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THE CRISES OF THE CHRIST

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TTETT TOSK OEI
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...
The
Crises of the Christ

By
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN, D.D.
Author of "A First Century Message to Twentieth Century
Christians," "The Spirit of God," "Life Problems,"
"God's Methods with Man" etc.

New York

Chicago

Toronto

Fleming H. Revell Company
London an d Ed inburgh

Copyright i 903 by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY

Fifth Edition

New York: 158 Fifth Avenue
Chicago: 6-} Washington Street
Toronto: 27 Richmond Street, W.
London: 21 Paternoster Square
Edinburgh: 30 St. Mary Street

TO
MT FATHER AND MOTHER
Who forty years ago gave me to Christ, and who, never doubting
the acceptance by HIM of their child, did from infancy,
and through youth, train me as HIS; from whom I
received my first knowledge of HIM, so that when
the necessity came for my personal choosing,
so did I recognize the claims of HIS
love, that without revulsion, and
hardly knowing when,
I riELDED TO HIM
my allegiance and my
love, devoting spirit, soul, and body
to HIS sweet will, and glad service ; in
thankfulness to them for their earliest teaching,
and continuance of revelation of HIM by example, in
many differing circumstances, in which their loyalty to HIM
was a perpetual witness to my heart, of the perfection of HIS love;
in thankfulness that they still are with me labouring together in prayer,
I DEDICATE THE BOOK.

" Tou have had various ' lives of Christ,' German and
other, lately provided among your other severely historical
studies. Some, critical ; and some, sentimental. But there is
only one light by which you can read the life- of Christ, — the
light of the life you now lead in the flesh ; 'and that not the
natural, hut the won life. ' Nevertheless, I live ; yet not I,
hut Christ liveth in me.' " — John Ruskin.
" St. Mark's Rest."

Contents

INTRODUCTORY— THE SUBJECT AND THE
SCHEME
PRELIMINARY— THE CALL FOR CHRIST— MAN
FALLEN
I. Man Distanced from God by Sin  23
II. Man Ignorant of God Through Sin ... 36
III. Man Unlike God in Sin  • 48
BOOK I— THE BIRTH
IV. The Great Mystery — The God-Man ... 67
V. The Meaning — God was in Christ .... 84
VI. Signs to the Sons of Men  95
BOOK II— THE BAPTISM
VII. The Parting of the Ways  107
VIII. Light on the Hidden Years  123
IX. The Vision of John  137
BOOK III— THE TEMPTATION
X. Introductory  153
XI. The First Temptation  162
XII. The Second Temptation  174
XIII. The Third Temptation  186
XIV. Final  200
9

10 Contents
BOOK IV— THE TRANSFIGURATION
XV. Introductory  z'5
XVI. The Master Himself  224
XVII. The Celestial Visitors  235
XVIII. The Dazed Disciples  246
XIX. The Things That Remained  257
BOOK V— THE CRUCIFIXION
XX. The Approach  275
XXI. The Sufferings of Christ  290
XXII. Sin Unveiled, Grace Outshining .... 304
XXIII. The Kingly Exodus  317
XXIV. The Representative Crowds  329
BOOK VI— THE RESURRECTION
XXV. Perfect Victory  35°
XXVI. The Divine Seal  361
XXVII. Faith's Anchorage  371
BOOK VII— THE ASCENSION
XXVIII. God's Perfect Man  389
XXIX. Man's Wounded God  398
XXX. The New Union  405
RESULTANT— THE ANSWER OF CHRIST— MAN
REDEEMED
XXXI. Man Restored to God by Christ . . . .421
XXXII. Man Knowing God Through Christ . . . 428
XXXIII. Man Like God in Christ  439
INDEXES
Scriptures Referred to  45 1
Poetry  456
Writers Quoted or Referred to . . . . 458
Subject Index  459

INTRODUCTORY
THE SUBJECT AND THE SCHEME

" Christ has come, the Light ofthe world. Long ages may
yet elapse before His beams have reduced the world to order
and beauty, and clothed a purified humanity with light as with
a garment. But He has come : the Revealer of the snares and
chasms that lurk in darkness, the Rebuker of every evil thing
that prowls by night, the Stiller of the storm-winds of passion ;
the Shiickener of all that is wholesome, the Adorner of all that
is beautiful, the Reconciler of contradictions, the Harmonizer
of discords, the Healer of diseases, the Saviour from sin. He
has come : the Torch of truth, the Anchor of hope, the Pillar
of faith, the Rock for strength, the Refuge for security, the
Fountain for refreshment, the Vine for gladness, the Rose for
beauty, the Lamb for tenderness, the Friend for counsel, the
Brother for love. Jesus Christ has trod the world. The
trace of the Divine footsteps will never be obliterated. And
the Divine footsteps were the footsteps of a Man. The example
of Christ is such as men can follow. On ! until mankind wears
His image. On ! towards yon summit on which stands, not an
angel, not a disembodied spirit, not an abstract of ideal and
unattainable virtues, but THE MAN JESUS CHRIST."
— Peter Bayne, A. M.
" The Testimony of Christ to Christianity."

INTRODUCTORY
THE SUBJECT AND THE SCHEME
The authoritative literature concerning the history of
the Lord Jesus Christ is contained within the New Testa
ment. He is the supreme subject of the whole library.
Every several book gathers its value from its testimony to
His person, His teaching, or His work. The perfection
of the whole is created by its unification in Him. The
first four of its books chronicle His deeds, and His words,
during the brief span of a lifetime lasting for a generation.
The rest of the book is occupied with the subject of His
deeds and His words through all subsequent generations.
The book of Acts is the first chapter in that history of the
Church, which is the history of the deeds of Christ by the
Holy Spirit through His people. The epistles contain the
teaching of Christ by the Spirit, through chosen men, for
the guidance of His Church until His second advent. The
last book contains a prophetic vision of the final move
ments, which shall firmly establish His reign over the
whole earth.
The Old Testament foretells His coming, and chronicles
for these days the methods by which the hope of His advent
was kept alive; and, indeed, burned ever more brightly
through the processes of the past. The New is the history
of that advent ; and the new message of hope, under the
inspiration of which men move through the confusion of
conflict towards the certainty of ultimate victory.
13

14 Introductory
The history of the New Testament is at once the story
of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and the account of the
accomplishment of the mission of the Christ. These are
phases forming the one perfect story. The life of Jesus
was the carrying out of the mission of the Christ. The
work of the Messiah was accomplished in the orderliness
of the life of Jesus.
In this connection it is interesting to notice the opening
and closing verses of the New Testament. Matthew the
evangelist, places Jesus in His relation to the race. "The
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,
the son of Abraham." l The reference is not to the whole
of the New Testament, nor even to the whole of the
Gospel, but to the genealogy which immediately follows.
The use here of the word " Christ " declares the appoint
ment of this Man to definite service. It is rather a title
than a name. By His name "Jesus" He is indicated as
united to the race, coming through the chosen people. By
the title " Christ " He is identified as the One Who comes
to fulfil the promises of the past, by the accomplishment of
Divine purposes.
The last verse of the New Testament reads, " The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ be with the saints. Amen."2
Here there is prefixed to the name "Jesus," the title " Lord."
The Revised Versions both English and American have
relegated the word " Christ " to the margin. Some ancient
authorities, however, include it. The essential value of
this comparison of verses is not interfered with, whichever
view may be taken. The New Testament opens with a
declaration, introducing the Man Jesus, and declaring His
appointment to service. It closes with a benediction, which
announces the crowning of Jesus as Lord, consequent upon
1 Matt. 1:1. 2 Rev. 22: 21.

Introductory k
His accomplishment of the purpose appointed; and the
use of the word " grace " as the portion of the saints, re
veals the glorious issue of that work.
He came for a purpose. The purpose is realized. He
was anointed of God for the doing of a work. The work
is accomplished, and He is now the Lord through Whom
the grace of God is expressed towards, and becomes opera
tive in, such as are subject to Him. Thus between the
opening words of Matthew, and the closing statement of
John, there lies the story of His life and the account of His
mission. The literature of the Church has been enriched by many
lives of Jesus. Some of these have emphasized the facts
of His humanity, while others have emphasized the truth
of His Deity. All have been of value. They have how
ever been largely devoted to the contemplation of the Per
son of Jesus, rather than to a consideration of the accom
plishment of a Divine work. It is to this particular aspect
of the life of Jesus Christ that the present volume is
devoted. Interest in Jesus Himself is of preeminent
importance. The mystery of His Person, the graciousness
of His teaching, the beauty of His character, the wonder
of His deeds, all these are of such value that it is impossible
to attend to them too closely, or to write too much con
cerning them. It is, however, of equal importance that
this wonderful life should be seen as that of the anointed
Servant of God, the Christ, Who in all the details of the
passing days, was working a larger work, and towards a
mightier issue than a mere contemplation of the human life
might seem to suggest. Indeed, the beauty of the life
itself is only fully appreciated when it is seen as related in
its every part to this mighty movement of God towards the
redemption of man.

16 Introductory
Here therefore attention is to be fixed, not so much upon
the words of His lips, or His working of wonders and
signs, as upon His uttering of a Divine word, and His
accomplishment of a Divine work.
It is for this reason that the volume is entitled " The
Crises of the Christ." In all the works of God there is to
be discovered an unvarying method of process and crisis.
The process is slow, and difficult to watch in its progress.
The crisis is sudden, and flames with a light, which flashing
back upon the process, explains ft; and forward, indicates
a new line of action, which after all is the continuity of
that which has preceded it. This might certainly be illus
trated by reference to the observation of all natural
phenomena. The story of the earth, as read by scientists,
is the story of slow movements, and of mighty upheavals.
The history of the butterfly of many hues, is that of the
pupa, dormant to all appearance, which through crisis
emerges into the flower of the air. The crisis is not an
accident, not a catastrophe, in the sense of disaster, but a
stage in an orderly method. This method, it may be said
in passing, is also to be seen in God's revelation of Him
self to men, the history of which is recorded in the Divine
Library. In the great song of Isaiah,1 which assuredly is Messianic
in value, there is an indication of this method, and perhaps
the key to the interpretation of the whole Scripture, as a
Divine revelation. The first lessons concerning God that
men had to learn were of Him as the " Wonderful Coun
sellor." Then through long centuries there was unfolded
the fact that He is the " Mighty God." Then in the
mission of Christ, in which are included the days of His
earthly life, and these years of the application of His work,
1 Isa. 9 : 6.

Introductory 1 7
men are learning that God is the " Everlasting Father."
And yet again, in an age that has not yet dawned upon the
world, but which must surely come, men will know Him as
the " Prince of Peace." In each case the process has been
slow, but the lesson once learned, the crisis has initiated a
new movement, and commenced a new process.
This same method obtains in the work of the Christ, and
in that method, the crises rather than the processes form
the subject of the present consideration. Of these there
are seven. The initial, that of the birth of Jesus, then
secondly, the baptism ; thirdly, the temptation ; fourthly,
the transfiguration ; fifthly, the crucifixion ; sixthly, the
resurrection; and seventhly, the ascension. These are
not at equal distances as to time, but they follow in orderly
sequence, and in their entirety contain the whole story of
that work by which redemption has been wrought for the
race. Each of them ushered in a new order of things in the
work of Christ, crowning that of the past, and creating the
force for that which was to come.
All these lie between two facts, which must be con
sidered. The first is that of the ruin of the race, which
created the necessity for the work of the Christ. The
second is that of the redemption of the race, which issues
from the work of the Christ. A preliminary section of this
volume will be devoted to the ruin which called for Christ,
and a final section to the statement of that redemption
which constitutes His answer to the call. Thus with
reverence, and a deep sense of its transcendent wonder, let
the great subject be approached.

PRELIMINARY
THE CALL FOR CHRIST— MAN FALLEN

I. Man Distanced From God by Sin
II. Man Ignorant of God through Sin
III. Man Unlike God in Sin

I \

"¦ This, we say, is man, the fallen principality. In these
tragic desolations of intelligence and genius, of passion, pride,
and sorrow, behold the import of his eternity. Be no mere
spectator, turn the glass we give you round upon yourself, look
into the ruin of your own conscious spirit, and see how much it
signifies, both that you are a sinner and a man. Here, within
the soul's gloomy chamber, the loosened passions rage and chafe,
impatient of their law ; here huddle on the wild and desultory
thoughts ; here the imagination crowds in shapes of glory and
disgust, tokens both and mockeries of its own creative power, no
longer in the keeping of reason ; here sits remorse scowling and
biting her chain ; here creep out the fears, a meagre and
pale multitude ; here drives on the will in his chariot of war ;
here lie trampled the great aspirations, groaning in immortal
thirst ; here the blasted affections weeping out their life in silent
injury ; all that you see without, in the wars, revenges, and
the crazed religions of the world, is faithfully represented in
the appalling disorders of your own spirit."
— Horace Bushnell.
" The New Life."

" Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field
which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden ?
And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of
the garden we may eat : but of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die : for God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be
as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes,
and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat ; and she gave also unto her husband
with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked ; and they sewed fig-leaves
together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice
of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool ofthe day : and
the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah
God amongst the trees of the garden.
" And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him,
Where art thou ? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked ; and I hid myself. And
He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked ? Hast thou eaten
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not
eat ? And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And Jehovah
God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done ? And the
woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And
Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field ;
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of thy life : and I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed : he shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman He said, I will greatly
multiply thy pain and thy conception ; in pain thou shalt bring
forth children ; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree,
of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it :
cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy lifei; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field ; in the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; for out of it
21

wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
And the man called his wife's name Eve ; because she was the
mother of all living. And Jehovah God made for Adam and for
his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
" And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil ; and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever — there
fore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man ;
and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim,
and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the
way of the tree of life." — Genesis j.
_JC !& _& !& ^tf it !_tf
" Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and
death through sin ; and so death passed unto all men, for that all
sinned." — Romans 5 : 12.

22

I
MAN DISTANCED FROM GOD BY SIN
In the mission of Christ, that wisdom of God was mani
fested, and that power of God operated, through which it
became possible for ruined man to be redeemed and recon
ciled. The marvel of that wisdom, and the light of that
power, can only be fully appreciated, in the measure in
which the extent and nature of the calamity which called
for Christ is understood. The whole subject is indicated
in the titles of the three chapters, forming this preliminary
section. The first deals with the initial act of sin, and its
result, man distanced from God by sin. The second deals
with the relative result of sin, man ignorant of God through
sin. While the third has to do with the effect of sin upon
man, man unlike God in sin.
In dealing with the first of these phases of the one fact,
it is necessary first to consider man according to the Divine
ideal in his unfallen condition ; secondly, to consider the
fall, as to man's action ; and thirdly, to contemplate the re
sulting fact, man's alienation from God.
I. The essential truth concerning the nature of man is
contained in a descriptive expression found in the book of
Genesis, and in New Testament Scriptures. He is spoken
of as being " created in the image and likeness of God."
In order to understand the significance of this expression,
it will be well to read the whole of the Scriptures where it
occurs. 22

24 The Crises of the Christ
" And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after
Our likeness : and let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. And God created man in
His own image, in the image of God created He him ;
male and female created He them." 1
"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the
day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He
him."2 " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood
be shed : for in the image of God made He man." 3
" For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled,
forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God : but the
woman is the glory of the man." 4
" In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds
of the unbelieving, that the light of the Gospel of the glory
of Christ, Who is the Image of God, should not dawn upon
them.'" " Who is the Image of the invisible God, the First-born
of all creation." 6
" And have put on the new man, that is being renewed
unto knowledge after the image of Him that created
him."7 " Who being the effulgence of His glory, and the very.
Image of His substance, and upholding all things by the
word of His power, when He had made purification of sins,
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."8
These are the only passages in which the fact of man's
being created in the image and likeness of God is definitely
declared. What is intended by the expression may be
1 Gen. 1 : 26, 27. 2 Gen. 5:1. 3 Gen. 9:6. 4i Cor. 11:7.
52Cor.4:4. • Col. 1:15. ' Col. 3: 10. 8 Heb. 1 : 3.

NMan Distanced from God by Sin 25
elucidated by an examination of the actual words used.
The root idea of the Hebrew word translated " image " is
that of a shadow. Of the other word there can be no
better translation than the one adopted, that namely, of
likeness. Turning to the New Testament, the word translated
" image " in the first four Scriptures quoted, is the word
ei/twy, which suggests the idea of an outline resemblance,
very literally a profile. The word translated " image " in
the passage from Hebrews is the word '^apakr^p, which
simply means an exact copy, or an engraving. Thus it
will be seen that both in Old and New Testaments, the
expression suggests a definite resemblance, rather than an
exact representation, except where, as already indicated in
the letter to the Hebrews, the language is descriptive of
Christ in such aspect of His Person as is peculiar to Him
self, and in which men by original creation have no par
ticipation. Passing over these Scriptures again, let the progression
of thought be noted carefully. In the account of creation,
it is affirmed that man was in some respect a shadow or
manifestation of God. Here are two ideas, arresting
thought, and not to be forgotten in the subsequent discussion.
First, man is but a faint representation, a shadow merely ;
and secondly, the very dignity of his being lies in the fact
that he is even so much as that. Perhaps the simplest
exposition of the thought would be gained by a contempla
tion of the shadow of a man cast upon some white back
ground, by the shining of a great light. What the shadow
would be to the man, the man would be to God. Like
and unlike, suggesting an idea, but by no means explaining
the mystery, impossible apart from the substance, and yet
infinitely less in essence than the substance. Man no

26 The Crises of the Christ
more perfectly expresses all the facts concerning God,
than does the shadow those concerning man. Neverthe
less the shadow is the image of the man, and indicates
truth concerning him.
This expression never occurs in the Old Testament after
the account of creation, save when in the ninth chapter of
the book of Genesis, man is safeguarded from murder, the
reason given being that no man has a right to destroy that
which was made in the Divine image. By the act of sin,
the image and likeness of God in man was not destroyed
but defaced, and in all the history, contained in Old Testa
ment Scripture, is seen a degraded ideal.
Turning to the New Testament, after the completion of
the work of Christ, the expression is restored in the writ
ings of the apostle. In the Scripture first quoted, he is
evidently referring to man as to the original Divine inten
tion concerning him, and he speaks of him as the " image
and glory of God." In the second reference he uses the
expression of Christ, as the One Who has realized that
primal Divine intention, and in Colossians he declares
that the original Divine ideal may be restored through the
work of Christ. In Hebrews, where it has been shown,
the word is a far stronger one, it is used of Christ, Who is
infinitely more than a shadow of God, seeing that He is
" the effulgence of His glory, and the very image of His
substance." '
Having thus examined the Scriptures, and the use of
the phrase therein, it may be enquired, In what sense was
man created in the image of God ? The answer to the
enquiry may be found, by suggesting another question.
What is man essentially, for it is in his essential nature that
he is in the image of God ? Man essentially is spirit, his
1 Heb. 1 : 3.

Man Distanced from God by Sin 27
present body being his probational dwelling place, that
through which he receives impressions, and that through
which he expresses the fact of his own being. In his
letter to the Romans the apostle says, "I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual service." l The marginal reading of the
Revised Version changes the word " service " into " wor
ship," and therein lies a revelation of the true relation of
the spirit of man to his body. Through the medium of
the body, the truth concerning the spirit expresses itself.
Where the body is presented, it is presented by the spirit,
and through this devotion of the body, the spirit expresses
its worship. The essential fact in man therefore is his
spirit, and it is in spiritual essence that man is made in the
image of God. There are secondary senses in which even
in bodily form, man is a shadow of Deity. As the body
of man is the expression of his spirit, and the spirit is the
image of God, so through the tabernacle of man's spirit
there are made certain suggestions concerning God Him
self. The present study however, is confined to the essen
tial fact. Within the spiritual fact of man's being
there are three constituents. These have been variously
described. Perhaps at once the simplest and most lucid
analysis is that of Kant. He speaks of intelligence,
emotion, and will. It is in the possession of these things
that man is in the image of God. God is a Spirit, having
intelligence, having emotion, having will. Man is in the
shadow of God. He also is a spirit, having intelligence,
having emotion, having will. In all these things he is but '
a shadow, that is to say, there are limitations upon these
1Rom. 12: I.

28 The Crises of the Christ
facts in human nature, which in the Divine are illimitable,
and consequently not to be perfectly understood of men.
It has been objected to the doctrine of the personality of
God that the thought of personality implies limitation.
This, however, is to argue from a false hypothesis. Per
fect personality is unlimited, so that personality is only
perfect in God, and is imperfect in man. In God intel
ligence is unlimited, emotion is unlimited, will is unlimited.
In man all these facts are found, but in each case within
limitations. He does not know all things, his intelligence
being limited, his emotional nature also can only act within
comparatively narrow limitations, and the exercise of his
will is limited by the demand for a cause, which is never
perfectly found within himself.
Man as originally created, was not only in the image of
God. He was also made to live in union with God, so
that all his limitation might find its complement in the un
limited life of the Eternal. It is a great mistake to think
of man as made, and then put into some position, where
he might rise or fall, according to the capacity of his own
personality. It is rather to be remembered that he was
created in the image of God, and then put in the proba
tionary position through which he was to pass unharmed to
some larger form of existence, if his life were lived in
union with the God Who had created him. If however he
chose a separate existence, and cut himself off from union,
in that act, he would encompass his own ruin, he would
fall. This intended life of union with God may be described
in two ways, as personal fellowship, which is holiness of
character; and as cooperative activity, which is righteous
ness of conduct. For a full understanding of what this
meant, it is useless to tarry in the garden of Eden. There,

Man Distanced from God by Sin 29
in the account of creation, a faint suggestion is given of
the Divine intention. It is necessary, however, to come
to the last Adam, the Man Jesus, for a full appreciation of
this Divine intention. In Him unbroken fellowship with
the Father manifested itself in holiness of character, and
unceasing cooperation with God expressed itself in absolute
righteousness of conduct.
In order to an appreciation of the meaning of fellowship
with God there must be remembered the analysis of per
sonality already referred to, intelligence, emotion, and will.
In unfallen man the limited intelligence was nevertheless
enlightened, and was able to understand the things of God.
Limited emotion was nevertheless enkindled towards the
things thus known, and man loved God and all He loved.
The limited will was yet energized by the superior and
Infinite Will of God, and so chose ever the things that
were in harmony with that Will. Thus in unfallen man
there was to be found enlightened intelligence, enkindled
emotion, energized will, wholly within the realm of the
Divine Sovereignty.
Then beyond that personal fellowship, there was coopera
tive activity, which is righteousness of conduct. And
again the analysis of personality may be taken as the basis
of consideration. All activity is the outward expression of
an inward intelligence. The enlightened intelligence of
unfallen man, appreciating the things of God, the deeds of
the life of such a being were in perfect harmony with the
purposes of God. The emotional nature of such a being,
appreciating and loving the things of God, became the
spring from which streams of action emerged, which were
all moving in the Divine direction. In such a being the
will exercised its highest function in choosing the things of
God, and the activities of the life were therefore always

30 The Crises of the Christ
those of partnership with the enterprises of God. The
old word spoken to the father of the race was "have
dominion." In the midst of a wondrous creation God set
man. The creation in which man found himself had not
yet realized all the possibilities of its own being. It waited
the touch of man in cooperation with God for that realiza
tion. God put man into a garden to dress it, and to keep
it. The preparation of man's work was of God, the crea
tion of the worker was of God, there was perfect fitness
between the work to be done, and the workman prepared,
and while man lived in fellowship with God, and co
operated with God, all creation recognized his leadership,
yielded to his dominion, and moved along the line of a new
progress towards a yet more wondrous beauty and per
fection. These truths are yet evidenced by the power of man
even in a fallen condition. All the cultivation of flowers,
all the inventions of science, are in the last analysis, but
man's cooperation with God, issuing in new forms of
beauty, and fresh forces of utility. A very simple illustra
tion in floral culture is that of the chrysanthemum. But a
very few years ago it was looked upon as an old-fashioned
garden flower, very sweet, but very simple. To-day it is
one of the most gorgeous and marvellous of decorative
blossoms, so beautiful in the length and delicacy of its petals,
so poetic in its restless waviness of beauty, and so splendid
in its possibility of colour, that it has well been de
scribed as " a rose gone wild with joy." l The possibility
of this beauty always lay within the modest garden flower,
and the development thereof has been wholly due to man's
discovery of certain laws of Nature, which laws are ever
the thoughts of God. 1 Dr. Joseph Parker, j

Man Distanced from God by Sin 31
So also in the realm of scientific discovery. Let a map
of the world be taken, and let the hand be placed upon the
centres where such discoveries have been made, and it will
invariably be found that the hand is resting on a land where
the light of the Christian revelation has most brightly
shined. These things but go to prove that it is in coopera
tion with God that man is capable of highest activity, be
cause in cooperation with God he realizes the perfection of
character. Unfallen man, then, was a being like God, in
the essentials of his nature, in that he was a spirit having
intelligence, emotion, and will. Unfallen man realized the
highest possibility of his being in a life of personal fellow
ship and cooperative activity with God.
There yet remains one other fact to remember, concern
ing the unfallen condition of man. He was placed in cir
cumstances of probation. That is to say, the citadel of
his nature was his will. It was for him to choose whether
he would abide in that relation to God, which would en
sure his fullest realization of possibility, or whether he
would by severance from God encompass his own ruin. It
was a terrible and awful alternative. Yet unless it were
offered to man, the highest fact of his being would be
atrophied, for will power, having no choice, ceases to be of
value. Thus in the garden of his activity God marked the
limit of his possibility by two sacramental symbols. Both
were trees. The one was the tree of life, of which he was
commanded to eat. The other was the tree of the knowl
edge of good and evil, which was forbidden. Between
these lay an endless variety of which he might or might
not eat, as pleased himself. Of the tree of life he must
eat, and thus he was reminded, in a positive symbol, of his
dependence for the sustenance of his being upon God. Of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he was for-

32 The Crises of the Christ
bidden to eat, and thus he was reminded of the limitation
of his freedom within the government of God. Finite will
is to be tested, and it will stand or fall as it submits to, or
rebels against the Infinite Will ofthe Infinite God. Thus
unfallen ' man was a being created in the image of God,
living in union with God, cooperating in activity with God,
having the points of the limitation of his being marked by
simple and definite commands laid upon him, gracious prom
ises luring him to that which was highest on the one hand, and
a solemn sentence warning him from that which was lowest
on the other. He was a sovereign under a Sovereignty,
independent, but dependent. He had the right of will, but
this could only be perfectly exercised in perpetual submis
sion to the higher will of his God. The whole fact is
summarized concerning essential human nature in the ex
quisite couplet, " Our wills are ours, we know not how ;
Our wills are ours to make them Thine." '
II. In considering the Bible account of the fall of man,
it is necessary first to note carefully the process of his temp
tation. In the story of Genesis is clearly revealed the great
distinction between testing and tempting. Man's position
in the economy of God was one in which he was in the
place of testing. That testing became definite enticement
towards evil through the agency of evil already existing,
and expressing itself through its prince, the devil. The
method of the enemy was full of all subtlety. He first
asked a question which was calculated to create the sense
of restricted liberty, and so cast an aspersion on the good
ness of God. To paraphrase the question, he said, In
this garden is there some tree forbidden to you ? Are you
1 Tennyson.

Man Distanced from God by Sin 33
at any point of your will limited and restricted ? The
answer of the woman admitted the limitation, a limitation
which certainly existed. Then the very essence of evil is
seen in the interpretation of that limitation. Whereas the
limitation in the purpose of God was wholly beneficent,
and intended to hold man within the only sphere in which
he could make progress towards the largest and fullest pos
sibility of his being ; the enemy suggested that it was im
posed by a desire on the part of God to keep man from
progress and enlargement of capacity. Thus it is seen that
at the back of the method of the devil is an aspersion cast
upon the character of God. Man was made to question
the goodness of law. Appealing to the intelligence of
man, the enemy created an aspersion, which was calculated
to change the attitude of his emotion, and so capture the
final citadel, that namely, of his will. He declared that
man's intellectual nature was prevented from development
by this limitation. By this declaration he created in the
mind of man a question as to the goodness ofthe God Who
had made the law, and thus imperilled the relation of the
will to God, as he called it into a place of activity outside,
and contrary to, the will of God.
Then came the actual fall, and its essential characteristic
was that of independent action. The wisdom and the love
of God having been called into question, man instead of
taking counsel with Him, concerning this suggestion of evil,
acted independently, and in that act of self-separation from
God, he fell from the sphere in which it was possible to re
alize all the infinite meaning of his being, into that of utter
and irremedial ruin. All the rivers that have made sad the
life of man, had their source in this turning of the will of man
from its proper channel, that of community of action with
the will of God, into the channelless rush of undetermined

34 The Crises of the Christ
and ungoverned activity. By taking of the fruit of the for
bidden tree, man desecrated the sacramental symbol, be
cause he had departed from that sphere of life of which the
non-partaking tree was the confine. By the assertion of
his own will he dethroned God and enthroned himself.
Man as to spiritual essence sinned when listening to the
tempter, he doubted the love, and decided to act as against
the will of God. That inward and spiritual fall of man
found its expression in the overt act of taking that which
God had forbidden.
III. The issue of the act is revealed in the words " so
He drove out the man." J Man by his own decision and deed
has separated himself from God. God by the necessity of
the being created, judicially separates man from Himself.
Having violated the covenant man is put outside its bene
fits. The life of dependence upon God was the life of
union and cooperation with God. Man having chosen the
position of independence, is now cut off from union and
cooperation. To say this, is to declare that by his own act,
man has become separated from that fellowship with God
which constitutes his holiness of character; and from that
cooperation with God, which is the condition of righteous
ness of conduct. He has passed into a region where the
essential powers of his being can find no fitting field of op
eration. He retains the essential facts of his being, but
they cannot be perfected, because they have lost their true
sphere. Henceforward his intelligence must be bounded
by its own limitation, as it is severed from the Infinite
Knowledge. So also his emotion must become dwarfed as
to capacity, because it has lost its perfect object in the loss
of God. His will, a magnificent ruin, will perpetually at-
1 Gen. 3 : 24.

Man Distanced from God by Sin 35
tempt to secure mastership, and yet will never succeed, be
cause it has lost its own true spring of action, and its own
Master. Man distanced from God has not lost the powers
of his original creation ; he has lost the true sphere of their
exercise. His intelligence is darkened, his emotion is dead
ened, his will is degraded. Darkened intelligence hence
forth will see only the things that are near. The spacious
ness of the spiritual condition has ceased, and man will
look at material things in a semi-blindness, which is at once
tragic and pathetic. Deadened emotion, a heaven-born
capacity, will attempt to satisfy itself wholly within the
realm of the earth, and love being set wholly upon the
things material, will forever be wounded in their loss. De
graded will, ever attempting to be authoritative, masterful,
will always be thwarted, beaten, overcome. Out of this
dire and desolate ruin, God hears the call for a Deliverer.

II
MAN IGNORANT. OF GOD THROUGH SIN
While the attack of evil was directed finally towards the
capture of human will, the method of approach was that
of suggesting the possibility of a development of the
intellect. By the assertion of the right to exercise the
will outside all limitation, it was declared that man should
know. In his attempt to grasp knowledge, man alienated
himself from the light of fellowship with God, and thus
his intelligence was darkened and dwarfed, rather than en
lightened and enlarged. The result of this is so far reach
ing in the being of man, that it is important to devote
a chapter to the discussion of the fact of man's ignorance
of God, resulting from sin. In order to a proper under
standing of this, there must be a correct conception of
man's original capacity for the knowledge of God ; and
secondly, an understanding of the injury that happened
to this capacity ; in order that thirdly, there may be an ex
planation of the idolatry which resulted.
I. In dealing with man's capacity for God, the thought
again gathers round the threefold fact of his personality,
that as to spiritual essence, man has intelligence, emotion,
and will, these being but a shadowing forth of the Divine
personality. These three facts in man are interrelated,
so that the appreciation of the intelligence will determine
the action of the emotion, and finally also the attitude
of the will. In the first Divine intention the intelligence
36

Man Ignorant Through Sin 37
of man is capacity for the knowledge of God. It would
seem as though in the whole creation, man is the only
being to whom God could perfectly reveal Himself, and
this fact defines the dignity of human nature. In this con
nection a statement in the beginning of the Gospel of John
has to be carefully noted. " In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made through Him ; and without Him was
not anything made that hath been made. In Him was
life ; and the life was the light of men." x The decla
ration, " in Him was life," is a general and comprehensive
one, declaring that all forms of life are related to the living
Word. The announcement that "the life was the light
of men," is a particular declaration revealing an essential
truth concerning the nature of man. This cannot be said
concerning the life of any plant, nor of animal life, until
in the scale of being man is reached. In man life became
consciousness of God, and capacity for the understanding
of Him. This statement of John of course has far wider ap
plication. It certainly indicates the truth that perfect light
concerning manhood has shined in the Word Incarnate,
but as Jesus was the fulfillment of an original purpose, it
becomes evident that according to that purpose, man is
capable of intelligent appreciation of, and communion with,
God. The whole process of creation was carried forward
through the Word of the Eternal, and every form of life
exists and subsists through the energy of that Word. In
man however, life was first of such a nature as to compre
hend the Creator. In the writings of the apostle Paul it
is evident how he perpetually recognizes as one of the
most glorious results of the redemption of man, the fact
¦John 1 : 1^4

38 The Crises of the Christ
that there is restored to him the knowledge of God.
Especially in the epistles ofthe imprisonment, when writing
to the churches of his love, he thanks God for their faith,
for their hope, for their love, but still is labouring for
them in prayer; and the overmastering desire that he
has for them is that they may come to the full knowledge
of God. In the creation of man, God originated a being
capable of knowing Him. For the comprehension of
wisdom there must be intelligence, and in man God created
an intellect equal to such wonderful knowledge.
To know God is to know love, and to know love
is to love. Hence man is created with an emotional
nature, ready to act in response to knowledge. The
apostle of love declares, " we love, because He first loved
us." x Herein is a declaration of the origin of love in the
consciousness of man. Man knowing God is conscious
of His love, and that love of God is the generator of the
love of man. The accurate knowledge of unclouded
intelligence, inevitably issues in the perfect love of un-
degraded emotion. Such knowledge issuing in such love,
creates the true governing principle for the action of the
supreme fact of human life, that namely of the will.
The doctrine of the freedom of the will is itself only
true within certain limitations. There is a sense in which
in the very nature of will it cannot be free. Only in lack
of reason, or madness, is there perfect freedom of the will.
Man never wills save under the impulse of a conviction.
Behind every decision of the will there must of necessity be
a governing principle. Man constantly asserts, I will.
He never does this, but that he might add to the statement
something more. He might, that is to say, declare the
reason why he wills, so that the full statement is always, I
1 1 John 4 : 19.

Man Ignorant Through Sin 39
will because  . That which follows the because, is the
authority that commands the will. In unfallen man the
authority behind will is the love of God, which is the out
come of a perfect knowledge of God. Thus the perfect
activity of the will of man is always conditioned by sub
mission to the will of God. Herein is a revelation of the
meaning of much that Jesus said concerning His relation
to His Father, and an explanation of all that He was in per
fection of character, in wisdom of teaching, and in beauty
of activity.
To this it may be objected that while this is true of hu
man will, it cannot be said that the Divine will is under
authority; and yet, that the very will of God is acting
under an authority, is precisely the truth. The principle
governing the movements of the will of God, is that of the
perfect communion of Infinite Love and Infinite Light.
In the very essential of His being, God is Love. It
is equally true that He is Light, so that every action of the
will is determined by Love, and by the unerring wisdom
of Light. Thus let it be definitely stated that God
is limited in every action of His will by unlimited Love
and that unclouded Light, in which no darkness is. Thus
unfallen man wills in response to love, which is the result
of knowledge.
*II. In this consideration lies an explanation of the
method of the enemy. When man, listening to his sug
gestion of evil, asserted his will, it was upon the basis of a
doubt of the Divine Love, which he had allowed himself to
entertain. By that act of self separation from God, man
lost the knowledge of God, which issues in love to God,
and creates the true governing principle behind the action
of will. Distance from God means the clouding of

40 The Crises of the Christ
the intelligence, and therefore the debasement of the
emotion, and therefore the degradation of the will. The
fact that man's intelligence is clouded is by no means
a popular doctrine, and yet human history, equally with in
spired revelation, attest the truth of the declaration.
Through all the ages, and through all the schools of human
thought, man has been engaged in a fruitless search after a
final knowledge. Too often man is utterly unconscious
of what that knowledge is after which he seeks, and yet the
restlessness of human intellect, and its passionate striving,
indicate its incompleteness, and its deep consciousness
of that incompleteness. Zophar the Naamathite, speaking
to Job said, » Canst thou by searching find out God ?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection ? " '
A most remarkable question in perhaps the oldest book in
the Divine Library, indicating the consciousness of incom
pleteness existing among the meditative men of a far gone
age. Yet take that question and ask it in the midst of the
vaunted culture of this century, and the implied answer of
the age in which Zophar asked, is the actual answer of the
present age. Man does not know, nor can he discover
God by the unaided working of his intellect, and that be
cause his intellect is clouded, having lost its action with the
true light. The hardest thinking of the nineteenth centuijy
was done in its latter half, by men, who, in comparison
with other men, were intellectual giants. Let it be granted,
as it is almost certainly true, that they were honest in their
searching, and the names of them will be sufficient guaran
tee, Darwin, Huxley, Tyndal, and Spencer. They ob
served, they collected, they compared, they laboured to
t » Job. 11:7.

Man Ignorant Through Sin 41
discover the deepest secrets, and yet what were the con
clusions at which they arrived ? They claimed to have
found, and declared, a certain method discoverable through
all natural phenomena. They were not able perfectly to
explain the very method which they discovered, much less
were they able to account for the method as to its origin.
Spencer speaks of being " in the presence of an infinite
and eternal energy from which all things proceed." That
in itself is a very remarkable discovery, and yet how
vague, and inadequate for the satisfaction of the passion of
the human intellect for definiteness and absolute truth.
What then have these men found, if these things be true.
They have found certain evidences of the working of God,
have discovered it may be, certain attributes of Deity, but
they have not by searching found out God. So that the
most remarkable activity of the human intellect in the most
enlightened century of the human race, stops short exactly
where man's clouded intellect stopped short in those dim
and distant times of Zophar the Naamathite. Man
watches still, and in his searching tracks the footprints of
Deity, sees something of the methods of the Divine, but
utterly fails to find God. And yet for an intimate and
immediate knowledge of God the intellect of man was
created. III. Man is a ruined instrument. He nevertheless re
tains, though in impaired form, the natural elements which
constitute the Divine image. There is therefore a constant
demand in his nature for that for which he was created.
Intelligence is still demanding light. Emotion continues
to seek for objects upon which to fasten. Will requires a
governing principle, in brief, man demands God. Having
lost his knowledge of God, he proceeded to substitute in

42 The Crises of the Christ
the place of the dethroned One, other deities. It is un
thinkable and impossible that human nature should exist
without a god in some form. The most blatant infidel,
denying the existence of a Supreme Being, yet worships ;
and where there is no other object, then man enshrines his
own intellect, bows down before that, declaring that he
will receive and yield to the things he can comprehend,
thus making his understanding the very deity that receives
his worship. As a bird cannot fly except in air, and a fish
cannot swim save in water, so man cannot exercise the
necessary functions of his life save in relation to God.
When man is thus driven to the dire necessity of creat
ing his own deity, there is but one way in which he can do
it. The only conception of God that man has, is gathered
from an understanding of his own personality. This is
true even in the case of the most devout baliever. It is
almost impossible to think of God save by projecting the
lines of human personality into infinitude, and this is the
true method. The last and highest fact of Divine creation
is the spiritual in man, and that is in the image of God.
Therefore it is possible to argue back from the final crea
tive movement to the originating Creator. If man is the
image of God, he is like God ; and that is at once to say
that God is like man. The intelligence of Deity is argued
from the intelligence of man, so that man, projecting the
lines of his own intelligence into immensity, thinks of God.
This is true also with regard to emotion, and with regard
to will.
This creation of a god upon the basis of man's knowledge
of himself, lies at the back of the whole story of idolatry.
From whence then has come all the ignorance and brutal
ity, and vindictiveness of false gods ? Evidently from the
fact that the lines projected were in themselves imperfect.

Man Ignorant Through Sin 43
Project the ruined man into immensity, and a ruined god
is the result, only the ruin is worse than the ruined man.
In the magnified man there is magnified evil and intensified
failure. That is the history of all idolatry. Man having
fallen, demanded a god, and having lost the knowledge of
the true God, has projected into immensity the lines of his
own personality, and thus has created as objects of worship,
the awful monsters, the service of which, in process of
time, has reacted in the still deeper degradation of the wor
shipper. All false deities are distortions of the one true
God, and the distorted idea is the result of the ruin of the
image of God in man.
Referring to the idolatry of Ephraim, the prophet Hosea
declared, " And now they sin more and more, and have
made them molten images of their silver, even idols accord
ing to their own understanding, all of them the work of the
craftsman." 1 " Idols according to their own understand
ing." That understanding being darkened, the idol re
sulting was a libel upon God.
With regard to idolatry, it may broadly be stated that the
Old Testament reveals three great ideas of God embodied
within the false systems of religion, all of them based upon
a truth, but in the distortion of truth resulting most dis
astrously. These three ideas may be indicated by the three
words, Baal, Moloch, and Mammon. All false ideas of
Deity gather around those words. Other gods are men
tioned, but they are all subsidiary, and stand for some as
pect or attitude of these essential misconceptions.
These ideas moreover, have by no means ceased to be
the gods which men worship. The form of the worship
may have changed, and the garb of the idol may be differ
ent, but all else remains the same. Every human being
1 Hosea 13:2.

44 The Crises of the Christ
who is not worshipping the One living God, is worshipping
Baal, or Moloch, or Mammon, or all three.
The worship of Baa! was essentially the deification of
Nature, and in that deification there comes at last to be
necessary the worship of the central and most marvellous
fact in Nature. That fact is the reproductive faculty. All
Nature worship which may seem to begin in the innocent
and harmless adoration of the beauty and the order of Na
ture, issues at last in all uncleanness and lasciviousness, and
the highest forms of worship come to be acts so foul as to
be nameless.
The worship of Baal is the groping of the intelligence
after God in Nature, and its search is futile ; so that at
last the darkened understanding touching the last mystery
of power, without being able to discover the final truth,
there results the degradation of the whole being.
The worship of Moloch expressed itself in all cruelty,
its chief expression being the sacrifice of little children.
This is the prostitution of the emotional nature. Hate
always lives next door to love. Man magnifying his own
emotional nature finds a god who will be appeased by acts
of cruelty. As in the worship of Nature there is finally
committed all manner of sins and sensualism through the
debasement of the intelligence, so necessarily the degraded
affectional nature will express itself in lack of love, and
therefore in deeds of brutality towards the offspring of man.
The worship of Moloch has by no means ceased. As
man to-day has deified, and worships in fearful form at the
shrine of, the central mystery of life, he does so with cal
lous heart and absolute indifference to the ruin wrought.
Here are suggested lines of thought which must be fol
lowed without the expression of words to aid. Let it only
be said that as love is the fairest word in all the vocabulary

Man Ignorant Through Sin 4$
of human speech, the foulest is lust. Yet both these words
are the result of the operation of one capacity. Its opera
tion within the realm of a perfectly informed understanding
is indicated by the word love. Its operation within the
realm of a degraded intelligence is indicated by the word lust.
Yet there remains the third of these — Mammon.
Schleusner has asserted that Mammon was the name of a
Syrian deity. Of this however there seems to be no posi
tive proof. The word was one in common use in the East
among the Phoenicians, the Syrians, and others, and it stood
for wealth, and the power of wealth. Jesus made a most
significant and remarkable use of the word. He said, "Ye
cannot serve God and Mammon." * In that statement
there is evidence of His intimate understanding of fallen
human nature, and of His far-seeing appreciation of all the
facts tesulting from sin. He did not say, Ye cannot serve
God and the devil. If He had, for purposes of practical
application His word would be almost pointless in this
particular age. As it is, with every movement of material
progressiveness, His word becomes still more searching,
more arresting. The method of the evil one has ever been
that of obscuring himself behind some other object of
worship. In the dark ages men had a very weird and ter
rible consciousness of the personality of Satan, and the art
of the time depicts him as a monster with hoofs and horns,
and all ugliness of countenance. For the purposes of those
dark ages, when men were superstitious, because ignorant,
such method of appeal proved the subtlety of the foe. In
the case of more cultured mental capacity, the foe always
hides the ugliness of his being, and to-day as never before
he asks for the submission of man to his sway, by present
ing before the vision of man the fascinations of wealth, and
1 Matt. 6 : 24.

46 The Crises of the Christ
the power which wealth commands. The worship of
Mammon is the rendering to wealth for the sake of its
power, of all that man ought to render to God. In the
dethronement of God and the enthronement of man's per
sonal desire as the governing principle behind the activity
of his will, man has come to think of greatness as consist
ing in ability to govern and master other people. There is
no way by which man may secure more power over other
men than by the possession of wealth, and therefore man
worships Mammon with all his soul, with all his mind,
with all his heart, because Mammon represents unlimited
power. Thus in the last analysis Mammon is the deification of
human will. In projecting himself into immensity, man
has magnified a will that insists upon the subservience of
others, and so has come to worship a deity whose expres
sion of godhead is mastery, and whose sceptre of power is
the possession of wealth.
May it not thus be said in brief, that the worship of
Baal is the adoration of imperfect knowledge, resulting from
the darkening of the intelligence ; that the worship of
Moloch is the adoration of prostituted emotion, resulting
from the degradation of the affectional nature; that the
worship of Mammon is the adoration of a degraded will,
resulting from the loss of the true governing principle be
hind the will of man. All this in its thousand manifesta
tions in the idolatries of the race, and in its continued
manifestation in the godlessness of the vast multitudes of
the most civilized people, has issued from the fact that man
being distanced from God by sin, has become ignorant of
God through sin.
Thus all unconsciously out of a terrible ignorance, and,
'ndeed, by that very ignorance, man calls for Christ ; calls,

Man Ignorant Through Sin 47
that is, for the shining of the true Light, in which there
shall be the restoration of the true and only God, by which
knowledge there shall come a destruction of the false gods,
the worship of which has resulted so terribly in the history
of the race.

Ill
MAN UNLIKE GOD IN SIN
If it be true that man having lost his vision of God,
creates gods for himself, by projecting into immensity his
own distorted being, it follows therefore that there must be
reaction on the character of man himself.
In describing the idols of the nations, the Psalmist makes
use of remarkable and suggestive words.
" Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not ;
Eyes have they, but they see not ;
They have ears, but they hear not ;
Noses have they, but they smell not ;
They have hands, but they handle not ;
Feet have they, but they walk not ;
Neither speak they through their throat.
They that make them shall be like unto them ;
Yea, every one that trusteth in them." •
This is the declaration of a great principle, that a man is
always like his God. Having created a god upon the pat
tern of himself, man becomes governed by that idea, and so
the process of deterioration goes forward.
The whole fact may be indicated by bringing together a
group of Scriptures.
First, the statement of Genesis, " So He drove out the
man. 1 Psa. 1 15 : 4-8. s Gen. 3 : 24,
48

Man Unlike God in Sin 49
Next the statement from the prophecy of Hosea, " They
. . . have made them molten images of their silver,
even idols according to their own understanding." '
Third, a declaration of the Psalmist, " they that make
them shall be like unto them ; Yea, every one that trusteth
in them."
Fourth, Paul's description of the condition of the people,
who have become idolaters, " having no hope and without
God in the world." 2 Man alienated from God through
sin, answered the craving of his nature for God by creating
one. He became degraded by his own false conception,
and the final fact is, that being without God, he is also
without hope.
The present study will be devoted to a consideration,
first, of the fact that separation from God issues in unlike-
ness ; secondly, of the unlikeness resulting from separation ;
concluding with a summing up of the position as indicating
the call for Christ.
I. In the fact of his alienation from God, man has lost
his own spiritual life. As material death is the separation
of the spirit from the body, so spiritual death is the separa
tion of the spirit from God. The Scripture thought con
cerning the death of the spirit is nowhere that of cessation
of the spirit's existence. Death means cessation of exist
ence only with regard to that which is perishable. The
body is but the temporary and probationary dwelling-place
of man's spirit. Death for that means the end of its
existence. The death of the spirit consists in its existence,
but in separation from that Spirit of God, in fellowship
with Whom it is alone equal to the fulfillment of all its
essential functions. Separated from God, the spirit of man
1 Hosea 13:2. s Eph. 2 : 12.

co The Crises of the Christ
retains its consciousness of great possibilities, without being
able to realize and fulfill them. Eyes which do not see,
ears which do not hear, the only consciousness of God is
that of an intellectual conviction of His existence, not that
of a personal acquaintance with Him.
This statement comes as more than a declaration of a
doctrine. It is the expression of an experience. Apart
from the miracle of regeneration no man has a true vision
of God. Sometimes in boastfulness, and in the attitude of
ridicule, men will declare that they do not believe in the
existence of God, because they have never seen God. God
is present in the orderliness of Nature, in the magnificent
and minute beauty of the infinitely great and the infinitely
small. Man cannot see Him. To those whose hearts are
pure and whose eyes are open, He is to be seen in the face
of a little child, and in all the movements of the times.
But man, alienated from the Divine life, though dwelling
in the place of vision sees nothing. The light shines, but
the darkened eye perceives it not. The voice speaks, but
the heavy ear hears it not. God is near to every man, but
the dead spirit is unconscious of His nearness.
In that wonderful address of Paul to the men of Athens,
he said, " Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that
ye are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed
the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with
this inscription, to an unknown god. What therefore
ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The
God that made the world and all things therein, He, being
Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made
with hands ; neither is He served by men's hands, as
though He needed anything, seeing He Himself giveth to all
life, and breath, and all things ; and He made of one every
nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having

Man Unlike God in Sin 51
determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their
habitation ; that they should seek God, if haply they might
feel after Him, and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us : for in Him we live, and move, and have
our being ; as certain even of your own poets have said,
" For we are also His offspring." 1
The great statement that He " is not far away from each
one of us : for in Him we live, and move, and have our
being " has reference not merely to the company of the
saints, but to all men. Human life is sustained within the
fact of the Divine and all its energy. All human force
exerted is of God. The very strength in which man rebels
against Him, and hinders the coming of His Kingdom, and
walks along the way of his pilgrimage, is Divine strength,
though prostituted to base uses by the perversion of the will
of God. Thus man, walking in the midst of a great light,
stumbles and falls in darkness, because he is blind. Man
alienated from God is in the place of vision, but sees it
not ,• passes along his pathway surrounded by the infinite
music of the voice of God, and yet has no hearing thereof.
He is spiritually dead. In the light, but sightless ; spoken
to, but deaf.
The result of this with regard to man's conception of
God is, as has been shown, that he creates the false deities
upon the basis of a magnificent but false humanity. Its
result in the case of his spiritual nature is inevitably that of
deterioration. Having no pattern, and therefore no true
understanding of his own being as to its possibility and
goal, he appropriates the very energies that were supplied
for his progress in such way as to ensure his degradation.
Man who does not know God, does not know himself, and
is therefore not able to realize the true ideal of life. The
1 Acts 17 : 22-28.

52 The Crises of the Christ
final word in the system of Greek thought, was expressed
in the oft-quoted sentence, " man know thyself." That
which is remarkable about the injunction is that these men
had discovered the supreme necessity. What they failed
to discover was the way in which men should be able to
obey their injunction, and know themselves. No man can
know himself who does not know God. Just as man,
having lost the vision of God, creates a false deity upon the
basis of his own distorted intelligence, so thereafter, he
attempts to bring himself into conformity with the false
deity, and thus perpetuates the ruin, and ensures the final
degradation. In the Divine economy man is a perfect union
of spirit and body, which union issues in a mind or conscious
ness truly balanced, having comprehension of spiritual
things, and therefore true understanding of things material.
Through sin and the death of the spirit, there has entered
into human life discord between spirit and flesh, and the
mind is unbalanced in appreciation of values, and clouded
in its outlook upon all facts. Discord tends to discord.
The instrument created for fellowship with God, in order
to the representation of God, itself being out of order, be
cause out of communion with God, is now only capable of
expressing distorted truth concerning God, which is the
most terrible form of heresy.
II. In dwelling more particularly upon the unlikeness
resulting, the two facts in human nature already referred to
must be remembered. Essentially man is spirit. Ap
parently man is body. That is to say the unseen but
essential fact in human life is that ofthe spirit. The body
is at once a medium through which the spirit receives its
impressions, and its knowledge concerning material things,
and expresses to others spiritual truths. In both of these
man has become unlike God. As unfallen man is like

Man Unlike God in Sin 53
God, the essential likeness being in the fact of the spirit,
but the revelation of that fact being through the medium of
the body ; so fallen man, distanced from God, and ignorant
of God, is unlike God in the essential fact of his spiritual
nature, and therefore fails to give any expression of God
through the medium of his physical being.
As to the first, spirit. Falling back upon the analysis of
human personality already considered, that namely of in-r
telligence, emotion, and will ; man is, in the whole fact,
unlike God. Think first ofthe intellectual side of a man's
nature. All are possessed of this, and yet apart from
restoration to God, the intellect in its working, and in its
achievements, is utterly unlike the working and the
achievements of the wisdom of God. For illustration,
instead of thinking of an ignorant man, whose intellectual
capacity is dwarfed, let the mind contemplate the finest
product of education and culture that can possibly be pro*-
duced, and even then, at its best it is utterly unlike God.
This statement does not undervalue the culture of the in^
tellect. It simply asserts that an intellect cultured to all
refinement, is nevertheless the degradation of intellect, un^-
less the spirit of man is in harmony and actual intercourse
with the Spirit of God. The operation of the human
intellect apart from the life of fellowship with God is an
operation wholly within the realm of material things.
Intellect divorced from Deity, deals only with dust. Take
all scientific investigation, and it is but the investigation
and tabulation of material things. Indeed science is ever
urgent in her declaration that she has nothing to do with
subjects that lie beyond this limit of investigation and
tabulation of the facts of material life. With splendid
daring, and with a most remarkable accuracy, the intellect
of man has forced its way back through all the movements

54 The Crises of the Christ
of material order, until at last it has come to the pro
toplasmic germ. Here science stands still, and honestly
declares it has no more. to say. That is perfectly true, and
it is admirably honest that men should confess its limita
tion. And yet there is infinitely more to say. No man
by searching can find out God, but the intellect of man in
harmony with God, is instructed by the higher intelligence
of God Himself, as to the supreme fact which lies behind the
dead wall, that prevents further investigation, of intellect
unilluminated by spiritual communion. Had there been
no break with God, no death, no darkening of the intel
ligence, man would never have stood still at the point in
dicated. Men, in communion with the spiritual, have de
clared what lies behind the limit of investigation possible
to intellect acting apart from God.
The opening sentence of Genesis, at which man's
proud intellect smiles, because it contains a statement too
profound for his comprehension, is a revelation of the en
largement of intellect in communion with God. Behind
the mighty movements and orderly sequences, which
clouded intelligence has been able to observe, intellect in
spired discovers the fact which illuminates the mystery,
and satisfies the reason, as none other can. " In the be
ginning God created." 1
Or to take the statement of Job. "He . . . hangeth
the earth upon nothing," 2 is again to hear a most profound
statement, resulting from spiritual insight. The scientist
will declare that to be unthinkable, and in his declaration
he confesses the truth of the argument. There are things
unthinkable to human intellect until it is illumined. And
yet the scientist objects because he does not rightly under
stand. He leads back, and back, and back, until he comes
•Gen. in. » Job 26: 7.

Man Unlike God in Sin 55
to the simplest form of things material, of which it is pos
sible for his mind to conceive. The spiritually en
lightened man then says to him, " In the beginning God
created." " He hangeth the earth upon nothing." To
this the scientist objects that he cannot find foothold on
nothing, and by that statement shows his utter ignorance
of the declaration of these inspired intellects. In the first
declaration the scientist lays his emphasis upon the apparent
vacuum or nothingness, which precedes the things which
had their beginning. The spiritually-instructed intelligence
lays its emphasis upon God Who filled the void, and
through the working of Whose energy the new became.
So also with the second. Man's intelligence unillumined,
lays its emphasis upon the " nothing." Intellect inspired
by communion with the spiritual lays its emphasis upon
the " He." It is this God, this " He " that human intel
lect in its degradation is wearying itself to find, and He
never can be found by the unaided working of a degraded
intelligence, whose operations are wholly limited within
the facts material. The intellect of man, created by God
for largest purposes, has become imprisoned within the
material realm. God is a Spirit, and the secret at back of
all material phenomena is that God has spiritual per
sonality. The mighty wisdom of the eternal God is
spiritual. The intellect of man has become materialized,
and thus as to intelligence he is unlike God.
It is equally true that man is unlike God in his
emotional nature. The action of man's affection at its
highest, apart from fellowship with God is selfish. Traced
back to the final fact, human love is self-centred in its
choice of an object, and in its expression of itself towards
that object. Said Jesus to His disciples, " If ye love them
that love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the

56 The Crises of the Christ
publicans the same ? " * In that question there is revealed
the very inwardness of depraved human emotion. Man
loves such as love him. That fact alone is sufficient to
demonstrate man's unlikeness to God. He loves in the
Very necessity of His Being, and in such way as forever to
make impossible the thought of selfishness as a motive.
The deepest emotion of man acts finally along the line
that Will tend to the gratification of desires that are
purely selfish. Invariably and inevitably when the capacity
for love operates from this centre of self, love itself be
comes selfish, self-centred, self-inspired, self-considering,
and thus destroys itself. God's love is Spiritual and
sacrificing, and is set upon objects utterly unworthy of
love, upon such as have given no reason for love, in that
they have hated Him. The love of God is self-emptying,
self-sacrificing. Not first for self-enrichment does He
bestow gifts, but for the enrichment of those upon whom
He bestows them. The highest culture of the emotional
nature of man, apart from the moving love of God, is
debased, in that it is self-centred ; and thus in the fact of
his emoticfnal nature also, man is unlike God.
Moreover, in the realm of the will as to its governing
principle, and activity, man has become utterly unlike God.
The motive power behind the action of human will, apart
from its relation to the Divine will, is that of desire for
mastery. The motive power behind the will of God, dom
inating its action, is always that of a love which is set upon
the well-being of others, ahd which urges God Himself
towards such ministry as shall encompass that well-being.
A strong-willed man, as the phrase goes, is one who means
to have his own way. Whether he is a saint or a sinner,
that is equally true. He is masterful, and is determined
1 M»tt. 5 : 46.

Man Unlike God in Sin 57
that the wills of others shall yield to his. This, apart from
the operation of the grace of God, tends to tyranny. The
highest exercises of human will, those which have lifted
certain men above the plane of their fellows, have made
them conspicuous in human history, and have created the
reason why vast multitudes of their fellows have done them
homage, have been those of determination to drive a high
way through opposing difficulties, in order that men and
movements may submit to the dominating desire of such
men. How utterly and absolutely unlike the action of the
will of God. That will is simple and beneficent, and its
very strength lies in the fact that it is set determinately
upon the well-being of others. The will of God for man
is that he should be the best, and have the best ; and that
determination creates the mighty force thereof. And yet
how little this is really understood. Here again man libels
God, by thinking of His will in its determinings and doings,
as an enlargement of the will of man. How constantly
men think and speak of the will of God as being the de
termination of an Autocrat, Who insists upon the keeping
of His laws. That is perfectly true, but the reason behind
the insistence is the reason which creates the will, that
namely, of His infinite and unwearying love. The force
behind man's will is the passion for mastery. The force
behind God's will is the passion of an Infinite Love which
impels to service.
In the story of the fall there is the account of the genesis
of that which is evil in the will of man. When the enemy
said, " Ye shall be as God," 1 he suggested a false concep
tion of God. Then for the first time there was held before
man the possibility of being master, and therein lay a scan
dal upon God. In effect the enemy said, God has His way
»Gen. 3:5.

58 The Crises of the Christ
and masters you. Take the mastery out of His hands, and
be masters yourselves. When Jesus came He said, "the
Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minis
ter, and to give His life a ransom for many." ' In that
great statement is a revelation of the truth concerning God.
God's mastery is the channel of His service. By insistence
on authority He serves all highest interests in human life.
Of this man has lost all consciousness. He has but one
conception of greatness, that of authority over others, one
understanding of the operation of the human will, that of
determination to be obeyed. When the soldier returns from
battle, men still sing
" See the conquering hero comes,"
Sound the trumpet, beat the drums ;
Sports prepare, the laurel bring,
Songs of triumph to him sing.
See the godlike youth advance,
Breathe the flutes and lead the dance ;
Myrtle wreaths and roses twine
To deck the hero's brow divine."
Is that conquering hero godlike ? That is the moment
in which man is far more like the devil than like God.
Men do not sing " See the conquering hero comes "
of such as in some obscure place quietly wait and serve,
and yet they are the truly godlike. All this, however,
men of darkened intelligence, and prostituted emotion will
not believe. There can be no acceptance of such teach
ing as this, save by those who are restored to relation
ship with God, and see things from the standpoint of the
spiritual. Thus in the spiritual fact of his nature, man by the fall
i Matt. 20 : 28.

Man Unlike God in Sin 59
has become unlike God, in that his intelligence operates
wholly within the material realm, whereas the Divine
wisdom is spiritual, and therefore explanatory of all
material facts ; his emotion acts from wrong principle of
self-love, whereas the Divine love ever operates upon the
principle of love for others ; and his will asserts itself upon
the basis of the passion for mastery, whereas the Divine
will insists upon obedience, through determination to serve
the highest interests of others.
What bearing has this then upon the physical fact in
human nature ? This question may be briefly answered by
declaring that the body has become the prison of the spirit.
It deadens the spirit's consciousness, silences its voice, and
practically treats it as non-existent. Man provides for
physical food, and neglects the sustenance of the spirit.
He builds and furnishes a house for his body, while he pays
no attention to the ultimate homelessness of his spirit. He
takes great care as to the air in which his physical life ex
ists, but provides no atmosphere for the invigoration of his
spirit. Wherever this is so, the body itself becomes vulgar
ized. Man's physical nature can never realize its highest
possibilities of beauty, by divorcing it from that which is
spiritual. The sense of spiritual beauty lost, man seeks only the
attractiveness of the flesh, and thereby ministers to its own
decay and vulgarization. Illustrations from the methods
of fashionable women might be quoted, were it not a sub
ject too nauseous. The highest perfection of beauty can
only be realized where there is a recognition of the suprem
acy of the spiritual, and the body consequently becomes,
not the prison house of the spirit, but its temple. It fol
lows therefore that the image of God lost in the spiritual,
cannot be expressed in the physical.

60 The Crises of the Christ
III. In this threefold consideration it has been seen that
man is out of harmony with God as to motive, method, and
manifestation of life. Character being at variance, conduct
is antagonistic. Fallen man is a lie. Man was made the
shadow of God, for the manifestation of God. Having
departed from the true line of light, being separated from
the forces of life, instead of shadowing God forth, he has
cast the shadow of his depraved personality back upon
God, and therefore instead of revealing, hides.
All this serves to demonstrate the fact that there is now
no further use for man in the economy of God, no reason
for his continuity. There can be no reflection upon the
infinite wisdom and justice of God, if so terrible a failure
Were cast out hopelessly from His presence. The very rea
son for the existence of humanity is rendered impossible of
realization. Broken lenses can but reveal broken lights.
The ruined camera can but distort images, and man who
was created an instrument for the forthshadowing of God,
is now incapable of doing his work, in that it is impossible
for a ruined instrument to reveal, its very ruin consisting in
its unfitness for the work of revelation.
There can be no reconstruction within the realm of de
struction. If ever this ruined instrument is to be recon
structed, it must be by a process from without. Now let the
question solemnly be asked at this point. Is there any reason
why man should be redeemed, why the wreckage should be
restored, why the instrument should be renewed ? If it be
declared that the reason is that God still needs an instrument
of illumination, it may be fairly averred that He can create a
new instrument, abandoning the one that has been a failure.
The plain fact which must be faced is this, that there is no
reason in the realm of righteousness, or of justice merely,
why there should be any redemption provided for lost man.

Man Unlike God in Sin 61
And yet there is a reason, so powerful, so conclusive,
and inclusive, that it may be reverently, and yet unhesitat
ingly affirmed that God is bound to find a way of redemp
tion, and answer the call of a ruined race. That reason
lies within the nature of God. It is that He is Love.
Because He is Love, He must ; and the " must " has in it
nothing of the declaration of human claim, but it is the
affirmation of faith, based upon profound conviction. The
reason of redemption lies in the heart of God.
This is not a statement calculated to create satisfaction
in the mind of man with himself. It is hardly a popular
doctrine. It cuts from underneath the feet all ground for
human boasting. God is not bound to do anything for
man. Man has forfeited his whole claim upon God by
sin. There is absolutely no reason why the distorted and
ruined image should be redeemed or reconstructed. And
yet there is a reason, and that so powerful, that there can
be no escape from it.
*¦ He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding all." '
If God had been other than Love, man must have remained
endlessly in the realm of ruin. But the very ruin of man
included within it man's spoiling, and man's sorrow, creat
ing a great cry which appealed to the Infinite Love of the
Infinite Heart. The call of man in his ruin Love heard,
and Love answered, in the gift of Christ, Who is
Himself, to traverse the path of pain and suffering, to the
final and absolute limit, that out of all this, man might be
lifted into the realm where it will be possible to fulfill the
initial purpose of his creation, and thus satisfy the purpose
of God, which is the purpose of Love.
' Medley.

BOOK I
THE BIRTH

IV. The Great Mystery— The God-Man
V. The Meaning — God Was in Christ
VI. Signs to the Sons of Men

" We need not wonder, that mist and all its phenomena have
been made delightful to us, since our happiness as thinking
beings must depend on our being content to accept only partial
knowledge, even in those matters which chiefly concern us. If
we insist upon perfect intelligibility and complete declaration in
every moral subject, we shall instantly fall into misery of unbe
lief. Our whole happiness and power of energetic action de
pend upon our being able to breathe and live in the cloud ; con
tent to see it opening here and closing there ; rejoicing to catch,
through the thinnest films of it, glimpses of stable and substan
tial things ; but yet perceiving a nobleness even in the conceal
ment, and rejoicing that the kindly veil is spread where the
untempered light might have scorched us, or the infinite clear
ness wearied.

" / know there are an evil mystery and a deathful dimness, —
the mystery of the great Babylon — the dimness of the sealed eye
and soul; but do not let us confuse these with the glorious
mystery of the things which the angels ' desire to look into,' or
with the dimness, which, even before the clear eye and open soult
still rests on sealed pages of the eternal volume''
— John Ruskin.
" Modern Painters"

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days
of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to
Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? for
we saw His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. And
when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes
of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be
born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for
thus it is written through the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:
For out of thee shall come forth a governor,
Who shall be Shepherd of My people Israel.
Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them
exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Beth
lehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young
child ; and when ye have found Him, bring me word, that I also
may come and worship Him. And they, having heard the king,
went their way ; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and stood over where the young
child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with ex
ceeding great joy. And they came into the house and saw the
young child with Mary His mother ; and they fell down and
worshipped Him ; and opening their treasures they offered unto
Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned
of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they de
parted into their own country another way." — Matt. 2 ; 1-12.

And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were ful
filled that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first
born son ; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid
Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the
field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel
ofthe 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 people : for there is born to you this
day in the city of David a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord. And this
is the sign unto you ; Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling
65

clothes, and 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 manger.
And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying
which was spoken to them about this child. — Luke 2 : 6-1/.
3(C 5jC 5JC -?p ?j» *J> *|*
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we be
held His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full
of grace and truth. — John 1 : 14.

IV
THE GREAT MYSTERY— THE GOD-MAN
The subject of the Incarnation is at once initial and
fundamental. All the significance of the crises that follow,
grows out of this first, and most marvellous mystery. The
Lord Jesus Christ is a Person infinitely transcending the
possibility of perfect human comprehension. Nevertheless
the Scripture declares certain facts concerning Him, which
account for His glory and His grace, and without which
He remains an unsolved problem, defying every successive
age in its attempts to account for Him. It should at once
be admitted that no final words of explanation can be writ
ten concerning Him. And yet it is of the utmost impor
tance that so much as has been revealed should be recog
nized, in order to a comprehension of the true meaning of
His mission.
In the later letters of the apostle Paul, notably that to
the Colossians, it is evident that he is supremely anxious
that Christian people should know Christ. In declaring
this he expresses the thought in the words, "That they
may know the mystery of God, even Christ." ' He speaks
of Christ as " the mystery of God." It will be of value to
understand, through all these studies, the New Testament
use and meaning of the word " mystery." That has been
most lucidly stated to be " a truth undiscoverable except by
revelation ; never necessarily (as our popular use of the
word may suggest) a thing unintelligible, or perplexing in
» Col. 2 : 2.
67

68 The Crises of the Christ
itself. In Scripture a mystery may be a fact which, when
revealed we cannot understand in detail, though we can
know it, and act upon it. . . . It is a thing only to
be known when revealed." 1
In this sense Christ is the mystery of God. Perfect
analysis and explanation of His Person is impossible. The
fact thereof is declared as to origin, and essential character
istics. These must be recognized, in order to a right un
derstanding of the great subject of human redemption.
Having seen, that reconstruction in the region of destruc
tion was utterly impossible, that there was no way, in the
wisdom or power of man, for the encompassing of his own
restoration, it was to be expected that the Divine method
of redemption would be beyond perfect explanation to the
sons of men. That which human wisdom cannot plan
must necessarily be beyond its power perfectly to under
stand. Human intelligence is capable of appreciating any
thing that lies within the range of the working of human
wisdom. The intelligence of one man may not be equal
to the discovery of the method of transmitting words
by electricity without use of wires. When, however,
another human intelligence has thought the matter out, this
man is able to comprehend the explanation given. It may
therefore be argued that while man was not equal in
his own wisdom to devising a plan of redemption, he
ought to be able perfectly to comprehend the plan of God.
Yet this does not follow. In the first case, the whole
movement is within the compass of human intelligence.
In the second, all human wisdom had been utterly ex
hausted in its attempt to think of, or to discover a method
of salvation, and had failed. The failure, moreover, must
have continued through all the ages, for the Person of
1 Bishop Handley Moule.

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 69
Christ, and the whole scheme of human redemption, are so
transcendently marvellous as to demand for their explana
tion the recognition of their Divine origin. All this is to
emphasize a fact that must not be lost sight of in ap
proaching the contemplation of this initial movement
of God towards man, that while the great facts are de
clared, they cannot be perfectly comprehended by human
reason ; and it is necessary therefore to approach them in
the attitude of faith.
These statements apply with equal force to the whole
mystery of the life, and death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The subject is therefore to be approached with holy
and submissive reverence. The attitude of the mind in its
approach, is defined in words spoken long centuries ago for
the children of Israel, by Moses the servant of God.
" The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God ; but the
things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children
forever, that we may do all the words of this law."1
There are secret things which belong unto the Lord.
There are revealed things, which God has made so plain
that they may be comprehended, these " belong unto us
and to our children." It is the solemn duty of all who de
sire to know the Christ, that they should diligently study
the things revealed, and reverently rest with regard to the
secret things.
The present study is devoted chiefly to the birth of
Christ, as the crisis of Incarnation. There is always the
danger of dwelling more upon the birth of the human, than
of contemplating that birth as the crisis through which God
became incarnate. It is in the latter way however, that
the subject is now to be approached, and in the following
order. First, the testimony of Scripture; secondly, the
1 Deut. 29 : 29.

70 The Crises of the Christ
mystery as to the secret things; third, the mystery re
vealed. I. From the great mass of declaration in the New
Testament concerning this subject, it will be sufficient
to take four principal passages. These will again be
divided into, first, annunciations to be reverently read, and
received without attempted explanation ; and secondly doc
trinal declarations to be reverently considered.
The annunciations are those of the angel to Joseph and
to Mary. In connection with the latter it will be neces
sary also to read the brief historic statement concerning the
fulfillment of the angelic message.
The annunciation to Joseph was uttered in these words,
" Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son ; and thou
shalt call His name JESUS ; for it is He that shall save His
people from their sins. Now all this is come to pass, that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son,
And they shall call His name Immanuel ;
which is, being interpreted, God with us." 1
In the presence of this mysterious announcement, there
can be no fitting attitude of the human intellect save that
of acceptance of the truth, without any attempt to explain
the absolute mystery. The annunciation reveals the fact
that in the origin of the Person of Jesus there was the co
operation of Deity and humanity, each making its own
contribution. 1 Matt, i : 20-23.

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 71
The annunciation to Mary should be read in close con
nection with the statement of its fulfillment in history.
" And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy
Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most
High shall overshadow thee : wherefore also the holy thing
which is begotten shall be called the Son of God." . . .
"And she brought forth her first-born son; and she
wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."1
This annunciation and declaration concerned one Person,
spoken of in the former as the Son of God, in the latter as
" her son." Here are not two Persons, but one.
These annunciations are to be read and received without
any attempt to explain the central mystery contained
within them, which absolutely transcends all human under
standing. They must be received, or else the whole super
structure of Christianity totters and falls. It is only by the
way of the fact here declared, that it is at all possible
to comprehend the great facts which are evident in the
whole subsequent work of this Person. To deny the
truth of this account of the initial crisis, is to be left to the
contemplation of effects, for which no sufficient cause can
be found. The stupendous and ever manifest combination
in the Personality of Jesus of essential Deity, and proper
humanity, is totally without sufficient cause, the moment
men have ceased to have faith in the Scripture account of
the miraculous conception. That initial miracle cannot be
finally explained, but neither can the origin of any form of
life be finally explained in the last analysis.
The doctrinal declarations to be considered are those of
John and of Paul. That of John is in the introduction to
his Gospel. "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt
1 Luke I : 35 ; 2:7.

72 The Crises of the Christ
among us . . . full of grace and truth."1 For the
sake of the present consideration, the parenthetical declara
tion " and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father," is omitted. To rightly appre
ciate the meaning of this statement it is necessary to con
nect it with the opening words of the Gospel. "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God." 2 The passage from the second
to the thirteenth verse inclusive, is a statement giving
parenthetically the history of the Word from the beginning
of the first creation to the beginning of the second.
Omitting this passage, verses one and fourteen, read in
immediate connection, contain a declaration ofthe sublimest
facts concerning the Person of Christ, and a statement of
His coming into relation with the human race in the mys
tery of Incarnation. In each of these passages there is a
threefold statement, and they answer to each other.
" In the beginning was the Word." " And the Word
became flesh."
" And the Word was with God." " And tabernacled
among us."
" And the Word was God." " Full of grace and truth."
This is a statement of the mystery of the Incarnation, a
setting in doctrinal form of that fact, announced by
heavenly messengers to Joseph and to Mary.
The first statement is full of a majesty and sublimity
which flings its light about the pathway, but which cannot
be penetrated or perfectly comprehended. " In the begin
ning was the Word." The phrase " in the beginning " in
this connection antedates any other reference to the ages
to be found in the sacred volume. By it man is borne back
into the infinite and unfathomable reaches of the unmeasur-
• John I : 14. 'John 1 : 1.

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 73
able. The phrase with which the book of Genesis opens
takes man to the beginning of the history of the present
order, to those original movements of the Divine mind and
power, by which material things originated. The phrase as
John uses it, in these opening words, carries the mind yet
again beyond those original movements of creation. By
its aid the mind of man is introduced to the presence of
the Self-existent God. Contemplating the unutterable
splendour, whose very light darkens the understanding of
the finite mind, the Word is found existing. A word is a
means of expression. The word of man is man's method
of self-expression. The Word of God is the name here
used for that Person in the Trinity, Who is the Divine
method of self-expression.
"The Word became flesh." The statement is appall
ing, overwhelming. Out of the infinite distances, into the
finite nearness ; from the unknowable, to the knowable ;
from the method of self-expression appreciable by Deity
alone, to a method of self-expression understandable of the
human. In the inscrutable mystery of the Trinity the Son is ever
the Medium of self-expression. By this awe-inspiring
fact of Incarnation, the office of the Son is not changed.
Its method is changed for the sake of man. The move
ment of the change no human intelligence can follow. It
is darkly mysterious with the darkness of a blinding splen
dour. The conception is too mighty ever to have been
born in the intelligence of man. " The Word which was
in the beginning . . . became flesh."
"The Word was with God." The natural home of
the Eternal Son Who was the Medium of self-revelation
of Deity was in close fellowship with the Eternal Father.
"The Word tabernacled among us," that is, took up His

74 The Crises of the Christ
manifest dwelling-place in proximity to the human race,
as close as that which characterized His relation to the
Eternal Father. He stooped into an actual identification
with human nature, and by that stoop lifted human nature
into the spaciousness of fellowship with God.
This, however, let it be stated in advance, is not the doc
trine of Atonement. In the Person of Jesus, God has
come into new and mystic relationship with unfallen hu
manity ; and in the life of Jesus, God in relation with
unfallen humanity, tabernacles among fallen man. Some
thing more will be necessary to make possible union be
tween the members of a fallen race, and this new Head of
an unfallen race. That something more will be accom
plished by the way of the Cross to be considered in due
course. "And the Word was God." The final declaration is
that of the supreme Deity of the Word, and thus the Per
son of Christ is safe-guarded from any interpretation which
would place Him in infinite superiority to the human race,
and yet in inferiority to essential Deity. He was God,
and yet in His Person there was not all the truth concern
ing God, for He was with God. He was with God, and
yet by no means inferior to the Eternal Father, for He was
God. The unity of Deity is marked by the word " God."
The diversity is marked by " the Word." The God Who
created, the Word was with. In the revelation of Incar
nation, the phrase answering this final sentence is " full of
grace and truth." This teaches that in the grace or loveli
ness, and truth or righteousness of the Man seen of John
and the rest, there was an outshining of the essential facts
of the love and the light of Deity.
In the statement of Paul the same great truths are
affirmed in other language. From the passage in Philip-

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 75
pians, in which the humiliation and exaltation of Christ
are so splendidly set forth, let the words be taken which
deal immediately with this fact. " Who, existing in the
form of God, counted not the being on an equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a Servant, being made in the likeness of men." x
In this passage there is first stated the eternal fact concern
ing Christ, " existing in the form of God." Then follows
the attitude of the mind of the Eternal Word, in the pres
ence of the call for redemption. He "counted not the
being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped."
Then follows the sublime act, through which He came to
the level of those needing succour. He " emptied Him
self taking the form of a Servant, being made in the like
ness of men." Carefully note three facts in the compass
of this brief passage. First it declares the eternal verity
concerning Christ. He existed in the form of God, on an
equality with God. Second, it reveals the position He
took, when He came for the redemption of man. He
took the form of a Servant in the likeness of men.
In these two there is a contrast. Take the extreme
statements, and He is seen as passing from the form of
God to the likeness of men ; and taking the nearer con
trast, He is seen as passing from the Sovereignty of equality
to the submission of subservience.
The third fact is the revelation of the attitude of mind,
and the act of will, by which this change was wrought.
In the presence of a great need He did not hold to, or
grasp His right of equality, but for the accomplishment of
an Infinite purpose, abandoned this. The action of the
will is declared in the sublime and all-inclusive declaration
that He emptied Himself. The Eternal Word stooped
">J.hil. 2: 6, 7.

76 The Crises of the Christ
from the position of an Infinite expression to the limita
tions of human life.
It is now of the utmost importance to understand what
is involved in the declaration that He emptied Himself.
There is no warrant for imagining that He emptied Himself
of His essential Deity. The emptying indicates the setting
aside of one form of manifestation, in which all the facts
of equality with God were evidently revealed, for another
form of manifestation, in which the fact of equality with
God must for a time be hidden, by the necessary submiss-
iveness of the human to the Divine. That which the
Eternal Word set aside was a form, and this in order that
another form might be taken. It is evident, therefore, that
a very great deal depends upon the meaning of the word
form. The Greek word f-op'Pv, only occurs in one other place
in the whole of the New Testament. In speaking of an
appearance of Christ after resurrection, Mark says, " After
these things He was manifested in another form unto two
of them, as they walked, on their way into the country." 1
Taking this use of the word for the sake of illustration, it
is evident that the change was not in the essential nature
or personality, but in the method of manifestation. To
the men who walked to Emmaus the same One came, but
in a changed form, so that they did not recognize Him,
until He willed to reveal His identity. This of course
by comparison with the subject now under consideration
was but a small change, and yet it serves to illustrate the
larger fact.
In the coming of the Eternal Word to the earth for the
purposes of redemption, He did not lay aside the essential
fact of His Deity. He simply changed the form of mani-
1 Mark 16: 12.

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 77
festation. It would seem clearly evident that the Son of
God had forever been the One in Whom God took form,
and therefore the One through Whom God was revealed.
The Son is always the manifestation of the Father.
What the form, what the manifestation was in the past, it
is impossible to declare, for it is beyond the comprehension
of the finite and the limited. This alone is certain that
He was the Word, the Speech, the Method of communica
tion of the Eternal God. For the redemption of man He
laid aside that form, whatever it may have been, and took
a new form for manifesting the same God, a form upon
which men might look, and through which, in the process
of time, they might come to know the Eternal God. If it
were possible for a moment to penetrate the mysteries of
the past, the Son would be seen within the mystery of the
Trinity, as the perpetual Medium of Divine expression,
just as the Spirit is the perpetual Medium of Divine con
sciousness. In the coming to the level of man, and in the
taking of a form possible of comprehension by man, it
was necessary to bring the illimitable into the range of the
limited. He passed from the heavenly to the earthly, from
the infinite to the finite, that is, as to the form of expres
sion. This is impossible of final explanation. It is how
ever a mystery revealed, upon which the whole super
structure of Christianity depends. It would seem as
though the eternal heavens were for a period emptied of the
manifestation of God, though never of His presence, while
for the work of redemption, God was manifest in the flesh.
The Word passed from government to obedience, from
independent cooperation in the equality of Deity, to de
pendent submission to the will' of God. By the way of
the Incarnation there came into existence a Person in all
pojnls human, in all essentials Divine. In all points

78 The Crises of the Christ
human, that is to say, fulfilling the Divine ideal of human
nature, not descending to the level of the degradation of
humanity, resulting from sin. The Man of Nazareth was
perfect as Man. He was moreover perfect as God, lack
ing nothing of the powers of essential Deity, save only
the heavenly form of manifestation.
II. At this point the temptation is to ask questions.
These may be asked, but they cannot be answered. Here
is the sphere in which faith becomes operative, for here
the mystery is seen as to its secret things which belong to
God. How can there be united in one Person, perfect and
complete Deity, and perfect and complete humanity ? It
is impossible to reply to the " how." Will not these
things, however, so contradict each other as to make both
impossible ? The only answer is that they did not, and
that through all the life of Jesus, there were constantly
manifested the essential and absolute nature of Deity,
and the undoubted facts of humanity. There are no
essentials of human nature that cannot be discovered in the
story of this Person. His spiritual nature is evidenced by
His unceasing recognition of God. His mental capacity
is manifest in the marvellous majesty of His dealing with
all problems. His physical life is seen moving along the
line of the purely human in its hunger, its weariness, its
method of sustenance, and its seasons of rest. The
human will is seen, but always choosing, as the principle
of activity, the Divine will. The emotional nature is
manifest in the tears and the tenderness, the rebuke and
the anger, gleaming with soft light, flaming as the lightning.
The intellectual nature is seen so perfectly balanced, and
so wonderfully equipped, that men marvelled at His
wisdom, seeing, as they said, that He had never learned.

The Great Mystery — The God-Man 79
Yet moreover, the essentials of Deity are seen. Such
wisdom, that the ages have failed to understand perfectly
the deep meaning of His teaching. Such power, that
through weakness He operated towards the accomplishment
of works that were only possible to God. Such love, that
attempts to describe it, but rob it of its fairest glory.
And yet again, in this Person, is seen the merging of the
Divine and the human, until one wonders where is the end
ing of the one and the beginning of the other. Denouncing
and proclaiming doom upon guilty Jerusalem, the voice is
yet choked with emotion, and the face is wet with tears. That
is surely human. And yet it is essentially Divine, for
while the expression of the emotion is human as all tears
are, the emotion expressed is Divine, for none but God
can mingle the doom of the guilty with the tears of a great
pity. It would seem as though there were no adequate naming
of this Personality, but that created by the combination of
the two names in one. He was the God-man. Not
God indwelling a man. Of such there have been many.
Not a man Deified. Of such there have been none save
in the myths of pagan systems of thought ; but God and
man, combining in one Personality the two natures, a per
petual enigma and mystery, baffling the possibility of ex
planation. It may be asked how if indeed He were God
He could be tempted in the realm of humanity, as other
men are tempted ? It may be objected that had He been
God, He could not have spoken of the limitation of His
own knowledge concerning things to come. When asked
to explain these things, the only possible answer is that
they do not admit of explanation, but they remain facts,
proving His essential humanity ; while on the other hand
are the incontrovertible proofs of His Deity, in the activity

80 The Crises of the Christ
of raising the dead, and in the matchless wisdom of His
teaching, and supremely in the revelation of God, which
has taken hold of, and influenced the whole conception of
Deity during the passing of the centuries since His life
upon earth.
This mystery and revelation uniting God and man in a
Person is the centre of Christianity, and is without parallel,
and without possibility of explanation by analogy.
It has been objected that this is the creation of the
imagination of man. This however is to presuppose the
possibility of an exercise of the imagination, to which it is
wholly unequal. Imagination can only rearrange known
facts. The poems of the poet may be new, and the pic
ture of the artist also, but in each case upon examination
they will be found to be new, in their combination and
representation of old facts. The union in a Person of
God and man is something undreamed of, unknown, until
it broke upon the world as a fact in human history.
III. In the Gospels there are three expressions de
scriptive of Jesus Christ, which are suggestive of the double
fact in His Personality, a contemplation of which will aid in
the study of the revealed mystery. The first of them, the
Son of God, indicates the Deity of Jesus, and yet perfectly
describes His humanity. The second, the Son of Man,
indicates His relation to the race, and yet ever suggests
that separateness from it, which was created by the fact of
His Deity. The third, the Son, always suggests the
union of these facts in the unity of His Person. An
examination of the four Gospels, and a selection from
them of the passages in which these titles occur, reveal
certain facts of interest concerning them.
Taking them in order, the term, the Son of God, occurs

The Great Mystery— The God-Man 81
in Matthew, nine times ; in Mark, four times ; in Luke, six.
times ; and in John eleven times. The title in Matthew is
never used by Christ Himself, six times it is the language
of men, and three times that of devils. In the Gospel of
Mark it is never used by Christ, but by men twice, by devils
twice. In the Gospel of Luke it is never used by Christ,
but by an angel once, by a man once, and by devils four
times. In the Gospel of John the title is on five occasions
used by Jesus, and six times by men. It is interesting to
note that in the three Gospels dealing principally with the
humanity of Jesus, He is never recorded as having spoken
of Himself as the Son of God. In the one Gospel of His
Deity, He is recorded as having used the expression five
times. About one of these there is a doubt, for it is not at
all certain whether the words " He that believeth on Him
is not judged : he that believeth not hath been judged
already, because he hath not believed on the name of the
only begotten Son of God," 1 do not form part of John's
commentary, rather than of the actual discourse of Jesus.
Four times that are certain, indicate a method and a reason.
Twice He so described Himself in answering His critics,2
once when He brought comfort and light to an excom
municated man,3 and once when He would succour two
broken-hearted women, whose brother Lazarus He was
about to raise from the dead.4
The term, Son of Man, occurs in Matthew thirty-two
times, in Mark fifteen times, in Luke twenty-six times, and
in John twelve times. In the first three Gospels, the title
is always recorded as having been used by Christ of Him
self, and never by angel, by man, or by demon. Of the
twelve occasions in John, ten are from the lips of Christ,
twice only was the expression used by men, and then in
'John 3:18. s John 5 : 25; 10 : 36. s John 9: 35. 4 John 11:4.

82 The Crises of the Christ
tfie spirit of criticism and unbelief, " We have heard out of
the law that the Christ abideth forever : and how sayest
Thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up ? Who is this
Son of Man ? " 1
The last of these expressions, the Son, the greatest of
the three, without either qualifying phrase, and therefore
suggesting both relationships, occurs in Matthew four
times, in Mark once, in Luke three times, and in John
fifteen times. Without a single exception the phrase is
used by Christ Himself, never by angel, or man, or demon.
This rapid survey shows that Christ's favourite expres
sion for describing Himself is the one which veiled His
glory, the Son of Man. He most often described Himself in
a way in which men never describe Him, save when repeat
ing His own language, they in doubt ask what He meant.
He also used, and He alone, the expression, the Son, sug
gesting in the light of the other two expressions, His rela
tion to the Divine, and His relation to the human. The
expression which declared His essential glory only passed
His lips, in all probability, four times.
The value of this examination of the use of the descrip
tive phrases may thus be stated. He was the Son of God,
but that great fact never passed His lips, save when some
pressing circumstance made it necessary that for rebuke or
comfort He should declare the Eternal relationship which
He bore to God. The title which He seems to have
loved best, was that which marked His humanity, and His
relationship to the race, the Son of Man. Occasionally,
and always under circumstances of special need, He spoke
of Himself as the Son.
These very titles suggest the essential fact concerning
Him. A* the birth of Jesus of Nazareth there came into
lJohn 12: 34.

The Great Mystery— The God-Man 83
existence One Personality, such as, with reference to the
duality of its nature, had never had existence before. The
Son of God came from the eternities. The Son of Man
began His Being. The Son combining the two facts, in
one Personality, commenced that mighty work which He
alone could accomplish, bringing to its carrying out all the
forces of Deity, in union with the capacities of humanity.

V
THE MEANING— GOD WAS IN CHRIST
Having endeavoured to consider the sublime fact of the
Incarnation, without attempting to fathom the infinite mys
tery, it is now competent to enquire what was the purpose
of the Incarnation. The question may immediately be
answered in the brief statement of Paul, " God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." x All the full
ness of this declaration cannot be comprehended until the
final movements in the mission of Jesus have been con
sidered, those namely of His passion, and resurrection, and
ascension. It is by these that God reconciles the world to
Himself in Christ. The first fact however, rendering
these possible of accomplishment, is that of the Incarnation,
and in it there is the great first movement towards the rec
onciling of man to God.
By Incarnation God has revealed Himself anew to the
intelligence of man, in such way as to appeal to his emo
tion, and call for the submission of his will. All this how
ever could only be completed by the completion of the
work of Incarnation, for it was only through the death of
Jesus that the perfect revelation of God came to the intel
ligence, as it was only through that death that a reconcilia
tion could be accomplished, which should have as its foun
dation fact, the forgiveness of sin, and the communication
of a new life principle. All this is most clearly contained
1 2 Cor. 5 : 19.
84

The Meaning — God was in Christ 85
within the word of the apostle, who in writing to the Co
lossians declares that they " being in time past alienated and
enemies in your mind in your evil works " were " now
. . . reconciled in the body of His flesh through
death."1 Thus the reconciling work is only completed
through the death of Jesus, but that final work is made
possible in the fact of " the body of His flesh." That is to
say that Incarnation prepares for Atonement. The present
subject is wholly that of the revelation God has given man
of Himself in the Person of the Christ.
In previous studies it has been shown that man distanced
from God by sin became ignorant of Him, and unlike
Him. Notwithstanding this fact, the capacity, and indeed
the necessity for God remains, even though man has lost
his knowledge of Him, his love for Him, and his likeness
to Him. It has been seen, moreover, that the only con
ception of God that man has, is what he finds within him
self, and in attempting to think of God, he has consciously
or unconsciously always projected his own personality into
immensity. This would have been a true thing for him to
do, had man remained true to the Divine ideal, for he was
created in the image of God. Seeing that the shadow had
become blurred, and the image defaced, in the projection of
himself man has emphasized the defects, and intensified the
ruin. To correct that, God became incarnate, stooped to
the level of man's power to comprehend Him, gave him a
perfect Man in order that the lines projected from the per
fect Personality into immensity might be true lines, and so
reveal correctly the facts concerning Himself.
The present study is an attempt to examine that broad
statement, first by noticing how the Incarnation has cor
rected false ideas ; and secondly, by examining the Incarna-
1 Col. 1 : 21, 22.

86 The Crises of the Christ
tion as the fulfillment of all that was highest in the think
ing of the past, and the beginning of a new understanding.
I. Man's ideas of God are necessarily anthropomorphic.
Eliminating for the moment from the discussion the fact
of the fall, it still remains true that man's comprehension
of the Eternal God must necessarily be based upon the
facts of his own personality. When man stood erect in
full possession of the facts of his own being, he was in
very deed in the shadow and image of God. Essentially a
spirit, possessed of an intellectual, an affectional, and a
volitional nature, he was a medium through which these es
sential facts should be expressed along the line of force or
power. The body of man was the medium of the spirit's
expression. Such was the Divine ideal of humanity, spirit
and body ; the spirit crowned, the body subservient ; the
spiritual nature dominant, the physical submissive thereto.
Therein lay a suggestion, and indeed a revelation concern
ing the essential facts of Deity. God is a Spirit, intelli
gent, emotional, volitional. These essential facts of His
being govern all the forces of His nature, and so find ex
pression in a thousand different ways, through created
things. What man's body is to his spirit, all the created
universe is to God. The Old Testament literature is full
of this thought, and so God is described as clothing Him
self with light, as riding upon the wings of the wind, as
making the clouds His chariot. Thus unfallen man, rev
erently projecting the facts of his own being into immen
sity, would have a true conception of God. It follows by
a sequence from which there can be no escape, that when
man has fallen, if he still continue the same process he
will create a deity, but it must be false, a contradiction of
the truth, because man himself is a failure, and a contra-

The Meaning — God was in Christ 87
vention of the Divine purpose. In man, out of harmony
with God, the spiritual fact has been neglected, with the
result that the intelligence operates wholly within the realm
of the material, the affection is warped, and prostituted ;
the will has lost its true principle of action. Pro
ject these things into immensity, and there will result gods,
or a god, sensuous, cruel, tyrannical. It is the story of the
religions of the human race.
This has also been dealt with in a previous chapter as
revealed in Baal, in Moloch, in Mammon. New emphasis
is added to the fact by a consideration of the gods of Rome
and of Greece. In each case the deities worshipped -were
so many, that no man pretended to know their number,
and the character of them may be described in very few
words, vindictive, lazy, trivial, always seeking their own,
treating men in such way that the only reason why men
still feared or served them was that they would buy off from
vengeance, and prevent their cruelty. In the presence of
this universal incapacity to discover God, what can be
done ? The answer did not come, as it could not come,
from man. It came from God.
II. In Jesus of Nazareth, God gave to the world again
a Man, perfect in His humanity, and therefore perfect in
His revelation of the facts concerning Himself. In Jesus
there was a fulfillment of all that was highest and best in
the ideas of God, which had come to men by the revela
tions of the past. The continuous work of God from the
moment when man fell from his high dignity, by the act
of his rebellion, and so obscured his vision of God, was
that of self-revelation. Through processes that were long
and tedious, judged from the standpoint of human lives,
God with infinite patience spoke in simple sentences, shone

88 The Crises of the Christ
forth in gleams of light, and so kept enshrined within the
heart of man, facts concerning Himself, which man was un
able to discover for himself. So degraded was human in
telligence, that speaking after the manner of men only, it
may be said that it took whole centuries for God to en
shrine in the consciousness of the race, some of the simple
and most fundamental facts concerning Himself. Man's
ruin was so terrible, and so profound, as witness the dark
ened intelligence, the deadened emotion, and the degraded
will, that there was but one alternative open to the Eternal
God. Either He must sweep out and destroy utterly the
race, or else in infinite patience, and through long processes,
lead it back to Himself. He chose the pathway of recon
ciliation in His infinite grace, at what cost the story of the
Christ alone perfectly reveals.
It may be objected that Christ might have been imme
diately sent, and yet this is utterly to fail to comprehend the
depth of the degradation of man. There were many les
sons which the race must learn, before it was ready to re
ceive the light that should shine in the Person of the
Christ. For instance, man had lost his conception of the
unity of God, and was making to himself thousands upon
thousands of deities. The history of Israel is the history
of the enshrining within the race of the great truth of the
unity of God. " Hear, O Israel : Jehovah our God is one
Jehovah." ' That was the initial lesson, and yet Israel
never learned it fully until she had passed into Babylonish
captivity, and returning therefrom, abandoned for evermore
every form of idolatry.
The slowness of the work was due entirely to the ruin
of the only instrument through which a perfect revelation
could be made. God cannot be as perfectly expressed
1 Deut. 6 : 4.

The Meaning — God was in Christ 89
through any symbol as through a man. Not through a
system of ethics could God make Himself known, as
through one who lives wholly within His law. In the full
ness of time there came into human history the Revealer.
Man everywhere had been attempting to discover God by
the projection into infinitude of his own personality, and had
utterly, and absolutely, and necessarily failed. By the
coming of Christ, God gave man One Who, perfectly
realizing His ideal of humanity, made a perfect instrument
through which God should reveal Himself to the heart of
the race. Jesus was the express Image of God. From
every fact in the Personality of the Man Jesus, lines may
be projected into infinity, and the infinite enlargement of
the Person of Christ correctly reveals the fact of God. In
Incarnation God accepts the human standpoint of apprecia
tion of Himself, which was also His own standpoint, and
enshrining Himself in human life, He thinks, He speaks,
He acts through human channels.
Think then for a moment of the Personality of Christ,
in order that it may be seen how within the compass of
that which is knowable to man, lies a revelation of that
which otherwise is utterly unknowable. In that perfect
Personality there is found perfect humanity, humanity which
in itself harmonizes the spiritual and the material, humanity
in which the spirit is dominant, and the body subservient
and expressive. In Jesus the physical is not scourged, and
bruised, but governed and glorified. In Him the Spirit is
not imprisoned and degraded, but enthroned and dominant.
He is a perfect human Personality.
When these lines of perfect humanity are flung out into
the infinitudes, there is presented to the mind the perfect
Deity, the spiritual essence dominant, while all force, as
expressed through creation, is subservient to spirit. Every

90 The Crises of the Christ
fact of the clear shining of the wisdom of the Christ, as
Man, reveals the infinite wisdom of the Eternal God.
Every manifestation of the unselfish and unwearying love of
the heart of Jesus, is an outshining ofthe Eternal and undy
ing love of God Himself. Every movement and decision
of the will of Jesus, under the constraint ofthe Divine will,
is a revelation of the action and method of the will of God,
under the constraint of the Infinite and Eternal Love.
The God-man then is the gateway between God and
man. Through Him God has found His way back to
man, from whom He had been excluded by his rebellion.
In Him man finds his way back to God from Whom he
had been alienated by the darkening of his intelligence, the
death of his love, and the disobedience of his will. God
finds Himself in this Person and is with men. Man finds
himself in this Person, and is with God.
Through the God-man, Deity takes hold upon humanity.
Through the God-man, humanity takes hold upon Deity.
This revelation of God in Jesus may be illustrated both
by His teaching, and His deeds. Let there be selected any
word that fell from His lips, any incident of His wonder
ful .life, and when carefully considered, it will be discovered
that there is sounding in the air the very Word of God, and
appearing before the mind His activity. The simplest
simplicity of humanity to be found in Jesus of Nazareth is
the gateway through which the reverent and submissive
soul passes into the sublimest sublimity of Deity.
His teaching was the sum of all wisdom. The sweet and
tender words that come like music still, to all who in the
stress and strain of life hear them, " Come unto Me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me ; for I
am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto

The Meaning — God was in Christ 91
your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is
light," l are yet the words that none but God could have
uttered in the hearing of the restless feverish ness of a fallen
race. How human the utterance. Take out the words
that arrest attention, " Come . . . labour . . .
heavy laden . . . rest . . . yoke . . . bur
den." Is there one of them that sounds at first like the
language of the infinite God, or the speech of the perfect
heaven ? The whole passage thrills and throbs with a
common consciousness of human life. Yet sit down in
front of it, and take time to think. Press the ear closely
to these little words of earthly value, and there will be
heard sounding through them the deep organ notes of
the Eternal Wisdom. The tender call of the man is
the putting into such words as may be heard and under
stood by the heavy laden masses, all the deepest philoso
phies of life. Surely never man spake like this Man. The
speech of this Man is the speech of God.
Or take His deeds, any of them. Take them almost at
haphazard. The cleansing of the temple, the nursing of
little children, the human interest that watched people as
they gave at the treasury, the tears which chased each
other down the face, the white hot anger that flamed and
burned and scorched. And yet behind all is the evident
going of Deity, not one of them have explanation apart
therefrom. Let any man who imagines that the cleansing
of the temple was a purely human act, possess himself of a
whip of small cords, and attempt to drive out the vested
interests and the hoary superstitions, which gather around
and spoil the temple which should be a place of prayer. It
is simply absurd to suppose that the men who fled from
His presence were frightened of a Galilean peasant. That
1 Matt. 1 1 : 28-30.

92 The Crises of the Christ
anger at the desecrated house of God, which flamed from
His eye, and made His whole demeanour terrifying, was
the flashing forth of the outraged God, Whose house of
succour had been made a den of thieves. It is not con
ceivable that a mob of Jews would yield their money tables
to the claim of a peasant fresh from Galilee. They were
conscious for once of the anger of Deity.
It was indeed a Man Who took the children in His arms
and blessed them. The picture is so human, so suggestive
of all that is finest and most beautiful in true manhood ;
and yet listen, for He is speaking, and the word is revolu
tionary and yet authoritative. " Suffer the little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto Me : for to such be
longeth the Kingdom of Heaven." 1 If this Man be Man
alone, He is an ignorant fanatic. The children were never
counted as in the Kingdom of God, until from the sacred
rite of confirmation, they became themselves sons of the
law. Yet this Man, holding in His arms young children,
babes, says that they are the true type of the character of
such as are in His Kingdom. The centuries have vindi
cated the declaration, and have proved that it was the voice
of God, rebuking false conceptions of human greatness,
which cured human thinking, and announced the supremacy
of simplicity.
And yet again, it was a great human heart that shook
with emotion, and cast forth tears when from the mountain
He beheld the city of His love, corrupt, and hastening to
her doom. And yet it is unthinkable that that is all, for in
the tears is caught the flash and glory of that Divine com
passion, which pronounces doom, not with the note of ex
ultant triumph, but with the pathos of wounded love.
The teaching of Jesus, considered and followed to its
1 Matt. 19 : 14.

The Meaning — God was in Christ 93
final conclusions, brings the mind into contact with the
infinite wisdom of the Eternal God. The deeds of Jesus,
correctly appreciated, reveal the activities of God as to
purpose and method.
The Incarnation is first a revelation to man of man as
to first Divine intention. It is therefore also a revelation
of God, for perfect man is the image of God. In Jesus
there has been revealed to the race God's purpose for every
human being, a mind of royal and loyal love, and the ac
tivity of self-emptying service, as expressive of that
loyalty. The greatest injunction laid upon Christian men
by the writers of the New Testament is that of the apostle,
" Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."1
His mind was the mind wholly actuated by the principle
of love. It was submissive and regnant, submissive to the
dominion of love, reigning in the power of love.
From this consideration of ideal man, there breaks upon
the consciousness the truth concerning God. In Jesus,
man finds Him for Whom he has been searching, and be
ing unable to find, has created the false deities that have
cursed his whole life. According to this revelation, God's
knowledge is the knowledge of personal interest in all His
creation. His affection joys in the joy of His people, and
sorrows in the midst of their sorrows. His will is ever
impulsed by this perfect affection, and operates within this
intimate knowledge. These truths, too large for perfect
comprehension, are yet recognized as the lines project
from the unique Personality of Jesus into immensity.
Through the Man Jesus, man has found God. He had
built upon his ruined nature a false conception of God, but
now upon the perfect nature of the last Adam, man forms
a correct idea of the infinite God. Jesus of Nazareth is
1 Phil. 2 : 5.

94 The Crises of the Christ
perfect in His humanity. That humanity is the corner
stone, and if its lines are all carried forth, as in the case of
the corner-stone of the pyramid, the whole fact will be in
cluded. The value of the Incarnation then at once becomes ap
parent. Human misconceptions of God have created hu
man hatred of God. The hatred of the human heart
therefore is not hatred of the true God, for He is not
known. In Christ He is revealed, and when men know
Him as the Revealer, they love Him.
Much more of course needs to be said, as in the mission
of Christ much more needed to be done, for though the
light of Deity has perfectly shone in the Person of the
Christ, man does not see it. Something must be done to
quicken his intelligence, to open his eye. That, the Incar
nation does not do. It provides the true view of God for
the quickened intelligence. In the present study the sub
ject is merely that of the Divine self-revelation, contained
within the Incarnation. When man through the mystery of
Atonement, is reconciled, and the miracle of regeneration
is completed, then in the vision of God granted in Christ, he
will also be reconciled in intelligence, in emotion, in will.
Thus the Incarnation has made provision for the rec
onciliation of the whole man, but into this reconciliation man
will only pass as he becomes reconciled through the death
of Jesus. When so reconciled, his full salvation will pro
ceed through the harmonizing of the facts of his being, with
the revelation of the possibilities thereof in the Man Jesus,
under the constraint of the infinite love of God revealed also
in Him. " If while we were enemies, we were recon
ciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, be
ing reconciled, shall we be saved by His life." J
1 Romans 5 : 10.

VI
SIGNS TO THE SONS OF MEN
So far as man was concerned there was a marked un-
preparedness for the advent of Jesus. Yet He came in the
fullness of time. Everything was ready in the purpose and
economy of God. But while there was a general spirit of
unrest and undefined expectation abroad in the world,
neither His own nation nor the Gentile world were pre
pared for the appearing of the Messiah.
With regard to Israel it was true that " He came unto
His own, and they that were His own received Him not." 1
They did not receive Him, because partial blindness had
fallen upon them even in regard to their own prophecies.
It is remarkable that these people who possessed, and were
supposed to be instructed in, the prophecies concerning the
Messiah, had almost altogether lost sight of one side of the
prophetic message concerning Him.
Isaiah had portrayed, in unmistakable lines, and with
detailed definiteness, the picture of the suffering Servant of
God. How wonderfully the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah
was realized in the Person of Jesus Christ. But these
people had not begun to understand the fact of the suffer
ing of Messiah ; they had no conception of a lowly, de
spised, and rejected Deliverer. They expected One Who
should set up a kingdom of earthly power. And when He
came from lowly and despised Nazareth, and took the posi
tion of the Son of God, they were incredulous, unbeliev-
1 John i : li.
95

96 The Crises of the Christ
ing, simply because they had not understood their own
Scriptures. The same prophet had announced the fact of the incar
nation. " Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call His name Immanuel." 1 To the Hebrew
that was a descriptive name, and the simple meaning of
Immanuel was " God with us." It was the distinct fore
telling of the stupendous fact that He should be the God-
man, but they had never realized it. The people had
largely lost their spiritual sense, and were looking only for
the advent of a great prince who should deliver them from
the bondage of Roman tyranny, unmindful of the more
awful slavery of materialism. They had no conception
of the Servant of God as lowly and suffering, neither of
that deeper and sublimer truth that God would be manifest
in the flesh ; consequently there was no preparation for
His coming, no official national recognition of the advent.
Turning from His own people to the Gentile world,
what was the condition of affairs ? The three great world-
forces when He came were the Roman, the Greek, and
the Hebrew. The Roman was the nation of government,
the Greek of culture, and the Hebrew of religion. The
militarism of Rome utterly despised Judaea, looking down
upon it as one of the small and turbulent provinces, always
to be kept in subjection. The Roman was certainly not
waiting for a new king to be born in Judasa.
And what was the attitude of Greece ? The cultured
men of Greece held in contempt the religion of the He
brews. Hellenism and Hebraism were utterly opposed as
ideals of life. The Greek would have treated with the
utterest scorn the idea that a new teacher could arise out
of Hebraism. All this serves to show that there was not,
1 Isa. 7 : 14.

Signs to the Sons of Men 97
neither could there be, any welcome to the Saviour from
the world as it was when He came. He was neither ex
pected nor desired. All the known world was in a spirit
of unrest, but men had no conception of the character of
the deliverance really needed, and therefore Jesus came un
recognized and unknown. There was no welcome for
Him. But the time was now ripe in the economy of God for
His advent, for man in sin had sunk to deepest depths.
The world has never had a more powerful government than
the Roman, and in many respects Greek culture has never
been surpassed ; but in spite of all this, sin was rampant.
While there still exists terrible corruption in the world to
day, there is nothing to compare with the pollution of life
when Jesus Christ came. Corruption was everywhere, and
that in spite of the best that men could do in government,
in culture, and in religion.
But though there was no human welcome to Christ,
God granted to the men of that day certain signs that were
wholly supernatural and remarkable.
These were of two kinds, — direct and indirect. Of the
first there were three, — the star that led the wise men to
Christ; the angelic ministry renewed at the time of the
advent, and the fulfilling and renewal of the voices of
prophecy. All these were definite signs, pointing to Him,
directing attention to Him, in a world where men were not
prepared to accept Him, and did not welcome Him, as the
One sent from God for the fulfillment of the Divine
purpose. I. Of the sign of the star in the East1 a great many ex
planations have been attempted, with a view to accounting
1 Matt. 2 : 1, 2.

98 The Crises of the Christ
for it in other than a supernatural way, which if they were
not sad, would be amusing. Men have attempted to prove
that it was simply the ordinary movement of some star
which attracted the attention of these men. The evident
sense of Scripture leads to the conclusion that it was a spe
cial Divine arrangement. There was in the shining of
that star a signification which led these men from their
country to the place where Jesus was born. It was an ex
traordinary and special movement in the stellar spaces, de
signed to lead these men to Christ. One of the most
poetic thoughts about that star fell from the lips of a
Welsh preacher. He suggested that it may have been
the embodying of the Shekinah glory of old, which
had been homeless since the infidelity of God's people,
and now went outside the covenant to bring men back
to the true ark of the covenant, its abiding home hence
forth. This star shone in an unexpected place, outside
of the covenant, to attract men to the privileges of the
covenant. It has been often said that the magi were kings. There
seems to be no warrant for the statement. More probably
they were priests in their own country. The word is of
Aryan derivation. These men in all likelihood came from
Persia, and had devoted their life to the study of the stars.
They were astrologers. In these times men smile at as
trology ; but it should never be forgotten that astrology
preceded astronomy, as alchemy preceded chemistry. Israel
had been under Persian rule, and there is no doubt that the
men of Persia had become acquainted with much of the
religion and hope of the Hebrew ; and they would in all
likelihood be specially attracted by such predictions as
coincided with their own religious habits. In all probabil
ity they knew the prophecy about the star out of Jacob,

Signs to the Sons of Men 99
the sceptre out of Judah. l They knew that this star in
dicated the birth of a king, so that when they came they
said, " Where is He that is born king of the Jews, for we
saw His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." *
This sign within the radius of their own observation led
them to the fulfillment of what was best in their thought
and service. That has always been the way with devout
seekers after truth. God reveals Himself to them at the
point where they are sincere seekers. The first sign ofthe
advent of Christ was the star which shone in the darkness
of an outside nation.
Next there was the sign of the angelic ministry, — the
message to Zacharias;3 the message to Mary ;4 the word to
Joseph;5 the first solo of the advent over the plains of
Bethlehem. 6 An angel announced the coming of the fore
runner to Zacharias ; an angel announced to Mary that
she should bring forth a son ; an angel warned Joseph, and
led him out of peril ; an angel sang the song of the advent
to the shepherds, and was joined by a multitude of the
heavenly chorus. So that the angels who had so long been
silent, came again to announce the advent on earth of their
King. But perhaps the most remarkable sign was that of the
voices of prophecy. They had been silent from the time
of Malachi until the advent of Messiah. In dealing with
the voices of prophecy, there is first the fulfillment of
prophecy in the coming of Jesus ; and secondly the utter
ing of the new prophecies in connection therewith. Mat
thew deals only with the old voices. In Luke, on the con
trary, the voices of the old prophets are not referred to ; all

"Num.24: 17. * Matt. 2: 2. 'Luke I: 11.
* Luke 1 : 26. 'Matt. 1 : 20. «Luke 2: 10-12.

100 The Crises of the Christ
are new.1 In Luke are found the new voices to Zacharias,
to Mary, and Elizabeth in the first chapter ; to Simeon, and
Anna in the second chapter. Christ was coming unrecog
nized and unwelcome, but all the voices of prophecy of the
past were being fulfilled in Him, and in Elizabeth, Mary,
and Anna, Simeon and Zacharias, new powers of prophecy
gained inspiration from His advent. Add to these the
voice of the forerunner which, in the period immediately
preceding the opening of the public ministry of Christ, at
tracted crowds to the valley of the Jordan, and moved the
nation to its very centre. This new prophetic manifesta
tion centring in Jesus was an unmistakable sign to the
sons of men of the Divine nature of His mission.
II. Beyond these there were indirect signs. In connec
tion with the visit of the magi, remember their testimony
to Herod and to Jerusalem, the splendour of their gifts, and
their attitude to the Child. These all constituted signs to
men. They brought gifts for a monarch, and the signifi
cance of their visit is seen in Herod's terror. He knew
what it meant. It was a sign to royalty, this bringing of
rich gifts.
Then again there was the story that the shepherds told,
at which the people wondered, — a strange story that spread
over that whole district.2
There was also the sign of the slaughter of the inno
cents. All these were such as to arrest the attention of
the people. The star in the East, the visit of the magi, the
story of the shepherds, the slaughter of the innocents, the
1 The Scriptures which speak of the old voices are Matt I • 23 • 2-6
'S. '7. 23- ' '
The Prophecies to which they refer are Isa. 7:14; Micah 5:2;
Hosea 11 : 1 ; Jer. 31 : 15, and Isa. 53 : 3.
' Luke 2:18.

Signs to the Sons of Men 101
songs of the angels, all directed attention to the advent of
Jesus. The heavens- gave their testimony, and became
luminous with a new light at night. The stellar spaces
spoke by the appearance of a new star, which arrested the
attention of the men who watched the heavens. Heaven
as well as earth was moved at the advent, and hell itself
was moved, as is shown by the stirring up of the hatred of
Herod's heart, and the awful slaughter of the innocents.
These signs were sufficient to attract attention, and point
to the advent of Christ, but there were few to read the
signs of the times, and not until long after, did men begin
to understand the deep significance of these signals of the
advent. To-day men understand them in part, and every
day are coming to realize more and more their deep signifi
cance.

BOOK II
THE BAPTISM

VII. The Parting ofthe Ways
VIII. Light on the Hidden Years
IX. The Vision of John

"  My Lord at home
Bright in the full face of the dawning day
Stood at His carpentry, and azure air
Inarched Him, scattered with the glittering green :
Fsaw Him standing, I saw His face, I saw
His even eyebrows over eyes grey-blue,
From whence with smiling there looked out on me
A welcome and a wonder, — ' Mine so soon ? '
Ah, me, how sweet and unendurable
Was that confronting beauty ofthe boy!

And once again I saw Him, in latter days
Fraught with a deeper meaning, for He came
To my baptizing, and the infinite air
Blushed on His coming, and all the earth was still ;
Gentle He spake ; I answered ; God from heaven
Called, and I hardly heard Him, such a love
Streamed in that orison from man to man.
Then shining from His shoulders either-way
Fell the flood Jordan, and His kingly eyes
Looked in the east, and star-like met the sun.
Once in no manner of similitude,
And twice in thunderings and thrice in flame,
The Highest ere now hath shown Him secretly ;
But when from heaven the visible Spirit in air
Came verily, lighted on Him, was alone,
Then knew I, then I said it, then I saw
God in the voice and glory of a man."
— Frederick W. H. Myers.
" Saint John the Baptist."

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be
baptized of him. But John would have hindered Him, saying, I
have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? But
Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now : for thus it becometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he sufFereth Him. And Jesus,
when He was baptized, went up straightway from the water : and
lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of
God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him ; and lo, a voice
out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I
am well pleased. — Matt, j : 13—17.
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Naza
reth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. And
straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens rent
asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon Him : and a
voice came out of the heavens, Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee
I am well pleased. — Mark 1 : g-11.
Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that,
Jesus also having been baptized and praying, the heaven was
opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove,
upon Him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art My beloved
Son ; in Thee I am well pleased. — Luke 3 : 21, 22.

i<>5

VII
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS
The second crisis in the mission of the Christ was
reached when, emerging from the long silence and seclusion
of Nazareth, He faced the brief period of speech and
service, culminating in His Cross. That crisis is marked
by His baptism in the river of Jordan. Concerning the
thirty years, practically no details are given. A few brief
statements constitute the record of this period. These
statements reveal the principles of His life, and a bare
statement of facts, quite sufficient for an understanding of
all that is of value. They were years of seclusion and
privacy. The Gospel narratives give a much fuller account of the
three years of public ministry.
Between these periods, the baptism in Jordan stands, at
once dividing and uniting them. An understanding of
the meaning of that ceremony, in the case of Jesus, will be
gained by a contemplation of the thirty years and of the
three. The order of the present study then is that of con
sidering, first, the thirty years of private life ; secondly, the
three years of public ministry ; and lastly, the ceremony
coming between the two periods.
I. With regard to the thirty years, it will be well first
to gather the statements of Scripture concerning them,
thus coming into possession of the facts, and then to consider
the characteristics of those years, as therein revealed.
107

108 The Crises of the Christ
The facts chronicled concern the infancy, the childhood,
the youth, and the manhood of Jesus.
Concerning the infancy, the following facts are recorded;.
" And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcizing
Him, His name was called JESUS, which was so called by
the angel before He was conceived in the womb." l
"And when the days of their purification according
to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to
Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord." 2
"Now when they were departed, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise
and take the young child and His mother, and flee
into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee : for Herod
will seek the young child to destroy Him. And he arose
and took the young child and His mother by night, and de
parted into Egypt ; and was there until the death of
Herod : that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call
My Son."3
" But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and
go into the land of Israel : for they are dead that sought
the young child's life. And he arose and took the young
child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over
Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go
thither ; and being warned of God in a dream, he with
drew into the parts of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a
city called Nazareth ; that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken through the prophets, that He should be called a
Nazarene." *
' Luke 2:21. 5 Luke 2 : 22. « Matt. 2 : 13-15. 4 Matt. 2 : 19-23.

The Parting of the Ways 109
In exact fulfillment of the requirements of the Hebrew
law Jesus was circurhcized at the age of eight days.
He was thus brought into the outward and visible manifes
tation of His relationship to the covenant of God with
Israel. The second fact is that of His presentation in the
temple, and dedication as the first-born child of His mother,
to the purpose and service of God.
The third fact chronicles the flight into Egypt, and the
fourth the return from thence to His own land and people.
Thus in connection with the infancy there is a record
of suggestive facts, the identification of Jesus with the
covenant people of God, by the symbol of separation and
purity, His dedication to special and specific work by His
presentation in the temple, the carrying into Egypt, as part
of a Divine programme of protection for One set apart to
Himself, and the return to Nazareth for the entry upon
that life of obscurity, in which the human is to make its
progress from innocence to holiness, in the place of such
ordinary testing as comes to man, and which is necessary
for His development.
Concerning the childhood of Jesus, all the recorded facts
are in the Gospel of Luke, and are as follows :
" And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wis
dom : and the grace of God was upon Him."1
" And His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the
feast of the passover. And when He was twelve years
old, they went up after the custom of the feast; and when
they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy
Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem ; 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
1 Luke 2 : 40.

1 lo The Crises of the Christ
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, sit
ting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them, and
asking them questions : and all that heard Him were amazed
at His understanding 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 sorrowing. And He said unto
them, How is it that ye sought Me ? knew ye not that I
must be in My Father's house ? Arid they understood not
the saying which He spake unto them. And He went
down with them, and came to Nazareth ; and He was sub
ject unto them : and His mother kept all these sayings in
her heart." l
The whole story of the childhood of Jesus from infancy
to His religious coming of age, is contained in one verse.
The main statement of the verse is, " the child grew."
Then follows an explanation of the statement, in what may
be spoken of as an analysis of the lines of His growth.
The whole fact of His human nature, physical, mental, and
spiritual is recognized ; the physical development in the
words, He " waxed strong " ; the mental development in
the words, " becoming full of wisdom " (see margin) ; the
spiritual development in the words, " the grace of God was
upon Him." Thus the development of Jesus was not one
sided. Under the careful training of His mother, the ad
vancement was a perfect harmony of progress in the whole
fact of His life.
The other fact of His childhood recorded, is that of His
religious coming of age. It is altogether to miss the im
portance of this story to think of it as accidental. The
'Luke 2: 41-51.

The Parting of the Ways 1 1 1
purpose of the coming to Jerusalem on the part of Mary,
was undoubtedly primarily that of fulfilling the require
ments of the law, the bringing of Jesus to His confirma
tion. At this point the boy was supposed to enter upon
that period of life when He should have immediate deal
ings with the law, receiving it no longer through the in
struction of His parents ; but having been brought by them
into a knowledge of its requirements, He would now take
upon Himself the responsibility. The rite which is still
in existence, consists in the preparation by the candidate
of certain passages of the law, which are to be recited, and
his presentation to the rulers and doctors, that in conver
sation with him, they may ask him questions, testing his
knowledge, and he may submit to them questions arising
out of his training. It was to this ceremony of confirma
tion that Jesus was brought at the age of twelve.
The picture of Christ here is very full of beauty,
although too often the natural fact is obscured, by false
ideas concerning the attitude of Jesus towards the teachers.
A very popular conception of His action here is that of a
boy delighting to ask questions that will show His own
wisdom, and puzzle the doctors. This would seem to be
utterly contrary to the facts. Jesus, a pure, beautiful boy,
physically strong, mentally alert, spiritually full of grace,
moving into new and larger experiences of His life, answered
the questions of the doctors with a lucidity that astonished
them, and submitted problems to them which showed how
remarkable was the calibre of His mind, and how intense
the fact of His spiritual nature. So great an opportunity
was this to Him, that He tarried behind, still talking with
these men.
Supposing Him to have been with the company, His
parents had started on the homeward journey, and missing

1 1 2 The Crises of the Christ
Him, returned. Here again violence has been done to the
character of Christ by the tone in which His question has
been repeated. There was no touch of rebuke in what
He said to His mother. It is far more probable that there
was a tender expression of surprise that she from whom
He had received His training, and under whose direction
His mind had developed, and His spiritual nature been
nurtured, should not know how "the things of His Fa
ther " were to Him the chief things.
So far of course Jesus is seen in the development of
His human nature along the ordinary lines. The difficulty
suggested in a previous chapter, how there could be growth
and advancement, or why training was necessary if He was
indeed God, admits of no explanation save that of repeat
ing the fact that while He was very God, He was actual
Man. His human life was lived wholly within the realm
of humanity. The Son of God in His Deity refrained
from giving to the human fact in its testing and develop
ment, any assistance other than was originally at the dis
posal of unfallen man. It cannot be over-emphasized or
too often repeated, that this is a mystery defying explana
tion. Yet to deny it is to create a new mystery on either
of the sides of the Personality of Jesus, involving the rout
of the reason, in that there is discovered a marvellous
effect, of which the only possible cause is denied.
The conclusion of the story of the confirmation is that
He went down with His parents, and was subject unto them.
Concerning the youth of Jesus, that is, the period from
His confirmation to His young manhood, there is one
statement. "And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in
favour with God and men." J
1 Luke 2 : 52.

The Parting ofthe Ways 113
Here again there is no detail, but the bare declaration of
His advancement, and that advancement is revealed as
being balanced, and including the whole of His nature,
" in wisdom, in stature, in favour with God and men."
The application of this statement, very often lost sight of,
is that He grew in favour not only with God, but with
men. It is not a sign of being in the grace of God when
one is out of favour with men. It was not the Personality
and character of Jesus that alienated the crowds from
Him, but the teaching which rebuked their sin, and called
them to repentance. It is very beautiful to read that in
those long years at Nazareth Jesus was a favourite. No
details are given, and yet it is quite possible to sit down in
front of the statement, and imagine various facts included
within it. One could almost picture the children going to
Him, taking perhaps their toys for Him to mend ; and the
young men, visiting Him to talk out some of the problems
that were vexing their hearts. And the old people, bent
with sorrow, and loving to hear the tones of some strong
and yet tender voice, sitting while He talked to them.
Let this never be forgotten " He grew in favour with God
and men." Jesus was a favourite in His own village until
the days came when, in fulfillment of His Father's will, He
had to speak such words as alienated them from friendship,
and made the very men of Nazareth attempt His murder,
long before it was accomplished by the priests ofthe nation.
There yet remains one fact chronicled concerning the
years, that namely, of the occupation of His Manhood.
" 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." » 1 Mark 6 : 3.

1 14 The Crises of the Christ
The question was asked in the days when the enmity of
the men of Nazareth was stirred against Him, because of
His superior wisdom, and authoritative teaching. And yet
it lights up facts of those past years. He was the village
carpenter. The Greek word -cIk-cuv, here translated car
penter, etymologically means a producer, but specifically,
and in its use in that country, it indicated a craftsman in
wood. The declaration reveals Him to us as One Who
learned a trade, becoming Master of the tools of His craft.
All this is to be dealt with more fully in the next chapter.
These facts, brief as is the chronicle of them, reveal the
characteristics of the life of Jesus. Through the process
of training, He lived in dependence upon the guidance of
other human wills. He trod the path of a daily duty.
Toil was not to Him merely the taking up of work for the
sake of amusement. It was His response to stern ne
cessity. He laboured for the bread which was to sustain
physical life. Through all the years, His life was con
ditioned within human limitations. These limitations were
of course, such as were part of an original Divine plan.
There was a difference throughout between the experience
of the Man Jesus, and the experience of fallen men.
Their intelligence is darkened. His shone clearly, and yet
in ever increasing capacity. Their emotion is prostituted.
His was ever set upon highest things, and responsive to
the most perfect. Their will is degraded, because under
the dominion of a false governing principle. His was ex
ercised within the true realm of submission to the highest
of all. The thirty years were the years of the long
silence, in which the Son of God is seen stripped and
emptied of all royalty, save that of a victorious manhood.
II. Turning to the three years, there may again be con-

The Parting ofthe Ways 115
sidered the facts and the characteristics. Here everything
is different. Silence has given way to speech, privacy to
publicity ; submission to human authority has been changed
into authoritative teaching and deeds, in the midst of
human affairs. His induction to public ministry is re
corded by Luke. Returning to the synagogue, with which
He was so familiar, and taking up the book of the prophet,
He read Himself into His sacred office. From the prophecy
of Isaiah He read the marvellous description of the mis
sion of the Servant of God, and then in sublime and quiet
majesty announced that "to-day hath this Scripture been
fulfilled in your ears." 1 There was no one to introduce
Him, for no one appreciated the meaning of His mission.
Passing from the life of privacy to the days of publicity,
He definitely and positively claimed that He was the One,
anointed of God, for the fulfillment of the dreams, and the
realization of the hopes, of the ancient people.
The description of the following years is all crowded
into the brief descriptive statement, with which Luke
opens his second treatise. "Jesus began both to do and
to teach."2 For the purposes then of gathering the
general impression of the facts of the three years, they
may be considered under that twofold heading, of His do
ing and His teaching.
There is no necessity here to attempt to chronicle the
deeds. It will be sufficient to state concisely their
character again in the words of Luke. "Jesus of
Nazareth . . . went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with
Him." 3 That covers the whole fact concerning the deeds
of Jesus in the three years of public ministry. Doing
good means infinitely more than being good, or doing good
1 Luke 4 : 16-21. 8 Acts 1 : 1. 8 Acts 10 : 38.

1 16 The Crises of the Christ
things that are right. The phrase indicates active benefi
cence. He was, in the richest and fullest sense of the
word, a Benefactor. He lived a life in which there was
the constant activity of deeds of goodness and kindness to
wards other people. The goodness referred to is positive
and relative, assuredly the goodness of character, but also
that manifested in conduct, not merely the rightness of
inward attitude, but the beneficence of outward act. His
vocation during the hidden years had been that of a carpen
ter. When He laid that calling aside, He entered upon the
vocation of doing good, serving others, scattering blessing.
All life now was an opportunity for benefiting some one.
His journeyings, His ordinary deeds, the miracles of His
power, are all contained within the phrase " doing good."
He was pouring out of His own rich treasury upon other
people, scattering gifts, bestowing benefits. He went about
doing good.
Then as to the teaching. This consisted in the an
nouncement of the principles of human life, and was a
revelation of the convictions and conditions lying behind true
conduct. It is almost impossible to summarize the teach
ing of Jesus, and yet the attempt must be made, though
the result will of necessity be imperfect.
As in the Gospels four facts are revealed concerning
the Personality of Christ, so also these Gospels reveal four
phases of His teaching ; and the whole system of the
teaching of Jesus can only be understood, as these phases
are all present to the mind, and their harmony and balance
are discovered.
The teaching of Matthew has to do with the government
of God. It is teaching concerning the Kingdom. In it
lies that most matchless document, the Manifesto of the
King. Afterwards there occurs His commissioning of His

The Parting of the Ways ll)
first messengers, with yet fuller revelation of the true
meaning of the Kingdom. Then in perfect harmony of
deed with word, illustrations and explanations of the
benefits and values of the Kingdom are given. Then in
cidentally scattered through the Gospel there are illumina
tive illustrations, and ever broadening teaching, concerning
the powers and perfections of the kingly authority.
The people who have listened, have become antagonized,
and as in the beginning of the teaching, there were the
Beatitudes, so towards its closing, so far as the crowd is
concerned, the woes are pronounced, the stern and awful
denunciations of such as reject the Kingdom of God.
Towards the close of the three years, the programme con
cerning the final movements of the Divine economy, in
the casting out of evil, and the establishment of the King
dom is announced. Along all the pathway incidental teach
ing, great parables, and revealing deeds, unite in making
clear the great facts concerning the Kingdom of God, yet
to be set up on the earth, and spoken of almost invariably,
therefore, through Matthew, as the Kingdom of heaven.
In the Gospel of Mark, the teaching is of a different
character. There is very little of it. He is revealed as to
His Person, as the Servant, always girded, always busy,
stripped of royalty, and consecrated to duty. Incidental
accounts which had to do largely with that aspect of truth,
fall from His lips. A special section is devoted to the
charge He delivers to His servants, concerning their work,
and in which He speaks of the final things.
In Luke again the character of the teaching is different,
harmonizing as it does with the Person of Jesus as therein
presented. In this Gospel there is no consecutive body of
teaching. The Son of Man, the universal Saviour, speaks
as occasion demands, of the great subjects that are ever on

li8 The Crises ofthe Christ
His heart. First the Gospel contains in condensed form
some of the mighty sayings contained within the Manifesto
of the King, as recorded by Matthew. Then there are
general instructions, and solemn warnings uttered to His
apostles, as He equips them for their work. That however
which is peculiar to Luke is His wonderful teaching con
cerning publicans and sinners, their lost condition, and the
redemption He has come to accomplish for them. In
Luke there is the parable concerning the lost sheep, the
lost silver, and the lost son. It is a parable of the lost.
It is a parable of the lost sought. It is a parable of the lost
found. And that parable of Jesus may be said to reveal
His teaching concerning humanity in the light of His mis
sion more perfectly than it is revealed in any other of His
recorded words. In this Gospel moreover, is contained
the denunciation of the Pharisees, the parables of service, of
the talents, and yet again, words concerning the final things.
Coming to the Gospel of John, in some senses the
greatest of all, because presenting Jesus as to His Deity,
there is the most wonderful teaching of all. From first to
last the teaching of Jesus in John may be spoken of as the
speech of heaven to earth. There are the wonderful con
versations with Nicodemus, and the woman at the well;
the remarkable discourses, delivered in the hearing of the
crowds, concerning His unity with the Father; His dis
course on the sustenance of the life of the spirit, as being
of infinitely greater importance than the feeding of the
physical ; a declaration of the meaning of His mission, as
being that of providing life for those who need it, by the
liberation of His own, through the mystery of death.
Finally, the great Paschal discourses, in which He prom
ises to His Church the coming of the Spirit, and declares
the meaning and the method of that great advent.

The Parting of the Ways 119
It is in John that there is the repetition so constantly of
the Divine title, " I am," linked to simple symbols of
things human, and in that very fact is a key to the whole
teaching of Jesus, as contained in the Gospel of John. It
is the speech of heaven to earth, of God to men. It is
but to pass through the Gospel reading His " I am's," and
their setting, to discover this key. " I am the bread." l
" I am the Light." 2 " I am." 3 "lam the door." 4 " I
am the good Shepherd." 6 "lam the resurrection." 6 "I
am the way, and the truth, and the life." 7 "lam the
true vine." 8 Here is a growing revelation. Here is a
declaration of the whole meaning of His gracious mission.
The human symbols are simple. The Divine title ever
thrills with the infinite music unfathomable. Yet in their
combination is heard the voice from heaven, the Logos,
the Word of God.
How different these three years from the thirty. The
characteristics of the thirty, and those of the three, make a
striking contrast. In the thirty, depending on human will.
In the three, uttering authoritative speech, and performing
deeds of power. In the thirty years, the commonplace
duty a daily call. In the three, manifesting Himself as the
Lord of duty, demonstrating the dignity of the Son of Man
by the miracles of His power, and the glory of the Son of
God in the matchless magnificence of His Person, and the
infinite wisdom of His teaching. In the thirty years, a life
lived strictly within human limitations, a life in which there
was constant relation to the Divine, but the relation of de
pendence, submission, fellowship. In the three years while
this continued, yet the life was evidently broadening out into
a spacious and conspicuous cooperation with the Divine,
. 1 John 6 : 35. ' John 8:12. " John 8:58. * John 10 : 7.
"John 10: 11. 'John 11: 25. 'John 14: 6. 8Johnl5:I.

120 The Crises of the Christ
until the supreme consciousness left upon the mind is that
of the movements of God through the deeds and words of
man. The thirty years were those of the long silence in
which the Son of God was seen stripped and emptied of all
royalty, save that of His perfect Manhood. The three
years are the years of the brief speech, in which the Son of
Man is seen clothed in authority, filled with power, speak
ing in the tone and accent of the Son of God.
III. Between these periods there came the solemn and
significant ceremony of the baptism. As Jesus left that in
His life which was preparatory, and entered upon the
actual work of the ministry, He devoted Himself to the ul
timate issue of His work, that namely, of an identification
with men even to death. His being baptized was an act
by which He consented to take His place among sinners.
John's baptism was that of repentance. There was no
room for repentance in Jesiis, and yet because of His de
votion to their redemption, He took His place with them.
This will be referred to again in subsequent considerations.
It is named here as helping to explain the value of the su
pernatural manifestations accompanying the baptism. As
in the act of baptism He yielded Himself, a sacrifice and
an offering; the opened heavens, the descending dove, the
living voice, each having its own significance, unite in the
attestation of the perfection of the One so yielding Him
self, to the mightiest phase in the purpose of God, that of
redemption by the way of sacrifice. The significance of
this threefold fact may be considered briefly.
Tjjejjpened heavens suggest the perfections of the thirty
years, and declare in sacred sign and symbol that no act of
His has excluded Him from the fellowship of the perfect.
Heaven which must forever exclude whatsoever is imper-

The Parting of the Ways 121
feet, could have enfolded Him without the violation of any
principle of the Eternal Holiness.
The-descending Spirit in the form of a dove was a recog-
nition of the character, the Spirit, the disposition, of this
Man, which lay behind the outward expression in conduct.
Never anywhere else, is it recorded that the Spirit de
scended in the form of a dove. It rested upon Christ as
the symbol of purity and of meekness. And yet it was
also His anointing for the work of the three years. Seeing
that the Spirit of anointing, which was preparation for the
future, came in the form of a dove, which sealed the past ;
the fact was signified that the ministry in public would be
exercised in the strength of, and carried forward in the
Spirit of, the purity and the meekness which had character
ized the past.
Superadded to these signs there was j^ie_jound_ofjhe
living_yoice. First in identification of this Person as the
One Who was referred to in the prophetic writings, and in
the words of the Psalmist,
" I will tell of the decree :
Jehovah said unto Me, Thou art My Son;
This day have I begotten Thee . . .
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way." »
The great word coming out of the old economy is " the
Son." Now at the baptism God says, " Thou art My be
loved Son." 2
Thus the description has reference to His office, and
appointment and anointing for service. The second part
of the Divine pronouncement declares that God is well
pleased in Him. This sets the seal of the Divine appro
bation upon the thirty years, and declares therefore the
' Psalm 2 : 7, 12. s Luke 3 : 22.

122 The Crises of the Christ
perfect fitness of the approved One for the carrying out of
the work of the three.
Thus the thirty years of privacy merge into the three years
of publicity, by the way of solemn and significant ceremony.
By this study the baptism is placed in its relation to
these two periods in the ministry of Jesus. The next
study will deal more fully with the perfections of the
thirty, and the following one will indicate more fully the
true meaning and value of the three.

VIII
LIGHT ON THE HIDDEN YEARS AT NAZARETH
The baptism of Jesus separated between His private and
public life. At that baptism the opened heavens, the de
scending Spirit, and the voice of the Father alike bore tes
timony to the perfection of the Son.
The Divine voice had special significance as a declara
tion concerning the character of Christ as He emerged from
the seclusion of the hidden years. Thrice during the period
of public ministry did this Divine voice break the silence
of the heavens, announcing the Father's approval of the
Son of His love. On each occasion the silence was so
broken for the bearing of testimony to the perfection of
Jesus. The first occasion was the one now under consideration,
when the voice declared, "This is My beloved Son, in
Whom I am well pleased." x
The second was when upon the mount of transfigur
ation, the same voice was heard saying, " This is My be
loved Son, in Whom I am well pleased ; hear ye Him." 2
The third was when Jesus, drawing near to His Cross,
the shadow and sorrow thereof falling over His life, prayed,
" Father, glorify Thy name," and the answer came, " I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." 3
In each case the breaking of the silence of the heavens
was for the announcement of God's approbation of Christ,
as in some fresh crisis of life He set His face towards the
1 Matt. 3:17. s Matt. 17:5. 3 John 12 : 28.
123

124 The Crises of the Christ
death, which was to culminate the work of redemption, ac
cording to the purposes of God. He went into the waters
of Jordan, and was numbered with the transgressors in the
baptism of repentance, taking His place with them in that
symbol of death, as He would finally associate Himself
with them in actual death. So far as the Person and char
acter of Christ were concerned, He had no need of the
baptism of John. The prophet was perfectly right when
he said, " I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest
Thou to me ? " l By His action He signified His consent
to identification with sinners, even to death. Here then,
at once becomes evident the value of the Divine statement.
\ It was a declaration of the perfection of Jesus, and conse-
J quently of the value of that sacrifice which He would ulti-
f mately offer.
This indeed was the signification in each of the three
cases quoted, for on the mount of transfiguration, He spoke
with the heavenly visitors of His coming exodus, thus in
the light of that wondrous glory facing His death for men.
And on the third occasion it was when He, troubled in
Spirit, at the prospect of death, yet deliberately declared that
for death He had come unto that hour, and prayed only for
the glorification of the Divine name. In three crises He
faced and consented to death, and on each occasion heaven
sealed the sacrifice as being perfect, and therefore of in
finite value.
This statement of the perfection of Jesus made_at-His
baptism is a window, through which light falls upon His
PeTson and character in the years that had been spent_at
Nazareth. ,
In the account of the creation in Genesis, it is declared
that man, created in the image of God was appointed
1 Matt. 3 : 14.

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 125
master of all created things, the fish of the sea, the fowl of
the air, and the beasts of the field. He was, moreover,
placed in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it,
that fact indicating that all the wonderful possibilities lying
within the new creation were to be realized by the atten
tion and work of man. The psalmist, overwhelmed by
the majesty of the heavens, asks in astonishment,
" What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? "
and then answers his question in words that recall the Di
vine intention as revealed in Genesis :
" For Thou hast made him but little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honour.
Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy
hands ;
Thou hast put all things under his feet :
All sheep and oxen,
Yea, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas." '
Man, in the first Divine intention, is master of creation.
He is born to have dominion. This psalm is quoted by
the writer of the letter to the Hebrews :
But one hath somewhere testified, saying,
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ?
Or the son of man, that Thou visitest him ?
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour,
And didst set him over the works of Thy hands :
Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.
For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left
nothing that is not subject to him.2 That is a declara
tion of the original purpose of God. The writer then
proceeds, " But now we see not yet all things subjected
•Psa. 8: 4-8. »Heb. 2: 6-9.

126 The Crises of the Christ
to him. But we behold . . . Jesus." Without deal
ing with the full purpose or intention of the writer's
argument, it is evident that he intends to declare, that
while man as he is to-day has failed to realize the Di
vine intention, this Man was an exception to the general
failure, in that He perfectly realized it. To Him all things
were in subjection. He was Master of the fish of the
sea, and knew where to find them, when the disciples had
been baffled in their all-night fishing. He understood the
habits of the birds of the heavens, and drew some of His
sweetest lessons from them. The very beasts of the field
recognized His Lordship. Of this there is a glimpse in
the account of the temptation as chronicled by Mark,
" He was with the wild beasts ; " J the preposition used indi
cating close contact, and therefore also suggesting that He
was unharmed by them. He was indeed God's perfect Man,
having dominion over the things of His Father's creation.
To facilitate the meditation on the perfections of Jesus
as Man, fall back upon the simplest analysis of human
personality, that of spirit and body, dealing with the mind
as the consciousness of this compound personality. In-
ferentially the New Testament has much to say concern
ing the perfection of Jesus in spirit and body during those
years of seclusion in Nazareth.
I. We commence with spirit, for that is the essential
fact in man. For an understanding of the perfection of
His Spirit again let the analysis of intelligence, emotion, and
will be accepted. In all of these, and in their combination,
Jesus of Nazareth realized the Divine thought, and there
fore was absolutely perfect.
In Him intelligence was unclouded. In the Divine
'.Mark 1 : 13.

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 127
economy there are three ways in which men may know
God, — through creation, through revelation, and through
direct communication.
All these avenues were open to Jesus, and through them
He saw all that was to be seen. To Him creation was an
open book, revelation was radiant, and communication with
God was immediate and uninterrupted. These things can
be said of none other. Creation is not an open book to
man. God is allowing him by the slow and tedious proc
esses of the centuries to learn to read its secrets. To
Jesus all these secrets were apparent.
The revelation of the Scriptures, while perfect in them
selves, are not perfectly understood because of the clouding
of man's intelligence, and it is out of his limitation that
all the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the cen
turies have risen. To Jesus all the words of revelation
rang with the meanings of God, and He knew Him, and
understood His message in the holy writings.
The communication of men with God, even of the
saints, is intermittent and partial, interfered with often by
moods and frames. His was perpetual, the Divine voice
sounding in the deepest consciousness of His soul, and He,
answering with the naturalness of a child, in the immediate
presence of the Father.
In this connection hear the testimony of the men of
Nazareth. To this hamlet on the hills He had been taken
as an infant on the return from Egypt, and there for the
next twenty-eight years the greater part of His life was
spent. At the age of twelve He had been taken to Jeru
salem, and in all probability had visited the Holy City each
subsequent year ; but most likely all the remaining months
of the years were passed in Nazareth. The people of
Nazareth would know Him perfectly. It was a little town

128 The Crises of the Christ
standing out of the run of the ordinary traffic of the coun
try. So far is it removed from the ordinary course of
events that it seems as though no invading army has ever
touched it ; and there is great probability that the syna
gogue standing to-day is the very one in which the Lord
read the words of the law. It was a small and unimpor
tant place, where in all likelihood every one knew every one
else, and would be perfectly familiar with the boy who had
grown up in the shop of the village carpenter, and had
finally Himself succeeded His reputed father in the work
of that shop.
At about thirty years of age, He had turned His back
upon the village. After an absence of a few months He
returned, and as His custom was, visited the synagogue on
the Sabbath day. But now what He did was unusual and
unexpected — He opened His mouth and began to speak to
them, and as they listened to Him they were astonished ;
and presently some one asked the question, " Whence hath
this Man these things ? and, What is the wisdom that is
given unto this Man ? " x
To gather the full force of the question it is necessary
to understand what they meant by wisdom. According to
Trench the word ao<pia, signifies clearness of understand
ing, and is a word used only " as expressing the highest
and noblest." As these men of Nazareth listened to Him,
what surprised them was that they heard in His teaching,
such wisdom as was proof at once of great intellect, and
great goodness.
There is a yet more remarkable statement recorded about
Him in the Gospel of John. Coming from Galilee to
Jerusalem He taught in the temple. Speaking here was a
very different thing from speaking in the synagogue at
' Mark 6 : 2.

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 129
Nazareth. Here were gathered and centred the light and
scholarship of the day. Here a false accent, or a misquo
tation of ignorance, would immediately have been detected.
When Savonarola came to Florence for the first time, his
magnificent eloquence of conviction was counted nothing,
because of the objectionable Lombardy accent. When
Jesus passed from the villages to the metropolis, and
opened His mouth to teach, surrounded by the most critical
ears of His day, " the Jews therefore marvelled, saying,
How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned ? " l
Now this word ypafifiaza, translated " letters," is a most sig
nificant one. It only occurs in one other place in the
New Testament. " And as he thus made his defence,
Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy
much learning is turning thee mad." 2 Festus meant by
the word " learning " exactly what these men meant by
" letters." Festus detected in the speech of Paul, all that he
had gained from his careful training. There was the accent
of the school of Gamaliel, and it was this tone of erudition
that the Jews were astonished at in Jesus when they spoke
of His knowing letters. " When they said, ' How knoweth
this Man letters, having never learned,' they meant that He
had never studied in the schools, and yet possessed all that
the schools could give Him."3 The remarkable thing was
that Jesus showed Himself familiar with the literary
methods of His time, which were confined to the disciples
of the popular teachers. He did not speak amongst them
as an earnest and yet ignorant Man ; but by His use of
language, and His evident familiarity with the philosophies
of the schools, He impressed the Jerusalem crowds, and in
astonishment they exclaimed, " How knoweth this Man
letters, having never learned ? "
'John 7 : 15. 'Acts 26 : 24. 3 Bishop Westcott.

130 The Crises of the Christ
Men have to learn, to study, to go through processes of
training, to obtain what He possessed without these proc
esses. To return to the Gospel of John, notice that He
answered their question : " My teaching is not Mine, but
His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he
shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or
whether I speak from Myself." J While that passage is
generally quoted as declaring a philosophy of Christian dis
cipleship, and while it has that application, it should never
be forgotten that the first intention of the words is that of
an answer to a question of the Jews, and is our Lord's ac
count of His knowledge of the things that astonished His
hearers. The Man Who perfectly does the will of God
is the Man Who understands all mysteries ; and is familiar
with facts which ordinary men only understand by long
effort and study. The secrets that lie hidden in Nature,
fallen man with clouded intelligence must search after; but
God's unfallen Man will read them upon the open page of
Nature, discovering immediately the deepest philosophies
of life. Never let Christ be robbed of the royalty of intel
lectual kingship. He was in no sense ignorant or illiterate.
He never learned, for there was no necessity for learning.
Learning is a process made necessary by the fall of man,
and the sin of the race. God's perfect and unfallen Man
needed no such process ; being sinless, He knew letters
without having learned. In Him was most perfectly ful
filled the wonderful words " The secret of Jehovah is with
them that fear Him." 2
This intelligence operated not only in the realm of Na
ture, but in keen and marvellous accuracy of understanding
of the inner secrets of other human lives. As John de
clares, " He needed not that any one should bear witness
'John 7 : 16, 17. 2 Psa. 25 ; 14 (margin).

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 131
concerning man ; for He Himself knew what was in
man." 1 Telepathy and thought-reading are great mysteries
to the mind of men to-day, mysteries towards the solution
of which a few are bending all their mental power, while
the rest watch, and smilingly imagine that they are either
playing tricks, or are themselves being tricked. And yet
this whole realm of the communication of the mind of
man with the mind of man, is part of the estate lost through
sin. In it Jesus was at home. He knew the thought of
sin, and the lustful desire, and the hidden malice, and the
trembling aspiration after God ; and to watch carefully His
dealings with the varied men and women, who crossed His
pathway, is to see the method of an intelligence the calibre
of which cannot be understood, for He read the inner
thought of the heart of each as an open book.
Let workers for God in dealing with individual souls
ever bear this in mind. He knows the secret of the heart
of the one to whom the worker is talking. There are
times when in dealing with men of intellectual mold there
has come the temptation of imagining that Jesus of Naza
reth was not able perfectly to satisfy the capacity of their
great minds. Shame on all such unworthy doubt. Be it
ever remembered that Jesus, the Son of Mary, was Prince
of scholars, Master of learning, King of wisdom, His ene
mies being His witnesses. He had the ypd/x^ara,ihe wisdom
of letters, which they so coveted, though He never passed
through human process to reach the human result.
He was moreover perfect in His emotional nature. His
affection was undivided. Unclouded intelligence issued in
perfect consciousness of God. Seeing God perfectly in
the ways and works of God, He loved God perfectly.
Herein is the deepest meaning of His own words, " Blessed
'John 2: 25.

132 The Crises of the Christ
are the pure in heart : for they shall see God." l Himself
pure in heart, He saw God perfectly, and this was to
realize the Divine unity. Let this sequence be carefully
noted. First, unclouded intelligence producing perfect
consciousness of God ; secondly, perfect consciousness of
God revealing the unity of God and of all things in God ;
thirdly, this discovery capturing the whole heart and neces^
skating perfect love'.
This unity of God was the central fact for the understand
ing of which the Hebrew nation had been created.
" Hear, O Israel : Jehovah our God is one Jehovah." 2
To see and know God as Jesus saw and knew Him is to
discover this unity, and therein to discover the unity of all
the purposes of Deity, — that
" . . . through the ages one increasing purpose runs,
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns." 3
This vision of the unity of God captures the heart of
man. The consciousness of the One Who creates and
maintains unity, is the perfection of love in the soul of
man. Thus the passage already quoted in Deuteronomy
concerning the unity of Jehovah is immediately followed by
the command, " And thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
Jesus knowing with unclouded intelligence was perfectly
conscious of the character of God, and the unity of His
purpose, and loved Him with all His heart. The Man of
unclouded intelligence was the Man of undivided affection.
Then follows the fact of the unopposing will. The will
is the citadel against which all the forces of temptation are
directed, and within this citadel Jesus repelled these tempta-
1 Matt. 5:8. 8 Deut. 6 : 4. 'Tennyson.

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 133
tions in the light of unclouded intelligence, and the power
of undivided affection. He saw God perfectly, and there
fore He loved God perfectly, and therefore He obeyed
God perfectly, and was able to say, " I do always the things
that are pleasing to Him." 1
In this analysis of the spiritual perfection of Jesus, there
must ever be borne in mind the interaction of these three
facts within the spiritual nature. Love, through light, ap
pealed to will. Will, responding, strengthened love and in
creased light. That is the perpetual process in human life.
Yielding to God, light falls upon the pathway, and creates
love. Love suggests obedience. The will, impulsed by
love, yields to light. The experience that follows obedience
increases love and light, and thus there is perpetual prog
ress, growth, development in the grace that makes men
grow in favour with God and man.
II. Turn now to the physical perfection of Jesus.
When will some inspired artist give us a true picture of
this glorious Man ? He is almost always depicted as frail
in physical form, and lacking in bodily beauty. Perhaps the
German artist, Hoffmann, has come nearest to the true
ideal. It may be argued that the prophet Isaiah declared,
"There is no beauty that we should desire Him;"2 but
surely the prophet did not mean that He would be devoid
of beauty, but rather that men would be blind and would
not recognize the true type of Divine beauty. I strenu
ously hold that He was perfect in physical form and pro
portion. The body is the outward and visible sign of the
inward and invisible spirit, and the perfect spirit of Jesus
would form a perfect physical tabernacle in which He
passed the probationary life.
' John 8 : 29. J Isa. 53 : 2.

134 The Crises of the Christ
In the letter to the Romans the apostle urges the saints
" to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God, which is your spiritual worship." J That is the
marginal reading, and catches the real thought of the writer.
The spirit worships through the presentation of the body.
The spirit expresses itself through the body. It will read
ily be conceded that the most plain and commonplace faces
become transfused with light, when the spirit is in com
munion with God ; and to grant the spiritual perfection of
Jesus is of necessity to admit bodily perfection likewise.
Marred with the furrows of sorrow and of pain His sacred
face most surely was, yet in form and feature and fashion
it was the fairest face of man the world has ever seen.
Perhaps bent, and even at the last faltering with weariness,
that sacred tabernacle of His spirit, and yet the boasted
perfections of Greek gods were but human abortions by the
side of the perfectly balanced physique of Jesus. In Him
spirit was dominant, and all bodily powers were perfectly
under control, within the sphere appointed in the Divine
economy. It follows that every piece of work that Jesus did in
physical strength under the control of spiritual intelligence,
was perfect work, and this because He perfectly understood
His work, was perfectly able to do it, and rendered it in the
perfect love of His heart to God. How delightful it is
to meditate upon Him as He bent over His bench and
made yokes and ploughs for the cultivation of the fields He
so dearly loved, which stretched around the hamlet where
He lived. It is worthy of remembrance that He used
both plough and yoke as illustrations in His preaching.
Think for a moment of the wonderful skill with which He
would carry out His work. His knowledge of nature was
'Rom. 12: I.

Light on the Hidden Years at Nazareth 135
such that He knew exactly the best wood to use for any
given piece of work; and in the tree lying before Him,
He read all the story of its growth, and knew the precision
of its method, and so understood just how to cut it so as
not to spoil it in the process. He knew, moreover, how
to join it, so that in the joint the strength of each part
should minister to the new strength of union. He was a
perfect Workman, doing perfect work.
Perhaps apart from the Master, one of the most wonder
ful illustrations the world has ever had of perfection of
spirit producing perfection of work was that of Stradivarius,
the great, and may it not be said, the only, maker of the
violin. Certain it is that his instruments have never been
improved upon. When he was at work on them, he
would pass into the woods, and placing his hands upon the
trees would know by the very touch, which wood was best
for each part of the musical mechanism. He discovered
the tones of music in the fibre of the wood, with the result
that he made a perfect instrument. In him there was the
development of spirit on the side of music.
Now lift the thought, and remember that Jesus of
Nazareth was not developed upon one side only, but was
perfect in His understanding of all the methods of God in
creation. See then how His work would be most perfect.
Every piece of carpentry passing from His shop, if men
had but been able to appreciate it, thrilled with the energy
of perfect manhood.
In Him there was an utter absence of disease. He had
strength enough for the accomplishment of the Divinely
ordained work of the day. No more than that, for He was
Man. Tired was He when the day was over, because
His strength had been used for the day for which it was
given. Tiredness is God's call to sleep which is Nature's

136 The Crises of the Christ
sweet restorer. O perfect Man, perfect in spirit, having
learning, loving always, obeying ever ; perfect in body,
with face of rarest beauty, and form of finest mold, express
ing in common daily tasks the thoughts of God and the
perfections of eternity !
Then finally, and in a word, let it be remembered that
He passed from those thirty years of privacy, perfect in
spite of temptation. His had not been a life free from
temptation. The old question asked in Eden was surely
asked of Jesus, " Has God imposed limitations ? " and the
suggestions, listening to which the first of the race was
ruined, were made to Him also, " This limitation of the
carpenter's bench is cruel bondage." And yet there He
remained while days multiplied into weeks, and weeks
grew into months, and months passed on, until years had
multiplied themselves to thirty. And even when perhaps
the subtlest temptation of all came, the temptation to hurry
on His own greatest work, the temptation which coming
to_ Moses and mastering him postponed deliverance for so
long, He still remained, there also learning obedience by
the things which He suffered, and growing in favour with
God and men ; until, responsive to the inward call, He
left the seclusion and the privacy, and standing on the
threshold of public work, with the waters of a death bap
tism, which He had shared in the grace of His heart with
man, still clinging about Him, the silent heavens broke into
the language of a great music, as the Almighty Father
declared, " This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well
pleased."

IX
THE VISION OF JOHN
One of the supreme glories of the Hebrew nation was
its long line of prophets. The function of the prophet
may be gathered from the varied names by which these
men were called. One or two instances will suffice. The
prophet was called " a seer," 1 that is, simply, one who sees.
He was also called " man of God," 2 that is, a man wholly
devoted to God, and therefore speaking with authority the
messages of God. And yet again, he was called " man of
the Spirit," 3 that is, one through whom the Spirit declared
the will and purpose of Jehovah. The prophetical order
commenced with Samuel, and in the marvellous succession
were such men as Elijah, and Elisha, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
Splendid as was this succession, none among them was
greater than the last of the long line, John the Baptist,
who was also the immediate forerunner of Jesus.
In common with all his predecessors in the prophetic
office, John's message resulted from his vision. He saw
clearly, and therefore spoke with authority. The message
which aroused the whole nation was the outcome of the
clear seeing of this man, wholly devoted to the will of
God. Undeceived by the accidental and external in the
condition of his nation, his vision was of the true moral
condition, and gave birth to his message. When his work
was approaching its termination, a new vision, that of the
1 1 Sam. 9:9. s 1 Sam. 9:6. » Hosea 9:7 (A. V. Margin).
137

138 The Crises of the Christ
Saviour, was granted to him, and his last and mightiest
utterances were concerning the Christ. It is of deep in
terest and undoubted value to consider his view of Christ,
at this crisis in his work.
How important this vision is, may be argued from the
manner in which Luke introduces him. " Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius
Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch
of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of
Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word
of God came unto John." 2 One Roman emperor, one
Roman governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests are
all made use of, to mark the hour in which the word came
to John.
Incidentally this is an illuminative illustration of the
Divine perspective in human history. To the men of
the day, any one of the great men named would have
counted for far more than the man of the wilderness ; but
in the economy of God, they are simply used to mark the
hour in which the most important event of the period hap
pened, that namely of the coming to a man of the word
of God, which announced the advent of His Son. The
greatness of John in the estimate of heaven, is revealed by
the fact that the word of God passed emperor, governor,
tetrarchs, and high priests, and came to him ; and the men
tion of these facts proves how important was the message
of this man, to whom was given the high honour of utter
ing the word which announced the fulfillment of the aspira
tions of the past, and the merging of one dispensation of
government into a new and a better.
The subject is divided into two parts, first, John's pre-
1 Luke 3 : 1, 2.

The Vision of John 139
liminaiy vision and burden ; and secondly, the greater
vision that broke upon him and closed his work.
I. The preliminary vision was a twofold one. First a
great consciousness of the sin of the people, and secondly
an overwhelming sense of an approaching crisis. These
were the two great facts that made the ministry of John
powerful, his sense of sin, and his sense of the imminence
of Divine interposition. His vision of the people as they
really were, instead of as they thought they were, and his
understanding of the signs of the times were so perfect,
that he knew that he stood on the eve of a new departure.
His consciousness of the sin of the people is evidenced
first by the words addressed to them, especially by that
stinging and terrible description, " Ye offspring of vipers." 1
Perhaps the best way to have any correct idea of how these
words sounded in the ears of the listeners is to imagine that
a prophet to-day should use them in addressing a promiscu
ous congregation. John looked into the faces of the multi
tudes and deliberately called them "offspring of vipers."
These multitudes were not made up exclusively of one
class of people. All Judaea went out to hear him. Among
the rest there is very little doubt that Herod at times was
an attentive listener. Royalty mingled with the masses,
all sorts and conditions of men stood together, and listened
to the burning words that fell from the lips of the prophet ;
and looking out over the sea of upturned faces, and know
ing their true moral condition, he called them " offspring
of vipers." Matthew says that these words were specially
addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Luke tells us
that they were spoken to the whole of the multitudes, and
undoubtedly both are correct. Luke gives his declamation
1 Luke 3: 7.

140 The Crises of the Christ
against the nation, while Matthew records the special ad
dress of John, in which he puts his finger upon the heart
of the sore, showing that he understood the process of the
nation's corruption. Said he to the Pharisees and Sadducees,
" Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come ? " 1 These men were the ritualists and the
rationalists of the day, the men under whose influence re
ligion was evaporating in mere outward form and ceremony,
and men who were sapping the very life essence of religion
by denying the spiritual realm. The Pharisees were ritual
ists, having form without power. The Sadducees were
rationalists, denying power, and holding even the form in
contempt. Between them, they had undermined the whole
religious fabric, which still stood, a vast and gaudy pile,
covering untold corruption, and liable at any moment to
fall in utter ruin.
John looking at these men and at the people whom they
had influenced said, " Ye offspring of vipers." It was
forceful and terrible language, indicative of the prophet's
righteous indignation, born of his keen understanding of
the true condition of affairs.
His sense of sin is also proved by the varied answers he
gave to different people who questioned him. To the
common multitudes he cried, " Bring forth therefore fruits
worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within your
selves, We have Abraham to our father." 2 In these last
words he indicated the characteristic sin of the people, that
namely, of satisfaction in blood relationship to Abraham,
despite the fact that the material corruption of their life
contradicted the first essential greatness of Abraham, that
of his faith in God and obedience to the Divine
will. 1 Matt 3:7. » Luke 3 : 8.

The Vision of John 141
When the publicans came to him, and asked him what
they were to do, he replied, " Extort no more than that
which is appointed you."1 From this answer is seen how
accurately he understood the dishonesty of these men, who
under the aegis of their influential position were robbing
the people, and enriching themselves.
When the soldiers came to him and asked, What are we
to do, he replied, " Extort from no man by violence, neither
accuse any one wrongfully ; and be content with your
wages." 2
Here again is seen how keen was his consciousness of
the sin of the alien armies, the tyranny of the conquerors.
These men were exacting that which was not their due,
and this by violence, creating false charges against men, in
order that they might enrich themselves by the fines im
posed. All these replies show how accurate a knowledge
the prophet had of the true condition of affairs, and that
was the first part of his burden.
This sense of sin had given birth to another, that of an
approaching crisis. Listen to his words, " And even now
the axe also lieth at the root of the trees : every tree there
fore that bringeth not. forth good fruit is hewn down, and
cast into the fire." 3 The axe is laid at the root of the
trees. That is a figure of coming and swift destruction,
not the pruning of the knife, but the destruction of the
axe. It is not an occasional branch in which the signs of
decay are manifest. The tree is diseased, and the axe is
laid at its root. Outwardly fair, but inwardly decayed, the
tree is doomed to an immediate destruction.
But the vision was clearer than this alone would indi
cate. It was not an undefined crisis that was approaching,
but the definite coming of One, for hear his language,
' Luke 3:13- * Luke 3 : 14. s Luke 3 : 9.

142 The Crises of the Christ
" He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear : He shall baptize you in
the Holy Spirit and in fire." 1 This One was to be active,
and mark well the characteristics of His activity as John
foresaw them, " Whose fan is in His hand, and He will
thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor ; and He will gather
His wheat into the garner, but the chaff He will burn up
with unquenchable fire." 2 Note the twofold fact, the de
structive side as symbolized by the fan and the fire ; and
the constructive aspect, as seen in the cleansing by fire and
the gathering into the garner of precious things.
John had a sense of the sin of the people, a conscious
ness of a coming crisis, a clear vision of the Deliverer,
Whose work was to be destructive and constructive. With
this double consciousness, he preached with overwhelming
force to the vast multitudes that flocked to the valley of
the Jordan to hear him.
II. It is probable that John had never seen Jesus, or if
they had known each other in boyhood's days, long years
had elapsed since their last meeting. John having turned
his back upon the priesthood, had gone to the splendid iso
lation of the wilderness in preparation for the great work
that lay before him ; while Jesus had remained in the midst
of the commonplaces of every-day life, in the carpenter's
shop at Nazareth* At last the moment came when the
forerunner was to look upon the face of the King, and it
was a wonderful vision that broke upon this stern and
burdened soul, when for the first time he looked into the
face of Him, Whose advent he had so magnificently fore
told. The story is chronicled in detail by the apostle John,
' Matt. 3:11. 2 Matt. 3 : 12.

The Vision of John 143
and in eleven verses are the doings of three distinct days,
the vision of the first day;1 that of the second, beginning
with the words, " On the morrow," 2 and that of the third
commencing "Again on the morrow."3
On the first day there is the speech of John declaring
the presence of Christ in the crowd, but in all probability
he did not point Him out to the people. Said he, " In
the midst of you standeth One Whom ye know not."*
The emphasis is on the " ye," for John certainly knew
Him. Let it be borne in mind that about six weeks had
passed since the day of the baptism of Jesus. He had been
hidden in the wilderness, passing through the forty days of
temptation, and had now returned, and was mingling with
the crowds just upon the eve of commencing His own
public ministry. 5
Mark the prophet's sense of the dignity of the One
Who as yet had not chosen to manifest Himself openly to
men. " He that cometh after me is become before me :
for He was before me . . . the latchet of Whose
shoe I am not worthy to unloose." 6 That was the state
ment of the first day.
It would appear as though on the second day Jesus no
longer merely stood among the crowd as a spectator, but
approached John. As He approached, John made his
greatest pronouncement, " Behold, the Lamb of God, that
taketh away the sin of the world." 7 First his vision of
' John 1 : 26-28. 2 John I : 29-34. 3 John 1 : 35, 36. 4 John 1 : 26.
5 A careful study of the context will prove that this statement of John
was made after the baptism, for immediately after the three days' events
here recorded, Jesus began the gathering of His disciples, and His public
work. It would seem therefore as if this study of the vision of John
should come after the chapters on the temptation. It is taken here, how
ever, as the pronouncement which John made, as the one direct outcome
of the vision of Christ, which he had received on the occasion of the bap
tism, as he himself distinctly declared (John 1 : 33, 34).
e John 1 : 15, 27. 7 John 1 : 29.

144 The Crises of the Christ
the Person ; secondly, a declaration concerning His work.
The phrase which describes the Person as John saw Him,
at once arrests attention. It declares the character of the
Christ, and suggests, moreover, the character of His work.
"The Lamb of God" indicates meekness, gentleness, for
bearance. May it not have been that John was surprised,
when first he looked into the face of Him Whose coming
he had foretold. All the language in which he had pre
dicted the advent of the Deliverer suggested strength,
force, authority and administration, " One mightier than I,
Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear . . . Whose
fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His
threshing-floor ; and He will gather the wheat, but shall
burn the chaff." This Man was of quiet demeanour, and
restful eyes, and calm countenance, with no lurking suspi
cion of vindictiveness, nothing of the lion in His fair face.
Purity even to innocence was the impression produced by
the presence of the King, " Behold, the Lamb of God."
And yet there was more than this in the phrase as it fell
from the lips of John, and that which was more, was em
phasized by this first impression. "The Lamb of God "
suggests the thought of sacrifice, and this very meekness of
demeanour, and purity of impression, but adds weight to this
conception of the meaning of the phrase. Had John, look
ing into the face of, Jesus had to say, " Behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah," no thought of sacrifice could have been
connected therewith, but the very submissive beauty, so
evident in the personality of Christ, merged the thought of
the forerunner from the majesty of the work soon to be
accomplished, into the mercy ofthe method.
We are in great danger to-day of losing sight of that
second suggestion of the great phrase. To interpret Scrip
ture aright, it is necessary to find the way back into the

The Vision of John 145
temper and tone, into the habit of thought of the people to
whom the words were addressed. To the Jewish mind
there was no other meaning in this phrase than that of
sacrifice. The season at which these words were spoken
lent weight to this view of the meaning. The Passover
was approaching, and along that very highway droves of
sheep and cattle were in all probability being driven towards
Jerusalem for sacrifice. The thought of sacrifice was sub
consciously present amid the crowds, and the prophet, who
had seen the sin of the people, now looking into the face
of this strange new King, beholds in Him God's perfect
Lamb, the One final Sacrifice for sin. The first time in
the Bible where the word " Lamb " occurs is in connection
with the sacrifice of Isaac. Coming up from the long gone
centuries is heard the plaintive cry of the lad, about to be
bound upon the altar, "My father . . . behold, the
fire and the wood : but where is the lamb for a burnt offer
ing ? " x The first time that the word occurs in the New
Testament, is where the last messenger of the great nation
that had sprung from the loins of Abraham through Isaac,
announced to the multitudes of the children of Abraham,
" Behold, the Lamb of God." 2 This is no mere accident.
It is a part of the great proof of the unity of the Book.
The Old Testament asks the question, " Where is the
lamb ? " The New Testament answers, " Behold the
Lamb of God." The old economy was able to produce
the fire and the wood, symbols of judgment, but nothing
more. The new produces the perfect sacrifice by the
offering of which Isaac and his seed in faith might go free.
No one will dispute that the question asked by Isaac
concerning the lamb, is a question having reference to
sacrifice. All through the Old Testament, the lamb is dis-
'Gen. 22: 7. "John I: 29.

146 The Crises of the Christ
tinctly connected with the thought of sacrifice, — the lamb
of the atonement, the morning and evening lambs of sacri
fice. John, knowing the meaning that gathered around the
word in the mind of the people he addressed, declared that
here at last had appeared upon the scene of human action
the Lamb of God, that is, One Who should fulfill all the
promises and suggestions concerning sacrifice in the old
economy. To dwell for a moment longer upon this aspect, let it be
remembered that the word " lamb " only occurs four times
in the New Testament, until the book of Revelation is
reached, twice in the passage now under consideration,
once in the Acts, where Philip reads from the prophecy
of Isaiah, " He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb," '
and once in the first epistle of Peter, where the apostle
speaks of " the precious blood, as of a lamb without blem
ish and without spot, even the blood of Christ." 2 These
are the only occasions where the word " lamb " is used,
and they all refer to Christ. The last two most evidently
have reference to His sacrificial and atoning work, and
so also without any doubt have the statements of John.
The language of Scripture is not contradictory, but unified
in its symbolism, in both these cases, as it ever is.
The words following place this beyond the possibility of
contradiction, " the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world." The meaning of the phrase " taketh
away " is that of bearing or carrying. That is to say, the
prophet declared that there stood before them the Lamb of
God Who had become responsible for the sin of the world.
' Acts 8 : 32. 2 1 Pet. 1 : 19.

The Vision of John 147
He taketh it away, He carries it, He bears it, He has made
it His own, He has become responsible for it. What a
radiant vision of love ineffable was this that broke upon
the soul of John, and what a vision for the world ! The
spotless Lamb of God laden with the sin of the race.
Men had been asking for Him from the days of Isaac.
Behold Him ! He stands before the crowds in quiet, sub
missive splendour, and yet He is burdened, as man was
never burdened. He carries the sin of the world. Not
the sins, but the principle of sin. He has gathered into
His own perfect personality, and has made Himself re
sponsible for all that sin means as to guilt and penalty.
That is the very heart of the atonement, " Behold the
Lamb of God."
Thus John who had been heavily burdened with a sense
of sin, and out of that sense had spoken words that had
scorched the consciences of the listening multitudes, at last
found the burden lifted from his shoulders, and carried in a
way he never could have carried it, ¦ by the meek and
gentle Lamb of God.
He then proceeded to tell the crowds that his knowledge
of Jesus was the result of the Divine sign, of which he
had received previous notice, the sign of the descending
Spirit ; ending his whole declaration with the words, " I
have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of
God." 1 What a thrill of satisfaction there seems to be in
the words " I have seen." The eyes of men had wearied
looking, and the hearts of a few faithful souls had almost
sickened with hope deferred ; but at last the prophet had
seen. And then notice how carefully he announces another
fact concerning this Person, this Lamb of God. He is
'John 1:34.

148 The Crises of the Christ
the Son of God. John recognized the mystery of the per
sonality of Jesus. He was the God-man, the Lamb of God,
the Son of God. Two facts in one personality, and in the
union of these two facts, in the one Person lay the pos
sibility of His doing the mighty work of bearing away the
sin of the world.
Now lastly, there is the account of the vision of the
third day. Jesus is leaving John and the crowds. He is
going to His work, and as He leaves, John points his
disciples towards Him, and cries, " Behold, the Lamb of
God ! " x These were in reality the final words of John's
message. They have in them the tone of a great con
viction. It is the crowning climax of all his marvellous
message. The herald of the King, the forerunner of the
Christ, one of the greatest born of women outside the
Kingdom of God, had carried on his heart, as perhaps no
other man apart from Jesus, the burden of human sin.
This is proven by the force and solemnity of his preach
ing. But at last he has looked into the face of the
Saviour, and when presently men came to him, and told
him of the successful preaching of Jesus, and of His
growing fame, this great soul was able to say, " This my
joy therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must
decrease." 2 Mark well the quiet calm dignity of the
satisfied heart, able to say with perfect acquiescence, " He
must increase, but I must decrease."
1 John 1 : 36. s John 3 : 29, 30.

BOOK III
THE TEMPTATION

X. Introductory-
XL The First Temptation
XII. The Second Temptation
XIII. The Third Temptation
XIV. Final

" The subject of our Lord's temptation is mysterious, and
therefore difficult. Lying in part within the domain of human
consciousness and experience, it stretches far beyond our sight,
throwing its dark projections into the realm of spirit, that
realm, ' dusk with horrid shade,' which Reason may not
traverse, and which Revelation itself has not illumined, save
by occasional lines of light, thrown into, rather than across it.
We cannot, perhaps, hope to have a perfect understanding of
it, for in a subject so wide and deep there is room for the play
of many hypotheses • but inspiration would not have recorded
the event so minutely had it not a direct bearing upon the whole
of the Divine Life, and were it not full of pregnant lessons for
all times. To Him who suffered within it, it was a wilderness
indeed • but to us ' the wilderness and the solitary place ' have
become '¦glad, and the desert . . . blossoms as the rose.'
Let us, then, seek the wilderness reverently yet hopefully, and in
doing so let us carry in our minds these two guiding thoughts —
they will prove a silken thread for the labyrinth — -first, that
Jesus was tempted as Man; and second, that Jesus was
tempted as the Son of Man." — Henry Burton. " The Gosfel of Luke."

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and
forty 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 pro-
ceedeth 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,

and,

He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee :

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 ex
ceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them ; and he said unto Him, All these
things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.
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. Then the devil leaveth Him ; and behold, angels
came and ministered unto Him. — Matt. 4. : 1-11.
And straightway the Spirit driveth Him forth into the wilderness.
And He was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan ; and
He was with the wild beasts ; and the angels ministered unto Him.
— Mark 1 : 12,13.
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan,
and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days, being
tempted of the devil. And He did eat nothing in those days :
and when they were completed, He hungered. And the devil
said unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, command this stone
that it become bread. And Jesus answered unto him, It is written,
Man shall not live by bread alone. And he led Him upland
shewed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto Him, To Thee will I give all this
authority, 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. And Jesus answered and
said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve. And he led Him to Jerusalem,
and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him,
If Thou art the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence : 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.
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not
make trial of the Lord thy God.
And when the devil had completed every temptation, he de
parted from Him for a season. — Luke 4. : 1—13.

152

X
INTRODUCTORY
The third crisis in the mission of Christ followed the
second almost immediately. On the threshold of the
second period in His work — the three years of public
ministry — He met in conflict the arch-enemy of the race.
Not that this was by any means the first encounter. All
the thirty years had been years of conflict. There is no
room for doubt that questions intended to cast reflections
upon the motives of God had been asked in Nazareth,
similar to those asked in the Garden of Eden. The last
Adam was familiar by the experience of the years with the
method of attack which had issued in the ruin of the first
Adam. The suggestion had certainly been made to Him
that the will of God was capricious and unkind. No
day had passed in which He had not been subject to
temptation. To think of the tempting of Jesus as be
ginning and being exhausted in that special season in the
wilderness which is the subject of present consideration, is
to misunderstand utterly the years at Nazareth, and the full
meaning of the wilderness experience. During those thirty
years He had been unceasingly victorious. At His bap
tism, the opened heavens, the descending Dove, the Divine
voice are each and all significant of the perfections of the
thirty years, that is, of the absolute victory Jesus had won
over all the attacks of the enemy. The Master had met
and triumphed over all the temptations incidental to private
life. 153

154 The Crises of the Christ
He is now entering upon the three years of public
ministry, and He meets the foe of the race in the supreme
conflict of all His testing, — supreme, that is, in the fact
that now evil appears before Him in all its tremendous
strength and naked horror in the personality of the devil.
In all likelihood never had there been such an attack be
fore, and certain it is that it never occurred again. After
this experience His attitude towards Satan and all his
emissaries is that of the Victor towards the vanquished. .
Never again is He seen in the place of temptation in the
same specific way. Suggestions which as to their inner
meaning are identical, are made to Him by Satan through
Peter, and yet once more in the Garden of Gethsemane,
but the victory won in the wilderness is most evidently the
source of strength in subsequent experiences.
The attack of the foe is directed against Him in view of
His coming work. Its subtlety is manifest in that it is
directed against three aspects of triumphant service. To
serve God there must be manhood strong in the realiza
tion of Divine ideals. Against this the first attack was
made. There must also be such implicit trust in God as
expresses itself in contentment with the Divine arrange
ment, and refusal to tempt God by false heroics. The
second temptation was craftily aimed at the breaking down
of this confidence. And yet again, the servant of God
must accept the methods of God at whatever cost to him
self. The final temptation was a suggestion that a Divine
end should be reached by other than the Divine method.
In this preliminary study the subject is that of the set
ting of the temptation, reserving for future chapters the
temptations themselves. In thus viewing the temptation
in its relation to the whole mission of Christ, there are
four matters to be considered,— The time of the tempta-

Introductory 155
tion. The place of the temptation. The agent of the
temptation. The significance of the temptation. For the
purpose of this study, reference will have to be made to
the three accounts by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John
has no chronicle of the temptation, his Gospel being essen
tially that of the Deity of Jesus, and God cannot be
tempted. I. In dealing with the time of the temptation there are
three significant words. Matthew opens the story with the
word " then." l Mark uses in this connection a charac
teristic word of the Gospel, "straightway."2 Luke opens
with the word " and." 3 These words " Then," " Straight
way," " And " show the connection of the temptation with
what had preceded it, and thus mark with great distinct
ness its time. " Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit."
When ? Immediately after the baptism, with its Divine
attestation of satisfaction. "And straightway the Spirit
driveth Him forth." 4 Here the emphasis is yet greater
upon the fact that the temptation followed immediately
upon the baptism. " And Jesus . . . was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness during forty days." 5 The " and "
here marks continuity. Thus the first act of the new
phase of service was that of the testing of the Servant, and
His perfect victory over the foe. God had sealed, as ap
proved, the first phase of the work. The anointing Spirit
had indicated His preparedness for the future. His fore
runner had recognized in Him the King, of Whose coming
he had spoken to the gathered crowds, on the banks of the
river. The whole circumstances of the baptism must have
been full of satisfaction to the heart of Christ, and now in
'Matt. 4:1. 2Markl:l2. a Luke 4: I.
?Mark I : 12. 'Luke 4: I.

156 The Crises of the Christ
the conscious strength of victory already achieved, He
passes into the gloom and loneliness of the wilderness,
that He may be tested, and through the testing prove His
strength. II. Then as to the place of the temptation, again notice
the threefold description. Matthew says, " Into the wilder
ness ; " l Mark, " forth into the wilderness ; " 2 Luke says,
"In the wilderness."' The common thought is that the
temptation was experienced in the wilderness. The mean
ing of this in relation to the mission of Christ deserves
special attention. Jesus now stands as the second Man, the
last Adam. Here let this Scriptural statement be specially
noted and remembered. Too often He is spoken of as
the second Adam. Scripture does not use the expression. It
speaks of the " last Adam." 4 The first Adam was the
head of a race. The last Adam is the Head of a race, and
He is the last, because there will be no new departure, no
other federal headship, and no other race. The last
Adam, then, passing into temptation, went to the wilder
ness, into single and lonely combat with the enemy. No
foe other than the captain of the hosts of evil is opposed to
Him there, and no friend other than the God in Whose
hand His breath is, and Whose are all His ways, is with
Him. The wilderness is the place of immediate dealing
with evil. All secondary things are swept aside.
It is interesting to contrast the circumstances under
which the second Man, the last Adam, meets temptation,
with those under which the first man and first Adam met
them. Jesus stood among circumstances far more disad
vantageous than did Adam. In each case there was a per
fect man, — in Eden a man God-made ; in the wilderness a
Man God-begotten. The first, however, was in Eden,
' Matt. 4:1. s Mark 1 : 12. 3 Luke 4:2. *i Cor. 15 : 45.

Introductory 157
amid circumstances of beauty and plenty, a place where
there was no lack, and all man's God-made nature was
satisfied. The second was in the wilderness, in surround
ings of barrenness, and poverty, and hunger for the bread
that perishes.
And yet note one graphic touch of Mark, " He was with
the wild beasts." x There are those who seem to think
that the statement reveals the horror of the situation, that
the prowling wild beasts in the neighbourhood made the
situation still more fearful. But the word " with " suggests
not that they were in His neighbourhood or He in theirs
merely, but that there was companionship between them.
The fact is, that even these wild beasts recognized God's
millennial Man, and lost their ferocity, as has been already
seen in a previous study. Thus in the very place of con
flict was a glorious shadowing forth of the day when the
lamb shall lie down with the lion, and when all the won
derful prophecies that foretell man's communion with, and
dominion over, the lower forms of creation shall be realized.
He made even the wilderness to blossom with millennial
glory. III. Next as to the agent of the temptation. Matthew
says, " To be tempted of the devil " ; 2 Mark, " Tempted
of Satan " ; 3 Luke, " Tempted of the devil." i The em
phasis here is upon the fact that in the wilderness expe
rience Jesus came face to face with the prince of the power
of the air, with the god of this world, with Lucifer, son of
the morning, fallen from his high estate of the first rank of
heaven, and now leader of the hosts of darkness.
There have been many attempts to account for the
temptation in other ways. It has been suggested that some
man or company of men visited Him in the wilderness, and
'Mark 1:13. 2 Matt. 4:1. a Mark 1 : 13. 4 Luke 4: 2.

158 The Crises of the Christ
voiced the suggestions of evil ; some even holding that the
tempter was a member of His own family, who followed
Him into the wilderness, and, with motives not unmixed
with concern for Him, yet became the voice of evil. As
all this is pure imagination, and has not the slightest war
rant, in Scripture, it must be dismissed at once as false.
The more serious error is that the temptation arose from
the natural operations of the mind of Christ. This is as
unwarranted as is the other. As evil was presented to the
first man from without, so also was it to the second. But
no time need be taken with these futile attempts to discount
the actual accuracy of the scripture narrative. One of the
chief values of this account of the temptation lies in the
fact that Jesus here dragged Satan into the light, and re
vealed to all His followers the fact of his personality, and
the method of his operations.
To deny the personality of Satan is to deny Scripture.
It is moreover to reflect upon humanity in a way that is
unwarranted by the whole scheme of revelation. If there
be no personal devil, then all the evil things that blot the
page of human history are the outcome of human nature.
This is not possible of belief. Evil is not a natural
product of God's humanity. It is not a process of evolu
tion. To hold that, in the last analysis, is to make God
the Author of sin. It is evident therefore that to deny the
personality of Satan is not to escape the problem of evil.
If the Bible account of the fall of man is not correct, there
yet remains the unsolved problem. While freely granting
the mystery, man refuses to believe that the genesis of evil
lies within the fact of human nature, accepting the teaching
of Scripture that the problem lies further back, evil having
originated prior to the creation of man. Revelation takes
man no further back than the fall of the angels, which is

Introductory 159
declared and not explained. From that fall came the first
movement of evil in human life, and the ruin of a race.
The Head of the new race goes back to the point of the
origin of evil in man, and confronts the personality, who is
the head and front of the offending.
IV. With regard to the significance ofthe temptation, again
refer to the three narratives. Matthew writes, " Then was
Jesus led up of the Spirit ; " x Mark expresses it, " The
Spirit driveth Him," 2 while Luke declares He " was led
by the Spirit." 3 The one fact announced in these varied
ways is of supreme importance to keep in mind, if the true
significance of this temptation is to be understood. A
Divine plan was being wrought out. It did not — to use a
common expression — " happen " that Jesus met Satan and
was tried. Neither is it true to say that the devil arranged
the temptation. Temptation here is in the Divine plan
and purpose. Jesus went into the wilderness under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit to find the devil. My own
conviction is that if the devil could have escaped that day,
he would have done so. It is a very popular fallacy that
the enemy drove Christ into a corner and tempted Him.
But the whole Divine story reveals that the facts were
quite otherwise. God's perfect Man, led by the Spirit, or
as Mark in his own characteristic and forceful way ex
presses it, driven by the Spirit, passes down into the wilder
ness, and compels the adversary to stand out clear from all
secondary causes, and to enter into direct combat. This is
not the devil's method. He ever puts something between
himself and the man he would tempt. He hides his own
personality wherever possible. To our first parents he
did not suggest that they should serve him, but that they
should please themselves. Jesus dragged him from behind
'Matt. 4: I. 'Mark 1 : 12. 3 Luke 4: 1.

160 The Crises of the Christ
everything, and put him in front, that for once, not through
the subtlety of a second cause, but directly, he might do
his worst against a pure soul.
Nothing can be more clear than the simple and full
statement. Matthew does not assert that being led of the
Spirit into the wilderness He was tempted of the devil;
but that He was " led up into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil." Mark adds some further light, by declaring,
He was " in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan ; "*
while Luke declares the same thing with even greater de
tail, " He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness during
forty days, being tempted of the devil." 2
To gather up these different side lights, the case may
thus be stated. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilder
ness to be tempted of the devil. He was tempted of the
devil during forty days, during the whole of which period
He was still led by the Spirit. The Spirit took Him to the
place of temptation, and was with Him through the process
of temptation. Not in His Deity did He resist, but in His
perfect Manhood. Manhood is however never able to
successfully resist temptations of the devil save when ful
filling a first Divine intention, that, namely, of depending
upon God, and thus being guided by the Spirit of God.
Thus the Man Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilder
ness, and was led by the Spirit through all the process of
temptation. Herein lay the deep significance of this temptation. The
second Man, acting under the guidance of the Spirit, passed
into the wilderness, and by His coming challenged evil ;
and, acting simply under the guidance of that Spirit, over
came. In conclusion, the significance of the temptation may be
»Mark 1 : 13. »Luke 4: 1, 2.

Introductory 161
seen by placing the whole of the facts in contrast with the
account of the temptation of Adam. The devil challenged
the first man. The second Man challenged the devil.
The devil ruined the first Adam. The last Adam spoiled
the devil. The first Adam involved the race in his defeat.
The last Adam included the race in His victory. The first
Adam stood as the head of the race, and falling, dragged
the race down with him. The last Adam stood as the
Head of the new race, and being victorious, lifted that race
with Him.
This is not a picture of the last Adam doing merely
what the first Adam did, going into the place of passive
life, and then when temptation came, resisting it. The
second Man had not only to resist temptation when it
assailed Him for His own sake, but He had to lay hold of
the tempter, and defeat him and punish him for the wrong
he did in the ruin of the first man.

XI
THE FIRST TEMPTATION
The order of the temptations is different in Matthew
and Luke. In both the suggestion that stones be turned
into bread is first. Matthew then records the experience
on the pinnacle of the temple, and lastly the invitation to
worship Satan for the possession of the kingdoms of the
world. Luke reverses the order of the last two. It is
almost certain that the order in Matthew was the actual
order, for Christ's word at the close of the last of the
temptations as there chronicled marks the end of the proc
ess. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him ; and,
behold, angels came and ministered unto Him." x
There is no detailed account of the forty days spent in
the wilderness prior to the temptations which are now to
be considered in detail. Mark and Luke record the fact
that through that period He was the subject of temptation.
He moreover declares that it was a period of fasting, " He
did eat nothing in those days." 2 It is most likely that the
temptation of the forty days was presented by the foe un
revealed to human sight. Having been foiled through the
thirty years and the forty days, at last he took shape, and
as Matthew puts it, " The tempter came and said unto
Him." 3
In examining the first temptation, as also- in the remain-
' Matt. 4 : io, 1 1. 2 Luke 4:2. s Matt. 4 : 3.
162

The First Temptation 163
ing two, consider first the attack ; and secondly, the re
pulse. And yet further, under each of these divisions the
same method will be followed. In considering the attack
of the enemy notice, first, the objective point ; second, the
avenue of approach ; and third, the argument used. In
considering the repulse notice, first, the weapon employed ;
second, the argument rebutted ; and third, the citadel held.
I. In the first attack of Satan upon Christ, the objective
point is Hjs.-Jftyalt^Jo_the_will_ of God. This does not
appear on the surface, and in that fact there is marked the
method of the enemy. He never foreannounces the point
against which his attack is to be directed, but an examina
tion of the whole situation will reveal the truth of the
position. As has been already emphasized, Jesus was led
by the Spirit, driven by the Spirit, to and in the wilderness,
and in that fact there was great significance. In the life
of every being wholly devoted to the will of God, there is
nothing accidental. Every detail of arrangement is in the
Divine plan, and cannot be interfered with without chang
ing the result, and interfering with the purpose. The
circumstance of hunger was not only within the Divine
knowledge, it was part of the Divine plan. The circum
stance of hunger was incidental, but not accidental. It
was not an unexpected contingency. It was part of the
Divine programme. Led by the Spirit into the wilderness
He was taken to physical hunger, and that hunger was a
necessary process in the economy of God, a circumstance
within His will.
This is emphasized by the very fact of His being
taken to the wilderness. If there had been no necessity
for hunger, the temptation might have taken place in quite
other surroundings ; or, to put the matter from the other

164 The Crises of the Christ
side, the very fact of His being led to and through forty
days in a place barren of sustenance for physical life, indi
cates the need for hunger, and at last suggests its meaning,
the suggested meaning being, that man even in his weak
ness, leaning wholly upon God, is stronger than man in
strength standing alone, stronger moreover than the forces
that are against him. When God leads a man, every last
detail is always taken into account. This fact should
come in comfort as well as in searching power to every
one. There are no accidents to those who abide wholly
within the will of God. There may be events which men
outside will look upon as accidents, but when life is lived
in the centre of the circle of the Divine will, nothing can
approach it save those things which are foreordained, and
which are therefore integral parts of the Divine plan, and
the Divine programme.
The hunger of Jesus therefore was within the purpose
of God for Him. Now if He might be persuaded to
cancel this circumstance, small and unimportant though it
appear, He would nevertheless throw out of perfect working
order, that whole Divine plan. If He could only be per
suaded to minister to His physical need by the use of a
Divinely-bestowed power, outside the Divinely-indicated
line, and so satisfy His hunger, while yet in the place
where God had put Him, and intended that He should
suffer it, then that act of personal choice against the choice
of God would controvert the whole plan, and the citadel
towards which the enemy moves, His loyalty to the will
of God, would be taken.
Thus it is seen that the point towards which this first
temptation was directed was the quiet, peaceful strength
of Jesus as He rested in the will of God in triumph over
all circumstances. That is the objective point.

The First Temptation 165
Now consider the avenue of approach. The enemy
appealed to the sense of hunger. Hunger was natural,
and therefore sinless. Perhaps that statement needs some
word of explanation. In evangelical teaching and think
ing to speak of a thing as natural, is often to associate with
it the idea of depravity. For instance, to speak of the
natural man is to think of that which is in opposition to
the spiritual man. This is due to the fact that Paul uses
the term " natural " invariably in reference to man in his
fallen nature. It must however never be forgotten that
behind the fallen is the unfallen. God's archetypal Man
is the truly natural man. This is not to quarrel with the
apostle's use of the word, but to indicate the meaning,
when it it said that hunger was natural. If man had never
sinned he would still have grown hungry. Hunger is not
a result of sin. It is a consciousness Divinely implanted,
which suggests the need for food. It is a part ofthe won
derful economy of God for the sustenance of the physical
need of man. In the use of the body there is a waste of
tissue, and for its reconstruction there must be a reception
of food. Whenever that food is necessary there is a sense
of need, that sense being hunger. Hunger, then, is within
God's gracious economy in the creation of man.
Notice carefully that it was after the lapse of the forty
days that Jesus was hungry. It would seem as though
during their passing, He was unconscious of His physical
need. His thoughts had been of things within the spirit
ual realm, and the demands of the physical had been un
recognized. At the close of forty days the sense of need
swept over Him. He was hungry. That sense of hunger
was perfectly sinless. To satisfy it is the natural action of
a perfect Man. The hunger is a God-created sense. To
feed it, to satisfy it, is to fall in with the Divine purpose.

166 The Crises of the Christ
Now mark the subtlety of the enemy. God had created
the need, but there was no provision there for its satisfac
tion. The temptation proceeded along this avenue, and
virtually may be stated in this form. Thou art hungry,
according to Divine arrangement, but in the Divine ar
rangement of this moment there is no provision for the
satisfaction of Thy hunger. It is now competent for
Thee to act upon Thine own initiative, " command that
these stones become bread."
Long centuries before, the devil had asked a question in
the Divine presence. A servant of God, a perfect and up
right man was living in such conditions that all the neces
sities of his life seemed to be met, and the enemy coming
before God, said, " Doth Job serve God for nought ? " l
Around that question and insinuation of evil, the magnifi
cent book of Job circles. The suggestion made was, that
Job's loyalty to God was ensured by the satisfaction of all
physical need. Job was full and wealthy through the benefi
cence of heaven. Let him be emptied and impoverished,
and the strain put upon his loyalty would break down. To
put it in the more vulgar language of the street, Job feared
God for what he could get. Thus the devil's estimate of
human life is, that the only reason for man's loyalty to
God is that God meets every demand of his need as it
arises ; and, moreover, that man's happiness consists in the
satisfaction of his material nature, in a word, that he lives
by bread alone.
That same thought underlay the temptation of the
Master. It is as though he had said to Him, Thou art
hungry. That sense of hunger is a part of the Divine ar
rangement. Therefore it must be right to satisfy it. If
God has made no provision for the satisfaction of a need
' Job 1 : 9.

The First Temptation 167
which He has created, then act independently, command
that the stones be made bread.
The subtlety of the temptation lies within the fact that
the devil suggested to Christ that He should satisfy a per-
fectly legitimate craving. The evil of the temptation lies
within the fact that he suggested that a legitimate craving
should be satisfied in an illegitimate way.
Thus Christ, impoverished and hungry, faced the old-
time lie, by meeting temptation, not when filled with the
plentitude of Divine gifts, but when needing that which
God provides for all His creatures. So much for the
avenue of approach.
Now notice the argument the enemy used, " If Thou be
the Son of God," marking carefully the meaning of the
" If," and the reason of its use at this particular crisis.
The temptation closely followed upon the baptism. But
forty days ago the silence of the long thirty years had been
broken, and the Divine voice had said, " This is My be
loved Son in Whom I am well pleased." x Thus the seal
of God was set not merely in approbation upon the perfec
tion of the life, but in identification of the personality of
Jesus. " This is My beloved Son." Now hear the enemy's
"if." " If Thou art the Son of God."2 If that experi
ence of forty days ago was really anything more than a
phantasy, a vision ; ifwhat .the voice declared ^be true, why
remain hungry ? What is the use, said the enemy in
effect, of a position without its privileges ? What value
is there in being the Son of God unless Thou shalt make
use of all that the name implies ? Mark well that the
devil's idea of the privileges of sonship is that of selfish
gratification. This temptation moved wholly in the physical realm.
'Matt. 3:17. » Matt. 4:3.

168 The Crises of the Christ
The Man Jesus was hungry, and the enemy took advantage
of this fact, and, moving along the avenue of His hunger,
and using the argument of His Sonship, he suggested that
He should exercise His Sonship for the satisfaction of His
hunger, without reference to the fact that His hunger at
the moment was a part of the will of His Father.
To sum up. The objective point was the loyalty of
Jesus to the will of God. The avenue of approach was
the perfectly natural and sinless hunger of His manhood.
The argument used was that if He were the Son of God,
He might use that privilege to minister to His necessity,
without consulting the will of His Father.
There was nothing in that temptation which had_ the
slightest suspicion of vulgarity. The devil did not suggest
that He should minister to any craving of life that was not
in itself right. Indeed such suggestion would have been
utterly useless, for there was no such craving in Him. It
was so, even then, as He said afterwards, that the devil
" cometh : and he hath nothing in Me." J The enemy
asked Him to do a right thing in a wrong way, to satisfy
a lawful appetite in an illegal fashion, to make use of the
privileges of Sonship for violating its responsibilities. The
temptation was an attempt to pervert the will. This was
done by a subtle suggestion of the unkindness of God, in
order to quench love towards God. This suggestion was
of the nature of an attempt to cloud the intelligence, by
mixing the privileges and responsibilities of Sonship.
II. Turning to the repulse of the enemy, notice, first,
the weapon which the Master used. His first words reveal
it. " It is written." These words He addressed to Satan
in answer to the suggestion. He was not, however, by any
1 John 14 : 30.

The First Temptation 169
means entering into an argument with the devil. There is
noJjhJingofthe^ nature of argurnent through the whole proc
ess. . It is rather that Jesus defined, in the hearing of the
enemy, His owji position. By the very first words He de
clared His submission to law. As against the enemy's sug
gestion that He should use the privileges of Sonship, He
declared the binding nature of its responsibilities. " It is
written," is a declaration of the fact that He stood within
the circle of the will of God, and what that will permitted,
He willed to do ; and what that will made no provision for,
He willed to do without.
That which was written was part of the law of God as
given to Moses, and recognizing the Divinity of this law,
He at once revealed that He lived by words proceeding out
of the mouth of God. Thus the opening words reveal the
weapon of His defence, and define the position of His
safety. His citation of the Mosaic law serves to rebut the argu
ment made use of by the enemy. That argument had
been suggested by the words, " If Thou be the Son of
God." Let it be particularly noted that in the first word
of the quotation Christ made answer to the false suggestion
of that argument. That first word was the word " man,"
"man shall not live by bread alone." The devil said, "If
Thou be the Son of God." Jesus said, " man." Thus to
put the emphasis on the first word is to discover the phi
losophy of Christ's answer to this particular temptation, a
declaration of position rather than an argument, and yet in
the declaration a great argument is involved. It_js as
though Jesus had said to the enemy, I am here as Man, and
as Man I meet thy temptation. That temptation had been
to over-emphasize the privileges of a Son, and to minimize
the responsibilities of humanity. Christ's answer restored

1 70 The Crises of the Christ
the true balance, and with magnificent courage inferentially
declared that His presence in the wilderness was a challenge
to the devil on the part of a representative Man. In all
probability in the temptation of the devil there had also
been a recognition of the larger thought of the Divine pro
nouncement, namely, a recognition of the Deity of Christ
as indicated in the title " Son of God," and therefore the
craft of the attack was even yet more marked, in that he
may have suggested that the weakness of humanity should
be strengthened by the exercise of Deity. If that was in
deed so, then all the more forceful and remarkable was
Christ's answer. He declined to use the prerogatives or
powers of Deity in any other way than was possible to every
other man. He did not face temptation nor overcome it in
the realm of His Deity, but in the magnificence of His
pure, strong Manhood, Manhood tested for thirty years in
ordinary private life, and for forty days in the loneliness of
the wilderness. " Man " is the first word and the forceful
word. Jesus has been in the wilderness as man's represent
ative, and that He declared when, repulsing the attack of
the enemy, He did so by defining thus clearly His posi
tion. And yet consider still more closely. "Man shall nol
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God." x Weak from the hunger follow
ing upon forty days of fasting, the devil suggested that He
should strengthen Himself with bread. His reply, "It is
written," is a revelation of the true sources of strength.
The strength of manhood does not lie in the assertion of
rights, but in submission to the will of God. Mark well
how that answer of the perfect One drags into light the
false philosophy of evil, which the fallen race has uni-
'Matt. 4:4.

The First Temptation 171
versally accepted. The most applauded position that man
takes is that in which he declares, I prove my manhood by
the assertion of my rights ; but this perfect Man declares
that the strength of manhood lies in the absolute abandon
ment of His will to the will of God, that being the only
right He possesses.
In the last analysis the argument of the devil had been a
presupposition that all man needed for his sustenance was
food for his physical life. That unwarrantable assumption
Christ answered by declaring that no man's whole life can
be fed by bread that perishes. He needs more, that his
spirit shall be fed, and its strength sustained by feeding upon
the word proceeding from the mouth of God, and its safety
ensured by abiding within the will of God.
This answer was given out of the midst of hunger, and
consequently the force of the argument is increased by the
attitude, that attitude plainly declaring not only that man
cannot live by bread alone, but that the life sustained by
bread is not of first importance. If there must be a choice
between the sustenance of the spiritual and the feeding of
the physical, the latter must make room for the former.
Thus the citadel is held against the first attack, — and
how magnificently ! Reverently declaring the thought of
Jesus by paraphrasing His actual words, it is as though He
had said : I am hungry, but as that lies within the will of
God for Me, I choose the hunger in that will, rather than
to find any satisfaction outside it. What a glorious vindi
cation of the essential greatness of the spiritual man !
Even though hunger should be so long continued that the
physical, that which is sustained by bread alone, should
cease to exist, even then man, fed to all fullness by the Word
of God, would live. In every man in this probationary life
there coexist the physical and the spiritual, and in all the

172 The Crises of the Christ
ordinary dealings of God, both of these will be fed where
the whole man is abandoned to His will. Where, how
ever, for some purpose homed in His perfect love, the
physical must suffer hunger, by the suffering of that hun
ger, because it is the will of God, the spiritual is strength
ened and sustained. In that philosophy of life the perfect
Man Jesus won His victory in the wilderness, continued
through three years, and at last emphasized and vindicated
it by passing with kingly majesty to the death of the Cross.
If, on the other hand, man seeks to satisfy his physical
need by disregarding the Word of God, which is the food
of the spiritual, then the spiritual destroyed, the physical,
also, at last shall perish, and the whole man be lost. Jesus,
living ever and only according to the Divine plan, at last
laid down His life and took it again, and lives forever as
the deathless One, at the right hand of the Majesty on
high. Thus in the first temptation is a startling revelation of
the purpose and the method of Satan, and of the true sources
of man's strength. As to the purpose and method of Satan,
his first purpose is to lure man into some position outside the
will of God. His method is that of appealing to something
perfectly lawful in itself, but suggesting that it should be
satisfied by an unlawful method. As to the sources of
man's strength, the Lord's answer and attitude reveal that
man is not jnerely a fed animal. He is essentially spirit,
and spirit depends for its sustenance upon its true corre
spondence to God. This correspondence caTTonly- be se
cured by the knowledge of God, and submission to the will
of God, as revealed in the Word of God. He abode in the
will of God, with which He was familiar in the Word of
God, and choosing the hunger that resulted from dwelling
in that will, rather than the passing satisfaction obtainable

The First Temptation 173
at the cost of disobedience, He repulsed the foe. As rep
resentative Man, He hurled back the attack which was
directed towards the spoiling of the beauty and perfection
of the life which had so often been tried in the thirty years
and forty days preceding, and yet had always conquered.
Thus the first attack of the foe is seen as being directed
against God's Man, and the first victory of Jesus is seen as
been gained by Man, as He quietly remained within the
sphere of Divine government. The Man of Nazareth,
the second Man, the last Adam, stands erect at the close
of the first attack, because He has resolutely refused to be
enticed by any argument from His simple and unquestion
ing allegiance to His God. Man with God is equal to all
strain, and superior to all temptation.

XII
THE SECOND TEMPTATION
There is no definite data for determining the length of
time elasping between these several attacks. In all proba
bility they followed each other in quick succession. This
seems to be suggested by the word with which Matthew
introduces the account of the second attack. " Then the
devil taketh Him into the holy city." l This would sug
gest immediateness, that directly he was repulsed at the one
point, he commenced the attack from some new vantage
ground. He had attempted the overthrow of obedience
through an attack upon the physical nature. In renewing
the attack he no longer appeals to the element of weakness
created by hunger, but to that which was the very strength
of spiritual life, namely, ihe .Master's trust in GqjcL-_
Following the order of the previous consideration, first
consider the attack ; and secondly, the repulse.
I. In this renewal of temptation the enemy passes to
that which lies behind the citadel already unsuccessfully
assailed. Havings endeavoured to seduce Jesus from His
position of unswerving loyalty to the will of God, he now
flings all the force of his subtle art against that which was
the strength of His abiding in the will of God, namely,
His perfect confidence in God. There can be no question
that the element of strength in Christ's resolute steadfast
ness in the will of God was that of His absolute confidence
in His Father, His quiet and perfect trust. It was this
1 Matt. 4 : 5.
174

The Second Temptation 175
trust which made Him deliberately choose to suffer hunger
which lay within the Divine will, rather than to satisfy
that necessity of His life by deviation from the Divinely-
marked pathway by a hair's breadth. The enemy, having
failed to persuade Him to turn aside from that pathway,
now directed his forces against the principle of strength
which was the secret of the previous triumph of Jesus.
Too much emphasis can hardly be laid on this introduc
tory thought. God's perfect Man was perfectly victorious,
and that because His trust in His Father was so complete
that His relation to the will of God was something infi
nitely beyond that of resignation or merely of determined
submission. It was that of delighting in whatever was the
will of One Whom He so absolutely trusted. He knew
that He was safer, hungry, in the will of God, than He
could have been, satisfied, outside that will.
This being the objective point, now carefully mark the
terrible subtlety of the approach. "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, —

and,

" He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee : "

" On their hands they shall bear Thee up,
Lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." '

The choosing of the place is first evidence of the sub
tlety of the foe. " The holy city," and in the holy city
" the temple," and in the temple " the pinnacle." How
largely the mind is often influenced by surroundings.
Changes that are no less than marvellous are brought about
in the attitude of the mind by the change of bodily situa-
' Matt. 4 : 5, 6.

176 The Crises of the Christ •
tion. Location constantly stirs the pulses of patriotism.
All the nature is made tender in the neighbourhood of the
old homestead, and some of the deepest springs of religious
feeling well forth into new power in some place where
long ago the streams of living water refreshed the
thirsty spirit. It is always impossible to revisit any place
of tender, sacred, or holy associations without being pro
foundly influenced.
How much this place meant to Jesus we are hardly in a
position to understand. Every sentence in the account is
descriptive, and has its own peculiar value. " The holy
city." It is doubtful whether we are able to appreciate just
what that meant to a Hebrew. In order in any measure
to do so, we have to go back to Hebrew poetry, and read
some of the sentences which throb with such devotion as
we know little of, in these days of many cities and constant
travelling. " Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole
earth, the city of the great King," x " whither the tribes
go up," 2 " as the mountains are round about Jerusalem." 3
These and all such sentences minister to our understand
ing. Jerusalem was the very centre of the deepest life
of the nation, and all the aspirations of the people
centred therein. The devout child of Abraham, in what
ever part of the earth he found himself, turned his face to
wards the city, as his heart went out to the God of his
Fathers in prayer; and concerning it thousands would join
in the prayer of the Psalmist of old
" If I forget Thee, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget her skill. " 4
Jesus of Nazareth was no exception to the rule. How
He loved the city. He came to it again and again, and
1 Psa. 48 : 2. s Psa. 122 : 4. 3 Psa. 125 : 2. * Psa. 137 : 5.

The Second Temptation 177
when at last it had finally rejected Him, as He knew, and
it was necessary that He should pronounce its doom, He
did so in a voice choked with emotion, so that the very
curse pronounced was wet with the tears of His pity.
To this city the devil conducted Him. Into the midst of
all that reminded Him of God's past dealings with His
people, and of that city which was the centre of the prom
ises, Satan brought the Master when he would attack His
trust in God.
If the city was dear to the heart of the Jew, the temple
was much more so. It was the centre of the city ; indeed,
the city was only great because it contained, and was
gathered around, the temple. The Hebrew nation was a
theocracy. They were under the immediate government
of Jehovah, and His place of revelation was the temple.
That temple was therefore the peculiar glory of Jerusalem.
Even when spiritual values were at a discount, there still
remained in the heart of the people a veneration for the
temple, and devout members of the nation ever associated
with that temple all that was highest and best in their his
tory, experience, and hope. It was indeed the very house
of God.
How dear it was to the heart of Christ is proven in many
ways, but most especially, perhaps, by the fact that at the
beginning and close of His ministry He cleansed it from
the traffickers. How often He stood in its courts, and
walked in its porches, and addressed Himself to the multi
tudes, or held conversation with the smaller groups. To
that centre of the national life, the point at which the re
ligion of the Hebrew had its supreme manifestation and
expression, the splendid symbol of that principle of faith in
God, upon which the whole nation had been created, the
enemy conveyed the Christ.

178 The Crises of the Christ
And yet once more note the particular place in the
temple where the devil set Him. The word " pinnacle "
conveys a false idea. As a matter of fact there were no
pinnacles on that temple. The marginal reading suggests
the word " wing," and in all probability the point referred
to was that of the southern wing of the temple made mag
nificent by Herod's royai portico. Josephus tells us that
t standing on the eastern extremity of that portico, " any one
I looking down would be giddy, while his sight could not
| reach to such an immense depth." This was the one
' point in the temple which might be described as of a great
height. It was the most magnificent, the most strategic
point, that point to which any one would be taken whom it
was desired to impress with the solemnity and splendour of
the city and its temple.
Thus to the heart of the nation, the city ; to the heart
of the city, the temple ; to the most awe-inspiring situa
tion of the temple, the devil brought Jesus. How well and
subtly chosen, with what awful cunning and malice !
Everything in the surroundings was calculated to appeal to
the sense of trust in God. It would seem as though this
were the last place in which to attack the principle of
trust, and yet considering the enemy's suggestion, the ma
licious cunning of the foe will be seen in making such se
lection of situation.
Now hear the suggestion. Notice, first, the palpable
and actual proposal of the enemy. " Cast Thyself down." *
It is a direct attempt to force Jesus to act upon that prin
ciple of trust, which has been ministered to by the selec
tion of this particular place. In the city of the great King,
in the house devoted to His worship, at its most awe-in
spiring point, exercise trust in Him by casting Thyself
> Matt. 4 : 6.

The Second Temptation 179
from this great height. Behind this palpable suggestion
lay one inferred and indirect. It was the suggestion that
trust most perfectly expresses itself in daring something
unusual, out of the common, heroic. It was as if the
enemy had said to Jesus, There is no necessity for Thee to
cast Thyself down. It does not come in the ordinary line
of duty, but so much the greater opportunity for a venture
of faith, — trust in God most perfectly expresses itself in
the doing of extraordinary things for God. The enemy
suggested that the trust of Jesus should be put to the test
and proven by being placed outside the realm of the com
monplace. Jesus had repulsed the first attack of the
enemy in the strength of His trust, and while the sense of
that victory based on trust is fresh in His soul, the enemy
suggests the unusual exercise thereof. " Cast Thyself
down." Could anything be conceived more full of
subtlety, more likely to entrap the unwary, and bring about
the overthrow of what had seemed to be an impregnable
life ?
The plausibility and force of the temptation is even
more vividly seen in the argument which the devil makes
use of, " If Thou art the Son of God." 2 This is the same
argument used in the previous temptation, but almost cer
tainly with a different emphasis. In the first in all prob
ability it lay upon the word " art," " If Thou art the Son
of God."2 Here it seems as though it must have been
upon the word " God," " If Thou art the Son of God."
The emphasis would be upon the nature of God. In the
first temptation He has proved the fact of His relationship.
Now the appeal is to that relationship. He is prepared to
enlarge upon the goodness of God, and the care He be
stows upon such as put their trust in Him. Foiled and
'Matt. 4:6. 2 Matt. 4:3.

180 The Crises of the Christ
wounded at the first by the Master's use of the weapon of
the Word, he now makes use of the self-same weapon.
Behold the very sword of Christ in the hands of the devil.
Its flash is seen as he says, " It is written."
In endeavouring to appeal to the principle of trust, he
made use of Scripture. Jesus had declared that man lived
not by bread alone, but by words proceeding from the
mouth of God, and in an attempt to urge Him to a new
exercise of trust, the devil quotes the Word of God. He
now accepts Christ's definition of human life as something
more than animal. He acknowledges that it is the spirit
ual life that needs to be strong for the exercise of trust ;
and moreover, that spiritual life is only strong as it feeds
upon the Word ; so he attempts to minister to Him in the
realm of that very spiritual nature. It is a startling and an
appalling picture. " It is written," —
" He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee : "
and, " On their hands they shall bear Thee up,
Lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." '
That is the very acme of subtlety. The psalm from which
the quotation is made, opens with the words, —
" He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." 2
This is a description of the perfect safety of the trusting
soul. Its rhythm, its music, and its sweetness have cheered
the heart of such as put their trust in God through all the
centuries ; and as the enemy now attempts to press the
Master towards some new exercise of trust, from that great
psalm of confidence he quotes these words.
'Matt. 4: 6. ?Psa. 91: 1.

The Second Temptation 181
So far souiefhing has been seen of the subtlety and force
of the attack, and yet the final revelation of that only comes
when our Lord's answer lays bare its inner meaning.
II. Turn now to consider the victory of Jesus, and in
doing so note first of all the weapon He used. Again the
flash of the sword is seen as He says, " It is written." It
is as though He first replies to the very subtlety of the
enemy's attack by revealing the fact that He is still living
upon the Word of God, and that as His physical being
was content to be conditioned by the law of God, so also
it is that law which defines His spiritual responsibility. He
no more attempted to live outside the realm of His Father's
will in spiritual life than in physical ; and was no more pre
pared to trespass upon the limits God set upon His spiritual
liberty, than He was to trespass upon the limits set upon
His physical being. And yet notice the slight variation in
the form of His use of the weapon. In the first tempta
tion He said, "It is written." In the second He said,
"Again it is written."1 In the use of the word "again "
is a revelation of our Lord's perfect mastery ofthe weapon.
In comparison with Christ the devil was a poor swords
man, when he attempted to use the sword of the Spirit.
It would seem as though with quiet and yet mighty move
ment of His strong arm Jesus wrested the sword from
Satan. The force of the " again " lies in the fact that it
is an answer to Satan's, " it is written." He does not deny
the correctness of the satanic quotation, but He replies to
it by saying, " Again it is written." That is to say, there
must be proper use made of the words of God. No one
statement wrested from its context is a sufficient warrant
for actions that plainly controvert other commands. " It
' Matt. 4 : 7.

182 The Crises of the Christ
is written," but "Again it is written," and for the proper
definition of life, no one isolated text is sufficient. It is
necessary that there should be acquaintance with the whole
scheme of the Divine will, and the true balance and pro
portion of life is only discovered in this way.
What infinite value there is in that word " again."
How excellent a thing it would be if the whole Church of
Christ had learned that no law of life may be based upon
an isolated text. It is ever necessary to discover the varied
sides of truth, for these limit each other in operation, and
create the impregnable stronghold of safety for the soul of
man. In a study of the heresies of the Church — not a very
profitable one, be it said — it will be seen that all these have
been based upon Scripture used as the devil uses it —
Scripture taken out of its context, and out of its relation to
the whole of the revelation. Every false teacher who has
divided the Church, has had an " it is written " on which
to hang his doctrine. If only against the isolated passage
there had been the recognition of the fact that " again it is
written," how much the Church would have been saved.
To pass, however, to the actual Scripture with which
Christ resisted the attack, " Thou shalt not make trial of
the Lord thy God." x It has been somewhat commonly
understood that here Christ was addressing Himself to the
devil as though He should say to him, Thou art not to
make trial of Me. That, however, is surely to miss the
supreme value of the words. In these words, as in those
with which He defeated the enemy in the first temptation,
He was defining His own position. The command,
" Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God," was
addressed to man, and in this quotation the Lord gave His
' Matt. 4 : 7.

The Second Temptation 183
reason for refusing to cast Himself from the wing of the
temple. Here, then, is the exposure of the deepest meaning of
this subtle attack. What could be more excellent to all
outward seeming than that this perfect Man should trust in
God ? What more fitting than that He should prove His
trust by daring something, by taking some great risk ? In a
sentence the Master strips the whole hypocrisy of its
speciousness, and reveals the murderous intent. To have
cast Himself from the wing of the temple into the abyss
that yawned below would have been to tempt God, and in
the last and fine analysis would have demonstrated not
trust, but lack of confidence. It is when we doubt a per
son that we make experiments to discover how far they are
to be trusted. To make experiments of any kind with
God, is to reveal the fact that one is not quite sure of Him.
Trust never desires to tempt, to test, to trifle. It calmly,
quietly abides in sure confidence. With what matchless
skill this perfect Man has revealed at once the strength and
weakness of the Satanic onslaught. The true territory of
trust is revealed by the Lord's answer. That territory is
again the will of God. In efjpct the Master declared that
H£jcould trust God perfectly so tang, as He remained
within the sphere of His revealed will) but that if He
passed out of that sphere, then He had no right to trust,
and could not trust.
What infinite value for all men is there in this unfolding
of the true nature of faith in God. The devil is perpet
ually saying, Do something adventurous, do something
magnificent, do something out of the ordinary, and thus
demonstrate your confidence. The Master is always reply
ing : Trust is not evidenced by such action. That
would be to tempt God, and to tempt Him is to reveal the

184 The Crises of the Christ
death of trust. Trust never makes experiments outside
the Divinely marked pathway. Such experiments are evi
dences of timidity rather than of trust.
Thus again the citadel is held, and the foe is vanquished.
Jesus refusing to tempt God, demonstrated His perfect con
fidence in Him, and thus revealed for all time the fact that
man, so devoid of selfish interest as to be willing not to ap
pear heroic, in confidence may dare all hell, and issue from
the conflict more than conqueror.
In these first two temptations the twofold nature of the sec
ond Man has been subjected to severest testing, and the last
Adam, Head of the new race, has been proved invulnerable
to the assaults of evil. Weakness in the physical realm
was tested. Strength in the spiritual realm was attacked.
Physical weakness, abiding in the will of God, proved
stronger than the mightiest force of evil ; and spiritual
strength, calmly content with what seemed to be the com
monplace of life, was demonstrated mightier than all the
subtlety of spiritual wickedness. The Man Jesus is victo
rious over evil in both departments of His nature. Be
hold Him, God's perfect Man, standing still erect, not
merely in the perfection of< created and untried humanity,
but having passed through trial and testing still triumphant.
He has chosen hunger, rather than bread which God does
not provide. He has selected to appear to lack daring,
rather than to demonstrate His fear by testing God. When
the alternative of hunger in the will of God, or food out
side, was presented to Him there was not one moment's
hesitation ; and yet again He elected the commonplace of
patient waiting, rather than the brilliant magnificence
of an act, which would have revealed fear rather than
faith. In what clear shining the deepest facts of human life are

The Second Temptation 185
revealed in these hours of the temptation of the Son of
Man. Perhaps nowhere is life seen to be more simple.
Man in his fall has rendered it complex by endeavouring to
act upon a thousand different principles, and with complexity
has come confusion. This Man had but one principle, and
that the will of God, and whether the enemy approached
along the line of physical necessity, or of spiritual activity,
it mattered not, he was foiled and driven backward. It
is for man to remember that by the mystery of His Cross
and passion, and the triumph of His resurrection, this victo
rious One now dwells in him. In proportion as man is
loyal to Him, as He was to God, his loyalty is also loyalty
towards God, and as He conquered the subtlest temptations
of the evil one, so also may all be " more than conquerors
through Him that loved us." J
1 Rom. 8 : 37.

XIII
THE THIRD TEMPTATION
Twice repelled, the enemy returned for the third and
last time. His attack upon the physical side had resulted
in the demonstration of the possibility of righteousness to a
Man Whose conception of life was that bread sustenance
is secondary, and the spiritual relation preeminent. Thus
foiled, he had proceeded to attempt the ruin of Jesus on
the spiritual side of His nature, by endeavouring to interfere
with the simplicity of His trust in God. Here again he
was utterly defeated, and the truth demonstrated, that trust
which refuses to make any unordained experiments, is proof
against all opposition.
Now against this human being, in Whom the relation be
tween body and spirit is perfectly balanced, because the
whole life is lived in right relation to God, the enemy
comes with a new attack, in which he attempts to
work the ruin of Jesus in the sphere of His specific mis
sion. This is in many ways the boldest and most daring adven
ture of the devil. For this last attempt he casts off all dis
guise, and presuming upon the awful victories he has won
in the history of the human race, he definitely asks the
homage of Christ. Never up to that moment, in the his
tory of the race, had any individual soul proved strong
enough to finally resist this terrible foe. Through thirty
years of lonely conflict, and forty days of special testing,
and two fierce and fearful attacks, the Man Jesus has re-
186

The Third Temptation 187
mained the Victor. There remains but one chance. Hav
ing failed to ruin Him in His essential manhood, jit may_yer__
be possible to.lure the perfect-Servant from the pathway of per
fect .service.,. Through the previous conflicts, the Victor has
stripped the vanquished of his disguise, and again and again
revealed the true motive and awful malice of evil, though it
had been skillfully hidden behind arguments the most plaus
ible. Now the enemy strips himself of all disguise, ceases to
make use of secondary causes, and definitely asks the hom
age of Christ. It is his last and most daring bid for pos
session of the citadel hitherto successfully held against him.
I. Here again in examining the attack of the enemy,
the objective point is the first thing to be discovered.
This is no longer the ruin of the Man Himself, but the
prevention of His accomplishment of that work for which
He had been preparing, and for which, but forty days ago,
He was solemnly anointed. As has been seen, at the pass
ing of Jesus into the waters of baptism, He signified His
consent to be numbered with the transgressors, and there
fore His willingness to tread the pathway that must issue
in death, in order that a new highway of life out of death
might be opened for the ruined race. It is against the
carrying out of this programme, and the accomplishment
of this purpose, that the present temptation is directed.
Having failed utterly in his attempt to ruin the Servant, he
now would interfere with His service. Here, as always,
there is a blindness and a folly about evil, and Satan does
not seem to understand that the strengthening of the per
fect Servant, resulting from His victory under temptation,
is yet increased guarantee of His perfect victory in the
pathway of appointed service.

188 The Crises of the Christ
Examine now the avenue of his approach. Conveying
Him to some high mountain peak, he showed Him " all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them." ' What
that meant, it is not easy to comprehend, and yet for a mo
ment, think of the statement. By some strange power, at
the command of the enemy, he made to pass before the
vision of Christ a gorgeous and magnificent scene. He
revealed to Him the kingdoms of the world, and the glory
of them. Not merely the few and imperfect kingdoms of
Palestine, but all the kingdoms of the world, the great
Roman empire, Greece, Pergamos, Bithynia, the Bosphorus,
Syria, Pontus, Judaea, and Egypt, all the known kingdoms
of the world. And yet more than this, for the statement
has no such limitation as that indicated by the word made
use of: "known kingdoms." All the kingdoms of the
world, the great unexplored lands with their thousand
nations and tribes. Any literal interpretation contradicts
the real story. Luke tells us that the devil gave Christ
the vision of these " in a moment of time." 2 It is evident
that having taken Him to some great mountain height,
where instinctively the mind would be impressed with the
sense of greatness and of splendour, he flashed upon Him
in one swift and supernatural manifestation, a vision of the
kingdoms, and their glory. The possibility is that Christ
saw more than the devil knew. Satan is not omniscient,
and though in the marvellous wisdom of his created intelli
gence he may be able to forecast the issues of certain lines of
action, beyond such forecasting, which is ever presumptive
rather than positive knowledge, he is not able to go.
The God-man on the other hand, while standing only in
the realm of His manhood for testing and temptation, may
yet have been conscious of all the prospective grandeur of
'Matt. 4:8. * Luke 4: 5.

The Third Temptation 189
these self-same kingdoms. He saw that day the glory of
them as they were, the wealth, the strength, the cities
where the treasures of the nations were gathered, all the
resources of the far-spreading lands, the teeming popula
tions, the scientific victories, and artistic achievements, the
glory of the kingdoms of the world. It was a truly mag
nificent and overwhelming spectacle. I make no attempt
to explain how the devil flashed the vision upon the con
sciousness of the Christ. That remains a mystery, but
the fact is plainly stated that he showed Him all the king
doms of the world, and the glory of them.
With the dazzling spectacle upon the mind of the
Master, the enemy uttered the actual words of the tempta
tion, " All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall
down and worship me." x Notice here particularly the
claim the devil set up, and let it not be forgotten that the
claim was made in the presence of Jesus. He claimed
some right to the kingdoms of the world, and the claim
was based upon certain unquestionable facts. These king
doms had become what they were, largely under his con
trol. They were at the moment submissive to his sway,\
obedient to his laws, being led captive by him at his will.'
For the larger part, the whole of them were blindly asleep
in the arms of the wicked one. By the very temptation,
Satan seems to lay claim to a title, which Jesus Himself
gave him incidentally at a later period, "the prince of this;
world."2 The fact of his sway is undisputed. He was
then as he is to-day, exercising authority over all those
who are in darkness, and he is perpetually paying his price
to those who serve him. If Judas desires thirty pieces of
silver, the devil will find them for him, on condition. If
men will but serve him, he will give them what they ask.
' Matt. 4:9. 2 John 12:31. ¦/

190 The Crises of the Christ
Wealth, fame, position, power are all in the gift of the
devil. He holds them, and he actually dispenses them, in
order to attain ends upon which his malice is set. What
these gifts are worth, in the last analysis, is another ques
tion, which will be answered in the process of this con
sideration. And so in effect he declared to Christ that whether the
people knew it or not, they were under his sway, that he
was the prince of the world, and he offered to give Jesus
the whole of the kingdoms, and the glory of them, if there
on the lone mountain peak He would but render homage
to him, and receive them as his gift. All other men had
submitted to his direction in order to gain some imagined
advantage, and now he boldly suggested to Christ that He
should do the same.
The real point and force of the temptation can only be
understood as the sublime and magnificent Psalm of the
King is remembered. In that Psalm it is declared that
God's anointed King shall be His Son.
" Yet have I set my King
Upon My holy hill of Zion.
I will tell of the decree :
Jehovah said unto Me, Thou art My Son ;
This day have I begotten Thee." '
At the baptism Jesus was identified by the Divine pro
nouncement, " This is My beloved Son." 2 Reverting
again to the Psalm, the promise of God to the anointed
King is given.
" Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 3
' Psalm 2 : 6, 7. 2 Matt. 3:17. 3 Psalm 2 : 8, 9.

The Third Temptation 191
Thus Jesus is God's chosen King, to Whom He has
promised the nations for an inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for a possession. But He promised
these to the King, when He shall ask them of God.
That asking is to be along the line of a Divinely appointed
approach, which includes the pathway through death,
symbolized by the baptism, which had preceded the identifi
cation of Jesus as the King.
Here on a mountain peak of the enemy's choosing, in
contrast to the holy hill of Zion upon which God will
establish His King, this anointed One was offered the self
same kingdoms of the world. All that God has promised
Him was here seen in the dazzling splendour of that
momentary vision. There were the nations, there were
the uttermost parts of the earth, the things guaranteed to
the King by the covenant with Jehovah. The devil hav
ing surely understood something of the suggestiveness of
the Jordan baptism, and the consequent uttering of the
voice of God, now suggested to Jesus that He might miss
that deeper baptism and passion, and yet possess these king
doms. He pointed out a short cut to a Divine destina- y
tion. He was willing to hand over his right and claim, if
all might but be received from him, instead of from God.
One act of fealty, one recognition of the devil's owner
ship, one moment of bending the knee, and all the king
doms were promised. Sometimes one wonders whether
there did not lurk in the temptation a revelation of the
devil's cowardice. The fact that he revealed the kingdoms
in a moment of time, may have been due to his fear, lest
if this Man should have lingered to examine them, He
might discover their worthlessness. His suggestion, more
over, that Christ should take the kingdoms as his gift, may
have been due to dark and gloomy fear of the conflict with

192 The Crises of the Christ
Him, through which Christ would yet win them. Here
the very element of the primal fall of Satan flames out.
Not merely for the ruin of this Man, but for the saving of
himself from defeat, and the maintenance of the false
position he has occupied, would he shun the terrible con
flict that lies ahead.
And yet the temptation meant more to Christ than even
Satan in the deepest reaches of his subtlety could possibly
comprehend. The terrible nature of the suffering through
which Jesus had yet to pass, could not be perfectly under
stood of Satan, neither did he absolutely know the meas
ure of defeat that waited for him. Christ knew that these
kingdoms were assured to Him in the programme of His
Father's will, but He knew also that in that same pro
gramme lay the unutterable agony of the immeasurable
darkness, and the fierceness of the temptation lay in the
suggestion that all the splendours of these possessions might
yet be His, without the pathway of shame and suffering
and death. Not that He entertained or meditated for a
single moment the possibility of yielding to the foe, but
He saw into the very heart of the meaning, and understood
even as the tempter could not, the infinite cost at which
He was yet to possess.
II. Now notice the repulse of the enemy. For the first
time the Master spoke to Satan in the language of His
own authority. That authority had been created by the
victories He had won in the previous attacks. He had in
His manhood proved stronger than the strong man armed,
mightier than the terrible foe of humanity, and in that
manifested strength He now addressed him, " Get thee
hence, Satan."1 This was no longer a challenge. It was
1 Matt. 4 : 10.

The Third Temptation 193
a command. All the effort and power of evil failed to
encompass His capitulation, and now from that citadel of
mighty strength He dictated terms to the enemy without
the gates, and named him Satan, the slanderer, the calum
niator, the liar.
In that authoritative word, spoken in answer to this par
ticular temptation, there was first the refusal of the devil's
suggestion, and then a flashing revelation of the method by
which He will yet possess the kingdoms of the world.
The enemy said, Pay homage to me, and I will give Thee
the kingdoms. Christ virtually replied, I will obtain these
kingdoms not by paying homage to thee, but by thine evic
tion. The devil, the liar from the beginning, was attempt
ing to rob Christ of that which he was promising Him ;
was aiming, in this last desperate adventure of his malice,
to cast God out of His own world. The Master's answer
was a word of tremendous authority, based upon the perfec
tions of His manhood as against temptation, and also upon
the victories to be won in that death from which the enemy
dared to attempt to lure Him. From that moment in the
wilderness until now, Christ has been repeating that word,
by every victory won in the soul of man. By all the
triumphs of the Cross among the nations, and by those
victories to come in the final movements of the Divine
programme, He is repeating the irrevocable edict of the
wilderness, " Get thee hence, Satan."
The order thus issued is rendered emphatic and forceful
by His use of the same sword of the Spirit. Again the
flash of the sword is seen as He said, " It is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou
serve." 1 Again He declared that He stood, in service as
well as in the facts of His own being, within the will of
i~Matt. 4 : io.

194 The Crises of the Christ
God. He had homage for none save Jehovah, and to Him
alone would He render service. How perfectly this word
of the Master rebutted the argument of Satan. As in each
of the previous cases so here, the command quoted had
application, not to Satan, but to Himself. It was not that
fthe Lord ordered Satan to worship God, but that He de-
, clared, in the presence of the enemy, that there was one
all-sufficient reason for His refusal to render homage to
him, namely that the Word of God enjoined that He
: should worship only God. Thus for the winning of
; victory in the pathway of specific service, He took His
place as Man, and declared it impossible that He, abiding
in the Divine will, should worship or serve any but God.
Notice here particularly the linking of worship and serv
ice, and see how this applies to the temptation. In the
mind of Jesus it is evident that worship and service are
closely identified, indeed, are two aspects of the same atti
tude. To worship is always to serve. To pay homage is
ever to recognize an obligation. The enemy said nothing
in his temptation about service. He asked for worship
only. Christ's answer reveals the fact that to worship him
yf would be to seryel. him. This the enemy in his terrible
subtlety did not declare. He had asked for worship, prom
ising that the kingdoms should then belong to Christ.
Christ's reply declared that promise to be a lie, in that the
act of homage would issue in the fact of service, so that
the supreme authority would remain that of Satan. It was
the devil's deliberate attempt to deceive the last Adam as
he had deceived the first, and so to prevent the creation of
the new race, as he had ensured the ruin of the first.
His answer, moreover, revealed the fact of His self-
emptying, and yet His consciousness that self-emptying
must issue in a perfect crowning. Not for Himself did He,

The Third Temptation 195
come to win the kingdoms, but for His Father, and yet it
pleased the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell,
and for a period unmeasured by human calculation, by the
way of the Cross He would ascend the throne, and reign
over all these kingdoms. And even when in the distant
ages He finally will deliver up the kingdom to the Father,
yet in His eternal association with Him, He will possess
and reign over the whole territory of the kingdom of God.
Thus the anointed King utterly routs the enemy, and
perfectly holds the citadel against this his last attack, and
how great the victory is, and upon what infinite wisdom
His choice of the Father's pathway was based ! To have
received the kingdoms from Satan (even granting for the
sake of argument, that which cannot be granted, that He
had ascended the throne by submission to the prince of the
world) would have been to have taken a position utterly
worthless. The kingdoms, notwithstanding all their ap
parent glory and splendour, were permeated with evil.
TFey were the kingdoms of the world, that is, of the
Cosmos. The very glory of them was purely material.
All the splendour manifest was that of the enthronement of
things material, at the cost of the death of the spiritual.
To Him, therefore, it was patent that within the splendour
there lurked the shadow. The elements of destruction
were surely at work. Disintegration was evident in the
fact that they were kingdoms. The plurality was a proof
of weakness. There was conflict, and strife, and manifes
tation of break-up, rather than of unity. Until this hour
that fact remains, for those who have eyes to see. The
world is still full of kingdoms, and these are armed to the
teeth. If one shall move, the rest watch with envious
eyes, and all the finest skill of the world's statecraft is di
rected to selfish purposes, and the prevention of the enrich-

196 The Crises of the Christ
ment of others. The evidence of weakness lies in the very
fact that the devil showed Him kingdoms. God's Man of
perfect vision saw this, and clearly understood. He knew,
too, that the glory was the glory of tinsel, rather than of
gold. It was passing, fading, tarnished, even as He looked
upon it. The splendour was undoubtedly great, but it was
not lasting. It was that of the Cosmos only, and that ever
lacked the element of permanence. He knew the truth of
what John afterwards wrote, " The world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
abideth forever." r
When Jesus therefore refused the offer of the devil, He
refused the imperfect thing, the perishing thing; and He
was able to do it because doing the will of God He Him
self, in spite of the death before Him, must abide forever,
and through that death, and that alone, He was communi
cating imperishable force to all He gathered around Him
self. By the victory of His Cross the kingdoms would be
of infinite "value, fpr being permeated with righteousness
under the government of God, they would be unified, and
no longer should be spoken of as kingdoms. Pass for a
moment to those after-years when, His victory won and
He ascended, He gave to His servant in the lonely isle
visions and words, declaring the last movements in the
mighty programme. " The kingdom of the world is be
come the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ : and
He shall reign forever and ever." Note carefully " the
kingdom." In the Authorized Version the reading was
plural. In the Revision there is a correction which is of
infinite value. " The kingdom of the world," no longer
the many, but the one, "is become the kingdom," not
many, but one, " of our Lord, and of His Christ." And
1 1 John 2 : 17.

The Third Temptation 197
now because He has dealt with, and cast out the element
of evil, disintegration is impossible. " He shall reign for
ever and ever." l
Thus Jesus chose to move towards the establishment of
one throne and one kingdom. The contrast should ever
be kept in mind. The devil showed the Master the king
doms, tribes, divisions, containing the elements of conflict
arid of break-up. Jesus refused them. He did not desire"
the kingdoms. He had come for the kingdom. He re-
fused the tarnished glory of a wrecked ideal, and chose the
radiantsplendour of a. fulfilled purpose, even though the
pathway to the goal was the pathway of the Cross.
It must also be borne in mind that the great word in
Revelation " the kingdom of the world," does not refer in
the first place to the nations, but to the actual kingdom of
the Cosmos. All the splendour of material things shall,
under the perfect reign of God, be beautified and perfected.
In the final victory, the whole creation which to-day groans
and travails in pain, will be redeemed ; and being restored
to their proper place in the Divine economy, material
things, subservient to spiritual things, shall also abide.
The vision Jesus had of the issues of the Cross were far
more magnificent than that which the devil gave Him
of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. It
was because He saw the higher that He refused the lower.
Escape from the pathway of pain could at best only have
resulted in the possession of the lower. Not for one single
moment did God's perfect Man hesitate. He did not
pause to compare the proposal of Satan, and the purpose
of God. The glorious consciousness of coming victory
was the joy that was set before Him, and that joy made
hell's offer paltry, mean, blasphemous, and impertinent ;
'Rev. 11 : 15. ,

198 The Crises of the Christ
and with stern and magnificent authority He commanded
Satan to depart, and announced the fact of His abiding in
the will of God, to Whom alone He would render wor
ship, and Whom alone He was prepared to serve.
Thus His victory was won, not only in the realm of His
personality, but also in the sphere of His official position ;
and the devil was routed in his attack at every point.
The triumph of Jesus was perfect in the realm of His
physical life, in that of His spiritual nature, and in that of
His appointed work. Let it never be forgotten that in all
human nature the work is the final thing. Man was cre
ated for work. God made him that he might act in co
operation with Himself, for the fulfillment of Divine pur
poses. That is true in every individual. The being thus
created for work, consists of body and spirit. The mind is
the consciousness, which is the outcome of this dual per
sonality. Where there is right relationship and perfect
harmony between the physical and spiritual, man is equal to
the work appointed. Where the instrument is injured, the
work is made impossible of achievement. The enemy
first attacked this second Man in an attempt to ruin Him
by appealing to a necessity of His physical nature. He
was utterly unsuccessful, for Jesus recognized that the es
sential fact of human nature is spirit, and wherever there
comes the necessity for conflict between the need of the
material and that of the spiritual, the former, being sub
servient, must minister to the latter, which is essential.
Defeated at this point the enemy then flung the force of
his terrible subtlety against the spiritual nature, attempting
the ruin of the entire Man, by suggesting that He should
make unwarranted venture upon the basis of His trust in
God. Here again he was driven back by the quiet and
splendid heroism, which refused that which had all the ap-

The Third Temptation 199
pearance of heroic action, but which would have been proof
of fear, and lack of confidence.
Then the enemy, driven from his earthworks, stood in
the open, and manifested himself in all the diabolic daring
of his actual desire. He asked for the homage of perfec
tion. Then in the open he received his final defeat, as the
perfect and unharmed Man chose still only to worship and
serve Jehovah, and in the might of that choosing, authorita
tively commanded the enemy to depart. The second Man,
perfectly balanced in body and spirit, and resolutely abiding
in the attitude of unswerving loyalty to God, was invulner
able against all the forces of evil. At every point where
man had failed He was victorious. In every weakness of
man's life He was strong, and in the great Crisis of tempta
tion He overcame with majestic might, and so completely
broke the power of the enemy, that forevermore Satan is
the conquered foe of the race.

XIV
FINAL
After studying a picture in detail, it is always well
to look at it from a distance. In this way effects are dis
covered which cannot be discerned in a more critical
examination. There are certain interesting facts connected
with this crisis in the mission of Christ which have
not come under the observation in the former studies.
These facts, while closely connected with the whole
story, belong peculiarly to no section thereof, and there
fore have so far eluded notice, but they are altogether too
valuable to be omitted.
Before passing from the general subject then, look
at the temptation as a whole, making certain observations,
principally concerning the two central figures, Satan and
Jesus, the tempter and the Tempted.
I. Consider the tempter first. And the first point
of interest is that of a perpetual method, incidentally
revealed in his attack upon Jesus. Carefully read the quo
tations from Scripture in which Jesus replied to his
attacks, side by side with the passages in the Old Testa
ment. In answer to the first He said, " It is written, Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God." l That is a quotation
from Deuteronomy. " And He humbled thee, and suffered
thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou
' Matt. 4 : 4.
200

Final 201
knewest not, neither did thy fathers know ; that He might
make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but
by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Je
hovah doth man live." x
In answer to the second temptation He said, " Again it
is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy
God."2 That is a quotation from Deuteronomy. "Ye
shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted Him in
Massah."3 In answer to the third He said, " It is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou
serve." 4 That is a quotation also from Deuteronomy.
"Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and Him shalt thou
serve, and shalt swear by His name."6
These answers of Jesus reveal the order of the attacks.
First bread, then trust, and then worship. If the refer
ences in Deuteronomy are now observed, it will be dis
covered that they are quoted in opposite order to the way
in which they occur in the book. In answer to the temp
tation concerning bread Christ uttered words to be found in
Deut. 8:3. In replying to the temptation directed against
trust, His quotation was from Deut. 6 : 16. While in re
plying to that in the realm of worship, the quotation
is from Deut. 6: 13. In the law of God, the order is
worship, trust, bread. That order the devil inverted, and
his temptations proceeded as to bread, trust, worship. This
is a revelation of the perpetual method of Satan, and also
of his estimate of humanity. All attempts to work the
ruin of man by the enemy are based upon a low concep
tion of human life, to which he attempts to gain the con
sent of the tempted. His unfailing plan is to act as
' Deut. 8:3. 2 Matt. 4:7. » Deut. 6 : 16.
* Matt. 4 : 10. 6 Deut. 6 : 13.

202 The Crises of the Christ
though man were less than God has called him to be,
while he endeavours to degrade him to the level of his
own suggestion. He appeals first to man as being animal
only, calling him to satisfy his material appetite, as though
that were the sum total of life. God never so appeals to
man, even in his fall. Notwithstanding the ruin and the
wreckage of human life, the message of God is always one
that calls man first to worship, and a recognition of his
spiritual nature. The Divine plan is ever that of recog
nizing the Divinity in man, the magnificence of his
spiritual being, ruined magnificence to-day, and yet truly
magnificent in the ruin, because capable of communion
with God. The Word of God is ever, " Seek ye first His
kingdom ; " x and then He appeals to the trust in man,
and promises him bread and all things necessary. Satan
called this Man to feed His physical life, and endeavoured
to break down His trust in God, and to divert His worship
from the true to the false, and so change His allegiance
and His service to bondage and slavery.
Then again notice how the enemy silently confessed his
defeat. That is impressively evident by the fact that
in each temptation the Master gave him but one reply.
No second argument was needed. Looking back on that
threefold process, in the wilderness, on the wing of the
temple, and on the high mountain, there is seen a Man, on
each occasion occupying an impregnable position, standing
in a fortress that hell is utterly unable to capture, replying
to each attack in one brief sentence. The silence of the
enemy after the reply of the Lord was a clear confession
of his defeat, and a remarkable proof that he is unable to
gain any advantage over those who are content to abide, at
whatever cost, in the will of God.
' Matt. 6 : 33.

Final 203
To those who know anything of the devices of Satan,
and the persistency of his opposition, his silence with
regard to each several temptation after the first reply
of Jesus, is evidence at once of the perfection of that
reply, and the utter discomfiture of the foe.
Yet once again. In this temptation there is an intima
tion of the devil's estimate of the worth of Jesus. After
showing Him the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of
them, he declared his conviction that to capture the soul
of Christ would be a greater victory than all his conquests.
He reckoned this perfect Man to be worth all over which
he claimed to have gained authority. " All these," said
the enemy, and the offer included the result of the dreadful
persistency of diabolical endeavour through long centuries,
the evolution of evil through tedious processes. The spot
less Son of God was, in the estimate bf the devil, of more
value than all. In effect the enemy said, I will give
to Thee all that has cost so much, if I may but gain for
one moment Thy homage. It is a stupendous and
startling revelation, the devil's estimate of the worth of
Christ. There__are_ persons who say that they cannot
understand the expiatory work of .Christ on the Cross, be
cause of the difficulty of_ believing that the suffering
and deatfy, qf Qne could, possibly be sufficient for the
redemDUftQ. .of the world. ,. Those who speak of this diffi-
culty evidently hold Christ at lower valuation than did the
devil. He, comparing the world with the Master, tacitly
acknowledged the greater worth of Jesus. Satan evidently
reckoned that unless he could bring Christ into subjection,
nothing he had, would he be able to hold. He evidently
recognized the infinite value of this second Man ; and un
derstood, moreover, the relation of that undepreciated
value to the redemption of the world.

204 The Crises of the Christ
And yet, moreover, remarkable as is this estimate, from
another standpoint the offer of Satan was a piece of in
sufferable and impertinent blasphemy. The kingdoms
of the world for this pure soul ? It seems at first assuredly
a great conception of the Master's value, and yet one day,
Jesus, holding the scales of infinite accuracy in His right
hand, revealed that any life, even though bruised and
broken by sin, was worth more than all the world. Said
He, "What doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world,
and forfeit his life ? " l and yet Satan dared to suggest that
the pure and spotless One, heaven's delight and earth's
hope, might be purchased for the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them.
Thus in these scenes of the testing of the Son of Man,
Satan is revealed that men may nevermore be ignorant
of his devices. The last Adam has dragged him from his
hiding-place, and held him to view in the clear shining of
the light, so that he is known for a liar, the father of lies,
for the traducer, the calumniator ; and, moreover, for the
foe who is defeated, whose power is broken, and who must
at last lose his kingdom.
II. Turning attention now to the tempted One Who
became the Victor, notice, first, His use of the Word
of God under the process. His attitude towards the Word
is clearly revealed in the fact that under stress of these ter
rible onslaughts of evil, His life was wholly conditioned by
the law found in Scripture. As defining His own position
He quoted directly from the law of Moses. By so doing,
He placed Himself under it, and acknowledged its
authority. This, moreover, was no mere unofficial sealing
of that law. He declared plainly that it had proceeded
1 Mark 8 : 36.

Final 205
from the mouth of God. Thus He set His imprimatur
upon the Divine authority of the Mosaic economy. This
should never be lost sight of. While this is not the only
occasion upon which He did this, there is no other more
remarkable. When Jesus was tried as Man by the
powers of darkness, He revealed the fact that He stood
within the limits of life, dominated by the sacred writings
with which He was familiar; and in simple but explicit
statement sealed those Scriptures as of Divine origin and
authority. In this connection notice also His marvellous familiarity
with the Word of God. This is proven, not Jsythe length
of the jjuo^t^n^^fo£^hej^j^re__brief, but by theirjrnme-
diate^^pr^cability to J:he : need of the^ mojnent. This could
only be done by a Man Who was familiar with the sacred
writings, and of Whom it might be said, even more fully
than of Timothy, that from a child He had known the
holy Scriptures.
This fact of His familiarity, and of its value in the hour
of temptation, should ever be borne in mind by those who
are still in the place of testing. Strength to overcome in"
the hour of such testing, is assured to those, and to those
only, who are familiar with the Word of God, not merely
as to its letter, but as to its spiritual value.
Without hesitation Jesus quoted the one verse in all the
Library that perfectly defined His own position, and re
vealed the evil lying behind the plausibility of the foe.
To do this was proof, not merely of familiarity with the
letter, but of His clear understanding of the application
thereof to human life.
In the second place notice the relation that the tempta
tion bore to the public ministry of the Master. He passed
into the wilderness full of the Spirit ; " and Jesus, full of

206 The Crises of the Christ
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in
the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days." x At the
close of the temptation it is recorded, " And Jesus returned
in the power of the Spirit into Galilee : and a fame went
out concerning Him through all the region round about."2
Mark well the two statements. " Full of the Spirit," " in
the power of the Spirit " ; and between the fact of fullness
and the fact of power He was led by the Spirit through
these severe processes of temptation. " Full of the Spirit"
He went down to the wilderness. " In the wilderness "
He was " led in the Spirit." From the wilderness to public
ministry He passed " in the power of the Spirit."
Between the condition prior to temptation and that fol
lowing it, there is a distinction and a difference. It is that
which exists between the plenitude of the Spirit and the
power of the Spirit. The plenitude of the Spirit is the re
sult and evidence of holiness of character, and is in itself
capacity and sufficiency for service. The power of the
Spirit is the consciousness which is born of victories won,
and triumphs achieved. He entered upon temptation full
of the Spirit, that is to say, in possession of all power
necessary for the fulfillment of His work. But power be
stowed, becomes truly powerful when it has been tested
through the process of temptation. What is seen in per
fection in Christ, is a lesson that men do well to lay to
heart. Fullness of the Spirit, becomes the power of the
Spirit, through processes of testing. Herein is revealed the
value of the trials and temptations that beset the pathway
of the Christian worker. In the experience of all those
who know anything of what it is to follow in the footsteps
of the Lord in God-appointed service, the power of the
Spirit is never realized save through some wilderness of
> Luke 4: 1. sLuke4:i4.

Final 207
personal conflict with the foe. From such experience en
tered upon in the fullness of the Spirit, men go out either
broken and incapable of service, or with the tread and force
of conscious power ; in which way, depends upon the atti
tude in which the enemy is met. If in the spirit of self-
complacency, then the devil is invariably the victor. If in
the spirit of resolute abandonment to, and abiding in the
will of God, the foe is routed, and consciousness of power
is the inevitable sequence.
And once again. That whole temptation gives a very
valuable insight into the relation of Jesus to the principali
ties and powers. First with regard to those which are
fallen. Luke writes, "And when the devil had completed
every temptation, he departed from Him for a season." 1
The wording is most expressive. " When the devil had
completed every temptation " can only be interpreted into
a statement of the fact that the devil had exhausted himself,
and had no other line upon which he found it possible to
approach the uncaptured citadel of the Son of God.
" Then the devil leaveth Him," 2 says Matthew ; and Luke
declares, "the devil departed from Him for a season." Both
are right. Matthew leaves the fact stated in all its magnifi
cence, the King perfectly victorious over the foe. Never
again did the enemy approach Christ in the same way.
Never again is the perfect Man seen in defensive conflict
with the foe. His presence in the wilderness was a chal
lenge to the enemy, but it was a challenge in which He
forced Satan into attack, rather than one in which He at
tacked the enemy. The victory is perfect. From that
moment the records only reveal Him speaking to Satan,
and to all demons under his sway, in words of quiet, abso
lute, Kingly authority. In the power of the Spirit He
'Luke 4: 13. s Matt. 4:11.

208 The Crises of the Christ
passed from the wilderness to cast out demons, and He
drove before Him all the emissaries of the prince, having
routed in this supreme conflict the arch-enemy of the race.
It is interesting to notice how few words He addressed
to demons afterwards, and that they were always words of
command, and that the command He uttered was always
obeyed,^.. The story of the man possessed with a legion of
devils as recorded in Matthew, chronicles the fact that they
" besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, send us
away into the herd of swine." Jesus answered them with
one word only " Go," 1 and immediately they obeyed.
That is but one illustration out of very many. The same
facts are patent through all the Gospel story subsequent to
the victory of the wilderness. He at once assumed the
position of authority over a conquered foe, and drove him
and his forces, until at last in a final conflict in which He
attacked the strongholds of evil,
" He hell in hell laid low,
And Satan's throne o'erthrew ;
Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so,
And death by dying slew."
And yet again is seen His relation to the unfallen prin
cipalities and powers in the words, " Angels came and
ministered unto Him." 2 There is a beautiful touch of
tenderness here. During the conflict He had received no
help from these ministers of love. They had been re
strained from coming to His aid during the temptation.
Directly the fallen foe was driven forth, they gathered
round in solicitous and tender service. This same restraint
and readiness were manifest later in the garden of Geth
semane, when, the victory won and the conflict over, there
' Matt. 8:31, 32. * Matt. 4:11.

Final 209
also they ministered to Him; and when soon after the
Master rebuked Peter for the rashness of his action in
smiting Malchus, in one sentence He illumined the whole
upper spaces, and showed how great hosts of them were
ready to succour Him. "Thinkest thou that I cannot be
seech My Father, and He shall even now send Me more
than twelve legions of angels ? " x They were ready at
His bidding, to sweep to destruction the blasphemous
rabble, approaching Him to do Him violence. And yet
He did not ask for them, and even the hosts of light were
held in restraint by the infinite love of God for man.
Their rendering of assistance was rejected, when for man's
redemption the pathway had to be trodden in loneliness.
Yet with what haste they sped to minister to Him in the
moment of triumph, and with what exultant gladness at
last they were permitted to roll the stone away, and watch
the sepulchre, and be the first messengers of the resurrec
tion to men.
Our Lord and Master is seen to be King over fallen and
unfallen angels. All the fearful host of demons obey His
simplest word, and all the companies of the unfallen ones
are eager to minister to Him, and go forth gladly as they
are sent to minister to the heirs of salvation. The victory
of Jesus over temptation is victory over all the forces of
hell ; and all men who, abandoned to His Lordship, abide in
His will, must share in His triumph. He is, moreover,
Master of the innumerable company of the angelic host,
who have never fallen ; and enthroned above them, He
gives them also to the service of the saints, who through
testing are passing to triumph.
Thus standing back and viewing the whole temptation,
two figures stand out in clear light. The enemy of the
1 Matt. 26 : 53.

210 The Crises of the Christ
race is seen in all his subtlety and terrible power, but yet
spoiled, defeated, crushed. The Redeemer is seen in all
the terribleness of conflict, upon the issue of which de
pends the carrying out of the purpose of God, and the
deliverance and uplifting of man ; but yet victorious,
crowned, and exercising the functions of the Conqueror.

BOOK IV
THE TRANSFIGURATION

XV. Introductory
XVI. The Master Himself
XVII. The Celestial Visitors
XVIII. The Dazed Disciples
XIX. Final. The Things That Remained

" In the old days on Sinai
Were tempests and dark cloud,
And God was there, in lightning,
Thunder, and trumpet loud :
Upon a fairer mountain,
Where pure snows lay congealed,
Stood Jesus in His glory,
The very Christ revealed.
" His raiment white and glistering,
White as the glistering snow ;
His form a blaze of splendour,
The like no sun can show /
His wondrous eyes resplendent
In ecstasy of prayer ;
His radiant face transfigured
To heaven' s own beauty there.
*' Deep shadows are the edging
Of that short transient peace,
For spirit-forms come warning
Of the fore-doomed decease.
Words from the cloud give witness — =
' This, My Beloved Son ' ;
The three look round in terror,
And Jesus is alone.
" Soon passed that scene of grandeur ;
But stedfast, changeless, sure,
Our blest transfiguration
Is promised to endure ;
The manifested glory
Of our great Lord to see
Shall change us to His likeness ;
As He is, we shall be.
" O vision all surpassing,
Filling the heavenly height !
The Lamb, once slain, transfigured
In the throne-rainbow' s light !
There for the endless ages
All glorified is He,
And His eternal glory
Shall ours forever be."
— GEORGE RaWSON. « The Transfiguration."

And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and
John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart :
and He was transfigured before them ; and His face did shine as the
sun, and His garments became white as the light. And behold,
there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with Him.
And Peter answered, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us
to be here : if Thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles ;
one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he
was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them : and
behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son,
in Whom I am well pleased ; hear ye Him. And when the
disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
And Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and be not
afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, save Jesus
only. And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus com
manded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of
man be risen from the dead. — Matt, iy : l-p.

And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and
John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by them
selves : and He was transfigured before them ; and His garments
became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can
whiten them. And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses :
and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answereth and saith
to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here : and let us make three
tabernacles ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
For he knew not what to answer ; for they became sore afraid.
And there came a cloud overshadowing them : and there came a
voice out of the cloud, This is My beloved Son : hear ye Him.
And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more,
save Jesus only with themselves.
And as they were coming down from the mountain, He charged
them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save
when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead.
And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the
rising again from the dead should mean. — Mark g : 2-10.

And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that
He took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up into
the mountain to pray. And as He was praying, the fashion of
213

His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and
dazzling. And behold, there talked with Him two men, who
were Moses and Elijah ; who appeared in glory, and spake of His
decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now
Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep : but
when they were fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two
men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they were
parting from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to
be here : and let us make three tabernacles ; one for Thee, and
one for Moses, and one for Elijah : not knowing what he said.
And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and over
shadowed them : and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, My
chosen : hear ye Him. And when the voice came, Jesus was
found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those
days any of the things which they had seen. — Luke p : 28—36.

214

XV
INTRODUCTORY
In approaching the subject of the transfiguration it will
be well first to take a general survey of the field, by con
sidering, — first, its occasion ; secondly, its witnesses ; and
thirdly, its purpose.
I. Each evangelist commences his account of the trans
figuration with a suggestive word — " after." Matthew
and Mark say " After six days." J Luke writes " Eight days
after." 2 There is here no real discrepancy. The first
two count the intervening days only, and the third reckons
also the two days, on which the two events in mind oc
curred. This uniformity in the use of the word " after "
arrests attention, and the question is naturally asked, after
what ? A study of the context will show that the refer
ence is to the conversation between Peter and Jesus, the
first part of which contained Peter's confession, and our
Lord's commendation ; and the second part Peter's shrink
ing from the cross, and the Master's stern denunciation.
Beyond these events, " after six days Jesus taketh with
Him Peter, and James, and John his brother, and bringeth
them up into a high mountain apart : and He was trans
figured before them." 3 The first meaning, therefore, of
the transfiguration to the men who witnessed it, was a con
firmation of the truths uttered on that memorable occasion.
In the splendours of the mount the two facts of the Mes
siahship and Saviourhood of the Christ were confirmed.
' Matt. 17 : I ; Mark 9:2. s Luke 9 : 28. 8 Matt. 17 : 1, 2.
2*5

216 The Crises ofthe Christ
They saw the Messiah in the glory of His Person, they
looked upon Him standing in the glory of God, and con
versing with the spirits of just men made perfect. They
beheld no longer the Man of sorrows, upon Whose face
was the mark of a perpetual pain, but a Man shining in all
the splendours of His own perfect character, as it trans
formed and transfigured the veil of His flesh.
The mount was also a confirmation of the necessity of
the Cross of which the Lord had spoken, and from which
His disciples had shrunk. They listened to the conversa
tion between Jesus, and Moses and Elijah, and it was of
His coming exodus. The Cross, concerning which Peter
had rebuked his Lord, was the subject of conversation in
the strange and marvellous light of the holy mount.
Thus the mount endorsed the confession of Peter, and
the teaching of Christ.
There is, therefore, a distinct connection between the
transfiguration and the events immediately preceding.
" After six days," but what happened during those days ?
There is no detailed record of them. Follow the clue
carefully, and it will be seen that during the period there had
been a sense of estrangement between the disciples and the
Master. They were amazed, afraid to ask Him questions,
and do not seem to have walked in very close companion
ship with Him. He was going towards Jerusalem, moving
with determination towards the very Cross of which they
were afraid. They, being afraid, followed at a distance
reluctantly, full of perplexed wonderings. Do not blame
them. They had arrived at the moment when one of
their number had confessed the Messiahship of Jesus, and
He had not denied, but had rather crowned the confession
with His blessing.
Then, suddenly, by His foretelling of the Cross, all that

Introductory 217
Messiahship meant to these men seemed to have been
rendered impossible of achievement. The Cross of shame
loomed ahead, and they were bewildered, they fell back,
fear possessing their hearts, and mystery enshrouding their
pathway. Those six days must have been among the
saddest in the life of the Master ; six days of silence, six
days in which His loneliness was the supreme fact in His
progress. He had chosen these men, but there was not
one of their number who fully followed Him now. They
loved Him, and He loved them, and having loved them, He
loved them to the end; but the way to the end lay through
the desolate days in which He realized, and they proved,
their present incapacity for fellowship with Him in suffer
ing. He was moving in sublime loneliness to His Cross.
When the six days had passed, He called three of them,
and leading them to the mount, was transfigured before
them. In that sacred vision He spoke to their fear, and
flung new light upon the overshadowing mystery, as He re
vealed the inward fact of the glory and strength of His Per
son and character, permitting, for a moment, that glory to
shine through the veil of His flesh, that He might allay
their fear, and clear away, as much as might be, the cloud
of mystery that enshrouded them.
In this light Peter spoke again : " Lord^ it is good for us
to be here : if Thou wilt, I will make here three taber
nacles ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for
Elijah." x It was a sad blunder, and yet a revelation. " Be
it far from Thee, Lord,"2 he had said in sight ofthe Cross.
" It is good to be here," he said in the light of the glory.
The Cross ? No. The glory ? Yes. It was as though
he had said : Suffering and passion, and blood and death,
I cannot look upon. This glory is what I crave for Thee,
' Matt. 17:4. 8 Matt. 16 : 22.

218 The Crises of the Christ
my Lord and Master. It was still the speech of love, blind
and blundering, but yet love. It seemed as though the
Master said in effect : I spoke to you of the Cross, and
you were afraid. I spoke also of resurrection, and you did
not hear, but come with Me into a mountain apart, and in
its light and glory My converse shall be still of the
Cross. He repeated the teaching of six days ago, but under dif
ferent circumstances. For the strengthening of feeble
faith, and the quieting of the hearts of terror-stricken men,
He was transfigured before them.
II. There can be no doubt that these men, Peter, James
and John, were the most remarkable in the apostolate.
Peter loved Him, John He loved, and James was the first
to seal his testimony with his blood. Even their blunders
proved their strength. They were the men of enterprise,
men who wanted thrones, and places of power, complacent
and satisfied while the Lord spoke of keys, desiring to sit
on His right hand and on His left in His kingdom.
Mistaken ideas, all of them, and yet proving capacity for
holding the keys, and occupying the throne. What men
from among that first group of apostles reign to-day as
do these men ? James, ever supreme among the apostles,
as having been first of their number to receive the crown
of martyrdom. John, in inspired writing, unveiled the
wonders of His commandments and His love, His light
and His life ; and the whole Church, in its mystic relation
ship to Christ, is under the sway of the apostle of love.
Peter held the keys, and in Pentecostal preaching opened
the door of the kingdom to Jews and Gentiles, first at
Jerusalem and then in the house of Cornelius. These
were the men taken to the mount. There can be no doubt

Introductory 219
that these among the apostles were the greatest three. To
them He had shown His supreme miracles, and they subse
quently came nearest to the sacred enactments of Gethsem-
ane's garden. The transfiguration was after, and also be
fore — " after six days," but before Gethsemane, flashing
its light backward and forward to strengthen their faith after
the mystery of the six days, and to be a light of hope even
amid the gloom of the garden.
III. "He was transfigured before them." x The whole
emphasis should be laid upon these last two words. It was
wholly for their sakes that upon this occasion He was trans
figured. There are no means of knowing, but perchance
those silent mountain heights, and the starlit sky of night,
had often witnessed such wondrous scenes. Luke declares
that as He prayed He was transfigured ; and he, moreover,
tells that the ostensible purpose of this journey to the
mount was that of prayer.2 Who knows but that during
those years of public ministry, when withdrawn from the
crowd, and even having left His chosen disciples behind
Him, He spent the hours of the silence with God, the an
gels saw Him transfigured ? Be that as it may, the em
phasis here is surely upon the words " before them." The
outshining of this light, and all the radiant glory of the
holy mount, was for their sakes.
This vision of their Master was a revelation to them of
God's thought of Him. In the events preceding, He had
asked, and they had given, man's opinion. Human voices
had expressed different thoughts. These opinions are all
suggestive and valuable, showing how the fulfillment in His
Person and character of all that was great in the past, had
impressed itself upon the minds of different men. Some
1 Matt. 17:2. * Luke 9 : 28, 29.

220 The Crises of the Christ
said He was John the Baptist, the stern prophet who had
dared to denounce the king. They had heard Him in some
sterner moment of His preaching, had been reproved by
Him for some willful sin, and they found John the Baptist
risen from the dead. Others said, This is Elijah, the man
who came to bring the people back to the law. Others,
who perchance, had seen such tears as He shed over Jerusa
lem, and heard such words as He spoke of her ruin,
were reminded of the weeping prophet of old, who in his
agony had cried, " Oh, that my head were waters, and mine
eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people ! " 1 and some
said He was Jeremiah. Others again had said, " one of
the prophets," being unable to decide which. All had dis
covered the prophetic genius and power of speech, and yet
all fell short of the supreme fact that He was Messiah.
This was the opinion of a man, not resulting from his own
observation, but created by distinct revelation, " Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar- Jonah : for flesh and blood hath not re
vealed it unto thee, but My Father Who is in heaven." 2
And even now Peter and his comrades did not understand
the full significance of their own confession, and it is as
though the Master had said, having heard the expressed
human opinion at its best, " Come now to the mount, and
learn God's thought of the Christ." That thought is ex
pressed in a threefold way, first, in the glory streaming from
His Person ; second, in the visit of Moses and Elijah ; and
third, in the actual speech of Deity. The mount revealed
the sublime fact that the Divine opinion included, and
glorified all human conceptions. Moses and Elijah con
versed with Him, and withdrew. When they had departed,
and no one remained save Jesus only, then God said,
' Jer. 9: 1. a Matt. 16 : 17.

Introductory 22 1
" Hear ye Him."1 He is sufficient, all that other prophets
have spoken is fulfilled in Him, their messages have been
but gleams of truth ; He is the Truth.
Thus upon the mount, standing in the light and glory of
the transfigured Christ, they learned the Divine thought of
their Master, as they had given expression to the human
thought six days before.
There are certain practical applications of this prelim
inary study, which will prove profitable. God's " afters "
are worth the waiting for. However dark the " now " is,
there will be light enough in God's " after " to explain the
darkness. The very genius of Christianity consists in liv
ing in the dark " now," with the hope of the " after " upon
it. Wait ever for
" Light after darkness, gain after loss." 2
Remember also, that beyond the mount lies the valley.
It may be that the experience of the present moment finds
expression in the language of the poet :
" I stand upon the mount of God,
With sunlight in my soul ;
I hear the storms in vales beneath,
I hear the thunders roll.
" But I am calm with Thee, my God,
Beneath these glorious skies ;
And to the height on which I stand
No storms nor clouds can rise." 3
Do not forget, however, that it is not intended that the fol
lower of Christ should abide on the mount. Just beyond
lies the valley, and away further still, out of sight at pres
ent, but surely to be reached, is the sombre shade of the
1 Matt, 17:5. 2 F. R. Havergal. 8 G. B. Bubier.

222 The Crises of the Christ
olives of Gethsemane. For that, this is preparation ; this
is a Divine process of training, and it is full of grace. The
valley and Gethsemane lie beyond the holy mount. To
them God never leads save by the way of the mount. The
mount forever stands after the six days, before the deepest
darkness and the severest trial.
It is also true that revelation is according to capacity.
There are those to whom God cannot reveal some of the
methods of His government. Peter, James, and John
were taken to the mount, but eight others saw no trans
figuring glory. Do not ask for the vision of the mount.
He takes there whomsoever He will. The light of trans
figuration creates new responsibility. The men who saw
its glory were taken also to the vision of Gethsemane's
sorrow. Let there be no asking for visions. When
transfiguration, and garden, and Cross, and resurrection,
and ascension hours are passed, the Master will not ap
portion His rewards according to the number of visions,
but according to fidelity to the opportunities He creates.
Is there no vision ? Then let there be faithfulness with
out, and after all, this may be the more heroic life. The
man to whom God grants a vision should find it easy there
after to be heroic. To the larger company of apostles and
disciples, no vision comes. They patiently follow " until
the day break, and the shadows flee away." 1 Ask for no
vision, O, my soul, lest its coming bring also testing which
God had not intended for thee. Take what He gives, and
follow in His steps.
Lastly, communion with God issues ever in transfigured
life. It was when He was praying that He was trans
figured. When the disciples pray as He prayed, they also
will be transfigured as He was transfigured. This will not
'Cant. 2: 17.

Introductory 223
be until salvation is completed. While there lurk within
possibilities of unbelief, fellowship is not perfected, and
final transfiguration cannot be. And yet, the measure of
fellowship is the measure of transfiguration, even here and
now. How often, even amid the shadows of the little
while, the faces of the saints are seen lit with the light of
the inward glory. Those who, indeed, would shine amid
the darkness of the world, must be transformed and trans
figured by union with God. May the communion of the
saints with the Son be such, that, in some measure, upon
all of them may rest the light and glory of the holy mount.

XVI
THE MASTER HIMSELF
Having thus taken a general survey of the occasion, the
company, and the purpose of the transfiguration, it is pos
sible to pass to a more detailed examination of its chief
features. It is the Lord Himself upon Whom the atten
tion is first fixed, and that in regard, first, to the fact of
His transfiguration, and secondly, to the place it occupied
in His life and mission. In each of these separate studies
the subjects will overlap. It is impossible to consider the
Master without having also to look both at the disciples
and the celestial visitors, just as it will be impossible to
consider either of these alone. All must be seen in con
nection with each, yet each demand^ special attention, and
such attention is now directed to the principal Person in
the glorious scene.
I. The books of Daniel and Revelation record visions of
a glorious One which are remarkable for their similarity to
the manifestation on the holy mount. Very little is said
in Scripture concerning the glory and majesty of Christ.
A stranger reading the Bible, especially the New Testa
ment, would be impressed far more with the majesty of the
Messiah's character, and the glory of His moral qualities,
than in any other way. This, undoubtedly, was part of
the Divine plan, for the search of men was rather for
tokens of material glory, than for signs of moral excel
lence. His coming was principally for the display of the
latter; and such signs, as might have appealed to the de-
224

The 'Master Himself 225
sire of the men whose only conception of glory had come
to be that of manifested splendour, were denied. The
word of the prophet spoken in another connection had a
supreme fulfillment in the Person of Jesus, "There was
the hiding of His power." l Consequently, that which
arrests a person in the study of the life of Christ, is not
outward magnificence, not pageantry or pomp, but some
thing more wonderful, and without which mere outward
pageantry and pomp would be nothing worth, even His
moral glory. No man can study the life of this remark
able One, Who passed through the ways of men devoid
of attributes that attracted the attention of the mob, with
out finding that the beauty of His character lays hold upon
the inmost spirit, and commands its admiration. To see
the Christ in the glories of His character, is to be prostrate
before Him in adoration.
Yet while the glory of His power is hidden, and the
radiant splendours of His Person are veiled, occasionally
during His sojourn upon the earth, they flashed into
prominence. Here upon the mount, before the eyes of
the disciples, there flamed forth the magnificence and the
majesty of Him, Who, in order that the weakest and most
trembling might hold intercourse with Him, had veiled
these splendours behind the human.
What an outshining it was may be gathered from the
accounts of the evangelists:
" He was transfigured before them ; and His face did
shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the
light." 2
" And He was transfigured before them : and His gar
ments became glistering, exceeding white ; so as no fuller
pn earth can whiten them." 3
1 Hab. 3:4. s Matt 17:2. 3 Mark 9 : 2, 3.

226 The Crises of the Christ
"And as He was praying, the fashion of His counte
nance was altered, and His raiment became white and
dazzling." 1
The accounts vary somewhat, and this is doubtless due
to the different impression made upon the minds of the
men who beheld the vision, and told the story to the evan
gelists. Yet in the differences there is unity.
Matthew describes the change that passed over Him as
one of light : " His face did shine as the sun, and His
garments became white as the light."
Mark gives the impression of snow : " His garments be
came glistering, exceeding white." The word "glister
ing" suggests the sparkling of the snow as light falls
upon it.
Luke writes, " His raiment became white and dazzling,"
the word " dazzling " suggesting the blinding light of the
lightning's flash.
That which is common to all the descriptions is the
thought of whiteness and of light. " White as light "
says Matthew's story. "White as snow glistering in the
light " is Mark's utterance. Not as light merely, not even
as snow glistering upon the mountain heights, but as light
ning flashing forth in glory, dazzling in its brilliancy, is
Luke's account.
The one fact of white light is here declared in threefold
statement — the beneficence of light, the purity of snow,
the majesty of lightning.
With what overwhelming awe must these men have
looked upon their Master ! They had become familiar
with Him as with a Man sharing their nature — His face
lined with the furrows of care, His visage sorrowfully
marred, beautiful, yea, passing beautiful, and yet always
' Luke 9 : 29.

The Master Himself 227
overshadowed with the signs of sorrow. As they looked
up from their bewildered sleep in the darkness of the
night, they beheld Him white as the light, His raiment
glistering as with the radiance of the snow-capped peaks
behind Him, His whole Person standing out in clear relief
against the dark background, like lightning flashing upon
the bosom of the night. Long years after, Peter, writing
of the vision, said, "We were eye-witnesses of His
majesty." 1 The word " majesty " occurs three times only
in Scripture. Once it is translated " mighty power," once
" magnificence," and once " majesty." The thought it
suggests is that of splendour, of overwhelming beauty and
glory, and that which arrests and subdues the mind to the
point of adoration and worship ; and Peter, looking back
to the splendours of that night scene, wrote, " We were
eye-witnesses of His majesty."
This glory was not the light of heaven falling upon
Him from above. Nor was it a merely reflected radiance
which resulted from communion. When Moses descended
from the mount, his face shone so that men could not look
upon it. That glory was the reflection of the light in
which he had sojourned in the solemn days of his absence,
and even that was so brilliant that men could not look upon
it, and he had to veil his face. Later on, when the first
martyr was about to pass from earth to heaven, upon his
face there rested a glory so that when men looked upon
him " they saw his face as it had been the face of an
angel." 2 But these are very different matters from the
radiant splendour of the Master, on the mount. That was
the glory of His own face, of His own Person, shining
through the veil that had hidden it, until the very raiment
of His humanity sparkled and glistened and flashed with
1 2 Peter 1 : 16. * Acts 6 : 15.

228 The Crises of the Christ
the splendour of light and snow and lightning. The
transfiguration was effected, not by glory falling on Him,
but by inherent glory flashing forth. To depict that splen
dour is impossible with brush, or pencil, or pen. To-day
it may only be seen partially, when in some place of silent
solitude, the spirit of man communes with the Christ, under
the immediate illumination of the Spirit of God.
II. The transfiguration had a close connection with the
human life and the Divine mission of Jesus of Nazareth.
Indeed, it may be said to have been the connecting link
between the two. It carried the one over into the other.
It was the consummation of ideal human life, and the be
ginning of the pathway that ended in the accomplishment
of the purposes of God in the redemption of fallen human
nature. It is astonishing to find how many there are who look
upon the transfiguration as an experience granted to Christ
for the confirmation of His own consecration, and how
large a number of writers on the subject say that He was
led to the mountain, in order that His own faith might be
confirmed, and His devotion made more complete in view
of the death that lay before Him. Without doubt the ex
perience was of value in His human life, in the way of a
satisfaction and strength. But to imagine that He needed
such an experience to confirm His consecration, is to mis
understand the whole of His life prior to this period. The
consecration of the Christ to His Father's will and work,
was settled before He was born a Man. In that Voice
which comes out of the past, and Whose words are written
in the volume of the Book, " Lo, I am come.
To do Thy will, O God," 1 is the declaration of a perfect
'Heb. io: 7.

The Master Himself 229
and complete consecration, from which there was never the
swerving of a hair's breadth, or the drawing back of a
single moment. He needed no vision of glory such as this
to confirm Him in His consecration to His Father's will.
The vision of the Father's face was never clouded for a
moment to Him until the dark hour on Calvary's Cross,
which as yet was not reached. So perpetual was His sense
of the Divine presence that in conversation with Nico
demus, He spoke of Himself as " the Son of Man, Who
is in heaven." l No, this was not something given as an
encouragement to devotion. It was part of the perfect
whole. The transfiguration of Jesus was the consummation of
His human life, the natural issue of all that had preceded
it. Born into the world by the Holy Spirit, He had lived
a life linked to, and yet separate from, humanity : linked to
it in all the essential facts of its nature, separate from it
in its sin, both as a principle and activity. He had taken
His way, from His first outlook upon life as a human being
— a babe in His mother's arms — through the years of
childhood and growth, through all temptation and testing
of manhood, and through the severer temptation of public
ministry ; and here, at last, that humanity, perfect in cre
ation, perfect through probation, was perfected in glory.
The life of Jesus was bound to reach this point of trans
figuration. It could do no other.
In Jesus of Nazareth there was the perfect unfolding be
fore heaven and before men, of the Divine intention as to
the process of human life. Beginning in weakness and
limitation, passing through difficulties and temptation, gain
ing perpetual victory over temptation by abiding only, at
all times, and under all circumstances, in the will of God,
¦ John 3 : 13.

230 The Crises of the Christ
at last, all the testing being ended, the life passed into the
presence of God Himself, and into the light of heaven,
not through the gate of death, but through the painless and
glorious process of transfiguration. The transfiguration
of Jesus was the outcome of His unceasing victory in
every hour of temptation. The garrison of His life had
been kept against every attack of the foe ; no room had
been found in any avenue of His being, nor in all the
circle of His manhood, for anything contrary to the will
of God. His life was a perfect harmony, and the un
ceasing burden of its music was the goodness, and perfect
ness, and acceptableness of the will of God. He had ever
done the things that pleased God; He had thought the
thoughts of God, and spoken words, and done deeds under
the inspiration and impulse of communion with God ; and
at last, having triumphed over every form of temptation,
He passed, not into the darkness of death, but into a larger
life ; and as He was transfigured, He was filled with the
answer of God to the perfection of His life — an answer
that came, not as a glory from without, but as the perfect
blossoming of that which He had always enfolded in His
human nature.
Reverently take a flower as an illustration of the process_
watching it in its progress from seedling to perfect blossom
ing. The blossom rested in the seed in potentiality and
possibility. Take a seed and hold it in the hand, strange
little seed, without beauty, the very embodiment of weak
ness. But within that husk in which the human eye de
tects no line of beauty or grace, no gleam or flash of
glory, there lie the gorgeous colours and magnificent flower
itself. From that seed, through processes of law, plant
and bud proceed, until at last the perfect blossom is formed.
God's humanity has blossomed once in the course of the

The Master Himself 231
ages, and that transfigured Man upon the holy mount, flash
ing in the splendour of a light like the sun, glistering with
the glory of a whiteness like that of the snow, and flam
ing with the magnificent beauty of the lightning which
flashes its radiance upon the darkness, that was God's per
fect Man. That was the realization of the thought that
was in the mind of God when He said, "Let Us make
man in Our image."
The mount of transfiguration was the consummation of
the life of Jesus, and if He had not been in the world for
other purposes, if He had not been here because He loved
man, if He had not been here in order to win life out of
the deep dense darkness of human sin and death, He
might have passed back with Moses and Elijah to the
heights of the glory of God — God's Man, having won
His way to heaven by the perfection of His life. Such
then is the place of the transfiguration in the life of Jesus.
With regard to His mission, the transfiguration was the
prelude to His death. It was the crowning of the first
part of His mission, that of realizing perfect life. Be
cause of this crowning, He was now able to pass to the
second part of His mission, that of atoning death. It will
at once be seen how closely united these things are. The
death of Christ would have been of no avail for the re
demption of the world, had it not been preceded by His
perfect life. To say this is not for one single moment
to undervalue the death of Christ. Had the life not been
perfect, the death would have been nothing more than the
tragic end of an ordinary life, ordinary because conformed
to the tendency and habit of the centuries, that of sin.
But blessed be God, there had been no such conformity in
the years that had preceded the Cross. Amid the self-
idolatry of all the race, He alone had stood erect, and

232 The Crises of the Christ
therefore His death became the very door of life for a lost
race, because of the infinite value of the life that had pre
ceded it. No other man could be found as ransom for his
brother, for every other man in coming to death had noth
ing in life that made death of value. When God had
found none that could by any means ransom his brother, it
was not that He had not been able to find one man willing
to die. for another. Men have always been found ready to
die for others. The old story of how a soldier found a
comrade ready to don his uniform, and take his place in the
ranks, and answer " Here " when his name was called, is
well-known. But on the higher plane, no man can an
swer " Here " for his brother, for each must answer for
himself, and every man's life is in itself imperfect, and the
life of one cannot avail for that of another, for that " all
have sinned and fall short of thr glory of God." l Men
have in all ages been willing to die for others. Savonarola
died for Florence, but he could not redeem Florence by his
death. George Whitfield died for England, but he could
not redeem the country by his dying. But this Man on
the mount finished His life, wrought it out to absolute per
fection, crowning it with the glory of heaven in the sight
of men and God. Having done this He took that life —
perfect, spotless, entire — and poured it out in death. His
death thereby became more than the end of life. It be
came the mystery of Atonement, the darkness through
which the eternal morning broke, the death through
which life as a river passed through the ages, for every
man, who forsaking sin, commits himself to the Perfect
One Who died and lives.
The transfiguration divided the ways. Amid the glory
of that resplendent hour, the first part of His mission was
' Rom. 3 : 23.

The Master Himself 233
ended. There was ushered in the second part, as He de
scended from the mountain, turning His back for the sec
ond time upon the light of heaven, and taking His way to
the Cross, passed into the darkness of death. Follow care
fully the life of Jesus from that mount to the green hill
without the city wall. The one thought in His mind was
that of His death, and of His Cross. May it not be said
that after the mount He was eager for death ? There was
no drawing back, there was no flinching. He set His face
towards Jerusalem, and it almost seems as though He were
impatient of delay. With straight undeviating course, He
passed from the mount of transfiguration to the Cross.
Death was the goal, the Cross the throne, the passion-bap
tism the loosening of prison bonds, the darkness of Calvary
the prelude of the dawn of the age for which He longed.
So the transfiguration came into the life of Jesus as the
crowning of His humanity, and therefore His preparation
for the death by which man is redeemed.
In conclusion, it may be well to glance at the compan
ions and the converse of the mount as they affected Him.
His disciples were dazed, half asleep, not with the sleep of
carelessness, but with that overpowering that follows the
vision of glory. As He stood in the glory of that crown
ing moment, these men spoke to His heart, by their very
blindness and blundering, of the incompleteness of His
work. The words of Peter and the needs of these men
were two different things. Said the words of Peter, " Let
us stay here." Said the need of the men, even expressed
in the blunder of Peter's prayer, Stay not here, but pass
to the Cross. In the light of the mount Jesus looked
upon these men, and heard the cry they themselves did not
understand, their cry for the Atonement of His death, and
the light that should follow the darkness of His passion.

234 The Crises of the Christ
Then, again, Moses and Elijah, the spirits of just men
made perfect. They talked with Him of His Cross. In
this there is deep significance. What they said to Him, or
He to them, concerning that Cross is not chronicled, but
may it not have been that as He looked at them He saw
again the necessity for His Cross ? Did He not know that
the perfecting of the just had been through the faith they
had reposed in the purpose of God ? And did He not
know that the purpose, in which He had had fellowship,
was that of redemption by blood ? Did not these men say
to Him by their very presence, Heaven as well as earth
waits Thy Cross, and unless Thou dost pass from the
mount of crowning to the mount of crucifixion, heaven
must be unpeopled, for we are of the company of those
who have died in faith looking for Shiloh, our Desire and
our Redeemer. We wait amid the splendours of the upper
world, and all is lost to us if Thy work of redemption be
unfinished ?
With reverent daring follow the thought to its issue.
Had He, the crowned and perfected Man, passed upward
into light, heaven would have been unpeopled, and in its
splendour there would have been one only Man. The
plea of heaven and earth in the ears of Christ was a great
cry for the deeper work, that lay as yet beyond Him.
Earth with no language but a cry, which itself did not un
derstand, was asking for the Cross. Heaven in its glory
of perfected vision was looking for the same ; and because
He willed one will with God, He left the glory of the
mount, and with resolute step trod the way to Calvary ; and
from the darkness that overwhelmed Him has broken a
light, that falls in radiance of hope and certainty upon the
ruined race.

XVII
THE CELESTIAL VISITORS
Next to the actual transfiguration of the Master, perhaps
the most interesting fact of these hours of glory on the holy
mount was the presence there of Moses and Elijah, two of
the most remarkable and prominent figures in the Old Tes
tament economy. They were among the number of those
of whom the writer of the letter to the Hebrews said,
" These all died in faith." J Their presence in the heavens
was due to their faith in the promises of God, promises
which were to find their fulfillment in Jesus. On the
transfiguring mount He had reached a crisis in the process
of the work, and they came to greet Him in the moment
of triumph, and to speak with Him of the work yet remain
ing to be done.
By their conversation with Him they revealed the inter
est of the dwellers in heaven in His approaching work, for
they talked with Him of the exodus which He was about
to accomplish. To look at them, listen to their conversa
tion, and consider the thoughts suggested by their presence,
is the purpose of the present study.
First, look at the men, Moses and Elijah ; secondly,
notice the significance of their presence and passing, the
fact that they came, and the fact that they disappeared ;
and thirdly, notice the message they inferentially brought
concerning the condition of those who have departed this
life in the faith and fear of God.
. 'Heb. ii : 13.
835

236 The Crises of the Christ
I. Moses and Elijah — Moses, the heroic law-giver of the
people ; Elijah, the lion-hearted prophet of God. Moses,
the founder of the economy in the midst of which Christ
carried on His earthly mission up to the point of His re
jection ; Elijah, the reformer, the messenger of heaven to a
decadent age, to a people who were heirs of the oracles,
and yet were disobedient to them, to a people of whom it
could be said, " They feared Jehovah, and served their
own gods," 'to a people who very largely were given over
to the worship of Baal, while still professing to have cove
nant relations with Jehovah.
Moses had received the law, and given it to the people.
Elijah had ' called the people back to the law. They were
the two most remarkable figures in the whole of the Mosaic
economy, the founder and the reformer, the law-giver and
the vindicator of its authority, who called the nation to
return to its allegiance ; men who both had led the people
in some great Divine movement, the one initiating a new
order of things in the world, the other repeating the prin
ciples upon which that order was based, in the days when
the chosen nation had become disobedient.
Yet from what different experiences had they come to
the holy mount ? This was Moses' first visit to Palestine.
Never before had he stood in the land of promise. He
had seen it from afar at the close of his work, and now he
had come to stand —
" With glory wrapped around
On the hills he never trod,
And speak of the strife which won our life,
With th' Incarnate Son of God." 2
If it is possible in any measure to appreciate the feelings
1 2 Kings 17 : 33. » Mrs. Alexander.

The Celestial Visitors 237
of those who dwell in the light of heaven, by those of the
dwellers on earth, one can imagine with what keen
interest Moses stood upon that holy mount. He had seen
it from afar, had led the people almost to the verge
of possession, and then had died in the land of Moab, and
received the high and holy honour of burial by God.
Centuries had passed, and at last he stood within the land,
not having won his way thereinto by the law as given
to him on Sinai, but by the infinite grace of God as mani
fested in the Person of His Son, with Whom he now held
converse. Elijah's experience was very different. In all proba
bility he was familiar with every part of the holy land.
He had moved across it, founding the schools of the
prophets, and endeavouring therein to prepare men to
carry on his ministry when he had departed. He must have
loved the land with a great love, wherein once he had stood
— as he wrongfully thought — the only man loyal to God.
Now he was back in the land again, but under such
different circumstances. He who did not die — for the
chariots and horses of fire had separated him from Elisha,
and the whirlwind had caught him to the saints' abode —
had returned to the earth to talk of the one and only death
with the Son of God.
II. The significance of their presence and passing,
suggested by these facts of their personality, is of deep in
terest. The religion in which they were so deeply inter
ested was about to be changed, not destroyed. The
transfiguration of Jesus was symbolic of that which was
taking place, through His presence and mission, in that
old economy of which one of these men was the founder,
and the other the restorer.

238 The Crises of the Christ
It is somewhat difficult to speak of the old form of
religion, for if one speaks of it as Judaism, the mind
of the believer associates it with the thought of bondage.
There are many words which have a double meaning, and
care must be taken to distinguish which meaning is
intended, whenever the word is used. The word Judaism,
used in reference to a system of bondage to form and cere
mony, ever refers to the yoke with which the saints are not
again to be entangled. Yet the very heart and soul
of Judaism is the heart and soul of Christianity. It
was the religion of the one God, the religion that insisted
upon the Divine right to govern human life, and per
petually taught the truth of the nearness of God to
the affairs of men. All that abides until this hour. The
old forms and symbols and signs were perishing; and
the old economy which Moses had founded, and to which
Elijah had recalled the people, so far as it was outward,
material, and temporal, was passing away. But the heart
and soul of it remained, and was rediscovered in the
mission of Christ. These men in the past had been great
and powerful, because they had understood the spirit un
derlying the letter, and in converse with Jesus upon
the mount they knew that nothing was passing away
which was of value.
Moses stood upon that mount of glory the representa
tive of the law. Elijah there represented prophecy.
Moses for the law, with its requirements, its provisions,
and its shadow of sacrifice. Elijah for prophecy, — not
foretelling merely, but forthtelling, — that wonderful gift be
stowed upon various men among the ancient people, and
continued at intervals in unbroken succession, until it
ceased with Malachi.
Moses' presence signified that in Jesus the shadows

The Celestial Visitors 239
of the law were all fulfilled and now withdrawn. In
Jerusalem men were still fighting, not merely for the
law of Moses, but for the traditions of the elders, and
priests and leaders were still arguing about the tithe of
mint and cummin, while here upon the mount was the
great law-giver himself, by his presence acknowledging
that this glorified One, Who should presently be crucified
in the name of the law, did in Himself gather up all that
was hinted at, suggested, included in the economy of the
past. The law, with its commands, its forbiddings, was
fulfilled in the Person of Jesus ; and the law-giver Moses,
by the will of God had left the heavenly places to greet
upon the mount of transfiguration the One, Who in His
own Person, had magnified the law, and made it honour
able. So also with Elijah. He had spoken the word of God.
From place to place he had journeyed, speaking to kings
in their corruption, to courts in their degradation, and to
individuals in their need, that one unceasing word, " Thus
saith Jehovah." J He had certainly been one of the most
remarkable men in the history of the nation from the
prophetic standpoint. God had spoken in times past
by divers portions in the prophets, but by no man had
He said more to the nation than by Elijah.
And now he stood upon the mount in converse with
One Who had said to His disciples, " I am the truth," 2
and concerning Whom Peter, on a subsequent occasion,
speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, said, " To
Him bear all the prophets witness."3 Every word that
had passed the lips of Elijah in the olden days had been
but the spelling out in simple syllable and speech, of that
1 1 Kings 21 : 19. s John 14 : 6. 3 Acts 10 : 43.

240 The Crises of the Christ
which was embodied in the Person of Christ ; and he stood
now upon the mount to acknowledge, that in this trans
figured One, all the speech of heaven begins and ends,
that in Him every prophecy of the past is fulfilled, and
that the prophet of the days to come, will gather from this
Man and His teaching, his inspiration and his power.
They " spake of His exodus," 1 of His going out. The
word here unfortunately translated " decease " signifies
infinitely more than our Lord's death. It includes every
thing that was necessarily bound up in the thought of
departure — His death, His resurrection, His ascension.
His death was the first fact, but because " it was not
possible that He should be holden of it," 2 resurrection was
the necessary sequence, and if resurrection, having tri
umphed over death, then ascension to the heavenly places.
How much the word meant to these men ! How
familiar " exodus " must have been to Moses, carrying his
memory back to that wonderful movement from Egypt.
He would recall the moment of peril and of victory, when
from imminent death God made a way of life through the
cleft waters of the sea. Elijah, too, would comprehend the
true significance of the word. What had his mission been
but a leading out of the people, an " exodus " from a new
slavery to a new freedom, in the government of Jehovah.
Both these men had led in an exodus, and now they have
come to speak of that of which those of the past were but
a shadow. They talked with Him Who is " the Author
and Perfecter of faith." 3 That word " Author " literally
means a file-leader, the Man in front, Who makes a track
through the forest in which all that come after Him shall
walk in safety. His exodus was to be a passing through
death into life, through the baptism of passion into the
'Luke 9: 31. s Acts 2: 24. 3 Heb. 12:2.

The Celestial Visitors 241
infinite spaces of His Father's kingdom. The surging of
the waves upon the shore of old, would speak to Moses of
the waves and billows, that soon should break over the head
of Him with Whom he held speech upon the holy mount,
as He should lead the way through death to life. Alone
He breasted the waves, alone He broke the pathway
through the forests. And until this moment those who
have believed in Him are following in the way He led,
and because of His exodus, they also have theirs, and
are led out to the infinite reaches of the kingdom of the
heavens. The presence of Elijah upon the mount, and his con
versation with Jesus, was almost a more wonderful story.
His message to men had been that they should live the life
of righteousness, but this Man is about to give His life to
be the new dynamic of righteousness. Elijah had only
been able to tell men of the things of God, but this Man
will not only teach, but will energize, will Himself pass
into the lives of men, and give them power to do the things
that He shall tell them they ought to do. Moses and
Elijah talked to Him of His exodus, and found that in His
outgoing through death there should be the fulfilling of their
own dreams, the realization of their own ambitions.
If their presence meant much, their passing was also full
of significance. A cloud of glory overshadowed and
removed them, and in their removal taught the completion
of their work in Him. There was now no need for Moses,
nor yet for Elijah. All that the Mosaic economy fore
shadowed found its substance in Him, and Moses may pass
back to the rest of the Father's house. All that Elijah had
heroically said in the midst of much opposition, with falter
ing and even failure, Christ is now to say with absolute
certainty, and never failing, and Elijah may pass back to

242 The Crises of the Christ
the celestial spaces, to wait the consummation of the work
of Jesus.
A significant statement by Luke is worth passing notice
in this connection. "When they were fully awake, they
saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him." 1
The significance of the statement is that the glory in which
Moses and Elijah stood upon the mount was His glory.
They stood, these saints of the old covenant, in the light
in which they shall abide forever. There upon the mount
stood these representatives of the service of the past.
Moses had died with sadness in his heart. The people
whom he had led for forty years, were still outside the
promised, land, and yet he had to lay down his work ere it
was completed. Elijah was translated very quickly after
the terrible experience under the juniper tree, and while the
people were still living in idolatry, he had been called
away. These men did their work, and laid it down un
finished, but God had gathered them into the glory of His
final kingdom, and now upon the mount had given them the
promise that all they had left undone would yet be perfectly
accomplished. So through all the ages He will gather His workers, and
at the last, in the light ofthe final victory, they will under
stand the meaning of their work. Presently every one will
have to lay down unfinished life's work. Nothing can be
completed here. And yet, at last, no piece of work faith
fully done will be lost. He will gather Moses and Elijah
and all the company of His faithful servants, and show how
their work merges into the work of Jesus, and there finds
its crown and reward.
III. The presence of these men suggests a message
1 Luke 9 : 32.

The Celestial Visitors 243
from heaven. The teaching of this last section is infer
ential rather than direct, but may not on that account be the
less valuable. Looking upon them something is learned
about the condition of the departed, something about their
knowledge, and something about the central interest of their
existence. " There talked with Him two men, who were Moses
and Elijah." ' Only Luke states the matter exactly in this
form, and the statement is of value. Note the absence of
wings. " Two men," that is to say, they still were what
they had been in the essential fact of their being. Their
presence in heaven was not due to a change in essential
nature. Then, notice that they were in a conscious state. Their
minds still followed the same line as when upon the earth,
though now they saw and understood clearly. Matters at
which Moses had looked in his own economy through a
glass darkly, he now saw face to face. Gleams of truth
that had fallen upon the soul of Elijah and compelled
obedience, even while he knew there were infinite possibil
ities beyond which he could not fathom, now fell in full
radiance upon his mind. The presence of these men sug
gested not merely existence after life, but conscious ex
istence, and not conscious existence only, but the con
tinuity of the same existence with enlarged powers.
It is evident that Peter, James, and John knew Moses
and Elijah. How they knew them, of course, cannot be
told. But the fact that they knew them suggests that the
identity of personality is maintained in the world that lies
beyond, and in some wonderful manner, men know those
whom here they never saw. Men will certainly then know
their own loved ones when they meet them in the Father's
' Luke 9 : 30.

244 The Crises of the Christ
home. The holy mount lights for a moment the land
where our loved ones wait for us. They are still human,
they are still conscious, and they are what they were. We
shall know them.
There is yet another suggestion here in the interest these
men took in the earth and what was passing on it. They
came and talked to Him of His exodus, spoke of the mys
tery of His passion, of the joy of His resurrection, of His
loving lingering amid the ways of men, and His triumphant
ascension to the Father's right hand. These are only sug
gestions. Sometimes the question is asked, if the loved
ones in the heavens know what is going on upon the earth.
The answer seems to be that upon occasion, under the ex
press command of God, they are able to find their way
back and watch the process of the spirits that yet move
amid probationary things. It is sometimes declared that if
this be so, then there must be sorrow in heaven. And
why should men shrink from this conclusion ? Faber was
surely right when he said : —
" There is no place where earth's sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven."
Let it be remembered, however, that it is always sorrow in
the light of joy, the sorrow of a present sympathy with
pain, in the knowledge that the pain moves towards a pur
pose which in its blessedness far outweighs the present en
durance. Moses and Elijah could talk of His coming
sorrow, because with Him they looked on to the joy that
was yet to be revealed.
If to-day men pass through sorrow, and the loved ones
beyond the vale, visiting them, feel the sorrow in comrade
ship, they also joy, knowing that presently the song of
triumph shall end the sigh of trial.

The Celestial Visitors 245
" ' Hath it ever been granted those who have passed
The river, to appear and show themselves,
Unchanged in form, in heart unchangeable,
To loved ones they have left behind ? ' ' It is true
It hath been so.
But only by His sovereign will and word
Who holds the keys of Hades and of death,
And opens, as He wills, the mortal eye
To see the mysteries of things unseen.' " *
1 Bishop Bickersteth.

XVIII
THE DAZED DISCIPLES
Having considered the transfiguration of Jesus, and the
presence and passing of Moses and Elijah, it now remains
to turn the attention to the disciples, and this subject is of
supreme interest. The principal purpose of the trans
figuration is declared in the statement, " He was trans
figured before them." 1
The experience of the holy mount had its place in the
process of the work of the Master, in that it was the fitting
consummation of a life innocent in Childhood, and holy
through all the testing of growth into Manhood. Born
without sin, triumphing over every attack made upon Him
by the powers of evil, He at last passed not by the way of
death, but by that of transfiguration into communion with
the spirits of just men made perfect, into the very presence
of God.
Moreover the presence and passing of Moses and Elijah,
representing as they did the great movements of the past,
have been seen to be full of suggestiveness.
The aspect of the transfiguration, however, which is of
supreme value, is that the disciples were taken to the mount,
were permitted to behold His glory, to listen to His con
verse with Moses and Elijah, themselves to speak in the
light of the glory, and to hear the answer of God to that
speech. The consideration proceeds along three lines. First, a
1 Matt. 17:2.
246

The Dazed Disciples 247
contemplation of the men; secondly, a consideration of
their speech ; and thirdly, attention to the answer of heaven
to the suggestion of Peter.
I. The names of Peter, James and John are associated on
more than one occasion, and the fact certainly must have
significance. Very many reasons have been suggested for
the fact that the Master took these men to certain places
to which the other disciples were not taken. Without dis
cussing those theories, one reason may be considered. To
discover this it will be helpful to call to mind the occasions
upon which it happened. They are three in number.
These men were taken to the house of Jairus, to the
mount of transfiguration, to the garden of Gethsemane.
In each case they were brought into the presence of
death, and in that fact lies a partial solution of the problem.
Peter's attitude towards death was revealed in the memor
able conversation with his Lord chronicled in Matthew.1
While Jesus had spoken of a kingdom and keys, Peter
had listened with calm complacency, but when He pro
ceeded to speak of death upon a cross, Peter had been
strangely moved, and had exclaimed, " Be it far from Thee,
Lord." 2 Thus it will be seen that he had followed Jesus
to the point of death, and then had halted. This distinctly
proves that Peter had no true conception of his Master's
attitude towards death.
Mark gives the account of the coming of James and
John to Jesus, and their asking that when He should come
into His kingdom they might sit one on His right hand and
one on His left. In great pity and love the Master had
looked at them and said : " Ye know not what ye ask.
Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink ? or to be baptized
' Matt- 16 : 14-19. 2 Matt. 16 : 21-23.

248 The Crises of the Christ
with the baptism that I am baptized with ? " They answered,
" We are able," l feeling that there was no cup that He should
drink that they were not able to share with Him, and no
baptism through which He should pass in which they were
unable to have fellowship with Him. They were " sons
of thunder " and what could make them afraid ? If He
could pass through baptism, so also could they. If He
were able to drink some strange cup, so also were they.
James and John had followed Jesus to the point of death,
and dared all results. Peter was afraid. James and John
were blindly courageous. Both attitudes were wrong.
None of these men understood the death towards which
the Master moved, nor the triumph that awaited Him
through death. They must be taught, and the teaching
began before their speech revealed their attitude, and was
continued after the experience of the holy mount. The
sequence of the teaching is most clearly revealed in the
Gospel of Mark.
First there is recorded the story of the visit to the house
of Jairus. " He suffered no man to follow with Him, save
Peter, and James, and John. . . . He, having put
them all forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother
and them that were with Him, and goeth in where the child
was. And taking the child by the hand, He saith unto
her, Talitha cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I
say unto thee, Arise." 2 She obeyed, and He handed her
to her parents. That scene, proving Christ's Lordship
over death, was witnessed by Peter, James and John.
Then follows the account of the transfiguration, and the
fact that these same three men listened to the converse
with Moses and Elijah concerning His own death.3
And finally the experience in Gethsemane, concerning
1 Mark 10 : 35-40. s Mark 5 : 37-41. 3 Mark 9 : 2.

The Dazed Disciples 249
which Mark says, " 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
sorrowful even unto death : abide ye here, and watch." 1
Thus it is at once seen that each time He took these
men aside, He conducted them into the presence of death,
and He revealed His threefold attitude towards death. In
the house of Jairus He was Master of death. On the
mount of transfiguration He stood superior to death, trans
figured, and yet conversing of death to be accomplished.
In Gethsemane He bowed and yielded Himself to death —
a strange progression. These men, of whom one was
afraid, and the other two imagined there was nothing to
fear, were led through this private and special ministry of
infinite patience, that they might see the Master's connec
tion with death. In the house of Jairus He addressed the
dead child, using the familiar speech of a living love,
" Little lamb, I say unto thee, arise." 2 There was no
thunder about His voice, no magnificence of majesty, sug
gesting the assertion of authority, but the sweet whisper of
an infinite Love, in response to which the spirit of the
little one came back from the spirit land to its clay taber
nacle. He stood in the home evidently Master of death,
with a strength and dignity that needed no outward
pageantry. Then upon the mount He was seen to be in His own
Person absolutely superior to deathj passing without its
touch into the breadth and beauty of life in the places
where death never comes, and yet there talking of it as an
experience through which He would soon pass.
Then, strange and marvellous thing, in Gethsemane He
came towards the hour of His dying, and as He approached
1 Mark 14 : 33, 34. J Mark 5 : 41.

250 The Crises of the Christ
that hour, said to those same men, " My soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death." x To Peter and James and
John were these visions granted.
Thus the presence of these men on the mount was part
of a perfect scheme. These were experiences which the
Master was storing for them, which should have their ex
planation in days that were yet to come. Presently, when
the work of the Cross was accomplished, and the Paraclete
had been poured upon them, these men would begin to un
derstand what happened in the house of Jairus, upon the
holy mount, and most wonderful of all, how that when
His soul was sorrowful unto death, they had beheld the
Master of death bowing to death, in order that He might
slay death. After that, Peter writing a letter, and speaking
of his own death, did not so name it, but borrowing the
word he heard upon the mount, wrote, " after my exodus." 2
Thus death was transfigured for these men through the
patient process of a special training which the Master gave
them. II. In turning from this consideration of the men, to
give attention to Peter's words uttered in the glory of the
mount, it is important to notice their condition at the time.
Of Peter, Mark says, " He knew not what to answer ; for
they became sore afraid," 3 and Luke affirms " not knowing
what he said." 4 These statements confirm the opinion
that the whole speech was a blunder.
Luke's account alone makes reference to the fact that
the disciples had slept. It is probable that here, as in the
garden, they fell asleep while the Master was at prayer.
Awakening, and while yet in a half-dazed condition, they
looked upon the marvellous scene before them ; remember-
'Markl4:34. * 2 Pet. 1:15. 3 Mark 9 : 6. 4 Luke 9 133.

The Dazed Disciples 25 1
ing, as people waking suddenly so often first remember
matters but recently impressed upon the mind, the six days
of estrangement which had followed upon their shunning
of the Cross. How changed the scene and the Master.
Jesus, Whose face had borne the marks of an infinite sor
row during those days of silence, now stood in the midst
of splendour such as they had never beheld. His face
shone with the brightness of the sun, and the seamless robe,
which, perchance, love had woven for Him, was white and
glistering, beyond the glories of the snows of Hermon.
How everything would rush back upon the minds of the
men. Peter would remember the rebuke that had fallen
from his Master's lips, " Get thee behind me, Satan," 1
and then the cause of that rebuke, the fact that he had de
sired for his Master not a Cross, but a kingdom. And
now behold that loved One, just as Peter would fain see
Him, and desired to keep Him. In the mind of the wak
ing man there would be the contrast between this and that ;
between the splendour of the glory, and the fact of con
verse with heaven's own inhabitants ; and that strange an
nouncement of a week ago, concerning Jerusalem, and the
chief priests' hatred, and the culminating death. The out
come of this contrast was the speech of the man : " Lord,
it is good for us to be here "—not there, but here. Talk
no more of the Cross, but stay here upon the mount in
glory. " If Thou wilt, I will make here three tabernacles,
one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 2
How strangely confused the mind of the man was, is
evident by this suggestion. Imagine making tabernacles
for Moses and Elijah, to say nothing of the Master. Had
he said, Let us stay here and make three tabernacles, one
for Thee, and one for me, and one for James and John,
' Matt. 16 : 23. » Matt. 17:4.

252 The Crises of the Christ
it would have had more of reason in it. What did Moses
and Elijah want with tabernacles ? The word tabernacle
simply means a booth, or boughs made into a shelter for
present use. Peter's suggestion was that he should go to
the trees and bear back boughs with which to construct
three temporary resting-places. Think of Moses sojourn
ing in a tabernacle, or Elijah settling down to rest in a
booth. The whole suggestion is grotesque. " He knew
not what to answer," and for him, as for all men in like
circumstances, it were infinitely better to say nothing. He
had lost the sense of the spiritual, and his mind, moving
wholly within the realm of material things, imagined that
the spirits of the just made perfect could find shelter in
tabernacles constructed of boughs.
There was, however, a darker side to the mistake of
Peter. When he suggested building three tabernacles, one
for the Master, one for Moses and one for Elijah, he seems
to have been forgetful of his own confession made but
eight days before. Jesus had asked, " Whom do men say
that the Son of Man is ? " and had received the reply,
" Some say John the Baptist ; some, Elijah ; and others,
Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." Then, in answer to
His second question, " Who say ye that I am ? " Peter
had placed his Lord in a position far higher than that of
Elijah, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God."1 Yet now he suggests making a tabernacle for
Jesus, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, thus putting
his Master upon the same level with these men of the
past. The mistake is by no means an obsolete one. Men are
still attempting to make tabernacles, one for Christ, one for
Confucius, one for Buddha. Beware of such blasphemy.
'Matt. 16: 13-16.

The Dazed Disciples 253
More harm was done in 1893 m tne world's parliament of
religions at Chicago than has yet been undone. Men from
the East, who then heard arguments to show the com
parison between the religion of Jesus and that of others,
while perhaps to-day thinking no less of Christ than before,
yet cling more tenaciously than ever to the system in which
they have been brought up. It is ever dangerous to allow
that it is possible for a moment to put the best of religious
teachers in comparison with the Christ. One for Jesus,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah is utterly and hopelessly
wrong. The man who suggests it has lost the sense of the
absolute and sovereign supremacy of Jesus Christ over all
teachers. III. Matthew describes the cloud which overshadowed
the mount as a bright cloud. Darkness glorified, shadow
illuminated ! Wherever there is a bright cloud, the bright
ness is proof of the light behind. Who has not seen the
clouds piled mountain high on the horizon, lit with
gorgeous splendour ? Only the clouds are seen, but the
lights upon them speak of the sun shining in power behind
them. A bright cloud overshadowed them, a symbolic
cloud. The transfiguration is passing, the outshining of
the splendour of His presence is to cease, and the clouds
are gathering over the green hill far away, but they are
smitten through and through with light. It is impossible
to hide the glory again from these men. They will never
again wholly forget the radiant vision. James will pass to
his martyr baptism with that glory still upon his mind, and
that holy mount will abide with Peter until, his work
ended, he, too, shall enter the cloud, and beyond it, find
the never-fading light.
It was indeed a bright cloud, but it overshadowed them

254 The Crises of the Christ
while yet Peter was speaking. It interrupted and silenced
the speech of earth, that the speech of heaven might be
heard. What Peter would have said had he been allowed
to proceed, none can tell. While he was yet speaking the
cloud came. This blundering speech of men must be in
terrupted, this gross misunderstanding of the Divine must
be corrected, this incoherent prayer of a disciple but half
awake, must be hushed.
Out of the bright cloud came the heavenly voice, and
there are three matters of importance to notice in the
words spoken. First, the identification of this Man Who
has been seen in resplendent glory — "This is My beloved
Son " ; secondly, the announcement of the Divine satisfac
tion — " In Whom I am well pleased " ; and thirdly, the
injunction laid upon these men, and upon the Church and
all the ages through them — " Hear ye Him." 2
First, identification — " This is My beloved Son."
Moses and Elijah were servants, this is the Son. The
messages of the economies of the past were for the unfold
ing of the law, He and His message constitute the epiphany
of grace.
Then the statement of Divine satisfaction — " In Whom
I am well pleased." God had said this before at the bap
tism in Jordan, when the private life of Christ drew to a
close, and His public life was beginning. And now that
the second stage had come to an end, when the public life
was closing, and the sacrificial and atoning work beginning,
as He was about to pass from the culminating glory to take
His way into the shadows and into death, again God said
"I am well pleased." Satisfied with the private life in
Nazareth, with the honest toil of the carpenter's shop,
with the years of public ministry, with the deeds of love
' Matt. 17 : 5.

The Dazed Disciples 255
that had been scattered over all the pathway, the whole
life of Jesus from beginning to end had given satisfaction
to the heart of God.
Then the injunction — " Hear ye Him." Moses and
Elijah have passed. Let there be no tabernacle built for
Moses ; his mission is ended. " This is My Son." Let
there be no attempt to retain the fiery reformer; Elijah's
work is over. " This is My Son." " God, having of old
time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers por
tions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days
spoken unto us in His Son," x " Hear Him." No other
voice is needed. Let them be hushed in silence. Let
Moses and Elijah pass back to the upper spaces. The
dwellers upon earth have the speech of the Son, and noth
ing else is needed — " Hear Him."
It was a word of rebuke silencing the blunder of Peter.
It was a word of comfort by which God attested the value
and virtue of Christ. It was a word of encouragement,
for if the speech of Moses and Elijah were over, and their
presence had passed within the veil, the Son is to abide, and
through all the exigencies and intricacies of the coming
days His voice, sweet as the music of heaven, clear as the
voice of a brother man, shall lead through the mists to the
dawn of the eternal light.
What wonderful effect was produced upon these men by
this scene. James died sealing his testimony with his blood,
a martyr. Nothing more is recorded of him. John takes
his way to long life, and in his writing, says, "The Word
became flesh, and dwelt among us . . . full of grace
and truth." 2 The parenthesis follows as a flash of glory
from his pen, as he remembered the mount, he wrote, " We
beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
' Heb. 1 : 1, 2. 2 John 1 : 14.

256 The Crises of the Christ
Father." John can never forget. Peter in his last epistle
wrote, " We did not follow cunningly devised fables, when
we made known unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye-witnesses of His majesty.
For He received from God the Father honour and glory,
when there was borne such a voice to Him by the Majestic
Glory, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well
pleased : and this voice we ourselves heard borne out of
heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mount." J
Thus Peter and John to the end of their ministry were
influenced by the vision of that wonderful night, and in
fluenced supremely by the speech of heaven and the bright
cloud that overshadowed them.
To many there comes no mount of transfiguration, but
there is for all the speech of the Son. If the majority are
not called to some mount of vision where they may behold
the glory as these three men beheld it, yet to every soul
amid the multitudes of the redeemed He speaks in every
passing day. God forbid that the babel of earth's voices
should drown the accents of His still small voice. To His
children He speaks softly and sweetly in the innermost re
cesses of the heart day by day, saying ever, " This is the
way, walk ye in it," 2 and out of God's heaven God's mes
sage ever speaks, " This is My Son, hear ye Him." '
1 2 Peter 1 : 16-18. 2 Isa. 30 : 21. s Matt. 17 : 5.

AIX
THE THINGS THAT REMAINED
After some heavenly vision it is well that a pause should
be made, and the question asked, What is left when the
actual vision has passed, and what is the result ofthe vision ?
After the bright cloud that interrupted the ignorant speech
of the disciples, and after the heavenly voice had ceased,
what happened ? When the cloud overshadowed them,
and they heard the voice of God, they fell on their faces in
fear. When they opened their eyes and looked around,
what was left ? The answer to that question is to be found
in a few minutes' pause on the mountainside, whence the
glory had passed away, and then in a descent from the
mountain in the company of Jesus.
I. The transfiguration had been a night scene, and the
whiteness of the light radiating from the Person of Christ
had been more brilliant and glorious than the dazzling splen
dour of the snows on Hermon ; but the light had passed,
and morning was breaking in the eastern sky, with its sug
gestion of the coming day. But a few moments ago Jesus
seemed to be no longer Jesus of Nazareth, but the veritable
Son of God — God the Son. But a few moments ago
Moses and Elijah were there. But a few moments ago
was heard the incoherent suggestion of Peter — " Let us
make here three tabernacles." All this has now passed,
and waiting in the quiet hush of the solemn morning hour,
upon the mount, see what follows the transfiguration.
Moses and Elijah have gone, gone also is the flashing
257

258 The Crises of the Christ
splendour that lit the night, silenced is the speech that fell
upon the astonished ears of Peter, James, and John.
Imagine the disciples for a moment as they looked around
them,— the silence after the speech, the loneliness after
comradeship with celestial visitors, and the usualness of
everything. " Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, save
Jesus only." x
It was a solemn moment. Moses and Elijah had passed,
the glory had vanished, the heavenly voice was silent, and
they saw " Jesus only." He was the same Jesus that they
had known. Oh, the exquisite beauty of the statement.
" Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, and be not
afraid." 2 It was the old familiar touch, the same touch that
they had felt so often before. Who shall say that when
talking with them, His hand had not rested upon them ; or
walking with them, His hand had not arrested them, and
stayed them for a moment while He spoke to them ? The
old touch, the human touch of the Son of Man, a Man
among them once again, just as they had known Him. It
was the old familiar voice, the same Jesus, " Jesus only."
The same, but yet so utterly different ! " Jesus only,"
containing in His own Person as now they knew, a glory
that was hidden, a veiled splendour that at any moment
might flash out, yet hidden for some inscrutable reason.
How strangely these men were perplexed will be gathered
from all the history of the days that followed the transfig
uration until Calvary was reached. They never could think
of Him again as they had thought of Him before. For once
they had been permitted to look at Him changed, altered,
transfigured, shining with all the splendour of that indwell
ing glory ; and even though He had come back to the old
form, and the voice of their Fiiend and Teacher, and the
'Matt. 17:8. » Matt. 17:7.

The Things that Remained 259
touch of the Man Jesus, they knew that underneath the
veil of that humanity there was hidden a radiant splen
dour. In those last days how they would watch Him, and won
der whether at some moment the glory would not flame
again in the sight of men. He was never the same again
because they had seen more of Him. He was to them
"Jesus only," forevermore the Centre of all things. He
remained, the One Who fulfilled the promises of the past,
and realized all the hopes created by the messages of God.
And not merely was He the One in Whom all past history
culminated, but the One from Whom all future history
should take its form. From that moment until to-day
every upward movement, every movement that has had for
its issue the bettering of human condition, the ennobling
of the race, all have found their inspiration in the thought,
teaching, character, and Person of Christ. He was the es
sential Light of men, the Light of the world, and all the
men who have flung light across the pathway of human life
from that moment until now, have not been the Light, but
light-bearers, and they have lit their torches from the Light,
the Son of God.
" Jesus only " — finality, God's perfect speech. All the
new in the future will be but the more perfect comprehen
sion of Him, and the great ones of all the coming days will
learn what He meant, when in simple speech He spoke
great eternal verities, which the listening ears of men did
not at the time perfectly understand.
If the first impression produced upon the minds of the
apostles as they looked around them was that of silence,
now that the voice had ceased ; and loneliness, now that
Moses and Elijah had gone ; and the usualness of every
thing, now that the unusual had passed away j the answer

260 The Crises of the Christ
to that first impression was found in the presence of
" Jesus only," for if no heavenly voice sounded, His speech
was heard. If Moses and Elijah had passed, He remained,
the perpetual Comrade of saintly souls for all the future.
If the unusualness had ceased, they began to find that they
were now in the company of One Who could transmute
the usual into the unusual, Who could pass with them into
the valley, into the home life, into the service of all the
coming years until the end ; and touching the common
places of life, make them flash with splendour, as His body
of humiliation shone with glory upon that mount of trans
figuration. This was the first thing that these men realized
as they rose from their overcoming fear. The vision had
passed, Moses and Elijah had gone, the voice was silent,
" Jesus only " remained.
II. It is most interesting to trace what happened as these
men left the mount. First, notice that as they were com
ing down with Him, their same Lord and Saviour, the One
they had known so well during the three years of ministry,
He charged them that they should tell the vision to no
man, and there is deepest significance in the command.
He enjoined silence upon them because it would be im
possible for them to tell aright the story of the things they
had seen, for such visions always transcend explanation.
There was a limit put upon their silence ; " Tell the vision
to no man, until the Son of Man be risen from the dead." x
The real reason, undoubtedly, was that these men were to
wait until the Holy Spirit Himself should equip them for
the telling of that story.
But other things lay within that injunction of silence.
The theme for the coming days was not to be the theme
'Matt. 17 : 9.

The Things that Remained 261
of glory, but of the Cross ; and Matthew inserts here the
fact that He told them again the story of the Cross that
had so alarmed Peter six days before the transfiguration.
The vision of the glory had its place and purpose, but it
must pass away. The multitudes were waiting, the lunatic
was in the valley, the Cross and the exodus were before
Him. The mountain was the place of vision, but yonder
lay the pathway of accomplishment, and in order that His
heart might be set upon His exodus, and that they might
come as much as possible into comradeship with Him in
His great work, nothing was to be said of this vision. It
was to be one of the sealed stories during the days of suf
fering. After the triumph of His resurrection and ascen
sion, then it might be remembered, understood, and told in
all its meaning.
Probably there was another reason why silence was en
joined on these men. Visions are of no value save to those
who see them. No help comes from a recital of some
vision granted to another child of God. There is a Divine
intention and purpose in that fact. The fact of the vision
is not denied. What is affirmed is this, that the vision
given to one is not for another, and the repetition of it
cannot help another man. The vision of God granted im
mediately to the soul of man is for the man to whom it is
granted. No man can tell his own vision and help another
as that vision helped him, so it is infinitely better to be
silent about the deepest things that God says to the heart.
Each must for himself have the vision, if it is to be of use
and of blessing. Peter and James and John were taken to
the mount of transfiguration for a set purpose, in order that
their conception of death might be changed and altered,
that these men who boasted or feared might come to see —
as they had seen in the house of Jairus and as they were to

262 The Crises of the Christ
see in the garden of Gethsemane, — His outlook upon death.
The telling of that story of transfiguration to others would
not be a help to them, until the Holy Spirit should take the
story up and make it part of the unveiling of the glory of
the Christ, then out of it should come help for all the
Church to the end of the age.
Now they have reached the valley, and there are two
things to be noticed. First, the group around the lunatic ;
and second, the fellowship of the shekel.
There is a touch of great beauty in Luke's account of
the man who brought his son to Jesus, not to be found in
Matthew or Mark, which flings a wonderful light upon the
whole picture. Luke records that the man said to Jesus,
not only " This is my son," but " mine only child," x and
the Greek word is " my only begotten son," the very word
that is used of Christ's relation to God ; and here it is used
of this devil-possessed child.
It seems to have been a symbolic moment, proving the
necessity for the descent from the mount and the approach
to Calvary. There in the valley, foremost in the scene,
was the father with his boy, his only begotten child ; round
about were the disciples, defeated, absolutely unable to do
anything with such a case as this ; and around the disciples
was a circle of sceptical scribes ready to taunt these men
with their failure. It was a picture of the human race, the
only begotten child of man, mastered by evil, and no one
to deliver. A father's love was unable to break the slavery ;
the loyalty of disciples, as disciples merely, was quite help
less ; the cheap cynical sneer of the unbeliever did nothing
to relieve the suffering of the devil-possessed boy. Such
was the scene in the valley.
Looking upon it one seems to see approaching, the Only
1 Luke 9 : 38.

The Things that Remained 263
begotten of the Father in Whom He is well pleased, Who
speaks with the voice of the authority of heaven, Who will
act with all the power of the Godhead behind Him ; and
the only begotten child of man, beaten, bleeding, and
bruised upon the highway and none to deliver.
Hear the words of Christ, which come as a rebuke
to the faithless generation, — " Bring him hither to Me." *
For that moment He left the mountain, for that work He
turned His back for the second time upon the glory,
for that need He declined to have tabernacles made which
would detain Him on the mount, while here in the valley
humanity was suffering.
"Bring him hither to Me." Now mark His mastery
over all things. " Bring him hither to Me " — Master
of men. He rebuked the devil, " and the demon went out
from him : and the boy was cured from that hour " 2 —
Master of demons. The only begotten son of a man was
cured by the only begotten Son of God ; and Peter, James,
and John and the rest stood round and saw the wondrous
work that never could have been performed had Jesus
stayed upon the mount of vision.
Then note what follows. They went down to Caper
naum, and the men who were gathering the shekel for the
Temple came to Peter. It is quite a mistake to imagine
that the men who asked for this money were collecting a
tax for the Roman power. What they were collecting
was the half-shekel for the support of the Temple, which
according to the old Mosaic economy, was paid at the
taking of the census. But gradually it had become an an
nual payment, and it was for this purely voluntary tax that
the Temple authorities came to Peter and said, " Doth not
your Teacher pay the half-shekel ? " and he answered,
' Matt. 17 : 17. s Matt. 17 : 18.

264 The Crises of the Christ
" Yea." 1 It has been suggested that he made a mistake,
but no doubt he simply stated a fact. Most probably that
half-shekel had been paid during the three years that
had passed whenever it had been demanded. Yet Christ
had a lesson to teach, and speaking to Peter said, " The
kings of the earth, from whom do they receive toll or
tribute ? from their sons or from strangers ? " And when
Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said unto him,
" Therefore the sons are free." 2 He meant to teach
Peter by this that He was what Peter, but a few days ago,
had said He was, the Son of God. He was the King's
Son, the Prince of the Temple. There was no need
for Him to pay the half-shekel. By His nature and
position He was exempt from this contribution to the
Temple, nevertheless — and whatever else is forgotten
in this study, catch this thought, — " Lest we cause them
to stumble," 3 I will pay it. The word is " lest we become
a scandal to them." These men would not understand
His claim of freedom from the payment of the half-shekel,
and rather than cause them to stumble He forfeited His
personal right.
Then mark what He said, " Go thou to the sea, and
cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up ;
and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find
a shekel." A shekel ? But they wanted a half-shekel.
"That take, and give unto them for Me and thee."
There are no sweeter words in the gospel than these, " for
Me and thee," — -comradeship, companionship, fellowship
with Peter, even to the contribution to the Temple.
Oh, how wondrously was Peter discovering his Master,
and how when the Spirit came, and lit up these events, did
he love Him and worship Him ! King of glory on the
» Matt. 17 : 24. 2 Matt. 17 : 25, 26. s Matt. 17 : 27.

The Things that Remained 265
mount, Master of human life and of devils in the valley,
Comrade of every child of His love, sharing responsibility
even to the payment of taxes. He need not have paid the
shekel, but He did so with Peter for two reasons : first,
not to be misunderstood of the men who collected the tax ;
and secondly, that He might enter into companionship
to the last detail of the commonplaces of daily life with
His own disciples. These are the things that follow
the mount.
In closing this series there yet remain one or two infer
ences worth gathering. Although only three disciples saw
the transfiguration, while eight others who were loyal
in their love and service were shut out, yet not one
of these eight was excluded from that which remained
when the transfiguration glory had passed. " Jesus only "
was not only for Peter, James and John, but for all
the rest, and by this time they have seen Him in His
glory, so the vision was only postponed.
And concerning these men, the words of the Master in
another connection have application : " Blessed are they
that have not seen, and yet have believed." x There are
still those to whom no visions come, no moments upon the
mount suffused with a glory that never was on land or sea.
Let such not envy the men of vision. It may be that the
vision is given to strengthen a faith that else were weak.
It is to the people who can live along the line of
what others call the commonplace, and yet trust, that
the Master says, " Blessed are they that have not seen, and
yet have believed." The morning will reveal the reason
why visions are given to some and not to others, but
if tempted to wish for such an experience as these
men had, let it never be forgotten that the majority of the
1 John 20 : 29.

266 The Crises of the Christ
apostles had no share in it, and yet they fulfilled His will
and reached His home, and their names also flash with
splendour from the foundations of the city that God is
building. Let those who have had no vision trust Him
still. Let such as have seen a vision walk in its light, but
remember that more precious than the vision is that which
remains when the vision passes, the common heritage of
all the disciples, — " Jesus only."
Lastly, it is all-important to remember that all mounts
of vision, save the last, must be left, for the valleys. In
the valleys to-day are men possessed of devils ; and the
scepticism of cheap literature, of which there is much
abroad, never took a devil out of a man. It is all in suc
cession to the sneer of the scribe and Pharisees. Jesus
Christ standing in the valley to-day can say as He
said then, " Bring him hither to Me."
It is the challenge of His might and the voice of His
love, and the business of the disciples is to bring such to
Him. He will still cast out the demon as He ever did.
Men must leave the mountain for the valley, but they can
carry the mountain with them into the valley. They who
visit the mount may pass back into the commonplaces of
life in new power, taking with them the truth, that behind
the commonplace lies the light that flashed upon the mount
of transfiguration. Happy are the men who can say with
Peter on the mount, " Lord, it is good to be here " — and
then, with not a word about the tabernacles, pass to the
valley with Him; there they will see Him casting out a
demon, and repeat, " Lord, it is good to be here also."
Then, returning to the commonplace, to the payment of
taxes, they will hear Him say, " For Me and thee " ; and
will reply, " Lord, it is good to be here also." Whether
on the mountain, in the valley, or in the home, wherever

The Things that Remained 267
He is, it is good to be. No house is common where He
dwells, no valley is dark and hopeless through which He
passes, and no solitary mountain height on which He
stands is without possibility of vision. Man's one safety
lies in being with, and listening to " Jesus only."
From the resplendent glory of this Crisis in which, in
the fulfillment of His human life, He has faced anew the
fact of His dying, the Christ passes on towards the Cross,
with the tread of One Who having conquered goes forth
to yet sterner battles, and more glorious triumphs.

BOOK V
THE CRUCIFIXION

XX. The Approach
XXI. The Sufferings of Christ
XXII. Sin Unveiled, Grace Outshining
XXIII. The Kingly Exodus
XXIV. The Representative Crowds

As the load
Immense, intolerable, of the world 's sin,
Casting its dreadful shadow high as heaven,
Deep as Gehenna, nearer and more near
Grounded at last upon that Sinless Soul
With all its crushing weight and killing curse,
Then first, from all eternity then first,
From His beloved Son the Father' s face
Was slowly averted, and its light eclipsed y
And through the midnight broke the Sufferer's groan,
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ?
The echo was the mockeries of hell,
Reverberate in human lips. We heard,
And shudder d. Gabriel lean'd on me a space,
And hid his face within my vesture' s folds,
As if the sight were all too terrible
Even for archangelic faith. But now
Once more the agonizing Victim moan ' d,
Uttering His anguish in one dreadful plaint,
I thirst y His last : for, when the cooling sponge
Had touch' d His lips, a loud and different cry,
As if of triumph, It is finish 'd, rang
Upon our startled ears y and with a child 's
Confiding tender trustfulness, that breathed
Father, to Thy hands I commend My Spirit,
He bow'd His head, and yielded up the ghost."
— E. H. Bickersteth.
" Yesterday, To-day, and Forever."

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by
n-me : him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear
His Cross.
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. And when they had crucified Him, they parted His gar
ments among them, casting lots ; and they sat and watched Him
there. And they set up over His head His accusation written,
This is Jesus the King of the Jews. Then are there crucified
with Him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left.
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. He is the King of Israel ; let Him now come down
from the Cross, and we will believe on Him. He trusteth on God ;
let Him deliver Him now, if He desireth Him : for He said, I am
the Son of God. And the robbers also that were crucified with
Him cast upon Him the same reproach.
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land
until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a
loud voice, saying Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? that is, My God,
My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? And some of them that
stood there, when they heard it, said, This Man calleth Elijah.
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled
it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink.
And the rest said, Let be ; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save
Him. And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up
His Spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two
from the top to the bottom ; and the earth did quake ; and the
rocks were rent ; and the tombs were opened ; and many bodies
of the saints that had fallen asleep were raised ; and coming forth
out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered into the holy
city and appeared unto many. Now the centurion, and they that
were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake,
and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, Truly
this was the Son of God. And many women were there behold
ing from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering
unto Him : among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
271

mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of
Zebedee. — Matt. 27 : 32-56.
.& sfc _sJ* ifc _sfe ""!'' *k.
And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being
interpreted, The place of a skull. And they offered Him wine
mingled with myrrh : but He received it not. And they crucify
Him, and part His garments among them, casting lots upon them,
what each should take. And it was the third hour, and they cruci
fied Him. And the superscription of His accusation was written
over, The King of the Jews. And with Him they crucify two
robbers ; one on His right hand, and one on His left. And they
that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying,
Ha ! Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
save Thyself, and come down from the Cross. In like manner
also the chief priests mocking Him among themselves with the
scribes 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 believe. And they that were crucified with Him
reproached Him.
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 in
terpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Be
hold, He calleth Elijah. And one ran, and filling a sponge full of
vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink, saying, Let be ;
let us see whether Elijah cometh to take Him down. And Jesus
uttered a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the
temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. And when
the centurion, who stood by over against Him, saw that He so
gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
And there were also women beholding from afar : among whom
were both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the
less and of Joses, and Salome ; who, when He was in Galilee,
followed Him, and ministered unto Him ; and many other women
that came up with Him unto Jerusalem.— -Mark 15 : 22-41.
*******
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 children. For behold, the days
are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and
272

the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, 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 others, malefactors, led with Him to
be put to death.
And when they came unto the place which is called, The skull,
there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right
hand and the other on the left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive
them ; for they know not what they do. And parting His gar
ments among them, they cast lots. And the people stood behold
ing. And the rulers also scoffed at Him, saying, He saved others ;
let Him save Himself, if this is the Christ of God, His chosen.
And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him, offering Him
vinegar, and saying, If Thou art the King of the Jews, save Thy
self. And there was also a superscription over Him, This is the
King of the Jews.
And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on Him, say
ing, 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 receive the due reward 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, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.
And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over
the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun's light failing : and the
veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus, crying with
a loud voice said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit :
and having said this, He gave up the ghost. And when the cen
turion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly
this was a righteous man. And all the multitudes that came
together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done,
returned smiting their breasts. And all His acquaintance, and
the women that followed with Him from Galilee, stood afar off,
seeing these things. — Luke 23 : 27—49.
5fC Jfl 5fC »T* *(» *I* "I*
They took Jesus therefore : and He went out, bearing the Cross for
Himself, unto the place called The place of a skull, which is called
in Hebrew Golgotha : where they crucified Him, and with Him two
others, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote
273

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 without seam, woven from the top through
out. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but
cast lots for it, whose it shall be : that the scripture might be ful
filled, which saith, They parted My garments among them,
And upon My vesture did they cast lots.
These things therefore the soldiers did. 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 there
fore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved,
He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son ! Then saith
He to the disciple, Behold, thy mother ! And from that hour the
disciple took her unto his own home.
After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished, that
the scripture might be accomplished, saith, I thirst. There was set
there a vessel full of vinegar : so they put a sponge full of the vinegar
upon hyssop, and brought it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished : and He bowed
His head, and gave up His spirit.
The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the
bodies should not remain upon the cross upon the sabbath (for the
day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers
therefore came, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other
that was crucified with Him : but when they came to Jesus, and
saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs : howbeit
one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and straightway
there came out blood and water. And he that hath seen hath
borne witness, and his witness is true : and he knoweth that he
saith true, that ye also may believe. For these things came to
pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not
be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on
Him Whom they pierced. — John ip : 17—37.
274

XX
THE APPROACH
There is considerable divergence of opinion as to whether
Jesus was conscious of the full meaning of His mission
during the days of His boyhood and young manhood.
A full discussion of this subject is not here attempted.
Neither recorded word of His, nor clear statement of scrip
ture, give any decisive declaration on the point. Believing
in the perfection of His unfallen human nature, it would
seem as though all the probability were in favour of th'e
opinion that He saw the Cross, and knew through all the
quiet processes of preparation, that therein lay the final fact
of His wondrous work.
His communion with His Father was perfect, and in un
clouded intelligence He would understand the meaning of
the sacred writings of His people. It is unthinkable that
He shared their blindness as to that portion of the prophetic
writings, which had reference to the suffering of the
Messiah. His first utterance declares His consciousness
of relation to His Father, and understanding of the fact.
This in itself would seem to warrant belief that He realized
the fact of His Messiahship. If this be so, then there can
be no doubt that He also knew that the pathway of the
Messiah to the throne was the pathway of suffering and the
Cross. This position is strengthened by His accurate appre
hension of the meaning of the symbolism of the Hebrew
worship. All the types and shadows of the ceremonial law
275

276 The Crises of the Christ
were luminous to Him. The very calendar of the feasts
must have spoken to His heart its true message.
From this study of the approach of Jesus to His Cross,
eliminating any further reference to the early years, and
confining attention to those of the public ministry, there
is no longer room for doubt or uncertainty. It is perfectly
certain that from the commencement of His public ministry
He was perfectly conscious of the Cross. Through the
three years of preaching, of working of miracles, of conflict,
and of training of His own, He moved with quiet dignity,
and set determination, towards the Cross of His passion.
The present study is an attempt to demonstrate this con
sciousness by an examination of many of the things He
said, which while not revealing the fact of the Cross to the
men of His age, clearly prove His consciousness of it, in
the light of subsequent events. Behind all the teaching
and activity of the Master there is evidently a sub-con
sciousness of the Cross, and on at least five occasions this
flames out, declaring itself in unmistakable ways. These
may safely be spoken of as the lowlands of sub-conscious
ness, and the mountain peaks -of immediate consciousness.
A consideration of each will now be attempted.
I. In the first place then an examination of words of
His, which while not immediately revealing the fact of the
Cross, do yet conclusively prove that it was present to His
mind, in the midst of all the ceaseless activity of three years
of public ministry.
There is a notable silence concerning it as to open
declaration until the moment when His Messiahship was
confessed by Peter. He then began to speak plainly ofthe
Cross, but yet during all that period of preaching and
teaching, it was present to His mind, and is the only

The Approach 277
explanation of certain things He did, and words He
uttered. In such a study as this, the principal factor is that of
careful attention to the Master's own words. Comments
upon them are of minor importance, and will only be made
in an attempt to indicate their true meaning.
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven
opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of Man." :
The Lord had spoken of Nathanael as " an Israelite
indeed." 2 In response to his evident wonder He makes a
statement closely connected with His declaration that this
man was a true child of Israel. It calls to mind the reve
lation made to the patriarch concerning the communication
existing between heaven and earth by the ladder, and the
ascending and descending angels, and of the fact that in
the King of Israel there shall be the fulfillment of all that
was suggested by that dream. How were these words of
Jesus fulfilled ? Only by the way of His Cross, and resur
rection, and ascension.
" Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with
thee ? Mine hour is not yet come." 3
This is the first of a series of references in the Gospel
of John to an hour yet to come. A comparison of them
will show that they all refer to the Cross. His mother
evidently thought that now at the commencement of public
ministry, He would demonstrate His Divine calling, and
accomplish His work, and in the first fact she was cor
rect, but her understanding was limited. He wrought the
miracle she suggested, and it was His first sign, but His
words prove His understanding ofthe fact that His mightiest
work could only be accomplished by the way of the Cross.
'John I: 51. "John 1:47. "John 2:4.

278 The Crises of the Christ
" Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up."1 The Pharisees demanded His authority for cleansing the
temple, and His answer, which was utterly misunderstood
at the time, declared His Cross and resurrection to be the
authority. " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up ; that whosoever
believeth may in Him have eternal life." 2
Utterly perplexed by the strange words that have fallen
upon his ear, Nicodemus at last said, " How can these
things be ? " that is to say, granting the truth of the asser
tion made, by what process can there be accomplishment ?
The reply of the Lord, almost certainly not then under
stood by Nicodemus, yet reveals His clear understanding,
that life could only be communicated through His uplifting
in the sorrows of death.
" My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and
to accomplish His work." 3
In the absence of the disciples He had been dealing with
a lost woman, and winning her back with inimitable strength
and tenderness to the pathway of virtue. When they, re
turning, offered Him food, He declared that the very suste
nance of His highest life consisted in the doing of the
will, and the accomplishment of His work. How evidently
here His mind was dwelling upon that mighty work by
which He would seek and save the lost.
" The Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive
sins." 4
Here by a miracle of healing, He demonstrated to His
critics His power to forgive sins, while His very claim to
1 John 2:19. » John 3 : 14, 15. 3 J0nn 4 . 34.
4 Matt. 9 : 6. (See also Mark 2 : 10 ; Luke 5 : 24.)

The Approach 279
be able to do this, proves His consciousness of the fact
that " His own self bare our sins in His body upon the
tree," x for by this bearing of sin alone has He power to
forgive. " Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as
the bridegroom is with them ? but the days will come,
when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and
then will they fast." 2
In astonishment at the absence of fasting in the lives of
His disciples, men contrasted this fact with the fasting ofthe
disciples of the Baptist, and asked His explanation. In
answer He declared that while He was with them, there
was no room for mourning, and then there is evident His
consciousness of the coming Cross, as He declared that
when the bridegroom should be taken away, the sons of
the bride-chamber would mourn.
" Even so the Son also giveth life to whom He will." 3
In controversy with His foes He made this sublime as
sertion of His power to give life to those who are dead, an
assertion He could only make in view of His victory over
death through the Cross and resurrection.
" And he that doth not take his cross and follow after
Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find
it." 4
In these words, uttered when first He commissioned the
twelve, there is a meaning far deeper than they then
understood, or were intended to understand. They were
to take up the Cross and follow after Him, and as He
uttered the words, most surely there was present to His
1 1 Pet. 2 : 24.
5 Matt. 9:15. (See also Mark 2 : 19, 20 ; Luke 5 : 34, 35.)
s John 5:21. * Matt. 10 : 38, 39.

280 The Crises of the Christ
mind His own Cross. And yet He declared that " he that
findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that loseth his life for
My sake shall find it." He knew how afterwards such
declaration would find its full explanation and vindication
by the way of that Cross, in which He found His life by
losing it, and lost His life to find it.
"As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the whale ; so shall the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth." x
In answer to the scribes and Pharisees, who sought a
sign, He declared that He would give them none save that
of Jonah, but He linked that with a coming fact, namely,
that of His Cross, and burial, and resurrection. He under
stood perfectly that no sign He wrought would be final,
save that mightiest of all, of a man cast out in death, yet
winning his victories by return to life.
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden
in the field ; which a man found, and hid ; and in his joy
he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a
merchant seeking goodly pearls ; and having found one
pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and
bought it." 2
In the midst of the parables of the kingdom, these have
evident reference to His coming passion. The popular
interpretation of them fails to discover this, in supposing
that lost man sells all to buy the field, and possess the
pearl. That is an utter failure to appreciate the essential
value of the parable. What has man to sell to buy the
pearl of price ? He is a bankrupt beggar on life's high
way, and nothing that he has to sell will purchase for
him the field of the world, or the pearl of price. It is
1 Matt. 12 : 40. (See also Luke 11 : 30.) 2 Matt. 13 : 44-46.

The Approach 281
Christ Who sold all to possess the pearl, and in that
double declaration of the cost at which He purchased the
field of the world, and the pearl which is the Church, there
was evidently present to His mind His Cross. We " were
redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or
gold, . . . but with precious blood, as of a lamb with
out blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ." l
" I am the living Bread which came down out of heaven :
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: yea,
and the bread which I will give is My flesh, for the life of
the world. The Jews therefore strove one with another,
saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat ? Jesus
therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth My
flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life ; and I will
raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh
and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him."2
In this memorable discourse on the true sustenance of
man's spiritual life, while not declaring in detail, no argu
ment is needed to prove that He was speaking out of the
consciousness of that Cross by which He would give His
flesh for the meat, and His blood for the drink of the
world. So far the references have been indirect, proving the
consciousness of the Cross in His own mind. Those
which follow are clearer, because they come after Peter's
confession, and are subsequent therefore to His clear an
nouncement of the Cross as the issue of His work, to His
own disciples.
" If any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be
1 1 Pet. 1 : 18, 19. s John 6 : 51-56.

282 The Crises of the Christ
gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go
unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray ? " x
In this most wonderful chapter which deals with the child
and the Church, these words clearly reveal His conscious
ness of the long journey into the uttermost darkness that
He must take for the finding and restoration of that which
had gone astray.
"Jesus therefore saith unto them, My time is not yet
come ; but your time is always ready. The world cannot
hate you ; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its
works are evil. Go ye up unto the feast : I go not up
unto this feast ; because My time is not yet fulfilled." 2
Here is another reference to the hour that had not yet
come, this time spoken to His brethren, as at the first it
was addressed to His mother. They were urging Him to
manifest Himself, and- accomplish something. He declared
that the supreme moment had not arrived, knowing per
fectly that between Him and any manifestation of real
power, there lay the Cross.
" Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while am I with you,
and I go unto Him that sent Me. Ye shall seek Me, and
shall not find Me : and where I am, ye cannot come." 3
To the officers sent to arrest Him, He uttered these
words, and in common with all those of a like nature,
spoken to those outside the immediate circle of His dis
ciples, they prove His consciousness of the Cross, while
not openly declaring it.
"Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son
of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do
nothing of Myself, but as the Father taught Me, I speak
these things." 4
1 Matt. 1 8 : 1 2. 2 John 7 : 6-8.
3 John 7 : 33, 34. 4 John 8 : 28.

The Approach 283
Here again is the consciousness of limitation until the
lifting up of the Cross, after which men shall know.
"I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven." J
At the return of the seventy, as they recounted the
story of their journeying and their work, He uttered these
most wonderful words, which, while variously interpreted,
certainly indicate the discomfiture and defeat of the enemy
which was only wrought in the Cross. The words there
fore prove the Lord's consciousness of that Cross.
" We must work the works of Him that sent Me,
while it is day : the night cometh, when no man can
work."2 This declaration of Christ has very often been taken out
of its setttng and its relation, and has been made to teach
that which is undoubtedly true, but what is not here de
clared. Through John, as has been seen, there is a refer
ence to an hour which was coming. It was to be an hour
of darkness, of night ; and here He said to His disciples in
connection with the healing of the man born blind, " We
must work," and then declared that presently the night was
coming in which no man could work. His mind was almost
certainly fixed upon that deep, dense, dark night, in which
man should be excluded, and God alone should accomplish
the redemption of the lost race.
" I am the good Shepherd : the good Shepherd layeth
down His life for the sheep. . . . I lay down My
life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from
Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it
down, and I have power to take it again." 3
No comment is necessary here to prove the Lord's con
sciousness of His Cross.
1 Luke 10 : 18. * John 9:4. 3 John 10 : II, 17, 18,

284 The Crises of the Christ
" But I have a baptism to be baptized with ; and how
am I straitened till it be accomplished ! " x
Here is an almost startling declaration of His sense of
limitation of the work of preaching, and miracle working.
He seems to have gazed on towards the dark and awful
passion-baptism with eagerness for it, that He might be no
longer straitened, but able to accomplish all that could only
be accomplished through its mysterious experiences.
" Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures to-day
and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected." 2
How closely this follows upon, and adds emphasis to,
the last quotation. The Pharisees were warning Him of
Herod's hatred and opposition, and in calm and dignified
language He declared His present work, and that presently
He would be perfected. He looked towards the perfecting
by the way of His Cross and resurrection.
"Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come
after Me, cannot be My disciple." 3
Here is another instance similiar to that recorded in
Matthew * in which the value of His word, as subsequent
events would prove, was created by the fact of His own
Cross. "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 find it ?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders,
rejoicing." 5
In this wonderful parable of the lost sheep, the lost piece
of silver, the lost man, a parable thus indicating the order
of the Divine plan of salvation, is the whole gospel of re
demption ; the saving of the sheep, illustrative of the work
¦Luke 12: 50. s Luke 13: 32. a Luke 14: 27.
4 Matt. 10: 38.. s Luke 15: 4,5.

The Approach 28^
of Jesus, seeking for the silver, illustrative of the work of
the Church indwelt by the Spirit, and the welcome of the
prodigal, illustrative of the attitude of God to man, " At
the first in His declaration concerning the Shepherd seek
ing the wanderer, one finds His Cross and passion.
" Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the
day ? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because
he seeth the light of this world." 1
The Master proposed to go to Jerusalem that He might
wake Lazarus from sleep, and His disciples protested be
cause of the opposition that had been stirred up against
Him, and the certainty they felt that men would lay hands
upon Him to kill Him. To their objection He replied in
words that are in harmony with some already considered in
this Gospel of John, which show His consciousness of a
working day, merging into a terrible night ; and while His
attitude is a revelation of His sense of security until the
day's work be over, it also clearly indicates His conscious
ness of the Cross.
" But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected
of this generation."2 ,
" Behold, we go up to Jerusalem ; and the Son of Man
shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes ; and
they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him
unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify :
and the third day He shall be raised up." 3
" But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye
ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to
drink ? " 4
" Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered
¦John II: 9. "Luke 17: 25.
'Matt. 20: 18, 19. (See also Mark 10: 33, 34; Luke 18: 31-33.)
4 Matt. 20: 22. (See also Mark 10 : 38.)

286 The Crises of the Christ
unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for
many." 1
Upon these no comment is necessary. Here He was
teaching His disciples that second lesson, which they
utterly failed to learn, until the accomplishment of the
facts. " For in that she poured this ointment upon My body,
she did it to prepare Me for burial." 2
Mary, conscious of some dark sorrow settling over His
life, with the keen intuition of a great love, perceiving the
very shadow of death upon Him, anointed His feet ; and in
His recognition of the gracious action there is a revelation
of the overwhelming consciousness of the Cross, which
was yet unappreciated by the many, and discovered only by
Mary. " But afterwards he sent unto them his son, saying,
They will reverence my son. But the husbandmen, when
they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir ;
come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance. And they
took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed
him. . . . Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read
in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the Head of the corner :
This was from the Lord,
And it is marvellous in our eyes ?
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be
taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof. And he that faileth on
1 Matt. 20 : 28. (See also Mark 10 : 45.)
3 Matt. 26 : 12. (See also Mark 14 : 8 ; John 12 : 7.)

The Approach 287
this stone shall be broken to pieces : but on whomsoever it
shall fall, it will scatter him as dust." J
Thus, in what was probably Christ's last appearance in
the temple, in a parable and an application of Scripture, He
openly declared the issue of His ministry to be the Cross.
" Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and
the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified. . . .
My time is at hand ; I keep the passover at thy house
with My disciples. . . . Verily I say unto you, that
one of you shall betray Me." 2
These Scriptures are the records of His last messages to
His disciples, all of them delivered under the very shadow
of His Cross, the fact of which is evident to-day; and yet
though openly declared to them, it seems as though they
had no clear understanding of its nearness.
Thus we have, in hurried fashion passed over a wide
field, and consequently nothing is perfect save the actual
Scriptures as recorded. Enough though has surely been
done, to show that from the moment when His public
ministry began, there was present to His mind its consum
mation in the Cross. In great love and tenderness He hid
it from His disciples until they had learned the first lesson,
that, namely, of His Messiahship. And even then, appre
ciating their weakness and inability to perfectly under
stand, He seems to have spoken to them seldom concern
ing it. The pathway of the three years was a pathway
ever resolutely trodden towards the Cross, and while the
consciousness of its pain was ever upon Him, so was also
the sense of its value, for upon the triumph there to be
won, He based His authority for all the wonders which He

' Matt. 21 : 37-44. (See also Mark 12 : 6-10 ; Luke 20 : 13-18.)
5 Matt. 26 : 2, 18, 21. (See also John 14-17.)

288 The Crises of the Christ
wrought, and the blessings which He scattered were in His
view made possible thereby.
II. There is no necessity to do more than tabulate these
occasions which have been referred to at the beginning,
as the mountain peaks of full consciousness. For the
most part they have been considered in connection with
their proper setting, and it is not necessary therefore to do
more now than indicate them as the occasions upon which
Jesus seems to have come through some special circum
stance face to face with the fact of His Cross.
The first of these occasions is the baptism. Then,
as has been seen, His very consent, nay, His request
for baptism, and His insistence upon it, was the outward
symbol of His identification with sinners, and therefore,
moreover, of His identification with all that sin meant.
For Him the whelming in the water foreshadowed the
passion-baptism.1 The second occasion was that of Peter's confession,
when, having consummated the teaching required to reveal
to His disciples His Messiahship, in a few words, startling
and comprehensive, He declared the whole pathway to and
through the Cross. " From that time began Jesus to
shew unto His disciples, that He must go unto Jerusalem,
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up." 2
The third instance of this clear consciousness of,
and consent to, the Cross is to be found in His transfigura
tion. While the light of His human victory illumined the
darkness of the night, and He held familiar converse with
the lawgiver and the prophet, it was of His Cross and
resurrection that they spoke.3
1 Matt. 3:15. 2 Matt. 16 : 21. ' Luke 9:31.

The Approach 289
Again for the fourth time at the coming ofthe Greeks with
their request to see Him, it is evident that the sense of the
Cross, as one of great sorrow, was upon Him, for He de
clared that His soul was troubled. Here again, however,
He deliberately chose and asked that His Father's name
should be glorified, whatever the cost might be to Him
self, and then declared His conception of what the Cross
would mean.1
And lastly in the Garden of Gethsemane, having passed
outside the last limit of human comradeship, in awful lone
liness He looked into the heart of the great passion, and
trembling at the prospect, yet with a strength of purpose
that astonishes, and fills man with deep reverence, He
chose the will of God, including, as it did, the empty
ing of this cup of all its bitterness, that He might fill
it with the wine of life for the sons of men.2
Thus in deepest sense He is seen to have been " a Man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."3 Yet though
His whole life was based upon conformity to the Divine
purpose, even though He knew its issue was this mystery
of deep pain, He nevertheless exercised a ministry of
beneficence which was ever a magnificent prophecy of final
victory by the way of the Cross.
»John 12: 28. 5 Luke 22 : 39-44- 'Isa. 53 : 3.

XXI
THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
Than this there is no subject more mysterious and yet
more sacred in the whole realm of revealed truth. This
is the heart of that mystery of the love and wisdom of
God, which wrought towards, and made possible the salva
tion of man. At the commencement of this study I
would place on record not idly, and not for the mere sake
of doing so, but under the urgency of a great conviction,
that I am deeply conscious of approaching things too high,
and too profound for any finality of statement. Person
ally I increasingly shrink from any attempt to speak in de
tail of the great fact of the Cross. This is not because I
am growing away from it, but rather on account of the
fact that I am more deeply conscious every day of my need
of all it stands for, and as I have pressed closer to its heart,
I have become almost overwhelmed with its unfathomable
deeps, and its infinite majesty.
It is impossible, however, that any consideration of the
mission of Jesus should be complete, if this subject were
omitted. Let all therefore who approach the subject do so
with abandonment to that Spirit of God Who " searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God," x praying earnestly
to be led, so far as it is. possible, to see and understand the
mystery of His pain.
In the light of the earlier studies, it may here and now
be stated that the Cross solves two problems that have
1 1 Cor. 2 : io.
290

The Sufferings of Christ 29 1
found solution nowhere else. These problems may thus
be stated.
First, How can God be just and justify the sinner ?
Second, How can righteousness of conduct be made
possible to those who are poisoned and paralyzed by sin ?
As to the first it must be remembered that the word
"justify" means the clearance of the soul from guilt.
Justification must be infinitely more than forgiveness. Sin
must be put away, and made to be as though it had not
been. For justification the soul must be put into a place
of purity, so restored that there shall be no spot, or blemish,
or stain, not merely upon the record, but what is of in
finitely deeper significance, upon the character. To be
justified before God is to be put into such condition, that
no trace remains of the guilt of sin. That is the problem
which is solved in the Cross. How can God be just, that
is, true to Himself in nature, and yet justify the sinner,
that is, receive him upon the basis of freedom from sin?
The second problem touches practical life, and deals
with an actual condition, rather than a relative one. How
can righteousness of conduct be made possible to those
who are poisoned and paralyzed by sin ? The difficulty
of the problem is at once discovered if the impossibility of
producing right conduct in man is thought of, apart from
the subject immediately under consideration, that, namely,
of the Cross. It is a problem that has never been solved
in the past, neither can jr. be at the present hour. Right
conduct can only issue from right character, and therefore
is not possible to man whose whole nature is poisoned and
paralyzed by sin.
These are the problems with which the Cross is ap
proached. Can a man be justified before God, and sancti
fied in his own actual experience ? Can a sinner be so

292 The Crises of the Christ
cleared from guilt that he may have a conscience void of
offence ? Can a man, whose powers have become paralyzed
by the virus of sin, be so changed as to enable him to do
the things he cannot do ? Can a man be made able to
translate the vision of an ideal into the actuality of daily
life ? These problems baffle all the wisdom of man apart
from the Cross, and still defy all attempts at solution.
These are the problems solved by the mystery of Christ's
sufferings. The present study is not directed to an examination of
the results of the Cross, but to a reverent contemplation
of the way by which they were made possible.
It is impossible to follow the Lord into the place of His
mightiest work. Alone He entered and wrought. No
man followed Him, nor could follow Him at all, in help, or
in sympathy, or in understanding. Fallen man was de
graded in will, emotion, and intelligence, and therefore was
not able to help, or sympathize, or understand. From that
inner mystery, therefore, man was excluded.
Tracing the Lord through the three years in which He
was constantly conscious of the Cross, it will be noticed
how gradually and yet surely, He moved out into the lone
liness of the final fact of His work. While living in
Nazareth He was a favourite. He " advanced in wisdom
and stature, and in favour with God and men." x At the
commencement of His public ministry both the rulers and
the multitudes gathered rounds Him. The men of light
and leading were at least interested in Him, and ready to
listen to Him, and more than inclined to patronize Him.
They were among the first to fall back from Him. As
He, in the great progress of His teaching, uttered deeper
and yet deeper truths, men who were merely curious be-
1 Luke 2 : 52.

The Sufferings of Christ 293
came excluded, and only His own disciples remained in
anything approaching close association with Him. Yet
further on, the ranks of the disciples were thinned. After
the discourse recorded in the sixth chapter of John, in
which He declared He would give His flesh for the meat,
and His blood for the drink, of the world, many went
back and walked no more with Him. Without closely fol
lowing the details, it will be seen that His approach to His
Cross is marked by constant withdrawals, until at last the
nearest flee, the story of their going being recorded in one
tragic sentence, " Then all the disciples left Him, and
fled."1 He passed into the actual place of His passion, the
region of that mystery of pain through which He was
about to solve these problems, in utter loneliness. No
man could help, no man could sympathize, no man could
understand. Let this always be borne in mind when His
suffering is followed and contemplated.
Men may gather reverently to the place of the passion,
but can only know of it from what is revealed in the words
that fell from His own lips. That should be accepted as a
canon and principle of interpretation concerning the suf
ferings of Christ. What others may think or say, can
only be of value as it harmonizes with, and expresses the
meaning of the words He Himself uttered. Nothing can
be known of that mystery of pain save from Himself.
Any attempt to go beyond this limit is a mistaken attempt,
and borders upon the realm of unholy intrusion. The sub
ject had infinitely better be left where He left it, considering
reverently, and only, His own words.
Of these there have been recorded seven several utter
ances. The first three manifest His keen and marvellous
> Matt. 26 : 56.

294 ^e Crises of the Christ
insight, even on that Cross of shame, into the deepest
things and simplest necessities of human life. The last
four are expressions of His own Spirit's experience in utter
loneliness, and come out of that awful isolation.
The first three : " Father, forgive them ; for they know
not what they do " ; ' " To-day shalt thou be with Me in
Paradise " ; 2 " Woman, behold, thy son ! Behold, thy
mother ! " 3 In these is evident His pity for men in the
issue of their sin, His power towards those believing in
Him, and His provision for those upon whom His love is
set. Then the last four : " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ? " *
" I thirst" ; 5 "It is finished " ; 6 " Father, into Thy hands
I commend My Spirit." 7 Here man stands in the presence
of the process of His mightiest work, through strife and suf
fering to the consciousness and calm of victory.
I repeat emphatically that beyond what these words
reveal of the Cross, man has neither ability nor authority
to go.
From the present study the first three sayings are elimi
nated, and save for a final moment, the last two also.
Thus two words are left which express all that man can
ever hope to know of the sufferings of Christ. First, the
spiritual anguish, expressed in the cry, " My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " 8 and second, the
physical agony revealed in the brief but awful exclamation,
" I thirst." 9
While believing that this was the true order of the say
ing, that the physical pain was not mentioned until after
the cry ofthe spiritual anguish had been uttered, I propose
1 Luke 23 : 34. » Luke 23 : 43. 3 John 19 : 26, 27.
4 Mark 15 : 34. <> John 19 : 28. " John 19 : 30.
' Luke 23 : 46. s Mark 15 : 34. 9 John 19 : 2&

The Sufferings of Christ 295
to notice, first, the words " I thirst," * considering them in
few words, remembering ever, that silence is often the
most perfect exhibition of true understanding and deep
sympathy ; and then to attempt a somewhat closer exami
nation of that awful cry of the spiritual anguish, which re
vealed all that man may ever know of the mystery of that
pain by which He redeemed the lost.
I. The word of the physical agony, " I thirst." 2 What
can any say concerning that ? Is it not rather subject for
lonely contemplation and meditation ? It is hardly possible
to approach it without fearing lest the approach may be
that of sacrilegious curiosity. From such we would utterly
be delivered, and therefore I do not propose to dwell for a
single moment upon the actual physical pain of Jesus. The
whole of it surges out in that cry, " I thirst." To know
all that was behind those words, rather recall briefly,
quietly, and slowly, almost without comment, the facts that
had immediately preceded the Cross : —
The night watches in Gethsemane.
The flash of the light of the torches upon the darkness
of the night.
The kiss of the traitor.
The arrest.
Still in the darkness of night, the arraignment before the
high priests.
The hours of waiting, and of tension.
The' appearance in the morning before the high priests
and the council.
The palace of the Roman governor with that strange
interview between Jesus and Pilate, withdrawn from the
rabble into some quiet apartme--*
"John 19: 28. »Johni9:28.

296 The Crises of the Christ
The journey from the house of Pilate to the palace of
Herod. The first and final meeting with Herod, the corrupt, the
depraved, Herod who had so often sought an interview
with Him, and had never obtained it until that last hour,
Herod who never heard the voice of Jesus, for to his curios
ity Christ vouchsafed no single word.
The rough handling of Herod's brutal soldiery.
The journey back to Pilate.
The awful scenes through which Pilate strove to save
Him, while priests and people clamoured for His blood.
The scourging.
The pathway to the Cross.
The crucifixion.
Hours into which eternities were compressed ! Through
all in silence He endured the Cross, despising the shame ;
in silence, with no word of complaint and no word ex
pressive of pain, " as a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so He
opened not His mouth."1 In the hours of darkness, three
words breathing tender interest and infinite love, one outcry
of the spirit, and then, not so much a wail as a smothered
sob of pent-up human agony, " I thirst " ; the very ex
pression of human agony, dignified, neither complaint nor
appeal, but simply the statement, a terrible revelation of
such suffering as is beyond explanation.
And now let it be remembered that all this is outward
and physical, and human, and is but the symbol of the in
ward, and spiritual, and Divine. If in loneliness we pass
over this pathway, and consider these scenes in contrition
and tears, we have not then reached the heart of the mys-
lery. Beyond all these stretch the infinitudes of suffering.
1 Isa. 53 : 7.

The Sufferings of Christ 297
II. With sorrowful silence and fearfulness of utterance
we approach the deepest darkness. " My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " 1 These words reveal a
mystery, and represent in mystery a revelation. To them
we turn for a theory of the Atonement, only to discover
that theorizing is impossible. Alone in the supreme hour
in the history of the race, Christ uttered these words, and
in them light breaks out, and yet merges, not into dark
ness, but into light so blinding that no eye can bear to gaze.
The words are recorded, not to finally reveal, but to reveal
so much as it is possible for men to know, and to set a limit
at the point where men may never know. The words
were uttered that men may know, and that men may know
how much there is that may not be known. In that strange
cry that broke from the lips of the Master there are at least
three things perfectly clear. Let them be named and con
sidered. It is the cry of One Who has reached the final
issue of sin. It is the cry of One Who has fathomed the
deepest depth of sorrow. It is the cry of One Himself
o'erwhelmed in the mystery of silence. Sin, sorrow,
silence. Sin at its final issue, sorrow at its deepest depth,
silence the unexplainable mystery of agony, and agony of
mystery. These are the facts suggested by the actual
words. In that order let them be pondered reverently.
" My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? " 2
The logical, irresistible, irrevocable issue of sin is to be
God-forsaken. Sin in its genesis was rebellion against
God. Sin in its harvest is to be God-abandoned. Man
sinned when he dethroned God and enthroned himself.
He reaps the utter harvest of his sin when he has lost God
altogether. That is the issue of all sin. It is the final
penalty of sin, penalty not in the sense of a blow inflicted
1 Mark 15 : 34. ' Mark 15 : 34.

298 The Crises of the Christ
on the sinner by God, but in the sense of a result follow
ing upon sin, from which God Himself cannot save the
sinner. Sin is alienation from God by choice. Hell is the
utter realization of that chosen alienation. Sin therefore
at last is the consciousness of the lack of God, and that
God-forsaken condition is the penalty ofthe sin which for
sakes God. Now listen solemnly, and from that Cross
hear the cry, " My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me?"1 That is hell. No other human being has ever
been God-forsaken in this life. Man by his own act alien
ated himself from God, but God never left him. He
brooded over him with infinite patience and pity, and took
man back to His heart at the moment of the fall, in virtue
of that mystery of Calvary which lay within the deter
minate counsel and foreknowledge of God, long before its
outworking in the history of the race. What explanation
can there be of this cry from the lips of Jesus ? None
other is needed than that declared by His herald three years
before, and considered in previous studies. " Behold, the
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world ! " 2
He has taken hold upon sin. He has made it His own.
He has accepted the responsibility of it. He has passed to
the ultimate issue. There is a statement in the writings
of Paul, to my own mind the most overwhelming, the most
profound of the New Testament : " Him Who knew no
sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might be
come the righteousness of God in Him." 3 Reverently
hear the strange and sublime words, " Him Who knew no
sin He made sin." A man says, I do not understand that.
Neither do I. But there is a declaration, and in the hour
of the Cross is the fact. On that Cross He was made sin,
and therein He passed to the uttermost limit of sin's out-
1 Mark 15 : 34. 2 John I : 29. » 2 Cor. 5:21.

The Sufferings of Christ 299
working. He was God-forsaken. He knew no sin. He
was made sin. He was forsaken of God. Because He
knew no sin there is a value in the penalty which He bore,
that He does not need for Himself. Whose sin is this that
He is made, and for which He is forsaken of God ? My
sin. I can say no other in the presence of that sublime
miracle. Each must for himself stand there alone, — my sin.
He was made my sin. If in passing to the final issue of
my sin, and bearing its penalty, He created a value that He
did not need for Himself, for whom is the value ? It also is
for me. " He bore my sin in His body upon the tree." 1
And yet the broader fact must be stated. He bore the
sin of the world. Himself knowing no sin, by such bear
ing He created a value which He did not require. For
whom then is the value of that awful hour ? For the
whole world, whose sin He bore. Behold Him, on the
Cross, bending His sacred head, and gathering into His
heart in the awful isolation of separation from God, the
issue of the sin of the world, and see how out of that ac
ceptance of the issue of sin He creates that which He does
not require for Himself, that He may distribute to those
whose place He has taken.
Turn for one brief moment only to the next fact, closely
allied to that already considered, never to be separated in
the final thought, and only now taken separately for the
sake of examination and contemplation. This cry is not
merely that of One Who has reached the final issue of sin,
but it is therefore, and also, the cry of One Who has fath
omed the deepest abyss of sorrow. Sorrow is the conscious
ness of lack. What is the sorrow of sickness but the con
sciousness of lack of health ? What is the sorrow of
bereavement but the consciousness of the lack of the loved
' I Pet. 2 : 24.

300 The Crises of the Christ
one ? What is the sorrow of poverty but the conscious
ness of the lack of the necessities of life ? What is
the sorrow of loneliness but the consciousness of the
lack of companionship ? All sorrow is lack. Then it
follows by a natural sequence of that, that the uttermost
depth of sorrow is lack of God. There is no sorrow like
it. There is no pain comparable to it. The human
heart through the infinite mercy of God has never in
this life really known this uttermost reach of sorrow.
There are moments in life when it would seem as though
God had hidden His face as men pass through dark ex
periences, but if He had actually withdrawn Himself, the
sorrow of the hiding of His face would have been as noth
ing, to the sorrow of the actual absence from Him. In
this hour when Jesus was made sin, and was therefore God
forsaken, He knew as none had ever known, the profundi
ties of pain. The vision that had been His light through all
the dark days in the three and thirty years, was lost. The
strength of that fellowship with the Father which had been
His on every rough and rugged pathway, was withdrawn.
In perfect harmony with the purpose of God He passed
into the place of separation from God, and in the awful
cry which expresses His loneliness, there is revealed the
most stupendous sorrow that has ever been witnessed through
the ages.
And yet once again. If man imagines that he has now
fathomed or understood the Cross, he is reminded by the
very fact, that this cry is a question that something, per
chance the mightiest and most marvellous of all the facts,
eludes him, and defies his every attempt at final analysis.
He is in the place of sin as to its final issue, and in the
place of sorrow in its abyssmal depth, and yet now note
that while He states the fact that He is God-forsaken, He

The Sufferings of Christ 30 1
in the midst of the experience asks the question, " Why ? "
It is never recorded that He asked such a question before.
Never again is there record of so strange a fact. In that
withdrawal ofthe Divine presence, which is the issue of sin,
and the depth of sorrow, there is the enshrouding of the
Spirit of the Christ in a great and awful mystery of silence.
If these infinitudes may be measured by the small stand
ards of human individuality, it may be at once declared that
there is no experience of life through which men pass, so
terrible as that of silence and of mystery, the hours of iso
lation and of sorrow, in which there is no voice, no vision,
no sympathy, no promise, no hope, no explanation, the hours
in which the soul asks why. The river, the darkly flowing
river, how men dread it, and yet there is something more
fearsome than the darkly flowing river. It is the mist that,
rising from the river, wraps men round in its chill embrace,
until they do not know where they stand, or where the
river is. There is no agony for the human soul like that
of silence. The perfect One, made sin, and suffering all
sorrow, had reached that place of silence and of mystery.
Who shall explain it ? I cannot. When I am asked for
a theory of the Atonement I ever reply that in the midst of
the mighty movement, the Lord Himself said " Why ? "
and if He asked that question, I dare not imagine that I
can ever explain the deep central verities of His mystery
of pain. Men stand outside the circle of that incompre
hensible agony, they behold Him forsaken of God, at the
uttermost issue of sin, in the deepest profundities of sor
row, in the mystery of an awful silence, and all this as they
hear Him say, " My God, My God, why hast Thou for
saken Me ? " 1 Let there be no attempt to penetrate further
into that hallowed and awful realm.
» Mark 15 : 34.

302 The Crises of the Christ
And yet the subject of the sufferings of Christ cannot be
so left. Standing overwhelmed in the presence of these
sufferings, feeling increasingly man's utter inability to un
derstand or explain, with a great sense of might and majesty
overwhelming us, we hear the next words that pass His
lips. "It is finished."1 Immediately the heart sings a
new song, — " O Jesus, Lord ! 'tis joy to know
Thy path is o'er of shame and woe,
For us so meekly trod."
How in the depth of the darkness the mighty work was
accomplished, men will never perfectly understand. Eter
nity cannot suffice for the unfolding of the dread mystery
of the passion, but this is known, " He bare my sins in His
body upon the tree," 2 He stood where man should have stood.
The pains of hell that were man's portion, gat hold on Him,
and man passes into the light of the heaven which was His
by right, and which He brings to him.
Such were the sufferings of Christ, so far as we have
been allowed to come near them in the inspired narrative.
What have we seen ? So little and yet so much. Unable
to appreciate all the meaning of the words, yet great facts
now shine in radiant revelation, and from the study we may
make statements which constitute the evangel of hope and
of power. These deductions may be expressed in old
words, the theological words of our fathers. I pray God
that we may restore* them. I would not plead for the res
toration of mistaken interpretation of the words, but that
we may lay hold upon them in their true and infinite
value. Gazing then in astonishment at the sufferings of Christ
> John 19 : 30; 2 1 Peter 2 : 24.

The Sufferings of Christ 303
I declare them to have been vicarious sufferings, expiatory
sufferings, atoning sufferings.
They were vicarious sufferings, for He stood in man's
place when He suffered. The penalty He bore had no
relation to the life as lived. He stood connected with all
human sin and failure, and seeing that He bore it, man is
delivered from it.
They were expiatory sufferings. Through what He
bore, He exhausted human sin, He put it away, He made
it not to be.
They were atoning sufferings in that through them He
has dealt with all that separated between man and God.
He has now made possible the restoration of the lost fel
lowship, and man may henceforth live in communion with
Him. Thus has He solved the problems first suggested. By
the way of that Cross, and by that way alone, God may be
just, that is, true to Himself in nature ; and justify the sin
ner, that is, place man into the position of one for whom
sin is made not to be, and who is therefore clear from guilt.
The second problem is assuredly solved by the mystery
of the Cross, as will be more fully seen when contem
plating His resurrection. As He passes out of death, He
comes into a new life which He may now communicate,
and which is to be for paralyzed men a new dynamic and a
new purity, in the power of which all life may be trans
formed, and all victories won.
Thus we have foregathered on the outer margin of that
deep sea of sorrow through which the God-man wrought
with God, though for a while in separation from the con
sciousness of His presence, a redemption which meets all
difficulties, and solves all problems, and opens the kingdom
of heaven to all believers.

XXII
SIN UNVEILED; GRACE OUTSHINING
Would we know the true nature of sin, and the deepest
facts concerning the grace of God, we must come to the
Cross. In Peter's first message after Pentecost, referring
to the Cross he said : " Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved
of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs
which God did by Him in the midst of you, even as ye
yourselves know ; Him, being delivered up by the determi
nate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of
lawless men did crucify and slay." 1 Herein is a most re
markable statement, declaring two facts concerning the
Cross, which seem to contradict each other, but yet which
reveal the actual causes of the Cross. " Delivered by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Therein
is declared the purpose and action of that grace which lies
at the back of the whole plan of redemption. " Ye by the
hand of lawless men did crucify and slay." Therein is
contained a statement of how God's plan was carried out
in history by the very principle of lawlessness, which His
grace operating through the Cross contradicted and over
came. The first declaration is that of the cause of the
Cross from the Godward side, and in the light of it the
Cross is seen as the epiphany of grace. The second state
ment is the cause of the Cross so far as man was con
cerned, and in the light of it the Cross is seen as the reve-
1 Acts 2 : 22, 23.
3°4

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 305
lation of human degradation. These facts of the unmask
ing of sin, and the unveiling of the Divine heart are now
to receive attention.
In the fact of the Saviour's sufferings, sin deepened into
densest darkness, and grace broke forth in brightest bril
liance. In the strange mystery upon which we have al
ready reverently looked, sin and love met in fiercest con
flict. All other forces were withdrawn, and alone in a
death grapple in the darkness, sin took hold on love, and
love took hold on sin. The issue of the conflict is not
now the subject of consideration, but only the contempla
tion of the opposing forces, as seen in this supreme hour.
Love incarnate has taken hold upon sin, and the issue must
be a decisive victory for one or the other. In this hour sin
or grace will triumph forever. If sin and grace are seen
as here revealed, there will be no possibility of mistake as
to the nature of both. Whoever may be inclined to judge
sin by the superficial measurements of much so-called new
thought, should be brought back to the Cross for a revela
tion of its true nature ; and all those, moreover, who would
confine the river of grace within small human channels,
should stand again in the presence of the Cross for an un
derstanding of the irresistible sweep and might of this river
of life, flowing from the throne of God.
Let us then examine sin and grace as here revealed, in
each case considering the essence, the expression, and the
end. I. These studies are unified in certain directions by the
analysis of human personality, which was accepted at the
beginning. In speaking of the essence of sin as revealed
in the Cross, therefore, it will be considered in the realm of
the intelligence, the emotion, and the will of man, taking

306 The Crises of the Christ
these in the reverse order. As at the first, man's sin
proceeded through the avenue of the darkening of the
intelligence, the deadening of the emotion, and the
degradation of the will, so here is the ultimate expres
sion of degraded will, deadened emotion, and darkened
intelligence. The casting out of Jesus on the Cross was the protest of
license against law. It was the most daring act of man in
his revolt against the government of God. The Cross was
man's response to the fact intimated in the superscription
which Pilate in mockery of those Jews had written and
placed over His head. There can be no doubt that the
Roman governor was far more angry with the priests than
with Jesus, and yet driven by the false principle of ex
pediency, He handed Christ to crucifixion, and in doing so
mocked the men that had clamoured for the blood of the
Nazarene, by placing over His head in letters of Hebrew,
and Latin, and Greek the words, " This is Jesus the
King of the Jews." : Thus from whatever cause, man
wrote above the Cross the supreme fact, and in the Cross
expressed his attitude towards it.
At the time of Christ's life and death, the three great
world forces were all represented in that little land of
Palestine,and it is not without deep significance that over
His Cross these words were written in letters of Hebrew,
and Latin, and Greek, the national language, the official
language, the common language ; the language of religion,
the language of government, and the language of culture.
The attitude of all the forces represented by these things
was antagonistic to Christ. Out of the religion of the
time, the Hebrew, arose the inspiration of the crucifixion,
while the power of the time, the Roman, was the agent for
' Matt. 27 : 37.

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 307
its execution, and the culture of the time, the Greek, was
scornfully indifferent to Him and His claims. Sinful
religion rejected Him, sinful power murdered Him, sinful
culture neglected Him. He was cast out. The reason is
to be found in the burden of His ministry as revealed in the
first word of His preaching, the word " repent." In the
uttering of this word, He called all men to a course of life
exactly opposite to that being pursued. This first note of
His message was a criticism and condemnation of all things
as He found them. He practically declared that man had
lost the true centre of his life, and that all the lines of
human activity were proceeding in wrong directions. In
the statement which immediately followed the first word,
He revealed the nature of the wrong and of the right, " the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." x This word is a declara
tion of the departure of man from the Divine government.
It was an announcement, moreover, of the setting up of
that government, and the whole burden of His preaching
was that of a call to men to submit to God. It was a
stern, severe, revolutionary cry that He sent ringing forth
over all the manners and methods of men. The sternness
was that of a great love, the severity was that of a great
tenderness, the revolution was that of restoration. Men
did not understand this. They recognized the meaning of
the word, and the nature of the call. They knew that if
they listened and obeyed, the whole current of life would
be changed as to course, because changed at the centre.
There was no apology in the preaching of Jesus. He did
not submit to men a proposal which they might discuss and
, vote upon. He spoke with authority, and not as the
scribes, and the great burden of His message as men heard
it, is perfectly expressed in that one word, " Repent."
1 Matt. 4 : 17.

308 The Crises of the Christ
Through the years of His public ministry, they criticised
Him, they entered into conflict with Him, they endeavoured
to entrap Him in His talk, and at last they gave their final
answer to His message, and the answer was the Cross. If
Calvary's Cross means anything, it means that men have
said, We decline to repent, we will not have this Man to
reign over us, we will not submit ourselves to the Divine
government. Jesus had come into the world for the restoration of the
lost order. In the midst of the chaos that He found, He
uttered the first word, " repent," and then enunciated the
principles of life within the Kingdom of God, proceeding
to illustrate the breadth and beauty and beneficence of that
kingdom, by all the deeds of tenderness and of love with
which He filled the days. Men appreciated the benefits,
but declined to submit to the authority. There is one
startling instance of the attitude of man towards Christ.
He passed over into the country of the Gadarenes, and at
once came into contact with a man who must have been the
very plague of the whole life of the district. He freed him
from the possession of the evil spirits, and in the account
of how the men who watched the working of His mighty
power told the story in the city, there is this somewhat
strange and yet revealing statement, " They . . . told
everything, and  " Is it then possible to tell "every
thing, and  " ? What can there be to tell, when every
thing is told ? Now hear the whole statement, " They
. . . told everything, and what had befallen" to the
man " possessed with devils." x Now mark this inversion
of values. What was the " everything " in the sight of
these men ? The destruction of their pigs. What was
the " and " ? A man was delivered from demon posses-
I Matt. 8 : 33.

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 309
sion, and set upright in the dignity of his manhood. Is it
to be thought for a single moment that these men did not
desire the benefit offered in the casting out of devils ?
There is no doubt that they would gladly have accepted
all such benefits, and yet it is written, " they besought Him
that He would depart from their borders." x What can
the explanation of such strange conduct be ? This simply.
They were not prepared to pay the price. This is not the
occasion upon which to enter into any discussion of the
vexed question as to our Lord's permitted destruction of
the swine. It is enough that He permitted it to vindicate
the action. And yet it may be declared in a sentence that
at this period Jesus was exercising His Jewish Messiahship,
and when He permitted the devils to destroy the swine, He
but rebuked an unholy traffic, forbidden among these people
whose Messiah He was. They fain would have the bene
fits of the kingdom, but this revolutionary interference with
their profits they were not prepared to tolerate. This is
but illustration of the fact evident through all His ministry,
which had its final expression in the Cross. Men were
determined to silence His voice, because they would not
submit to that actual Kingdom of God which He pro
claimed among them. The Cross is the incontrovertible
proof that sin has degraded man's will.
Few words need be uttered to prove that the Cross is
the supreme evidence of the prostitution of emotion. If
it be indeed true that the same capacity operates along the
lines of love and hate, then of all fearful revelations of
prostituted emotion, there is none equal to the Cross of
Jesus. There, in all the details, is an expression of the
brutal and barbarous in human life, such as the world has
never seen at any other point.
' Matt. 8 : 34.

310 The Crises of the Christ
But was not this also the revelation of the darkening of
human intelligence ? There is nothing more patent in the
Cross than the blindness of the sin which erected it, both
as to immediate interests, and as to far-reaching issues.
What utter folly was this murder of the Emancipator, the
giving over to death of the Life-giver, the whelming in
darkness of the one and only Light of life. Thus the
essence of sin is revealed in the Cross, as madness, and
hatred, and rebellion.
This statement will cover also the fact, as the considera
tion leading to it has already covered the subject, of the
expression of sin.
Sin as the rebellion of the will expressed itself finally in
the murder of God's anointed King. Sin as degraded emo
tion expressed itself most fully in the refined cruelty and
malicious brutality of the whole process by which Christ
was apprehended and cast out. Sin as darkened intelli
gence expressed itself most surely when it found no room
in its counsels for the Voice which alone was that of per
fect wisdom.
What then was the end of sin as expressed in the Cross ?
The rejection of the King, the destruction of the Priest,
the silencing of the Prophet. The exercising of authority
must not be permitted, so sin murdered the King. Man's
return to God must be prevented, so the great High Priest
was refused. The shining of light upon the darkness sin
loved, must not be allowed, so the voice of the Prophet
was silenced. Thus sin has finally expressed itself in
anarchy, for the King is dethroned ; in irreligion, for the
Priest is destroyed ; in ignorance, for the Prophet is
silenced. II. There is, however, another side to the Cross, and to it

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 311
we turn with great gladness of heart, for therein is revealed
the grace of God answering and triumphing over every
thing that sin is. Grace in the Cross is the assertion of
the unquestioning authority of God. It is the revelation
and working of His unquenchable love. It is the out
shining of His unclouded wisdom.
First, grace asserted itself in unquestioning authority.
It asked no permission. It took no counsel with man. It
moved along the line of a great right and authority, in
spite of man's willful rebellion against the throne. Man
had not dethroned God when he erected the Cross, neither
did man destroy God's King therein. God is love, and
He did not abandon man, even when man abandoned Him.
That is the great lesson of the Cross. Men said, We will
not be governed by God, and yet there in the Cross ex
pressing that attitude, love is seen still retaining the throne,
still holding the reins of government, still declaring to men
that without Him they can do nothing. Apart from His
authority, they are hopelessly and forever ruined. Even
in the blood-baptism of that awful passion, in which man's
sin has declared its refusal of God, God enthrones Him
self, and asserts the will of essential love as superior to the
will of rebellion. Never for one moment did He vacate
the throne. Men cast His appointed King out into dark
ness, but in the darkness He was still the King, and prose
cuted His reign in love. It was not merely the enforce
ment of authority. It was not merely an insistence upon
government. It was not merely the defence of a right, for
it seems as though if these had been all, God might have
established all these things by ridding Himself of man.
These are not the principles vindicated and revealed in the
Cross. The Cross is the insistence of love. It is the
persistence of love. It is love that holds the throne in the

312 The Crises of the Christ
darkness. But for love there would have been no Cross.
Every violated fact within the Divine purpose might have
been reestablished by the destruction of that which had so
signally and awfully failed. Love by determinate counsel
and foreknowledge permits man to express his sin in the
Cross ; and in that very act of full and final expression,
grace occupies the throne, sways the sceptre, and reveals,
as in no other way, the authority of God, and its reason of
love. For one moment, to slightly change the angle of obser
vation, let it be borne in mind that in that Cross of Jesus
God expressed His unqualified hatred of sin. The very
fires that burn the sacrifice were the fires of His wrath
against all evil. The fierceness of the flame was created
by the intensity of love. God will not be dethroned,
though His enthronement cost Him the Son of His love ;
and therein is most awfully visible the severity and the
judgment of God. Yet that severity and judgment can
never be understood save as it is clearly recognized that
the force of them is His compassion. Of this there is no
perfect illustration other than the Cross itself. Let me at
tempt one faint and far-away, and yet perhaps appealing to
us in the realm in which we most perfectly find an expres
sion of human love. Once it was my lot to see a mother
snatch up her child from a railway track, just as the rush
ing train was almost upon it. I do not know that I ever
saw anything much more roughly done. The mother was
transformed for the moment into a veritable fury, as she
caught up the child with hands that must have bruised it
and carried it out of danger. Yet never did I see love
more radiant than in the wild fury of that mother. How
imperfect the illustration none can be more conscious than
am I. I lift my eyes again to the Cross, and this I see,

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 313
that in the mystery of its unfathomable anguish I discover
that God will not be dethroned, though all hell be against
Him, and this because of His mighty love. Let me utter
it slowly and carefully, and yet out of my profoundest
heart, if there be nothing to vindicate but His authority,
then there is no necessity for the Cross ; for the vindica
tion of justice, or judgment, or righteousness, or holiness
in the last analysis may be realized by the destruction of
man. In such destruction, however, love would have been
defeated, and for the vindication of that love, and what is
infinitely more than its vindication, for its own satisfaction,
He will not permit man to dethrone Him. Amid the
depth of the darkness of Calvary it is grace that triumphs
in a great authority. He will not consult with man in his
folly, but He will retain the throne for very love of the
foolish one. God found even in the midst of the ruin the
possibility of redemption, and while God in Christ — for
They cannot be separated — became the butt of brutal
malice, He responded with tenderness ; and when man's sin
has done its worst in nailing Christ to the Cross with law
less hands, in that very Cross God plants the kiss of for
giveness upon the face of the murderers. It is the mag
nificent and majestic authority of love. He will love.
We cannot prevent Him loving, and let me add reverently
to that statement, He cannot help loving because He is
Love. Love is stronger than death, mightier than the
grave. Many waters cannot quench love. That is the
anthem of the Cross. God retains the throne of authority
because of His infinite love. He will never cease to love
a single soul He has created.
In that Cross, moreover, there is revealed the unclouded
wisdom of God. Seeing all that man in his blindness
failed to see, and knowing perfectly the whole fact of the

314 The Crises of the Christ
depravity wrought by man, He yet originated and carried
out a plan of redemption so wonderful that the very un
fallen intelligences of the upper world have ever desired to
look into this great mystery of wisdom, and no man has
been able perfectly to fathom its depths. To the Jews a
stumbling-block, something in the way over which they
fall; to the Greeks utter foolishness; and yet blessed be
God, both to Jew and Greek, not only power, but wisdom.
What wondrous words were those that passed the lips of
Jesus. " It is finished." J What is finished ? Sin was
finished as to its power to work the final ruin of any man.
In the mystery of the passion of Jesus, sin which had
mastered men, and held them in slavery, was in turn mas
tered and robbed of its force. Whatever bruised, broken,
beaten slave of sin will but hide in the cleft of that rock,
and trust in the Crucified, for such an one sin is no more
master. To the truth of this statement, testimony can be
borne by the great multitudes of men and women who,
standing at the Cross, have said, and still can say, The im
possible has become possible, for all the forces of sin have
been broken by the way of this victory of grace. Sin as a
force that ruins, is ended in the Cross. It is not ended any
where else. If men will not come into relation with that
Cross, then sin is still an element of force, so great that no
man is equal to its overcoming. In the cleft rock there is
perfect security and perfect victory. " It is finished," said
the Master, and because He meant that sin was finished,
He meant that the work was finished through which grace
might flow out like a river.
Not very long ago in London on a cold raw winter
day, in the midst of the squalour and the degradation of
the East End, I saw a little group of Salvationists, and I
1 John 19 : 30.

Sin Unveiled; Grace Outshining 315
heard them sing, and never anthem sounded half so sweet.
These were the words : —
" Grace is flowing like a river,
Millions there have been supplied,
Still it flows as fresh as ever
From the Saviour's wounded side.''
Did I hear some one say something about doggerel ? It is
the poetry of heaven. Did some one ask as to the balance
of the music ? It had in it all the harmonies of the heart
of God. Grace is flowing like a river. How is it that
grace is thus flowing for the healing and the uplifting of
men ? Because Jesus has said, " It is finished." He ac
complished the work that made possible the outflowing of
this river of God.
Let us pause for a moment. Is some soul conscious of
sin that masters, of pollution that blights ? The river is
flowing even here and now, and you may be cleansed, puri
fied, saved. Oh, the matchless splendour of this outshin
ing grace ! In that Cross in very deed we see the deepest
meaning of sin, and the fullest force of grace. There sin
refuses God's King. There grace announces —
" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run." '
There sin manifested its prostitution of emotion in the
brutality of an awful tragedy. There grace through the
untold abyss of suffering smiled back with love ineffable,
until the very murderers of Christ found the highway open
to the heart of God. There sin in its ignorant madness
put out the light of life. There grace in infinite wisdom
shone through the gloom and there fell upon the pathway
of the race the light that leads to God.
' Watts.

316 The Crises of the Christ
Oh, wondrous Cross ! Therein sin rejected the King,
and grace crowned Him. Therein sin destroyed the Priest,
and grace through the Priest made atonement. Therein
sin silenced the voice of the Prophet, and grace caught up
the message and repeated it to all the race, for a new law
of life and love. In the Cross I see my sin. In the Cross
I see God's grace. And, hear me, His grace is mightier
than my sin, for " where sin abounded grace did abound
more exceedingly." x Yet let me try to show that I cannot
put all into it that is suggested by it. Did you ever watch
the children playing on the seashore ? How have I
watched them, the golden-haired, laughing-eyed, dimple-
fisted darlings ! I ask this little group what they are doing,
and they tell me that they are digging a big hole. What
for, I say to them, and they reply, We want to see if the
sea can fill it. The hole is dug, and the bairns stand on
the mounds of sand, and I wait with them. We wait and
watch and wonder as the waves come nearer in, those white
horses of the mighty deep, and at last one, the seventh,
perchance, stronger and bigger than his brothers, breaks up,
and over the hole with the sweet swish of summer music,
and I look and they look. What has happened ? Is the
hole filled ? More exceedingly, more exceedingly ! And
the sea is yet behind ! " Where sin abounded grace did
abound more exceedingly." 2
• Rom. 5 : 20. s Rom. 5 : 20.

XXIII
THE KINGLY EXODUS
Having traced the very evident revelation of our Lord's
consciousness of the coming Cross during the three years
of His public ministry, and having endeavoured, moreover,
reverently to come as near to that Cross as it is right that
we should in contemplation of His suffering, and having
stood before the Cross and considered its revelation of sin
and grace, we are now to approach it from a new standpoint.
This study is devoted to a consideration of the Cross in
relation to the Kingly position of Christ, and in the course
of it we shall endeavour to observe Him as He wins the
victory which issued in the redemption of His people from
the slavery of a false authority, and opened the way into a
new land of freedom under government.
The slavery of sin is a part of its penalty. When man
yielded himself to sin, he became the servant of sin. By
the way of the Cross the King made provision by which man
could be redeemed from that slavery. In the mystery of His
passion, the King led the exodus of all such as following
Him, leave forever behind them the tasks and taskmasters
of evil, and pass into the glorious liberty of the children
of God.
In Luke's account of the transfiguration we read, " And
behold, there talked with Him two men, who were Moses
and Elijah; who appeared in glory, and spake of His de
cease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." J
i Luke 9: 30, 31.
317

qi8 The Crises of the Christ

o

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, " By faith
Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the de
cease of the children of Israel." a The word used by our
translators is not the word " decease," but " departure,"
and such translation is undoubtedly correct. The word
translated " departure " in Hebrews is the identical word
translated " decease " in Luke, and a more literal transla
tion of the Greek word in each case would convey the
correct meaning on both occasions, that word being i^ddov.
The simplest translation would be in the use of our word
exodus. Use the word exodus in both connections, and it
will be seen how it perfectly fits each : " Behold, there
talked with Him two men, who were Moses and Elijah ;
who appeared in glory, and spake of His exodus which He
was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." " By faith
Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the
exodus of the children of Israel." Peter, in referring to
his own approaching end wrote, "Yea, I will give diligence
that at every time ye may be able after my departure to call
these things to remembrance." 2 Here again we have
altered the word, for it is translated " decease." In the
alteration on this occasion no incongruity was discovered.
Here again adopt the suggested word, " Yea, I will give
diligence that at every time ye may be able after my
exodus." This word i?68ov only occurs in the New
Testament on these three occasions. It is a word which
means very literally, a highway out of, and so in use, a
going out. This is the word which describes the subject
of conversation between Jesus, and Moses and Elijah.
The word " decease " is not wrong, always providing that
it is understood correctly. It is derived from the Latin
word " decessus," which means a going from, so that the true
1 Heb. n : 22. >2 Pet. i : 15.

The Kingly Exodus 319
meaning of the word decease is not death, as cessation of
being, but a going out, or liberation of life. This decease
is really a word marking the Christian thought of death,
although so seldom understood in that way. Upon the
mount of transfiguration the heavenly visitors conversed
with Jesus of His exodus. Joseph, when his end was
nigh, spoke of the exodus of the children of Israel ; and
Peter, referring to his approaching end, used the word
concerning it which our Lord had used of His, on the
holy mount, " after My exodus."
We have occupied so much space with this word in
order that we may be brought face to face with this par
ticular aspect of the Cross of Jesus. We have considered
our Lord as He passed into the place which was the neces
sary outcome of His assuming the responsibility of sin.
We are now to consider Him as leading the way out from
that very place, and so are to consider His death as in the
pathway of His exodus. In this exodus He broke down
all barriers, and left behind Him open doors through which
those submitted to His Kingship, surrendered to His gov
ernment, might have their exodus also from the bondage
and slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of the children
of God. In order to our contemplation of this aspect of
the Cross, we shall first make a statement of the case, and
then take the supreme illustration of this truth given in the
case of the malefactor, who by faith in Jesus, passed with
Him along the pathway of His exodus.
I. In stating the case there must first be a remembrance
of certain foundation facts. Of this the supreme one is
that of the Divine Kingship. God is King. His claim
is based upon the fact that He is the Creator, and Sustainer,
of all life; and therefore His Proprietorship is based upon this

320 The Crises of the Christ
original relationship, and His governmental right is the
necessary and logical sequence. From this fact there can
be no final escape. The history of human sin is the his
tory of man's attempt to deny the Divine Kingship, and to
resist its claims. In spite of all this terrible history of re
bellion and failure, God has not resigned His throne, He
has not abandoned His sceptre, He has not yielded the
reins of government. He is absolute King in the very na
ture of the case. His right to rule does not depend upon
the vote of a crowd. He has created, He has sustained,
and in these facts lies the right of His Kingship. In the
fullness of time God revealed and represented the fact of
His Kingship in the Person of His Son.
Let us again revert to the second Psalm, and read it as
it bears on our study.
First we have the question of the Psalmist in which
we discover the touch of irony : —
" Why do the nations rage,
And the peoples meditate a vain thing ? " '
Then follows his description of the attitude of the kings
and the rulers of the earth towards God and His anointed,
with a declaration of their resolve : —
" The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against Jehovah, and against His Anointed, saying,
Let us break their bonds asunder,
And cast away their cords from us." 2
The next stage in the Psalm reveals the attitude of God
towards the* kings and the rulers, and declares the words
>Psa. 2: I. 2 psa, 3. 2> ^

The Kingly Exodus 321
of Jehovah, in answer to the resolve of these kings and
rulers : —

" He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh :
The Lord will have them in derision.
Then will He speak unto them in His wrath,
And vex them in His sore displeasure :
Yet have I set My King
Upon My holy hill of Zion." «
At this point there is a change, and the Psalmist records the
words of the anointed King, in view of the fiat of Je
hovah : —
" I will tell of the decree :
Jehovah said unto Me, Thou art My Son ;
This day have I begotten Thee.
Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance,
And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 2
And yet once more there is a change. With the ceasing
of the voice of the Anointed, the Psalmist addresses the
kings, and the rulers of the earth : —
" Now therefore be wise, O ye kings :
Be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve Jehovah with fear,
Ahd rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way,
For His wrath will soon be kindled.
Blessed are all they that take refuge in Him." »
Notice specially the announcement of Jehovah, " I have
set My King upon My holy hill of Zion." Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, was the visible representation and revela-
" Psa. 2: 4-6. s Psa. 2 : 7-9. 8 Psa. 2 : 10-12.

322 The Crises of the Christ
tion in time, of the perpetual inward fact of the Divine
Sovereignty. He is God's anointed King for the accom
plishment of certain purposes, for the carrying out of spe
cific work. The eternal and unalterable fact is that of the
sovereignty of Jehovah, and looking on over the far and
immeasurable distances, I see the point described in the
words of the apostle, " Then cometh the end, when He
(the Son) shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the
Father." : In the Divine economy therefore there will
finally be restored the actual and immediate Kingship of
God. In order to that issue for the carrying out of the
wonderful processes which will result therein, the Son is
the King anointed, set upon the holy hill of Zion. These
facts must be clearly before the mind in the contemplation
of the Cross as the exodus of the King.
In certain respects, this fact of the Divine Kingship has
become inoperative in human lives. In no human life has
it absolutely become inoperative. Every man, woman, and
child is under the government of God, and can by no means
escape from it. The supreme illustration and proof of this
lies in the. fact that no man has been able to fix the day of
his death. Or if by an act of unreasoning folly man has
taken his life, it has been but to discover that he has not
escaped from, but has hurried himself into, the conscious
ness of the supremacy of the Eternal God. Yet in the
realm of will, and therefore of certain lines of conduct,
the Divine Kingship is not acknowledged, and in that sense
has become inoperative. Insomuch as this is true, man has
passed under the false authority, and has become its slave.
In an earlier study we noticed how the will necessarily de
mands a governing centre, a reason, a because. Will can
only be exercised upon the basis of reason, and the reason
• i Cor. 15 : 24.

The Kingly Exodus 323
behind the exercise, is the governing authority of the life.
The true reason for the exercise of the will of man is the
will of God. Man dethroned God, declined to consider His
will as the abiding law, and abandoned by that act the true
principle of life. He did not, however, escape from the
necessity of a central authority, and a governing principle.
In place, however, of the good and perfect and acceptable
will of God, he enthroned the foolish, varying, imperfect
desires of the flesh and the mind. Instead of continuing
to say, I will because God wills, he came to say, I will be
cause I wish. That is the essence of sin, and the issue"
is obvious. Man yielded to sin, becomes the servant of
sin, is oppressed by sin, and is unable to do any other than
respond to the mastery of sin. He may catch fair glimpses
of that freer life, actuated by the will of God, but being
under the dominion of sin, he is not free to obey the
Divine Kingship. In the words of the apostle, he has to
say, " to me who would do good, evil is present." "¦ That
is the supreme and overwhelming degradation of human
life. It is, moreover, the whole story of man. Yielded
to sin he is the slave of sin, bound hand and foot, bruised
and ruined in the whole fact of his life.
This principle of sin expressed itself towards God's
anointed King in His rejection and casting out. The will
of man, governed by a wrong reason, acting from a wrong
motive, rejected, crucified the One Who revealed the true
centre of authority in human life.
The great problems, therefore, facing the King in His
work of redeeming man, were those of how he should be
freed from the penalty of sin, and delivered from its paraly
sis. The inevitable issue of sin is death. Sin committed
cannot be undone by sorrow, or by promise of amendment.
1 Rom. 7 : 21,

324

The Crises of the Christ

Sowing demands the harvest. It cannot possibly be
avoided. Before man can be delivered from the slavery of
sin, the penalty of sin must be borne.
The deeper and more terrible problem is that of the
paralysis resulting from sin. Sin working death makes
obedience impossible. Man is the slave of sin, is paralyzed
in all the highest powers of his being, in the whole of
which the poison operates with ever increasing and terrific
power. These problems are solved in the mystery of the
King's passion. Having reverently come to the margin of
that passion, and observed Him as He passed into a realm
where we could by no means follow, we see Him in the
Cross emerging from the slavery.
As our previous study has shown, the King in His sin
lessness has carried the sin of His people, and having done
so has created a value which He did not require for Him
self, and which is therefore at the disposal of those in
whose place He has suffered. Thus by identification with
man in the penalty and paralysis of sin, He brings man
into identification with Himself in the pardon and power
of His life. Yet when I hear Him saying : " It is fin
ished," : " Father, into Thy hands I commend My
spirit," 2 I know that He is on the highway of His exodus,
Egypt is behind, the power of the oppressor is broken, the
mystery of sin is at an end, and as He emerges from the
slavery, He sets the door wide open, that those who follow
Him by the way of the Cross, may have their exodus also
from all that sin means as to penalty. It was, moreover,
the pathway of freedom from the paralysis of sin, in virtue
of the fact that the life laid down was taken again, that it
might be communicated to the sin-enslaved. This will
only be fully dealt with as we pass to the subjects of resur-
1 John 19 : 30. * Luke 23 : 46.

The Kingly Exodus 325
rection and ascension, which are also within the highway
of His exodus.
Thus we reverently contemplate the anointed King as
He leads His people from the Egypt of their bondage,
through a divided sea, towards the place of liberty under
the Kingship of Jehovah. The King Himself has taken
hold upon that which has enslaved man, He has borne its
penalty, and broken its power, and thus provided the value
of forgiveness for the race, and a dynamic of life for all
such as put their trust in Him. We see Him passing by
the way of the Cross with the step of a Conqueror, the
Leader of the great hosts, who by His victory shall be de
livered from the bondage of sin and the bondage of death,
into all the spacious freedom of the Kingdom of God.
II. A singularly beautiful illustration of the truth is
.supplied in the story of the malefactor. Carefully note the
setting of that story in the Gospel of Luke. Immediately
preceding it is the account of the superscription over His
cross, " This is the King of the Jews." x Immediately
following it is the declaration : " It was now about the
sixth hour, and a darkness came over the land until the
ninth hour, the sun's light failing, and the veil of the
temple was rent in the midst." 2
The superscription expressed the fact that the Hebrew
nation did not believe. So far as Pilate was concerned it
was undoubtedly an expression of his contempt for the
men who had encompassed the death of Jesus. These
are the human elements. The Divine fact is that the
superscription was written with the finger of God even
though Pilate all unconsciously was His penman. As of
old He girded Cyrus, though he did not know Him, so He
1 Luke 23 : 38. 2 Luke 23 : 44, 45.

326 The Crises of the Christ
inspired Pilate who was all unconscious. The Jewish na
tion in the purpose of God was a revelation of His gov
ernment, a theocracy through which He would express the
benefits of His rule to the nations of the world, that they
might all share in them by submission. In the economy
of God, therefore, the King of the Jews was the Holy
One set upon the hill of Zion, King of the whole earth.
The Hebrew people had their exodus from bondage long
centuries before, but it had never been completed. The
letter to the Hebrews makes this perfectly clear. They
passed over the sea, and yet died in the wilderness. The
God-appointed King, talking with Moses who had led that
old-time exodus, and yet who himself had failed as the peo
ple had failed, spoke of an exodus which He would ac
complish. The other exodus was never accomplished. It
was begun, but not finished. He had come to accomplish,
to finish the exodus, and the superscription marks Him as
the King Who is leading His people, and all people who
bow to His sceptre in that exodus which is perfect freedom
from the bondage of false authority.
At last the hours of darkness are ended, and then it is
written, " the veil of the temple was rent in the midst." J
The rent veil was the sign that the exodus so far as the
King was concerned, was accomplished. This exodus
which has been considered as a going out of, a liberation
from the bondage, is now seen as an introduction to rela
tionship with God.
Between this declaration concerning the superscription,
and the account of the rent veil, there is the story of the
malefactor, and his coming into association with the King,
in the process of the exodus. That dying man is a super
lative illustration of the slavery of sin. He is suffering
1 Luke 23 : 45.

The Kingly Exodus 327
the penalty of death, which is the issue of the paralysis of
ruined character. In that hopeless condition he becomes
conscious of his nearness to the King. There is, as it
seems to me, no record of faith in the New Testament so
wonderful as that of the dying malefactor. In the very
moment of the defeat of Jesus to all human seeming, in
the presence of the sign and symbol of His casting out,
this man recognizes the King moving towards a Kingdom,
and he appeals to Him before the exodus is accomplished,
before the crowning is reached. His cry is the cry of con
scious need as it casts itself in all its helplessness at the
feet of supreme authority. "Jesus, remember me when
Thou comest in Thy kingdom." x What did the King
say to such an appeal ? He was on His way from Egypt
to the land of liberty. He was at the moment grappling
with the bonds that bound the race. He, whelmed in the
billows of the sea, was yet in infinite power dividing a
pathway through its waters, and without hesitation, in a
great consciousness of the coming victory, He said, "To
day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." 2 We care noth
ing for the moment as to discussions concerning the Para
dise. " With Me." That is the word of value. Explain
the Paradise as you will. Let it mean for the moment, if
you so please, simply the abiding place of disembodied spirits.
What matters it ? The fact remains that the sin-slaved
and ruined man is in that abode to be with the King.
Abandonment to Him will issue in identification with Him.
If that issue is His defeat, then also will abide the defeat
of the man. Yet this is a suggestion ventured only by
way of contrast to the glorious fact. The King really
said to him, I am going on My exodus, you come with
Me. I am passing to the depth of this slavery. I am
J Luke 23 : 42. s Luke 23 : 43.

328 The Crises of the Christ
breaking these bonds. I am liberating the prisoners.
Come with Me. From that moment until this He has
been leading souls who have trusted Him through the path
way of His passion with all its values, into the place of
His victory with all its virtues.
Thus the presence and the plea of the dying malefactor
reveals the Cross as the condemnation and death of re
bellion and unbelief, and the commendation and life power
of loyalty and faith.
So comes the kingdom of God ! The King has accom
plished the exodus ! Are we living in the bondage, or in
freedom ? The answer to this question will be found in
the answer to another. Have we yet come into the place
of trusting identification with Him in His Cross ? If so,
then for us " Bars are riven,
Foes are driven "
and our bondage is at an end.
The King accomplished the exodus for all such as put
their trust in Him, and these have already passed with
Him from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, from
death to life.

XXIV
THE REPRESENTATIVE CROWDS
The Cross was the outworking in history of the re
demptive purposes of God. In it the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, was slain in view of those for
whom His passion and death provided redemption and life.
It would seem as though all the facts and forces of human
life appeared in the presence of the passion of the Son of
God. What the Cross was to those composing this assem
bly, depended upon the attitude of mind and heart in which
they gathered around it. To some it was the evangel of
hope. To others it was a sentence of doom. In the
present study we shall attempt to look at those gathered to
the Cross, and to enquire what the Cross meant to them.
In an examination of the records of the crucifixion pre
served for us by the four evangelists, we shall be able to
fill in for ourselves a picture of that Cross with the per
sons surrounding it. As we have been intent upon the
vision of the suffering Saviour, we now turn to look at
those who are round about Him, and at once are arrested
by the strange mixture, and representative character of the
multitude gathered to the mount called Calvary.
Let us first state without reference to classification, the
persons mentioned in the Gospels, and then proceed to
separate them into groups, and consider the suggestiveness
in each case.
I. All the writers in some way refer to the presence of
329.

3^0 The Crises of the Christ
the women. Matthew speaks of the women from Galilee,
and of these he names " Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of
Zebedee."1 Mark mentions these same three women,
" Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less
and of Joses, and Salome," 2 the wife of Zebedee, and
therefore the mother of James and of John, the sons of
Zebedee. Luke gives no names, but he declares the fact
of the presence of the women in the words, " there fol
lowed Him a great multitude of the people, and of women
who bewailed and lamented Him."3 John names the three
referred to by Matthew and Mark, but adds another. It is
he who declares the presence of the mother of the Lord.
There has been some difference of opinion concerning
John's account of the women present, which reads, " But
there were standing by the Cross of Jesus His mother, and
His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene." 4 Some interpret that verse as referring to
three women. In that case it is understood that His
mother's sister was Mary the wife of Clopas. My own
conviction is that John mentions four women, that Mary
of Clopas was not the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.
To tabulate the statement of John, you would write : —
" His mother."
" His mother's sister."
" Mary the wife of Clopas."
" Mary Magdalene."
The only difference between this account, and those of
Matthew and Mark, is the addition of the mention of
Mary the mother of the Lord. In that case her sister
was Salome, the wife of Zebedee, and mother of James
1 Matt. 27 : 56. 3 Mark 15 : 40. a Lufce 23 : 27. 4 John 19 : 25.

The Representative Crowds 331
and John. It is interesting to note in passing, the
effect that this understanding of the passage has upon
certain facts in the Gospel history. The woman who came
to the Lord, and asked that her sons might sit, one on His
right hand and one on His left hand, was according to the
flesh, related to Him, being His mother's sister, and these
men for whom the boon was asked were His own cousins.
This gives some clue to what otherwise appears as a very
strange request. If it be granted that Salome was His
mother's sister, we have at any rate some explanation of
her request in the fact that she suggested to Him that when
He came into the place of power He should find prefer
ment for His family relations.
We take it then for granted that four women are men
tioned as being present at the crucifixion of the Lord. In
John we see two pairs, the unnamed women, the mother
of the Lord and her sister ; and the two women who are
named, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. As Luke
records, there were many other women, but these stand
prominently out, as having been most closely associated with
Him. All the evangelists speak of the presence of the soldiers,
and of the two malefactors crucified one on either side of
Jesus. Matthew, Mark, and Luke draw special attention
to the centurion in charge of the carrying out of the
crucifixion, and they give some account of how he was
impressed in the presence of the Crucified. According to
Matthew he said, " Truly this was a Son of God " ; x
according to Mark, " Truly this Man was a Son of
God " ; 2 according to Luke, " Certainly this was a right
eous Man." 3 Let me at once say that there is no con-
1 Matt. 27 : 54 (margin). 2 Mark 15 : 39 (margin).
3 Luke 23 : 47.

332 The Crises of the Christ
tradiction between Matthew and Mark on the one hand,
and Luke on the other. It is almost certain that the cen
turion said both of these things. It is certainly conceiv
able that as this man watched Jesus on the Cross, he gave
utterance to more than one sentence, and we believe there
fore that while Matthew and Mark chronicle the statement
which impressed them, Luke chronicled what appealed to
him, and was in perfect harmony with his whole scheme
of teaching. The accounts are rather complementary than
contradictory. The presence of the chief priests is recorded by Mat
thew, Mark, and John, Luke making no reference to them.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to the scribes, elders, or
rulers, comprising the Sanhedrim, while John ignores their
presence. Luke, the burden of whose Gospel is that of the uni
versality of the work and relation of Jesus, declares the
presence of great multitudes of" the people.
John alone tells us that the disciples were also there, and
he only, moreover, refers to the fact of his own presence,
and this in order that he may record Christ's committal of
His mother to his care. Standing back and gazing out
upon that mixed multitude, we notice the women, the
soldiers, the malefactors, the centurion, the chief priests,
the members of the Sanhedrim, the group of His own dis
ciples, and in addition to these, the vast multitudes of peo
ple from the whole surrounding country. All sorts and
conditions of men are gathered to the Cross, representative
crowds, the whole scene being a picture and a prophecy of
how, through all the centuries, every sort and condition
would be gathered to the uplifted Cross of the Son of man.
II. Let us now look at these crowds in another way.

The Representative Crowds 333
We will attempt an analysis of the multitude, not so much
with reference to the persons as to the conditions repre
sented at the Cross, illustrating the fact by an examination
of the people.
Sorrow was supremely represented by the presence of
the women. Worldly government by the centurion, the
soldiers, and the malefactors. Religious failure by the
chief priests and the Sanhedrim. The great shepherdless
crowd over which Christ had so often mourned, and in the
presence of which His heart had ever been moved with
compassion, was largely represented in the great multitude
of which Luke speaks. Familiarity with Jesus had its
representation in the presence before the Cross of His
kinsfolk and acquaintance. Discipleship was there, in the
person of His own, and particularly of John.
See, first, human sorrow as represented in the women,
noticing the groups as we have them in John, taking first
the women who are named, and then the women known
but unnamed.
Of the former, the principal figure attracting attention is
that of Mary Magdalene, for we know very little concern
ing Mary of Clopas, save that she was the mother of James
the less and of Joses. The sorrow of Mary Magdalene
must have been very profound. I would that it were in my
power to redeem this woman from a popular and terrible
misconception concerning her. For some reason almost
without explanation the term Magdalene has become a syn
onym for impurity. There is absolutely no warrant in
Scripture for the idea. Mary Magdalene simply means
Mary of Magdala. That was her city, and the title is used
undoubtedly by the evangelists, simply to distinguish her
from other women who bore the name of Mary. She had
been delivered from seven demons. This phrase was cer-

334 The Crises of the Christ
tainly sometimes used by Jewish writers as descriptive of
some terrible form of sin, such as drunkenness or impurity,
but it was as often used to describe different forms of dis
ease, such as epilepsy. Attempts have been made to link
her with the woman that was a sinner, but the case has
never been proven, and in the absence of positive proof
we have no right forever to link her memory with the sin
of unchastity. We prefer to believe that the demons pos
sessing her had afflicted her as they did the son of the man
who met Jesus at the foot of the mount of transfiguration,
seeing that we have no positive proof of impurity. This
woman was present at His Cross, watching the cruel cruci
fixion and fearful death of the One Who had forever en
deared Himself to her, and proved His power, by that mar
vellous deliverance He had wrought. By the way of that
Cross she had lost her Deliverer. How her heart must
have been wrung with anguish.
Yet in the clearer understanding of the Cross which has
come to us, we see how in it she recovered her Leader, and
by it He gained possession of her forever, as the One Who
in the mystery of its darkness, conquered and dispossessed
the devil and all demons of their power over human lives.
So that while hers was the sorrow of a lost Leader, a dead
Deliverer, it was in process of time transformed into the
joy of a Leader that cannot be lost nor will suffer those He
loves to be lost, of a Deliverer Who has conquered death
and will deliver those who trust Him, even from death it
self. Thus for Mary of Magdala the Cross was the proc
ess by which her greatest sorrow was transmuted into her
highest joy.
Notice next the second pair of women, Salome the
mother of James and John, and the Lord's own mother
Mary.

The Representative Crowds 335
Concerning Salome may it not be said that she stood be
fore the Cross disappointed in the emotions of mother
hood ? Her sons had left their fishing, and had gone to
follow Jesus. With the true instinct of motherhood she
had been anxious that they should succeed. One can im
agine that she did not feel perfectly in harmony with their
action. If I may use an expression of the present day in
application to her attitude, I should say that she had ques
tioned the wisdom of their giving up a certainty for an un
certainty. When, however, they had left their nets and
followed Him, she endeavoured to use her influence with
Him on their behalf. Expecting the possibility of His at
last coming into power, she had asked that in that event
her sons, His cousins, James and John, might sit one on
His right hand, and one on His left. And now the folly
of their action is revealed in His evident failure. I see in
this woman the sorrow of disappointed motherhood. It
may be objected that this is placing her sorrow on a low
level. Is it not true that most human sorrow is sorrow on
a level that is certainly not high ? I do not question for a
moment that this woman sorrowed in sympathy with Him
in His defeat and awful pain, but her previous action makes
it more -than probable that she thought of her own sons in
the presence of the crucified Jesus. And yet what did that
Cross do for this woman ? It was by it that James and
John found their thrones of power. They passed out into
the ages crowned men, seeing that He permitted them to
drink of His cup, and to be baptized with His baptism, as
He said that He would. And so by the way of that Cross
her motherhood was crowned with gladness, and she found
her joy just where she had seemed to lose it.
Who shall speak of the sorrow of His own mother ?
Let us describe it by the words in which it was foretold in

336 The Crises of the Christ
those early days in which her heart was glad at the birth
of Jesus. The sword had pierced through her own soul.
What anguish of spirit, what heart-break Mary passed
through, perhaps only motherhood can ever perfectly com
prehend. And yet she also found her salvation there, and
is known to-day as most highly favoured among wamen, be
cause she was the mother of Him Who was crucified for
the redemption of man. Blessed virgin in very deed. It
is absolutely certain that we of the Protestant faith have in
our rebound from the worship of this woman gone to
another extreme, utterly unwarranted by Scripture. We
have relegated Mary into the improper position of obscurity.
We need to remember that an angel addressed her, saying,
" Hail, thou that art highly favoured," ' and this we should all
be prepared to say of her, as a recognition of her exalted
position, having in it not the slightest suspicion of worship
rendered. In Mary all womanhood was crowned and ele
vated, and yet she found her way into heaven, not because
of the honour bestowed upon her, but by the way of that
Cross and passion, which for the moment was a sword
piercing her soul also.
Thus sorrow is seen at the Cross where sorrow is always
seen at its deepest, in the wounded, stricken, smitten heart
of womanhood ; and yet in each case by the Cross the sor
row was turned into joy. Upon the dark cloud there
flashed the great light, until the very cloud became a sea of
glory. Oh, rough and rugged Cross of Calvary ! We
gather round thy stern sublimity of suffering with our own
hearts' agony, and find heart's-ease. We come to thee
with faces stained with tears, and in the strength of His
victory our tears are wiped away, our sorrow is turned
into joy. 1 Luke 1 : 28.

The Representative Crowds 337
But now turn abruptly to another group, the representa
tives of worldly government, the centurion, the soldiers,
and the crucified malefactors. Look at each of them for
a moment, for the Cross is to the fact of worldly govern
ment, just what the fact of worldly government is to the
Cross. The centurion was a representative of discipline and
duty. It is worthy of passing notice that every centurion
mentioned in the New Testament was a good man. It
was a centurion who said to Jesus : " I also am a man set
under authority, having under myself soldiers : and I say
to this one, Go, and he goeth ; and to another, Come, and
he cometh."1 In that statement there is contained a re
markable philosophy of authority and discipline. I am
under authority, I obey ; therefore I have authority, I
command others to obey. The true philosophy of human
government lies within that statement. The man who
has a right to rule is the man who knows how to be ruled.
The only man fit to issue orders is the man accustomed to
obey orders. " I am under authority, I have authority."
This centurion in the presence of the Cross was a man of
authority, and he had soldiers under him. He was a man
of law, of order, of discipline, of duty, and from that
standpoint of life he had watched the dying man until
at last he said, " Truly this was a Son of God." 2 To
properly appreciate this statement we must understand
the Roman thought rather than the Hebrew in the
phra.se " a Son of God." I believe the centurion meant
that He was one of the sons of the gods. The Roman
idea of God was that of heroic, courageous manhood,
magnified in all its powers, and looking upon this man
in His suffering, the heroism, the courage and the dis-
' Luke 7:8. 2 Matt. 27 : 54.

338 The Crises of the Christ
cipline manifested in submission, appealed to him as being
Godlike. And yet he said another thing, " Certainly this was a
righteous Man." J This was the conviction of one who
was himself a man of duty. To this Roman soldier the
one governing principle of life was that of duty. He
lived in the midst of a system. He marched in rhythm
and time. He obeyed and insisted upon obedience with
inflexible regularity. Rightness was the one word of value
to him, at least in the sphere of his soldierhood. He
saw in the Man upon the Cross One evidently acting
in the realm of order, submissive to authority, and there
fore authoritative, keeping time with eternal principles in
the quiet majesty of His submission, " a righteous Man."
The centurion as a man of duty discovered order in the
Cross, and as a man who worshipped high ideals, saw the
Son of God crucified.
What did the Cross for the centurion ? We have no
record of his after life, but this much at least is certain,
that it commanded the respect and the confession of that
which was highest in human government. And if we
may follow the story along imaginative lines, it is more
than probable that the King upon Whose brow the cen
turion placed the diadem of his loyalty, crowned him with
the realization of his own highest ideals of life.
We look at the soldiers with pity rather than anger.
They were brutalized men, and yet brutalized by the sys
tem in the midst of which they found themselves. We
watch them as gathered around the Cross upon which they
have nailed the Son of God, they gambled for His gar
ments and presently one of their number pierced His side
with a spear. As we have seen in the former considera-
' Luke 23 : 47.

The Representative Crowds 339
tion, that spear thrust was the ultimate expression of man's
rebellion against God. So far as the man was concerned
who thrust it in His side, I am never quite sure that the
action was not prompted by pity. How brutalized and
vulgarized these men were, is evident from the fact that
they cast lots for His garments under the shadow of the
Cross, and their only idea of help, granting that to have
been the motive, was that of the thrust of the spear.
One wonders if these soldiers ever saw the true vision.
Did they ever understand that the seamless robe of which
they sought to gain possession by gambling, was the
prophecy of the new robing being provided for men in the
mystery of that Cross ? Did they ever discover that the
flowing blood which answered their spear thrust was for
the putting away of sin ? I do not know. Personally I
expect to meet some of those men in heaven. It is cer
tain that the Master prayed for them, and I cannot forget
that on the Day of Pentecost thousands were swept into
the kingdom of God, and in all probability among the
number some of the Roman soldiery, and, perchance, the
men also who nailed Him to the Cross.
Look for one moment at the malefactors, and there we
have sin on the one side persisted in, and on the other,
turned from. The crucified malefactors both express the
uttermost that human government has ever been able to
do with sin. It can but punish. Both these men are in
the presence of the Cross. One in that presence persisted
in his sin, and added to it. For him the Cross was the
penalty which deepened into the darker death that lay be
yond it. One turning from his sin, flung himself upon
the tender notice of the King, Who was passing over the
pathway of His exodus, and for Him the Cross was the
gate of Paradise, and just beyond this darkness flamed the

34°

The Crises of the Christ

splendour of the light of the presence and companionship
of the Lord, which makes unnecessary the light of sun, or
moon, or stars, or candle. To these things no words need
be added. Sin in the presence of the Cross, on the one
hand, persisting in rebellion, goes down into the unutter
able and awful and inexpressible darkness. Sin on the
other hand, turning to Him, confessing, believing, passes
triumphantly with Him through the darkness of the Cross
to the light of Paradise.
Notice yet again earth's religious failure as represented
by the high priests and the Sanhedrim. What a terrible
picture this is of priestism. These men were rejoicing in
the Cross because it had secured power to them by destroy
ing Jesus. Is this sufficiently realized ? Do we always
remember why the priest encompassed the death of Christ ?
Watch carefully the history, and notice that their trouble
was that they were losing power, and their constant ques
tion was, What shall we do ? The people were slipping
away from their grip, but at last they have put an end to
His influence, they have Him now nailed to a Cross, and
by His destruction they secure their own power. O blind
men, infatuated men ! While they gloat over their fancied
victory, God rends the veil of the temple in twain, and for
ever more does away with the priest. Just as they thought
they had ensured their dominance of humanity by crucify
ing Him, He by His dying spoiled their power, rent the
veil, and by abolishing the priest, created the priesthood of
all believers.
Turn for one moment and look at the Sanhedrim as rep
resented by the scribes, the elders, the rulers. How are
they occupied in the presence of the Cross ? They are in
dulging in diabolical pleasantry. They are laughing at the
dying Man. They say, " He saved others, Himself He

The Representative Crowds 341
cannot save." : They are making merriment over the fact
that the Cross is the evidence of His folly. He Who had
been saving men, and calling men to the pathway of sal
vation, is unable to save Himself. How can any really
save others who are not able to save themselves ? Such
is the wisdom of the world, and the world's wisdom
laughs at the folly of the Cross. It has never ceased
laughing at the Cross ! It is doing so still ! In this new
century the trouble is that not the world only makes mock
of the Cross. The laughter has invaded the so-called
Church of Jesus. I have heard a man, claiming to be in
the ministry of Jesus, who objected to sing —
" There is a fountain filled with blood."
What gain it would be for the Church and the world if
these men would be honest and go outside the Church.
The man who has lost his sense of the need of blood-
cleansing from sin has no right to stand and call himself a
messenger of Christ. The Sanhedrim laughed at the
Cross. And yet in that Cross there is being shown forth
before the gaze of heaven and in the presence of men, so
sadly blinded that they cannot understand, the wisdom of
God. In the foolishness of Christ's Cross there flames
out the glory of the Eternal Wisdom, for what man has
never been able to do will be done through that Cross.
And the very people who have become brutalized, and de
graded, and wrapped in the grave clothes of ritualism, by
the Sanhedrim and the priests ; will cast aside their grave
clothes, and pass into nobler life by the way of that Cross
of shame.
Oh, how foolish and pitiable is the mockery of the Cross
by the wisdom of the world !
1 Matt. 27 : 42.

342 The Crises of the Christ
Look for one moment upon the multitudes around, the
great shepherdless crowd. That was Christ's picture of
them, sheep having no shepherd. How perplexed, how
disappointed many of them must have been that day. For
three years they had followed a Leader, a Deliverer, fol
lowed Him foolishly, it is true, not from high motive, and
never able thoroughly to appreciate Him. Moved by the
signs of His power, and drawn by the tenderness of His
compassion, they have followed still, though imperfectly,
and now the end of it is His crucifixion. They had
hoped that "it was He Who should redeem Israel," J and
now He is nailed to the Roman, and the cursed, tree.
Jesus had spoken of them as being without a shepherd, and
many of them had come to hope that perhaps He was their
Shepherd. Oh, could they but see, He was indeed the
good Shepherd, and in the mystery of that awful Cross, He
was laying down His life for them ! Presently they will
come back, by tens, by hundreds, and by thousands. Never
tell me that Christ's ministry was a failure. It has some
times been said that He only gathered about one hundred
and twenty disciples. But let it never be forgotten that the
results of the preaching of Jesus were gathered upon the day
of Pentecost, and gathered wherever those men afterwards
proclaimed His death and resurrection. In the days of
His public ministry He had done what He is now doing in
the present day. He gathered a few in association with
Himself, as He is now calling out the Church to Himself;
but He prepared thousands of others to be gathered in, in
the fullness of time, as He is now preparing the whole
world for the preaching of the Gospel that shall succeed
the present dispensation and economy. And of those
multitudes around the Cross there can be no doubt that
1 Luke 24: 21.

The Representative Crowds 343
presently many came to know Him as the good Shepherd
Who had laid down His life for the sheep.
Luke alone refers to the fact of the presence of His ac
quaintance at the Cross. The reference is undoubtedly to
His kinsfolk and His neighbours from Nazareth, and their
presence may be suggestive of a deepened interest. In all
probability His own brothers, the sons of Mary, were
among the number. It would seem as though James, the
author of the epistle, who was undoubtedly the Lord's own
brother, did not come into true sympathy with Him during
the life of Jesus. May it not be that in the presence of
that Cross and through the events following, he was led to
a knowledge of the truth concerning the Master ? In the
attitude of these kinsfolk and acquaintance of Jesus, and
if the foregoing supposition concerning His own brothers
be correct, what a revelation there is for all time that
familiarity may be most distant.
Discipleship was represented at the Cross especially by
John. He seems to have been the only one who came
very near the place of his Master's suffering, and his near
ness issued in the sacred charge of Mary, which was com
mitted to him by his dying Lord.
Looking back at that whole scene, how truly remarkable
it is. The first impression is that of a Roman gibbet sur
rounded by a promiscuous mob, while one frail, weak Man
finds relief from overwhelming agony in the act of death.
But look again, and it is seen to be the place of a throne.
The throne is occupied by One Who is at once King and
Judge, finding verdicts and pronouncing sentences, and all
in the neighbourhood of the Cross are judged by the Cross.
His dying is the condemnation of evil in every form. His
dying is the pathway of deliverance for those who at the
Cross turn from the things the Cross condemns, to put their

344 The Crises of the Christ
trust in Him. Such He leads by the way of the Cross to
the broad life that stretches away on the other side.
" I take, O Cross, thy shadow,
For my abiding place ;
I ask no other sunshine
Than the sunshine of thy face.
Content to let the world go by,
To know no shame nor loss.
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the Cross." •
»E. C. Clephane.

BOOK VI
THE RESURRECTION

XXV. Perfect Victory
XXVI. The Divine Seal
XXVII. Faith's Anchorage

'* The foe behind, the deep before,
Our hosts have dared and pass' d the sea f
And Pharaoh's warriors strew the shore,
And Israel's ransom' d tribes are free.
Lift up, lift up your voices now !
The whole wide world rejoices now !
Happy morning, Turning sorrow
Into peace and mirth !
Bondage ending, Love descending
O'er the earth !
Seals assuring, Guards securing,
Watch His earthly prison.
Seals are shattered, Guards are scattered,
Christ hath risen !
" No longer must the mourners weep,
Nor call departed Christians dead j
For death is hallowed into sleep,
And ev'ry grave becomes a bed.
Now once more
Eden' s door
Open stands to mortal eyes ;
For Christ hath risen, and man shall rise !
Now at last,
Old things past,
Hope, and joy, and peace begin ;
For Christ hath won, and man shall win I
It is not exile, rest on high :
It is not sadness, peace from strife ;
To fall asleep is not to die :
To dwell with Christ is better life.
Where our banner leads us,
We may safely go :
Where our Chief precedes us,
We may face the foe.
His right arm is o'er us,
He our Guide will be :
Christ hath gone before us,
Christians, follow ye I "
— Dr. Neale.

Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake ;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and
rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was as
¦lightning, and his raiment white as snow : and for fear of him the
watchers did quake, and became as dead man. And the angel an
swered and said unto the women, Fear not ye ; for I know that ye
seek Jesus, Who hath been crucified. He is not here ; for He is
risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell His disciples, He is risen from the dead ;
and lo, He goeth before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see Him :
lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the tomb
with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. —
Matt. 28 : 1-8.

And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might
come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the
week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. And they
were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone
from the door of the tomb ? and looking up, they see that the stone
is rolled back : for it was exceeding great. And entering into the
tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a
white robe ; and they were amazed. And he saith unto them, Be
not amazed : ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, Who hath been cruci
fied : He is risen ; He is not here : behold, the place where they
laid Him ! But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He goeth before
you into Galilee : there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you.
And they went out, and fled from the tomb ; for trembling and as
tonishment had come upon them : and they said nothing to any
one ; for they were afraid.
Now when He was risen early on the first day of the week, He
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out
seven demons. She went and told them that had been with Him,
as they mourned and wept. And they when they heard that He
was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved. — Mark 16 : 1-11.
*******
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto
the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they
347

found the stone rolled away from the tomb. And they entered in,
and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass,
while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by
them in dazzling apparel : and as they were affrighted and bowed
down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye
the living among the dead ? He is not here, but is risen : remem
ber how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying
that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful
men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they re
membered His words, and returned from the tomb, and told all
these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now they were
Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James :
and the other women with them told these things unto the apos
tles. And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk ; and
they disbelieved them. But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb ;
and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by them
selves ; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was
come to pass. — Luke 24 : 1— 12.

Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene
early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone
taken away from the tomb. She runneth therefore, and cometh to
Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith
unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and
we know not where they have laid Him. Peter therefore went
forth, and the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb.
And they ran both together : and the other disciple outran Peter,
and came first to the tomb ; and stooping and looking in, he seeth
the linen cloths lying ; yet entered he not in. Simon Peter there
fore also cometh, following him, and entered into the tomb ; and
he beholdeth the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon
His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by
itself. Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came
first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew
not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the
disciples went away again unto their own home.
But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping : so, as she
wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb ; and she beholdeth
two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have
taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.
348

When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth
Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto
her, Woman why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? She, sup
posing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if Thou hast
borne Him hence, tell me where Thou hast laid Him, and I will
take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself,
and saith unto Him in Hebrew, Rabboni ; which is to say, Teacher.
Jesus saith to her, Touch Me not ; for I am not yet ascended unto
the Father : but go unto My brethren, and say to them, I ascend
unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.
Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the
Lord ; and that He had said these things unto her. — John 20 :
I-18.

349

xxv
PERFECT VICTORY
In considering the crisis of the resurrection, arguments
for the actual historical fact will be taken in the last sec
tion. First assuming the fact, its value as a demonstra
tion of Christ's perfect victory will be considered.
Referring again to Peter's discourse on the day of Pente
cost, a most remarkable epitome of Christian doctrine, there
will be found an argument concerning the resurrection
which is briefly stated in the words " It was not possible
that He should be holden of it," and is defended by quo
tation from ancient Scripture, full of value and of suggest-
iveness. It will be well to read in full, Peter's statement,
and the Psalm from which it is quoted. Having set the
Cross in relation to the sin of man, and the grace of God,
the apostle continued,
" Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of
death : because it was not possible that He should be holden
of it. For David saith concerning Him,

" I beheld the Lord always before My face ;
For He is on My right hand, that I should not be moved ;
Therefore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced ;
Moreover My flesh also shall dwell in hope :
Because Thou wilt not leave My soul unto Hades,
Neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption.
Thou madest known unto Me the ways of life ;
Thou shalt make Me full of gladness with Thy countenance."1
1 Acts 2 : 24-28.
3Si

352 The Crises of the Christ
The actual words of the Psalm quoted, as they appear in
the Old Testament are as follows,
" I have set Jehovah always before Me :
Because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoiceth :
My flesh also shall dwell in safety.
For Thou wilt not leave My soui to Sheol ;
Neither wilt Thou suffer Thy holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt show Me the path of life :
In Thy presence is fullness of joy ;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." '
Perhaps the true values of the simple statement of the apostle
may be gathered, by laying emphasis upon the pronoun
having reference to Jesus, and the final one referring to
death. " It was not possible that He should be holden of
it." In this way the statement is seen to be a sublime and
magnificent one, in which the apostle, conscious of the vic
tory Jesus had won in life and death, treats almost with
contempt the last enemy.
" He " that is " Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of
God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs,"
the One Who " being delivered up by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of law
less men did crucify and slay." This same Person, Ged
" raised up, having loosed the pangs of death : because it
was not possible that He should be holden of it." 2 The
unifying fact in the whole discourse is the Person of Jesus
of Nazareth, and having set in order the movements of that
wonderful life, the apostle now declares that God raised
Him because He was bound to raise Him. Not to have
done so, if this may be reverently supposed, would have
been to have violated every principle of law. The neces-
1 Psalm 16 : 8-1 1. » Acts 2 : 22-24.

Perfect Victory 353
sities of the Divine nature demanded it. The eternal order
required it. If death had held Him, the issue must have
been disorder, and the defeat of all the purposes of God.
So far this is a bare statement. It remains now to con
sider why " it was not possible that He should be holden of
it." This is revealed in the apostle's use of the lan
guage of the Psalmist. Peter distinctly declared that what
David wrote, he wrote concerning Christ, and was careful
by subsequent statements to show that the language of the
Psalmist could not have been fulfilled by the experience of
the one who wrote it ; but its perfect fulfillment was in the
Person and victory of Jesus of Nazareth.
Turning to the Psalm, let it be carefully noted that its
gladness is caused by the fact of resurrection, and that
resurrection is the necessary outcome of a threefold fact in
the character and conduct of the One so rejoicing. These
facts may thus be tabulated. First, " I beheld the Lord
always before My face." Second, " For He is on My
right hand, that I should not be moved." Third, " There
fore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced ; More
over My flesh also shall dwell in hope : Because Thou wilt
not leave My soul unto Hades, Neither wilt Thou give
Thy Holy One to see corruption." The issue of this three
fold assertion is " Thou madest known unto Me the ways
of life ; Thou shalt make Me full of gladness with Thy
countenance." x
The distinction between the three facts, issuing in resur
rection may not be clear, and yet on close examination .t
will be found that they indicate the threefold victory of
Christ, which captured the whole ground of death's domain,
and made necessary the resurrection. This threefold vic
tory may be stated, and then considered as, first, victory
1 Acts 2 : 25-28.

354 The Crises of the Christ
over the possibility of originating evil ; second, victory
over evil as suggested from without ; and third, victory over
evil as responsibility assumed.
I. Victory over the possibility of originating evil, is sug
gested by the first statement, " I beheld the Lord always
before My face." Jesus was, in some respects, an entirely
new creation. He indeed stood in the same relation to God
as that occupied by the angels, who were created prior to
man. In emptying Himself of the form of God, it is first
stated that He took upon Him the form of a Servant. That
is a fact even deeper than that He was made in the likeness
of men. In this stoop of the Eternal Son, He passed, as
has been seen in a previous chapter, from the place of
Sovereignty to the place of submission. In that very fact,
J.here is the possibility of a new beginning of sin. The fall
of Satan can only be cpmprehended by recognizing that as
to his original creation he was made a servant of God. All
the powers of his being were to act under the direction of
the Eternal. There was to be no choice of the will save
under the guiding principle of the will of God. He was
created with his face towards God, and the secret of his
fulfillment of the highest possibilities of his marvellous
being lay in his setting the Lord always before his face.
His fall consisted in the fact, to continue the figure, that
he set before his face another purpose, another reason, and
thus turned his back upon Jehovah. The new Servant of
God in all the facts of His being was able to say, " I have
set Jehovah always before My face." When divesting
Himself of the form of Deity, He took the form of a Serv
ant, and entered upon the life of subjectivity. He stood
in a place where it was within the possibility of His
nature to act apart from the governmental direction of

Perfect Victory 355
Jehovah. This He never did. Jude the apostle declares
in what lay the sin of the angels. " Angels that kept not
their own principality, but left their proper habitation."1
Let it be carefully noted that their leaving their proper
habitation was not the punishment of their sin, but the sin
itself. They refused to remain in the habitation marked
out for them by the law of God. The punishment of their
sin lies in its sequence, that they are cast forth from their
habitation by their own act, they are reserved in the bonds
or limitations of their false position " under darkness unto
the judgment of the great day." Their own principality,
that is, the realm over which God had intended them to
rule, they did not keep, because they left their habitation.
They turned their back upon Jehovah. Here, so far as has
been revealed, is the primal origin of sin in the universe of
God. Instead of exercising the magnificent endowment
of will under the governing principle of the will of God,
they exercised it under another domination, that namely of
their own desire, and then turning .their backs upon God
they left their proper habitation, their first habita
tion. Herein by contrast is manifested the first fact in the mar
vellous victory of Jesus. He, the new Servant of God
kept His principality by abiding in His true habitation. He
never exercised will under the constraint of desire, but
always setting Jehovah before His face, He lived in un
ceasing and glad response to all the volition of that will
of infinite wisdom, of perfect holiness, and unfathomable
love. The first phase of the victory of Jesus was therefore
that of victory over the possibility of sinning, by the pros
titution of will power, without suggestion made from
without. > Jude 6.

356 The Crises of the Christ
II. The next phase of the victory is marked by the
words, " For He is on My right hand, that I should not be
moved."1 Here is something distinct from that already
considered. The first fact may be stated by the declaration,
I have not moved. But here it is, I should not be moved.
That is to say, not merely that there has been no movement
from the place of submission to the Divine will, simply on
the basis of personal choice ; but also that there has been
no movement from that position in response to suggestion
or temptation from without. It is here that man fell. The
fall of the angels was that of ceasing to set the Lord before
their face, acting upon their own initiative. The fall of
man consisted in his allowing himself to be moved from his
loyalty to God, in response to a suggestion coming to him
from without himself. Man did not originate sin. He fell
under the power of it by yielding to an attack made upon
him from without. In this realm also Jesus was victorious.
Having held the citadel of His will against the possi
bilities of His subservient position, He held it moreover,
against all attacks of the enemy from without. Recogniz
ing the presence of God Who was at His right hand as a
wall of defence, He ever acted by remaining in such posi
tion, so that God was between Him and every attack of the
enemy ; and thus the second phase of His victory over sin
is that of remaining unmoved, in spite of every attack of
the foe to change His relationship to God, by moving Him
from the sphere of perfect trust.
III. But now follows a victory, if possible more re
markable. At least it may be said to be of even pro-
founder interest to man, for in it lies the great pathway of
his own escape from the guilt and power of sin. Let the
1 Acts 2 : 25.

Perfect Victory 357
examination be careful. " Therefore My heart was glad,
and My tongue rejoiced." a Why ? Because having be
held the Lord always before His face, there had been per
fect victory over the possibility of the origination of sin,
and because having recognized always the presence of
Jehovah at His right hand, He had not been moved.
Therefore His heart was glad, glad in the victories won,
and in the strength of righteousness resulting. Again the
question comes, Why was He glad of the victory ? Was
it simply because of the triumph ? Surely that, and surely
more. That double triumph creates the strength for an
other triumph. His heart, His tongue, His flesh rejoice
because " Thou wilt not leave My soul unto Hades,
Neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption."
It is evident that this victorious Person intends passing into
Hades. He is going to death, and through death into
Sheol. But because of the first victories, it is now certain
that death and Hades cannot hold Him. God must raise
Him, and bring Him back into life. Herein lies the ex
planation of the triumphant notes. I rejoice. My heart
is glad, My tongue rejoiceth, My flesh rests in hope. The
great Person, Who in experience fulfilled this song of the
past, declares that because He has set the Lord before His
face, because, having the Lord at His right hand He has
not been moved, when He descends into Hades, God can
not abandon Him. He must bring Him forth again, and
the final note of triumph issuing upon this double victory
achieved, and third victory assured, is expressed in the
words " Thou madest known unto Me the ways of life ;
Thou shalt make Me full of gladness with Thy counte
nance." 2
Here again the question forces itself upon the mind.
1 Acts 2 : 26. * Acts 2 ; 28.

358 The Crises of the Christ
Why did this Holy One pass into Hades ? The answer is
already in our possession from the study of the former
crisis in the life and mission of the Christ. As the Lamb
of God He had made Himself responsible for the sin of the
world, and the issue of that responsibility was death, essen
tial death, the separation of the spirit from God, and death
expressed in the separation of the spirit from the body. To
that issue the perfect One Who had assumed the responsi
bility of all human guilt, passed by the way of the Cross.
In the deep and unfathomable mystery of the Cross, His
Spirit was separated from God, and that Spirit separated
also from the body, passed down into Hades. Think
reverently, and in solemn stillness of this fact in God's
universe. One Who has obtained a double victory over
sin, as a possibility within the very nature of the subserv
ient life, and over sin as a suggestion made by a foe with
out, has taken upon Himself the responsibility of the -sin
of a race, and in those solemn hours between the passing
of the Spirit of Christ on the Cross, and the resurrection
morning, the holy body of the Man lies in the tomb. His
Spirit has passed into hell, the place of lost spirits. Now
hear His words. "Thou wilt not leave My soul unto
Hades." In the mystery of the Cross, all the penalty of
sin has been borne. In the place of fire there is no pain
for the Holy One, Who has exhausted all its fierceness in
the terrible experience of His Passion. In His body has
He borne man's sin, and that work having been as He said
finished, the corruption which means the disintegration of
the body, cannot touch Him. " Thou wilt not give Thy
Holy One to see corruption."
In that great expression of triumph which Peter quoted,
there is evident the twofold nature of the perfect Man, and
in both realms there is the cry of victory. His soul can-

Perfect Victory 359
not be left in Hades. The body cannot see corruption.
Here then is the third fact of the victory. The penalty of
death, in its first and deep meaning, was due to sin. He
took sin, and because there was no place for death in His
life, by dying He exhausted the penalty due to some one
else. Thus in the moral realm His death has created a
new value, a value that He does not require for Himself,
but that He holds for others. Here then is evident the
reason of Peter's confident affirmation. " It was impossible
that He should be holden of it." " It " was the issue of
sin. " He " is Victor over sin as to the possibility of origina
tion, as a suggestion coming from without, as a terrible fact
for which He has made Himself responsible. Having thus
gained a victory over every conceivable form of sin, cover
ing the whole territory of its domain, death cannot hold
Him. The resurrection therefore is the unanswerable argu
ment for the accomplishment by Jesus Christ, of God's
purpose of destroying the works of the devil. There are
infinite possibilities of application. Let it only be said
that it is from the empty grave that the true song of hope
has sounded. Every worker with God is conscious of the
presence of evil in the world. Let that consciousness al
ways be held in connection with the glorious fact that over
all, Christ is absolute Master. The Church is not fighting
a conflict, the issue of which is uncertain. The victory
has been won, and therefore it must be won. The battle
often thickens, and presses upon the weary soldiers of the
King, but these are but conflicts of administration. There
is no question left as to the final issue. Sometimes the proc
ess may seem tedious, and the waiting long, and yet this is
but false seeming. The movements of God must never be
measured by the slowness of a human life, or by the inade-

360 The Crises of the Christ
quacy of an earthly almanac. Standing by that risen Man
of Nazareth, each one putting trust in Him may say with
reverence and holy fear, and yet with certainty and abso
lute boldness, My heart is glad, my tongue rejoices, my
flesh also shall dwell in hope. He has won His victories,
and evil is doomed. Therefore, at last the victory of souls
trusting in Him must also be won. The glories of the
resurrection demonstrate forever the absolute and final
victory of the Man of Nazareth over every form and force
of evil.

XXVI
THE DIVINE SEAL
The supreme value of the resurrection lies in the fact
that it was a Divine act, by which God gave attestation to
His perfect satisfaction with the work of Christ. It is
well to remember that the deepest question of all for the
heart of man is not whether he is satisfied, but whether
God is satisfied.
In the contemplation of the matchless beauty of the life
of Jesus, the heart of man may have found perfect satis
faction. Standing on the margin of the mystery of His
Passion, the deepest consciousness of the life may have
been that of the sufficiency of the work wrought for per
sonal redemption. And yet so perpetually has the mind of
man been at fault, that not in its own satisfaction can it
find its deepest rest. Therefore it is that the question of
greatest moment is as to whether God has found in the
life and death of His Son, that which has accomplished His
purpose, and. will issue in blessing to men, and the glory of
His name.
The answer to all this questioning is found in the resur
rection. In the passage which perhaps is the most remark
able of all the utterances of Christ concerning His Passion,
He declares " Therefore doth the Father love Me, because
I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No one
taketh it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I
have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again. This commandment received I from My Father."1
' John io : 17, 18.
361

362 The Crises of the Christ
This is so strange a statement as to baffle all attempts at
explanation. Its correctness, however, is demonstrated by
the fact that He did lay down His life, and that He did
take it again. Carefully note, He claims His right to do
this was received from His Father. Thus the whole work
committed to Jesus by the Father was that of laying down
through death His perfect life for the making of Atone
ment, and right to lay hold again upon that life for its
communication to others, as the context shows.
The proof then that the work of the Cross was perfect
lies in the fact that He not only laid down His life, but
that He took it again, thus carrying out the Divine author
ity to its utmost limit.
In writing to the Ephesians the apostle in praying for
them that they " may know . . . the exceeding great
ness of His power " describes it as the power " which He
wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and
made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places." x
Thus it is evident that He, Jesus, laid hold upon His
own life, taking it again, but He did this by the authority
of His Father, and so it is remarkably true, as Paul declares,
that His resurrection was by the act of God. There is no
contradiction in these two statements, but rather the reve
lation of that perfect harmony of action between the
Father and the Son, which characterized the whole work
of Christ.
The resurrection then is the Divine seal upon the work
of Jesus, as perfectly meeting the purpose of God. In ex
amining this, notice first how the resurrection was the
culminating act, marking the perfect approbation of God ;
secondly, how the resurrection was the final act, marking
God's rejection of man ; and thirdly how the resurrection
1 Eph. 1 : 18-20.

The Divine Seal 363
Was therefore the Divine ratification of the new and living
way, by which rejected man could be accepted.
I. It has been seen through the whole progress of this
study how that again and again in different ways, God
bore testimony to the sacred nature of the mission of
Christ, and to the satisfaction of the Eternal heart with the
outworking of the Divine purpose in history, in the Person
and work of Jesus of Nazareth. At His advent when
earth gave Him no welcome, and there were no evidences
of preparation, remarkable signs were granted to the sons
of men, the shining of the star, the singing of the angels,
the voices of prophecy, the moving of the under world of
evil, the coming of the wise men from afar. During the
days of His public ministry there was the thrice repeated
breaking of the silence of the heavens in the speech of
approval, at the baptism, at the transfiguration, and at the
coming of the Greeks. Moreover through all those days
there were the miracles by which God approved Him
among men. The awful and supernatural manifestations
at the crucifixion were of the same nature ; the earthquake,
the opening of graves, the darkening of the sun, the rend
ing of the temple veil.
The resurrection is the central and supreme declaration
of this fact. It is well to notice that associated with it
was the resurrection of some of the saints. He was the
First-fruit, for coming forth He led others with Him.
The account of the rending of rocks, and opening of
graves, which were among the supernatural signs attending
the crucifixion, very clearly declares that though the graves
were opened, the saints did not arise until the day of resur
rection. That opening of the tombs was in itself a wonder
ful thing, but none could move from them until He had risen.

364 The Crises of the Christ
He must lead the way forth. Yet the very graves seem
to feel upon them the touch of the hand of the Master of
life, and the earth yawned to yield to Him the conquest He
was winning. The Divine seal did not end with the
resurrection. His ascension was by the act of God, Who
exalted Him. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost was
God's great outpouring of the new force of redemption,
and was consequent upon His satisfaction with the work
of His Son.
And yet again in the glory of that advent which is to be,
the Divine approval will be manifested before all creation.
The value of the resurrection as a Divine act, is three
fold. First it is God's attestation of the perfection of the
life of the Man Jesus. Secondly it is God's attestation of
the perfection of the mediation of the Saviour Jesus.
Thirdly it is God's attestation of the perfection of the
victory of the King Jesns. Upon all the virtue of His
life, and the value of His death, and the victory of His
conflict, God set the seal in the sight of heaven and earth
and hell, when raising Him from the dead, He fulfilled the
confident assertion of the old time Psalmist concerning
Him, that He did not leave His soul unto Hades nor suffer
His Holy One to see corruption.
II. All this is a startling and terrible fact in its first appli
cation to fallen and degraded humanity. By that solemn act
of God in the midst of the history of the race, an act in
which He accepted perfect humanity, He rejected all im
perfection, and forever made impossible the hope that any
man should find acceptance with Him upon any other
ground than that of a s perfect realization of His purpose
and His will. The real value of the resurrection will
never be appreciated save as this fact is recognized. The

The Divine Seal 365
risen perfect Man was the condemnation of the imperfect.
In the midst of the age, in the sight of all the universe, the
Eternal God declares that He cannot and will not be satis
fied with anything short of the fullest realization of His
perfect purpose. The resurrection of Jesus is the establish
ment in the midst of the human race of a Divine testimony
concerning righteousness. In that magnificent moment of
the emergence of Jesus from death into life, the Eternal
God took hold upon perfection, and setting Him in the
front of all the race, declared that Jesus was His standard
of human life. He raised Him from the dead, because of
His perfect realization of all the purposes of His will. By
that act the doom of imperfection is sounded. If that be
the standard of the acceptance of God, then all such as
have failed are rejected.
The resurrection is more than God's acceptance of the
perfect Man. It is His acceptance of Him as the Victor
over evil, and the recognition of His right to claim the
spoils of victory, that is to say, by resurrection God
accepts the redemptive method of the Son. The Father
declares that by the life laid down, a work has been done
which is sufficient for the salvation of men. Yet carefully
mark the sequence of this truth. By the resurrection of
Jesus, God rejects and refuses all other methods of salva
tion. He declared in that stupendous act, not only His
rejection of imperfect man, but His rejection of every
attempt imperfect man may make, to save or reinstate
himself. And yet when by resurrection God declared the victory
of Jesus, He announced the defeat of all others in their
conflict with sin. Standing in the search-light of the resur
rection, man becomes more conscious of his helplessness
than when standing in the shadow of the Cross. The

366 The Crises of the Christ
risen One is Victor, and Victor in virtue of the perfection
of life, of the perfection of mediation. Man in his imper
fection of life, and his inability to w^rk out a salvation of
his own is declared to be vanquished, and unable himself to
become master of the forces which have wrought his ruin.
It is because the resurrection has not been properly ap
preciated as the message of God, which is the severest con
demnation of sinning man, that men have still imagined
that apart from the Passion and passing of Jesus of
Nazareth, it may be possible for them to be accepted of God.
Gazing into the darkness of the grave which Jesus has
left, man should recognize the utter hopelessness of his
condition, and the utter folly of attempting to please God.
When the Eternal raised Jesus from the grave, and took Him
to Himself, He by that act hurled the whole race to destruc
tion. Think of the resurrection for a single moment, not
merely with reference to the truths now considered, but as an
illustration of them in the fact of history. No man saw Him
rise. The very disciples were denied the vision. It may
be urged that the weakness of their faith was the reason of
their failure in this respect. And yet in that very fact is
evident the act of God. As in the Cross there was mani
fest the element of lawlessness, crucifying the Son, and the
element of Divine counsel and foreknowledge ; so also in
the resurrection there is manifest man's failure in his
absence, and God's rejection of man, in that he was not
permitted to see the stupendous glory of the acceptance of
the perfect One.
The act of God in the resurrection of Jesus, was one
characterized by marvellous majesty, and overwhelming
power. In describing this, Paul speaks in language which
almost seems to be redundant, and yet is surely necessary
to give some indication of the stupendous fact. He writes:

The Divine Seal 367
"That working of the strength of His might."1 The
might of God, the strength of the might of God, the work
ing of the strength of the might of God. Simply to read
this is to feel the irresistible throb of omnipotence. In the
quietness of that first day of the week, when the first
shafts of light were gleaming on the eastern sky, the dis
ciples being absent, and the enemies, as represented by the
soldiers, being rendered blind by the glory of the angelic
splendour, God raised Him.
Notice what this meant with regard to the powers that
had been against Him. The priests had laboured to en
compass His death, and had been successful. They had
done their worst, and God lifted Him out of the death to
which they had condemned Him, and by this act forever
rejected them. The world powers had united in religious
hatred, and cultured indifference, and material power to cast
Him out ; and God placed Him over the whole of them,
crowning Him at the centre of all authority, and by that act
rejected false religion, imperfect culture, and merely mate
rial power. This is no mere dream, though for twenty
centuries the priest has fought for his position in the world.
He has been defeated again and again, and must ultimately
be defeated, and always in the power of the Priesthood of
the risen Christ.
So also have false religions, the religions of externalities
striven for the mastery, only to be superseded by the relig
ion of the Christ.
False culture has repeatedly attempted, with self-satisfied
cynicism, to treat with indifference the Christ of God, only
to find that He takes hold upon all the domain of true cul
ture, and rules supremely over it.
And moreover, the kingdoms of the earth in their pride
' Eph. 1 : 19.

368 The Crises of the Christ
have set themselves against the Lord and His Anointed,
only to find that the King of kings, and the Lord of lords
defeats their purpose, spoils their programme, and paralyzes
their power. All the forces of the world were placed be
low Him in resurrection. In the act ofthe crucifixion of
the Christ, man turned his back upon God. In the fact of
His resurrection God turned His back upon man. The
risen Christ was the One with Whom God entered into
covenant, to the exclusion of all others.
The resurrection has no message to men who are
attempting in the energy of their own will to please God,
save that of declaring that by the fact of His pleasure in
the perfect One, He cannot be pleased with imperfection in
any degree. The resurrection attests to every successive
age that in God's acceptance of the way of salvation pro
vided by Christ, He forever refuses to lend a listening ear
to any who shall attempt that which is impossible, the
working out of a salvation in the energy of a depraved and
degraded nature.
III. And yet this is but the dark background to a pic
ture radiant with the colours of hope. God's rejection of
imperfection is the act of Love. His refusal of all human
attempts at renewal and reconstruction, is the refusal of a
great compassion. If the acceptance of Christ was the re
jection of man, it was also the acceptance of a new and
living way, through which rejected man might find his way
back to God. If in the resurrection God accepted the
perfect Man, He also accepted Him in that representative
capacity, indicated by the fact of His wounding and His
death. He raised in Him, all those who commit to Him
their whole life, in a deep sense of its direst need, and full
confidence in His power to save. Not in loneliness did

The Divine Seal 369
He rise, but in the possession of a life to be placed at the
disposal of others. On the resurrection side of the grave
Jesus stood as the Head of the new race, the second Man,
the last Adam. How often is this wording confused in
quotation. Men speak of the last Man, and the second
Adam. It may be objected that this is a matter of small
significance, and yet it is not so. In His perfection He
was the second Man. The first man failed, the second
Man succeeded. That is the statement of a lonely fact.
The first Adam was the head of a race, and in his failure the
race was involved. The last Adam created the force of
renewal even for the fallen, and became the Head of the
new race, to whom that new force should be communi
cated. Not merely was He the second Adam, as though
there might be a third. He was the last. Beyond Him,
and all included in the communication of His life, there is
to be no new race.
Thus the resurrection is seen to be the Divine announce
ment of the evangel. According to the words of Jesus, on
the Cross He laid down His life for the sheep, that is, that
they might receive it as their own. When God raised Him
from the dead, He ratified that intention, and declared it to be
an established fact. The life laid down all received in resur
rection, and all who receive that life are accepted, received
by God. They are accepted in the Beloved. From the
resurrection morning until now, God has been, and still is,
receiving Christ ; and the groundwork of the acceptance of
any man with God is that there has been communicated to
him the life of Christ. There is no verdict upon fallen
man so final in its declaration of his rejection, as is the
risen Christ. There is no door of hope so radiant with
light for the fallen people as this way into acceptance
through the reception ofthe Christ.

370 The Crises of the Christ
Oh wondrous Shepherd of the sheep. The hireling
careth not for the sheep, and fleeth because he is an hire
ling. The Shepherd came into conflict with the wolf, and
by His dying overcame. The scattered frightened sheep,
receiving the life liberated through the death of the Shep
herd, receive all the values and the virtues which God
accepts, and thus in Christ are accepted of God.

XXVII
FAITH'S ANCHORAGE
The importance of the resurrection may be gathered
from the position its proclamation occupied in the preaching
of the apostles. It was the first article in the creed they
professed and proclaimed. When the apostles were sur
rounded with the high priests, and the whole senate, and
the council of the children of Israel, Peter as the spokesman
of the rest, in declaring the facts for which they stood, and
of which they claimed to be witnesses, put the resurrection
in the forefront,1 and this notwithstanding the fact that he
knew it must run counter to the prejudices of that assem
bly, seeing that the high priest was himself a Sadducee, and
therefore one who denied the resurrection of the body.
The words of Paul in writing his first letter to the Cor
inthians, " I determined not to know anything among you,
save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified," 2 have almost per
petually been used as serving to define the whole subject of
his preaching. A reasonable and careful examination of
the context will prove that this is a misinterpretation.
"Jesus Christ and Him crucified " is not the whole burden
of preaching, neither is it the final nor central fact thereof.
It would be far more correct to say that the keynote of
apostolic teaching was expressed by the same apostle when
he wrote, " It is Christ Jesus that died, yea, rather, that
was raised from the dead."3 This is not to minimize the
1 Acts 5. s I Cor. 2:2. * Rom. 8 : 34.
371

372

The Crises of the Christ

value of the preaching of Christ crucified, but if Christ cru
cified be all, then there is no value in preaching Christ
crucified. It was His resurrection from among the dead
that demonstrated the infinite value of the mystery of His
death. When the apostle declared to the Christians in
Corinth that he was determined not to know anything
among them, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the rea
son lay in the fact of their carnality. All kinds of disorders
had crept into the church, and the tone of the life of the
members was carnal and not spiritual. It was necessary to
hold their thinking in the realm of the Cross, for they had
not learned this first lesson, and could not therefore be led
into the deeper and fuller truth.
In his letter to the Romans Paul distinctly places the
resurrection before the mind as the anchorage for faith unto
salvation. " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as
Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised Him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved."1 And writing in the
epistle to the Corinthians he makes a simple statement that
at once reveals the true place of the resurrection in preach
ing and in faith. " If Christ hath not been raised, then is
our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Yea, and we
are found false witnesses of God ; because we witnessed of
God that He raised up Christ : Whom He raised not up,
if so be that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are
not raised, neither hath Christ been raised : and if Christ
hath not been raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in
your sins." i
While the preaching and teaching of the apostles were
constantly occupied with the fact of the Cross, as to its
place and value in the economy of redemption, they never
failed to direct attention to the resurrection as the central
I Rom. IO : 9. » I Cor. 15 : 14-17.

Faith's Anchorage 373
*
verity, demonstrating to man's intelligence, and communi
cating to his life, the value of the Cross.
The resurrection gave meaning to all that had preceded
it. By it the Cross was proved to be more than a tragic
death, and the life of Jesus infinitely more than 'an exam
ple. Upon the fact of the historic resurrection stands or
falls the whole fabric of Christianity. Unless Jesus of
Nazareth actually came back from the grave, then indeed
have we followed " cunningly devised fables " ' and have
been hopelessly deceived. This has been recognized by
the very enemies of Christianity. It was Strauss who said
that " the resurrection is the centre of the centre."
In contemplating the resurrection as the anchorage of
faith, first let the historic fact be taken for granted and con
sidered as an anchorage ; and secondly, let an enquiry be
instituted as to whether faith has actually the anchorage of
the resurrection.
I. Let the facts as recorded in the Gospels be accepted
as true. An appreciation of the value thereof will be dis
covered, by suggesting the questions arising in the mind of
man, seeking redemption, as he stands outside the grave in
which Christ has been laid to rest ; and secondly, by notic
ing how such questions are perfectly answered as the grave
is opened, and the Man of Nazareth comes forth.
Having reverently attempted to trace in order the work
of Jesus in fulfillment of the mission of redemption, the
mind is now fixed upon His grave. Against the entrance
of that tomb a stone is laid. Upon that stone is the seal
of the Roman governor. Within the tomb there lies the
dead body of the Man of Nazareth. The questions aris
ing, are questions of reverence, and yet are questions hon-
> 2 Pet. 1 : 16.

374 The Crises of the Christ
estly forced upon the mind. These are two, which may
thus be simply stated. His life in its perfection was ever
lived with the culminating fact of death upon His conscious
ness. This has been seen in the study ofthe approach to
the Cross. In the process of the death, the declared inten
tion has been that of dealing with sin, and creating a new
moral value to be placed at the disposal of such as are en
slaved by sin. Has the Man of Nazareth succeeded in
this great work ?
Closely allied is the second question. In looking for
ward to His death this Man has spoken of it as the path
way to something infinitely more. Having declared that He
had come that men might have life, He moreover claimed
that though He laid down His life, He would take it again,
in order that it might be communicated to those who
needed life. Is He equal to this declared purpose ? With
great reverence the mind has contemplated the passing of
the King into the darkened way where lay the enemies of
the race, with the avowed purpose of gaining victory over
them, and accomplishing an exodus. In the death grapple
in the darkness has He won, or have they ? Is He merged
beneath the swelling waters of the unfathomable sea, or are
they ? Standing before the sealed tomb of the Man of
Nazareth, man asks in the deep consciousness of his heart's
need and anguish, whether there has'been accomplished in
the mystery of the Passion, that which will issue in the
loosing of man from his sin ? He asks moreover, whether
the infinite promises of individual life, which will enable
him to overcome the things that have overcome him, can
be fulfilled ? A question concerning pardon, and a
question concerning power surge upon the mind in the
presence of the entombed Jesus.
The contemplation of His life and death have kindled

Faith's Anchorage 375
within the heart a sense of love towards Him, and even
though He have failed, He must ever hold His place for
what He was, in the love of those who have beheld the
vision. He meant well, He strove towards redemption, yea,
so mightily, that none other can ever repeat the process.
Has He failed, or has He succeeded ? He is in the grave,
and there is no answer so long as He abide there.
It would seem as though the very statement of these
questions is all that is necessary to an unfolding of the in
finite value of the glorious fact of His resurrection. How
precious it is to stand in imagination in the tender light of
the first day of the week, in the company of the women
who are first at the tomb, and to listen to the first uttering
of the evangel of hope, as sounding from the empty grave,
its music breaks upon the heart, " He is not here ; for He
is risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the
Lord lay." x What tenderness is in the message, what
glad exultant joy, and yet what a touch of quiet irony.
And yet again, what gentle rebuke. " He is risen, even as
He said." These women and these apostles He had told
again and yet again that He would rise, and yet they had
come bringing spices to anoint Him dead. The angel re
vealed heaven's rebuke in the phrase " even as He said."
And then what quiet majestic irony. All sin and all malice
had united to put Him within the silent tomb. And now
the angel quietly says " Behold the place where the Lord
lay." The grave is there, but it is empty. He is not here,
for He has risen superior to all the forces that united to
silence and entomb Him. That resurrection is indeed the
centre of the centre, and all the questions of the seeking
heart are answered, in the radiant splendour of the light
that streams from the vanquished grave.
iMatt. 28: 6.

376 The Crises of the Christ
The exodus is complete, the foes met in the darkness
are mastered. The waters have not o'erwhelmed the
King. In their unfathomable deeps, only the enemies
have perished.
Almost with trembling, and yet reverently let this fact
be stated from the other side. If the mighty work at
tempted had failed of accomplishment, the grave would
have held Him. Unless He had vanquished sin, there could
have been no resurrection. Unless He had still retained in
the mystery of laying down His life the authority to take
it again, there could have been no impartation of these
values of His death, and the virtues of His life. His own
perfect confidence in victory was declared when out of the
darkness of the experience of the Cross He cried, " It is
finished." J The absolute vindication of that cry is to be
found in the resurrection, in which God answered declaring
also " It is finished."
Here then indeed is faith's firm foundation, its assured
anchorage. By that empty grave man knows that sin is put
away, and the infinite value of the Atonement is at his dis
posal. By that grave man is assured of the fulfillment of
the promises made, and he knows indeed that the life taken
again is at his disposal. Glad unutterable peace possesses
all the soul, as faith takes reasonable action upon the testi
mony of the resurrection, and trusts without question or
controversy, the accomplished work of the Redeemer.
II. The remaining section of this chapter is that of a
restatement of the arguments for the historic fact of resur
rection. Having considered how that fact, if granted, is
indeed the anchorage for faith, it now remains to repeat in
briefest form, the lines of proof. And yet nothing can be
1 John 19 : 30.

Faith's Anchorage 377
of more importance. It is utterly false to declare that it is
unimportant, whether the Man of Nazareth did actually
rise from the dead. It is unfair, and illogical, and outside
the final possibility of reason's acceptance, to affirm that the
value of the resurrection remains if its fact be denied. The
idea that the matter of supreme importance is value, apart
from fact is absurd, because it is presupposing an impos
sibility. The value has been created by the fact. Had
there been no fact, there could have been no value. Per
manent values can only exist upon the bases of established
facts. A value of perpetual force has never been created
upon the basis of a so-called working hypothesis. Sooner
or later the hypothesis will almost invariably cease to work,
and when that happens, the value passes like the mirage of
the desert. If the hypothesis is to continue, it will be be
cause it is finally demonstrated as being based upon fact.
The permanent value therefore is the outcome of estab
lished fact. All the working values of the Gospel of grace
are founded upon the fact of the resurrection of Jesus.
To follow this statement further. It is declared that the
value is here, and we need take no time in arguing concern
ing the fact. That may be abandoned seeing that the value
is now at the use of men. This again is evidence of short
sightedness. Abandon the fact, and the value will be lost.
This may not be seen immediately, but in the process of
years it will be seen. When the great rock foundations of
our faith are reckoned of no account, the values that have
accrued may seem to abide, but they will inevitably even if
slowly, lose their transforming power.
The fact of the resurrection has created the value of high
life. Once deny the fact, and its value will cease to grip,
and regulate the consciences of men, and they will revert,
sooner or later, to the bestial materialistic ideal of life,

378 The Crises of the Christ
which issues in such rottenness as that of Rome, and of
Greece. To trifle with the foundations of God is to render
the building insecure. The actuality of the resurrection of
the Man Jesus, is necessary to the permanent value of the
Christian Gospel.
It is therefore absolutely necessary that the question be
asked, did He rise ? Take the apostolic formula of suppo
sition. " If Christ be not risen," there are certain inevit
able deductions will follow.
First, His teaching was false for He distinctly declared
that He would rise again, and so faith's central claim
was never realized, and all other claims are valueless.
His one final sign was that of His own resurrection.
" What sign showest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou
doest these things." " Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up." : " We would see a sign from
Thee." "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the
belly of the whale ; so shall the Son of Man be three days
and three nights in the heart of the earth." 2 When He
said these things, men did not understand them. But look
ing back at them, it is perfectly patent that to the mind of
the Master, the resurrection was the one indisputable seal
of the Divinity of His mission. Yet again earnestly and
solemnly it must be declared that if He did not rise, either
He was Himself deceived, or He was intentionally a
deceiver. " If Christ be not risen," then to adopt the first supposi
tion, He was mistaken, for He thought He would ; or else,
to adopt the second, if He never expected to rise, He de
liberately attempted to deceive men, by promising them
that He would.
And yet again, if He did not rise, His work was the
1 John 2 : 18, 19. • Matt. 12 : 38, 40.

Faith's Anchorage 379
direst failure. At the erection of the Cross, there was in
deed to all human seeming, a final failure for Him. His
own were against Him, His disciples abandoned Him, and
they are seen scattering as fast as they knew how to fishing
nets. They had had a dream of exquisite beauty in the
days of their discipleship, but the whole thing had melted
like the mirage of the desert. To affirm this in the face of
the stupendous victories of Christ during nineteen centuries
is an absolute absurdity. If He did not rise, then the
victories were not gained by Him, but by the men who
were His followers, who reconstructed an idea out of a
dismal failure, and made it the dominating and all-victorious
force that it has been in human history.
And yet this cannot be, for they abandoned hope of the
Christ, and scattered. There must have been something
which regathered thena, and reunited them. Not the
Cross, but something other, for the Cross broke up the
unity, and scattered the units. Not one of them waited to
watch. They are seen drifting away, with the sadness
of a great love for a lost Leader in their hearts, feeling that
while He was true indeed to them, He was utterly mis
taken, and that the only logical sequence of the Cross is
that they shall go back to their fishing.
But to take the larger outlook. " If Christ be not
risen," then the atoning value of His death cannot be main
tained, and it is worthy of careful notice that the doctrine
of Atonement always goes, where men call in question the
fact ofthe resurrection.
And yet again. " If Christ be not risen," then the
world has no authoritative message concerning the life
hereafter. If indeed He did not return, then has man no
well-established hope of seeing again those faces loved long-
since and lost awhile. A man often says — thoughtlessly in

380 The Crises of the Christ
all probability — that no one has ever come back to tell us
anything concerning the life beyond. That statement is
absolutely correct if Christ be not risen. No one, however,
whose faith is fastened upon the resurrection can make
that assertion. One has come back, and in His coming
has brought life and immortality to light.
If Christ be not risen then there is no type of humanity,
for all the perfections, which seem to be resident in Him,
are spoiled by the revelation of His ignorance, or His
attempt to impose upon the credulity of man.
" If Christ be not risen " there is no new power at the
disposal of man, and he is left alone to struggle, and al
together unavailingly, with the forces of evil.
If Christ did not rise, what then did happen ? What
was it that recalled that scattered group of frightened
souls, and turned them into men and women of such
marvellous force, that within one brief generation they had
filled Jerusalem with their doctrine, spoken to the known
world, and undermined the corrupt Roman empire ? How
are these facts to be accounted for ? It may at once be de
clared that every attempt to account for the victories of the
Church apart from the resurrection is philosophically ab
surd, and historically without proof.
It has been affirmed that the early disciples were guilty
of fraud, that they invented a story. Will this stand the
test of one moment's consideration of the fact that for this
particular story they endured almost untold suffering, being
excommunicated, ostracized, and in thousands of cases put
to death ? It may be that in the history of the race, indi
vidual men have been found, who, swept by some fanaticism,
have been willing to die for fraud. Cases have not been
wanting in which men have suffered and perished, in order
that evil may reach the goal, and something dastardly be

Faith's Anchorage 381
accomplished. But this is not a case of isolated individuals,
but a whole company and society of men and women and
children, ever increasing in number, all of them more or
less having to suffer in those early centuries; and the
central fact, for the declaration of which they endured all
things, was this story ofthe resurrection, which, forsooth,
it is announced they invented. Let the apostles be the
first and most conspicuous illustration. All of them save
one died violent deaths, and he was exiled to a lonely
island. The breaking out of persecution as chronicled in the
Acts of the Apostles was based upon the fact that these men
declared that the Man Who had been crucified to put an
end to His teaching and influence, had been raised, and was
alive. It is not within the compass of rational considera
tion to believe that men who so suffered, suffered for a
story themselves had invented.
Again it has been said that Jesus never really died, but
that He swooned upon the Cross, and that being placed in
a grave He recovered. How then it may be asked, did He
escape from the tomb so carefully guarded by Roman
soldiers, and from grave-clothes so marvellously wrapped,
as those of Eastern burials were ? Of course such a state
ment is to take away not only resurrection, but the death
of the Cross, and all the value connected with it.
And yet His death is proven by the fact that it was
carried out by Roman authority, and Roman soldiers, and
is a matter of the world's history, as apart from the story
of the Gospels. In the crucifixion of malefactors the
Romans were ever careful to be certain of death, and for
this purpose broke the bones after a lapse of certain time.
His bones were not broken for the simple reason that He
was dead already. Before His body was granted to Joseph

382 The Crises of the Christ
of Arimathea, the Roman governor made careful enquiry
concerning the actuality of death.
And yet one other argument may be referred to. It is
asserted that the disciples saw certain visionary appear
ances after the crucifixion, and that they thought they saw
Him. Under stress and strain of terrible excitement they
imagined they had a vision of their lost Leader again alive.
The statement has been made in this connection that they
saw what they wanted to see, as people overwrought often
seem to do. The answer to such a statement is of the
simplest. There need be no argument. They had no
expectation of seeing Him again. No thought was further
from their minds than that of His resurrection. As to the
hypothesis of visionary appearances, it might have been
considered if but one or two had testified. No less than
ten distinct appearances are recorded, and these not only to
individuals, but to companies and crowds. First to the
women. Then to Peter. Then to two men walking to
Emmaus. Then to ten apostles, and subsequently to
eleven. Yet later to seven men approaching the seashore.
Yet again to the whole number of the apostles, and after
wards to five hundred brethren at once. Then to James,
and finally to the little group gathered round Him when
He ascended.
Is it conceivable that all these were deceived by vision
ary appearances, and were so deceived that whatever else
their faults and failure in the coming years, there is abso
lutely no record of any one of them questioning the his
toric fact of the resurrection ? Of course it may now be
said that this is all upon the authority of the New Testa
ment. That is at once admitted. The authenticity of the
Gospel narratives is not now under discussion, but is taken
for granted. And therefore there may be added to the

Faith's Anchorage 383
proofs already cited, the wonderful history of Saul of
Tarsus, who declared through over thirty years of con
sistent Christian life and testimony, that the miraculous
change wrought in his attitude towards Christ, and in the
whole fibre of his character, was brought about by an actual
vision of Jesus of Nazareth, risen and glorified. It has
been said that the true account of what happened to Saul
of Tarsus was that he had an epileptic seizure in a
thunder-storm. So puerile is such a statement, that the
only answer possible to it, is a suggestion that if it be in
deed true, then men ought always to pray for a multiplica
tion of thunder-storms, and an epidemic of epilepsy.
And yet finally these outside proofs are not the supreme
one. The supreme proof is the Church of Jesus Christ.
As has incidentally been seen, at the Cross the disciples were
frightened, and scattered. By the way of resurrection
these were gathered, and held in patient waiting, until the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Whose coming created the
new society, which consisted not merely in the gathering
together of individuals, but their fusing into one mystic
unity. Then followed the growth and influence of that
Church in every successive century. Within its border
to-day there is the deposit of the only regenerative Gospel
that man has ever heard. The resurrection of Christ is
proven to-day by the Church on earth, with its ordinances,
its living ministry, its Gospel of grace, and the marvellous
victories won in every age, and in every land by its
toil, in spite of its weakness and its worldliness. The
Church of Christ is the supreme credential of Christ.
Turning from this subject of resurrection with the great
glad exultant cry, Christ is risen, there is in the cry the
affirmation of His perfect victory, the declaration of the
Divine seal set upon that victory, and the proclamation of

384 The Crises of the Christ
a sure anchorage for the faith of men. The living risen
Christ is the Centre of the Church's creed, the Creator of
her character, and the Inspiration of her conduct. His
resurrection is the clearest note in her battle-song. It is
the sweetest, strongest music amid all her sorrows. It
speaks of personal salvation. It promises the life that has
no ending, it declares to all bereaved souls that " them also
that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him," r
and therefore the light of His resurrection falls in radiant
beauty upon the graves where rest the dust of the holy
dead. > 1 Thess. 4 : 14.

BOOK VII
THE ASCENSION

XXVIII. God's Perfect Man
XXIX. Man's Wounded God
XXX. The New Union

' Over against His Dead
God sat in silence : for the Earth was dead,
And dimly lay upon her awful bier,
Wrapped round in darkness ; yea, her shroud was wrought
Of clouds and thunders : for the Earth had died
Not gently and at peace, as tired men die
Toward the evening ; but as one who dies
Full of great strength, by sudden smiting down.
The Earth was dead, and laid upon her bier,
And God, Sole Mourner, watched her day and night —
The living God a Watcher by the dead,
Sole Mourner in the Universe for her
Who had been once so fair.
******
Sole Mourner, for in the dark outer Room
The devils danced and sang for dreary joy,
Because God' s so beloved Earth was dead,
And must be shortly buried out of sight
To perish. Still, — over against His Dead
God sat in silence. But, behold, there came
One, treading softly to the House of Death,
Down from among the Angels, through the room.
He came, as comes a King, unto the place
Where lay the Dead; and He laid His right hand
Of strength on her, and called her tenderly
Saying, ' Arise, beloved, from thy sleep,
For I will ransom thee by Death to Life ;
Arise and live.' And He did raise her up
By His right hand, presenting her to God,
All glorious, as one who hath been dead
But hath found life and immortality.
And God, the Mighty God, did there rejoice,
And rest in His great love; for this His Earth,
Which had been dead, was living in His sight.
Therefore He crowned with many crowns His head
Who had prevailed to ransom her from Death •
And also, laying joy upon her head
For everlasting, He hath made her Bride
Of Christ, the King."—B. M.
« From Death to Life."

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken unto them, was
received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
— Mark 16 : Ip.
And He led them out until they were over against Bethany :
and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to
pass, while He blessed them, He parted from them, and was
carried up into heaven  Luke 24 : 50, 51.
And when He had said these things, as they were looking, He
was taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And
while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as He went, behold
two men stood by them in white apparel ; who also said, Ye men
of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven ? This Jesus, Who
was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven. — Acts 1 : p-11.
And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a
book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is
worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no
one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to
open the book, or to look thereon. And I wept much, because
no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon :
and one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not ; behold, the Lion
that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to
open the book and the seven seals thereof. And I saw in the
midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the
midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain,
having seven horns, and seven eyes, which arc the seven Spirits
of God, sent forth into all the earth. And He came, and He
taketh it out ofthe right hand of Him that sat on the throne. And
when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four
and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a
harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of
the saints. And they sing a new song, saying,
Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and didst
purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every
tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and
madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and
priests ; and they reign upon the earth. — Rev . j .- 1-10.
387

XXVIII
GOD'S PERFECT MAN
The ascension of Jesus of Nazareth was the final crisis
in His great work. To omit it would be to omit that
which is a necessary link between His resurrection from
among the dead, and reappearance amid His disciples ; and
the coming of God the Holy Spirit on the day of Pente
cost. It is not easy to follow Him as He passes out of
human sight. This difficulty is recognized inferentially in
the very brevity of the Gospel narrative. Very little is
said because little can be said which could be understood by
those dwelling still within the limitations of the material,
and having consciousness of the spiritual world only by
faith. Still the positive fact is definitely stated, and follow
ing closely the lines laid down, we may reverently attempt
their projection beyond the veil of time and sense.
It is almost pathetic that it is necessary to pause one mo
ment to insist upon the actual historic fact of the ascension
into the heavenly places of the Man of Nazareth. If the
resurrection be denied, then of course there is no room for
ascension. If on the other hand it be established, that
Jesus of Nazareth did indeed rise from the dead, then it is
equally certain that He ascended into heaven. No time
need be taken in argument with such as believe in the au
thenticity of the New Testament story, and with those
who question this, argument is useless. That theri is an
unconscious questioning of this fact of ascension is evident
from the way in which reference is sometimes made to the
3»9

390 The Crises of the Christ
Lord Jesus. It is by no means uncommon to hear persons
speak of what He did or said " in the days of His Incar
nation." Such a phrase, even when not used with such in
tention, does infer that the days of His Incarnation are
over. This however is not so, any more than it is true
that Abraham, Moses, and Elijah have ceased to be men.
Indeed the presence of Jesus of Nazareth in heaven as a
Man, is more complete than that of any other save Enoch,
Moses, and Elijah. All others wait the resurrection for
the reception of their body. He in bodily form has passed
into heaven. So also Enoch passed, as a sign in the dim
and distant century of the triumph over death that God
would win in the Person of His Incarnate Son. Thus
also Elijah passed, for a testimony in the midst of corrup
tion, which was issuing in unbelief in immortality. Moses'
body was brought out of the grave by Michael the arch
angel, for reunion with his spirit for the purpose of com
munion with the Man Jesus. This again was an act of
God's faith in Christ, and though the devil disputed with
the archangel his right to appropriate the benefits of re
demption, until redemption were accomplished, by this very
act God declared the absolute accomplishment of redemp
tion in the Divine economy, long before it had been
wrought out into human history. Jesus therefore through
Whom, and through Whom alone eventually, men as such
will be found in the heavens, ascended in bodily form to
those heavens, being Himself as to actual victory First-born
from the dead.
The stoop of God to human form was not for a period
merely. That humiliation was a process in the pathway,
by which God would lift into eternal union with Himself
all such as should be redeemed by the victory won through
suffering. Forevermore in the Person of the Man of

God's Perfect Man 391
Nazareth, God is one with men. At this moment the Man
of Nazareth, the Son of God, is at the right hand of the
Father. Difficulties arising concerning these clear declara
tions as to the ascension of the Man of Nazareth must not
be allowed to create disbelief in them. Any such process
of discrediting what is hard to understand, issues finally in
the abandonment of the whole Christian position and his
tory. It may be objected for instance that if He be indeed
localized as a Man, in heaven, how can He be present with
His people on earth. In answer to that, it must be stated,
that working in the inverse way, the same difficulty obtains
in understanding His presence on the earth as a Man. In
the very mystery of the Being of the God-man, as has been
shown, there is the limitless and the limited, the omnipres
ent and the localized. Just as He was here upon the earth
in order that the grace of God might have its outshining in
a Person, and yet while here, spoke of Himself as the
" Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father " ; x so to-day
the Man Christ Jesus is in heaven, and through Him the
glory of God is having its outshining in a Person, while He
is yet in the deep and unfathomable reaches of His Being,
the infinite and eternal I am.
In considering the ascension first as the coming into
heaven of God's perfect Man, there are three things to be
noted, — first, His perfection in the realization of the Di
vine purpose for man ; second, His perfection in the ac
complishment of the Divine purpose of the redemption of
. ruined man ; third, His investiture with a name.
I. The coming of Jesus of Nazareth into heaven was
the arrival of such an One as had never before been there.
The coming to heaven of Abel was the coming of the first
1 John 1 : 18.

392 The Crises of the Christ
human being, and so far as it is competent to measure the
interest of heaven by earthly interest in the things of God,
it may be reverently declared that it was a great occasion
when this first soul representing a new race, and, more
marvellous still, representing a fallen race, appeared in the
unsullied light of the home of the unfallen. He came by
faith, ransomed by love, at the cost of sacrifice. As the
Scripture declares that " the angels desire to look into " x
these things, this must indeed have been a mystery of life
and love demanding their close attention, and not per
chance, even fathomed by them, until the explanation of
the mystery of sacrifice enfolded in the sublimer mystery
of love, was wrought out upon the Cross of Calvary. It
is more than probable that Abel, and all who succeeded
him, had to wait the fullness of the earthly time for the ex
planation of the method of their acceptance with God.
They passed into the dwelling-place of Infinite Love, upon
the basis of their faith in God, so far as they were con
cerned. In the Divine economy they were received upon
the basis of God's faith in His Son. The Father trusted
the Son to accomplish His purpose in the fullness of time,
and upon the foundation of that confidence of God in
Himself, the sinner was admitted to heaven.
On ascension day something still more marvellous oc
curred. The Man of Nazareth, the First of the new race,
the last Adam, passed into the Divine presence in the right
of His own perfect humanity. In His coming, He asked
for no mercy. No mediator opened the door of heaven for
Him. He proceeded along the line of the outworking of
the infinite order to consummation, basing His claim to
reception upon the even and inexorable justice of God.
He passed from earth to heaven, and stood unafraid in the
1 1 Pet. i : 12.

God's Perfect Man 393
white light of the Eternal Purity. In all the record of the
race there has been no other like unto this Jesus of
Nazareth. The greatest of Old Testament characters are seen over
shadowed by their own sin and failure, and the men of the
New have no claim or merit, save that which is imputed to
them, and outwrought through them, by the Spirit as He
reveals to their understanding, and realizes in their charac
ter, the perfections of the Christ. Jesus stands in heaven,
having perfectly realized the original thought of God which
found expression in the first covenant of creation, " Let Us
make man in our Image, after Our likeness." x Both in
character and in conduct do men learn the meaning of that
Divine thought as they know the Man of Nazareth.
Perhaps the sublimest description of perfect character is
that which Paul uses in writing to Timothy, when he says
" God gave us ... a spirit ... of power and
love and discipline." 2 This exactly describes the char
acter of Christ ; — the spirit of power, the spirit of love, the
spirit of discipline. It should be noted here that discipline
does not signify self-control, so much as power of ruling
others. It is the spirit of order, of authority. This indeed
is perfection of character. Out of this sprung His per
fection of conduct. The whole conduct of His life was
the outward expression of this perfect character whether at
the feast, or the funeral ; whether with the scholars, or the
simple ; whether with the adults, or the children ; whether
in loneliness on the mountain height, or amid the crowds
that surged around Him, He was ever acting in response
to the impulse of the spirit of power, the spirit of love, and
the spirit of discipline. At last this Man Whose creed was
truth, Whose character was true, and Whose conduct was
iGen. I : 26. s2Tim. I: 7.

394 f he Crises of the Christ
triumphant, was received into heaven upon the basis of His
own absolute perfection.
II. Yet that is not the greatest wonder of ascension
day. It would seem as though one could hear the antiph-
onal singing of the heavenly choirs, as this perfect One
passes into heaven, " Lift up your heads, O ye gates ;
And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors :
And the King of glory will come in," '
is the exulting challenge of the angels escorting Him. To
this comes back the question, inspired by the passion to
hear declared again the story of the victory,
" Who is the King of glory ? "
And yet gathering new music and new meaning the surg
ing anthem rolls, " Jehovah strong and mighty,
Jehovah mighty in battle. . . .
He is the King of glory." a
Thus the song is also of One who was mighty in battle.
Looking upon Him the glorified One, and listening to His
words, the wonder grows. In that form all filled with ex
quisite beauty are yet the signs of suffering and of pain.
The marks of wounding are in hands, and feet, and side,
and His presence declares in His own words, " I am
. . . the Living One ; and I was dead, and behold, I
am alive forevermore." 3
This is indeed a mystery demanding explanation. In
the life of the Perfect, there is no reason for death. Death
> Psa. 24 : 7. 2 Psa. 24 : 8, 10. 3 Rev. j . ,?) ,g_

God's Perfect Man 395
is the wage of sin, and apart from sin there is no place for
death. Sometimes men declare that death is a necessity, a
part of a process. This may be declared, but cannot be
demonstrated. The mystery of life has eluded all scientific
examination, and therefore so also has the mystery of
death. The reason for death in ordinary human life has
never yet been declared. The human frame, according to
scientific testimony, reconstructs itself once in every seven
years. Why may not this process go on indefinitely ?
Why is there any necessity for death ? The scientists are
unable to answer the question. They can do no more than
declare what seems to be a necessity from the perpetual
recurrence of the experience in the human race.
What science has failed to do, revelation has clearly
done. It simply and sublimely states that death is penalty
for sin. Such is the meaning of the story of Genesis, and
such the meaning of the explicit declaration of the apostle.
" Through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin ; and so death passed unto all men, for that all
sinned." r If then pain be the issue of sin, and death its
penalty, why has the Perfect suffered and died ? As was
seen in the consideration of the transfiguration of Jesus on
the Holy mount, His human nature, having passed through
all temptation victoriously, was metamorphosed, and might
so far as it was concerned, have been received into heaven.
Between that crisis and ascension, He has been to the
deepest depth of suffering, and through death itself. There
can be but one answer to all these questionings. He has
wrought a victory for others. The One in Whom death
had no place, has died in the place of those who ought to
die. Gazing upon the perfections of the ascended Man,
the heart is filled with astonishment, and humbled with a
1 Rom. 5 : 12.

396 The Crises of the Christ
great shame, as the light of His glory falls upon the failure
of all others. Gazing upon that Perfect One, the " Lamb
as it had been slain," realizing that the wounds tell of
penalty borne, and the words of death vanquished, the heart
is filled with unutterable sense of the infinite Love, the lips
break out in song, " Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Let the water and the blood
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power." l
III. Thus ascending, He led captivity captive, He
passed into the presence of God with the defeated foes of
the race dragged at His chariot wheels, the Master of sin,
the Vanquisher of Satan, the Overcomer of death, the in
signia of Whose victory were the wounds that He bore,
and the fact that He lived the life taken up after having
been laid down in death. For Himself He stood in the
perfection of His manhood. For man He stood in the per
fection of His Saviourhood.
It is now that He is invested with the Name. In that
sublimest of all passages dealing with His descent and
ascent, the apostle declares that God gave unto Him " the
Name which is above every name," 2 and the occasion of
the giving of the Name was His exaltation to heaven, after
the perfect carrying out of that Divine work of Love which
included humiliation and suffering and death.
In the ascension light what Name is this now bestowed
upon the all conquering Man ? It is the old Name, full of
ineffable music, the Name of Jesus. It is the Name by
which His mother first called Him in the innocence of
> Toplady. s Phil. 2 : 9.

God's Perfect Man 397
infancy. It is the Name by which men knew Him in the
purity of His boyhood. It is the Name by which men
called Him in the victory of His Manhood. It is the
Name by which disciples knew Him in the days of His
teaching. It is the Name which men wrote over His
Cross in the hour of His dying. It is the old Name, and
yet He had never received it in all fullness until now. At
His Incarnation the Name was a prophecy. "Thou shalt
call His Name Jesus ; for it is He that shall save His people
from their sins." 1 That prophetic Name He carried
through all life's mystery and ministry, the Name that told
to those that understood, that God's faith was centred in
this innocent child, and holy Man. And now having ac
complished all, perfected to finality the infinite plan of the
Eternal Love, He is invested with the Name which at His
birth was prophetic. The issue is reached, and in the
centre of the universe of God, the Man of Nazareth is
enthroned, and named by the sweet Name that ever speaks
of perfect humanity, and ever declares the fulfillment of the
purpose of salvation. At His birth the Name of Jesus
was the proclamation of a Divine purpose. On ascension
day it was the ratification of a victory won. He gave Him
the Name — Jesus. 1 Matt. 1 : 21.

XXIX
MAN'S WOUNDED GOD
The title of the chapter is startling, and needs some ex
planation. In the previous chapter has been considered
the coming into heaven of God's perfect Man, bearing in
His body the marks of His wounding, the evidences of His
dying. Attention still being fixed upon Him, it must be remem
bered that in that glory as ever, two things are true con
cerning Him. First He is God's Man ; and secondly, He
is man's God.
Apart from Him, man has no perfect understanding of
God. In Him man finds the full and final revelation of
the Father. It is impossible for men to come, either in
understanding or in actual communion, to the Father save
through the risen glorified Son.
To state this positively therefore is to declare that man
approaching God, does so forevermore, as He has revealed
Himself in and through Jesus of Nazareth. Thus the
ascended One is man's God.
It is impossible to omit from that ascended and reigning
One the wounds He bears. They are part of His Person
ality, and speak of the fulfillment of a purpose which was
the purpose of God, and which was carried out by God in
and through Jesus. If the perfect Manhood of Jesus be
the perfect unveiling before the eyes of men of the essen
tial glories of God, so the wounded Personality of Jesus is
the unveiling before the eyes of men of that wounding of
398

Man's Wounded God 399
the heart of God, through which His grace was manifested,
and wrought its mightiest victory.
In Apocalyptic vision John saw " in the midst of the
throne ... a Lamb as though it had been slain." l
The reference is without question to Christ. Two
things are manifest, first that He occupies the position of
proper Deity. He is in the midst of the throne.
Secondly that He retains the evidences of suffering.
It is " a Lamb as though it had been slain." This double
fact speaks forevermore of the deepest fact that lies be
hind man's redemption. This fact is that of the pain of
God. In the book of Proverbs, the preacher asks,
" The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity ;
But a broken spirit who can bear ? " 2
Therein is a recognition of the fact that while the spirit of
a man gives him strength for bearing physical infirmity, the
deepest fact of sorrow possible to man is sorrow of the
.spirit. Bearing in mind that illustration taken from the lower
realm of human experience, turn now to a passage in the
prophecy of Isaiah. " I gave My back to the smiters, and
My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ; I hid not My
face from shame and spitting." 3 Whatever the local and
incidental application of these words, there is a general con
census of opinion that they are Messianic in their final ap
plication, finding their perfect fulfillment only in the ex
perience of Jesus.
Turning to another passage in the same prophecy,
" Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows;
yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and
1 Rev. 5:6. 2 Prov. 18 : 14. » Isa. 50 : 6,

4.00 The Crises of the Christ
afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our
peace was upon Him ; and with His stripes we are healed."1
The idea that He was smitten of God and stricken of God
is not accurate. It is rather the portrayal of One Who in
perfect cooperation with God is bearing the smiting and
the bruising that comes upon human guilt through the
operation of the inexorable law of God. The suffering
Servant is seen here as receiving those stripes which will
make possible the healing of such as ought to have borne
their own penalty. The word to be specially noticed now
is the word " smitten." That is the word translated
" broken " in the quotation from the Proverbs. While the
wounding ofthe body of Jesus was the outward and visible
sign, it was in the wounding of the Spirit that the deepest
mystery of His atoning suffering lay. Thus in Jesus, God
is revealed, not only in His love, in His holiness, and in
His justice ; but in His sorrow, and in His pain.
At this point there are strong divergences of opinion.
It has been maintained that God is incapable of sorrow, and
that it was only in the fact of His Manhood that Jesus
suffered in the place of man. Such a conception of God
would seem to be utterly unwarranted by the whole revela
tion made of Him in Scripture, and finally in the Person of
His Son. If the Man was a revelation of God, surely the
Man of sorrows was a revelation of the God of sorrow.
This capacity for sorrow is most evidently pre-supposed in
the injunction of the apostle, " Grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God." 2 The word " grieve " here is purely a word in
dicating sorrow. There is no suspicion of anger in it.
The injunction does not mean, Do not make the Spirit
angry. It most certainly means, Do not cause Him sor-
• Isa. 53 : 4, 5. 2 Eph, 4 . 30i

Man's Wounded God 401
row. The fact to be established is that of the possibility
of sorrow in the consciousness of God. If once this is es
tablished, then a new light shines through all the book.
The final proof of the proposition is most evidently to be
found in the simplest statement concerning God, namely,
" God is love." x Love is the capacity for joy. It is
therefore, moreover, the capacity for sorrow. Joy and
sorrow are twin sisters. They are so closely related that
it is impossible to have capacity for one, without having
also capacity for the other. That Jesus was the revelation
of God in His marvellous wisdom, in His splendid strength,
no one denies. When against tyranny, and oppression, and
wrong, His anger flamed, it is at once conceded that the
indignation of God was being revealed. Can it then be
denied that the tears He shed in presence of the grief of
the bereaved sisters, were revelations of the exquisite ten
derness of the heart of the Divine, or have we any right to
affirm that when the Man of Nazareth gazed upon beauti
ful Jerusalerh the curse alone was the revelation of the
Divine will ? Were not the tears, and the tones of emo
tion in the voice, equally means of manifesting to men the
love and the sorrow of the heart of God. It must of
course be at once granted that God can never have any
sorrow which is merely that of limitation, or that caused
by the sense of mystery. His sorrow must ever be that of
sympathy, with that which is the result of His entering
into the actual experiences of another, and making His own
what that other feels. To understand this is to read with
new intonation the startling questions that occur in the first
book of the Bible. When God cried to Adam " Where
art thou," 2 it was not so much the voice of outraged holiness,
speaking in anger, as a violated love, wailing in compassion.
» I John 4 : 8. s.Gen. 3 : 9.

402 The Crises of the Christ
Jesus the wounded is therefore in expression to man,
and in the fact of His own Personality, man's wounded
God. As the God-man on the earth was the Revelation
of the Father in all the wondrous facts of His Personality,
so the Lamb slain in the midst of the throne is still the
Revelation of the Father in the unsullied light of the
heavenly places. The harmony between Father and Son is
unbroken. In the High Priest, Who can be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities, there exists One Who ex
presses thus the fact of God's consciousness of all human
infirmity and all human sorrow.
The risen and ascended God-man, having received His
Name, now assumes His place in the economy of God,
and the Divine purpose is declared that every knee shall
bow, in submission ; and every tongue shall confess in
acclamation that He is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Thus we may see in Him the order of a new
economy as to its central Personality, and as to the nature
of its administration.
I. The central Personality being that of the ascended
Man, is described as a " Lamb as though It had been slain,"
and the throne is the symbol of order. That order had
been violated through the terrible catastrophe of human
sin. There was no possible way for its restoration but the
way of the Cross. Jesus of Nazareth having wrought
righteousness in life, and atonement in death, and having
received the seal of perfect victory, in the miracle of resur
rection, now passes to the very throne of power.
While it is thus seen that the only way to the throne
was the way of the Cross, it is at once demonstrated that
there could be no issue to the Cross of Christ other than
His crowning and the ultimate restoration of the lost

Man's Wounded God 403
order. The ascended Man of Nazareth in the midst of the
throne is none other than God the Son, invested in the
counsel of the ever-blessed Trinity with all authority, upon
the basis of redemption work accomplished, and victory won
over all the enemies of the human race.
II. The issue of this is self-evident. The Man of
Nazareth in the midst of the throne, occupies the seat of
final authority, and therefore constitutes the last court of
appeal. There can be no appeal beyond that throne. His
word is the universal law, His verdict the irrevocable sen
tence. As in resurrection, God rejected man apart from
Christ, so in Christ's enthronement, He receives man in
Him. Thus those who are united to Him are already
seated in Him in the heavenlies. Forevermore therefore
the word of the Church is that which so often occurred in
apostolic preaching, " Jesus is Lord." a It is the word
of salvation to the individual, the word of reconstruction to
society, the word of ultimate deliverance to all the nations.
Herein therefore lies the true centre of sin, as He Himself
said, "of sin, because they believe not on Me."2 It is
still true of the world at large that
" Our Lord is now rejected,
And by the world disowned.
By the many still neglected,
And by the few enthroned." 3
Yet He is God-enthroned, and the future of an individual,
of society, of a nation is being determined by the relation
of each to Him. The Man of Nazareth, ascending on
high, led captivity captive, and passed beyond all principal
ities and powers, yea, beyond every name that is named to
the very throne of God, and there to-day He sits, still re-
» I Cor. 12:3. s John 16:9. 3 Major Whittle.

404 The Crises of the Christ
jected by men, and yet being crowned by thousands who
listening to His voice, obey it.
It is impossible to pass from this contemplation of the
ascension of Jesus to the centre of all government, and to
see in Him man's wounded God, without becoming con
scious of a great comfort and of a great strength. The
comfort ever comes as we behold on the throne of the
Eternal, One Who bears amid the dazzling splendour,
marks that tell of His having suffered and died for us men,
that He might bring us into union with His unending joy
and eternal Love.
Moreover when the work presses, and the battle thickens,
and the day seems long in coming, it is good for the heart
to remember that the present conflict is with defeated foes,
and that there is no room for question as to the final issue,
for the Man of Nazareth is not only seated in the place of
authority, He carries forward the work of active adminis
tration. This is a fact too often forgotten amid the tur
moil and the strife. High over all the thrones of earth,
stands that throne of the Eternal, and seated on it is the
ascended Man, watching, ordering, preventing, and through
all the apparent chaos, moving surely towards the ultimate
triumph of the Infinite Love. He initiates the true poli
cies, selects the proper agents, and even when man least
understands, moves ever onward.
In the Person of the crowned Man of Nazareth justice
acts forevermore in mercy, and mercy moves in unerring
justice. Justice acts in mercy by pardoning, purifying,
perfecting upon the basis of that Passion, the signs of
which are in the evidences of the slaying. Mercy operates
in justice by the justification, sanctification, glorification of
those who submitting to the King, receive the blessing of
the Saviour.

xxx
THE NEW UNION
Having attempted to follow the Lord as He ascended to
the right hand of the Father, and having seen Him in the
height of the heavenly glory, a perfect Man, fulfilling the
Divine ideal, the perfect Saviour having provided a ransom
for the lost ; and having moreover, recognized anew the
fact that this exalted Man is our God, there remains to be
considered somewhat more closely, the new union between
God and man, consummated when the Man of Nazareth
received the promise of the Father.
In his first sermon after Pentecost, Peter, referring to the
ascended Christ, declared that He " having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit," J had poured forth
the gift upon the waiting disciples. The present study is
an attempt to understand what the apostle meant, when he
said that Jesus had received the promise of the Spirit.
Most certainly this is a declaration that upon the basis of
His finished work of life, and on the occasion of His ar
rival in heaven, Jesus of Nazareth did receive, by a solemn
and official act from the Father, the Holy Spirit according
to promise. The first question that suggests itself to
the mind is, Why was the Spirit now given to this as
cended Man, and in what sense was the Spirit given to
Him ? It cannot possibly be that the bestowment of the
Spirit was for Himself. His whole human life had been
conditioned by the abiding presence in Him of the Holy
1 Acts 2 : 33.
4«S

406 The Crises of the Christ
Spirit of God, and that in fulfillment of the primal Divine
intention concerning man. It is important that there
should be perfect clearness of understanding of this fact.
His reception of the Spirit in heaven was not the crowning
by God of His Manhood. It was rather the answer of
God to the claim this Man made upon Him, by the work
He had accomplished for others.
To state this even more fully. The whole Being of
Christ, and the whole mission of Christ were so closely as
sociated with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit
that there could be no necessity for any new bestowment
of the Spirit merely for Himself. His very human life
was due to the mystery of the overshadowing Spirit and
through all the years of privacy, there can be no doubt that
He lived under the immediate guidance of the Spirit of
truth. He did not, at the baptism, receive the Spirit. At
that crisis, the presence of the Spirit was manifest, and in a
new symbolism that suggested the truth that His work
would be carried out in the power of the Spirit. The
dove-like form in which the Spirit then appeared, — a form in
which He is never manifested in connection with any other
person, save the Christ : a form suggestive of tender gentle
patience — revealed the truth concerning the character of
Jesus ; and announced that in keeping with that essential
of His nature, all His work would be carried forward.
Filled with the Spirit, He passed to the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil, and in the power of the Spirit He
went forth to His ministry, when all the temptation was
accomplished. And at the last it was " through the eternal
Spirit " He "offered Himself without blemish unto God."1
And yet we have a declaration that having passed through
death, and having ascended to the presence of the Father,
1 Heb. 9 : 14.

The New Union 407
He received there frorr, the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit. An explanation of the declaration will be found in a
correct apprehension of what is meant by the promise of
the Spirit. Where, and to whom was the promise made ?
The whole subject may be considered under the following
heads, first, the promise of the Spirit fulfilled in His be
stowment upon the ascended Man ; second, the Spirit re
ceived by the ascended Man for those whom He repre
sented as Saviour; third, the union of God and man
resulting. I. In the final charges delivered to the apostles, Christ
distinctly commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but " to wait for the promise of the Father." J Here is the
same thought, uttered by the Lord Himself, and here also
He distinctly tells them when the promise was made,
" which, said He, ye heard from Me." Thus it is evident
that we are approaching an explanation of this statement.
Christ had promised the Spirit, and He had done that in
the name of the Father, for Whom He ever spake to men.
Is there no definite account of His having made such a
promise ? Most assuredly there is an account, which is
not only definite, but also detailed, and it is to be found in
the Paschal discourses, which are chronicled by John alone.
" I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the
Spirit of truth : Whom the world cannot receive." 2 " But
the Comforter even the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father
will send in My name." 3 " When the Comforter is come,
Whom I will send unto you from the Father." * Thus in
view of His approaching Cross, and in preparation of His
¦Acts I: 4. s John 14: 16, 17. "John 14: 26. <Johni5:26.

408 The Crises of the Christ
disciples for the days when He in bodily form should be no
more with them, He declared that in answer to His prayer,
and in His Name, the Father would send them another
Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more evident in
reading these discourses than the quiet majestic confidence
of Christ. " I will enquire of the Father." " He will
send you." " The Father will send in My name." " I
will send you from the Father." That is the promise of
the Father, and when the One Who made the promise to
the band of disciples, ascended into heaven, the Father
recognized the prevailing plea of His presence there, and
gave Him the Spirit that He might fulfill the promise to
the waiting men upon the earth.
It is evident therefore that His reception of the Spirit
was, as has been shown, not for Himself but for others.
This however will be dealt with more fully subsequently.
It would be sufficient to leave the statement at this point,
and yet that phrase " the promise of the Father " has more
in it than is indicated by this answer. As the whole of the
Old Testament economy had culminated in Christ, and as
in His teaching He had fulfilled all that was symbolized
and suggested in that economy, so His uttering of the
promise of the Father concerning the Spirit was the ex
planation of a constant message, sounding through the
previous centuries, concerning a new dispensation of power.
The seers and the prophets of the past all saw and spoke
of a day full of light, full of force, a day of restoration
that was yet to come. Through these prophets the Father
had promised the Holy Spirit to men in larger, fuller
measure than had ever been experienced. In the midst of
the darkness that characterized the age in which these men
of old had spoken, they had looked on towards the suffering
Servant, Who was yet to be the all-conquering Deliverer,

The New Union 409
and stretching away beyond His day of suffering, they
caught the light and glory of the dispensation of the Spirit.
One or two illustrations will suffice.
Isaiah, in lofty and terrible language is announcing the
coming of judgment. He tells of woe and of desolation,
and ends with a paragraph pulsating with hope, which be
gins with the words " until the Spirit be poured upon us
from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest." x Here the
prophet, telling the message of Jehovah, promises the
Spirit. And yet again the same prophet, " I will pour water upon
him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground ; I
will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon
thine offspring : and they shall spring up among the grass, as
willows by the watercourses. One shall say, I am Je
hovah's; and another shall call himself by the name of
Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto
Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel," 2
again an inspired promise of the Spirit.
There remains the most radiant and remarkable fore
telling of the Spirit's dispensation, which Peter quoted on
the day of Pentecost itself. " I will pour out My Spirit
upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions : and also upon the servants and upon
the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth :
blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of
!Isa. 32: 15. s Isa. 44: 3-5.

410 The Crises of the Christ
Jehovah shall be delivered." * Thus it is seen that the
men who kept alive in the heart of the nation this spiritual
hope, were men who served, and spoke in the hope of the
coming of a new day, which should be a day of the poured
out Spirit of God. Thus the promise which Jesus made
in the Paschal discourses was the repetition of the promise
made to the fathers by the prophets, by the One Who now
not only promised, but was working towards the mighty
consummation, which should consist in fulfillment.
In order to catch a true perspective, let this argument
now be summarized. God, through the prophets in the
past had promised the Holy Spirit to men. These heroic
souls hearing and seeing, declared to their age the gracious
announcement, and yet passed away without seeing the day
of which they spoke. In fullness of time the Messiah
came. He accomplished the will of God, and at last,
passing into the presence of God, claimed as the inevitable
issue of His victory, the fulfillment of the Divine promise,
made to, and through the prophets, and finally uttered by
His own lips. In answer to that claim, God acting at once
in love and justice, gave Him the Spirit. Through Him
the dreams of the prophets moved into the realm of deeds.
II. Having clearly seen that this bestowment of the
Spirit was not for Himself, it becomes perfectly evident
that it was a bestowment for such as were represented by
that infinite work accomplished through His death and
resurrection. The fact of His death makes righteous de
mands upon God, which, God answering, Jesus receives
for bestowment, that which He Himself already had pos
sessed for personal life and victory. His death having
been accomplished for sinners, the Spirit is now bestowed
1 Joel 2 : 28-32.

The New Union 411
for them also. What symbols or figures of speech are
equal to helping men to understand this solemn and won
drous transaction. Reverently conscious of the inadequacy
of all figures of speech, it may be said that God placed the
Spirit at the disposal of Christ, that He might bestow Him
upon all such as trusting in Jesus have counted to them
the value of His death upon the Cross. Having accom
plished that Mediatorial work through which man may in
the value, of His death be brought back to God, He now
commences that Mediatorial work through which God the
Holy Spirit may come back into relation with man, for the
administration of the virtue of His life.
III. Confining the attention exclusively for the mo
ment to the new union as seen in the Man Jesus, it is
evident that now God has moved into a new relationship
with fallen man, and man is lifted in spite of his fall, into
new relation with God in the Person of Jesus. Jesus the
unfallen is yet Jesus, Who has borne the final issues, re
sulting from the fall. His reception of the Spirit is there
fore a representative fact, declaring forevermore that in
spite of sin, a way has been made back to fellowship with
God. Such relation had never been nor could be, apart
from this great fact. The Holy Spirit Who knows the
mind of God, Who " searches all things, yea the deep
things of God," x Who is the Spirit of life forever pro
ceeding from the Father, is now vested in the Man of
Nazareth, and through Him is at the disposal of all such
as submit to His Lordship. The Spirit of God Who had
been grieved from humanity, and prevented operating in the
human heart, as to the knowledge of God, and the life of
God, and the power of God, is now through this perfect
> 1 Cor. 2 : 10.

412 The Crises of the Christ
Man, in Whom was no sin, yet in Whom is resident the
moral value of cancelled sin, at the disposal of the rebel
lious also. The ascended Christ has now become the new
Centre of a new race. Henceforth the Spirit will plead
with man the cause of Christ, demonstrating the fact that
sin consists in rejection of Him, declaring the evangel that
righteousness is possible because He has ascended to the
Father, and denouncing forever the ultimate doom of evil,
because the "prince of this world hath been judged."1
Having received this promise of the Father, the ascended
Lord poured out upon the waiting disciples the gift of the
Holy Spirit, and so the promise fulfilled to Christ, is ful
filled to those who have put their trust in Him, and herein
is revealed the explanation of all the careful statements of
His own discourses on the Paraclete. The Father has
sent the Spirit, because He has bestowed Him on the Man
that represents the fallen race. The Son has sent the
Spirit, having received Him from the Father.
One brief glance at the fact on earth will serve to com
plete the present study, and prepare for those that remain,
In the upper room at Jerusalem, a company of waiting
souls received the gift of the Holy Spirit, not in answer to
their prayer, but in answer to the prevailing prayer in high
heaven of the ascended Man of Nazareth. The Holy
Spirit falling upon them, took up His abode in them, com
ing to them from the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord.
In the Person of Jesus the point of union between man and
God has been found. Jesus is glorified by God in exalta
tion to the throne of power. Jesus is glorified by man in
his submission to Him as enthroned.
The Spirit indwelling man, administers all the values of
the finished work of Jesus. 1 John 16: II.

The New Union 413
This means that the men so indwelt, are by that Spirit
Who administers the values, made one with the risen
Christ. His life is their life as to its nature, for it is life
won out of death, risen, ascended and yet to be manifested ;
as to its expression, for it is life interested in the things of
God, and devoted in its powers to the accomplishment of
Divine purposes ; as to its whole, for henceforth for them
also the one and only rule of life will be the good and per
fect and acceptable will of God.
And yet again, the Spirit's indwelling initiates a process
of growth into perfect likeness to Christ by the subjugation
of the whole man, spirit, soul, and body to the new life
imparted in this miracle of regeneration. Thus the out
pouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost is the demon
stration of the fact that the stupendous work to which God
set Himself according to His wisdom and His might in the
Person and mission of Christ has been fully accomplished.
It now remains to consider how Christ answers the call of
man in all its deepest meaning.

RESULTANT
THE ANSWER OF CHRIST— MAN REDEEMED

XXXI. Man Restored to God by Christ
XXXII. Man Knowing God Through Christ
XXXIII. Man Made Like God in Christ

" He found me the lost and the wandering,
The sinful, the sad, and the lone y
He said y ' / have bought thee, beloved,
Forever thou art Mine own.

tc (

O soul, I will show thee the wonder,
The worth of My priceless Blood y
Thou art whiter than snow on the mountains^
Thou art fair in the eyes of God.
" ' 0 vessel of living water,
From the depths ofthe love divine,
The glorious life within thee
Flows from My heart to thine.
" ' O soul altogether lovely,
O pearl for which Christ was given,
Wouldst thou know the joy and the glory
That welcome thee into Heaven ?
" ' Wouldst thou know how near to the Father
The place that is granted thee ?
Behold Me, O soul, in His bosom,
And measure His love to Me.
" * Are the love, and the joy, and the glory
More than My Blood could win ?
In the Name ofthe Son Beloved,
Beloved one, enter in.' "
—V. M. C.
" Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso and others."

Concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. — Acts 24 : 24.
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. —
2 Cor. 3 : ip.
A man hi Christ. — 2 Cor. 12 : 2.
Approved in Christ. — Rom. 16 : IO.
Blessed . . . with every spiritual blessing in the heaven-
lies in Christ. — Eph. 1 : 3.
God Who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ. — 2 Cor.
2 : 14.
The dead in Christ shall rise first. — 1 Thess. 4 : 16.

4'7

RESULTANT
THE ANSWER OF CHRIST— MAN REDEEMED
As at the first, in order to a correct understanding of the
meaning of Christ's mission, it was necessary to consider
the nature and extent of the calamity which constituted the
call for Christ, so now at the close of the study it will be
profitable to contemplate how perfectly He has responded,
in the plenteous redemption He has provided.
The statement of the case concerning that provision may
be made in three propositions, which correspond to the
threefold statement concerning man's need,
First, Man restored to God by Christ.
Second, Man knowing God through Christ.
Third, Man made like God in Christ.
The actual experience of the threefold redemption in
human life always results from the direct work of the
Holy Spirit, Whom the Father had promised, and Who
was given through the Son on the day of Pentecost dispen-
sationally, and to each individual for indwelling life, when
in response to His work of conviction from without, Jesus
is glorified. As this book is to be devoted rather to an
examination of the resulting facts than to the initial act, it
is fitting that that act should first be dealt with briefly, as
to its condition and its actuality.
The first work of the Spirit with fallen man is that of
producing conviction concerning sin, righteousness, and
judgment. All these subjects are dealt with, however,
from the centre of Christ and His work. Sin is shown to
419

420 Resultant
consist in the rejection of the Saviour ; righteousness is de
clared to be possible through the fact of His ascension ;
and judgment is pronounced against all rebellion, " because
the prince of this world hath been judged." s The initial
work of grace therefore is that of bringing the sinner to a
consciousness of the truth concerning these vital matters.
At this point human responsibility commences. If man
refuses to yield to the truth understood, he remains outside
the sphere of salvation. If on the other hand, he responds
to conviction by submission to Christ, and trust in Him,
then the spirit performs the stupendous miracle of regenera
tion. By communicating to the man " dead through tres
passes and sins," 2 the life of Christ, He quickens his
spirit. This act of God restores man to his own true
balance and proportion, lifting to the throne of his person
ality the spirit so long neglected, and dethroning the flesh
so long having occupied the place of power. More than
this, the Spirit of God enters now into a perpetual partner
ship with the spirit of man, and thus initiates the life of
power and of victory.
This of course is simply a condensed statement concern
ing most important truths dealt with more fully in another
volume. 3 Upon the basis of this statement it is now pos
sible to pass to an examination of the redemption provided,
under the propositions stated.
• John 16 : 8-1 1 » Eph. 2:1. » « The Spirit of God."

XXXI
MAN RESTORED TO GOD BY CHRIST
In previous studies two subjects have been dealt with,
which must now be recalled and carefully remembered.
First that man by his sin, distanced himself from God,
passed out of the region of communion, and was " alienated
from the life of God." : Second, in the raising of Jesus
of Nazareth from among the dead, God accepted Him as
the One Who perfectly realized His original design in the
creation of man, and by that raising finally rejected man in
his failure and in his sin. He nevertheless, in that same
reception by resurrection, received in Christ all those for
whom He stood in the sacred and awful mystery of His
death on the Cross. It becomes evident therefore that
when, by the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, man is
joined to Christ, he is restored to God. This restoration
is marvellous in its completeness and overwhelming as a
manifestation of the wisdom of God. Some understanding
of it may be gained by an examination under three aspects,
as judicial, vital, and governmental.
I. Man's judicial restoration to God is indicated by the
great word justification. The term is forensic. Behind
it lies the fact of law, and also the profounder fact of
justice. The greatest problem in man's redemption was
that of how it was possible for God to be just, and yet to
justify the sinner. The answer is to be found in the res-
'Eph. 4: 18.
421

422 The Crises of the Christ
toration of man in Christ Jesus. In the mystery of the
Master's passion, He endured what was not His due.
Considering this for a moment without reference to the
need of the sinner, it is at once seen how that in the realm
of law, and in the presence of the eternal principle of
justice, these sufferings created a value which was not re
quired by the One Who suffered, and apart from the fact
of man's sin, is an overplus in the working of the Infinite
Order. This value has been created for those who have
violated law, and is placed at the disposal of all such.
Those receiving the benefit by submission to, and trust in,
the Saviour, are thus so far as the guilt of sin is concerned,
justified before God and made nigh to Him.
Yet again, by thus cancelling sin, the perfection of the
life of Jesus is made to count for others also, and God im
putes it to those for whom the value of His death has can
celled the guilt of sin. This union with Christ is wrought
by the Holy Spirit in the communication of life. This is
done when man, under the conviction of the Spirit, believes
in Christ, so that God may be "just, and the Justifier of
him that hath faith in Jesus." x Man exercising faith in
Christ, has imputed to him by the grace of God the value
created by Christ's death, for pardon ; and all the perfection
of Christ's life for righteousness. Therefore the sinner
standing in Jesus, is a sinner no longer, but a saint,
separated in Christ to God, and so restored. He has no
guilt ; that is cancelled. He has righteousness ; that is be
stowed. Such an one is restored to God, because the
reasons of his exclusion are all removed. The sword
guarding the way to the tree of life becomes the light of
truth, illuminating all the pathway. The veil, enclosing
the Holy of Holies, and excluding man, being rent, becomes
1 Rom. 3 : 26.

Man Restored to God by Christ 423
the glorious portal to the inner places of fullest com
munion. Henceforward neither hell, nor earth, nor
heaven can condemn the trusting soul, for in Christ Jesus
every claim has been fully met, and every provision per
fectly made.
II. The fact of vital restoration has necessarily been
already stated incidentally, but it now remains to be more
fully considered. In order to a right appreciation of this,
there must be a clear understanding of the nature of the
life communicated by the Holy Spirit. In speaking of re
generation it is not sufficient to say that there is an imparta
tion of new human vitality. Neither is it absolutely
correct to speak only of the communication of a new
measure of Divine life. It is neither, merely because it is
both. Herein .is the great mystery and wonder of Chris
tianity. The Spirit imparts in regeneration the Christ life,
and that is at once human and Divine. Thus, all essential
human life is surcharged with new life of its own most
perfect order, but it is also energized with the force of life
Divine, in inseparable union therewith. Thus in Christ,
man is restored to the possibilities of his own nature, but
also he is introduced to a new vital union with God more
marvellous as to its potentiality and possibility than that of
original man. " Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more :
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their fathers lost." '
All man's inability is overcome in God's ability. The
sinner is lifted from the impotence of his fallen nature, into
1 Watts.

424 The Crises of the Christ
the potency of the perfect Man Jesus in cooperation with
the might of the Eternal God. What wonder that Paul
exclaimed, " I can do all things in Him that strengthen
eth me." x
The great theme of the Colossian epistle is that of the
perfection of the Church in the perfection of the Christ.
All its sublime doctrine gathers around two main state
ments, first, " It was the good pleasure of the Father that
in Him should all the fullness dwell ; " 2 and second, " In
Him ye are made full." 3 The fullness dwelling in Christ
is fullness of Deity, which is fullness of life, fullness of
light, fullness of love. It is in Him and in His fullness
that man is made full. Can anything be added to such
statements as these ? Some idea of their value, and yet of
the difficulty of expressing that value, and even of appre
ciating it, may be gathered from examining. one paragraph
in that letter.4 Here the word " mystery " occurs thrice.
First the apostle refers to the Church as the mystery
" which hath been hid for ages and generations : but now
hath it been manifested to His saints." He then declares
the mystery lying behind the mystery of the Church to be
that of " Christ in you, the hope of glory." And yet
further on he speaks of " the mystery of God, even Christ."
Evidently here the apostle is moving backward through
great mysteries df effect to the primal mystery of cause.
Let this threefold mystery be stated thus:
1. Christ.
2. Christ in the saints.
3. Christ in the Church.
The central mystery is that of Christ Himself, the mystery
of His Person, in its unity of the human and the Divine,
and the mystery of His passion in the preparation of the
1 Phil. 4:13. « Col. 1:19. 3 Col. 2:10. < Col. 1 : 24-2 : 5.

Man Restored to God by Christ 425
life, and the propitiation of the death ; a veritable mystery,
most evidently revealed, and most absolutely defying analy
sis or explanation.
Then follows the mystery of personal realization,
" Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ the human
and the Divine, in one indissoluble unity in the believer,
administering the virtue of His life through the value of
His death.
Then finally the Christ in all believers, finding at last
His own completion, His body, that through which in con
junction with Himself all the infinite fullness of the Infi
nite God, is to find through unending ages, a medium of
manifestation, is to be in fact the new form of God through
which His wisdom and His love may be known by other
creations through the never ending ages.
This stupendous vision of the issue of the Christ and
His work in its individual application with regard to trust
ing* souls, reveals how in Christ, man is restored to God by
actual sharing of the life Divine. God in Christ in a new
sense, shares human life. Man in Christ in a new sense,
shares Divine life. This is the final realization of the
Atonement, and consists in man's restoration to God on a
basis infinitely beyond that from which he fell by his sin.
III. The sequence of this vital restoration in the life of
man is that of a governmental restoration. As at the first,
man ruined himself by rebellion, so now his redemption
being accomplished by the operation of God in Christ,
within the realm of law and of justice he must abide in the
will of God. This is not an arbitrary and capricious
requirement. It is rather, as the whole history of man in
his ruin demonstrates, a necessity upon the fulfillment of
which love must insist, or cease to be love. Outside the

426 The Crises of the Christ
realm of the Divine will, man is in the place of ruin and of
death. Within that will, he is in the sphere of permanence
and of perfection.
Now however it is possible to refer to abiding in the will
of God in new terms, which are the terms of a plenteous
redemption. To abide in that will is to abide in Christ.
The restoration of man to God in Christ being, as has
been shown, vital as well as judicial, it is therefore govern
mental also, in a way which reveals the infinite love and
wisdom of God, as perhaps it is nowhere else revealed, be
cause it appeals to man at the point of his supreme con
sciousness of weakness. The God-man is the meeting
place between God and man. Rejecting man, God en
throned Jesus. Rejecting himself, man enthrones Jesus.
Thus the Divine and the human will move into union of
decision and purpose. God and man meet in Christ.
Upon this basis, the Spirit communicates the life which
creates vital relationship, and that life henceforth becomes
the directing, controlling, suggesting principle in the life
of the saint. Moving along the line of the perfect
will of God, as it ever has and ever must, it regu
lates all the life of the saint, within the government of
God, " casting down reasonings, and every high thing that
is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing
every thought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ."1 It is because of this that the Christian is no
longer under the law, which consists in commandments
outside the personality. He in Christ, answers the law of
the Spirit of life, which is at once a perpetual illumination,
and a constant power. God in Christ by the Spirit works
in " to will and to work, for His good pleasure."2
It was in view of this great truth the apostle declared
1 2 Cor. 10 : 5 (margin). s Phil. 2 : 13.

Man Restored to God by Christ 427
" for if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled,
shall we be kept safe in His life."1 Thus plenteously in
deed, even in superabounding fullness, does Christ answer
the call of man distanced by sin, in restoring him to God.
In Christ, man is restored judicially, and there is no con
demnation ; vitally, and there is no separation ; govern-
mentally, and there is no alienation.
1 Rom. 5 : 10. Bishop Handley Moule's translation.

XXXII
MAN KNOWING GOD THROUGH CHRIST
The restoration of man to God necessarily issues in the
restoration to man of the knowledge of God. The orig
inal purpose of man's creation was that he should be a be
ing capable of the consciousness of, and in communion, and
cooperation with, God Himself. To all this he is restored
in Christ. As the vital union between God and man is
created and maintained by the Spirit, so also is the work of
revealing God to man that of the Spirit. He " the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God;" and
these " Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not,
And which entered not into the heart of man,
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love Him ; "
that is, the things of the love of God in Christ, which man
in clouded intelligence was ignorant of, " unto us God re
vealed them through the Spirit." 2 Thus while in Christ
God has provided Himself with a Medium of Self-revela
tion, Christ is revealed to man by the Spirit. This scheme
of revelation must be understood, if there is to be a true
appreciation of the revelation itself. The whole perfect
system is revealed in the last discourses of Jesus with His
disciples, prior to His Passion. When Philip, speaking in
larger degree as the mouthpiece of fallen humanity than he
knew, said to Jesus " Show us the Father, and it sufficeth
us," 2 there was neither doubt nor uncertainty in the Lord's
1 1 Cor. 2 : 9, io. » John 14 : 8.
428

Man Knowing God Through Christ 429
reply. He distinctly declared, "He that hath seen Me,
hath seen the Father." x
This declaration is in perfect harmony with the inspired
statement of John that " no man hath seen God at any
time ; the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the
Father, He hath declared Him." 2 There is no way by
which man can know God save through Christ. All at
tempts on the part of man, to formulate a conception of
God, or declare a doctrine concerning Him, are futile, save
as conception and doctrine are based upon, and perpetually
true to, the Revelation He has made of Himself in Christ.
Recognizing man's inability to know God apart from
Himself, the Lord also recognizes that men were unable to
understand the revelation of God in Himself, save as it
should be explained by that Spirit Who " searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God." 3 He therefore im
mediately followed Philip's question with the promise of the
Spirit, and such teaching concerning Him, as should fit the
disciples for His coming and work. From the body of that
final teaching, three main statements will be sufficient, as
giving the teaching of Christ under this head.
I. " The Holy Spirit — He shall teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all that I said unto you." 4
2. " The Spirit of truth — He shall bear witness of Me." '
3. " The Spirit of truth — He shall glorify Me : for He shall
take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you." 6
These words clearly demonstrate two things. First, that
the work of the Spirit is essentially that of revealing Christ
to those in whom He has taken up His abode ; and sec
ondly, that man can only know Christ through the Spirit's
illumination, as man can only know God through Christ's

1 John 14 : 9.

'John I: 18.

3 1 Cor. 2 : 10.

* John 14: 26.

'John 15 : 26.

6 John 16: 13, 14.

430 The Crises of the Christ
revelation. Any Christology which is not the direct issue
of the Spirit's teaching, is false ; for the mystery of His
Person, and the meaning of His work, are alike inscrutable
to the mind of man in its darkened condition, and can only
be apprehended as the light of God falls upon them.
Through Christ, the Spirit of truth indwells the believer,
and through the Spirit of truth therefore Christ becomes
the indwelling One ; and as He by the Spirit is made
known to man, man is restored to the knowledge of God,
which he had lost through sin.
Man's knowledge of God through Christ by the Spirit
may be contemplated therefore by considering ; first, the
unveiling of Christ by the Spirit ; second, the apprehension
of Christ through the Spirit ; third, the consequent knowl
edge of God.
I. The Spirit's revelation of the Christ has been indi
vidual and historic. He commenced His work with indi
viduals, and then for the sake of the generations to come,
proceeded, in cooperation with such individuals, to prepare
for the future. By personal revelation of Christ to indi
viduals, He prepared men for the creation of a written
record concerning Christ. He then through men thus pre
pared became the Author of the new record. That record
being completed, He has given an exposition of it through
the centuries, in constant cooperation with men. The
Spirit commenced His work when upon the day of Pente
cost He baptized the company of waiting souls into new
union with God in Christ. In tracing His work therefore,
it is necessary to begin with the Acts of the Apostles, while
of course in a study of His revelation, the structure of the
New Testament is the true order. In the Acts of the
Apostles, the Spirit is seen communicating life to individual

Man Knowing God Through Christ 431
men, and then directing them definitely and immediately in
all the affairs of their life. One of the special notes of
the narrative of the early Church is that of how men were
specifically led by the Spirit, and yet, it is always to be ob
served that their action under His guidance, is that of loy
alty to Christ. The Spirit hinders, or impulses, but they
are restrained when He hinders, or go forward when He
impulses, as loyal to Christ. Thus it is evident that while
these men were conscious of the immediate interference of
the Spirit, they recognized that that interference was an in
terpretation to them of the will of their crowned Lord.
Eventually, for the consolidation of the Church in its
relation to Christ, and for the continuity of its conscious
ness of Christ, it was necessary that such record of Him
as a Person in history, as should form a perpetual basis for
the Spirit's interpretation, should be written. Out of this
necessity came what are known now as the New Testament
Scriptures. In these writings the Spirit's one subject is
Christ. In the Gospels there are recorded such facts con
cerning His Person and teaching, as are necessary. In
them He is seen very largely in splendid loneliness, sepa
rated from, while yet in the midst of men ; glorious in true
Kingliness, as Matthew's story shows; patient in unceas
ing service, as Mark's record reveals ; supreme in the real
ization of the Divine ideal of humanity, as Luke's evangel
demonstrates ; and mysterious in the essential majesty of
Deity, as John's writings declare.
Then follows that treatise in which Christ is manifest in
new union with men, continuing the work commenced in
loneliness, in cooperation with such as are united to Him
by the Holy Spirit. This record has to do almost exclu
sively with Christ as He calls outsiders to Himself for the
remission of sins, for the renewal of life, for the restoration

432 The Crises of the Christ
of the lost order. Passing from this the Spirit in the great
didactic writings reveals Christ as realized in the believer,
and as expressing Himself through the Church. While in
the Acts He is almost exclusively seen calling the outsider,
in the epistles He is seen again almost exclusively in His
relation to those who have come in obedience to His call.
Then in the Apocalypse, to a man who is " in the Spirit,"1
there is granted Christ's own vision of His coming victory,
and the consummation of all the purposes of God concern
ing men, realized in Christ.
At this point the writings being complete, the Spirit did
not cease His work, but rather commenced it, in all its
fullness and beauty. Through the centuries of the Chris
tian era, there may be traced an ever-broadening and deep
ening apprehension of Christ, due invariably to the Spirit's
revelation to the Church of Christ, a revelation constantly
proceeding in harmony with the inspired Writings, so that
nothing has been revealed in addition to the facts recorded
therein, while yet in an ever-enlarging understanding of
their meaning, there has come this ever-increasing appre
ciation of the Christ.
It may safely be affirmed that the Person and work of
Jesus are more perfectly understood than they have ever
been, and that He, by the Spirit, is demanding and receiv
ing a larger and profounder loyalty, than has ever been the
case before. This statement is made with a very keen rec
ognition ofthe fact that the conflict which has been going
forward in the outworks of the Christian revelation, is
gathering around the central citadel of the Person of Christ.
In view and in presence of that conflict, there is no fear in
the heart of such as are conscious of the continued pres
ence and work of the Spirit. The issue must be a new
1 Rev. I : io.

Man Knowing God Through Christ 433
vindication of the Personality of the God-man, and a new
appreciation of that concerning Him which will ever be
beyond the possibility of formulated statement on the part
of man.
Thus it is seen that the Holy Spirit of truth, through
processes of infinite patience, whether it be to the indi
vidual, or in the history of the race, continues His sacred
work of revealing Christ, interpreting His Word, and ad
ministering His work.
II. Leaving the subject now in its historic setting, it
will be well to consider somewhat more carefully the ap
prehension of Christ through the Spirit by the individual.
The first work of the Spirit of God towards this end, is that
of the preparation of the spirit of man. That spirit orig
inally created as a medium for the knowledge of God, was
polluted, and disorganized by sin, and therefore became
useless for the fulfillment of its original intention. By the
impartation of Christ to the spirit of man, the Holy Spirit of
God cleanses from pollution. By uniting the spirit of man
with Christ He readjusts the instrument, and by lifting man
into the place where he looks out upon all things in fellow
ship with Christ, He focusses the lens, that so the pictures
may no longer be distorted, blurred, and inaccurate, but defi
nite, clear, and precise. This preliminary work of the
Spirit is most immediate and most gracious. And yet its
value is only known in the results which follow.
Man's experience of this work is not in a new self-con
sciousness, even though it be that of purity and illumina
tion. It is rather an experience of the issue, that namely
of a new apprehension of Christ, and consequently a new
knowledge of God.
Then follows necessarily the work of the Spirit in pre-

434 The Crises of the Christ
senting the Object to this restored instrument. That
Object is Christ. The method ofthe Spirit here is always
governed by the individual necessity of the believer, and by
capacity. It may be safely affirmed that the Spirit of God
has no stereotyped system of theology to teach men. The
great facts concerning Christ are never taught by the Spirit
to companies of men, but to individual lives, and the
lesson now being learned by any single person, is the one
necessary for the growth of that particular individual. To
some to-day He will reveal the Master's sympathy, to
others His severity; and so, according to the necessity of
each, will He minister the revelation ofthe living Lord.
It is equally true that He does not measure His teaching
by the standards of time, but by the capacity of the dis
ciple, revealing only that which each is able to bear. His
method is moreover perpetually characterized by the fact
that every individual revelation of Christ to the spirit of the
disciple has within it some new claim, demanding immedi
ate obedience, and the measure of the obedience is the
measure of an increased capacity for yet new revelations.
Thus man, indwelt .by the Spirit, is the subject of a
perpetually growing consciousness of the sublimities of
Christ, through a perpetually growing understanding of His
simplicities. Thus it is that while the youngest believer
may seem to be in possession of all the facts concerning
Christ ; as the years pass, through the varied disciplines of
life, and the operation of an abiding communion, it is seen
that the things known were hardly known, that the facts
recognized were imperfectly realized ; and gradually and
yet surely with the passing of the years, through every
window, new light is streaming, and new meanings are
dawning on the soul. In the earliest years of discipleship
there must be recognition of the simplicity of Christ, as the

Man Knowing God Through Christ 435
story of His life is read ; of His perpetual serenity as He
passed through scenes that might have been expected to
disturb the stoutest heart ; of the sweetness of His disposi
tion, in spite of all the occasions which so often end in the
embittering of the human heart ; of the severity of His
Spirit against all forms of wrong and of tyranny ; and of
His ever active sympathy with all sorts and conditions of
men. All these things, however, are only learned as to
their fullness of value, and of meaning, as the Spirit reveals
them according to the demand of occasion, and the capacity
of the learner. Through this great process it is discovered
that the simplicity of Christ is due to His sublimity of the
consciousness of the straightness of the line of truth ; and
His serenity is due to the abiding sense of the permanence
of righteousness ; and His sweetness manifest because of
His understanding of the ultimate victory of love ; while
His severity is the necessary out-flaming anger of that love
against all that for the time may seem to violate it ; and
His sympathy is the natural, spontaneous relation of essen
tial love to all the consciousness of those upon whom such
love is set.
Thus the issue of the indwelling Spirit is not merely the
unveiling before the spirit of man of the fact of Christ ;
but also the preparation of the spirit of man, which issues
in a true and ever growing apprehension of the unveiled
One. III. Thus God is known to man, and that after the
method of the original Divine intention through a Man
Who is His express Image. Redeemed man acts upon the
same principle as fallen man in his search after God, with
a distinction and a difference both in method and in result.
Man's darkened understanding still conscious of his need

436 The Crises of the Christ
of a god, projected into immensity himself, with the result
that his conception of God was that of a monster, because
not only were the essentials of his nature, intelligence,
emotion, and will, magnified in the process, but their degra
dation. Restored to God, man still projects Man into in
finity, but not himself. It is now by the magnifying of
the Man Christ Jesus, Who by the Spirit indwells the be
liever, that God is found. The intelligence of Jesus, char
acterized by clearness, freedom from questioning, and
unanswerable statement of truth, surprises and startles the
soul anew in every fresh understanding of it through the
Spirit's interpretation. And as these lines are projected
from the wisdom of Christ into infinity, the mind catches
some conception of what the wisdom of the infinite God
js in its perfectly clear understanding of all things, so that
"in Him is no darkness at all." l His freedom from per
plexity carried out into the immeasurable, aids man in his
apprehension of that great reason for the quiet calm of
Deity, in the midst of the things which, coming of their
imperfect understanding, so trouble and vex the heart of
the finite. Every century of consideration of the Word
of Jesus proving as it has, that His teaching was not a de
duction from appearances, but the uttering forth of eternal
principles in the speech of man, has given to men a new
conception of the authority of God, as based upon the
necessity of the things that are.
Perhaps the supreme consciousness of God, however, has
come by the projection into immensity of what may still
be spoken of as the emotional fact in the Person of Jesus.
In Him love proceeded out of the necessity of its own
might, and expressed itself in self-forgetfulness to the point
of absolute sacrifice, and that without regard to any worth
' I John 1 : 5.

Man Knowing God Through Christ 437
in the object upon which it was set. In Him moreover,
love was patient, optimistic, powerful. No lack of re
sponse was sufficient to quench its ardour, no degradation
sufficient to extinguish its hopefulness, no opposition equal
to overcome its might. It was this revelation of His love
that made it possible for there ever to have been written
the statement, so simple and sublime, so sweet in its con
straint, so manifold in its beauty, that heaven's music will
be needed to express its harmonies, while earth's discords
are by it being changed towards the heavenly symphony,
" God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish,
but have eternal life." : It was surely with his eye resting
upon the Man of Nazareth, and his heart speaking of his
consciousness of the marvel of the. love of the Perfect
One, that Paul wrote his classic passage descriptive of
love.2 And yet again, the action of the will of Jesus as respon
sive ever to the supreme will of His Father, and moving
always under the impulse of love, has revealed forever
more the truth* of unutterable value, that the will of God
operates not arbitrarily, but under constraint, the constraint
of the essential fact of His own nature, that of an infinite
and immeasurable love.
Thus Jesus the perfect Man, standing before the soul in
all His perfection, is the gateway through which the mind
passes out to a conception of God which arrests, subdues,
and commands the loyalty of the life. It is in His pres
ence that man exclaims " Lo, this is our God ; we have
waited for Him, and He will save us : this is Jehovah ; we
have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His
salvation." 3
' John 3 : 16. s 1 Cor. 13. " Isa. 25 : 9.

438 The Crises of the Christ
To say this is to declare also the difference in result.
Man of old, projecting himself until he found an enormity,
learned only to hate and to fear his conception of God.
To-day, man, projecting the perfect One finds infinite
satisfaction in the revealed Father, and his heart goes out
in adoring love, and his life is spent in glad service. Thus
in Christ, man is restored to the knowledge of God by the
enlightening of his intelligence, and the presentation
thereto of all the gracious facts, in such way, and in such
measure as he is able to bear, and capable of receiving.

XXXIII
MAN LIKE GOD IN CHRIST
The final fact in redemption is that of the restpration
of man to the image and likeness of God. Underlying
every creation of God is a most definite purpose. This it
may not always be easy to trace, but the general principle
is most certainly revealed in the vast majority of cases, and
therefore it is reasonable to believe it to be universal, and
the fact that it is beyond the power of human intelligence
always to discover the reason, is to be accounted for by the
limitation of that intelligence, rather than by the absence
of the purpose. The purpose of angelic life is certainly
that of service. In the great Psalm of thanksgiving, angels
are referred to in such a way as to declare the very mean
ing of their existence : —
" Bless Jehovah, ye His angels,
That are mighty in strength, that fulfill His word,
Hearkening unto the voice of His word," '
and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews asks, " Are they
not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the
sake of them that shall inherit salvation ? " 2 while all the
sacred history reveals them as occupied ever in serving in
gladness the will of the King.
The purpose underlying the creation of man was far sub-
limer. He was made in the Divine image, in a sense that
angels never were, and in the very nature of that creation
there is revealed its purpose. Man was intended as a
1 Psa. 103 : 20. s Heb. I: 14.

440 The Crises of the Christ
medium for the Divine manifestation, one through whom,
because of his likeness to God, it would be possible for
God to express Himself to other creations more perfectly.
Redemption therefore is only complete when man is re
stored to the perfection of his own being, and thus to fit
ness for the fulfillment of the Divine purpose. This then
is the ultimate issue of the work of Christ in man. For
the accomplishment of this, vital restoration is the power,
and restoration to knowledge is the process. The life of
Christ imparted to man by the Holy Spirit is the constrain
ing, transforming power, and the new vision of God in
Christ is at once the pattern, towards the carrying out of
which the power works, and therefore the governing prin
ciple to which the will of the saint being submitted, the
Christ life is the product. The first fact in redemption,
that of restoration to God, was perfected in justification ;
the second, that of restoration to the knowledge of God, is
being perfected through sanctification ; the third, that of
restoration to the likeness of God, will be perfected in
glorification. Redemption is thus seen to be the restora
tion of man to fellowship with the Father. John, who
writes most minutely of the great subject under this aspect,
affirms that as to standing, that fellowship is accomplished.
" Now are we children of God," that as to finality it will
be accomplished, " we know that, if He shall be mani
fested, we shall be like Him ; " that as to process the work
goes ever forward, " every one that hath this hope set on
Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." x The founda
tion fact is created by the reception of the Christ life in
germ, the experimental advancement is being caused by
the mastery of the whole being by that ever-conquering
life ; the final fact will be consummated by the complete
1 1 John 3: 2, 3.

Man Like God in Christ 441
comformity of the whole life to the Christ. Therefore as
Christ is the express Image of the Father, in perfect like
ness to Him, man will fulfill the primal Divine purpose,
by becoming restored to the image and the likeness of God.
Thus it is evident at once that the present life is, by com
parison with the life to come, as utterly insignificant, as the
days of school are, when compared with the sternness and
importance of the days for which they are but preparatory.
And yet this view of the finality, in another sense, lends
new meaning and urgency to the life that now is; for
school-days very largely determine the place to be occupied
in the maturer opportunities of life.
In considering this last phase of the plenteous redemp
tion, difficulties confront the mind, which it is better at
once to recognize, as John did when he wrote, " It is not
yet made manifest what we shall be." 1 It will be per
fectly safe, however, to accept the certainty as declared by
John, "We know ... we shall be like Him," and
within that assurance, consider first, man becoming like
God in his realization of the character and conduct of
Christ; second, man becoming like God in his realization
of himself; third, man becoming like God, becomes a
revelation of God.
I. There is no necessity to deal with the close relation
existing between character and conduct, save to declare the
fact as necessary to an understanding of the line of the
present study. It must, however, be borne in mind that
they are necessarily and indissolubly connected. Conduct
is always an expression of character, and character there
fore is the cause of conduct. Character is the condition of
being, while conduct is the expression thereof in doing. In
1 I John 3 : 2.

442 The Crises of the Christ
both these, Christ was the Revelation of God, and in pro
portion as man is Christlike, he is therefore like God.
Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, referring to the com
ing of Messiah, declared that the purpose of His coming
was that man should serve God "in holiness and righteous
ness." J These words cover the whole fact of life as to its
general trend, holiness referring to character, and righteous
ness to conduct. It is at once seen that these words belong
primarily to God, the first declaring the supreme truth con
cerning His character, and the latter that concerning His
conduct. He is holy, and therefore acts righteously. Both
these facts are however the result of another and profounder
one, that namely, of the love which is of the very essence
of His Being. Holiness of character is the result of the
nature of love, and so also is righteousness of conduct.
In Christ these facts concerning God have been revealed,
and always in this setting and proportion. The holiness
of the character of Christ was the inevitable necessity of
His Love. His righteousness of conduct was the imme
diate outworking of His holiness of character, which re
sulted from Love. By the impartation of His life to man,
and its realization progressively, man is subdued by Love,
and obedience to this new nature issues in holiness of char
acter, and righteousness of conduct.
The finality of all this is that man's essential nature
being transformed into perfect conformity to that of God,
his holiness of character will be forever established, and he
will then be perfectly prepared for all that exercise of life,
which expresses itself in righteousness of conduct, which is
always that of cooperation with God. Here the point of
difficulty is reached, because it is impossible to know to-day
along what line the activities of God will be continued, in
' Luke I : 75.

Man Like God in Christ 443
the ages lying ahead. There are certain principles how
ever which may contribute at least to a lofty conception of
what the activity of redeemed man will be. The question
of character need not therefore be discussed because con
duct is its outward expression. It may therefore be
affirmed that as the activity of God is constructive, and
never destructive, man in union with Him will cooperate in
the expression of the Infinite Energy, along the pathway of
perpetually perennial manifestations of that essential Love,
which is fullness of joy, and pleasure forevermore.
For to-day man's likeness to God, in likeness to Christ,
is manifest in his approximation to the character of holiness,
and his cooperation in the work of redemption. Said
Jesus, " My Father worketh even until now, and I work." J
The work of God and the work of Christ are identical,
and the proportion in which man is already like God, is
manifest by his cooperation with Him in the sublime and
serious enterprises of seeking and saving the lost. Man is
only equal to this cooperation upon the basis of likeness to
God in character, and he is only holy in proportion as he
is indwelt and impulsed by love.
II. This consideration demonstrates without need of
argument that man being restored to the likeness of God
in Christ, is therefore restored to the essential possibility
and purpose of his own being. Referring once again to
that analysis of human personality, which was considered
in the earlier chapters of this book, intelligence, emotion,
and will, it will be seen how in becoming like God, man
becomes himself in all the spaciousness of that primal in
tention. The intelligence having passed from underneath
the eclipse which was the result of sin, is able to set all
1 John 5 : 17.

/|/]/| The Crises of the Christ
things in their true perspective, and to value them in their
right proportion. Not in measure or degree, but in method
and direction, the human intelligence now apprehends with
the Infinite Intelligence. In this realm, as in every other,
all things have become new. The new understanding of
God has issued in a new appreciation of man and of all
that creation which is apparent to the mind, but which is
now known to be a window through which the Infinite is
seen ; and which, consequently is of less value than that
which it reveals. The feverish restlessness resulting from
limitation ceases, as the mind recognizes that beyond all
natural phenomena there exists the one Eternal Verity, of
which all phenomena are but the transitory expressions.
The emotional nature having been freed from its degra
dation, now operates in conformity with the Divine Love.
Affections are set upon the things above, the upper things,
the dominant, the eternal. Every movement of love is
henceforth conditioned by the relation of the object to
God, and all its operation seeks the highest good of the
loved one.
The will is restored to its relation to the true governing
principle. It does not cease to be, and therefore its activity
is not discontinued. Now however instead of choosing
and deciding upon the false basis of rebellion against gov
ernment, it perpetually elects to act under the compulsion
of that Eternal One, Whose essence is Love. Thus by
redemption man becomes a being, whose will decides in
answer to the impulse of pure affection, in the light of un
clouded intelligence. The centre and throne of personality
being thus restored to the true Divine order, all the powers
and capacities conditioned can be directed and employed at
their highest and their fullest. The sense of beauty, ex
pressing itself in music, or in art, becomes dominated by

Man Like God in Christ 445
that unswerving holiness, which is the character of love.
Wherever this is so, all discords cease, and harmonies are
perfected ; all that is grotesque and untrue is corrected by
the lines of undeviating loveliness, and the colours of un-
dimmed beauty. The capacity for investigation is now
enlarged, and science emerging from the mists of mere
hypotheses, affirms with actual accuracy of statement, for
which she has so long sought, and yet been unable to dis
cover. At this point again the understanding of all that
lies in the future for man is necessarily limited, but it may
surely be affirmed that " whatsoever things are true, what
soever things are honourable, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report," x in human nature
as we know it, will not be lost in the hereafter, but rather
found and fulfilled in all power and perfection.
The present application of this consideration is that even
to-day the measure of man's appropriation of the redemp
tion in Christ Jesus, is the measure in which, what he is in
the essential of his Divinely created being, is realized and
ennobled, and through such realization and ennoblement
man is seen to be Godlike. The expression of this like
ness here, as in the former case, will be found in the conse
cration of man's own redeemed personality to such co
operation with God as shall move towards the future
perfect unfolding of the Divine in the human.
III. Thus the redemption that is in Christ Jesus will
finally make every individual a revelation of God, in the
measure that is possible to each individual capacity. Here,
however, again there breaks upon the consciousness that
larger vision of the Divine purpose which consists in a race
1 Phil. 4 : 8.

446 The Crises of the Christ
made up of individuals, each one contributing something to
the final perfection, through which race, all the glorious
fullness of the Deity is to have its perfect outshining.
This also is according to primal intention. The creation
of the first man was the creation of a race, and while he
was in the image of God, it was in the larger creation of
the whole family that the supreme manifestation of the
glory of God was to be made. This is the true doctrine
of the solidarity of humanity, and the inter-relationship of
individuals. Towards this, man is ever attempting to grope
his way, and ever signally failing. Perfect human society
has never been realized outside the economy of grace, be
cause perfect human individuality does not exist. In the
redemption of the individual, Christ prepares for, and makes
possible, the final realization of the race, through which
the Divine glory will be manifested. The sublimest argu
ments concerning this are to be found in the writings of
the apostle Paul, whose vision of the Church in its con
summation was ever that of a society dominated by the
One Life, walking in the One Light, obeying the One
Love. The ultimate victory of redemption therefore will
consist in the realization of the first Divine purpose in a
race which, being composed of individuals, each of whom
perfectly answers the Divine ideal, will in its entirety re
veal God, and thus be His supreme medium of manifesta
tion throughout the coming ages. Christ will only be
completed in that whole race which united to Him, is to
form His body.
Twice at least the apostle Paul uses the word Christ
with reference to that whole race, including the Head and
all the members. In writing to the Corinthians he said
" for as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of the body, being many, are one body ; so also is

Man Like God in Christ 447
Christ." r Here evidently the reference is to Christ and
the Church, the complete fulfillment of the Divine thought
and purpose.
And again, in writing to the Ephesians, he speaks of
the building up of the body of Christ, " till we all attain
unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ." 2 " Christ in this
passage (so full of the idea of the oneness in, and with the
Lord of His mystical body) is, in effect, Christ and His
Church. The Lord the Son becomes in accomplished fact
all that He wills, and is willed, to be, only when He is the
Head, of a perfected mystical Body, which lives by His
sacred life, and is His incorporate 'limbs,' His immortal
vehicle of action, if we may so speak. So He and they
are guardedly and reverently spoken of here and there as
One Christ with full reservation, from other Scriptures, of
the truth of the undying personality of each individual
'limb' of the glorious Head, and of His Divine Person
ality." 3 The specific purpose of this unity is declared by
the apostle in the glorious doxology with which the first
part of his Ephesian letter closes. " Unto Him be the
glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations
forever and ever. Amen." 4
It is not, however, sufficient to declare that redemption's
final victory is that of the realization of this primal Divine
intention. While that is true, it must not be lost sight of
that the peculiar and marvellous plan of the victory lies in the
future, that this result is produced by Christ through victory
gained over the original failure. The glory of the first ideal
was great, but the glory of the realization of that ideal, out of
' 1 Cor. 12: 12. 2 Eph. 4:13.
3 Bishop Handley Moule. 4 Eph. 3 : 21.

448 The Crises of the Christ
all the awful results of human sin, is infinitely greater.
Perhaps the note that now wakes the profoundest wonder
in the mind of unfallen intelligences concerning the issue
of redemption is that suggested when in speaking of the
glories of Christ in his Colossian epistle, the apostle refers
to Him as "the First-born from the dead."1 As to all
creation Christ is the First-born, but the added wonder with
regard to the new creation is that it has been created by the
emergence of the last Adam from the death which resulted
from the failure of the first Adam, and His having brought
out of that death, members of the new race. Thus redemp
tion's greatest victory lies, not merely in the fact that
through the new race the glory of God is to be manifest,
but that the profounder truth will be revealed that His
greatest glory lies in the mighty working of His wondrous
grace. The sublimest and profoundest song of all will be
that ascription of praise, which occurring in the first chapter
of the Apocalypse, prepares for, and includes within itself
all the subsequent numbers of that majestic oratorio, the
subject of which is the movement to finality of the dispen
sations of God. " Unto Him that loveth us, and loosed
us from our sins by His blood'; and He made us to be a
kingdom, to be priests unto His God and Father ; to Him
be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." 2
1 Col. 1 : 18. » Rev. 1:5,6.

Man Like God in Christ 449

" Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne ;
Hark ! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him Who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy chosen King
Through all eternity.
" Crown Him, the Lord of Love I
Behold His Hands and Side
Rich Wounds, yet visible above
In beauty glorified :
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye
At mysteries so bright.
" Crown Him, the Lord of Peace :
Whose power a sceptre sways
From pole to pole — that wars may cease
Absorbed in prayer and praise :
His reign shall know no end,
And round His pierced Feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend
Their fragrance ever sweet.
" Crown Him, the Lord of Years,
The Potentate of time ;
Creator of all rolling spheres,
Ineffably sublime :
All hail ! Redeemer, hail !
For Thou hast died for me :
Thy praise shall never, never fail
Throughout eternity." — M. Bridges.

INDEXES
Compiled by Winifred M. Howells

Scriptures Referred To

* Indicates passages more fully dealt with.
f Indicates that the subject is also dealt with on following (/) page.

Genesis : Page
i, i.  54
26,  393
26, 27  24
iii,  21/
5>*  57
9  401
24.*  34, 48
v, 1  24
ix, 6,  24
* xxii. 7  145

Numbers :
xxiv, 17,

99

Deuteronomy :
vi, 4,  88, 132
13,  201
16  201

vin, 3, .
xxix, 29,

I Samuel: ix, 6, .
9, •

201 69

137
137

I Kings :
xxi, 19  239

2 Kings :
xvii, 33,

236

Job

i, 9  l66
xi, 7  40
xxvi, 7,  54

Psalm :
ii,

6,7,

Psalm :
ii, 7, •
8,9, 12, .

Page
 121
 190
 121
viii, 4-8  125
xvi. 8-1 1,*  352
xxiv, 7, 8, 10  394
xxv, 14 (mar.), .... 130
xlviii, 2,  176
xci, 1,  180
ciii, 20,  439
cxv, 4-8,  48
cxxii, 4,  176
cxxv, 2  176
cxxxvii, 5  176

Proverbs :
xviii, 14,
Canticles :
ii, 17, .

399

222

Isaiah :
vii, 14,  96, 100
ix, 6*  16
xxv, 9,  437 256409

xxx, 21 
xxxii, 15 
xliv, 3-5  4°9
1,6, 
h", 2, 
3, 
4, 5 
7, 

399 l33
100
400 296

, Jeremiah :
320/ ix, I,  220
, 190 xxxi, 15,  100
45 1

452

Scriptures Referred To

Hosea : Page
ix, 7 (A. V. mar.), ... 137
xi, I,  100
xiii, 2,  43, 49
Joel: ii, 28-32,  410
Micah :
V, 2,  ICO
Habakkuk :
iii, 4  225
Matthew :
i, I,*  14
20  99
20-23  7°
21,  397
23,  100
ii, 1, 2,  97
1-12,  65
2,  99
6,  100
i3-»5>  '°8
15  100
17  100
19-23,  108
23,  100
i», 7,.  140
11, 12,  142
»3-'7,  105
14,  124
15,  288
17  I23, 167, 190
iv. h  155/
I-",  151
3  162, 167, 179
4,  17°, 200
5.  174
5>6>  175
6,  178/
7  181/ 201
8,  188
9  189
10,  192/, 201
10, 11,  162
II  207/
'7  3°7
v, 8  132

Matthew : Page
v,46,  56
vi, 24,  45
33,  2°2
viii, 31, 32,  208
33,  3°8
34.  3°9
ix, 6,  278
15,  279
x, 38  284
38, 39  279
xi, 28-30,  91
xii, 38,  378
40  280, 378
xiii, 44-46,* . . . . 280
xvi, 13-16,  252
14-19,  247
17,  220
21,  288
21-23,  247
22  217
23,  25^
xvii, I,  215
1,2,  215
»-9,  213
2, . ... 219, 225, 246
4,  217, 251
5, . . . 123, 221, 254, 256
7,  258
8  258
9,  260
17, 18,  263
24-27  264
xviii, 12,  282
xix, 14,  92
xx, 18, 19,  285
22,  285
28,*  58, 286
xxi, 37-44,  287
xxvi, 2,  287
12,  286
18  287
21,  287
53,  209
56  293
xxvii„32-56,  271/
37,  306
42  341
, 54 (mar.), . . . .331, 337
56,  330
xxviii, 1-8  347
6  375

Scriptures Referred To

453

Mark : Page
i, 9-">  105
>2  155/
12, 13,  151
13  I26, 157, l6°
ii, 10,  278
19, 20,  279
v, 37-4>. .  248
41  249
vi, 2,  128
3  "3
viii, 36,  204
ix, 2,  215, 248
2, 3  225
2-10,  213
6  250
x, 33. 34,  285
35-4°.  248
38,  285
45.  286
xii, 6-10,  287
xiv, 8,  286
33. 34,  249
34  25°
xv, 22-41  272
34,*  294/
39, 4°  33°/
xvi, 1-11,  347
12*  76
19,  387

Luke: i, 11.26, 28,
35, 75

9999
336 7i
442

ii, 6-17,  6Sf
7,  7i
10-12  99
18,  100
21, 22,  108
40 *  109
4I-51-*  II0
52,*  112, 292
iii, 1, 2  138
7, 8,  139/
9,  '4i
I3> H,  '4'
21, 22,  105
22  121
iv. I,* . . . . . . 155^ 206

Luke : Page
iv, I, 2  160
I-I3.  151/
2,  156/
5  188
13,  207
14,*  206
16-21,  115
v, 24,  278
34, 35  279
vii, 8  337
ix, 28,  215
28, 29  219
28-36,  213/
29  226
3°.  243
30.3L*  317
31,  240, 288
32,  242
33  250
38  262
x, 18  283
xi, 30,  280
xii; 50,  284
xiii, 32  284
xiv, 27  284
xv, 4, 5  284
xvii, 25,  285
xviii, 31-33,  285
xx, 13-18,  287
xxii, 39-44  289
xxiii, 27,  330
27-49  272/
xxiii, 34,  294
38  325
42,  327
43  294, 327
44, 45,  325/
46  294, 324
47,  33L 338
xxiv, 1-12  347/
21  342
5°, 51,  387

John :

ix,  72/
1-4  37
n  95
14,*  66, 72/, 255
15  '43
18  391.429
26,  143

454 Scriptures Referred To
»
John: Page John: Pagb
i, 26-28,  143 xv, 1  119
27  143 26  407, 429
29,*  143/, 298 xvi, 8-1 1,  420
29-34,  143 9,  403
34  »47 11,  4i2
35> 36  143 13, 14  429
36,  J48 xix, 17-37,  273/
47  277 25,  330
51  277 26, 27,  294
ii, 4  277 28,  294/
18  378 30, . 294, 302, 314, 324,376
19.  278, 378 xx, 1-18,  348/
25,  131 29,  265
hi, 13  229
14, 15,  278 Acts:
16  437 i, 1  "5
18  81 4,  407
29,3°  '48 9-ii.  387
iv, 34,  278 ii, 22, 23,  304
v, 17  443 22-24,  352
21  279 25,  356
25  81 24-28,  351
vi, 35  "9 25-28,  353
51-56,  281 26  357
vii, 6-8,  282 28  357
15  129 33  405
16, 17,  130 vi, 15  227
33, 34  282 viii, 32,  146
viii, 12  119 x, 38*  115
28,  282 43  239
29,  133 xvii, 22-28,  51
58  H9 xxiv, 24  417
ix, 4,*  283 xxvi, 24,  129
35  -8i
x, 7,  119 Romans:
II,  119, 283 iii, 23,  232
17, 18  283, 361 26  422
36,  81 v, 10  94, 427
xi, 4  81 12,  22, 395
9,  285 20  316
25  H9 vii, 21  323
x", 7  286 viii, 34  371
28,  123, 289 37  185
31.  189 *, 9  372
34,  82 xii, 1  27, 134
xiv, 6,  119,239 xvi, 10,  417
8,  428
9,  429 I Corinthians :
16, 17,  407 ii, 2,*  371
26,  407, 429 9, 10,  428
30,  168 10,  290, 41 1, 429

Scriptures Referred To

I Corinthians: Page
xi, 7  24
xii, 3*  4°3
12  447
xiii,  437
xv, 14-17.  372
24  322
45.  '5^
2 Corinthians :
ii, 14.  417
iv, 4  24
v, 19,*  84, 417
21*  298
x, 5 (mar.),  426
xii, 2,  4'7

Ephesians :
», 3. • •
18-20, 19* ¦
ii, 1, . .
12,

 417
 362
 3&7
 420
 49
iii, 21  447
iv, 13,  447
18,  421
3°,  4°o

Philippians :
ii, 5> ¦ •
6.7, •
9, •
'3. •
iv, 8, .
13. •

Colossians :
i, 15, •¦ ¦
18, . .
19, • ¦
21, 22, .
24-ii, 5»
ii, 2, . . .
10, . .
iii, 10, . .

I Thessalonians :
iv, 14. • •
16, . .

93
396
426 445424

24
448424 85
424 67
424 24

384417

2 Timothy :
i, 7.* ¦

455 Page
• 393

Hebrews :
i, 1, 2  255
3.*  24/
14  439
ii, 6-9  125
ix, 14,  4°6
x, 7  228
xi, 13.  235
22  318
xii, 2  24k)
1 Peter: i, 12,  392
18, 19,  281
19,  J46
ii, 24,  279, 299, 302
2 Peter :
i, 15*  250, 318
16  227, 373
16-18,  256

I John :
i, 5- •
ii, 17,
iii, 2,
2,3.
iv,8, 19,

Jude:

6,*

Revelation: i. 5> 6> ¦
10, .
17, 18,
v, 1-10,
6, . .
xi, 15,*

436 196
441440401 38

355

448 432 394 387399 197

xxii, 21,*  14

Poetry

Page
" And as the load immense, intolerable," E. H. Bickersteth . . . 2.10
" Yesterday, To-day, and Forever."
" Bars and riven, Foes are driven," . . Anon  328
" Crown Him with many crowns," . . M. Bridges  449
" From death to life,"  B. M.  386
" Ezekiel and other Poems."
" Grace is flowing like a river," . . . Anon  315
" Hath it been ever granted those, who have
pass'd,"  E. H. Bickersteth . . . 245
" Yesterday, To-day and Forever."
" He found me the lost and the wander
ing," '  KM. C.  415
" Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso."
" He hell in hell laid low," . . . . ' . Anon  208
" He saw me ruined in the fall," . . . S. Medley  61
" I stand upon the mount of God," . . G. B. Bubier . . . .221
" I take O Cross, thy shadow," . . . . E. C. Clephane .... 344
" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," . . I. Watts •  315
" Light after darkness,"  F. R. Havergal . . . 221
" Under The Surface."
« My Lord at home,"  F. W. H. Myers . . .104
. . « St. John the Baptist."
" O Jesus, Lord, 'tis joy to know," . . Anon  302
" Our Lord is now rejected," .... Maj. Whittle .... 403
" Our wills are ours, we know not how," A. Tennyson  32
" In Memoriam."
" Rock of Ages, cleft for me," . . . . A. M. Toplady .... 396
" See the conquering hero comes," . . T. Morell  58
" The foe behind, the deep before," . . Dr. Neale  346
"The Transfiguration,"  G. Rawson  212
" Songs of Spiritual Thought."
456

Poetry 457

" There is a fountain filled with blood," W. Cowper  341
" There is no place where earth's sor
rows,"  F. W. Faier  244
" Where He displays His healing power," /. Watts  423
" With glory wrapped around," . . . Mrs. Alexander .... 236
"Yet I doubt not through the ages," . A. Tennyson  132
" Locksley Hall."

Writers Quoted or Referred to

Page
Bayne, Peter, . . " Testimony of Christ to Christianity," . . 12
Burton, Henrv, . " The Gospel of Luke," Expositors' Series. 150
Bushnell, Horace, " The New Life,"  20
Darwin,  40
Huxley,  40
Josephus  178
Kant,  27
Moule, Handley,  Cambridge Bible . . 68, 427, 447
Parker, Joseph  ;  30
Roberts, Richard,  98
Ruskin, John, . . « Modern Painters,"  64
" St. Mark's Rest,"  7
Spencer,  40, 41
Strauss,  373
Tyndaix,  40
Westcott,  _  129

458

Subject Index

Abel, Page Anchorage, Page
the basis of his acceptance, 392 The resurrection faith's, 373/
in heaven,  392 . ,.
•" Angelic,
Acceptance, ministry, The purpose of, . 4-59
The basis of Abel's, . . 392 ' v v ^
Acouaintance Angeis,
„r !„...._¦ „'* «... r1™.™ ti. ..... The fall of Satan and the,
of Jesus at the Cross, The, 343 „J ,„
Act, 5 355
'of crucifixion, The hu- Anguish, ..... ,
man, ..... 305/ The crv of sPlrltual. • 297/
of love, God's rejection of Annunciations,
man an,  368 of the birth of Jesus, The, 70/
The resurrection a Divine, 364 . .
ActioiJ' , ,, _ , , . their attitude towards death,
The fall the result of in- -phe ....... 247
dependent, .... 33 associated ' specially with
Activity, Jesus, The, .... 247
of redeemed man, The, . 443 The three,  218
Adam, Appearances,
The first,  156 after resurrection, The, . 382
The last  156
. , ... , Apprehension,
^TheLamb the active, . . 404 °f Christ' The b*SMa* ™
Affection, Approach,
Jesus perfect in, . . 131/ The sense of hunger, the
of man restored, The,. .444 avenue of,  165
Afters, . Approval,
God's,  221 of Jesus, God's continual, 363
Agent, Argument,
of temptation, The devil ofthe devil, The, 167, 178, 189
the,  157/ for resurrection, Paul's, . 378
Agony, Ascension,
The cry of physical, . . 295 The fact of the  389
Alienation, °[ Je.s"s' T'le  397
a Divine act  34 the link between resurrec-
of man the result of dis- tion and Pentecost, . . 389
obedience, The, ... 34 of *^e Man of Nazareth,
Man a ruin through, . . 35 lhe'  392
459

460 Subject
Aspect, Page
of Christ's coming, The
constructive, .... 142
of Christ's coming, The
destructive, .... 142
Assumed, Jesus' victory over sin, 356/
Atonement, Incarnation not, .... 74
A theory of the, . 297, 301
Atoning, sufferings, The  303
Attitude, of the apostles towards
death, The, .... 247
Authority, over evil, Jesus', . . 207/
The Lamb the final, . . 403
of the Mosaic economy,
The Divine  205
of the New Testament,
The  382
won in victory, Jesus', . 192
Baal, The worship of, . . . . 44
Baptism, Jesus' consciousness of the
Cross at  288
of Jesus, The, . . . .120
Baptist, John the  137/
Basis, of Abel's acceptance, The, 392
Beasts, Jesus and the wild, . . 157
Beginning, In the,  72
Being, Man restored to the possi
bility of his own, . . 443
Benefactor, Jesus a,  116
Bible, Christ the Subject of the, 13
Birth, of Jesus, The annuncia
tions of the, .... 70/

Index Birth, Page
of Jesus, The declarations
of the  71/
Blundering, of Peter, The, . . 233, 250/
Body, the expression of the spirit,
The,  27
Capacity, for joy and sorrow, Love
the,  401
Man's original, .... 36
Revelation according to, . 222
Carpenter, Jesus a,  113
Carpentry, of Jesus, The perfect, . .134
Centurion, at the Cross, The, 331, 337/
Character, of Christ, The  393
and conduct  441
and conduct of Christ, Man
like God in realizing the, 443
Xapak-rijp,  25
Childhood, of Jesus, The, ... 1 10
Choirs, The heavenly, .... 394
Christ, The individual apprehen
sion of,  433
God's approbation of, . .123
The atoning sufferings of, 303
His challenge to the devil
as Man  169
The character of, . • . 393
and the Church, . . . 446
The, constructive aspect of
the coming of, ... 142
the engraved copy of God, 26
The destructive aspect of
the coming of, ... 142
the Creator of history, . 259
The crises in the life of, . 17

Subject Index 461
Christ, Page Christ, Page
His delight in the will of His perfect victory over
God,  175 evil,  198/
The expiatory sufferings r, ,
Thfforsaking'of; . . 2gjf Christ and the, . .446
the Fulfiller of history .259 in Christ, The perfection
the Fulfiller of past proph- tt, 1! ' •" ' r lu ' ' ' 4I4
* v * 0 The heresies of the, . . 182
TheygVtof, : : : : : 6i the suPreme p™°f of the _
His |lory hidden, . . 224/ resurrection, The, . .383
The growing isolation in Circumcision,
the life of,  292 of Jesus, The, .... 109
The issue of His work, . 425 p.
Life, The  423 Cltv' f T . „, __., ,
His life a Divine work, .16 of Jerusalem, The, . . 175/
The Lord Jesus, ... 14 Claim,
His loyalty to God's will of the devil to the king-
attacked,  163 doms, The, .... 189
Man like God in realizing Cloud
the character and con- -p^e bright  253/
The magnifying of 'the Colossians,
-., t . c The threefold mystery in, 424
Man Jesus, .... 436 3 3 > t t
The mind of, .... 93 Coming,
The mission of, .... 14 The constructive aspect of
His mission attacked, . . 186 Christ's, ..... 142
the mystery of God, . 67/ The destructive aspect of
the Object presented, . . 434 ,C?ln5l's' , ' T" ' " " I42
The perfection of the of the Greeks, Jesus' con-
Church in,  424 sciousness of the Cross
The promise of the Spirit at the  289
made by,  407 Communion,
is restored to God, Man issues in transfiguration, . 222
joined to  422 Completion,
His resurrection, God's 0f every temptation, The, 207
seal upon His work, 361/ Conduct
is God's Medium of Self- Character and  441
revelation, . ... 428 rf Chri Man uke God
received the Spirit for in realization of the
totherV _-.:f • 4f'4I° character and, . . .443
SSff" . Vi/ P°0f l6? !S righte°.USr;eS! 291
Why the Spirit was given '
to .411 Confession,
the Subject of the Bible,'. 13 of defeat, The devil's, .202
His sufferings impossible of Peter> Jesu!,' conscious-
of final statement, . . 293 "ess of the Cross at the, 288
and the temple, .... 177 of ?eter: Th<[ transfigura-
His trust in God attacked, 174/ tion after the, . . . .215
The vicarious sufferings Confirmation,
of,  303 of Jesus, The, . . . 110/

462

Subject Index

Conflict, Page
Love and sin in, ... 305
Jesus' supreme  154
Thirty years of, . . . . 153
Consciousness, of lack, Sorrow the, . . 299
Consummation, The transfiguration a, . . 228
Continuity, of existence after death,
The,  243
Conversation, of the exodus, The, . . 216
Conviction, The work of the Spirit
that of,  419
Cost, of possessing the kingdoms,
The,  192
Creation, Jesus Master of, . . . . 1 26
Jesus a new,  354
Man, master of, . . . . 125
Man's cultivation of, and
dominion over, ... 30
The purpose of man's, . 439
The Word in, .... 37
Creator, of history, Christ the, . . 259
Crises, in the life of Christ, The, 17
Crisis, God's method of process
and,  16
John's sense of a coming, 141
Cross, His acquaintance at the, . 343
at baptism, Jesus' con
sciousness of the, . . 288
The centurion at the, 331, 337/
at the coming of the
Greeks, Jesus' con
sciousness of the, . . 289
The shepherdless crowd at
the,  342
His disciples at the, 332, 343
The facts preceding the, 295/
Earth's religious failure at
the  340

Cross, Page
The Divine foreknowl
edge of the, .... 304
in the Garden, Jesus' con
sciousness of the, . . 289
Worldly government at
the  337/
The revelation of grace
in the,  311/
Jesus always conscious of
the  275
The revelation of love in
the,  312/
The malefactors at the,
331, 339
Mary Magdalene at the, . 330
Mary His mother at the, . 330
the meaning of Messiah-
ship, The,  215
The multitude at the, 332, 342
at Peter's confession, Jesus'
consciousness of the, . 288
The chief priests at the,
332> 340
solves two problems, The, 290
Salome at the, .... 330
The Sanhedrin at the, 332, 340
The soldiers at the, 331, 338
Sorrow at the, .... 333
The superscription of the, 325
at transfiguration, Jesus'
consciousness of the, . 288
The seven utterances of
the,  294
The revelation of wisdom
in the  313/
The women at the, . . . 330
The world's folly at the, . 341
Crowd, at the Cross, The shep
herdless,  342
Crucifixion, The human act of, . . 305/
Human degradation in the, 306
Cry, of physical agony, The, 295/
of spiritual anguish, The, 297/
Culture, Greek,  96

Subject

Daring, Page
of the devil, The, . . .186
Days, of Incarnation, The, . . 390
Death, Continuity of existence
after,  243
The disciples' attitude to
wards  247
The Master bowing to, . 249
The Master Lord over, . 249
The Master superior to, . 249
why a necessity to man, . 395
Reconciliation only through, 94
The resurrection of Jesus
proves the value of His, 377
Spiritual and material, . 49
The transfiguration the
prelude to  231
The transfiguration the
preparation for, . . . 233
The moral value created
in Jesus',  359
Declarations, of the birth of Jesus, The, 71/
Deeds, of Jesus, The, .... 91
Defeat, The devil's confession of, 202
of the devil, The utter, . 199
Degradation, in the Cross, Human, . . 306
Deities, Man's creation of false, . 42/
Destruction, of swine, The, . . . 308/
Devil, the agent of temptation,
The,  157/
The argument of the, . .
167, 178, 189
His claim to the king
doms,  189
His confession of defeat, . 202
The daring of the, . . .186
The utter defeat of the, . 199
His estimate of humanity, 166
His estimate of Jesus, . 203

Index 463
Devil, Page
His estimate of Divine
Sonship,  167
His inversion of Divine
order  . 201
Job and the  166
The method of the, . . 32
The personality of the, . 158
The repulse of the, . .
168, 181, 192
The subtlety of the, . .154
The use of the Word by
the  180
Disciples, at the Cross, The, . 332, 343
The dazed  250
The influence of the trans
figuration on the, . . 255
specially associated with
Jesus, The  247
Their misunderstanding of
Messiahship, . . . .217
Their speech interrupted, 254
The transfiguration for the
sake of the, . . 219, 246
The transfiguration for the
strengthening ofthe faith
ofthe,  218
Disease, in Jesus, No,  135
Divine, act, The resurrection a, . 364
foreknowledge of the
Cross, The, .... 304
Kingship  319/
Kingship acknowledged,
The  327
purpose, Jesus the perfec
tion of the  393
satisfaction of Jesus, The, 254
Doing, and teaching of Jesus,
The,  115
Dominion, over creation, Man's, . . 30
Dove, The descending, . . .121

464

Subject Index

Earth, Page
Its religious failure at the
Cross,  340
The interest of heaven in, 244
Economy, The Divine authority of
the Mosaic, .... 205
Egypt, The flight of Jesus into, 108/
Elkbv,  25
Elijah, and Moses still men, . . 243
the prophet and reformer, 236/ 390
Enoch,  39°
Estimate, of the devil of humanity,
The,  166
of the devil of Jesus, The, 203
of the devil of Divine
Sonship, The  167
of the Master of one soul,
The  204
Evil, The authority of Jesus
over,  207/
Christ's thirty years' con
flict with  153
Christ's perfect victory
over,  198/
in man, The genesis of, . 57
Existence, after death, Continuity of, 243
EHodov,  240, 318
Exodus, The children of Israel,
and their, .... 24oy
The completed, .... 326
The conversation of the, . 216
The Kingly,. . . . 317/
The unfinished, .... 326
Expiatory, sufferings of Christ, The, 303
Expositor, of the Word, The Spirit
the  430

Fact, Page
of ascension, The, . . . 389
The value of the resurrec
tion granted by the, . 377
Facts, preceding the Cross, The, 295/
Failure, at the Cross, Earth's relig
ious,  340
Faith, The resurrection the an
chorage for, . . . 373/
The transfiguration for the
strengthening of the
disciples'  218
FaU, The ignorance resulting
from the, ..... 40
of man, The  158
the result of independent
action, The, .... 33
of Satan and the angels,
The  158,355
Familiarity, with the Word, The Mas
ter's,  205
Father, Jesus a full Revelation of
the,  .391
Favourite, Jesus a,  113
Fellowship, of the shekel, The, . 263/
First, Adam, The,  156
Flight, of Jesus into Egypt, The, 108/
Floral, culture,  30
Folly, in the Cross, The world's, 341
Food, Spiritual food more than
material,  171
Forces, The three world, . . 306/
Foreknowledge, of the Cross, the Divine, . 304

Subject Index

465

Forerunner, Page
John the  137/
Forsaking, of Christ, The, . . . 297/
Fulfiller, of history, The Christ the, 259
of past prophecy, The
Christ the,  87
Garden, The consciousness of the
Cross in the  289
Genesis, of evil in man, The, . . 57
Gift, of Christ, The, .... 61
Gifts, of the Magi, The, ... 100
Glorification, the third fact in redemp
tion,  440
Glory, hidden, Christ's, . . 224/
inherent, The transfigura
tion  227
God, His " afters," . . . .221
His approbation of Christ, 123
His continual approval of
Jesus, :  363
The attack on Christ's
loyalty to the will of, . 163
The attack on Christ's
trust in, .... 174/
Christ's delight in the will
of, ....... 175
Christ the Mystery of, . . 67/
Human conception of,. . 41
Development of the reve.
lation of,  16/
The God-man the meeting
place between man and, 426
Jesus the Gateway of man
to  90
Jesus the purpose of, . . 87
Jesus not smitten of, . . 400
Jesus identified as Son of, 254
His knowledge infinite, . 54/
The Lamb of God the
Son of,  148

God, Page
Human life sustained in, . 51
The infinite love of, . . 437
His love the necessity of
His Being, .... 61
His love the reason of
redemption, .... 61
Man's anthropomorphic
ideas of,  86
Man joined to Christ is re
stored to  422
known to man, . . . 435/"
Man a revelation of, . . 443
Man the shadow of, . . 25
His methods of process
and crisis,  16
expressed in Nature . 50, 86
The pain of,  400
in realization of the char
acter and conduct of
Christ, Man like, . . 443
His rejection of imperfec
tion  365
His rejection of man an
act of love, .... 368
Restoration to the image
of,  439
Satan a servant of, . . . 354
His seal upon Christ's
work the resurrection, 361/
The Self-revelation of, . 87
The severity and judg
ment of,  312
The Son of,  81
capable of sorrow, . . . 401
The unity of,  88
The value of the approba
tion of,  123/
The way back to, . . .411
His will simple, .... 57
The work of, .... 283
The alone worship of, . .194
God-Man, No explanation of the, . 79
unknown in history, The, 80
human and Divine, The, 78
the meeting-place between
man and God, The, . 426
Gods, of Rome and Greece, The, 87

466 Subject
Government, Page
at the Cross, Worldly, . 337/
of Rome, The, .... 96
Grace, abounded more exceed
ingly  316
at the Cross, The revela
tion of,  311/
rpd/t/iara,  129
Greece, The culture of, .... 96
The gods of,  87
Greeks, Jesus' consciousness of the
Cross at the coming of
the,  289
Growth, of Jesus, The, . . . 1 10/
Happen, If no resurrection, what
did,  380
Head, of a new race, Jesus the, . 369
Heaven, Abel in  392
in earth, The interest of, . 244
Heavens, The opened,  120
Hebrew, nation a theocracy, The, . 177
prophets, The, .... 137
religion, The, . . . .196
Heresies, of the Church, The, . . 182
Herod, and the innocents, . . . 100
History, Christ the Creator of, . . 259
Christ the Fulfiller of, . .259
Humanity, The devil's estimate of, . 166
The solidarity of, . . . 446
in transfiguration, Perfect, 229
Hunger, the avenue of approach,
The sense of, . . . .165

IndexHunger, Page
natural and sinless, The
sense of, .... . 165
I, am's of Jesus, The, . . ng
Ideal, The realization of the
ideal greater than the
original,  447
Ideas, The Incarnation corrects
false,  85
Identification, of Jesus with sinners.The, 120
If, Christ be not risen, . 378/
Image, Man's restoration to God's, 439
Imperfection, God's rejection of, . . . 365
Importance, of the resurrection, The, . 371
In, the beginning, .... jsf
Incarnation, not atonement, The, . . 74
The days of the, . . . 390
corrects false ideas, The, . 85
initial and fundamental,
The,  67
The purpose of the, . . 84
not reconciliation, The, . 94
The testimony of Scripture
to the,  67
Individual, apprehension of Christ,
The,  433/
Induction, •
of Jesus to office, The, . 115
Infancy, of Jesus, The, . . . io8y
Influence, of the transfiguration on
the disciples, The, . . 255
Innocents, The slaughter of the, . . 100

Subject Index

467

Intelligence, Page
Human wisdom limits hu
man,  68
Interest, of heaven in earth, The, . 244
Introduction, of John the Baptist, The, 138
Inversion, of the Divine order, The
devil's,  201
Investiture, with a name, Jesus', . 396/
Isolation, in Christ's life, The grow
ing  292
Issue, of Christ's work, The, . 425
The seed and its, . . . 230
of sin, The final, . . . 297

Jerusalem, The city of, .
Jesus and,
The temple at,

¦ 175/
. . 176
• • 177
Jesus, perfect in affection, . 131;/
God's continual approval
of,  363
The ascension of, . . . 397
His authority over evil, 207/
The baptism of, . . . .120
and the wild beasts, . . 157
a Benefactor,  116
a Carpenter,  113
His carpentry perfect, . . 134
The childhood of, . . . 1 10
The circumcision of, . . 109
The confirmation of, . 110/
a new creation, .... 354
always conscious of the
Cross,  275
His death valuable because
of His perfect life, . .231
The deeds of, .... 91
The "devil's estimate of, . 203
The three disciples asso
ciated with, .... 247
No disease in, . . . .135
His doing and teaching, . 115

Jesus, Page
a favourite  113
The flight into Egypt of, 108/
The Fulfiller of prophecy, 221
The Gateway of God to
man  90
The Gateway of man to
God,  90
not smitten of God, . . 400
The growth of, . . . 1 ioy
the Head of a new race, . 369
The " I am's " of, . . .119
His identification with
sinners,  120
His induction to office, . 115
The infancy of, . . . 108 f
His investiture with a.
Name,  396y
and Jerusalem, .... 176
and John,  142
the Lamb of God, . . . 143
The Manhood of, . . 112/
Man's unpreparedness for, 95
Master of creation, . .126
Master of learning, . 129/"
conscious of His whole
mission,  275
only,  265
His perfection, . . . .120
His physical perfection, 133/
the perfection of the Di
vine purpose, .... 393
His perfection of Spirit, 126/
a perfect human Personal
ity,  89
in the temple, The presen
tation of, ... . 108/
God's purpose for human
ity  87
a thought reader, . . . 130
His relation to unfallen
powers  208/
His return to Nazareth, 108/
the full Revelation of the
Father  391
the final Sacrifice for sin, 145
The Divine satisfaction of, 254
All secrets apparent to, . 131
the Self-revelation of God, 87
the Shepherd ofthe sheep, 370
identified as the Son of
God  254

468

Subject Index

Jesus, Page
led by the Spirit in temp
tation,  159
His teaching, .... 90
His teaching in John, . . 118
His teaching in Luke, 117/'
His teaching in Mark, . 117
His teaching in Matthew, 116/
perfect in spite of tempta
tion,  136
The transfiguration unnec
essary to,  228
The moral value created
in the death of, . . . 359
His victory over sin as
sumed,  356/
His victory over sin as
origin,  354
His victory over sin from
without,  356
The youth of, . . . 112/
Jewish, nation, The  326
Jews, Their misunderstanding of
Scripture  95

Job,

and the devil,

166

John, the Baptist, .... 137/
His congregations in Ju
daea  139
His consciousness of sin, 139
the forerunner, . . . 137./
His minute introduction, . 138
and Jesus,  142
Jesus' teaching in the
Gospel of,  118
the last of the prophets, . 137
and the publicans, . . . 140
His sense of a crisis, . . 141
and the soldiers, . . . 141
His preliminary vision, . 139
His supreme vision of love, 142
Joy, and sorrow, Love the ca
pacity for  401
Judsea, John's congregations in, . 139

Judaism, Page
 238
Judgment, of God, The severity and, 312
Justification,  291, 422
the first fact in redemp
tion,  440
King, The resurrection the vic
tory of the,  364
The Son the anointed, . 190
Kingdom, The perfect  196/
Kingdoms, The claim of the devil to
the,  189
The cost of possessing the, 192
The imperfect,  195
The vision of the, ... 188
Kingship, acknowledged, The Di
vine  327
Knowledge, God's infinite, .... 54^
of man restored, The, . . 443
Lack, Sorrow the consciousness
of,  299
Lamb, the active Administrator,
The,  404
the final authority, The, . 403
the Bearer of sin as a
principle, The, .... 147
of God, Jesus the, . . . 143
slain, A  402
the Son of God, The, . . 148
in the Old and New Testa
ments, The,  145
on the throne of power,
The,  403
Last, Adam, The,  156
Lawgiver, Moses the,  236
Learning, Jesus Master of, . . . 129/

Subject Index

469

Life, Page
The Christ  423
all sustained in God, . . 51
The growing isolation in
Christ's,  292
Jesus' death valuable be
cause of His perfect, . 23 1
Link, between resurrection and
pentecost, The ascension
the,  389
Lord, over death, The Master, . 249
Love, the capacity for joy or sor
row,  401
of God, the infinite, . . . 437
God's rejection of man an
act of, . . . . 368
John's supreme vision of, 142
the necessity of God's Be
ing  56, 61
The revelation of, . . 3l2y
and sin in conflict, . . . 305
Loyalty, to God's will attacked,
Christ's,  163
Luke, Jesus' teaching in the
Gospel of,  "7/
Lunatic, in the valley, The, . . 2&2f
Magi, The,  98
The gifts of the, .... 100
Malefactor, The story of the, .... 325
Malefactors, at the Cross, The, . 331, 339
Mammon, worship,  45y
Man, The activity of redeemed, 443
The original capacity of, 36
Christ's challenge as, . . 169
Christ Jesus, The magni
fying of the, .... 436

Man, Page
joined to Christ is restored
to God  422
made for communion with
God,  28
His conception of God, . 42
His cultivation of creation, 30
Death why a necessity to, 395
and false deities, .... 42^
His dominion over crea
tion,  30
The fall of,  158
His fall independent ac
tion,  33
His fall and ignorance re
sulting,  40
The free will of, . . . 32, 38
The genesis of evil in, . 57
demands a god  41
fallen unlike God, ... 59
like the God he creates, . 48
like God in realization of
the character and con
duct of Christ, . . . 443
God known to  435./
The God-man the meet
ing-place between God
and,  426
His ideas of God anthro
pomorphic,  86
the image of Deity in
spirit,  27
a ruined instrument, . . 41
Jesus the Gateway of God
to,  9°
know thyself,  52
His knowledge, affection,
and will restored, . . 443/
His knowledge restored
in redemption, .... 37y
fallen a lie,  60
master of creation, ... 125
of Nazareth, The ascen
sion of the,  392
restored to the possibility
of his own being, . . 443
The preparation of the
spirit of,  433
The purpose of the crea
tion of,  439
The resurrection of the
perfect, . ...... 364

470

Subject Index

Man, Page
a revelation of God, . . 443
a ruin through alienation, 35
his ruin and redemption, 17
a shadow of God, ... 25
The Son of,  81
essentially spirit, . . 26_/J 52
The Spirit reveals Christ
to  430
responding by submission
is saved,  420
The transfigured, . . . 225
His unpreparedness for
Jesus  95
created for work, .... 198
Manhood, of Jesus, The, .... H2y
The perfection of, ... 392
Mark, Jesus' teaching in the
Gospel of, •• ... 117
Mary, Magdalene at the Cross, . 330
Magdalene, The sorrow
of,  333y
His mother at the Cross, 330
The sorrow of His
mother,  335 f
Master, bowing to death, The, . 249
Lord over death, The, . 249
superior to death, The . 249
His estimate of one soul, 204
His familiarity with the
Word  205
His temptation in relation
to His ministry, . . 205y
His use of the Word, . . 205
Matthew, Jesus' teaching in the
Gospel of,  Ii6y
Meaning, of Messiahship, The Cross
the,  215
Mediation, perfect in resurrection,
The Saviour's, .... 364
Medium, of Divine expression, The
Word,  73

Medium, Page
of Self-Revelation, Christ
God's  428
Men, Moses and Elijah still, . 243
Messiahship, The Cross the meaning of, 215
The disciples' misunder
standing of,  217
Methods, of God in process and
crisis, The,  16
of the devil, The, ... 32
Mind, of Christ, The  93
Ministry, Angelic,  99
The Master's temptation
in relation to His, . 205y
The purpose of angelic, . 439
Mission, The attack on Christ's . 186
of Christ, The,  14
Jesus conscious of His
whole  275
Misunderstanding, of Messiahship, The dis
ciples'  217
Moloch, The worship of, ... . 44
Moptpi),  76
Moses, and Elijah still men, . . 243
the Lawgiver, .... 236
Mother, at the Cross, His, . . . 330
The sorrow of His, . . . 335
Mountain, The temptation on the, . 188
Multitudes, at the Cross, The, . 332, 342
Mystery, in Colossians, The three
fold,  424
revealed, The,  68
of silence, The, .... 301
The secret things a, . . 69

Subject
Name, Page
Jesus' investiture with a, 396
above every name, The, 396y
Nation, The Jewish,  326
Nature, God expressed in, . , 50, 86
of sin, The true, . . . 304y
Nazareth, The ascension of the Man
of,  392
and its inhabitants, ... 127
Jesus' return to, . . . lo8y
Necessity, to man, Death why a, . 395
The resurrection a, . . . 352
New, Testament, The authority
of the,  382
Obedience, to revelation demanded, . 434
Object, presented, Christ the, . . 434
Occasion, of the transfiguration,
The  2i5y
Order, The devil's inversion of
Divine,  201
of the temptations, The, 162
Origin, of sin, The primal, . . .355
Jesus' victory over sin as, 354
Pain, of God, The,  400
Parable, The threefold,  280
Paralysis, of sin borne and broken,
The  324
Parliament, of religions, The, . . .253
Passing, of Moses and Elijah, The
significance of the, . . 241

Index 47 1
Paul, PAEE
His argument for resurrec
tion,  378
Penalty, of sin borne and broken,
The,  324
borne, A value in the, . 299
Pentecost, The ascension a link be
tween resurrection and, 389
Perfection, of the Church in Christ,
The  424
of Divine purpose, Jesus
the,  • • • 393
of Jesus physically, The, I33y
of Jesus in spite of tempta
tion, The,  136
of Manhood, The, . . . 392
The resurrection the Man's, 364
of Saviourhood, The, . . 394
Personality, of the devil, The, ... 158
Jesus a perfect human, . 89
unlimited, Perfect, ... 28
Peter. The blundering of, 233, 25oy
Jesus' consciousness of the
Cross at the confession
of,  288
His Pentecostal sermon, . 35 1
The transfiguration after
his confession, .... 215
Pharisees, the ritualists, The, . . . 140
Place, of the temptation, The . 156
Plan, Temptation in the Divine, 159
Plentitude, and power of the Spirit,
The,  206
Possessing, the kingdoms, The cost of, 192
Possibility, of his own being, Man re
stored to the, .... 443

47*

Subject

Power, Page
The Lamb on the throne
of,  403
and plentitude of the
Spirit, The, ... . 206
Powers, Jesus' relation to un
fallen,  2o8y
Preparation, for death, The transfigura
tion the, . . . 233
of man's spirit, The, . 433
of a written record, The, 430/
Presence, of Moses and Elijah, The
significance of the, . . 237
Presentation, in the temple of Jesus,
The  I08y
Priestism, destroyed in resurrection, 367
Priests, at the Cross, The chief, .
332, 340
Principle, governing will, The, . . 38
Privacy, of the thirty years, The, I07y
Problems, The Cross solves two, . . 290
Process, God's method of crisis and, 16
Promise, made by Christ of the
Spirit, The,  407
of the Spirit, The, .... 408
of the Spirit through the
prophets, The, . . . 4o8y
Proof, of resurrection, The Church
the supreme,  383
Prophecy, Jesus the Fulfiller of, . 221
The voices of, . . . 99
Prophet, and reformer, Elijah the,
236/, 390

Index
Prophets, Page
The Hebrew,  137
John the last of the, . . 137
The promise of the Spirit
through the, .... 4o8y
Publicans, and John, The,  140
Publicity, of the three years, The, 1 15y
Purpose, of angelic ministry, The, 439
of Incarnation, The, . . 84
Jesus the perfection of the
Divine,  393
for humanity, Jesus God's, 87
of man's creation, The, 439
of the transfiguration,
The,  249y
Race, Jesus the Head of a new, 369
Rationalists, The Sadducees the, . . . 140
Realization, of the ideal greater than
the original ideal, The, 447
Reconciliation, Incarnation not  94
only through death, ... 94
Reconstruction, impossible within destruc
tion, .... 60
Record, The Spirit the Expositor
of the,  432
The Spirit the Preparer
of a,  43oy
Redemption, Glorification the third fact
in  440
Justification the first fact
in,  440
Knowledge restored to
man in  37y
God's love the reason of, 61
Man's ruin and, .... 17
Sanctification the second
fact in,  440
the work of the Spirit,
The experience of, . . 420

Subject
Reformer, Page
ah the prophet and, .
236/ 39°
Regeneration,  420
Rejection, of imperfection, God's, . 365
of man an act of love,
God's  368
Relation, to unfallen powers, Jesus', 2o8y
Religion, The Hebrew,  96
Religions, The Parliament of, . . . 253
Repulse, ofthe devil, The, 168, 181, 192
Responsibility, Revelation creates, . . . 222
Restoration, Governmental, . . . 425
Judicial,  421
of man to God's image,
The,  439
Vital  423
Result, '
of the vision, The, . . 26oy
Resurrection, a Divine act, The, . . . 364
Faith's anchorage in the, 373y
The appearances after the, 382
Paul's argument for the, . 378
The Church the supreme
proof of the, . . . 383
granted by the fact, The
value of the,  377
What did happen if no, . 380
The importance of the, . 371
The Saviour's mediation
perfect in,  364
a necessity, The, .... 352
and Pentecost, The ascen
sion the link between, 389
the Man's perfection, The, 364
Priestism destroyed in, . 367
God's seal upon Christ's
work, The, .... 36iy

Index 473
Resurrection, Page
proves the value of the
death of Jesus, The, . 377
th» King's victory, The, . 364
a perfect victory, The, . . 351
a threefold victory, The, 353y
The world powers over
thrown in,  367
Return, of Jesus to Nazareth, The, iosy
Revealed, The mystery,  68
Revelation, according to capacity, . . 222
Christ God's Medium of
Self-,  428
The development of God's, 1 6/
ofthe Father, Jesus the full, 391
of God, Man a, .... 443
of grace in the Cross, The,
3"/
of love in the Cross, The, T,\2f
demanded, The obedience
t°,  434
creates responsibility, . . 222
of wisdom in the Cross,
The,  3i3y
Righteousness, of conduct possible ? Is,. 291
Risen, If Christ be not, . . . 378y
Ritualists, The Pharisees the, . . . 140
Rome, The gods of,  87
The government of, . . . 96
Sacrifice, for sin, Jesus the final, 145
Sadducees, The rationalists the, . . 140
Salome, at the Cross,  330
The sorrow of, . ... 335
Sanctification, the second fact in redemp
tion  440

474 Subject
Sanhedrim, Page
at the Cross, The, . 332, 340
Satan, and the angels, The fall
of,  158,355
a servant of God, . . 354
Satisfaction, of Jesus, The Divine, . . 254
Saul, of Tarsus,  383
Saviour, The resurrection the medi
ation of the,  364
Saviourhood, The perfection of, ... 394
Scientific, discovery  31
investigation, . . -53
Scripture, The Jews' misunderstand
ing of,  95
to Incarnation, The testi
mony of,  67
Seal, upon Christ's work, The
resurrection God's, . 36iy
Secrets, to Jesus, No,  131
Seed, and its issue, The, . . . 230
Sermon, Peter's Pentecostal, . . . 35 1
Servant, of God, Satan a, ... 354
The suffering,  95
Service, Worship is,  194
Severity, and judgment of God,
The,  312
Shadow, of God, Man a, . . . 25
Sheep, Jesus the Shepherd of the, 370
Shekel, The fellowship of the, 263y

Index
Shepherd, Page
of the sheep, Jesus the, . 370
Shepherds, of Bethlehem, The, . . . 100
Significance, of Moses' and Elijah's
passing, . ... 24 1
of Moses' and Elijah's
presence,  237
of the temptation, The, . 159
Silence, The mystery of, . . . .301
Sin, The initial act and result
of,  33/
assumed, Jesus Victor over, 356y
John's consciousness of, . 139
at the Cross  339
on the intellect, The effect
of,  53
The final issue of, ... 297
Jesus the final sacrifice for, 145
in conflict with love, . . 305
The true nature of, . , 304y
The primal origin of, . . 355
as origin, Jesus Victor
over,  354
borne and broken, The
penalty and paralysis
of,  324
as principle, The Lamb
the Bearer of, ... . 147
The relative result of, . . 43
The slavery of, .... 317
from without, Jesus Victor
over  356
Slain, A Lamb  402
Slaughter, of the innocents, The, . 100
Slavery, of sin, The,  317
Soldiers, at the Cross, The, . 331, 338
and John, The, .... 141
Solidarity, of humanity, The, . . . 446

Subject
Son, Page
The,  82
of God, The,  81
of God, Jesus identified as
the,  254
The anointed King the, . 190
of God, The Lamb the, . 148
of Man, The  8iy
Sonship, The devil's estimate of
Divine,  167
Soipia,  128
Sorrow, the consciousness of lack, 299
at the Cross,  333/
God capable of, . . . .401
Love the capacity for joy
and,  401
of Mary Magdalene, The, 333/
of Mary His mother,
The  335y
of Salome, The, ... 335
Soul, The Master's estimate of
' ' * one,  204
Speech, of th e disciples interrupted,
The  254
Spirit, The body the expression
of the  27
A broken,  399
made by Christ, The prom
ise of the  407
for others, Christ received
the  408, 410
reveals Christ to man,
The,  43°
unveils Christ, The, . . 433/
why given to Christ, The, 41 1
Conviction the work of
the,  419
the Expositor of the Rec
ord, The  43°
The perfection of Jesus
in, .... I26y
The plentitude and power
of the,  206

Index 475
Spirit, Page
The preparation of Man's, 433
the Preparer of a written
Record, The, . . 43oy
The promise of the, . 408
through the prophets, The
promise of the, . . 4o8y
The experience of redemp
tion the work of the, . 420
Atoning suffering in the
wounding of Jesus', . 400
in temptation, Jesus led
by the,  159
Star, in the east, The, .... 97
Statement, The sufferings of Christ
impossible of final, . . 293
Story, of the malefactor, The, 325y
Strength, of manhood is in submis
sion, The,  170
Submission, is saved, Man responding
by  420
The strength of manhood
is in,  170
Subtlety, of the devil, The, ... 154
Suffering, in the wounding of Jesus'
Spirit, Atoning, . . . 400
Sufferings, Atoning  . . 303
of Christ impossible of
filial statement, The, 293
Expiatory  303
Vicarious,  303
Superscription, of the Cross, The, ... 325
Swine, The destruction of, . . 3o8y
Symbols, The sacramental, ... 31
Tarsus, Saul of,  383

476

Subject Index

Teaching, Page
of Jesus, The doing and, 115

Jesus',
TIxtiov,

Telepathy,

90

114

I31

Temple, Christ and the,  177
at Jerusalem, The, . 177
The temptation on the
wing of the, .... I75y
The wing of the, .... 178
Temptation, Completion of every, . . 207
Forty days of, . ... 162
The devil the agent of, I57y
Jesus led by the Spirit in, 159
Jesus perfect in spite of, 136
of the Master in relation
to His ministry, The, 205 f
on the mountain, The, . 188
The place of the, . 156
in the Divine plan, . . 159
The significance of the, . 159
The time of the, . . . 155/
in the wilderness, The, 163 /
on the wing of the temple,
The,  I75y
Temptations, The order of the, . . . 162
Testament, The authority of the New, 382
Testaments, The Lamb in the Old and
New,  145
Testing, of trust, The  183
Theocracy, The Hebrew nation a, . 177
Theory, of Atonement, A, . 297, 301
Things, The mystery of secret, . 69
Secret and revealed, 69
Thought, Reader, Jesus a, . . . . 130

Throne, Page
of power, The Lamb on
the,  403
Time, of the temptation, The, I55y
Transfiguration, Communion issues in, . . 222
The consciousness of the
Cross at,  288
a consummation, The, . . 228
The conversation of the
exodus at the, . . . . 216
for the disciples' sake,
The,  219, 246
glory inherent,  227
Perfect humanity in, . . 229
Its influence on the dis
ciples,  255
unnecessary to Jesus, The, 228
its occasion, The, . . 215/
after Peter's confession,
The,  215
the prelude to death, The, 231
the preparation for death,
The,  233
its purpose, The, . . 2i9y
for the strengthening of i t t
the disciples' faith, The, 218
and its witnesses, The, . 218
Trust, in God attacked, Christ's, I74y
never tempts, Perfect, . i83y
The testing of, . . 183

Unity, of God, The,

88

Utterances, of the Cross, The seven, 294

Valley, The lunatic in the,

2(>2f

Value, of God's approbation of
Jesus, The  I23y
created in the death of
Jesus, The moral, . 359
of Jesus' death, The resur
rection proves the, . . 377
in the penalty borne, A, . 299

Subject Index 477
Value, Page Wisdom, Page
of resurrection granted by The Cross the revelation
the fact, The, .... 377 of Divine, .... 3i3y
Vicarious, , limits human intelligence,
sufferings  303 Human, .... 68
Victory, Without,
The authority of, . ... 207 Jes,us vlctorv over sln
Christ's perfect, . . . i98y lrom'  356
The resurrection the Witnesses,
King's,  364 of the transfiguration, The, 218
The resurrection a perfect, 351 Women,
The resurrection a three- at the Cross, The, ... 330
fold,  35 3y Word,
over sin assumed, Jesus', 356y The devil's use of the, 180
over sin as origin, Jesus', 354 of God in creation, The, 37
over sin from without, The Master's familiarity
Jesus'  356 with the,  205
y;sj0__ The Master's use of the, . 205
of the kingdoms, The, 188 the Master's weapon, The,
John's preliminary, . . . 139 tl „ ,. 109,181,193
of love, John's supreme, . 142 the Medium of Divine ex-
The result of the* . 26oy w , pression, The, ... 73
J Work,
°™* L , ,. of God, The, . 283
The worth of,  261 The issue of Christ's, . . 425
Voice, Man created for, . . . 198
The living,  121 The resurrection God's
seal upon Christ's, . 36iy
Way, ofthe Spirit, Conviction the, 419
back to God, The, ... 41 1 of the Spirit, The experi-
Weapon ence of redemption the, 420
The' Word the Master's, World,
169, 181, 193 at the Cross,The folly ofthe, 341
Wilderness forces, The three, . 3o6y
The temptation in the, l63y powers overthrown in res-
Will urrection, The, . . . 367
Christ's delight in God's, 175 Worship,
of God attacked, Christ's of Baal, The, . . . . 44
loyalty to the, .... 163 of God alone, The, . . . 194
of God simple and benefi- of Mammon, The, . . . 45y
cent, The,  57 of Moloch, The, .... 44
of God under authority, is service,  194
The,  39 Spiritual,  27
The governing principle Worth,
of,  38 of visions, The, .... 261
Jesus perfect in, . . I32y Years,
Man's free, . . . 32, 38 of conflict with evil, Thirty, 153
restored, Man's knowl- The thirty private, . . I07y
edge, affection, and, 443/" The three public, . . H5y
Wing, Youth,
of the temple, The, . . 178 of Jesus, The, .... II2y

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