AWE. — The adoration of what is mysterious and sublime is an essential element in religion. Wlien expressed towards unworthy objects the result is superstition, but the motive itself is the soul of worship. As the feeling is thus fundamental to the relationship between the human and the Divine, increase of knowledge, while testing and purifying this relationship, should protect and strengthen it.
In the service of the missionary gospel, the complaint is made to-day by Eastern heathen religions that our Western Christianity, which comes to them as the aggressive lierald of a higher life, is gravely deficient in religious veneration. It becomes, therefore, of practical interest to in- quire how Cliii^ls liist cliseiples were influenced in this direction Iin llw |iiv,rnce among them, and to what extent tlir -;iiiw i.^ lin^- towards the person of the living C'liri>t pii \udes the Church of modern times.
When Christ took upon Him our nature, it was under such circumstances of poverty and liumble birth as could not inspire the conventional regard which the world bestows upon rank and title. Further, His life was lived in such daily intimacy with those around Him, and was so thoroughly affected by the local customs of Israel and the social conditions of the time, that His disciples could speak of their fellowship with Him in terms of exact knowledge and distinct impression. They could afterwards refer to His life as something that they had seen with their eyes and their hands had handled (1 Jn V).
Nevertheless, there is nothing more evident in tlie story of tlie Evangelists than tlie fact that a permanent and increasing mystery, passing into reverence and awe, accompanied that familiar ac- quaintance. The feeling was usually called forth by some manifestation of knowledge or power, and deeper e\en than the impression thus pro- duced by His wonderful teaching and miraculous works was the trustful consciousness of their being in contact with a personality that was altogether holy and separate from sin. Finally, the reverent submission thus instilled into the minds of the disciples was exemjilified in Christ Himself to- wards the will of God, as in the temptation in the wilderness and in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As their power of spiritual perception increased, the disciples learnt to apprehend and accept the startling renovation, the sudden depth, and the delightful expansion that the Master gave to old religious truths, but there were always meanings
AWE
about which they had to seek an interpretation in private, and to the end of their fellowship they had often to confess that they knew not what He said. The difficulty thus created by His person- ality and actions was so far recognized by the Lord Jesus, that on one occasion He encouraged His disciples to make known their own thoughts and the thoughts of others about Himself (Mt 16"). Thus Nathanael was overawed by the knowledge that He had been watching him in his place of seclusion (Jn I''") ; and this feeling soon became a general persuasion that He knew all men and what was in man (2-^-'). Peter felt himself so immediately in the presence of Divine power that he confessed his own sinfulness, and he and James and John decided to leave all and follow Him (Lk 5'-"). The bereaved sisters at Bethany repeat the conviction that if He had been there, their brother would not have died (Jn IP'-'-). And among those who came into more incidental con- tact with Him by simple inquiry or importunate need, Nicodemus was attracted by the persuasion that He was a teacher come from God (Jn 3-) ; an admission to the same effect was made on one occa- sion by the Pharisees and Herodians (Mk 12") ; the chief priests and scribes were driven to assign a Satanic origin to His unquestionable power (Mt 12-^) ; while the Pharisees reached a stage in their controversy with Him after which no man durst ask Him any question (Mt 22'«, Mk 12»'). The privileged traffickers in the temple quailed under His exposure and rebuke (Mt 21'-(, and to the end the challenge to convict Him of sin remained un- answered (Jn 8'*'). All the miracles of Christ, while expressing His pity and love, accentuated this Divine power, and His teaching bore the dis- tinguishing mark of authority (Mt 7*').
To His lirst .It-wish (lisciiiles the name Messiah was the iiin i-ilin^ of a historical mystery, the jus- tification of the oalliiig. preservation, and discipline of Israel. They found in Him the fulfilment of the prophecy ' and his name shall be called Wonderful' (Is 9«). With so much that attracted them to His person and depended upon His presence, it is doubtful if they could have ventured upon our depersonalized formulae about ' the plan of salva- tion.' And so, while the Fourth Gospel, like the ancient epics, begins with the introduction of its principal theme, namely, ' The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us' (Jn l"), the Evangelist could add that even through that obscuring medium Christ's disciples were enabled to behold His glory (ib.).
After the Resurrection this veil was so completely removed, and the awe of Christ's presence became so unclouded and continuous, that one of the Apostles could write, ' Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more ' (2 Co 5"^).