that
he was the Christ.

In Exile

The world's best man was
driven out of his native land.
When modern Christians have
a hand in deporting Russians
and Chinese, it will be well to
remember this of Jesus.
When he got outside and
looked at his work, the purpose
of it seemed to focus. This was
aided by his practice of going
apart to pray. This should not
be overlooked. Personally, I
doubt if anything very great can
be produced unless one gets
away, voluntarily or from com
pulsion, and has a chance to
think, and to relate himself and
his ideas with the universe, with
the Eternal.
Anyway, this scene reveals
what Jesus was anxious to get
into the minds of a few men. To
win a few real disciples was his
ambition. So he asked his dis
ciples what the people thought
about him and his work.
"They think that you are one
of the prophets walking among
men," said they. 9
"How is it with you?" he
asked. "What is your idea?"
Peter was spokesman. "We
think you are the Christ, the son
of the living God." This reply
seems to have gratified Jesus, as
if he had succeeded in lodging
the truth in the minds of a few
men. He commended Peter
heartily for his insight, and as
sured him that this insight came
from the Father. Peter meant
that Jesus was more than a
teacher and preacher; that he
personalized the truth to the ex
tent that he was a son of the
living God, that is, he REAL
IZED THE IDEAL he was hold
ing up, IN HIS OWN PERSON.
And the rock — the cornerstone
— of the "church" was this con
fession and insight of Peter —
the personal incarnation of the
living God.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 25

A Little Child

And they came to Capernaum;
and when he was in the house
he asked them, "What are ye
reasoning on the way?"
But they held their peace: for
they had disputed one with an
other on the way, who was the
greatest. And he sat down, and called
the twelve; and he said unto
them, "If any man would be
first, he shall be last of all, and
servant of all."
And he took a little child, and
set him in the midst of them:
and taking him in his arms, he
said unto them, "Verily I say
unto you, except ye turn, and be
come as little children, ye shall
in no wise enter into the king
dom of heaven. Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself
as this little child, the same is
the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. "Whoso shall cause one of these
little ones that believe on me to
stumble, it is profitable for him
that a great millstone should be
hanged about his neck, and that
he should be sunk in the depth
of the sea.
"Woe unto the world because
of occasions of stumbling! for it
must needs be that the occasions
come; but woe to that man
through whom the occasion
cometh !
"See that ye despise not one of
these little ones: for I say unto
you, that in heaven their angels
do always behold the face of my
father who is in heaven."

A Dispute

Jesus, when asked, who is the
greatest? pointed to a little
child. This incident seems to me
to be one of the most significant
in the life of Jesus.
He said, if you want to know
what you have lost, look at a
child; if you want to know what
punishment is, injure a child; if
you want to be a teacher, sit at
the feet of a child; if you want
to know what true religion is,
make a child your high priest;
if you want to restore your home,
your civilization, learn at the
feet of a child.
"Heaven lies about us in our
infancy." The man who retains
his "boy-look" has lived right.
Let everyone compare his photo
graph of 1925 with the photo
graph of his boyhood — and he
will see what has happened.
Where have the "angels" resi
dent in the heart of a little child
gone? Qualities that appear in the
child are the most valued pos
sessions of the human race.
Who is the greatest? Jesus
did not point to Caesar, Pilate,
Isaiah, Moses — as we point to
Napoleon, Luther, Washington —
but to a little child.
This is a startling, but pro
found truth. World-greatness is
displayed in coronets, robes,
thrones — all sham ai compared
with the greatness that shine's
through the eyes of a little
child. God resides in the heart of a
little child.
SEE THAT YOU INJURE
NOT ONE OF THESE LITTLE
ONES.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 26

The First Stone

And they went every man unto
his own house; but Jesus went
unto the Mount of Olives.
And early in the morning he
came again into the temple, and
all the people came unto him;
and he sat down, and taught
them. And the scribes and the
Pharisees bring a woman taken
in adultery; and having set her
in the midst, they say unto him,
"Teacher, this woman hath been
taken in adultery, in the very
act. Now in the law Moses
commanded us to stone such:
what then sayest thou to her?"
And this they said, trying him,
that they might have whereof to
accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down, and
with his finger wrote on the
ground. But when they con
tinued asking him, he lifted up
himself and said unto them, "He
that is without sin among you,
let him first cast a stone at
her." And again he stooped down,
and with his finger wrote on the
ground. And they, when they
heard it, went out one by one,
beginning from the oldest, even
unto the last: and Jesus was left
alone, and the woman, where she
was, in the midst. And Jesus
lifted up himself, and said unto
her, "Woman, where are they?
Did no man condemn thee?"
. And she said, "No man, Lord."
And Jesus said, "Neither do I
condemn thee: go thy way; from
henceforth sin no more."

Jesus as Judge

This is an improvised court
room scene. The case is that of
a woman "taken in adultery."
The accusers are the leading citi
zens. Jesus is asked to act as
judge. The penalty, according to
Moses, is stoning to death.
Note what Jesus the judge
does. Is there a judge in Seattle
who would dare follow him ? He
flouts the law of Moses. He in
timates that her accusers are as
guilty as she. He asks that any
one innocent among them cast
the first stone. They slink away
— these men, one by one, begin
ning with the oldest, until no ac
cusers are left. Then Jesus dis
misses the accused, free. No
wonder the people worshipped
him, and thought him to be a
son of God. No wonder the
rulers, pillars of society, hated
him. I think if I were a judge
in Seattle I would try this prece
dent, for one day, at least. I
commend it to Judge Gordon and
Judge Dykeman for considera
tion. The modern court-room is the
antithesis, in almost every par
ticular, of the scene in which
Jesus figures as judge. Jesus
had no robes, no dignity, no fin
ger-print experts, no oath to tell
"the whole truth" — sign of de
generacy. Two aspects of this scene are
worth thinking over: first, the
farce of men sitting in judgment
on each other; second, the good
sense and efficacy of Jesus'
method of treating the accused
woman. By his method, the sin
ners were disclosed and the ac
cused cured.
"Let the innocent cast the first
stone." Here is one greater than
Moses, Blackstone or supreme
courts.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 27

Eternal Life

And behold, a certain lawyer
stood up and made trial of him,
saying, "Teacher, what shall I do
to inherit eternal life?"
And he said unto him, "What
is written in the law? how read-
est thou?"
And he answering said, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbor as thyself."
And he said unto him, "Thou
hast answered right: this do and
thou shalt live."
But he, desiring to justify
himself, said unto Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor?"
Jesus made answer and said,
"A certain man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho; and
he fell among robbers, who both
stripped him and beat him, and
departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance a certain priest
was going down that way; and
when he saw him, he passed by
on the other side. And in like
manner a Levite also, when he
came to the place, and saw him,
passed by on the other side. But
a certain Samaritan, as he jour
neyed, came where he was: and
when he saw him, he was moved
with compassion, and came to
him, and bound up his wounds,
pouring on them oil and wine;
and he set him on his own beast,
and brought him to an inn, and
took care of him. And on the
morrow he took out two shillings
and gave them to the host, and
said, 'Take care of him: and
whatsoever thou spendest more,
I, when I come back again, will
repay thee.' Which of these
three, thinkest thou, proved
neighbor unto him that- fell
among the robbers?"
And he said, "He that showed
mercy on him."
And Jesus said unto him, "Go,
and do thou likewise."

Who Is My Neighbor?
The story of the "Good Samar
itan has created more values to
mankind than our multi
millionaires combined. The earth,
for instance, is sprinkled with
"Good Samaritan" hospitals —
only a drop in the bucket.
Jesus asks: Do you want to
gain eternal life? (He is not
thinking of an existence beyond
the grave.) If so, love your neigh
bor. Very simple. Anyone can
understand the story of the
traveler going from Jerusalem to
Jericho. Very well, go and do
likewise. Do it as you travel
from the University to Yesler
Way, from Seattle to Portland,
from Chicago to Moscow. Don't
be "priest" or a "levite," be a
"Samaritan." The road from
Jerusalem to Jericho has length
ened considerably, but the prin
ciple is unchanged. Radio, auto
mobiles, airplanes, etc, have ex
tended the sphere of activity.
Now, everyone is literally a globe
trotter — over land and water
and through air. Eternal life is
to be found at one's door, and
everyone's door-yard extends to
the limit of radio and beyond.
Eternal life is still to be found
by being a good neighbor, like
the Samaritan. The Samaritan
spirit is essential to solving any
human problem — disease, war, of
industry, of race, of nationality.
The churches, at this season,
are praying for new life. When
Protestants, Catholics, Jews,
Buddhists, Moslems all become
"neighbors" — that's all — a re
vival of life will come. When
Americans and Japanese treat
each other as decent neighbors
do, trouble will vanish.
No need for campaigns, circus
wagons, processions — all that —
the simple working of the Samar
itan idea would work the charm.
But it MUST BE WORKED, lest
there be war.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 28

The Better Way
Now as they went on their
way, he entered into a certain
village; and a certain woman
named Martha received him into
her house.
And she had a sister called
Mary, who also sat at the Lord's
feet and heard his word.
But Martha was cumbered
about much serving; and she
came up to him, and said, "Lord,
dost thou not care that my sis
ter did leave me to serve alone?
bid her therefore that she help
me." But the Lord answered and
said unto her, "Martha, Martha,
thou art anxious and troubled
about many things: but one
thing is needful: for Mary hath
chosen the good part, which
shall not be taken away from
her."

In Bethany

This is a home scene in Jesus'
life. When he entered the home,
in Bethany, Martha spent the
time in getting supper and com
plained that her sister, Mary,
who was conversing with Jesus,
did not assist her.
He intimated that it was bet
ter to be conversing than to be
anxious about eating. There is
here revealed one of Jesus'
basic principles: making the
inner life primary, and exter
nals secondary.
Martha and Mary, for cen
turies, have stood for these two
attitudes toward life; Martha,
the hustling; Mary, the medita
tive. It is an error to make them
antagonistic; they are sisters.
Righteousness is largely a mat
ter of emphasis. Jesus com
mended Mary's attitude toward
life, and chided Martha for
anxiety over material things.
Here is a good "nut-shell"
sermon for Americans. We of
the Occident are more like
Martha; the Orient, more like
Mary. Will our hustle and
anxiety wear us out, and cause
us to miss the better things of
life? East and West — sisters. From
the Orient, with its habits of
meditation and social conversa
tion — what have we, of the West,
to learn?

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 29

A Certain Rich Man
And one out of the multitude
said unto him, "Teacher, bid my
brother divide the inheritance
with me."
But he said unto him, "Man,
who made me a judge or a. di
vider over you?"
And he said unto them, "Take
heed and keep yourselves from
all covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he pos-
sesseth." And he spake a parable unto
them, saying, "The ground of a
certain rich man brought forth
plentifully; and he reasoned with
himself, saying, 'What shall I do,
because I have not where to be
stow my fruits?' And he said,
"This will I do: I will pull down
my barns, and buUd greater; and
there will I bestow all my grain
and my goods. And I will say to
my soul, 'Soul, thou hast much
goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease, eat, drink, be
merry." But God said unto him,
"Thou foolish one, this night is
thy soul required of thee: and
the things which thou hast pre
pared, whose shall they be?" So
is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward
God."

On Riches

Some say that the social gos
pel has nothing to do with re
ligion. Evidently, Jesus does not
agree with them. Seven-eighths
of his teachings touch on so
cial relations — rights and duties.
He was particularly keen in
running down rich men.
In this incident he refused to
be drawn into a scrap over an
inheritance. Everyone who has
gone through such a scrap knows
why. Quarreling over an estate
is a soul wrecking experience.
Jesus refused to be drawn in.
Jesus let fall a great idea: A
man's life consists not in the
abundance of the things he pos
sesses. To illustrate his idea he
tells the story of a certain rich
man. Jesus disapproved of rich
men. Let us get this straight.
He loved everybody, but disap
proved of riches.
The only man he ever called a
"fool" was a rich man.
Next to hypocrisy, riches was
the subject most frequently of
his attack. The one man who,
according to Jesus, had a straight
pass to Hades — a place of tor
ment — was a rich man.
A rich man loses his spiritual
vision. He becomes an obstruc
tionist. He can't help it. When
a church becomes moth eaten
and reactionary, you will find a
rich man at the head of the
board of trustees. When a free
man is denied a hearing on a
Chautauqua platform, you will
find a rich man sitting on the
safety valve.
Jesus was opposed to men lay
ing up riches, because he wanted
to see men rich toward God.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 30

Social Rulers

And he spake a parable unto
those that were bidden, when he
marked how they chose out the
chief seats; saying unto them,
"When thou are bidden of any
man to a marriage feast, sit not
down in the chief seat; lest hap
ly a more honorable man than
thou be bidden of him, and he
that bade thee and him shall
come and say to thee, 'Give this
man place'; and then thou shalt
begin with shame to take the
lowest place; that when he that
hath bidden thee cometh, he may
say to thee, 'Friend, go up high
er'; then shalt thou have glory
in the presence of all that sit at
meat with thee. For every one
that exalteth himself shall be
humbled: and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted."
And he said to him also that
had bidden him, "When thou
makest a dinner or a supper, call
not thy friends, nor thy breth
ren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich
neighbors; lest haply they also
bid thee again, and a recom
pense be made thee. But when
thou makest a feast, bid the
poor, the maimed, the lame, the
blind; and thou shalt be blessed;
because they have not wherewith
to recompense thee^ for thou
shalt be recompensed in the res
urrection of the just.

A Marriage Feast

Here is another insistent show
ing that Jesus regarded social
rules as an important part of re
ligion. Jesus' way was different from
the customary ways. He ob
served people crowding for the
best seats — a common sight in
1925. This is the wrong way, he
said. The way to get the high
est seat is to humble oneself. One
can detect Gandhi's voice in this.
Power can come only through
self-effacement. Do we under
stand ?
Jesus tells the way to act
when one is invited to a dinner,
or when one invites others.
When you are invited, occupy
the lower seat. When you make
a dinner, do not invite your
brethren and rich neighbors —
that's the custom of pagans — but
invite those who cannot re
turn it
It would be impossible to
frame two social rules more per
tinent, more socially sound. This
principle runs all through Jesus'
ethics. . . The way to treat an
evil man, an enemy, is not by ex
act justice — an eye for an eye —
the pagan way — but overwhelm
htm with forgiveness and love.
The way to treat the neighbors
socially — and by neighbors he
means all mankind — is not even
by the rule of reciprocity, but by
humility and unstinted outpour
ing (like the sunshine) upon the
poor and undeserving.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 31

Excuses

And when one of them that sat
at meat with him heard these
things, he said unto him,
"Blessed is he that shall eat
bread in the kingdom of God."
But he said unto him, "A cer
tain man made a great supper;
and he bade amny: and he sent
forth his servant at supper time
to say to them that were bid
den, 'Come; for all things are
now ready.' And they all with
one consent began to make ex
cuse. The first said unto him, 'I
have bought a field, and I must .
needs go out and see it; I pray
thee have me excused.' And an
other said, T have married a
wife, and therefore I cannot
i come.' And the servant came,
and told his lord these things.
' Then the master of the house,
being angry, said to his servant,
• *Go out quickly into the streets
and lanes of the city, and bring
in hither the poor and maimed
i and blind and lame.' And the
servant said, 'Lord, what thou
didst command is done, and yet
• there is room.' And the lord said
: unto the servant, 'Go out into
i the highways and hedges, and
constrain them to come in, that
i my house may be filled. For I
' say unto you, that none of those
, men that were bidden shall taste
! of my supper.' **

At Supper

Much of the teaching of Jesus
has a supper table for a setting.
Afterdinner talks would describe
a number of his "sermons." He
never used a scripture text for a
sermon. His texts were some
incident, some situation.
While he was dining out one
day, someone made the remark
that one would be fortunate to
eat bread in the kingdom of God.
Whether the speaker meant in
heaven or on earth, I do not
know. However, when Jesus took
up the remark, he kept the dis
cussion down to earth.
What you say may be true,
said Jesus. But, listen, when the
invitation goes out for the great
supper the invited ones all begin
to make excuse. They are en
gaged in real estate- business, or
farming, or matrimony.
Thus Jesus describes the
strange refusal of mankind to
respond to the ideal. There is a
swift shifting of scenes. Jesus
introduces the idea of a. kind of
universalism. . . . Those invited
will not eome? . . . Then make
the invitation universal. . . ^.
Bring them up from the high
ways and the hedges, the poor
and the lame and the maimed.
The table of the kingdom is set
for everybody. "There is room."
Here is a truth too deep for ex
pression. It is worth thinking
over when we look up at the
mountain, or at the stars, or
upon the ocean.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 32

The Lost
Now all the publicans and sin
ners were drawing near unto him
to hear him. And both the Phar
isees and the scribes murmured,
saying, "This man receiveth sin
ners, and eateth with them.'-
And he spake unto them this
parable, saying, "What man of
you, having a hundred sheep,
and having lost one of them,
doth not leave the ninety and
nine in the wilderness, and go
after that which is lost, until he
finds it? And when he hath
found it, he layeth it on his
shoulders, rejoicing. And when
he cometh home, he calleth to
gether his friends and his neigh
bors, saying unto them, 'Rejoice
with me, for I have found my
sheep which was lost,' I say unto
you, that even so there shall be
joy in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine righteous per
sons, who need no repentance.
"Or what woman having ten
pieces of silver, if she lose one
piece, doth Aot light a lamp, and
sweep the house, and seek dili
gently until she find it? And
when she hath found it, she call
eth together her friends and
neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with
me, for I have found the piece
which I had lost,' Even so, I
say unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God
over one sinner that repenteth."

Eating With Sinners

One objection raised against
Jesus was that he ate with sin
ners. "Sinners" did not indicate
loose drinking and sex habits —
not at all. "Sinners" meant un
orthodox. Exactly the same kind of ob
jection was made against Roose
velt when he received Booker T.
Washington at the White House.
No objection on the ground that
Washington was illiterate or im
moral — as a matter of fact, he
had as much ability and charac
ter as Roosevelt — but he was
a Negro, and to the critics a
"sinner." Jesus mingled with the unor
thodox, the sinners; calling a
publican to be a disciple; choos
ing fishermen to become apos
tles — it was this that aroused the
hatred of the "good" people and
led to his crucifixion.
Out of such a situation, he
told three immortal stories,
which illustrate the infinite care
and love of the "Father" — that
power in which all life has its
being; the power he was endeav
oring to incarnate. . . One story
is of the "lost sheep," another
of the 'lost coin."
God, the Father, does not con
fine his concern to a few ortho
dox, to "147,000,"' to hundred
percenters, to Americans. His
concern, like the sun, shines
upon all alike, like the shepherd's
following the lost sheep out into
the wilderness, until he find it;
or the housewife's searching for
the lost coin, until she finds it —
whereupon the 'whole neighbor
hood is made aware of the joy of
finding. Great truth: that the power
with whom we have to do cares
to the limit. In its presence,
how orthodox patriotism and re
ligion shivels up.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 33

The Prodigal Son
And he said, "A certain man
had two sons; and the younger
of them said to his father, 'Fa
ther, give me the portion of thy
substance that falleth to me.'
And he divided unto them his
living. And not many days aft
er, the younger son gathered all
together and took his journey
into a far country; and there he
wasted his substance with riotous
living. And when he had spent
all, there arose a mighty famine
in that country; and he began
to be in want. And he went and
joined himself to one of the cit
izens of that country; and he
sent him into his fields to feed
swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks
that the swine did eat: and no
man gave unto him. But when
he came to himself he said, 'How
many hired servants of my fa
ther's have bread enough and to
spare, and I perish here with
hunger! I will arise and go to
my father, and will say unto
him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight:
I am no more worthy to be called
thy son; make me as one of thy
hired servants.' And he arose,
and came to his father. But
while he was yet afar off, his fa
ther saw him, and was moved
with compassion, and ran, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And the son said unto him, 'Fa
ther, I have sinned against heav
en and in thy sight: I am no
more worthy to be called thy
son.' But the father said to his
servants, "Bring forth quickly the
best robe, and put it on him;
and put a ring on his hand, and
shoes on his feet; and bring the
fatted calf, and kill it, and let
us eat, and make merry: for this
my son was dead, and is alive
again; he was lost, and is found.'
And they began to be merry.

Receiving Sinners
Here is another story, known
as "The Prodigal Son."
It is worth noting that the best
religious and social teachings
have come down to us in the form
of stories. Here's a hint to
writers. This beautiful story — to which
novelists, preachers, theologians,
poets have gone, as to a foun
tain — conveys one profound
truth, and only one.
It was told in answer to the
scribes and Pharisees who mur
mured, because Jesus received
sinners and ate with them; a
fact, which, as I have said be
fore, did most to bring about
his crucifixion, since this prac
tice of his was contrary to the
system in which they held jobs
and derived power.
The story he told is called
"The Prodigal Son." It would
better be called, "The Caring
Father." A son starts out rich in the
substance of his father. He goes
to the limit, as a spendthrift.
Money gone. Jobs gone. He got
down in the swine troughs, and
even there he was a pauper. He
was a 'lost sheep," a "lost coin,"
a "lost son." Then thought of
his father's house came to him,
draws him — and we find him
standing before his father, for
given, fed, comfortable and hon
ored. That, said Jesus, describes the
universe. There is a "Father" at
the center of it. He cares and
loves to the limit. You murmur
because I eat and consent with
the unorthodox. Know you not
that this is exactly what my Fa
ther, your Father — God — is do
ing? My practice is his practice.
I am only seeking to do his will,
to incarnate his love, to live as
a son.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 34

A Yawning Gulf
And the Pharisees, who were
lovers of money, scoffed at him.
And he said unto them, "That
which is exalted among men is
an abomination in the sight of
God. "Now there was a certain rich
man, and he was clothed in pur
ple and fine linen, faring sump
tuously every day: and a certain
beggar named Lazarus was laid
at his gate, full of sores, and
desiring to be fed with the
crumbs that fell from the rich
man's table; yea, even the dogs
came and licked his sores. And
it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and that he was carried
away by the angels into Abra
ham's bosom: and the rich man
also died, and was buried. And
in Hades he lifted up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom. And he cried and
said, 'Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my
tongue; for I am in anguish in
this flame.' But Abraham said,
'Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and Lazarus in like man
ner evil things; but now he is
comforted, and thou art in an
guish. And besides all this, be
tween us and you there is a great
gulf fixed.' And he said, 'I pray
thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest send him to my father's
house; for I have five brethren;
that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this
place of torment.' But Abraham
saith, 'They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.'
And he said, 'Nay, father Abra
ham: but if one go to them from
the dead, they will repent.' And
he said unto him, 'If they hear
not Moses and the prophets, nei
ther will they be persuaded, if
one rise from the dead.' "

Rich Men
Every rich man is in great
peril. So obtuse is the rich man, in
his peril, that if one rose from
the dead to warn him, it would
do no good. Jesus regarded rich
men as stricken with disease.
Not only the love of riches, but
the possession of riches, is per
ilous. If any country needs the
warning, it is America — richest
nation on earth. Yet, it is made
a theme for boasting.
What happens to a rich man?
He becomes blind — failing to
see the poor beggar on his door
step. He becomes fatally conceited.
He entertains the strange notion
that he was born to manage.
He becomes ignorant. He stops
thinking. Engrossed in material
possessions, he becomes fat and
stupid. When the rich man died, he
went to hell, said Jesus. In the
antispiritual process of accumu
lating material goods, a chasm is
created, over which it is impos
sible to pass.
Mammonism is anti-God. It
curses everyone it touches. Pos
session is hazardous. Religion
loses its power in endowments.
Mammonism knows nothing of
brotherhood. It commercializes
sorrow. It fills our chairs of
learning with cowards.
When the look of avarice is
seen in a young man's eye, pity
him. He is struck with leprosy.
A yawning gulf is created by de
sire to be rich. It produces the
rich and the poor; Dives and
Lazarus; division, chaos, hell.
The "rich man" went straight
to hell. There he realized the
yawning gulf, which he had cre
ated. It was too late for cross
ing. "Now the Pharisees who were
fond of money heard all this and
sneered."

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 35

A Righteous Man
And he spake also this para
ble unto certain who trusted in
themselves that they were right
eous, and set all others at
nought: "Two men went up into
the temple to pray; the one a
Pahrisee, and the other a pub
lican. The Pharisee stood and
prayed thus with himself, 'God,
I thank thee, that I am not as
the rest of men, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I fast twice in
the week; I give tithes of all that
I get.' But the publican, stand
ing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote his breast, saying,
'God, be thou merciful to me, a
sinner.' I say unto you, This
man went down to his house
justified rather than the other:
for every one that exalteth him
self shall be humbled; but he
that humbleth himself shall to
exalted."

Iu the Temple

What is a good man? Jesus
here gives his opinion, in por
traits of two men. The first was
one who had the reputation of
being a good man, orthodox —
one of the first citizens. He oc
cupied a front seat in the syna
gogue (temple or church) and
Hived on First Hill. He was noe
afraid to lui vouyie i^e uiat ne
honored God in public prayer.
He had a lot of virtues to his
credit. He fasted. He tithed.
He kept the commandments and
did not violate the social traffic-
rules. He stood up straight when
4ie prayed and sang the national
anthem with an erect spine.
One need not believe in rein
carnation to believe that such
men live in Seattle today. i
The second man was unortho
dox, an unbeliever and slipped
into the back seat of the syna
gogue. No one noticed him but
Jesus. He had no list of virtues
for advertising purposes. He
frankly admitted, out loud, that
he had everything to learn; that
in his ignorance and mistakes, he
was like an infant playing on
the shore of the ocean. And he
prayed for mercy, not for cred
its. Which is the good man? There
is no doubt in Jesus' mind, nor in
ours. The one that went home
"justified," that is, more freed
from his errors, more teachable,
more ready to go higher.
A good man is one who yearns
to grow, to be better.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 36

Rich Young Ruler
And behold, as he was going
forth into the way, a certain rul
er ran to him, and kneeled to
him, and asked him, "Good
Teacher, what good thing shall I
do that I may have eternal life ?"
And he said unto him, "Why
asketh thou me concerning that
which is good? None is good,
save one, even God: but if thou
wouldest enter into life, keep the
commandments." He saith unto him, "Which?"
And Jesus said, "Thou shalt
not kill, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not steal,
Thou shalt not bear false wit
ness, Honor thy father and thy
mother; and. Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself."
The young ruler saith unto
him, 'All these things have I ob
served from my youth up; what
lack I yet?"
And Jesus, looking upon him,
loved him, and said unto him,
"One thing thou lackest yet: if
thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell
that which thou hast, and give
to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven: and come,
follow me."
But when the young man
heard the saying, his counte
nance fell, and he went away
sorrowful: for he was one who
had great possessions.

One Thing Lacking

More profound truth could not
be packed into fewer words than
is packed into this story.
A young man'comes to Jesus.
He is apparently not boastful,
but tremendously in earnest. He
is after the greatest good; and
desires instruction from the
"good teacher." Jesus flrst chal
lenges his intimation that he is
"good." Great truth in this chal
lenge! He simply told the young
man to do the commandmenis —
a list of which he ran over, from
not killing to loving one's neigh
bor. All the commandments, said
the young man, have I observed
from boyhood.
"What lack I?"
Here he stood — with position,
riches, youth, clean living — one
who could meet all the tests of
the social code. People could
have said, he is the flower of
civilization. He was good to look
at, this rich young ruler — just s.s
America is good to look at — so
good that Jesus "loved him."
Jesus was ready to invite him
into his intimate friendship. He
had reached the very top of what
we call "good character" — such
a man as business men are glad
to see come as applicants for
work, or mothers to see calling
upon their daughters.
"One thing thou lackest yet,
"If you seek the highest, the
best, go and give up ALL YOU
HAVE to those who HAVE NOT.
Then, welcome to my fellow
ship!" The rich young ruler declined,
for he "had great possessions."
Jesus again strikes the chord
that runs throughout his teach
ing: that no man finds the chief
good, until he gives up ALL HE
HAS to those who HAS E NOT. '

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 37

A Good Rich Man

And he entered and was pass
ing through Jericho. And be
hold, a man called by name Zac-
chaeus; and he was a chief pub
lican, and he was rich. And he
sought to see Jesus who he was;
and could not for the crowd, be
cause he was liitle of stature.
And he ran on before, and
climbed up into a sycamore tree
to see him: for he was to pass
that way.
And when Jesus came to the
place, he looked up.and said unto
him, "Zacchaeus, make haste,
and come down; for today I must
abide at thy house."
And he made haste, and came
down, and received him joyfuly.
And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying, "He is gone
in to lodge with a man that is
a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood, and
said unto the Lord, "Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give
to the poor; and if I have wrong
fully exacted aught of any man,
I restore fourfold."
And Jesus said unto him, "To
day is salvation come to this
house, forasmuch as he also is a.
son of Abraham. For the Son
of man came to seek and to save
that which was lost."

At Jericho

It is a little relief to meet Zac
chaeus; for here is one "rich"
man who is commended by Je
sus. Here, at last, is a good rich
man. On first blush we say to
ourselves, it is pleasant to find
that Jesus is not opposed to
riches, as such. Alas, a second
look reveals that this man, Zac
chaeus, was doing his level best
to derich himself.
This fact is what brought out
Jesus' praise.
Jesus praised Zacchaeus be
cause he gave half of all he HAD
to the HAVE NOTS; and, if he
had cheated anyone, he "gave
back four times as much" — a
process which would probably
account for the other half.
So, the good rich man turns
out to be one trying to get rid
of his riches. Instead of having
the vice of acquisitiveness (some
times described as a "talent"),
he had the virtue of distribu
tion, which was logically calcu
lated to derich himself.
Zacchaeus was approved, not
for his orthodoxy ( he was a "sin
ner"), not for his hundred per-
centism, not for his learning,
riches, legs or beautiful back;
but because he gave half of all
he HAD to the HAVE NOTS;
and gave back fourfold where he
had cheated.
Zacchaean honesty is dread
fully needed. There cannot be
peace until the nations — Amer
ica, Britain, France, Japan —
give back, at least onefold, what
as robbers they have taken. Sol
dier nations CANNOT perma
nently prosper. "Peaceful pen
etration" — backed by marines —
is hypocrisy and robbery.
The test of greatness is not
what a man or nation amasses,
but what they are willing to
give. Instead of boasting of what
has been taken, it would be bet
ter to raise a monument to Zac
chaeus. In case of Seattle, it
might be erected down in Pio
neer Square, next to the Totem
Pole.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 38

Judas, a Thief

Now the passover of the Jews
was at hand; and many went up
to Jerusalem out of the country
before the passover, to purify
themselves. Now the chief priests and the
Pharisees had given command
ment, that, if any man knew
where he was, he should show it,
that they might take him.
Jesus therefore six days be
fore the passover came to Beth
any, where Lazarus was, whom
Jesus raised from the dead. So
they made him a supper there in
the house of Simon the leper;
and Martha served: but Lazarus
was one of them that sat at meat
with him. Mary therefore took
a pound of ointment of pure
nard, very precious, and anointed
the feet of Jesus, and wiped his
feet with her hair; and the house
was filed with the odor of the
ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his
disciples, that should betray him,
saith, "Why was not this oint
ment sold for three hundred
shillings, and given to the poor?"
Now this he said, not because
he cared for the poor; but be
cause he was a thief, and having
the bag took away what was put
therein. Jesus therefore said, "Suffer
her to keep it against the day of
my burying. For the poor ye
have always with you; but me ye
have not always. She hath done
what she could; she hath anoint
ed my body beforehand for the
burying. And verily I say unto
you, Wheresoever the gospel
shall be preached throughout the
whole world, that also which this
woman hath done shall be spok
en of for a memorial of her."

At Bethany
The days of Jesus were draw
ing to a close. The "Burns'
Agency" — so long busy — was
nearly ready to draw the net
He » was sitting at supper, in
the Bethany home, a couple of
miles out of Jerusalem. Mary,
being moved by a burst of wor
shipful intuition, anoints Jesus
with expensive perfumery — a
custom when one wanted to be
stow great honor on a guest.
Judas, the treasurer of the
company, remarked that it was a
great waste; for, if sold, the pro
ceeds would have helped many
poor. Jesus, however, com
mended the "waste," on the
ground that such acts are im
mortal — (memorial raisers should
make a note here) — while help
ing the poor is an everyday duty.
Complete abandonment to the
intuition of love is the most per-
pect expression of friendship.
Caution about "waste," overanxi-
ety"over saving and thrift may "be
a cloak for a thief, even though
he be treasurer of a charity
board. It is a striking picture — the
world's best man hounded by
"Burns' Agency"! The business
man of the disciples preaching
thrift, acting from calculation,
condemning of "waste," because
he was a "thief"! And a woman,
moved by adoration, anointing
Jesus, as though he were the
mightiest of kings!
The woman, in her impulsive
intuition, was right. The busi
ness man was wrong.
A friend of mine thinks that
two of the most important mod
ern developments are "the rise
of women and the serious con
sideration given to intuition.**
Worth thinking over.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 39

Cleansing the Temple
And they come to Jerusalem:
and he entered into the temple,
and began to cast out them that
sold and them that bought in the
temple, and overthrew the ta
bles of money changers, and the
seats of them that sold the
doves: and he would not suffer
that any man should carry a ves
sel through the temple. And he
taught, and said unto them, "Is
it not written, 'My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all
the nations?* but ye have made it
a den of robbers?"
And the blind and the lame
came to him in the temple; and
he healed them. But when the
chief priests and the scribes saw
the wonderful things that he did,
and the children that were cry
ing in the temple and saying,
"Hosanna to the son of David":
they were moved with indigna
tion, and said unto him, "Hear-
est thou what these are saying?"
And Jesus saith unto them,
"Yea: did ye never read, 'Out of
the mouth of babes and suck
lings thou hast perfected
praise' ?"
And the chief priests and the
scribes and the principal men of
the people sought to destroy
him: and they could not find
what they might do; for the peo
ple all hung upon him, listening.
And be left them, and went
forth out of the city to Bethany,
and lodged there.

Driving Out the Money Changers
This is an incident that mili
tarists love. This, and one other
— 'I came not to send peace, but
a sword." It is proof of their
desperation, to get Jesus on their
side. As to the "peace  -..sword"
passage, one only needs to turn
to the place it is found (10th ch.
Matt.), and he will not quote it
again as favoring war.
As to this "driving out money
changers" scene, note first that
there is no record of fatalities;
second, there is no evidence that
he did violence to any human
being. The incident reveals a
burst of indignation over the
presence of profiteers in the tem
ple. He swept them out, even
as a housewife might sweep out
a dirty house, and drive a dirty
husband into the street.
Certain plain things in this
scene are overlooked:
He drove PROFITEERS out
of the church.
He affirms that the church —
the "father's house" — should be
for ALL THE NATIONS.
He affirmed that the church
in Jerusalem has been turned
into a DEN OF ROBBERS.
He commended the CHIL
DREN who were shouting and
singing in the church. Their
voices make PERFECT PRAISE.
It is impossible to quote Jesus
as on the side of destruction. It
says he healed the blind and
lame. Nowhere is there evi
dence that he covered the hills
and valleys around Jerusalem
with the dead and dying, with
pestilence and famine.
If Jesus had been a militar
ist, rest assured he would have
been a popular preacher at the
Court of St. Herod; he would
have been high priest.
These leaders sought to de
stroy him because he was a pa
cifist.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 40

Last Judgment

"But when the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all
the angels with him, then shall
he sit on the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered
all the nations: and he shall sep
arate them one from another, as
the shepherd separateth the
sheep from the goats; and he
shall set the sheep on his right
hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, 'Come,
ye blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the
world: for I was hungry, and ye
gave me to eat; I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink; I was a
stranger and ye took me in;
naked, and ye clothed me; I was
sick, and ye visited me; I was in
prison, and ye came unto me.'
"Then shall the righteous an
swer him, saying, 'Lord, when
saw we thee hungry, and fed
thee? or athirst, and gave thee
drink? And when saw we thee
a stranger, and took thee in? or
naked, and clothed thee ? And
when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee?'
And the king shall answer and
say unto them, 'Verily I say unto
you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto
one of these my children, even
these least, ye did it unto me.*
"Then shall he say also unto
¦ them on the left hand, 'Depart
from me, ye cursed, into the
eternal fire which is prepared for
the devil and his angels: for I
was hungry, and ye did not give
me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink; I was a
stranger and ye took me not in;
naked, and ye clothed me not;
sick, and in prison, and ye visit
ed me not.' Then shall they also
answer, saying, 'Lord, when saw
we thee hungry, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in
prison, and did not minister unto
' thee ?' Then shall he answer
them, saying, "Verily I say unto
you, Inasmuch as ye did it not
unto one of these least, ye did it
not unto me.' And these shall
go away into eternal punish
ment: but the righteous into
eternal life."

Sheep and Goats
There are two kinds of people,
according to Jesus.
The good and bad; the blessed
and cursed; the sheep and goats;
those who are told to come and
those who are told to depart.
This is not particularly star
tling. The startling thing is his
description of the |CIND of peo
ple who are good; and the KIND
of people who are bad.
This description is conveyed in
a dramatic portrayal of the big
windup, the judgment, of the
age. Anyone who reads this will
never forget it.
The judge of all the earth is
described as separating the good
and bad, the sheep and goats.
The principle for the line of
separation between good and
evil is one that will hold good
and be true forever.
IS NOT NATIONAL. It mat
ters not whether one is German,
Russian, African, Asiatic, Amer
ican. The idea of Nordic superiority
is an insult to God. The line of
separation is NOT BETWEEN
MALE AND FEMALE; IS NOT
BETWEEN THE COLORS —
black, brown, red, white, yellow;
IS NOT BETWEEN the rich and
poor; the cultured and ignorant;
the old and young; the Catholics
and Protestants; the first comers
and last comers; the hundred
percenters and reds; the fast set
and the slow set,
THE ETERNAL SEPARAT
ING LINE between the good and
bad is SELF-EFFACING, UN
CONSCIOUS ACTIVITY in lov
ing service on the one hand, and .
the lack of it on the other.
WHOEVER, naturally and un
consciously, includes the strang
er, the sick, the poor, the pris
oner, in his activity is eternally
blessed by the universe. WHO
EVER excludes all these is au
tomatically excluded , from the
presence of the living God.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 41

Night ot Betrayal

And he sat down over against
the treasury, and beheld how the
multitude cast money into the
treasury: and many that were
rich cast in much. And there
came a poor widow, and she cast
in two mites, which make a far
thing. And he called unto him
his disciples, and said unto them,
"Verily, I say unto you, This
poor widow cast in more than all
they that are casting into the
treasury: for they all did cast in
of their superfluity; but she of
her want did cast in all that she
had, even all her living."
And when it was evening he
cometh with the twelve. And
there arose also a contention
among them, which of them was
accounted to be greatest. And he
said unto them, "The kings of
the Gentiles have lordship over
them; and they that have au
thority over them are called
Benefactors. But ye shall not be
so: but he that is the greater
among you, let him become as
the younger; and he that is chief,
as he that doth serve. Jesus said,
"Verily, verily, I say unto you,
that one of you shall betray me."
The disciples looked one on
another, doubting of whom he
spake. And they were exceed
ing sorrowful, and began to say
unto him every one, "Is it I,
Lord?" And he answered and said,
"He that dipped his hand with
me in the dish, the same shall
betray me."
And Judas, who betrayed him,
answered and said, "Is it I,
rabbi?" He said unto him, "Thou hast
said."

The Best Man

Here are three incidents that
reveal three features of the
world's best man.
One incident shows his obser
vation and appreciation of ob
scure people. The multitude has
no trouble seeing a prince or
general or rich man. A man has
no difficulty in seeing a rich wid
ow; it's the poor widow who
slides by unseen. Jesus was dif
ferent. In the crowd of a pro
cession of people putting gifts
into a collection box, he took
special notice of a poor widow
who put in less than a penny.
What is more, he remarked that
,_she_ gavejn more than any of
the rich men who cast in much.
One feature of a "best man."
In another incident, the disci
ples were quarreling over posi
tions. (And this was just pre
vious to the crucifixion!) He
spoke some words, on the ethics
of greatness, which one day will
bring about a revolution. The
world's estimates of greatness
are entirely wrong. Men esteem
those who have AUTHORITY
over them as being great. So
slavish are they that they even
call them "benefactors." The
truth is that the one who serves
the most is the greatest  .Who
ever grips this truth is on the
road to being a 'best man."
Another incident is the picture
of Jesus and Judas. Judas, a
tool of the "Burns' Agency," be
traying the world's best man!
Sitting at the same table! Eat
ing from the same dish! I am
deeply interested in the way Je
sus treated the man, who was a
thief, and who was about to sell
his friend and teacher. Jesus is
here at his best.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 42

Gethsemane

And they came unto a place
which was named Gethsemane:
and he saith unto his disciples,
"Sit ye here, while I pray."
And he taketh with him Peter
and James and John, and began
to be greatly amazed, and sore
troubled. And he saith unto
them, "My soul is exceeding sor
rowful, even unto death; abide
ye here, and watch"
And he went forward a little,
and fell on the ground, and pray
ed that, if it were possible, the
hour might pass away from him.
And he said, "Abba, Father, all
things are possible unto thee; re
move this cup from me: howbeit
not what I will, but what thou
wilt." And being in an agony, he
prayed more earnestly; and his
sweat became as it were great
drops of blood falling down upon
the ground.
And when he rose up from his
prayer, he came unto the dis
ciples, and found them sleeping
for sorrow, and said unto Peter,
"Simon, sleepest thou? Couldest
thou not watch one hour? Watch
and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak."
Again a second time he went
away, and prayed, saying, "My
Father, if this cannot pass away,
except I drink it, thy will be
done." And he came again and found
them sleeping, for their eyes
were heavy. And he left them
again, and went away, and pray
ed a third time, saying the same
words. Then cometh he to the dis
ciples, and saith unto them
"Sleep on now, and take your
rest: behold, the hour is at hand,
and the Son of man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners.
"Arise, let us be going: behold,
he is at hand that betrayeth me."

Thy Will Be Done
The enemies of Jesus are ready
to strike.
The world's best man, in three
years, has succeeded in bringing
down upon his head the hatred
of politicians, priests, merchants,
educators, who, forgetting their
differences, are ready to com
bine against him.
The story of the arrest and
trial of Jesus brings out prac
tically all the jungle forces that
rage against goodness.
Jesus retires to Gethsemane,
where he is conscious of two
things: first, his enemies, seek
ing his life, are at the gate; sec
ond, his followers are asleep.
Anyone who has not had a
Gethsemane experience may
question his own goodness.
Outside the gate, marching to
ward him, are Pilate, Caiaphas,
Barabbas, merchants, Judas, sol
diers — governor, high priests,
spies; inside are his friends,
asleep. The world's best man — this is
the tragic part — was abandoned
by the world. The one man, who
had wisdom enough to save the
city, was turned down. After
wards, men saw it, when not one
stone of the city was left upon
another. Jesus was driven, by the pres
sure of his environment, to God,
the eternal power. He had a
struggle. God's way seemed very
perplexing to him, in view of the
universal opposition of men, as
well as the indifference of his
friends. He had a right to doubt
even his own sanity.
But he held on to one convic
tion: this, that he was doing the
Will of the Father. If so, Thy
Will Be Done.
This scene has inspired mil
lions struggling with the black
ness and perplexity of the jun
gle. It will inspire other mil
lions. Here also is a cure for
loneliness.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 43

Arrested

juid straightway, while he yet
spake, cometh Judas, one of the
12, and with a multitude with
swords and staves, from the chief
priests and the scribes and elders.
Now he that betrayeth him had
given them a token, saying,
"Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is
he; take him, and lead him away
safely." And when he was come,
straightway he came to him, and
saith, "Rabbi," and kissed him.
But Jesus said unto him,
"Judas, betrayest thou the Son of
man with a kiss?"
Jesus, therefore saith unto
them, "Whom seek ye?"
They answered him, "Jesus of
Nazareth." Jesus saith unto them. "I am
he." And Judas also, who betrayed
him, was standing with them.
When therefore he said unto
them, "I am he," they went
backward, and fell to the ground.
Again therefore he asked
them, "Whom seek ye?"
And they said, "Jesus of
Nazareth." .
Jesus answered, "I told you
that I am he."
And when they that were about
him saw what would follow, they
said, "Lord, shall we smite with
the sword?"
Simon Peter therefore having
a sword drew it, and struck the
high priest's servant, and cut off
his right ear. Now the servant's
name was Malchus.
Then saith Jesus unto Peter,
"Put up again thy sword into its
place: for all they that take the
sword shall perish with the
sword. Or thinkest thou that I
cannot beseech my Father and
he shall even now send me more
than twelve legions of angels?"
And Jesus said unto the chief
priests and captains of the tem
ple, and elders, that were come
against him, "Are ye come out,
as against a robber, with swords
and staves? When I was daily
with you in the temple, ye
stretched not forth your hands
against me: but this is your hour,
and the power of darkness."

Jesus a Convict

Jesus is at last arrested.
I note two features in the ar
rest. Peter sought to defend
him with a sword. Of course,
Peter had been trained that it
was manly to strike an enemy.
He gets a quick rebuff from Je
sus: "Put up your sword; for all
who take the sword shall perish
with the sword." In contrast
with this weak sword, he added,
My power is found in "legion of
angels" by which I am sur
rounded. The other feature is Jesus'
words to the priests, captains and
elders, that their" staves and
swords were unnecessary, for "I
was daily in the temple, and you
could have taken me" — intimat
ing that this sword rattle is
bunk. Was then, is now. The
indelible feature of the scene,
however, is the fact that Jesus
that night became a convict. His
portrait was put in the rogues'
gallery. No one who forgets that Jesus
was a convict can ever under
stand him.
The early Christians rejoiced in
that fact; that they had a CRU
CIFIED Christ.
Jesus was not a convict by ac
cident, false arrest or mistaken
identity. He was a convict be
cause he could not help being
one. He had to break the law
of man in order to be true to
God. The greatest ones of the race
have been heretics, outlaws, con
victs; people who LIVED
ABOVE THE LAW.
When you see Judas, soldiers,
high priest coming at midnight
to arrest Jesus, the world's best
man, register the thought that
probably man's greatest blunder
is his prison system, with its
spies, prosecutors, bailiffs and
jails often unfit to house ani
mals.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 44

The Church Trial

Se the band and the chief cap
tain, and the officers of the Jews,
seized Jesus and bound him, and
led him to Annas first; for he
was father in law to Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
Now Caiaphas was he that gave
counsel to the Jews, that it was
expedient that one man should
die for the people.
And Simon Peter followed
Jesus, and so did another dis
ciple. Now that disciple was
known unto the high priest, and
entered in with Jesus into the
court of the high priest; but
Peter was standing at the door
without. So the other disciple,
who was known unto the high
priest, went out and spake unto
her that kept the door, and
brought in Peter.
The maid therefore that kept
the door saith unto Peter, "Art
thou also one of this man's dis
ciples?" He saith, "I am not."
Now the servants and the offi
cers 'were standing there, having
made a fire of coals; for it was
cold; and they were warming
themselves; and Peter also was
with them standing and warm
ing himself.
The high priest therefore ask
ed Jesus of his disciples, and of
his teachings. Jesus answered
him, "I have spoken openly to
the world; I ever taught in syna
gogues, and in the temple, where
all the Jews come together; and
in secret spake I nothing. Why
askest thou me? Ask them that
have heard me, what I spake
unto them: behold, these know
the things which I said."
And when he had said this, one
of the officers standing by
struck Jesus with his hand, say
ing, "Answereth thou the high
priest so?
Jesus answered him, "If I have
spoken evil, bear witness of the
evil; but if well, why smitest
thou me ?"
Annas therefore sent him
bound unto Caiaphas the high
priest.

Jesus Handcuffed
Jesus first had a church trial.
His death was accomplished
legally. He appeared before three
courts, a high priest's, a gov
ernor's, a king's.
These trials show: how the
world's best man fared before
"courts of justice"; how small
officials look in the light of the
world's best man; and how men
act when truth is on trial —
with a John fading away into
darkness, a Peter denying, a Ju
das slipping off into treachery.
Jesus, on being arrested, is .
handcuffed. His free spirit must have re
sented this degradation — the .
first move of officials against a
prisoner. So then, so now. What
ever degrades the prisoner to
make htm look cheap, in con
trast with the brass buttoned of
ficer or the begowned judge!
This man — better than Lin
coln, Washington, Luther, the
pope, the archbishop all rolled
together — would not have run
away! What a sight — Jesus, cham
pion of the oppressed — hand
cuffed! One of the officers struck him
with the palm of his hands, be
cause without cringing he spoke
to the high priest. This, in a
room dedicated to justice! So
then, so now.
When I frequent the court
rooms of our city, I am con
vinced that our procedure, with
its suspicions, abuse, handcuffs,
spies, is pagan and brutal —
fundamentally un-Christian. No
wonder that the early Christians
were enjoined to avoid the
courts, but to carry their differ
ences to one another! That in
junction should be heeded to
day — so inhuman, so devoid of
curative powers, and — with the
jails thrown in — so suffocating
of all noble impulses! Prison
reforms? Yes, but from the i
foundation up! \

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 45

Before Caiaphas
Now the chief priests and the
whole council sought witness
against Jesus to put him to
death; and found it not For
many bare false witness against
him, and their witness agreed
not together. And there stood
up certain, and bare false witness
against him, saying, "We heard
him say, I will destroy this tem
ple that is made with hands, and
in three days I will build another
made without hands." And not
even so did their witness agree
together. And the high priest stood up
in the midst, and asked Jesus,
saying, "Answerest thou noth
ing? What is it which these
witness against thee?"
But he held his peace, and an
swered nothing.
And the high priest said unto
him. "I adjure thee by the living
God, that thou tell us whether
thou art the Christ, the Son of
God." And Jesus said, "I am: and ye
shall see the Son of man sitting
at the right hand of Power, and
coming with the clouds of
heaven." And the high priest rent his
clothes, and saith, "What fur
ther need have we of witnesses?
Ye have heard the blasphemy:
what think ye?"
And they all condemned him
to be worthy of death.
Then did they spit in his face
and buffet him. And they blind
folded him and smote him with
the palms of their hands, say
ing, "Prophesy unto us, thou
Christ: who is he that struck
thee?"

The Third Degree

"Good men" are often the
cruelest. Frank Tannenbaum
says that the "good-man" war
den is often the hardest, because
more exacting.
A jury of priests, or preach
ers, is the last one I would
select. If I had to choose be
tween the supremacy of the
church or state — and I believe
in neither one being supreme —
I should chose that of the state,
as being the less of two evils.
The trial of the world's best
man before the chief priests is
a case in point. The treatment
of Jesus is specially brutal and
revolting. There was, in the first place,
a frameup of false witnesses,
who were so brazenly corrupt as
not to agree.
Jesus is commanded to reply
to the false charges. He showed
his wisdom by holding his peace.
The admission that he was the
"son of God" was what technical
ly convicted him. This was
blasphemy. <
They resisted his claim to son-
ship to God. (I make no refer
ence to the Trinity, a theological
doctrine over which men have
quarreled and split churches..)
I mean that he started out to
obey the Voice in his own soul
— to be a son of God. This is
what got him into trouble. It
was the one thing that made
him differ from his fellows, and
from the established order, the
world-order. He got into trou
ble, because he was determined
to go through life a free-born
son of God. Anyone who tries
this will understand what I
mean; also understand why men
called Jesus the Son of God.
And then these "good men"
spit in his face, pounded him,
blindfolded him and mocked
him with questions.
This, with variations, is what
always happens when men have
power. It ia worse when they
are pious.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 46

Peter and Judas

And as Peter was beneath in
the court, there cometh one of
the maids of the high priest;
and seeing Peter warming him
self, she looked upon him, and
saith, "Thou also wast with the
Nazarene, even Jesus."
But he denied, saying, "I
neither know nor understand
what thou sayest," and he went
out into the porch; and the cock
crew. And after a little while they
that stood by came and said to
Peter, "Of a truth thou also art
one of them; for thy speech
maketh thee known."
. Then began he to curse and to
swear. "I know not the man."
And straightway the cock crew.
And the Lord turned, and
looked upon Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the
Lord, how that he said unto him,
"Before the cock crow twice thou
shalt deny me thrice."
And he went out, and wept
bitterly. And straightway in the morn
ing the chief priests with the
elders and scribes, and the
whole couneil, held a consulta
tion, and bound Jesus, and car
ried him away, and delivered
him up to Pilate, the governor.
Then Judas, who betrayed
him, when he saw that he was
condemned, repented himself
an-1 brought back the 30 pieces
of silver to the chief priests and
elders, saying, "I have sinned in
that I betrayed innocent blood."
But they said, "What is that
to us? See thou to it."
And he cast down the pieces
of silver into the sanctuary, and
departed; and he went away and
hanged himself.

"And They Forsook Him"
Peter and Judas furnish two
side-scenes in the trial of Jesus.
The movement of Jesus had
apparently collapsed. The forces
of re-action, united; his follow
ers scattered.
On Jesus' arrest, Peter, in a
panic, fled. Recovering, he trails
on behind and slips into the
courtroom. Suddenly confronted
with being a follower, he denies,
with an oath, all knowledge of
Jesus. Judas, treasurer, fellow-camp
er of Jesus on the shores of
Galilee, betrays Jesus, in the
"hour of trial," for silver — and
then, in remorse, hangs himself.
Here is the age-old tragedy of
men being unable to follow the
truth to the end — of Peter, the
boaster, shivering before a wait
ress; of Judas, the disburser of
benevolence, selling his teacher
for thirty pieces of silver.. A
revelation, too, that the mass of
mankind is composed of Peters
and Judases.
These two men were neither
better nor worse than millions
of others. They are photographs
of ourselves. They were both
bad enough. They had a right
to shake hands with each other
in fellowship — for both were dis
loyal to the truth.
It was the strength and good
ness of Jesus that brought out
the weakness of both these men.
They could not follow him. His
pace was too fast. Peter got
near, but the questions of a maid
sent him trembling and weeping
away. When Judas heard that
Jesus was a prisoner, the mem
ory of his goodness stabbed him
to death.
So, the Truth, the Son of God,
continues to be imprisoned by
the leaders. The Peters are
found ready to deny him; the
Judases, to betray him.
It is the eternal applicability
of this scene that gives it value
and permanence.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 47

Before Pilate

They led Jesus therefore from
Caiaphas into the Praetorium:
and it was early; and they them
selves entered not into the Prae
torium, that they might not be
defiled, but might eat the pass-
over. Pilate therefore went out
unto them, and saith, "What ac
cusation bring ye against this
man?" They answered and said unto
him, "If this man were not an
evil-doer, we should not have de
livered him up unto thee."
The Jews said unto him, "It
is not lawful for us to put any
man to death:" that the word of
Jesus might be fulfilled, which
he spake, signifying by what
manner of death he should die.
And they began to accuse him,
saying, "We found this man per
verting our nation, and forbid
ding to give tribute to Caesar,
and saying that he himself is
Christ a king."
^ And when he was accused by
the chief priests and elders, he
answered nothing. Then saith
Pilate unto him, "Hearest thou
not how many things they wit
ness against thee?" And he
gave him no answer, not even to
one word: insomuch that the
governor marveled greatly.
Pilate therefore entered again
into the Praetorium, and called
Jesus, and said unto him, "Art
thou the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom
is not of this world: if my king
dom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I
should not be delivered to the
Jews; but now is my kingdom
not from hence."
Pilate therefore said unto him,
"Art thou a king then?"
Jesus answered, "Thou sayest
that I am a king. To this end
have I been born, and to this
end am I eome into the world,
that I should bear witness unto
the truth. Every one that is of
the truth heareth my voice."
Pilate said unto him, "What is
truth?" i
And when he had said this,
he went out again unto the Jews,
' and saith unto them, "I find no
crime in him."

What Is Truth?

The church leaders, having
decided that Jesus should die,
took him to Pilate's court. He
was the Roman governor. Rome
had reserved to herself the right
to pronounce the sentence of
death. Pause a moment. Jesus was
a child of the church. No doubt,
as a boy, he had reverently
esteemed this council, that was
now eager for his death. All
along he had been a church boy,
trained in the commandments.
In his first visit to Jerusalem,
there was no one he wished to
see more than the high priests
in the temple. All along he had
been impressed by Jewish ideals.
And now here he is- — perfect
fruit of the Jewish religion —
standing before the great coun
cil, but standing as a prisoner;
as one thought worthy of death.
Why this tragedy? This cruci
fixion of the ideals of youth by
those in authority? The answer
is, Greed and love of power turn
men into brutes. They can't
see God. When a man stands
before them, whose face shines
with their own idealism realized,
they are blind. They may be
refined and learned and covered
with grand clothing — they can
not discern a son of God stand
ing in their presence. The coun
cil was not a crowd of back stair
thugs. You would have found
them on the "law and order"
committee, to "clean up the
city." They were unwilling to do
anything illegal, yet they were
determined to get this man's life.
So the church leaders treated
Jesus — one of their own chil
dren, incarnation of their teach
ings a savior of their own na
tion; but they rejected him, and
with fury sought to stamp out
his life. t
They took him to the Romat
governor — not because they
loved the governor — but because
they hated Jesus. They would
not enter the judgment place, for
fear of being "defiled"— so pious
they were.
The civil court was in great
contrast. Pilate is an indiffer
ent judge, and thus far he was
just. A British judge in India
or South Africa is the same type.
Pilate appears to be just, largely
because there was nothing — to
him — at stake. When he discov
ered that he might be reported
to Rome and his position jeop
ardized, he quickly gave sen
tence. He was a time serving pol
itician, who at flrst was bored,
then tried to get Jesus off; then,
to save his own skin, joined in
the murder of Jesus.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 48

Before Herod
But they were the more urg
ent, saying, "He stirreth up the
people, teaching throughout all
Judea, and beginning from Gali
lee, even unto this place."
But when Pilate heard it, he
asked whether the man were a
Galilean And when he knew
that he was of Herod's jurisdic
tion, he sent him unto Herod,
who himself also was at Jeru
salem in these days.
Now when Herod saw Jesus,
he was exceeding glad; for he
was of a long time desirous to
see him, because he had heard
concerning him; and he hoped
to see some miracle done by him.
And he questioned him in many
words; but he answered him
nothing. And the chief priests
and the scribes stood, vehement
ly accusing him. And Herod
with his soldiers set him at
nought, and mocked him, and ar
raying him in gorgeous apparel
sent him back to Pilate.
And Herod and Pilate became
friends with each other that very
day: for before they were at en
mity between themselves.
And Pilate called together the
chief priests and the rulers and
the people, and said unto them,
"Ye brought unto me this man,
as one that perverteth the peo
ple; and behold, I, having ex
amined him before you, found
no fault in this man touching
those things whereof ye accuse
him; no, nor yet Herod: for he
sent him back unto us; and be
hold, nothing worthy of death
hath been done by him. I will
therefore chastise him and re
lease him." o,

Royalty

Jesus' experience with kings
was not very encouraging, espe
cially with those named Herod.
It was a king named Herod who
sent bloody soldiers to Bethle
hem to dash out baby brains. It
was a King Herod who gazed
upon the head of his friend,
John, brought to him on a plat
ter. And now Pilate sends Jesus
over to King Herod, who hap
pened to be ' in Jerusalem, who
had jurisdiction over Galilee,
the province from which Jesus
came. This considerate recogni
tion made the governor and the
king friends — they having pre
viously been at enmity. (Har
mony may not be a sign of vir
tue.) In this scene one is impressed
by the silence of Jesus. It was
not because he was tongue-tied
in the "presence of royalty." Si
lence was a fit answer to this
bibulous brute. The soldiers fit
in well with this brutality. They
mocked him. They put gorgeous
clothing on him and sent him
back to Pilate. To them Jesus
was a buffoon — and yet he was
the world's best man.
In sdme respects our age is
out-Heroding Herod in our
mockery of righteousness. We
have put royal robes on him,
built cathedrals to him, said
"Lord, Lord," in beautiful and di
verse ways, but have spent bil
lions on drink, opium, sport, war,
lust — and as a result righteous
ness refuses to speak to us!
Men should get a new idea of
royalty. Herod and Jesus — two
contrasted royalties — should
make us wise in our choices.
Thousands of Americans are on
the waiting list, eager to be pre
sented to the "royal court" of
England. Why? Whither?
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday —
marking the "triumphful" entry.
How is that? What is our idea
of royalty? Would we leave our
cards at the court of Herod, if
we had a chance?

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 49

Barabbas or Christ

Now at the feast the governor
was wont to release unto the
multitude one prisoner, whom
they would. And they had then
a notable prisoner, called Barab
bas, lying bound with them that
had made insurrection, men who
in the insurrection had com
mitted murder. And the multi
tude went up and began to ask
him to do as he was wont to do
unto them.
And Pilate answered them,
saying, "Will ye that I release
unto you the King of the Jews?"
For he perceived that for envy
the chief priests had delivered
him up.
Now the chief priests and the
elders persuaded the multitudes
that they should ask for Barab
bas, and destroy Jesus.
But the governor answered
and said unto them, "Which of
the two will ye that I release
unto you?"
And they said, "Barabbas."
Pilate saith unto them, "What
then shall I do unto Jesus who
is called Christ?"
They all say, "Let him be
crucified." And he said unto them a third
time, "Why, what evil hath this
man done? I have found no
cause of death in him: I will
therefore chastise and release
him." Then Pilate therefore took
Jesus, and scourged him.
And the soldiers led him away
within the court, which is the
Praetorium; and they call to
gether the whole band.
And they stripped him, and
arrayed him in a purple gar
ment. And they platted a crown
of thorns and put it upon his
head, and a reed in his right
hand; and they kneeled down
before him, and mocked him,
saying: "Hail, King of the Jews!"
and they struck him with their
hands. And they spat upon him,
and took the reed and smote
him upon the head.

The People's Choice
Everyone in Jerusalem seemed
determined to have a hand in the
death of Jesus; priests, officials,
soldiers, merchants, friends. . . .
The people — the fickle people —
also had a part.
Pilate tries again to get Jesus
off. He recognizes that he has
committed ho crime. No doubt.
he judged him to be a good but
unbalanced individual. He was
troubled also by his wife's
dreams — w hich should be
marked down to his credit.
So, remembering that the cus
tom permitted him to release one
prisoner at the feast, he adroit
ly (knowing that the priests
through envy had been stirring
up hatred to Jesus) suggested to
the people that he release Jesus
to- them.
Here was the people's chance.
Another prisoner, however, is
brought out, Barabbas, notable
for having led in a revolution, in
which he committed murder. '
So the two are brought out
before the people — candidates
for freedom.
Apparently the propaganda of
the priests was effective, for the
people soon began to cry out for
the release of Barabbas and the
crucifixion of Jesus.
It is a hot time for Pilate. He
said, I will scourge this man and
then release him; for I can find
no cause of death in him. The
soldiers enter again: unthinking
tools of despotism. And they ar
rayed him in an attire with a
crown of thorns, that Jesus has
immortalized. (I fail to see how miltarists
can get comfort out of this
scene.) And the people voted for Bar
abbas. They have kept on voting
for Barabbas ever since, and
raising monuments to big mur
derers, robbers, exploiters, who
perform on a large scale.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 50

Courtroom Scene

And Pilate went out again,
and saith unto them, "Behold, I
bring him out to you, that ye
may know that I find no crime
in him."
Jesus therefore came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and
the purple garment. And Pilate
saith unto them, "Behold, the
man!" When therefore the chief
priests and the officers saw him,
they cried out, saying, "Crucify
him, crucify him!"
Pilate saith unto them, "Take
him yourselves, and crucify him:
for I find no crime in him."
The Jews answered him, "We
have a law, and by that law he
ought to die, because he made
himself the Son of God."
When Pilate therefore heard
this saying, he was the more
afraid; and he entered into the
Praetorium again, and saith unto
Jesus, "Whence art thou?"
But Jesus gave him no an
swer. Pilate therefore saith unto
him, "Speakest thou not unto
me? Knowest thou not that I
have power to release thee, and
iiave power to crucify thee?"
Jesus answered him, "Thou
wouldest have no power against
me, except it were given thee
from above: therefore he that
delivered me unto thee hath
greater sin."
Upon this Pilate sought to re
lease him: but the Jews cried
out, saying: "If thou release this
man, thou art not Caesar's
friend: every one that maieth
himself a king speaketh against
<~!aesar." When Pilate therefore heard
these words, he brought Jesus
out, and sat down on the judg
ment-seat at a place called The
Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gab-
batha. And while he was sitting on
the judgment-seat, his wife sent
unto him, saying, "Have thou
nothing to do with that righteous
man; for I have suffered many
things this day in a dream be
cause of him."
Now it was the Preparation of
the passover: it was about the
sixth hour. And he saith unto
the Jews, "Behold, your King."
They therefore cried out,
"Away with him, away with
him, cruicify him!"
Pilate saith unto them, "Shall
I crucify your King?"
The chief priests answered,
We have no king but Caesar."

No King but Caesar

The speed of the trial of Je
sus would satisfy those calling
for "speedy justice."
Lynch law has speed enough.
Speed and justice are not syno
nyms. The law's delay, in crim
inal cases, is often good.
When Pilate heard a shrill
voice crying, that to release Je
sus would be treason to Caesar,
he ceased being an indifferent
judge. Such a charge was ab
surd, but the hint that he might
be reported to Rome was enough
to determine action and, con
trary to his sense of justice and
his wife's warning, he gave in to
the mob.
Then follows a striking scene.
Pilate said, "Take your king and
crucify him." Whereupon the
chief priests shouted (the mad
hypocrites, for they hated Cae
sar, even as their modern suc
cessors in Jerusalem hate the
British), "We have no king but
Caesar." When people crucify
their Christs, they generally end
in proclaiming Caesar their king.
The trial (?) of Jesus turned
out to be a lynching party. Crim
inal minds conceived and engi
neered the enterprise. It "was put
through by those who professed
regard for law and order.
Propaganda was employed. He
was charged as being "from
Nazareth" — a town of ill repute;
of not paying his taxes; of being
a wine bibber; of threatening to
destroy the temple; of associat
ing with nonrespectable people;
of breaking the "law of Moses —
or as Americans would say, of
'trampling on the constitution.' "
A criminal mind does not
need the truth for proof; only
an incident, on which to hang a
report. Propagandists are all
liars, and even more dangerous
than plain liars.
The trial reveals the charac
ter of the men involved. "Every
body in town" was in the crime.
They all combined temporarily to
crush the truth. In the back
ground was a group of mer
chants. The votaries of Mam-.
mon are always in at the cruci
fixion of the truth.
The trial reveals, too, how the
world's best man will be treated
by kings, governors, priests. One,
after reading of this trial, can
never again deify government.
All the governments of that day
were hostile to Christ. Is it any
different today?
The chief revelation of the
trial is the greatness of the
world's best man.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 51

Sentenced

So when Pilate saw that he
prevailed nothing, but rather
that a tumult was arising, he
took water, and washed his
hands before the multitude, say
ing, "I am innocent of the blood
of this righteous man; see ye
to it."
And all the people answered
and said, "His blood be on us,
and on our children."
And they were urgent with
loud voices asking that he might
be crucified. And their voices
prevailed. And Pilate, wishing to content
the multitude, gave sentence
that what they asked for should
be done. And he released unto
them Barabbas, him that for in
surrection and murder had been
cast into prison, whom they
asked for; but Jesus he deliv
ered up to their will.
And when they had mocked
him, they took off from him the
robe, and put on him his gar
ments, and led him away to cru
cify him.
They took Jesus therefore,
and he went out, bearing the
cross for himself.
And as they came out, they
laid hold upon one Simon of
Cyrene, the father of Alexander
and Rufus, who was passing by,
coming from the country; him
they compelled to go with them,
and laid on him the cross, that
he might bear it after Jesus.
And there followed him a
great multitude of the people,
and of women who bewailed and
lamented him.
But Jesus turning unto them
said, "Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but weep for
yourselves, and for your chil
dren. For behold, the days are
coming, in which they shall say,
'Blessed are the barren, and the
wombs that never bare, and the
breasts that never gave suck.'
Then shall they begin to say to
the mounatins, 'Fall on us'; and
to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if
they do these things in the green
tree, what shall be done in the
dry?" And there were also two oth
ers, malefactors, led with him to
be put to death.

Among Convicts
The story of the trial of Jesus
is a mirror of what men do to
the truth; how representative
men—clergy, judges, rulers, sol
diers — fail to comprehend the
truth, fail to "see God." This is
not fancy, but the most serious
fact of life. God is walking our
streets, moving in our courts and
jails, and we see him not, ex
cept to mock and destroy.
Men try to wash their hands of
guilt; but all were' guilty of the
death "of this just person."
With loud voices (the louder
men yell, the further they have
departed from reason) they
asked that he might be crucified.
Their loud voices prevailed.
They mocked him. They won —
clergy, rulers, judges, soldiers —
yet, the cross of Jesus marked a
turning point in human history.
It towers "o'er the wrecks of
time." The best man in all Jerusalem
went out bearing his own cross.
A great multitude followed.
Epitome of a common human
tragedy. The best man was supported
only by lamentations. He told
them not to weep for him, but
for themselves. He saw the im
pending storm.
A nation that destroys its best
offspring is doomed.
Two other convicts were also
led out with him to death.
Yes, Jesus was a. convict. His
head is shaved, he is in prison
garb, and he marches in the
herd. It is well to remind our
selves of this. Jesus was a con
vict. Many of the best men have
been convicts. Some of the best
men of this generation have been
in prison — convicts. No one
should shrink from a convict.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 52

The Crucifixion

And when they were come
unto a place called Golgotha,
that is to say, The place of a
skull, they gave him wine to
drink mingled with gall: and
when he had tasted it, he would
not drink.
There they crucified him, and
the malefactors, one on the right
hand and the other on the left.
And Jesus said, "Father, for
give them; for they know not
what they do."
And Pilate wrote a title also,
and put it on the cross. And
there was written, "Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
This title therefore read many
of the Jews, for the place where
Jesus was crucified was nigh to
the city; and it was written in
Hebrew, and in Latin, and in
Greek. The chief priests of the Jews
therefore said to Pilate, "Write
not, 'The King of the Jews, but
that he said, 'I am King of the
Jews'." Pilate answered, "What I have
written I have written."
The soldiers therefore, when
they had crucified Jesus, took his
garments and made four parts,
to every soldier a part; and also
the coat: now the coat was with
out seam, woven from the top
throughout. They said therefore
one to another, "Let us not rend
it, but cast lots for it, whose it
shall be."
These things therefore the sol
diers did; and they sat and
watched him there.
And the people stood behold
ing. And they that passed by railed
on him, wagging their heads, and
saying, "Thou that destroyest the
temple, and buildest it in three
days, save thyself: if thou art the
Son of God, come down from the
cross." In like manner also, the chief
priests mocking him, with the
scribes and elders, said, "He
saved others; himself he cannot
save. Let the Christ, the King of
Israel, now come down from the
cross, that we may see and be
lieve. He trusteth on God; let
him deliver him now, if he de-
sireth him: for he said, I am the
Son of God."

"Father, Forgive Them"

The crowd gaped at Jesus,
hanging on the cross. The bish
ops, with the clergy, mocked
him. These lovers of power,
money and position could not see
God in a heart of patience and
love. They watched him — sol
diers, people, priests, elders.
This .scene has captured the
imagination and heart of man
kind. Try to explain it — doc-
trinally, symbolically, sacrificial-
ly — the fact remains that the
cross has worked itself into the
fiber of man's being. In the
Swiss Alps, in London's streets,
on Russia's steppes, in art, in
music, in drama, in philanthro-
phy — one will find the cross.
Let me say two things:
I read years ago the statement
that when Jesus began his mis
sion he thought that the world
could be saved by TRUTH; so
he preached and taught. This
did not satisfy him. Then he was
resolved to use PERSONAL con
tact, and he got people to "fol
low" him — to join the disciple-
hood. No great success. Final
ly, he saw that to save the world
he must DIE. Strange enough,
the saving power of Jesus seems
to come from his death on the
cross. Think this over.
Second, who is not moved by
Jesus' prayer for the forgiveness
of his enemies? And the ground
for forgiveness — ignorance? The
necessity of forgiveness at times
seems to be the greatest truth
of life. His cruel enemies had
not asked for forgiveness. It
was granted before asked for.
They did not KNOW what they
were doing. "Wicked" people
never KNOW. No criminal
KNOWS what he is doing. For
giveness is imperative. Yet our
courts resort to harsh and inef
fective methods — and by men
who "believe in Jesus' way."
"To understand everything is
to forgive everything."
Forgiveness is primary. God's
universe rolls over the man who
does not forgive. Forgiveness is
power. Forgiveness cures.
Forgiveness would cure the
nations today of the madness and
chaos; and yet the day on which
these words are read the "fol
lowers of Jesus" are going on
counting heads, wearing robes,
saying prayers, swinging incense,
holding conferences and organiz
ing security leagues. And sim
ple forgiveness would work the
miracle.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 53

At the Cross

And one of the malefactors
that were hanged railed on him,
saying, "Art not thou the Christ?
Save thyself and us."
But the other answered, and
rebuking him said, "Dost thou
not even fear God, seeing thou
art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly; for we re
ceive the due rewards of our
deeds: but this man hath done
nothing amiss." And he said,
"Jesus, remember me when thou
comest in thy kingdom."
And he said unto him, "Verily
I say unto thee, today shalt thou
be with me in Paradise."
But there were standing by the
cross of Jesus his mother, and
his mother's sister, Mary the wife
of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus therefore saw his
mother, and the disciple stand
ing by whom he loved, he saith
unto his mother, "Woman, be
hold thy son!"
Then saith he to the disciple,
"Behold, thy mother!"
And from that hour the dis
ciple took her unto his own
home. And when the sixth hour was
come, there was darkness over
the whole land until the ninth\
hour. And at the ninth hour
Jesus cried with a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"
which is, being interpreted, "My
God, my God, why hast thou for
saken me?"
And some of them that stood
by, when they heard it, said,
"Behold, he calleth Elijah."
After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things are now finished, that
, the scripture might be accom-
i plished, saith, "I thirst."
There was set there a vessel
, full of vinegar: so they put a
I sponge full of the vinegar upon
I hyasop, and brought it to his
j mouth. When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said,
"It is finished."
And Jesus, crying with a. loud
i voice, said, "Father, into thy
! hands I commend my spirit,"
j and having said this, he gave up
|lhe ghost.

The Eternal Problem

All over the world the cruci
fixion will be celebrated today. It
is "G<?od Friday" — the day on
which, it is said, man did his
blackest crime, and God showed
his greatest love. There will be
services, services, SERVICES —
attended by millions. Will there
be increased SERVICE? More
patience, forgiveness and love?
The "seven words of the cross"
will be read, sung, chanted,
prayed and explained. Will it
be observed that Jesus, after de
claring a blanket forgiveness for
everybody, even the wild men —
kings, governors, priests, mer
chants — turned his attention to
his convict neighbors? He was
not ashamed of them. Jesus'
bearing (and this is what counts)
made such an impression on one
of them that he requested fel
lowship with Jesus in the "new
kingdom." This touched Jesus.
It was the first kind word he
had heard all day, and he re
sponded. We'll be together to
day in paradise. Note that it
was a convict that first entered
the "new kingdom,"
Jesus then performed a few
acts. He commended his mother
to his friend, John. He felt great
depression of spirit, for a time;
and after long suffering, he said,
'Father, into thy hands I com
mend my spirit."
Why was the world's best man
there — a convict crucified? Be
cause of lies, brutality, ignorance
— these agents of the jungle
combining against the truth.
The animal is ever lurking in
the jungle — to destroy. This is
the eternal tragedy.
I recently attended a gathering
of cultured men and women and
was startled to hear an outburst
of irrational animal hatred — un
reasoning and cruel.
Man's great job is to keep the
brute, down. The wild beasts
were in control when the priests,
scribes, rulers nailed Jesus to the
cross. That is clear.
History has also made clear
that the wild beasts can be sub
dued only by the spirit and meth
od of Jesus. He won, though he
died.

WORLD'S BEST MAN

No. 54

In the Tomb

Now, the centurion, and they
that were with him watching
Jesus, when they saw the earth
quake, and the things that were
done, feared exceedingly, saying,
"Truly, this was the Son of
God." And all the multitudes that
came together to this sight, when
they beheld the things that were
done, returned smiting their
breasts. And many women were
there beholding from afar, who
had followed Jesus from Gali
lee, ministering unto him; among
whom was Mary Magdalene, and
Mary the mother of James and
Joses, and the mother of the sons
of Zebedee.
And after these things, when
even was come, there came a
rich man from Arimathaea,
named Joseph, a councillor of
honorable estate, a disciple of
Jesus, but secretly for fear of
the Jews; and he boldly went in
unto Pilate and asked for the
body of Jesus.
He came therefore, and took
away his body. And there came
also Nicodemus, he who at the
first came to him by night,
bringing a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about a hundred pounds.
So they took the body" of Jesus,
and bound it in linen cloths with
the spices, as the custom of the
Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was
crucified there was a garden:
and in the garden a new tomb
wherein was never man yet laid.
There then because of the Jews'
Preparation (for the tomb was
nigh at hand), they laid Jesus;
and rolled a stone against the
door of the tomb.
And Mary Magdalene and
Mary the mother of Jesus beheld
the tomb, and how his body was
laid. And they returned, and
prepared spices and ointments. (THE

The Immortal Life

This is the day before Easter.
Jesus is in the tomb. The world's
best man has been put to death.
That he is not dead is shown by
the fact that for 2000 years he
has been called the world's best
man, and around him has grown
faith in immortality.
I am not interested, in the
question of physical resurrection.
Many stories grew up around the
death of Jesus that either are not
true or of no consequence.
I am interested in the fact
that belief in immortality has be
come associated with him. I
note a few things:
It was in the heart of a wom
an that Christian faith in im
mortality first took root. A wom
an — a converted harlot — was the
Christian "Columbus" of anoth
er world. Next, it was in the
hearts of impulsive common peo
ple — like Peter and John — that
this faith took root; not in the
hearts of Herod, wise men,
priests and merchants. The plant
of immortality does not flourish
well in an university as on a
farm. Faith in immortality de
creases as "possessions" increase.
A rich nation never yet has been
rich in faith.
Jesus, in whom belief in im
mortality centers, was not a pop
ular hero, but a despised and re
jected convict. The counter rev
olution to the Christian faith
originated among the priests and
rulers — the very ones who to
day are worshiping Jesus; the
very ones who, by their mate
rialism, are recrucifying the
truth. The Christian faith in immor
tality came into the world — not
through debates or conferences
of scientists and philosophers —
but through the experience of
humble people who came in con
tact with the life of Jesus. It
will be kept in the world through
the same process.
We must note the KIND OF
MAN, around whom humanity
has centered its faith in immor
tality. It will be kept alive by
contact with the same KIND OF
LIFE — that of the world's best
man.
END)

CONCLUSION

A study of his life compels me to believe that if Jesus
were living today he would absolutely refuse to have
part in war or preparation for war; would practice non
violence and racial fraternity; and — would probably be
sent to the cross.
I am also impressed by the fact that when people are
asked to become "Christians" they do not expect to be
come the kind of a person that Jesus was, — that "Christi
anity" is something quite different from that which was
in Jesus' mind. * * * For illustration, I quote a
few words of a letter from an observing friend, a Japa
nese. He says: "One reason why I cannot become a
'Christian' is this, namely, in Christianity there is too
much of feudalism and despotism. Christians think of
an almighty God in Heaven who rules from above, and
while they say they are sinful individuals, yet they think
themselves superior to others. * * * Thus white peo
ple figure that they are superior and chosen people.
Germans think that they are superior to French. French
think, etc. * * * Racial pride, national pride — these
things I hate — come from the egotistic 'Christian' idea.
* * * It appears to me, however, that you read the
Bible in an entirely different light, and see in the doc
trine of Christ an unbounded love and find a democratized
God in every individual human." * * * These words
of my friend I take as a compliment. * * * I am
guite ready to believe that the best interpretation of
Jesus is yet to come out of the Orient.

THE WORLD'S BEST MAN
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