LiTRRATCKE. — Much material of value vdW be found in the works on the Biblical Theoloi^y of NT by Weiss, Beyschlair, an<l esp. 11. J. Holtzuiann (ISStT). Iteference may also'be made to Hovon, Tltml. flu XT, Lausanne. 1S97. The most considerable recent work on the Teaching of Jesus as a whole is Weiuit's I.elireJem, GottinRen, 1890 (Enj. tr., T. & T. Clark, Edin. m.l-iy Bruce, The Kingdom of God (1890 and later) embraces the Synopt. Gospels only. In the last few years a number of mono- graphs have appeared on the doctrine of the Kin^rdom atnl points connected with it — all. it may be said, brinpingr out some real aspect In the doctrine, thoujrh in the writer's opinion too olteii at the expense of other aspects. The series bej-'an with two prize essays, Die Lehre roin Jieiche (rotten, by Issel and Schmoller (both Leiden, 1S91\ and includes treatises with «imllar titles bv Schnedermann (T.eipziff. IS93. 1895. 18961, .t. Weiss (Gottinsen, ls9-2). Lutjiert (Gutersloh. 1895), Titius (Krei- Sur^j i. B. u. Lei[izi(r, 1^9.5t, Krop (Paris. 189"); also Bousset, /till Predict in ihrem freffetisaU sum Judetittim iGutttriren, IMtit; Paul. Die Vorstellnitgen rout MfSaiuti u. vom Gotteitrtii-h (Bonn, IS9.'>) ; Lietzmanu, Der Metiftchennohn (Leipziir, ls9ril ; J. Weiss, Die Nuclifolfie Chrinti (Gottinsen. IS951 ; Grass. Dan VerfutUen su Jennn (Leipzig. 1S95) ; Ehrhardt, Der tirund-
* Not, of course, the first institution, but its confirmation as a rite and its first association with the triple formula.
c/mnii'lfr d. Hlhik Jenu (Frulburi; i. B. u Leipzig. l'*9.'>) Wiesen, Die Stellung Je«u zum irdieeJien Out (GUtersloh
H9.'0.
The Miracles of Jesus. — There has been ;
certain tiinliiicy of late to recede from the ex treme position in the denial of Miracles. Har nack, for instance, writes in reference to the (lospel history as follows : ' .Much that was for- merly rejected hits been re-established on a cl)s« investigation, and in the light of compreheiisi •« experience. Who in these days, for exaiiqi'ti, could make such short work of the miraculous cures in the Gospels as was the cn.stom of scholar! formerly ? ' ( Christianitij and Ilintunj, p. 0;i, Eng. tr.").
(i. ) Different Classes of Miracles. — Partly thif change of attitude is due to the higher e.stimatf whicli would now be put on the value of tht evangelical sources generally, as to which some- thing will be said below. Partly it would be due to a change of view in regard to the super- natural, which is no longer placed in direct antjigoiiism to the natural, but which is more reasonably explained as resulting from the opera tion of a higher cau.se in nature. Ami jiartly alsi. it would be due to the recognition of wider po.ssi- bililic'S in nature, 'more things in heaven and earth' than were dreamt of in the narrow philo- sophy of the Aiifkliirnny.
(o) In particular, it may be said that medical science would have no difficulty in admitting a large cla-ss of miracles of healing. All tlio.se which have to do with what would now be called ' nervous di.sorders." all tlmse in which there was a direct action of the mind upon the body, would fall into place readily enough, (iiven a personality like that of Jesus, the effect which it would have upon disorders of this character wcmid be strictly analogous to that which modern medicine would seek to produce. The peculiar combination of com- manding authority with exti'eme gentleness and .sympathy would be a healing force of which the value could not easily be exaggerated.
A question would indeed still be left as to the treatment of the cases of what was called 'de- moniacal posse.s.sion.' There can be no dcmbt that Jesus Himself shared, broadly speaking, the views of His contemporaries in regard to these cases: His methods of healing went upon the ii.s.8umption that they were fundamentally what every one, including the patients themselves, suppo.sed them to be. We can well believe that this wiis a nec- essary assumption in order to allow the healing influences to operate. We must remember that all the ideas of the patient would be adjusted to the current belief, and it would be only through them that the words and acts of Christ could take effect. In the accounts of such miracles we see that there was a mutual intelligence between Healer and patient from the first (Mk l^^f [j »' II o" II). It w.as by means of this mutual intelligence that the word of command struck home.
We .should be prepared, then, to say that this cla.ss of miracles implied accommodation to the ideas of the time. But when we speak of ' accom- modation' on the part of our Lord, we do not mean a merely politic assumption of a particular belie' for a particular purpose. We mean that the assumption was part of the outfit of His incar. nate .Manhood. There was a certain circle of ideas which Je.sus accepted in becoming Man in the same way in which He accepted a particular language with its grammar and vocabulary.
It would have been wholly out of keeping with the general character of His Ministry if Jesus had attacked this form of disease in any other way than through the belief in regard to it wliich at that time w.as universal. The acientific description of
JESUS CIlIilST
JESUS CHRIST
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