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ESSAY

ox THE

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST,

CONSIDERED AS AN EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH OF
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

REV. J. CARMICHAEL, M.A.,

iifinhter of St. Andrew's Church, Markham, Otiktrio.

PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO.

1882.

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ESSAY

ox THE

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST,

CONSIDERED AS AN EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH OF
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

REV. J. CARMICHAEL, M.A,

Minister of St. Andrew's Church, Marhham, Ontario.

PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO.

1882.

The folloiving essay is published in compliance with a
resolution passed by the Youmj People's Association
of Whitevale, before whom it ivas read in January last.

Markham, March, 1882.

ESSAY

THE CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

I HE character of our Lord is one of the most important
subjects that can occupy the thoughts of a Christian.
As a whole, it presents one of the most striking evi-
dences of the truth of that religion which he came to estab-
lish ; whether we consider it as the fulfilment of prophecies
which were uttered hundreds of years previous to his appear-
ance in our world ; or, as the exhibition of a moral character
so incomparably superior to all that this earth can produce, or
even the best and wisest men could summon up to their imagi-
nations. The character of our Lord is not only worthy of being
considered, on account of the evidence which it affords of the
truth of the Christian revelation, but also on account of the
personal advantages which may flow from the conteraplation
of the most exalted pattern of excellence which can be placed
before the mind of a human being. The great object of the
Christian religion is the restoration of man to the favour of
God, and one of its most powerful means of assimilating our
character to that of the God whom we worship is settino" be-
fore us the example of the man Christ Jesus. Indeed the very
perfection of Christian character is the being conformed to his
image ; and the great aim of a Christian life while on earth is
to have the same mind in him which was also in Christ Jesus.

J7v5"^J2

4 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

Even in heaven itself it is a knowledge of the character of the
Saviour which gives full completion to the sanctified nature of
the Christian : " It doth not yet apjjear what we shall be, but
we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for
we shall see him as he is." Although then, the object of the
present essay is to consider the character of Christ as an evi-
dence of the truth of revelation, on account of its superiority
to everything of human origin ; and although it be acknow-
ledged that we are unable to present a view so striking of the
virtues which adorned his character as the simple narratives
of the gospel exhibit, yet, if by writing on such a subject we
are led to pay more attention to the facts of the Christian
history, and to fix our minds more steadily on the leading fea-
tures of our great examplar, the labour will be amply rewarded.
I. Then in considering the character of Jesus Christ, we see
the most spotless purity. When at the well of Samaria, the
disciples brought bread, in order to present it to their master,
who was fatigued and spent with his journey, Jesus, intent on
the great design of his mission, refused, at the time, to partake
of that which the attention of his friends had provided. When
the disciples marvelled at his refusal, he said, *' I have meat
to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of him
that sent me." Thus we see that the will of God was the rule,
by which the Messiah guided his conduct. Obedience to his
Father in heaven" was his continual aim. The law of God which
is pure and reaches to the inmost thoughts of the heart, was
the ever present standard of duty with him who came to re-
deem his people from all iniquity. To be pure in heart is
as necessary for the servant of him who trieth the reins
and the heart, as the exhibition of external rectitude of con-
duct. We find the Saviour often insisting on the spiritual

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

nature of the commandments of God ; and m the sermon on
the mount, he explains the divine precepts, so as for ever to
c(mdemn the hypocrite and all those who conceive that out-
ward decency can ever atone for the abominations of the heart.
Thus the rule to which Jesus, while on earth, professed to ad-
here, and which he enjoins on all his followers, is the com-
mandment of the Lord which is pure.

The question then is, did he act up to this infallible stand-
ard in all that he did and said ; or is there anything in his
history that would lead us to suspect his failure in regard to
the purity which the law requires 1 \

Many of the actions and sayings of our Lord are recorded ;
both those actions which he performed before all the world,
and those which he transacted in his most secret retirement
with his chosen friends. The discourses also which he deliv-
ered in public, and the conversations which he held in the
seclusions of the most confidential intimacy, are narrated by
four writers in the most unvarnished manner ; and it may be
asked, is there one word that escapes from his lips, or one action
that he performs that can by any means lead us to suspect the
smallest deviation from that purity which he professed to prac-
tise. Nay, is there not much to persuade us that purity in
heart and life was the characteristic of the man Christ Jesus.
A delusion, however, on this subject is apt to steal into the
mind, and that is, that in considering the character of Christ
we are disposed to impute to it some of the sinful imperfec-
tions of our nature, because in it we see the infirmities which
belong to the bodily constitution of frail humanity. But
making an effort to lay aside this feeling, let us ask, does not
the recorded history of Jesus Christ lead us to imagine the
perfection of a sinless human being. Where is the smallest

6 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

trace of that sinful ambition which leads to the sacrifice of
the good of all around to the aggrandizement of self? It was
not in the refusal of all earthly honour. Where the traces of
envy and malice 1 Surely not in the kindness and condescen-
sion with which he treated every good man. Where the traces
of revenge ? Not in the meekness with which he bore the
malevolence of his enemies. On the contrary, in the words
and actions of Jesus Christ we find the proofs of absolute sev-
erance from all the hostile and stormy passions of our nature.
Purity also from every sensual defilement is marked in all that
he said and did ; and with the strictest truth it may be said,
*' he was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners."

It ought also to be remarked, that this character is not the
picture of mere description. It is an easy thing for any
mere declaimer to draw the outlines of a supposed perfec-
tion ; to say that any one is free from every vice and adorned
with every virtue ; and that an impure or unworthy thought
never entered into the mind of the subject of his praise.* In
fact, we know, from experience, that certificates of this gen-
eral nature may be had in all countries ana in all ages; that
they are as worthless as they are vague, and have been applied
to men who had no title to the name of virtuous in the lowest
acceptation of the word. It may be also remarked in passing,
that sceptics are the men, of all others, who indulge most in
giving high-flown general characters of their friends, without
facts to support them.

But not so is the character of Jesus Christ. It is built on
minute facts and sayings which have, been treasured up by
those who witnessed them, who never attempted a general
description of the assemblage of qualities which existed in the
man Jesus. The character as a whole, is left to be inferred by

CHARACTER OB' JESUS CHRIST.

every reader; and what is more, it cannot be missed by the
most common understanding.

It may be said, however, that the supposed purity of our
Lord's character may arise from the disciples leaving out what-
ever would militate against the good name of their master. We
eay the supposition is simply impossible. To have done so,
while they narrated so many minute circumstances, they would
have required to be pure themselves. We find often in pane-
gyrics, where nothing is meant to be admitted, even although it
should belong to the characters described, which would bring
the least discredit on the subject of praise, that the writers,
from a want of perfect moral feeling in themselves, detail facts
which would be better concealed, and which they would con-
ceal, if they had judgment to perceive their true bearing on the
character of their friend. Thus we find Xenophon, in order
that he may describe a dialogue of his master, relating that
Socrates, along with some of his disciples, visited a famous
courtezan of the day. This is a fact quite inconsistent with
the dignity of the philosopher, and utterly subversive of the
character of the son of Sophroniscus as a teacher of pure mo-
rality ; although Xenophon, owing to his imperfect notions on
the subject, was quite unconscious that he had said anything
to wound the reputation of the wisest of the heathen philoso-
phers. It is to be remarked here, also, that there was no oc-
casion for introducing the fact into the Memorabilia at all ; as
they are composed on very general principles. What an exhi-
bition, then, would he have made of the character of Socrates,
if he had entered into as minute a detail of facts as the disci-
ples of our Lord. Thus we see that if there had been any cir-
cumstances in the Saviour's life which were not strictly moral,
they would not have been concealed if they tallied with the

8 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST,

morality of the day which prevailed in Judea, and the disciples
would have been quite unconscious of injuring his reputation
in narrating them. The fact is that the purity of our Lord'&
character is not only superior to that of the disciples them-
selves, but to anything which they could have conceived, and
nothing but prejudice could ever make us suppose that the cha-
racter of Christ is the figment of the human imagination.

II. The character of our Lord was not only free from every
fault, but possessed every virtue, and displayed every per-
fection.

In order that we may consider this part of the subject with-
out running out into too great length, we shall make some re-
marks on the two great classes of human virtue — devotion to
God and benevolence towards man, which include all the others.

In regard to his devotion to God, we remark that in all
things the Saviour was to be a pattern of righteousness.
When he was tempted by Satan, we find him using the
same mode of defence which is suited for each individual
of those whom he came to save. It was the word of
God which is the sword of the Spirit that he wielded
against the attacks of the tempter. When Satan showed
our Lord all the kingdoms of the world in an instant of time^
and said, ** All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall
down and worship me," *' Jesus said unto him, it is written,,
thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, and him only shalt '

thou serve." Through his whole life he submitted to all the
ceremonial appointments of the law, and fulfilled all righteous-
ness. Prayer to his Father in heaven was his daily practice ;
he even spent whole nights in secret devotion. But it was not
in acts of worship alono that his devotion to God was conspicu-
ous. No hardship was too great to be encountered if it wa»

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

the will of his father that it should be endured. Resignation
in every circumstance was the practice of Jesus of Nazareth,
and in his last agony, when he prayed if it were posssibe that
this cup might pass from him, " nevertheless, not my will, but
thine be done,*' were his words. Where shall we find an ex-
ample of devotion to God so uniform, so ardent, and so unre-
served ? No contempt of men, no sufferirg in the discharge of
his arduous conflict, could ever lead him to distrust the wis-
dom of the appointment of heaven, or cause him to slacken in
his zeal in performance of the work which was given him to do.
Benevolence towards men in the highest degree, as v/ell as
devotion towards God, was found in the Saviour. Here, again,
we must call to mind that the charatcter does not rest on gene-
ral description, but on recorded facts. The benevolence of
Christ was not of that general kind, falsely called philosophi-
cal, which enters into lofty speculation on the good of the
whole, and evaporates without ever being formed into a real
wish for the happiness of the human race, and altogether van-
ishes when brought to the touchstone of being brought into
contact with the distress of individuals. With the exception of
those actions which he performed as a propitiation for sin, the
benevolence of Jesus Christ was such as was fitted for an ex-
ample to every human being. Those who were blessed with
his society shared in the effects of his goodness, and this with-
out impairing his regards for the whole race. His benevolence
took that range v/hich God in his providence and word clearly
points out as the proper mode of a human being exerting his
benevolent designs. His relatives, his friends, his acquaint-
ances, his fellow citizens, his countrymen, and all his brethren
of mankind, each in their proper degree, came in for their share
of his attention. Those who were most nearly connected with

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

him were the objects of his tenderest regarls, while he was
ready to embrace every opportunity of doing good to all. By
his example he shows the absurdity of that sentimental bene-
volence which pretends to love the race while it neglects the
duty which is owing to individuals. At the same time he
exposes the extreme selfishness of those who, under a pretence
•of providing for their own, are callous to the sufferings of a
world lying in misery. As proofs of what we have advanced
a few instances will suffice. Consider the respect which he
paid to his parents, and the tender solicitude which he evinced
for his sorrowing mother, when the burden of his own griefs
was at the heaviest. Consider the love which he showed for
his disciples, and especially towards the close of his wonderful
<5areer. He was as a father to them through life, and at death
he blessed them, and comforted them, with words to which
there is no parallel in all the accents of kindness which were
ever expressed since the foundation of the world. Consider,
also, his attachment to the beloved disciple, and his friend
Lazarus. Indeed, there is not a more touching narrative in all
the annals of humanity than the description of the events con-
nected with the death of him whom Jesus loved. With what con-
fidence do the sisters unbosom their griefs ; and with what
feeling does Jesus listen to the voice of this sorrow. And when,
in the simplicity of a gospel narrative, it is said, Jesus wept,
what heart can be unmoved by the tenderness of him, who had
power to heal the sick, and to raise the dead, and whom even
the winds and sea obeyed. Surely here is one who can sym-
pathize with us in all our infirmities. The benevolence of Jesus
towards his fellow-citizens and countrymen was manifested in
•the' labours which he endured in their service, and in the mira-

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. 11

cles which he performed on all who had need of his healing
powers. '»

The benevolence of Jesus, although conspicuous in the re-
lief of bodily distress, and in the interchange of those affections
which bind man to man, while he tabernacles on earth, could
not be satisfied without the interests of the soul were consid-
ered. The great end of his teaching, and of all his miracles,
was to lead men back to God, from whom they had revolted,
and to shew them the way, the truth and the life. Even his
enemies were the objects of his pity ; and in his last and great
struggle, his language is, "Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do." On considering the whole character of
Jesus Christ, every candid inquirer must admit, that benevo-
lence so enlarged in its range and so persevering in its endea-
vours was never seen on earth. It only requires a faithful peru-
sal of the New Testament to be convinced that the benevo-
lence of Jesus was of the highest possible kind, and entirely be.
yond the power of humanity to attain.

III. In the character of Christ we behold the most various
characters combined. In his intercourse with men, we find
him temperate in all things, yet cheerful and willing to encour-
age by his presence the pleasures of social life. He was ardent
in fulfilling the work which was given him to do, but, at the
same time, calm in every situation, whether he was the object
of censure or of applause. He was the messenger of truth,
but still meek and lowly in his deportment. He was kind to
all, but no favour to the person could blind him to their faults.
He was religious, and much given to devotion ; yet he never
failed in active duty. He was simple in his words, yet prudent
in all his conduct. These are qualities which we call opposite,
because in frail humanity we seldom see them combined.

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

The temperance of some is apt to produce a Want of social
kindness. Ardour is often the occasion of indiscretion and
precipitancy. A rigid adherence to truth is not unfrequently
accompanied with austere and rigid manners. Prudence is of-
ten accompanied with cunning. And, in the world in which we
live, how often are active pursuits made an excuse for the ne-
glect of the duties of religion ; and on the other hand, the du-
ties of prayer and of pious meditation made the pretexts of
retiring from the discharge of duties which the providence and
AVord of God point out as binding on all. In truth, if we look
around us in the world, we shall find the virtues of the best
but ill assorted and extremely partial in their influence. If we
see the same man at different times, we can scarcely recognise
the lineaments of the same character ; so disjointed are the best
endeavours of the most improved men. Or, if there be a con-
tinued sameness of character, it presents itself often when cir-
cumstances require another kind of temper.

l:>ut in Jesus Christ we find the same character throughout ;
consistent with itself in every display of its excellence, and every
virtue ready to show itself in proper degree, and?in proper time
and place. That Jesus who joined in the festivities of the
marriage feast, ard made his beginning of miracles in supply-
ing the deficiencies of the entertainment of the happy circle,
is the same with him who endured privations of every kind in
doing the will of his Father, and enjoined a life of self-denial on
all his disciples. If w^ admire the zeal of the Saviour in jour-
neying from city to city, thronged by the people, and fatigued
by his travelling, we see the same character v/hen he is calm
amid the hosannas of the multitude, or questioned before the
tribunal of the Roman governor. In fact, his zeal is consist-
ent with his calmness, and his calmness never betrays any defi-

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST. 13

ciepcy of proper feeling. There is a unity also in his piety
and in his active endeavours ; he prays when he performs his
miracles, as at the tomb of Lazarus ; and, on the other hand,
when we have access to his private devotion, we find the ob-
jects of his mission were uppermost, as we discover by the
words which he spoke to his sorrowing disciples when he was
about to leave the scene of his sufferings, of which the follow-
ing quotations may shew the general spirit : " Father I will
that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I
am ; that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me,
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." In
truth, every quality which could adorn human nature was found
in the man Christ Jesus. There was no opposition of virtues
in him ; for all harmonized in producing the character of him
who extorted approbation from the lips of his enemies, and in
whom God himself declared that he was well pleased.

IV. In the character of Christ there is a wisdom displayed
such as was never before exhibited on earth. That he knew
intimately the principles of human nature may be gathered
from his history, although we altogether leave out of sight the
assertion of the sacred historian, '• That he knew what was in
man." Moral science is that which the revelation of God
claims as peculiarly its own. Classification, or the reducing of
a science to its elemental principles, is the highest effort of hu-
man genius. But where in the writings of all the philosophers
that ever existed, shall we discover, on the subject of morals, a
classification so complete as that which is exhibited in the ten
commandments. In vain do we look for such a display in the
writings of the sages of antiquity. In comparison of the light
which shines in the Word of God on this momentous subject,
the splendour of. heathen reason becomes faint and deceitful in

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

the light which it affords. But Jesus Christ could shed addi-
tional light on that which already transcended the unaided
powers of human genius. He could so explain and enforce the
law of God as to make his instructions be called emphatically a
new commandment. Well might it be asked, whence has this
man wisdom ? Is not this the carpenter's son ] And the in-
quiry is as important at this day as when our Lord was on the
earth. Whence hath this man wisdom ] Is this not
Jesus, the Jew, the Nazarene ? Is not this he who was
crucified under the governorship of Pontius Pilate 1 Or,
in the words of Tacitus : ** Is not this he who was the author
of a despicable superstition 1 " Whence, we again ask, had this
man the wisdom that he could in a few sentences declare more
valuable truth than ever was discovered by all the sages of an-
tiquity, and that in a science on which they had prided them-
selves above all others. A remarkable feature in his mission
also is, that he required no long reasoning to arrive at his con-
clusions, but, with the glance of intuition, could arrive at
truths which were never brought to light by the most laborious
and vaunted investigations of philosophy. To him the science
of morals was as plain as if he had been the original author of
all its decrees, and the workings of human nature were as open
to his view as if he had been the framer of the constitution of
man. It is worthy also of particular remark that in his simple
declaration there is an authority independent of his character
as a divine messenger, which none of the precepts of philoso-
phy could ever acquire, even when fortified with the profound-
est reasoning. We have only to take a few examples to estab-
lish what we have said. " Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth," is a truth, the longerwe consider it the more
we are satisfied of its truth ; as the proud heart can never be

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

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'* Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness-
sake," is a truth, the moment it is stated, none can deny, and
yet none but Jesus ever published it. His tracing of morals ta
their first principles is also remarkable, or rather, we should
say his declaration of these principles. " Ye have heard," says
he, " that it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt not
kill, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his bro-
ther without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment." —
And again, " From within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, etc. All these evil things
come from within and defile the man." It would far exceed the
limit of our essay to do justice to this part of our subject ; but
we cannot forbear remarking that the doctrines of our Lord,^
in regard to prayer and providence, to human responsibility
and future judgment, as far transcend the wisdom of the wise,,
as the matured wisdom of age and of intellect surpasses the
feeble lispings of the infant, whose sounds are as void of mean-
ing as its mind is destitute of knowledge.

Besides the wisdom of our Lord so far exceeding the wisdom
of antiquity, another circumstance which makes it still more
conspicuous is the marvellous folly and extravagance of those
in Christian times who have chosen to dispute the claims of
the Gospel. Philosophy, in the first ages of the Christian
Church, in its rage for opposing the revelation of the Bible,
upheld superstition in all its forms ; nay, employed magical
incantations and false miracles to support the interests of idola,-
try J and so besotted are modern sceptics that they make some
of these deluded men the objects of their praise, and still dare

CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

maintain their own pretensions to sup nior wisdom and freedom
from vulgar prejudice. Thus Gibbon, instead oi' a history,
writes a panegyric of the apostate Julian ; and although, on his
own shewing, we can perceive that Julian was the most super-
stitious of human beings, yet this renowned historian calls him
not only a virtuous but a philosophic prince, and at the close
of his account of his remarkable reign, adds, with an effrontery
which none but a sceptic coulrl use in such circumstances,
" Philosophy," says he, " can boast (and perhaps it is no more
than the boast of philosophy) that her gentle hand is able to
eradicate from the human mind the latent and deadly princi-
ple of fanaticism." But it is not only the philosophers of the
first centuries of Christianity, but modern philosophers, who
have, in the course of Divine Providence, been allowed to shew
the extent of their folly in opposing revealed truth. In latter
times, in their zeal against Christ, they sapped the foundations
of all morality, and by the adoption of their principles by mul-
titudes who followed their delusions, human nature was ex-
hibited in an as'^ect of ferocity that had never before been wit-
nessed. Truly I'c may be said of false philosophers, as well as of
the votaries of a false church, God hath sent them strong de-
lusion that they may believe a lie. If men will reject the
wisdom which shines in every word the Saviour uttered, they
shall not do it with impunity. Opposition to truth hardens
the mind and blinds the understanding, so that the little which
a man hath is taken away by the workings of his own perver-
sity. Thus we see that in the character of Christ there is a
wisdom which far excels that of all men. The reasonings of
^heathen philosophers are altogether set aside by the light of
the Gospel, and modern sceptics only increase their folly in
their attempts to overturn the truth of God, and in their pre-

CHAUACTER OF JESUS CHKIST.

tensions to superior wisdom and liberality. In all their en-
deavours they have shown to the world that there are no men
so bigotted and fanatical as thorough-paced sceptics. At this
day the wisdom of Christ and the folly of his enemies is more
manifest than at any former period. Is this the fate of impos
ture ? Do false pretensions become more confirmed as the
world becomes more enlightened ?

V. In the character of Christ we perceive a habitual eleva-
tion of mind. With the character which we have described,
elevation in all circumstances is perfectly consistent ; nay, we
cannot conceive so many excellences united without an eleva-
tion of spirit beyond anything that can be 'seen on earth. By
elevation of spirit we mean not that pride which often attends
the union of many great talents in mere human beings ; a
feeling which leads to the contempt of others, and often blinds
to the very means of attaining the ends at which its ambi-
tion aims. Many are the melancholy instances of the ruin
which an ill-timed self-ambition brought on its possessors. It was
this which took away the judgment they previously possessed,
and overwhelmed in destruction an Alexander, a Caesar, and a
Bonaparte before the schemes were completed which they con-
sidered necessary to their glory. The elevation which we con-
template in the Saviour was the very reverse of all this. It
arose from a calm consideration of the greatness of the work in
which he v:as engaged, and from a certain conviction of the
truth of all that he assumed. From his first appearance in
public to the last moment he tabernacled among men, we see the
movements of a being who had higher ends in view, and with
greater power to put them into, execution, than ever were be-
held in any of the sons of men. Even when a child, although

submissive to his parents, we find him asserting the preroga-
2

18 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRlST.

live of liim wlio was commissioned by God himself : " Wist
ye not that I must be about my Father's business ! " When
he began his public ministry, and we find his forerunner do-
ing him homage, can we perceive the smallest impropriety in
Jesus accepting this testimony to his mission, although John
was a prophet and more than a prophet. Nay, the exclama-
tion of the Baptist, " Behold the Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world," is in perfect keeping, when ad-
dressed to him who had power to heal the sick and to cast out
devils witi; a word. In the submission of Jesus to the minis-
fi! I try of the Baptist, we also discover the same dignity as when

I jj he receives the respect which was due to His character. When

John says that he had need to be baptized of Jesus, our Lord
does not deny the truth of his opinion, but says, ** suffer it to
be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness; " "* v\
thus he submits to the ordinance, but never forgets for a mo-
ment that he was Lord of him who was to administer the
sacred rite.

In all his intercourse with the people he displayed the same
superiority of character. " He speaketh with authority and
not as the Scribes" was the remark of the multitude themselves.
He was the first being upon earth who could speak with au-
thority in his own name, and heaven bear witness to the truth
of what he said. The prophets prefaced their declarations with
saying " thus saith the Lord," but the language of the Son is,
** verily, verily, I say unto you." Mild and affable wherever
he went, but whether with the disciples or in the presence of
his bitterest enemies, there was something in the deportment
of our Lord who overawed all who approached him. What
, must have been the dignity of that individual who, without
tumult, could drive from the courts of the temple the thous-

CHAUACTEU OF .JL:sUS (JIIIUST.

ands of selfish creatures, who at the feast of the Passover pol-
luted the house of God with their merchandize. Had any
other dared interrupt thoir unhallowed practices he would have
been torn in pieces. Indeed, wherever he went and in what-
ever circumstances he was placed, he considered himself as
the messenger of Heaven, whose mission not all the powers of
hell could interrupt. " My hour is not yet come," was his
answer to the trembling disciples. " I have power to lay down
my life and I have power to take it again," was language
which was perfectly consistent with the character of him who
uttered it.

How elevated must his conduct have been before the chief
priests and the Roman governor. Surely there must have been
something more than human in the behaviour of Jesus Christ,
which could make an unprincipled Roman hesitate to give up
a single individual for the preservation of the public peace ;
especially when we consider that this happened in a land and
at a time when cruelty and oppression were the order of the
day, and the sacrifice of the lives of hundreds, to the quelling of
the slightest sedition, were events of every day occurrence.
" My Kingdom is not of this world," if uttered in ordinary
circumstances, and by an ordinary person, would have called
down the derision of every spectator ; yet these v^re the words
which led Pilate the more earnestly to seek to release him.

How wonderful also is the sight of a poor, persecuted Gal-
ilean speaking words which were to console his people to the
end of time ; instituting an ordinance which was to commem-
orate his death to the latest period, as one of the greatest
events the world ever saw ; and in the immediate prospect of
death, addressing such language as the following to the God of
heaven and earth : '* Father I will that they also whom thou

20 CIIARACTKR OF JESUS CHRIST.

hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold
my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before
the foundation of the world." The same character is supported
to the end. In the garden, when he says, " whom seek ye ?"
and on the cross when he cries with a loud voice, ** it is fin-
ished." Does it not become us when we consider the exalted
character which Christ sustained from the cradle to the grave,
seriously to consider how great this Man was 1

Thus then we have considered the character of Christ in that
exalted view which characterizes all his proceedings, whether
we consider his relation to God or to man ; in that union of
qualities which never meet in any of the corrupt children of
Adam ; in that wisdom by which he never spake as man spake;
and in that elevation of mind which suited such excellence
alone. Is it then possible to conceive that a being clothed
with virtue and excellences of every description could deceive
those who are willing to give credit to his sayings ? Is it
consistent with spotless purity to defile the conscience with
deceit and falsehood ; with the most exalted devotion to God,
to establish will worship and idolatry; with benevolence to
men to mislead them in their most important concerns ; with
the greatest wisdom, to establish a groundless superstition ;
and can we suppose the greatest elevatioa of soul, compatible
with the meanness of passing himself off for a being which he
was not, and claiming honours to which he had not the smallest
title 1 Such suppositions are utterly incredible. If we admit
the truth of the records which the Apostles have given, we must
admit the justice of the claims which are advanced, although
we had no other evidence than the veracity of Jesus himself
who urges them.

There is no way of avoiding the conclusion, but denying the

,.4

C'lIAUACTKU OF JESUS CHlilST.

truth of the details of the life of our Lord as given by the evan-
gelists ; and to assert that no such person ever existed ; and that
the character A^hich is exhibited in the Gospels is the mere fiction
of those who wrote them. But a very little consideration will
convince us that this hypothesis is altogether untenable, and
that the invention of the history of Jesus was beyond the
power of the disciples. We admit that there are some qualities
which may be described by those who do not possess them.
Thus, for example, a person may declaim about courage, and
even invent circumstances in which it might be exercised and
ail the while himself be a coward, and on the first occasion of
real danger abandon the companions who were hurried into
action by the power of his eloquence. We know that this was
the case with the greatest orator of antiquity. A person also
may write much about feeling, and invent cases to call it forth,
and yet mi'^^ be destitute in a great measure of practical sym-
pathy for distress. We grant that in moral subjects also,
beautiful general descriptions may be given, and feigned char-
acters may in many points be well supported, in the writings
of those who are worthless themselves, who neither fear God
nor regard man. But here our admission must stop, and we
assert without the fear of contradiction, that it is altogether
impossible for a human being to raise up a perfect moral char-
acter on minute particulars of action, and of private and public
discourse, without the writer himself being a perfect moral
character. That this is the case we have already remarked,
when speaking of purity of heart ; and we find the truth con-
firmed by all writers of novels, dramas, and poems. What
are the best characters of Homer but pictures of the savage
morality of which the writer approved. Even the Cyrus of
Xenophon, with all his worth, is no paragon of excellence ; and

4^ mi

CHARACTER OF JKSUS CHRIST.

the pious ^Eneas himself, of the Mantuan bard, is a monster
of deceit and cruelty.

The thing is notorious, that previous to the history of our
Lord no account of the actions and the sayings of a perfect
moral being, in duties to God and man, ever appeared or could
appear ; and what is still more striking, no such history has
ever shewn itself since his appearance in the world, although
the numberless writei^i of fiction which rise up in every age,
had the advantage of such a copy before them.

In all feeliiigs which are merely the workings of nature, with-
out requiring perfections of morals, men may be found equal
to the task of framing a fictitious character which all must ad-
mire. But to form a fictitious moral character, by relating
minute particulars of private and public life, the writer himself
must have a perfect idea of moral worth. * And can we sup-
pose for a moment that tho apostles of our Lord, illiterate and
obscure as they were, could do what was beyond the power of
Homer, Xenophon, Virgil, and all the sages of Greece and
Rome, and beyond the power of all the genius that has
appeared in the world since the Christian era ; and that they
could rise altogether above the age in which they lived, and
give us a picture of perfection, altogether at variance with the
notions in which they had been educated. The supposition is
altogether incredible. If the apostles had written a fictitious
character in which they wished to give us their ideas of per-
fection, they would have done as Homer, Xenophon, Virgil,
and all other writers of fiction have done. They would have
given us as fiir as they were able, a graphic and striking repre-
sentation of the virtues which were most in repute in their
day ; they would have clothed their hero with every attribute
that could dazzle the imagination or call forth the patriotic

III. • uwiPJiNijiv ii|jiiiii^p»<r

OttARACTER OF JESUS CHRtST. 2S.

feelin«:s of a Jew. And instead of the character of Jesns
Christ, we should now have been furnished with the heau.ideal
of a proud and sanctimonious Pharisee, of an impious Sadducee,
or of a quiet and abstemious Essene, according as the opinions
of the writers led them to prefer one set of worthies to the
other ; and at all events every Jew would have made the most
exalted excellence to consist in bringing temporal deliverance
to Israel and extending the boundaries of their kingdom to the
extremities of the world.

Besides moral worth, there is another part of \e character
of our Lord which the evangelists never could h tve reached,
we mean the wisdom which distinguished him from all the
human race. This is a point which it is impossible to evade ;
for it would be removing the difficulty only a single step, to
deny the wisdom of the Saviour, if we must admit that in the
writings of each of the evangelists, there are marks of wisdom
which all the wise men of antiquity could never attain. There
are doctrines and precepts in the New Testament which, even
our enemies themselves being judges, cast into the shade all
the wisdom of the heathen. Whence then came this wisdom,
is the point of enquiry. To deny the character of our Lord
does not explain tlie difficulty. Just as if any one wishing to
decry the knowledge which the heathen really possessed in re-
ga^-d to religion and morality, were to assert that Xenophon
and Plato had invented the character of Socrates and the doc-
trines which he taught, he would not have gained his object,
because he would have been oblig 3d to confess that Xenophou
and Plato knew and held these doctrines, which would amount
to the same thing in regard to the point at issue. On the
same principle, if we deny the reality of the character of
Christ, still we must admit that there were four obscure indi-

24 CHARACTER OF JESUS CHRIST.

viiluals endowed with such superhuman wisdom that we cannot
account for the fact without supposing a miracle. And what
is still more, this miracle would be wrought for a purpose the
most derogatory to the divine government that we can possibly
conceive, in order that a false history might be written and a
false religion might be imposed on v/homsoever might be most
inclined, in all time coming, to pay the greatest reverence to
the dispensations of providence.

Truly the religion of Christ must be a wonderful religion ;
for whether we adopt it or reject it, we are led to the most
marvellous conclusions. But as a belief of the truth of the
Scriptures is the only course we can pursue without a violation
of every rule of human testimony, without sapping the foun-
dation of morality, and overthrowing every notion that we can
form of the truth and perfection of the divine being, our wis-
dom will be to admit the reality of the character which the
evangelists have published of their master and of themselves.
According to their testimony he was the Son of God, and they
were plain, honest men, who had no idea of bearing away the
palm of inventive genius from the sages of Greece and Home,
l)ut only testified what they saw and heard ; and were the
humble instruments in the hand of God in proclaiming a sys-
tem of truths, without which the world would still be in gross
darkness, in regard to everything connected with religion anfl
morals. If this be the conclusion to which we must com.e on a

• consideration of the character of Jesus Christ as a man, how
overwhelming would be the conviction if we were to consider
liim in all his character as mediator, and in all that he has
done for our fallen race. To say that the disciples could invent
his history must be the efTt-ct of a wilful shutting of the mind

■ against truth and reason.

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