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1 2 3

3:x

P^fe «'«iT>i)r>Sii»il8i^

THE TEACHER ^"'

SENT FROM GOD.

(\.u\ .

Rev. JOHN THOMPh'ON,

.Of St. Andrew's CHrrROH, Sarnia.

SABKIAt

THB AMATET7B PBESS.

1882.

^^^i»><-i"^ i*> ''*"'a^fir »ag> ^^

THE TEACHER
SENT FROM GOD.

BY THE

Kev. JOHN THOMPSON,

Of St. Andrew's Cuukch, Sakma.

S A R N I A :

THE AMATEUE FEESS.

1882.

TO THE

SESSION AND CONGREGATION
or

NDREW'S CHUKCH,

SARVIA,

My true Yoke-feUows who labor with me in the Gospel,
Tint lagft are ledicated as a

And Memorial of aweet Coonsel together, and with the Prayer
for increased uiefiilneu in ftiture yean,-b7

Sarnia, Christman, 1882.

THE PASTOK.

THEfo

are put
who, ir
lead th

Ou
cussion,
view,
it parta
eternal
theme (
purpose
more ex
and his

from th
him stil
gained i
teacher
these m
The Chi
teacher <
other mi
still sits
lowly, t(

INTRODUCTION.

be Gospel,

the Prayer
7

8T0K.

The following brief chapters on Christ's character as a Tkacher,
are published with the hope that they may prove helpful to those
who, in sincerity of heart, have come to learn of Him who can
lead them into all truth.

Our aim in the following pages has not been^ll^di^ of dis-
cussion, even of that jmrticular aspect of Christ's work under re-
view. A full discussion of such a subject is an impossibility, for
it partakes of the infinite, and will be a subject of study through
eternal ages. We have merely dwelt on a few salient ix>ints of a
theme of permanent and profound interest to the Church. Our
purpose is gained if any may be led by what is here written, to a
more exalted conception of, and firmer trust in both the kacher
and his Lessons.

"Never man spake like this man," was a judgment forced
from those who once heard him : we form the same judgment of
him still, notwithstanding the many who have since spoken, and
gained an audience among men. "We know that thou art, a
teacher sent from God," said Nicodemns, "for no man could do
these miracles which thou doest, unless God were with him."
The Church to-day is still of the same opinion. Every other
teacher comes in time to be criticized, and even superseded ; every
other master has his place filled by a successor, but Christendom
still sits with loving obedience at the feet of Him who is me-'-
lowly, to learn from Him the words of eternal life.

IctrK aSu

'sr

:#"

The Teacher Sent from Goi

-tP^^rvT^ii.-

CHAPTER I.

Chriat, the Teacher : His Character.

"And He went forth again by the sea side, and aU the multi.
tude resorted unto Him, and Ha taught them."

The cliaracter and work of tlio Lord Jesus Christ
nrny U^ considored under various a-spects, for in liis niis-
Kion to tlie world tluTo is a umnifold wisiloni. His cliief
and 8i)ecial characteristic is as a Princk and iv Saviour,
wlio came to redeem man from the power of sin and death!
He IS also set forth in the Gosj.el as an exawp/e to his
people-the j.erfect pattern of what their lives should be.
But he is a Teticher also, who came to teach the people
knowledge, to instruct them in the will of God, and by
hi.. Spirit to lead them into all the truth. Teaching was
one of his i)rominent functions ; he was recognised by all
in this character : " Thou art a teacher sent from God."—
John iii., 3. His enemies said of him, "He stirreth up
the peoj.le, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from
Galilee to this place."— Luke xxiii., 5. While the Evan-
gelists, in recording his life, affirm that Jesus went about
an Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching
the Gospel of the kingdom. "-Matt, iv., 23. As he passed
from \illage to village, and from place to place, his audit-
ors became more numerous. His teaching was so much

kll the mnlti-

psus Christ

ill Iiis inis-

His cliief

V Saviour,

and (loath.

uple to his

should he.

the people

xl, and by

'iching was

i.sed by all

m (Jod."—

jtirreth up

ining from

the Evan-

t'ent about

preaching

he passed

his audit-

.8 so much

CHRIKT, THE TKACHKK 8KNT rROM GOD.

talked a])out, and took such a tirni hold of men's minds that
great multitudes crowde<l around him from every quar-
ter, pnd as lie was wont he taught them. " Pearly in the
morning he came again into the temple, and all the i»eo-
pie came unto him ; and he sat down and taught them."
— John viii., 2.

To empha.size this part of his work, ho is frequently
called MfMter, or Teacher, while no term is more freiiuently
applied to his followers than the word disclph.s, or schol-
ars. He himself say.s, "Come, learn of me." We are
warranted, ther<>fore, in considering him as a teacher sent
from God, as well as an nfonenient for sin, or an example
to his people, though these are but different parts of the
one work given him to do,— "to bring his many sons into
glory."

ins CHARACTER AS A TEACHER.
''And it came to pam vhrn JeMis had ended these myhigs, the
•]i€ople were astonished at his doctrine ; for he tauffht thevi as one
hacinff authority, and not as the .SVW6ew. "— Matt, vii., 28, 29.

What a skillful, -nstant teacher the Ma.ster was,
using every opportunity and incident to bring truth home
to the heart and conscience of )iis hearers. Though it is
only a small part of all" he uttered that has been preserved
to us in the Gospels, yet what a store of truth is recorded
there ! How rich the moral precepts he lays down !
What a light is thrown across all duty by his Sermon m>
the Mount ! What a revelation he gives us of the Father's
mercy and love ! Christ's teaching, like his example, was
perfect, and his lessons had many characteristics peculiar to
himself, for no man ever taught like this man. He poured
forth, from the fountains of his own holy life, and spake

0IIRI8T, THE TEA( IIEll HKNT FROM OOD.

to the people from that Divine fulb.oss which is peculiarly
his own, as - The Wisdon, of C;<k1." Uo was hin.self the
treasury fron. which lie drew, and he conununicated from
the storehouse of his own unsearchahh^ riches. Through-
out the web of his discourses the doul.le thread of his hu-
manity and divinity is to 1m' trued. He at once si,ake as
a n.an, and yet no man ever spake as this man. All who
heard him noticed that his teaching dillered from that of
all others ; they had never heard anything like it before
But how did he teach ? Or in what way did his instruc-
tions differ from other teachers, n.arking him out distinct-
ively as " The Teacher sent from God " ?

I. -Negatively.-" 7/e tauyht them not ,v. the Scribes:^

The Scribes occupied a prominent place in those days
and were the authorized expounders of Scripture, especi-
ally the Law of Moses. Originally they were a noble race
ot men, who became a distinct order about the return
from the captivity. They furnish an illustration of what
has often happened in the Church, when vital godliness is
at a low e]>b. Every spiritual purpose is then forgotten,
while the rite continues for its own sake. The technical
remains, long after the real has vanished. So these
Scribes dwelt on the letter, and ignored the spirit of the
law ; they pursued the shadow, and despised the 'sub-
stance ; they clung to the ritual, and ignored the real • they
worshipped the dead carcass, and trampled on the livincr
soul. Such teaching had neither freshness nor force in it*
it moved along the cold narrow lines of precedent ; what
It lacked in^originality and lire, it made up by dogmatic
Iteration. Not a fringe of their phylacteries must be ruf-
^JS^ I not one unlioly finger must be put on their tradi-

I is peculiarly
iR himself the
iiiicatod from
8. Through-
'ad of his liu-
mcv Kjiake as
in. All who
from that of
kc. it before,
his instruc-
out distinct-

w t/ic Scribes.'^

I those days,
•ture, especi-
a noble race

the return
;ion of what

godliness is
n forgotten,
ho technical
So these
pirit of the
d the *sub-
e real ; they

II the liviriff
force in it ;
lent ; what
y dogmatic
lust be ruf-
bheir tradi-

CnBIST, THE TKACIIEK SENT FnoM OOD.

tmns, not one whisper must be l.reathed against their
meaningless observances, but they could break all the ten
connuandments of the law and be blameless. TI.eir teach-
ing had becon.e pe<lantio, technical, trivial, shallow, h(«art-
Icss. All was stately, formal, cold. They had squeezed
out the substances for the sake of the husks. Tliey threw
away the kernel to keep the shell, and had made the law
of God of none ellect through their traditions. In their
zeal for tithing mint, anise, cumin, etc, they omitted all
the wfughtier matters. They had learned to strain out
gnats, and swallow camels. Full of (luibbles and con-
temptible technicalities, they spent their time in drawing
mi.sera))le distinctions bet^>(>en swearing by the temple,
and swearing by the fjold of thi temple. They were thus'
in their spiritual bMndness, binding heavy burdens, and
grievous to be borne, and laying them on n.en's shoulders ;
))ut they themselves would not touch them witli one of
their fingers. What a character is giveti them by our Lord !
his scathing words reveal what manner of men they were.
'•• The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat ; all
therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe
and do ; but do not ye after their works : for they say and
do not. For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they them-
selves will not move them with one of their fingers. But
all their works they do for to be seen of men ; they make
broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their
garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and
the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the
markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. "-Matt,
xxiii, 2 — 7.

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

I I'

These Scribes have tlieir successors in the Churcli of
to-day ; men who are ready to barter all the doctrines of
the Gospel for the sake of their traditions, and make com-
promises with morality itself, to find room for their crot-
chets and quibbles. There are those who are eager to un-
church the best part of Christendom for a fiction ; some
who even revile Christ to his face, and preach damnable
heresies -, yet because certain hands have been laid upon
them in ordination, they claim to be the true successors of
the Apostles, and the only lawful ministers of the Apos-
tolic Church ; while they brand as a schismatic a man who
has been ordained, like Timothy, by the laying on of the
hands of the Presbytery, though he may have preached
the Gospel with power and blessing, to the saving of thou-
sands, with the demonstration of the Spirit ! To such
men the lies and heresies of Rome are nothing in compar-
ison to the enormity of preaching without the sanction of
an Episcopal bishop. Tliere are men also in the Church,
—fit successors to the Scribes,~who think far more of
water than of the blood of Jesus, for they will unchurch
those who have been washed in the one, and receive those
who have been only dipped in the other ; men more Judaic
than the Jews, and more dogmatic even than the Scribes !
But are not some of our own congregations and
Church Courts often witnesses to just such men,— as pe-
dantic, technical, and drivelling as ever the Scribes were ?
men who think far more of a. pin than Si pillar in the tem-
ple of God ! who can split a hair, but can never see the
cable it hangs on ! fighting for principles, debating ques-
tions, lifting up their testimony, and growing angry over
matters as unsubstantial as the foam of the sea, and which

concent
samer '\
tory of
troublei
Scribes,
become
congrec
one wh<
Church
with tl]
questioi
will me
overflow
will the
pei^cial

was the
of the h
stifled ai
to what
sectariai
sing froi
glories o;
and dirt,
ground c
soil of \
through
ing of SG
all bare i
ever won
wide siirr

le Churcli of
doctrines of
cl make com-
r their crot-
eager to un-
ction ; some
;li damnable
n laid upon
iuccessors of
•f the Apos-
! a man who
ig on of the
ve preached
ing of thou-
! To such
[ in compar-
sanction of
the Church,
ar more of
II unchurch
3ceive those
tiore Judaic
he Scribes !

Rations and
en, — as pe-
ribes were?
in the tem-
ver see the
ating ques-
angry over
and which

CHRIST, THE TEACHKR SENT FROM GOD.

concern the real life of the Church no more than the gos-
samer which the child chases as it flits past him ? A his
tory of many of our congi-egational quarrels and church
troubles would be a good commentary on the spirit of the
Scribes. It is humiliating to think of the little trifles that
become occasions of offence, and over which many of our
congregations break up, and good men grow angry. Any
one who has listened to an Appeal case in some of our
Church Courts, knows we.: .ow precious time is occupied
with these petty, contemptil)le (juan-els, while the great
questions of the Church's needs are crowded out. When
will men lose their pedantry and pettiness in the groat
overflowing floods of the Church's life and work 1 When
will the real, and practical, and spiritual, displace the su-
perficial and technical 1

How different from all this, and how much gmnder
was the teaching of Christ ! It breathed the amplitude
of the heavens under which it was uttered, and not the
stifled air of the synagogue. In passing from his lessons
to what we sometimes hear taught in the narrow, bigoted
sectarian shibboleths of certain congregations, is like pas-
sing from the grandeur of Solomons Temple, or even the
glories of the summer sky, to a beggar's hovel, amid refuse
and dirt. His words were germinal, and covered the whole
ground of life and duty ; they were as seed planted in the
soil of the heart, to bud, and blossom, and bear fruit
through the ages. His teaching pierced even to the divid-
ing of soul and spirit ; it touched the very core, and laid
a., hare in the light of eternal truth and righteousness. If
ever words were spoken on earth by human lips, of world-
wide significance, they were the wholesome words of Jesus

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

Christ, who spake as never man spake. Tliey come as the
sunshine around tlie roots of our deepest convictions and
noblest aspirations. As the morning light his words caused
all things to be seen in their true proportions and relations,
while they have purified the atmosphere of centuries. His
teaching subverts the false sentiments and maxims of hu-
manity ; the sermon preached from the hill-top by the car-
penter from Nazareth, to the group of peasants, fishermen
and mechanics, is by universal judgment regarded as the
noblest utterances of the earth. It contains no commen-
dation on what the world eagerly seeks— its pleasures,
fame, riches, honor or rank ; but rather on what it dreads
—poverty, sorrow, persecution, humility, for those things
that are esteemed among men are an abomination in the
sight of God. The world's wisest men have marvelled at
a vision so fair as the one held up by our Lord in his Ser-
mon on the Mount ; they have been fascinated by the con-
ception it contains of man's moral and spiritual life. The
Great Teacher gives utterance to truths that have entered
the thoughts of all civilized peoples, and been regarded as
living principles, sacred and current forever, as axiomatic
truths, common alike to believer and unbeliever. Words
so child-like, so simple and artless, spoken by the lips of
a poor Nazarene, brought up in the narrowest of all na-
tional bigotries, spoken, too, by a man who had never
learned letters, and j et the foundation of all morality for
all time. Such an intellectual and moral phenomenon
can be accounted for only in one way,— He was the
Teacher sent from God, and came into the world as

THE V/lSDOM OF GOD.

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

'' come as the
ivictions and
words caused
md relations,
ituries. His
axims of hu-
p by the car-
its, fishermen
arded as the
no commen-
ts pleasures,
hat it dreads
those things
nation in the
marvelled at
'd in his Ser-
d by the con-
lal life. The
have entered
1 regarded as
as axiomatic
ver. Words
)y the lips of
Bst of all na-
o had never
morality for
phenomenon
Ie was the
ie world as

II. Affirmatively.— //e taught as one having authority:'
" The Son of Man has poiver on earth." "His word was with
poioer. "

The intense personal conviction of eternal truth ever
rested upon him. He uttered the verities of God, and
therefore spake with authority, and not as the Scribes.
Tlie Scribes appealed to their traditions, to the authority
of others, while Jesus always appealed to his own. " / smj
U7ito you," and spoke as one who had a right to the empire
of the heart of every man ; and even when he quotes tlie
Bible, he does so as one who stands above it, and who puts
his own seal upon it. All the prophets had said, " Thus
saith the Lord," but Jesus says, "/ sr/y unto you," and as
he commands men to repent, to believe, to come to him,
he seeks no certificate for his authority but his own. He
lays down the foundation of eternal principles with all the
self-consciousness of God, and with all the familiar loving
intercourse of a brother. Unlike any other prophet who
preceded him, following in the wake of no other teacher,
he was the substance of his own revelation, the fullness of
the Gospel which he preached, the interpretation of his
own symbols, the substance of a shadow that had long co-
vered the dispensations of God, the bright and morning
star for whose rising faith had long waited through the
dim outlines of prophecy. He put himself above the law,
above the priesthood, above the whole Jewish economy.
"There is one here greater than the temple." How in-
tense was his personality that he might stand alone as
"The teacher sent from God," distinctive in all his utter-
ances as the One in whom dwelt all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily. He never hesitates to assert his own su-

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

premacy, and put himself in opposition to the Scribes and
learned doctors whom he denounced as blind leaders of the
blind. In his vScrmon on the Mount he repeatedly oon-
froiij;s them, and turns their miserable interpretations of
the Law of Moses upside down. Bead Matt, v., 21, 22;
27, 28 ; 31, 32 ; 33, 34, etc. And the Master continues,
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, lliou shalt love
thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you,
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you. That ye may be the children
of your Father which is in heaven, for he niaketh his sun
to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them that love
you, what reward have ye 1 Do not even the publicans
the same 1 And if yo salute your brethren only, what do
ye more than than othei-s ? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in hea-
ven is perfect." How his words inspire action, and breathe
around life the sweet atmosphere of a garden of spices— the
aroma of tlie king's own presence ! Here the Law and the
Prophets, long remaining as an unblossomed branch of
spring buds, now, under the light he sheds upon them,
crop out into flower and fruit. His words are so full of
hope, full of cheering, assurances, full of faith in God, till
the distance between our Father and ourselves, is bridged
by him who is the Wai/, and who assures our hearts of
the Fatheriiood of God.

What a revolution of sentiment, as wel! as a stirring
up of oppc»sition these words would cause ! What a fer-
ment this teaching would produce among the Scribes and

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FKOM OOD.

e Scri}>es and
leaders of the
peatedly con-
T)retations of

I: V,, ^ J, J^ J

ler continues,
ou shalt love
say unto you,
u, do good to
1 despiteful ly

the cliildren
iketh his sun
id(;th rain on
em that love
he publicans
nly, what do
>r.blicans so?
v'ho is in hea-
, and breathe
f spices — the
Law and the
ed branch of

upon them,
ire so full of
1 in God, till
?s, is bridged
ur hearts of

as a stirring
What a ter-
Scribes and

Pharisees ! Tliis cai7)enter, this young untaught Nazar-
ene, who had never learned letters, presuming to put his
authority against their's ! He belonged to none of tho
Schools of Philosoi.hy, had sat at the feet of no teaflier,
who had no social standing, and no oilicial dignity ; and
yet he had the hardihood to come and instruct the doctors
of the law in the great city ! Tlie more earnest among
them were astonished at his doctrincj, it was so unlike any-
thing ever heard before. Tliere was no labored argument,
no doubtful disputation, or formulated doctrinal statement.
He deals with the simplest and most obvious religious and
moral duties, and always spake in the simplest and most
artless manner, with such quiet conscious dignity. An
earthly teacher, conscious of his partial knowledge and li-
ability to err, wishes to correct his opinions, especially if
bhese have been hastily given ; and more particularly in
extempore speech he cannot have the exactness of formal
preparation ; he is often taken at a disadvantage, and com-
pelled to revise his opinions. But the Great Teacher never
claims any such right, though he often speaks without the
{wssibility of any previous preparation. He never modifies
his previously expressed opinions ; he never protects him-
self by any saving clause ; his former and later judgments
are ever in harmony. In all his conflicts and controver-
sies, he is never forced to give up his position, for he was
the Truth, and had the words of eternal life. Tlie philo-
sophers search after truth, but as they push their specula-
tions with fervent enquiry, they often fall into error ;
hence the ebb and flow of philosophic opinion. But Ghrist
Jesus makes a revelation of eternal truth, his declarations
are not only clear but final, and he speaks with the consci-

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

ill

IIIIIM

ous authority of one who reveals the Father, and who, as
the Anciejit of Days, knew aU that the Father Himself
doeth- <• Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words
shall never pass away." This carpenter's sou taught them
with authority, and with what self-satisfaction he speaks
of " These sayings of mme " / He even forecasts a day
when he would sit on a throne of universal judgment, and
decide the solemn allotments of all nations gathered be-
fore him.

m. His Seeming Egotism.— " T'/te^e sayings of mine." "7
that apeak unto thee am He."

With some men, their egotism is a gi-eat blemish, but
with Christ it is the very blossom and beauty of his teach-
ing. We rejoice in the egotism of the Apostle Paul, who
was full of the spirit of his Master, and witnessed unto the
truth. " / have fought a good fight, / have finished my
course, / have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up

for me," &c "/am crucified with Christ, nevertheless

/ live, yet not /, but Christ liveth in me," &c " Do /

now persuade men, or do /seek to please men, for if /yet
pleased men, / would not be the servant of Christ," &c.,
«kc. You could gather out the personal pronouns from his
writings by the score, yet we love to see them all there.
But the egotism of Christ is something very different from
this. The Great Teacher made himself the centre of all
he said. From him went out the healing virtue upon the
touch of faith, which was to heal all manner of sickness,
and all maimer of disease among the people. He was the
Gospel which he preached. He proclaimed himself in his
life and death, the hope of the world, and the only Savi-
our from its sins,—" The Lamb of God," upon whom the

', and who, as
-ther Himself
but my words
i taught them
ion lie speaks
recasts a day
udgment, and
gathered be-

ofviine." "7

blemish, but

of his teach-
ile Paul, who
ssed unto the
J finished my
sre is laid up

nevertheless

c " Do /

1, for if /yet

Christ," &c.,
)uns from his
jm all there,
ifferent from
centre of all
iue upon the
r of sickness,

He was the
imself in his
le only Savi-
)n whom the

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

perishing were to look and be saved. With what con-
scious power and grace he uses the word /./—blessed ego,
the unfailing source of this world's healing streams.

Never before had any teacher put forth any such
claim to supremacy over the conscience and life, and de-
manded to occupy such a central position : " I am the
bread of life, let the hungry eat and live : I am the Hying
water, let the thirsty come and drink freely : I am the light
of the world, before the brightness of whose rising the
darkness shall soon be found no more at all : I am the good
shepherd, I give eternal life to my sheep, no one can pluck
them out of my hands : I am the way, the truth, the life,
no man cometh unto the Father but by me : I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men to me : I am the re-
surrection and the life ; he that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life : before Abraham was I am : all power is
given unto me in heaven and on earth." It was asked of
him, "By what authority doest thou those things, and
who gave thee this authority T And he answers by the
works he did and the words he spoke. He shows them the
great j^ower of God. Is it a storm on the sea ? He needs
only say, " Peace, be still !" and suddenly there is a calm.
Does the grave hold the remains of the beloved brother I
He cries, " Lazarus, come forth !" " Hold thy peace, and
come out of him !" and the evil spirit ]s cast out. " I will
be thou clean !" and the most virulent disease is removed.
" Fill the water-pots," and his mother says to the servants,
" Do whatever he commands you !" " The Son of Man
has power on earth to forgive sins,^=thy sins be forgiven
thee !" " The Son of Man shall appear in his glory, with

cnnisT, inE teacher sent from god.

all his holy angels with him, and then all that are in their
graves shall hear his voic«^" S:c.

This is hut a samjf of his uniform way of preaching
and making himself {he substance of all ho proclaimed!
He is not only true^but the Truth ; not only light, but the
Light. He know-all the burdens that men bear, and must
bear till the end of time, and declares that he is both able
and willing to grant relief. " Come unto mo all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
WLatever man's immortal spirit needs, he claims to sup-
ply, for in him all fullness dwells. What an attitude of
supremacy towards all things he asserted and assumed,
even claiming a oneness with God,—" I and my Father
are one." " Ye are from beneath, I am from above,'— un-
dauntedly facing all the light of philosophy, and the com-
bined wisdom of ages, and with boldness asserting that a
greater than Solomon was there ; making his own i)erson
essential to every man's salvation : " Without me ye can
do nothing." Laying his hand with heavenly majesty up-
on the dearest and tenderest affections^ of life, and claim-
ing supremacy even there,—" He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me." He that lov-
eth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."
How imperial his sovereignty, while his utterances are the
conscious verities of God, and decide the destinies of the
ages. Conscious of his royalty, he lays his hand on the
glories of the Godhead, and claims them as his own. And
as the end drew near, he taught with a growing intensity,
that in him alone were the words of eternal life, the life
and the light of men. " Abide in me ; without me ye can
do nothing ; I am the vine, ye are the branches ; as the

t(<

'■> are in their

of preaching

proclaimed,
light, but the
ar, and must

is both able
E! all ye that
e you rest."
aims to sup-
1 attitude of
id assumed,
i ray Father
ibovo,' — un-
md tht; com-
irting that a

own j)erson
t me ye can

majesty up-
j, and claim-
ill father or
He that lov-
■thy of me."
iuces are the
tinies of the
liand on the

own. And
ig intensity,
life, the life
t me ye can
;hes ; as the

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

branch «uinot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me." Such egot-
ism would be insufferable in man, but it i« sublime in the
God-man, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells
bodily. As a devout disciple once .said, as he meditated
upon some of his great and precious promises : " It be-
comes him well to praise himself." No wonder that when
the multitudes heard these sayings of his, they were as-
tonished at his doctrine, and said one to another, as in
little groups they journeyed homeward, " He does not
teach like the Scribes; this man teaches with authority."
We search in vain for a parallel among the philosophers,
poets, lawgivers, and wise men of the world. The Nazar-
ene who had never learned letters, stands alone in his own
class, witli none to take rank with him, and by his teaching,
as by everything else, was declared to be the Son of God
with power. He was at once the altar, the sacrifice, the
priest, the propitiation and the propitiated, all in one— the
Man Christ Jesus, who is God over all, blessed forever.

CHAPTER II.

The Substance of His Teaching.

"Grace and Truth came by JesM Chriat" "The only begotten
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."

They marvelled at his doctrines, for they were full of
the deep things of God. Some speak as if it would have
added both to the interest and value of the Bible, had it
been a hand-book of Science as well as of Faith ; and if
the Great Teacher had been commissioned by God to dis-
course on the Laws of Nature, as well as unfold the prin-
ciples of the Moral Law, it would have been of unspeak-

CHR18T, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

:|J

able inoinont, and added an additional diann to all liis say-
ings. All this arises from a mistaken view of man's needH,
and of the naturtj of the work given him to do. The bur-
den of his message was not »ecnfnr, but spiritnal know-
ledge. He came not as a divider of iidieritances, but to
break the bread of life to hungry souls ; not to teach Sci-
ence, but to open up the m ay to the Father. He looked
not at the teiupomf, but always at the eternal side of
things, urging the i)eoi)le not to occupv their whole time
with the questions, " What shall we eat, what shall we
drink, wherewithal shall we 1-e clothed T l)ut to seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Not so much
the seen as the \m^ecn realities chi(?fly occupy him, and
form the bunlen of liis lessons. Not earthly but heaven-
ly things form the substance of his weighty utterances.
" Labour not fur the meu-t that i)erisheth, but for that
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son
of Man shall give unto you— the true bread that came
down from heaven ; for what shall it profit a man though
he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul."

He who was the Wisdom of God could have antici-
pated all the discoveri(>s of modern science. As One who
knew all that the Father himself doeth, he could have an-
tedated all the labors of a Copernicus, a Columbus, a Far-
aday, a Newton, and all the wise men of the ages who
have since enriched the world by their labors. If such
had been his purpose he could have disclosed all the se-
crets of this world. He who created the worlds knew all
their hidden treasures, and could have exnlained their la-
tent forces — the strata of Geology, the laws and principles
of Astronomy, or the mechani&m of the Universe. He

to nil hi.ssay-
f mail's iiocdH,
lo. The biir-
irlfKftl know-
;aiicoH, but to
; to teach Hci-
He looked
er7ud si(]o of
ir wlioli; tiino
t'liat sliall we
t to seek first
Not so much
ipy liim, and
/ but heavei;-
y utterances,
but for that
I'hich the Son
ad that came
I man tliough
own soul."

I have antici-
As One who
Duld have an-
imbus, a Far-
the ages who
)rs. If such
ed all the se-
rlds knew all

<1 f T

lo.

men their !f
md principles
niverse. He

CIIKIMT, THE TEACHKR 8KNT FHOM aOD.

couhl have lectured as Tyndall caniiot on tl^aws^Tight
and electricity, for they were all his own works, made to
fulhl his pleasure. Th<> Ancient of Days could have un-
fol<h.l the varied an.J wo.i.lerful story of human history
end the transformations through wl)ich Society has passed
from the beginning, bringing the hidden things of dark-
ness to light, had this forn.ed a part of his mission. Ho
who alon(! knows what is in man could have exi^unded
the true principles of mental philosophy, and saved mucn
verbal disputation ; or he nnght have left text-books on
the various sciences, and foreshadoweil the whole ranc^e of
future discovery. But from all this he turns away, feav-
mg It to man's own research and discovery, with which
he was to enrich his own life, through patient labour.
And It was necessary, in the nature of things, that man
should be thus left to construct o, pathway for himself in-
to the secrets of nature, in order that his fragmentary
knowledge might be built up into science. While the Great
Teaclier in his lessons dwells on the things of God and
Eternity, unfolding the scheme of redeeming grace, draw-
ing the converging lines of Revelation to himself as their
bright focus, -the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world. He came to reveal the Father, and restore the
fact of God's Fatherhood to man, and give it a central
place of power over man's life. He came to be a light in
this world's great darkness, the life and the light of men
Some modern teachers would fain substitute cesthetics for
religion, literature and science for doctrine, crdiure for
righteousness and truth ; but in this they subvert the right
ways of tlie Lord, who came into the world to save sin-
ners, and impart tJ o culture of holiness of heart. " To

h ,: i

> V\

20 CHRIST, IHK T£AC1I£K SENT FROM OOU.

this (Mul was i horn, and for this cause came I into th<i
world, that I shouhl h«>ar witness unto the truth. Kwry
on«' who ia of the truth hi'anth my voice." John xviii. ;J7.
Honco th«' hurdcn of liis message was xin and grarc :
fiin reigning unto death, and grace reigning througlt rigl.L-
eousness unto et«Tnal life : Man's ruin, and (Jv)d's tn. thod
of recovery : i\\v sinner and the Saviour having i)ersonal
dealings with each other. «' I, if 1 hv lift«'d up from the
earth will draw all men unto mo." Occasionally he gath-
ers all the gracious jjromises into one grand formula, ox-
pressivf? qf the essenc(! of the (tospel, viz. ; «' God so loved
the world, that he gave his only hegotten Son, that who-
soever iM'Hevcth on him might not perish, hut have ever-
lasting life." T*ut whenever he spake, words of wisdom
dropped from his lijjs. such as the philosophers of earth
never uttered. Words so genuinely true, so far-reaching,
so searching and rev<>aling, had never been uttere«l hy
mere human lips. There is nothing in all the literature
of the earth to compare with the Sermon on the Mount.
" Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom

of God," &C "Ye are the salt of the earth." "Ye

are the light of the world.". ..." Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see yoMi- gfv>^l ^\ orks, ar .' glorify
your Father which is heaven.". ... jLay not up for your-
selves treasures upon earth.". . . . "No man can serve two
masters.". ..." Ye shall know them by their fruits," &c.,
«fec., — words as germinal and fresh as when first spoken.
' h take his farewell discourse, and what a solemn and ten-
der fare^'ell it is ! " Let not your heart be troubled : ye
believe m God, believe also in me. In my Father's house
are many mansions : if it were not so I would have told

)D.

in«» I into tho
truth. Kvrry
John xviii. .'J7.

»/h and t/rmr :
through ri^Iil-
Ood'H nn '^hod
nving jxTsonal
I u|) from tho
nally h<^ fjath-
l formula, ox-
' God Ko loved
5on, that who-
»ut havo over-
ds of wisdom
jJH'rs of earth
) far-reaching,
'U utt(»red by
tho literature
n the Mount.
j tho kingdom
rth.".. .."Ye
light so shine
ks, ar.^ ij'orify
t up for your-
can serve two
r fruits," Ac,
L first spoken,
lenin and ten-
troubled : ye
father's house
uld have told

CIIHIMT, TIIK TKAriIKU SRNT KIIOM (JOU.

you. I go to pro|Miro a place f„r you. And if 1 go and
pr. pare a place for you, I will come; again an<l receive* you
unto myself; that where 1 am there ye may be hIho."
3 -^ J»^»» xiv., 1 :]. This adieu, as Divine as it in tender,
f - this fanmel! ghuim of the Hun .»f Kighteousn...sfl, tear-
fully smiling enj he " plunged into the dark thui <ler-el.)U<l8
waiting to receive him, the.se parting counselH of a Savi-
our beneath the cro.s.s, how is it ]H,.s«il,le to translate into
our weak words, or transfer to our coarse canvas 1 From
the opening utterance, «' Lot not your heart Ikj troubled,"
down to that unpreccMh-nted i)ray(T in which tho (roat
High Priost allowed discij)l(.s onc(» to overhear such i. ter-
cession as ho still ofl'ei-s within th(^ veil, th(» whole is fitter
to 1m» pondered in tho still .seclusion of a communion e c,
or H'ad over in tho hou.sc* of mourning, or whispfjred in
the ear of the pilgrim on tho banks of Jordan, tJian made
the subject of our hard analytic hamlling."— Ham. Ill ,
p. 419. These words, spoken in tho very lioly of holies
of our Lord's life, tho love hours of Christ which he spent
with his disciples ere he suffered, havo brought comfort to
millions of souls. Yet how easily and naturally they come
frori him, without effort or previous meditation, without
studying in the scJ -ols of human thought. We are not
surprised at the question being asked, "Whence hath
this man this wisdom, never having studied letters " ? He
stands up in his little boat at the water's edge, or among
the sorrowing company at the grave, or in loving converse
with his chosen disciples, or in earnest conversation with
i the woman at the well, and on every occasion he pours
forth words of Divine wisdom, and world, wide sig-
nificance. His sayings have such profound meaning as

CHEIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

I <!i|

all the combined wisdom of human philosophy never could
produce, as he brings life and immortality to light through
the Gospel. " Once Jesus opens his lips, the page is il-
lumined with colours of fairest poetry, enlivened with
most exquisite apologue, radiant M'ith keenest truth ; tlie
lilies of the field beam out in beauty eternally fresh ; the
company of virgins, wise and foolish, advance with their
lamps ; or Dives and Lazainii ^ink heaven, earth, and hell
together in their profoundest relations, in one or two mag-
nificent strokes of dramatic imagery, — and truths which,
after thousands of year^, are the guiding stars of spiritual
civilization, break upon the intellectual vision.'" — Bayne,
p. 77. But who can paint the rainbow, who can beautify
the blossoms of June, or analyze its breath ? So the words
and teaching of Christ are so full, so rich with a Divine
charm, that the Holy Spirit alone can open the treasures
and pour their grace into our hearts.

Tlie people were expecting an earthly king, who
would break the Roman yoke oil* their necks, a king com-
ing in all the military pomp of victory, clothed in earthly
splendor, and restoring Israel to her temporal greatness
and glory. They were fondly dreaming of the proud po-
sitions which they expected to occupy in this kingdom,
where their ambition would find ample scope, as they sat
on the right hand and on the left of regal honour. But the
king's manifesto takes them all by surprise, when he gives
them this new revelation of beatitudes. " Blessed are the
pure in heart " : " Blessed are the merciful " : ** Blessed
are the meek " : *' Blessed are the poor in spirit " : " Bles-
sed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,"
tl'c. How different the kind of blessedness from what

iv never could

) light through
the page is il-
nlivened with
?st truth ; tlie
lily fresh ; the
nee with their
3arth, and hell
le or two niag-

truths which,
irs of spiritual
ion.'' — Bayne,
can beautify

So the words
with a Divine

the treasures

ly king, who
:s, a king com-
hed in earthly
oral greatness
the proud po-
this kingdom,
pe, as they sat
lOur. But the
when he gives
Messed are the
1": '* Blessed
)irit": "Bles-
ausness' sake,"
?ss from what

CHRIST, THE TKACHER SENT FROM GOD.

they were expecthig, while the kingdom he came to set up
was a kingdom of peace and righteousness, and joy in the
Holy Ghost, and not of worldly display. The av orld says,
Blessed is that rich man who can .spend as much money
as he pleases ; bk .sscd is the man whose worldly plans all
succeed ; blessed is the man of influence who can help him-
self ; ble.ssed are they who have ample leisure ; blessed are
the learned, the great, the titled nobility ; blessed is the
king whose sceptre sways millions of his fellows. But
how different are Christ's ideas of blessedness from the
world's ! The Teacher from God reverses the common
judgment, and says, Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the
meek, the mourners, the persecuted ; because he has a dif-
ferent stand-point of vision, and judges of life in a differ-
ent way. He is in the minority, the world outvotes him,
but his judgment is according to truth. Man's honour
and blessedness do not consist in what is outward and ad-
ventitious, not in the gi'atification of pride, or the satis-
fying of worldly ambition. Our wealth and honour con-
sist not in what we get or have, but in what we become
and are in God's sight, and through his reign of grace in
our hearts. Instead of gratifying their expectations, and
ministering to their vapity, he points to the true riches
that perish not with the using, and speaks of another
king, another kingdom, and another kind of royalty than
what their foolish dreams embraced,— the royalty of
meekness, the riches of poverty, the beatitude of sorrow
and persecution for righteousness' sake.

CHRIST, THE TKACIIEH SENT FROM OOD.

:iiii

y'li

CHAPTER III.

Chriflt's Methods as a Teacher.

" Kever Man spake Uke this Man/'-John vii., 46.

All who heard him knew that he differed from every
Other teacher ; that both his k^ssons and ways of pre-
senting them were peculiarly his own. Whether his
teaching was good or bad, right or wrong, his auditors
may not always liave been prepared to say, but of one
thing they were certain, it was at least different. " Never
man spake like this man." Like other auditors, },k hear-
ers passed criticisms on liim and his way of teaching.
They were unanimous in their belief that it was not like
the method of the Scribes, and one point of difference was
the conscious autliority with which he enforced his doc-
trines : it caused astonishment.

1. lie is not systematic in his teaching. He does not
arrange and classify his trutJis, for he did not teach as the
systematic theologian, setting forth his doctrines in logical
order, and showing the relation of one truth to another,
for the Bibld is not a text-book of systematic theology.
Some liave imagined that the perfections of God would
lead him to reveal his truths in scientific order, and the
obvious lack of this in the Bible has been made an evidence
against its Divine origin. But surely God might do in
Grace, what he actually has done in Nature, — scatter his
truths broadcast throughout its pages with no reference to
systematic order, as he has scattered the flowers of the
field all the hill-sides over, and all the valleys through, in
rich profusion, so that in the same meadow or moor, or
mossy bank, flowers and grasses of all kinds may be seen
side by side in sweet forgetfulness of their several class

distinct
and no
with th
seeming
or field,
and bos
blushin
plants
trained
order ai

So
Mount,
truths a
as he sc
sion at
the Bib
man's ei
mand oi
pretatio
feed on
itual thi
ding tru
man's fr
of doctri
there is
does tha
vout stii
time has
had said
rder an
nfolds i

OD.

I vii., 46.
•ed from every
ways of pre-
Whether his
I, his auditors
ly, but of one
rent. " Never
itors, >.i hear-
f of t*5aching.
t was not like
difference was
breed his doc-

lie does not
)t teach as the
rines in logical
th to another,
latic theology,
of God would
order, and the
de an evidence
1 might do in
e, — scatter his
10 reference to
flowers of the
ys through, in
w or moor, or
s may be seen
• several class

CHRIST, THK TKACHKR SENT FROM COD.

distinctions. Or let the ymti^^^g^^^^^^^
and no system app^'ars, all seems l^rilliant confusion • so
with the rocks and st rata of th(. vaHh, thrown together in
seeming disorder. Or take any section of a dell, or forest,
or field, and you have merely the impression of a richnes.s
and beauty carpeting the; whoh, ; you may revel amid the
blushing beauty of summer, but systems or families of
plants or trees in^ver occur to your mind. But let the
trained eye of Science examine, and it will at once gather
order and system out of this seeming confusioiL

So our Saviour, in hi ; tfiaching by bis Sermon on the
Mount, and through all those sayings of his, scattered his
truths and doctrines, his i)recei)ts and jiromises broad-cast,
as he scattered the flowers that grow in such rich i)rofu-
sion at our feet. But as in the works of Nature, so in
the Bible, all is constructed to elicit enquiry and call forth
man's earnest study. 'Bie teaching of Christ makes a de-
mand on our reflection, on our honesty of heart in inter-
pretation, and in order to reach the higher lessons and
feed on the richer food of the word we must compare spir-
itual things with spiritual, and flt truth to its correspon-
ding truth, as the anatomist flts bone to bone to build up
man's frame. There is a beautiful harmony and system
of doctrine in the Bible, and in tlie teaching of Christ, as
there is system and order in nature, though in neither case
does that appear on the surface, and is the reward of de-
vout study. What the Great Teacher says at any one
time has a necessary relation and connection with all he
had said before, and is the complement of it. There is an
»rder and growth in which truth unfolds itself as the oak
nfolds from the acorn, and all lovers of the truth should

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

m§

I' 'Mi!'

': 11

make it their earnest study tc ascertain what that order
is. Hence the value of Catechmm and Confessions of
Faith as aids. Thougli Clirist always spoke as the occa-
sion required, and in artless, natural language, with no re-
ference to systematic order or logical fullness, yet his
words must be the basis of all true systems of religious
thinking. All our theology must rest on his teaching, even
as his works contain all the principles and laws with which
the men of science can possibly deal ; and as their func-
tion is solely as interpret ets of Nature, so the systematic
theologian can only be an interpreter of the word of God.
In one sense Christ is profoundly systematic, but as it has
been said, " His system is the natural meandering of the
river, not the artificial coui-se of the canal. To the student
of Nature there is more system in a cedar of Lebanon than
in the temple of Solomon." For the one is made up of dead
artificial parts, while the other has the unity of a living
organism. His words have their unity in the controlling
purpose that runs through them, the life-blood of one grand
idea which reveals itself to the devout student— the idea
of God in Christ reconciling the world to himself.

2. His teachinys ivere always timely, and loith a hohj to say a

jmrpose behind his woi'ds. " A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver." The Master's words
were always fitly spoken, for his lessons were bom of the
occasion, and reflected the surrounding wants and circum
stances of his auditors, as tlie crystal pools reflect the
overhanging heavens, and the fringes of grass that grow
by their margin. To the woman who came to draw wate
at the well, he speaks of the living water that would satis
fy the thirst of the soul. To those who follow him to b

fed, he

soul's 1

of rest.

He con

the fee

the har

the sm(

always

blessed

Sermon

tempts

admire

Miracle

got up

and be

guage ii

liomely,

arrow s

rhetoric

quotati(

tening

kind, ea

inff trut

after eh
dom in ;
He spal
nion pee
ness thiti
home to

Th(

GOD.

what that order

Confessions of
)ke as the occa-
age, with no re-
ulhiess, yet his
mi8 of religious
s teacliing, even
laws with which
1 as their func-

the systematic
le word of God.
ic, but as it has
andering of the

To the student
>f Lebanon than
nade up of dead
aity of a living

the controlling
)od of one grand
ident — the idea
iiimself.

CHRISi', THE TKACHER SENT FROM GOD.

fed, he breaks the living bread,— the true manna for tlm
soul's hunger. He seeks to win the weary with a promise
of rest, and the forsaken by speaking of the Father's home.
He comforts the sorrowing, humbles the proud, confirms
the feeble, rebukes the Pharisee, and leads the penitent by
the hand, never breaking the bruised reed, nor quenching
the smoking flax. As he taught the people, the Master
always had some great end in view,~an end of practical,
blessed purpose. He never preached for the sake of his
Sermon,— its beauty or grace of diction. He never at-
tempts to polish a sentence in order that his hearers might
admire the rhetoric. He never elaborated a '' Sto7ie
Miracle" for lecturing purposes through the courtry, nor
got up some eloquent discoui-se to catch the popular ear
and be called to one of the leading churches. His lan-
guage is tlie language of the common people ; its familiar,
homely, unstudied utterances go direct to the heart, as an
arrow strikes its mark ; and you look in vain for ornate,
rhetorical sentences, brilliant flights of oratory, or learned
quotations from the great Masters of the Schoola Lis-
tening to his instructions, you seem to hear rather the
kind, earnest, loving, familiar friend, bent on pressing sav-
ing truth upon tht conscience and heart. He never tried
to say a witty thing, or a clever thing ; he never strained
r spoken is like after eloquence, and yet, wlienever he spoke. Divine wis-
Master's word|dom in all its fullness dropped like honey from his mouth,
rere bom of thelHe spake to the universal heart of man ; hence the com-
nts and circumlmon people heard him gladly. His words had a human-
ools reflect the|ness thsit inspn^ed hope and courage, and brought them
grass that groA^fliome to men's business and bosoms.

J o raw watei| ^Y^mve is a deep lesson here for Ministers of the Gos-
liat would satis-P
oUow him to b(

aiid loith a hoh

CHRIST, IHK TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

ill

pel, for one of the great practical heresies of the day is
preaching for the sake of the sermon, and not, like Jesus,
heing a witness unto the truth, and preaching for the sake
of the souls of the men and women who wait on our min-
istry ; getting up little pieces of Mosaic curiosities of
workmanship for the admiration of our auditors. And
when all our glittering sayings have been carefully culled,
and brought together like sham jewelry, it makes a big
show, and some foolish people are deceivetl into purchasing
it. But we must never regard our sermons as works of
art, things to be admired for their own sake ; a sermon is
a sword to be prized for the execution it does on behalf of
truth and righteousness. Many preachers remind us of
lads who take the rifle into their hands for the first time
with no specific purpose ; they blaze away without any aim
and hit the nothing they intended. But like the Master,
every preacher of the Word must seek to gain gracious
power over men's lives, that by the Spirit's blessing the
image of Christ may be inwrought, and our hearers trans-
formed to the world by the renewing of their minds, and
conformed to his own perfect pattern.

3. His illustrations were drawn from Nature, and
the obvious facts ami experiences of life. " Consider the
lilies of the field." " He spake many things to them in
parables." We have our favourite authors, who throudi
their writings have thrown a charm over many a scene
In the light of their genius everything they touch bears
an interest not its own. As the sunbeam touching the
storm-cloud transforms its cold watery vapour into the!
v«ry picture of heaven, and paints upon its dark bosom
the colours of the rainbow, so the genius of a Burns, a

OOD.

es of the day is
not, like Jesus,
ing for the sake
'ait on our min-
c curiosities of
auditors. And
carefully culled,
it makes a big
into purchasing
•ns as works of
:e ; a sermon is
oes on behalf of
•s remind us of
r the first time
v'ithout any aim
ike the Master,
) gain gracious
t's blessing the
r hearers trans-
leir minds, and

n Nature^ and

" Consider the

ngs to them in

s, who through

many a scene.

ey touch bears

n touching the

apour into thug

its dark bosom

of a Burns, a

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

Shakspere, or a Scott, has glorified many a common
scene. Hugh Miller could write about a granite boulder
in such a way as makes all his readers long to see that
very stone ; and thus the little incidents on which they
touch live in the memory of a whole nation. Many a
river or mountain rill, the hill-top or summer dell, a gras-
sy bank or rocky cave, the forest glade or autumn woods,
have all a halo thrown around them.

So Jesus also delighted in nature, and has linked
many a Divine lesson to some common scene or incident,
till the earth is lifted up into the beauty of heaven, and
has its hard, every-ilay features glorified in the light of
the Sun of Righteousness. Yet he does not dwell on the
scenes of nature, its mountains and rivers, and fields and
flowers, its starry lamps or the fleecy fullness of the sum-
mer cloud, as the mere poet describes them. While he ad-
mires nature and sees in its resplendent glories his own
handiwork, yet he always speaks as one whose eyes had
been accustomed to look on far fairer scenes, and in all its
wide magnificence he beheld but the dim reflections of a
glory he had with the Father before the world was ; still
all that bulks largest in the mind of the poet, was to him the
foreshadowings of a grandeur that eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard. This world, in its marvellous compass of beau-
ty, was but one ray of that eternal weight of glory. Jesus
saw his Father's glory in the olive-slopes that lay bright-
ening to the sun, and in the waving cedar-forests of Le-
banon. He recognised his Father's hand in the lilies and
grass of the field. The air, richly laden with the perfume
of the pomegranate blossom, was the myrrh from his Fa-
ther's garments ; the starry brilliancy of the oriental sky

CHRIST, THE TEA'JIIEa SENT FROM OOD.

was a ray from liis throne. As he walked by the way-
side, every singing bird was a token of his Father's care ;
the soft summer winds was the whisper of his voice. All
the world was his oratory, a temple consecrated to God's
glory. Philosophers have their favourite places of resort ;
scientists have their schools and halls of learning ; an as-
cetic piety has consecrated certain places and buildings to
the worship of God ; but Jesus went about doing good,
and his presence mafle every place holy ground. Whether
on hill or in valley, in wilderness or garden, in the temple
or by the sea-shore, whether in the humble village or
crowded city, or standing in the boat by the water's edge,
anywhere, in short, through the wide world, is equally
near his Father, and he would consecrate all to the Fa-
ther's glory. With him the God of Grcice was also the God
of Nature, and he saw and honoured his Father in his
loarks, as he honoured him in his word. The one Bible
was to him written in two volumes, — the volume of Na-
ture and the volume of Revelation. It was God's world,
and he used it as a book of symbols to read the word by ;
hence he preached largely by parables. He drew familiar
pictures from the one, to unfold the riches of the other.
His discourses are not abstract reasonings, but living pic-
tures, not lengthened logical dissertations, but short, apt,
familiar illustrations from the every-day life and common
experiences of the world. Lift up your eyes and see the
fields white with the harvest ; and as he sat one day and
gazed down the green valley leading to Jerusalem, he saw a
lovely picture painted on the evening clouds, and it was
mirrored in his teaching as it was in the crystal waters of
Galilee. " When it is evening ye say fair weather, for the

>D.

1 by the way-
Father's care ;
lis voice. All
-abed to God's
aces of resort ;
irning ; an as-
id buildings to
it doing good,
md. Whether
in the temple
bio village or
3 water's edge,
'Id, is equally
all to the Fa-
s also the God
Father in his
The one Bible
k^olume of Na-
s God's world,
the word by ;
drew familiar
of the other,
but living pic-
iut short, apt,
i and common
's and see the
t one day and
a-lem, he saw a
s, and it was
stal waters of
?ather, for the

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

sky is red, and in the morning, foul weather for the sky is
red and lowering. " It was early Spring ; a man is hard by
sowing his seed, and Jesus draws from the incident an im-
portant lesson. " The kingdom of God is as if a man
should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep and
rise night and day, and the seed sliould spring and grow
up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth
fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, after that the
full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth,
immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest
is come."— Mark, iv., 26-29. His teaching was coloured
by surrounding nature, and he drew his lessons from her
ample store, till at in a June day, the earth and air, the
hills and trees, the birds, and the flowers of the field are
bathed in the glory of his presence, and honoured as illus-
trations in his teaching. The kingdom of heaven is like
leaven : Tlie kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the
sea : The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed
good seed in his field : Tlie kingdom of heaven is like a
grain of mustard seed : or, the kingdom of heaven is like
a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, &c., d-c. He laid
all nature under tribute. The way men hear the word is
illustrated by the paraj)le of the sower ; the work of the
Spirit by the wind blowing where it listeth. We have
the parable of the woman sweeping the house : the man
seeking the lost sheep : the prodigal son : the two debt-
ors : the sheep and the goats : the ten virgins : the talents :
the labourers in the field : the Pharisee and Pubhcan :
the marriage feast : the good shepherd : the rich man and
Lazarus : the good Samaritan, with many another lesson
taught in the same matchless way. "All these things

OIIRMT, THE TKACllER SENT FROM OOD.

il;

ii.iil':

liiii

\M'ii

spake Jesus in parables, and without a parable he spake
nothing to them : that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth
in parables, I will uUer tilings which have been kept se-
cret from the foundation of the world." "A method of
instruction ao rare, so stimulating, so full of interest, — a
method which, in its unapproachable beauty and finish,
stands unrivalled in the annals of humai> speech, — would
doubtless tend to increase beyond me^vsure the crowds
that thronged to listen." — Fauraii's lifs of Christ, p. 152.
4. JJis teaching was characterized hi/ a union of mn-
plicity of speech, and jn'ofound spiritual signijicaticc. " My
speech shall distil as the dew." "The common people
heard him gladly." How simple and easily understood by
all Avho desired to know the ■ r'lth ; he never spake but the
most unlettered knew the import of his words, up tojbhe
full measure that he desired them to be known, for his
sayings were obvious alike to the peasant and the philo-
sopher. He spoke to the feeblest understanding, and yet
his words when simplest, were full of the deep things of
God, and contained the inexhaustible riches of his grace.
His hearers soon perceived that his words were fuller than
they imagined, and filled out with a richer meaning with
the deepening experiences of the life. Like a well of crys-
tal water, they could gaze into them without seeing the
bottom ; another and another meaning came out of them
according as the heart was prepared to read it. Like the
five loaves seemingly not sufficient to feed a few, yet found
ample to satisfy the whole multitude ; so his simplest words
have in them the fullness of the Godhead, while each truth
he uttered has its echo in eternity, and eternity alone will

UD.

irablo he spake
lied whicli was
open my mouth
e been kept se-
" A method of
of interest, — a
ity and finish,
speech, — would
ire the crowds
^Christ, p. 152.

rt union qfsim-
lijicmice. " My
jommon people
understood by
T spake but the
ords, up to the
known, for his
and the philo-
mding, and yet
deep things of
?s of his grace,
^ere fuller than
' meaning with
! a well of crys-
lout seeing the
ne out of them
i it. Like the
few, yet found
simplest words
hile each truth
•nity alone will

CHRIST, THE TEACJIKH SENT FROM UOD.

reveal their significance. Jesus never spoke in the learned
phrases of the schools ; he never quotes from Plato, nr Ar-
istotle, or Virgil, or any of the teachers of philosophy ;
his wisdom and his words are all his own. Nor did the'
Great Teacher ever do what some ministers complain of
being compelled to do, viz. : condescend to the intellectual
level of their hearers, greatly exercised because they have
no opportunity for displaying th. r learning, their hearers
being illiterate. Jesus stood among his hearers, and used
homely comparisons, and familiar illustrations drawn from
the life and manners of the common pc^ople who heard him
gladly. The message he bore was designed for all classes,
hence he si)oke to the universal heart, and through this
channel of common, familiar, everyday speech, there flowed
the riches of Divine grace into the hearts of the people.
" Yet how exquisitely and freshly simple is the actual lan-
guage of Christ compared with all other teaching that has
ever gained the ear of the world ! Tliere is no science in
it, no art, no pomp of demonstration, no carefulness of toil,
no trick of rhetoricians, no wisdom of the schools. Straight
as an arrow to the mark, his precepts pierce to the very
depths of the soul and spirit. All is short, clear, precise,
full of holiness, full of the common images of daily life.
There is scarcely a scene or object familiar to the Galilee
of that day, which Jesus did not use as a moral illustration
of some glorious promise or moral law. He spake of green
fields and springing flowers, and the budding of vernal
trees ; of the red and lowering sky ; of sunrise and sunset ;
of wind and rain ; of night and storm ; of clouds and light-
ning ; of stream and river ; of stars and lamps ; of honey
and salt ; of quivering bulrushes and burning weeds ; of

CHRIST, THK TKA<HKU HKNT FROM <JOD.

Ill": I

rent <,'anni'iits and Ijur.stin;,' wincskiu.s ; of cirgH ami .ser-
pents ; of pearls and pieces of money ; of nets and fish.
Wino and wlieat ; corn and oil ; stewards and <,'ar(leners •
labourers and employers; kin<,'s and shepherds ; traveUer.s
and fathers of families ; courtiens in soft clothinj^', and
Itrides in iniptial rohes, all these are found in his dis-
courses. He knew all life, and had ^'azed on it with a
kindly, as well as a kin<,dy ^dance. He could symi>athis«'
with its joys, no less than In; could heal its sorrows : and
the eyes that were so often sutt'used with tears as they saw
tlio surterings of earth's mourners hesich; the bed of death,
liad shone also with a kindlier glow as they watched th(>
games of earth's hajtpy little ones in the green fields
and busy .streets."— -Fahrah's Life OF Christ, J). 126.

Alas ! how much preaching done in his name, and os-
tcivsibly on his behalf, has perverted the simplicity and
purity of his words ; and instead of op(>ning up, lias of-
ten sealed the fountain of living water. What a profound,
l)ractical lesson we have here for ministers of tlu; Gospel,
whose work it is to open up the Scriptures, and make dis-
closures of the hidden treasures of liis grace. Ministers
mu.st learn to be more practical, more simple, more natur-
al, and come nearer to the hearts of the i)eople, and speak
so that every one may hear in his own tongue the wonder-
ful works of God. As Jesus was everywhere and always
a witness unto the truth, so must ministers learn to preach
him, and to lift up the Son of Man as the only object of
faith, so that no man may be seen but Jesus only.

5. lie carried the moraliii/ of an action from the out-
ward act, to the hidden motive or secret purjjone that
2y)'(ym2)ted it, " Son, give me thine heart." " Thou desirest

OD.

f eggs and aer-
t nets and ti.sh.
and <,'ar(l«'iu'r.s ;
•rds ; travellers
t clothing, and
und in his dis-
'd on it with a
uld syni[>athise
s sorrows : and
ars as they saw
le bod of death,
oy watched the
he green fields
!IST, J). 126.

s name, and os-
sinjplicity and
ling up, ha3 of-
hat a profound,
5 of th(! Gospel,
, and make dis-
ica Ministers
»le, more natur-
ople, and speak
;ue the wonder-
ere and always
learn to preach
only object of
us only.

ri froni the out-
t p'urpose that
" Thou desirest

fllKLST, THK TKACHEK HKNT FKOM OOl).

truth in tlio inward parts." Man looks on the outward
appearance ; it is all hci can possibly Judge by ; but God
looks on the heart, and Judges of us by its moral condition.
Ifuman law tak<;.s noticv only of what is actually commit-
ted, and i)uni.slie.s the criminal who has carried his secret
purpose into an actual crim.'. Hut thf; alg<-bniic sym])ols
of lif<; are often misinterpreted, und the innocnt are pun
ished whih' the guilty escape. Tluu-e is much hyi.ocrisy
in the world, a washing of the outside of the cup, and
leaving the insid(^ full of abonnnations. Many make a
l)lausible appearance, whoso hearts are as a cage of un-
clean birds. But our Lord's Judgments are according to
truth, and are founded on what men actually are, and not
on what they are reported to he. He knows what is in
man, and when men come asking (juestions, and making a
fair show in the llesh, wo find him tearing ofF the maslc,
exposing the hyi)ocrisy, and replying not to the question
asked, but to the motive that lay behind uie question,
while he demands truth in the inward parts. For exam-
ple, take the law of murder, as explained by Christ. What
is murder according to his teaching ? Not the actual tak-
ing of life : it is not the shot fired, the poison given, the
stroke of the club, or the thrust of the knife. But mur-
der consists in the deadly hate and murderous purpose
lurking in a man's heart, though the actual crime, the ac-
tual taking of life, be not accomj)lished. " Ye have heard
that it was said by them of old time. Thou shalt not kill ;
and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judg-
ment : But I say unto you. That whosoever is angry with
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judg-
ment."— Matt. V. 21, 22. So also with the law of adul-

CHRIST, IHE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD,

i! !

PHiiiii

terij. Many break the Seventh Commandment who never
commit the actual deed. " Whosoever looketh on a wo-
man to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her
already in his heart."— v. 28. " Out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witnesses, blasphemies," etc. : these are the things
that defile the man, and not eating with unwashen hands.
According to Christ, the heart is the seat of all moral feel-
ing and action, and by its moral condition are men judged.
We need not wonder that the Master claims the heart for
himself: ''Give me thine heart:" Keep it with all dili-
gence, for out of it are the issues of life ; and when this
impure fountain has been cleansed, the whole life will
thereby be changed. The external action is merely a sign ;
both the evil and the good flow from the heart. He sees
the sin of adultery in a glance, and the purity he requires
is that of the soul. When Christ comes and dwells in our
heart by faith, and sheds abroad the love of God, the heart
then becomes the home of those graces and fruits of the
Spirit that the believer brings forth, — love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem-
perance. All our works of faith done for the Master ; our
loving deeds, all that is brightest and best in man's life
and destiny, flows from the same deep fountain — a clean-
sed heart :

" Oh for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free ;
A heart that always feels Thy blood,
■So freely shed for me."
" Thus radical is the Great Teacher's method r his
school the world's true and everlasting seminary. Pre
cepts he transfigures into principles, statutes into charac

ter, rul
true Si
tablets
so he r<
the ver
science,
Day."

6. .
ciples.—
the libe
to be in
take th(
ment ; t
would 1
make t(
Christ 1
jyetty de,
heart ai
we are i
your Fa
holy."
[solemnly
liearted.

(OD.

lent who never
)keth on a wo-
jltery with her
i heart proceed
nations, thefts,
are the things
iwashen hands.
: all moral feel-
,re men judged.
s the heart for
b with all dili-
and when this
vhole life will
merely a sign ;
eart. He sees
ity he requires
1 dwells in our
God, the heart
1 fruits of the
^e, joy, peace,
neekness, tem-
e Master; our
b in man's life
itain — a clean-

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

[)d,

I method : his
minarv. Pre-
?s into charac-

ter, rules into life. Himself the true Lawgiver on the
true Sinai, he transcribes the Ten Com.nandments from
tablets of stone, writing them on tablets of heart. And
so he rears an internal Sinai, whose quakings shall shake
the very foundations of the soul, startling the dullest con-
science, and preluding the thunder peals of the Judgment
Day."

6. A^otice also the wise, gracious liberty/ he alloivs his dis-
ciples.—" The liberty of the so7is o/God." Ho grants them
the liberty of the sons of God, and would not have them
to be in bondage to any man. Sometimes good men mis-
take their own fancies and whims for a Divine command-
ment ; their owii wishes for the Master's enactment. They
would load the Church with Rules and Regulations, and
make tests of membership, binding and grievous, where
Christ has left the conscience free. He did not dwell on
2)€tti/ details, but on great dominant jmnciples to rule the
heart and life ; he does not even insist so much on what
we are to do, as on what we are to be. Be ye peuect as
your Father in Heaven is perfect ; " Be ye holy for I am
holy." He lays the law of God very tenderly, but very
Isolemnly upon the conscience, and insists on a whole-
liearted, loyal service ; on loving the Lord with all our

tart, and strength, and mind, and when the heart has

een given to God and cleansed from secret faults, the daily

!oaduct will not systematically deny him. The Scribes

nd Pharisees made religious life a routine, a ceremony,

■ull of technical rites and observances, full of details, of

les and rubrics, which tlie Master swept all awa^'^ that
!ie might insist on what they had forgotten— righteousness,
ruth, judgment, mercy ! His sayings embody the great

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

Ijrinciples of moral action, but he leaves the application
to specific cases to the enlightened consci(;nce that is in
earnest regarding duty. The pharisaic details or Jesuiti-
cal regulations in which some delight, are not the most
natural or healtiiy guide ; the devout loving heart is a
law to itself. Specific rules of conduct are given only
in few instances ; he is more anxious to plant the right
spirit and motive in the heart, out of which all moral-
ity springs. What a contrast between his teaching i
theirs ! He does not discuss the externals and indicate in
what kind of a buihling we are to meet and worsliip ; he
says nothing about either the colour or sha}»e of the gar-
ments of his priests who are to serve at the altar. He say.s
nothing on the frequency with which the Lord's Supper -espect
should be observed ; how much bread to use, or the quan-
tity of water necessary to make baptism valid. He does
not tell his disciples how often they must come to church ;
how often they nnist pray ; he only cautions against mak-
ing long prayers, (and it would have been well if we had
not forgotten the caution). No scale is given to measure
Christian benevolence : he does not reckon our liberality
by the number of dollars given, but by the ability to give.
He leaves all this to a loyal, loving heart which he seekf
to fill with his love and grace, and stimulates us by tlu
thought of his own bounty. " Freely ye have received,
freely give." Some people imagine that if they could onl^
know these little regulations, they would then be able to r^bgcw
solve the whole problem of the Christian life by observing ^.j. j^^
them ; forgetting that " the Kingdom of God is not meai erg^^L
and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in thcBo^ ^j
Holy Ghost." On the dry, technical, mechanical side o

o gaze

?agerly
is sile:
)ur fait
!onceal(
iliown ;

'learts i.
irVhat \
e endu
inful n
onsunn
ight of

CHRIST, TIIK TEACIIKU SENT FUOM QoD.

hetty regulation, all is left free and op(;u as the summer
^unshiiie, to b.^ regulated by a life hid with Christ iu God.

*l11 our acts of worsliip must be determined by a tender
fjonscience and a loving heart that r(>joices in tho truth,

md feels the constraining power of Christ's love ; and

men must not impose their restrictions where! the Lord has
left no law. There are many sul)jects on which we think
the Master should have spoken ; at least things on which
kve wish he had spoken. As mysteri(>s crowd in upon us,
jimch information seems to be withheld that we suppose
pould have been very instructive and helpful. The Mas-
ter has often kept silent when we long to hear his voice.

le has concealed with a sacred veil many things we Ion*'
to gaze upon. He has caused us to walk in darkness with
bespect to much which idle curiosity and foolish wonder
|agerly desire to know. But in all this he has done well ;
|iis silence teacluvs us, rebukes our presumption, exercises
f)ur faith, and restrains an idle curiosity. In what he has
fconcealed from us as well as in what he has taught, he has
phown alike his wisdom and his love,

7. His jMtience in teaching. " The Lord direct your
hearts into the love of God and the j)atie)ice of Jesus Christ."
|rVhat patience he exercised in his teaching, and how long
}e endured the contradiction of sinners, when impulsive,
jinful men would have called down fire from heaven to
lonsume those who wishstood them. Christ neither makes
|ght of sin, nor does he show vindictiveness to the sinner,
jr become discouraged. It is more in sorrow than in an-
|er he is compelled to ask, "Are ye yet without un-
derstanding? How is it that ye do not understand ? O,
low of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

"l*iilli I

But he does not give up his work in disgust, he can begin
his labour over again, and preach his sermons a second]
time with all long-sufTering. See liow he waited with, and
talked to the two disciples as they went out from the cityl
to Emmaus. We grudge our time, we grudge our talents,]
and often think that both are thrown away, but Jesus
could wait long and spend the greater part of his first rej
surrection day talking with two obscure men, and gained
his purpose when he had made their hearts bum within
them. How earnestly he laboured for one soul, and spak(
some of his sweetest words when none heard him but som(
obscure, despised creature ! One soul was worthy of hul
care and effort, and may well be worthy of ours, for froi
the salvation of one soul may evolve issues that are worldJ
wide, and themes of praise for the ages to come. Convert
one soul and it may lead to the conversion of a nation.]
What results have followed the labours of the Apostles
hence our Lord never grudged the time spent in teaching
them during those three wonderful, busy years of hil
earthly ministry. Their training was the germ from whicl
the Church was to spring, the very pivot on which her f uj
ture fortunes were to turn, hence the anxiety he showec
in teaching them. " He shall not fail nor be discouraged!
till he set forth judgment in the earth, and the isles shalj
wait for his law."

8. Christ's tetvler compassion and tact are manifest
throughout all his dealings. " The meekness and gentlenesl
of Jesus Christ" How readily he introduced himself tJ
speak of the grand truths of his Kingdom, e. g. : As thJ
two disciples talked together of all that had happened, J(
BUS himself drew near and went with them and took ui

GOD.

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

ist, he can begiH|their conversation in such an easy natural way. " What
Tinons a second| manner of conversation is this that ye liave," etc. And for
vv-aited wi h, am|the rest of the jonrney the three were deeply absorbed
)ut from the city|^ ..h^t seemed to concern all alike. We have another in-
udge our talents|«tance in his conversation with the woman at the well •
.way but J esus|,wth what tact he introduced the subject of the living wa-
rt ot his tirst rejter; and with what tenderness he comforts Martha and
men and gamec|Mary concerning their brother. When he saw the mul-
trts bum withnjtitudes he was moved with compassion toward them, sur-
e soul, and spakjrounded as they were with so many dangers, they had so
ird inm but some „,any hidden, secret woes ; so many concealed burdens •
.s worthy of /m it sent a thrill through him, and he brooded over their
5t ours, tor trom trouble as a mother over her sick child. The afflicted
s that are world- the broken hearted, the despairing, drew near tc him'
come Convert for sympathy ; and how his heart melted within him over
;ion of a nation the ignorant, and those who were out of the way, while
)t the Apostles to his disciples he revealed his truth as they were able to
pent m teachino i^ear it. The rays of the Sun of Righteousness, as they
sy years of h. .bone forth from him, do not hurt the most delicate eye
jerm from which ,n which they fall, but rather in that clear light the eye
^n which her f u^ earns to see the King in his beauty. To let out the full
xiety he showec|,ia,e of light that was in him would scorch the tender
' be discourageAiants that grow in his gardem Ke will disclose himself
Id the isles shalBn the full .ide of his glorious revelation, to those who are
repared to look upon his face ; bu. to those who can on-
i^t are manifes^ see men as trees walking, he comes as the twilight, with
S8 and gentletiesmhc gentle radiance of the morning. He even shines
luced himself tMhrough the clouds with which it is his glory to conceal a
m, e. g. : As thilhiiig, and he will make his doctrine drop as the rain, and
id happened, Je»is speech distil as the dew. He will not break the bruised
em and took uifeed, nor quench the smoking flax, till he has brought

CHRIST, THE TKACHKR SENT FROM OOD.

I I

It :M

i!ii I

IHII

judgment anto victory. He has to robuko hia disciples
who want liim to call down fire from heaven to destroy
the pfjoplo — " Ye know not what spirit ye are of ; I did
not come to destroy men's lives, but to save then)." Her
accusers wanted the woman stoned whom they brought
into liis presence, but his tender dealings inspired her
with hope. " Neither do I condemn thee ; go and sin no
more." What a blending of meekness and majesty in that
look, what power and pathos in his words to melt and sub-
due his audience. In his presence their icy indifference
melted away like snow under a June sun, while he throws
around them a moral magnetism which they cannot resist.
He stooped to the lowly to lift them up ; gi-ace was poured
into his lips, and what gracious words j)roceeded out of
them. How gentle, and tender, and loving, as he minis-
tered to the sons and daughters of sorrow. As the little
children lay in his arms, and looked up into his counten-
ance, it was as full of tender love as a mother's. As he
fondled them he was engaged in congenial work, for was
it not written of him, " He will gather the lambs in his :
bosom." He oven weeps with those who weep, he talks I
and reasons with Martha, but he gives Mary his tears.
" When he saw Mary Aveeping, and the Jews who were
with her weeping," it was too much for him, and after the
manner of man, he broke down and wept also. Even to-
day he still pleads, "Come, learn of me, for I am meek!
and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls."
"These two hands, one strong with stern holiness, the
other gentle with sympathy, untwist the cords that bind
the soul, and set it free to \w. itself."

Unlike so many public teachers, he had no oflScial dig-

OOP.

nko hi.s fliaciples
<'aven to destroy
ye are of; I did
ive them." Hor
in they brought
ngs inspinul hor
^ ; go and sin no
1 majosty in that
to melt and sub
• icy indifference
whih; he throws
ey cannot resist,
p'ace was poured
roceeded out of
ing, as he minis-
V. As the litthi
nto liis counten-
lother's. As he i
d work, for was
;he lambs in his
) weep, he talks ]
Mary his tears.
Jews who were I
m, and after the
also. Even to- 1
, for I am meek
i to your souls."
rn holiness, the
cords that bind!

id no official dig-

CUUIST, TIIK TKACIIKU SENT FllOM OOD.

nity, standing on the majesty of office, and overawing tlie
people ; a great man to be looked at oidy from a distance.
No, the multitudes crowded him and pressed u})on him,
eager for a word or a look. Even the little children felt
quite at home as they lay in his arms ! His greatness was
the greatness of manhood, the greatness of goodness, the
dignity of character, the power of a pur(5 and holy life.
What an example he furnishes to all teachers and preach-
ers of the word, and what a rebuke to all insolence of of-
fice, of artificial assumed dignity, to all narrowness, pride,
and vulgar show. T/ie vnsdom from above is Jirst gentle,
easy to he entreated.

CHAPTER IV.

The Philosophy of His Method.

"The Wiidom of God." "Ho needed cot that any should teaoh
Him."

There is no rhetorical order, or progressive development
in his method ; it has not the elaborated arguments of the
lecture-room ; his sayings are rather as pearls strung to-
gether into the chain of his Divine wisdom. Their unity
is seen in their purpose, one life-blood pulses through it.
But if there is no formal logic in his method or systematic
arrangement and sequence of thought, we find something
more convincing than the artificial rules of logic ; he uses
the logic of conviction, the proof of intuition, and in a sen-
tence cuts up all objection by the roots.

1. We have an instance in the way he strikes at the

root of pride and ambition, and teaches a lesson of humil-

y. The disciples have come troubling him with the ques-

Mi, " Who of us is to be the greatest in the King-lom 1 "

CHRI ,T, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

-I

I.,'.'' 'i

The Master, like other teachers, might have used an ela-
borate argument to show the folly and sin of pride, and
with beautiful word painting he might have set forth the
adornments with which humility enriches the character,
but Ir adopts another method much more elFective. He
takes a towel and basin of water and washes the feet of
all the disciples, and after he has got through his task he
asks them <' Do you know what I have done to you 1 You
call me Lord and Master, and ye say well, for so I am ; if
I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, ye
ought to wash one another's feet." The disciples might
have forgotten the elaborate argument as they did forget
many of his other precious words, but they never forgot
this lesson ; the pictorial representation of humility lived
in the memory and heart throughout life, and the colors
of the picture would deepen and come out more distinctly
as time passed. They must have felt rebuked as they
thought of him, now on the throne of his glory, head iver
all things, once engaged in the menial office of washing
their feet while they were troubling his last hours with
the question, " Who of us is to be greatest ? " And from
all we can learn, they never seem to have asked that same
foolish question of him again. The common sentiment
among mankind has been that he alone is to be esteemed
the greatest who makes himself the most prominent in po-
sition, in power, in wealth and influence among his fel-
lows, but Christ's ideas of greatness and man's are differ-
ent. With him greatness was wholly a moral and spiri-
tual quality. On one occasion the question is put to him,
"Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" and a good
deal of discussion had occurred on the question of priority

CHRIST, THK TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

ition of priority

jamong the twelve. Especially lia^l there been such a diV
jpute on their way bax;k from Ctesarca Philippi ; and when
jthey got home he asked them what they had heen disput-
jing about by the way. They all felt ashamed and kept si-
lence. Then Jesus looks round and sees a little child, pro-
Wbly at play, full of light-heartedness ere the dreams of
imbition have been awakened in his bosom ; a child who
i^ould rather have his top and Imll than a kingdom or a
sceptre, and he sets that child in the midst of them all and
Bays, " Here is a type of true greatness ; in that child's do-
Dility, trustfulness, sincerity, and self-forgetfulness you
^lave your model. " Verily I say unto you, except ye be
converted and become as a little child," &c. " Whosoever
shall humble himself as this little child, the same is great-
est in the kingdom of God." Thus with one stroke he cuts
ip selfishness and false ambition by the roots, and shows
that true greatness must be modeled after a heavenly
Pattern.

2. Prayer— '' Lm-d teach us to lyrmjr "//e contin-
Ved all night in prayer to God:' His teaching in regard
lo prayer is another proof that he appealed to something
higher than the rules of formal logic, viz., the intuition of
fhe human mind and heart. His prayers seem to have
apressed the disciples even more than his preaching;
Ihey had often seen and heard both. True, when he M^as
Ireaching he spake as never man spake, for his words were
lull of the wisdom and grace of God. But in prayer it
l^as a holy, blessed, unbroken communion, his soul resting
!nd delighting in God ! It seemed so like heaven and the
Inbroken intercourse of our Father's house. As he lifted
Ip his eyes to heaven and prayed, the disciples felt that it

CHKIST, TUB TXACHKR SENT FROM OOD.

,! 'rl'li

ilif

Jiiill

tir

way as no other man had ever prayed. No wonder that!
they came at the close of one of liis prayers, and asked,
*' Lwd, teach its to jmiy " ; and his instructions here, like!
all his other lessons, are matchless. He said : When ye
pray, do not be as the hypocrites of a sad countenance ;j
don't make long prayers, and think you will be heard fori
yourmuch speaking; don't pray at the street corners, tol
be seen of men ; make no parade abo it it ; prayer is far j
too sacred and personal for display. When ye pray enter
into your closet, and shut to the door, and pray to youi
Father who is in secret, and your Father who seeth inj
secret will reward you openly. When you pray, realize it|
as a child speaking to its mother, entwining its helpless-
ness in fondest affection ; or a son making a request of a fa-|
ther in filial trust. Don't make a task of it, a burden, a|
routine ; but say, " Our Father who art in heaven," etc.!
And thus he gives them the Lord's prayer, which thej
Church has used for centuries, and has worn it upon hei
breast as the brightest jewel of all her heavenly treasures.|
It is a prayer equally fitted for all men in all conditions
of spiritual growth. Our little children are taught to use
it and know its meaning ; while our ^wisest and greatest]
philosophers can use nothing grander or more expressive
of the soul's desires. How spiritual and lofty ; how com]
prehensive, yet brief and simple ! What lips but his owij
cauld have uttered it ! " Our Father- who art in heaven.
We too often make a task of our prayers ; a routines to bcj
gone through with as we wash and dres-s, as mechanical ii
the one case as in the other. Romanists make a penanc^!^
of it j it is imposed upon them as a punishment ; so manj
prayers to be said, for so many sins committed. EveB

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

ith the devout, it is at best only a technical thing, full
3f formality and stiffness. But Clirist Jesus makes it
speaking to our Father, and telling him our wants, our
fears, our hopes, our cares, our sins. Prayer, according
to Christ, is coming to God, our Father, in every time of
leed ; not even so much speaking to him in words, as the
soul learning to lean on him, thirsting for him ; living in
liis presence, and cultivating a lowly, devout, trustful at-
titude of mind and heart.

Of late, many difficulties have been conjured up re-
arding prayer. Will God hear and answer us? Will
^lot the answer interfere with his established order of na-
ture ? Have we any reason to believe that God ever in-
terposes to grant a specific request ? Is not everything or-
lained from the beginning, and cannot be changed by a re-
luest preferred by a mere creature ? Our Lord does not
Itormally answer any of these philosophic arguments and
objections about prayer. He does not go into an elaborate
liscussion or argument on the question, as many have
lone since, who pretend to speak in his name. But he
puts forth a truth so palpable, so obvious as an every-day
bperience, a truth that has its home in the intuitions of
Ihe heart, that all objections vanish. " What father is
[here among you, if his -son ask bread, will he give him a
Itone, or if he ask a fish, will he give 'lim a serpent? If
je then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
Ihildren, how much more will your heavenly Father give
food things to them that ask him ?" And he leaves them
Vi the presence of this great truth, which appeals to all
mt is strongest and purest in every parent's heart, and
Its up every objection by the root. The way Christ put«

CHRIST, IHB TEACHKR 8KNT FROM OOD.

:■ i i.

l)rayer, it becomes an unspeakable privilege, its very I
spii-it in seen M'lien your littler ciiild comes to you and asks
for Komething ; or with tears in his eyes tells you a wrong
he ho.s done, and pleads forgiveness ; or ])ettor still, just
wishing to be ivlth you, and live in your presence in duti-
ful, loving obedience. You are not afraid that such al
si)irit as this on th<; jjart of your children, will destroy the
order, or interfere with the rules of your liome.s. There
is always, in all our homes, a place for requests to be pre-
fen-ed and answered. And we need not doubt that in our
Father's home lie will take care of its order, while listen-
ing to the c^y of his children, and answering the prayers
of faith. Nowithstanding all that has been said by way
of objection to prayer, we still believe, on the author-
ity of Christ, that when we pray to our Father in secret, I
our Father who seeth in secret, himself will reward us openly.
3. His teaching regarding the Providence of God i,s|
equally convincing, and a further proof that he uses the
logic of intuition, the proof of instinct, rather than the I
elaborate arguments of the Schools. How convincing are
his proofs that God is near, and knows, and does all things
according to the counsel of his own will. The Master tells I
us that not even a sparrow is forgotten amid all the mul
tiplicity of his concerns, and that God numbers the very I
hairs of our head. He makes him to be a God at hand,
and not afar olf, one who overshadows our present inter-
ests with his sure mercies. But to prove all this he does
not employ deep, abstruse, theological arguments: the
common people might not have understood these. But ho!
points to the green grass spreading before them, to tL
lilies, 80 pure, so lovely, as they decked the valleys; each I

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

lower and each loaf was a manifest proof of the Fath(>r's
Iresence antl tlie Father's care. Yet these are not God's
liildren ; thv.y are merely created for th(i use and delight
If his children. " If God so clothe the gi-ass of the field,
^hich to-day is, and to morrow is cast into th(; oven, how
luch more will he clothe you who are his children." Such
5gic as this sends its proofs straight to the heart. Again,
le says, " Behold the birds of heaven, th(^y sow not, nei-
Jier do they spin : they gather into no barns ; they are
lot burdened with care, nor are they full of anxious
lioughts or fears for the future ; they sing their songs to-
lay, and let the morrow take thought for the things of it-
Blf. Yet these birds even are not God's children ; they
Ire merely his creatures. But if God feeds the birds, that
jeither sow nor reap, that are not his children, how much
liore w^ill he feed yon n ho ure his children " ! Tliis is his
rgument, and is it not a powerful one, and every way
ilculated to lead us to cast all our care on him that ear-
th for us 1 Does it not fully warrant the Saviour's own
ttference, " Wherefore take no thought for the morrow,
3r the morrow will take thought for the things of it-
Blf. S ifficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Take no
lought, saying. What shall we eat, or what shall we
Irink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed ? For your hea-
lenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things,
^ut seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous-
ess, and all these things shall be added unto you."

" He is a God of order, and in his counsels every ser-
pnt of his has his own place and work. He mistakes no
>cts, overlooks no conditions, miscalculates no results.
Jo the human eye things may appear confused and disor-

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

li;h

dered ; but so it is apparently in nature. What a count-
less multitude of things go to make up the whole of thel
material world ! and yet we know that each individual ob[
ject is ordered by so exact an economy, that not a solitarjl
drop of water is ever wasted, or a withered leaf strippedl
off by the autumn winds, which does not become the nuj
triment of some new form of life. Shall we think thatl
God is less exact in grace than in nature ? Why, in ever}]
human organization, from the humblest workshop up to
the complex organism of human government, how nice
division of labour, how anxious an adaptation of each s])eJ
cial gift to its own special work, extend throughout thfj
whole 1 Shall God be less wise in the infinite and spirit!
ual, than man in the finite and material 1 Shall the familJ
of God be less precisely administered than the family o(
man ? Shall the government of the world unseen be lesJ
perfectly organized than the government of the seen ? He
who is most perfect of all in himself, must be most perfect!
of all in his actings. Object and intention pervade thenJ
all. Sight is baffled to trace him as yet, whose ways avi
in the sea and his footsteps in the deej) waters. But faitl
accepts, even now, as a most certain fact, the minutenesJ
and perfection of that government which will be revealed
to knowledge hereafter. It is as if God himself came out]
of the darkness and made himself visible. Will it not
one of the joys of the better world, t<) see the veil entirelJ
removed, and to find in the workings of his wisdom, whei
we see them with the pure vision of the just made perfect!
themes of praise and admiration for all eternity." — HoMij
LEXICAL Lectures, p. 176.

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

4. We have another illustration of the same thing
tn that saying of his which has been called " The Golden
Y^le " of conduct between man and man. " Therefore all
things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
^e even so to them." What deep philosophy is in this
bhort utterance, and if it were acted upon, it would change
kll the kingdoms of this world. Or take his answer to the
lawyer who came to puzzle him : " Master, which is the
h-eat, commandment of the law? And Jesus answered,
hou Shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
nth all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
md great commandment ; and the second is like unto it :
rhou Shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
bommandments hang all the law and the prophets." Or
lake his proof of the doctrine of the resurrection, as
kgainst the reasoning of the Sadducees, who denied it be-
bause they denied the separate existence of the soul. But
bis position is unanswerable by all who, like the Saddu-
|ees, professed to believe Moses. " But that the dead are
laised up, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called
Ihe Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
Ihe God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead but
|f the living; for all live unto him."— Luke xx., 37, 38.
thus we might go through others of " These sayings of
p," and show what deep philosophy is wrapped up in
pem all ; that he uses in his arguments the proof of con-
Hction, the logic of intuition, and brings his teachings
lome to the conscience and heart of his hearers by a de-
monstration that silences all opposition. Even his ene-
lies are driven back confounded. ** Sliall we pay tribute
^ Ciesar or no ? Shall we give or shall we not give 1"

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

They thought they had got him on the horns of a dilemmaj
He asks to see a penny. Whose superscription does it
hear? They answer, Caesar's. He replies, Render to CccJ
sar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that!
are God's. He gives a judgment to guide men in things!
secular and sacred while the world lasts. It has been afi
firmed by a leading writer, that this answer is the wisesti
ever recorded on earth. Equally final was his reply tol
those who came asking him by what authority he did these!
things ? "I will also ask you one question : The baptisnil
of John, was it from heaven, or of men ? And they rea I
soned among themselves, saying, If we shall say, from heal
ven, he will ask, Why then did ye not believe him ? but if!
we say. Of men ; they feared the people, for all counted!
John, that he was a prophet indeed. And they ani>wered|
and said, We cannot telL And Jesus answering, said un-T
to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I dol
these things." Such is our Teacher, always so wise, so pa j
tient, so considerate, so loving ; and he brings us " Huleh
from Heaven for life on earth" No wonder that the peol
pie marvelled at his doctrine, and that when he camel
down from the mountain the general verdict was, HfI
Teaches with authority !

What a wonderful Sermon, and how manifestly Dil
vine was the Teacher ! What other passage in the whole
range of literature can equal its brevity and the beautieJ
of its utterances ! Its opening beatitudes move the heartJ
even of the careless, with an impulse and emotion that rej
mind us of the pleasures for evermore at God's right hand]
and the fullness of joy that is there. Words at once sc
plain and profound : '< Which of you by taking thought

CHRIST, IHE TEACHER SENT FROM GOD.

can add one cubit to his stature ? Behold the fowls of the
air ! Consider the lilies of the field !" Or what sermon
ever preached on earth closes in words of such conscious
I authority : « Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be like a man who built
! his house upon the sand," &c. « Whosoever heareth these
saymgs of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise
man who built his house upon a rock," <kc.

The audience felt as under a momentary spell, and
revelled in the^fascination of the M-^ter's presence ; it
was to thorn as a delicious trance, and they were hLlf-
Isorrv ■ hen the lesson ended: and even when he came
dov :m the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
His teaching had come to many of them as a new revela-
tion, and they Avere loath to leave him. As that whole
I scene passes before the minds' eye, we do not wonder that
I the people marvelled at his doctrine, for in it they heard
God's message of mercy to man. " It was not the hearsay
I of the elders, nor the quibbles of the Scribes,— it was the
voice of the oracle, it was the deliverance of a teacher
I come from God. No wonder they were astonished, for on
that hill-side they had heard a sermon the like of which
I their fathers did not hear even at Sinai. They had heard
a sei-mon which was to -be the text of a new dispensation,
and whose fullness of meaning no sage of this world, no
seraph of the other, shall ever be able to exhaust. They
had heard a lecture on ethics, the symmetry and elevation
of which were only surpassed by the speaker's living ex-
I ample. They had heard a lesson as to God's fatbp.rliness
d fond interest in his children's affairs, such as no one
uld speak with authority, save the only begotten Son,

CHRIST, THE TEACHER SENT FROM OOD.

who is in the bosom of the Father, and who on thfs occa-
sion declared him."— Ham. Ill, p. 44.

The Great Teacher came to reveal Divine truth •
to show us the Father, and to open up the way of life \
he came to press duty upon man, and make his present life
the pathway to the life above. No wonder that the peo-
ple sometimes marvelled at the gracious words that pro-
ceeded out of his rnouth, for the lessons he taught were of
eternal moment. He came to lead men into the truth, its
light, its liberty, its spiritual blessedness ; to teach men to
be wise,, kind, true, brave, humble, sincere, brotherly, be-
lieving and loyal in their hearts to God ; to walk before
him unto all pleasing ; to bring forth fruit meet for repent-
ance ; to light our candle and let it shine ; to love our
enemies and do good to them who hate us ; in short, to be
perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. Such is our
Teacher, and such are his lessons ; we have called our-
selves by his name, and profess to be his disciples. Are
we loyal to his laws, are we giving embodiment to his in-
structions in our thoughts, words, and deeds ? Has he
put his law in our mind, and written it in our heart ? Is
his Spirit directing our hearts into the love of God, and
the patience of Christ? The years that have gone since
he taught have not given the lie to one of his sayings.
" Many a prominent name has risen and set since then.
Many words have been spoken and forgotten ; but never
since they were uttered first, have the words of Christ
been more earnescly heeded and studied than they are to-
dy. There are voices that tell us that these words also
will pass away, and that the influence of Christ will decay,
as has decayed the influence of other teachers. But what

vho on this occa-

CHRIST, THK TEACHER SENT FUOM GOD.

is to take their place ? Thoy fill a void that must be fil-
jled, and which no other word^ do anything to supply.
They are living and mighty still ; and until we see other
I words likely to be their substitute, we prefer to believe
that he spake the sober truth when he said, ' Heaven and
earth may pass away, but my words shall never pass
|away.'"— Nicoll's Life of Christ, p. 151.

The teachers of the world are its rulers; its great
I men of renown are not its millionaires, its emperors, or
men of rank ; its masters are its teachers The sceptre
has long since dropped from the hands of Alexander the
Great, but it is still in the hands of Plato, the master who
is ruling and dominating men's minds still. So the teach-"
ing of Christ must continue to have sway, and roll for-
ward as a gathering wave, till it flood the nations with
jits glory, and roll its treasures into the ocean of God's in-
I finite love. And You, Mir.isters of the Gospel, Teachers
[in our Sabbath Schools, Christian fathers and mothers in
lyour homes, workers for Christ everywhere, forget not
jthat you are co-workers with him in the grandest work
Ion earth, reclaiming the moral wastes of the world, and
jmaking it blossom as the rose, till tlie knowledge of the
JLord cuver the earth as the waters cover the seas.— Even
ISO come, Lord Jesus, Come Quickly !