The Power of Jesus acknowledged by all. 295

position of him who possesses the power. No one approaches a powerful lion divested of the dread of its attack. Yet all approach a lamb without apprehension of personal injury. The enemies of Jesus taunted Him with every species of mockery and insult, and yet were in no fear of His retributive justice. Why? Not because they denied that He, like the prophet who healed the leprosy of Naaman and had the power to attach the same leprosy to Gehazi, could not inflict upon themselves the diseases He healed; but because they had a deep-rooted, though it might be an willing, conviction that the nature of Jesus was kind, good, and Godlike. Jesus had explained

His own conduct to be in accordance with the principles of His Father, who "rained upon just and the unjust persons," and who had sent Him upon the special mission, "to save men's lives, and not to destroy them." Thus Jesus Himself publicly taught that Sonship with God in substance and nature forbade retaliation of injuries; and the people clearly believed Him in this respect, for they treated Him as if He had no power of retaliation, or as if it were improbable that He should inflict the disease He could remove; or as if it were improbable that He should take away that life from one which He had power to restore to another. There cannot be any other conceivable cause why men had, in the first instance, no fear of retaliation when they assaulted uncontrollable

and unlimitable power, except that retaliation was incompatible with such power.

Thus was Jesus of Nazareth manifested to be the Christ of God in all His words and works, and at last tacitly confessed by all who had dealings with Him. Experience of the gentleness of Jesus confirmed the earlier impressions of impunity and increased the boldness and cruelty of His enemies.

IV. In Jesus mercy rose against judgment, and the perverse Jews took advantage of that circumstance. Because the punishment of their evil works

was

not executed speedily, the hearts of the sons of men were set in them to do mischief." Still however as a matter of fact, though punishment was suspended, judgment was not inoperative; Jesus abandoned no attribute or prerogative of Godhead. For the whole system of parables was in itself an awful exercise of judgment, which excluded those who refused to come to and to use the light from being able to see the light. To him who had used light was light given more abundantly, and from him who had not used was taken away even that light which he seemed to have. It was not until after Peter had patiently received the mystery of the Bread sent down from heaven, and had confessed to Jesus, "To whom shall we fly? For Thou hast the words of life for eons," that he was taken to Cæsarea Philippi to be questioned, "Whom say ye that I am?" and was

Jesus combined Judgment and Mercy. 297

able to reply after twice failing to come up to the whole truth, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." The parable, being two-sided, evinced the Divine power of Jesus, an object of darkness to the Jewish party, while reflecting the light of truth upon all who sought into the mystery of the coming Messiah. It was the one and the same pillar. Thus Jesus showed in His own personal acts, as well as taught by His words, that "all judgment was committed to the Son, in order that men might honour the Son as they honoured the Father;" and that if the full consequences of men's conduct did not then follow, judgment was suspended by mercy, and would be exercised by Him at the end of the eon. For, said He, "The word which I spake shall judge them in the last day." The judicial blindness of many under the system of parables incapacitated them from so discerning the Christ of God as to confess Him, whilst they who received the light of the parable had the blessing. "Blessed are you, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you, but My Father which is in heaven." On the other hand the very reason why the perverse did not discern and confess that Jesus was the Christ of God, appears to be that He was exercising judgment towards them, but not judgment without mercy, though they showed Him no mercy. The light of the parable, had it shone into their souls, could not fail to convince them that He was the Christ

of God; but with this result, that they had hated Him the more. The teaching by parables was therefore a still further evidence of Divine mercy as well as of Divine judgment, and assists it in proving to the readers of the combined record that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God in the flesh. No hypothesis except that of the Man-God can explain the alternations of weakness and power, of humility and loftiness, of mercy and judgment therein recorded. A person who was in complete possession of two natures, was able to use the one or the other as separately and distinctly as an ordinary man possessed of human flesh and a reasonable soul can at his will respond to or employ the suggestions of the one or the desires of the other. Thus "God and man are one Christ."

V. On the whole therefore there was no failure in the conviction among His contemporaries that Jesus had within Himself the Divine nature and the Divine power of the one eternal God. Nor is there any weakness of evidence in the words and the works of Jesus so far registered in the combined record, that He was the "very Christ," "the Christ of God," "the Christ, the Son of the living God." This claim was admitted not only by professed disciples, but in some sort by all the contemporaries of Jesus from personal knowledge, and it is proven to all men of our age in the combined pages which contain His sayings and doings. The reader, unless he be satisfied upon these

Jesus resides in Peraa.

299

facts, can hardly proceed, because Jesus in all subsequent dealings with His disciples takes for granted that they admit Him to be the Christ the Son of God. But in all future intercourse with the Jewish authorities He assumes the wilful and perverse rejection of Himself by the nation at large, and from time to time alludes to the fearful consequences.

Chapter Ixv.

Jesus removes His Residence from Capernaum to the district on the other side of the Jordan.

(THE last summer of the sojourn of Jesus upon earth had passed away, and) the Jews' feast of Tabernacles was near. His brethren therefore (who murmured at His late retirement) said to Him, "Remove hence, and withdraw into Judæa, in order that Your disciples (there) also may behold the works which You (have the power to) do. For no one does any thing in secret and desires himself to be known openly. If you are doing these things, manifest Yourself to the world." For not even His brethren believed in Him (as the true Messiah He seemed to them to exhibit extraordinary powers without any definite object). Jesus (therefore shows to them that His relations

1 John vii. 2.