If Jesus were in any degree sinful. He must lia\e known it, and had He known it He would have told us. If He knew it and did not tell us, we should have just cause of complaint against
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Him, since, in that case, He must have allowed a false impression to grow up regarding Him. If He was sinful and did not know it, He must fall out of the rank of tlie best men, because in that case He lacks the noblest and most moving element in the character of those who have agonized heaven- ward,— a deep sense of demerit and an adoring sense of the grace of God. But, in truth, the mere statement of these alternatives and infer- ences is intolerable. The conscience of the race has been created by Jesns Christ. His character is at once the rebuke and the inspiration of every age. He is the moral ideal realized once for all. Tliere is no other, no higher goodness than that which is incarnated in Him ; and, as has been said, ' the difterence between the highest morality that exists and a perfect one is a difference not of deCTee, but of kind' (Davidson, Thcol. of O.T.).
To this affirmation regarding Jesus we are con- strained to come. Nothing less is a fair inter- pretation of the record. He stands alone. Man though He be. He is distinguished from all men by unique moral and spiritual excellence. Between Him and God there is a relationship to which there is no parallel in the case of any other man. The absolute distinctiveness of the character of Christ is not a dogma, constructed under philosophical or theological influences. It is a fact to wliich every line of the portrait bears unansweiable evidence. Stated as a fact, however, it becomes at once a problem which cannot be evaded. ' Whence hatli this man these things?' How the answer shall be framed, — whether the Nicene formula is adequate, or, if not, how it is to be corrected and supple- mented, is the task laid ujion the intellect and conscience of the Church of to-day. It Is certain that upon the earnestness and honesty with which she takes up that task will depend her vitality and her permanence. It is certain also that intellectual progress in apprehending the mystery of the Person of Christ will be conditioned liy moral progress in apprehending, ajjpropriating, and reproducing the perfection of Hi^ chaiactei
LiTERATrRE —The main source for an^ character study of Chri&t must besought in the t;.ospeIstheni<5el\es Thp / tr^ol Christ ivill of course gi\e abundant if it ''111) Ncander Edeishenn Didon Weiss L deahiig directh with the chara ter rf ( seem to be rare All Dr Bru c b w 1 1 ethical spirit Tra i n i t tl Ti I I lean Go<tpel Apoloqtt <• Hin I at Homo and Abhotts Phi hi (» ai I work. The Gospel t i th \ * let ith C & Co) has a most \aluahle sUi 1\ ft l Robinson s 5' / tl (_! I i
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CHARGER.— The utensil referred to (Mt U*-", Mk 6-=^- =») was a flat tray or salver (Gr. iriva^) with a narrow rim, and was usually made of brass, the surface being plain or ornamented with engraved or embossed designs, and varying in size from one to three feet in diameter. At an Oriental ine.al the tray is laid upon a low stool, tlie dishes Ijeing placed upon it, while those who partake sit or recline around it. The tray is also carried around by an attendant when presenting wine or drinks composed of water flavoured with lemon, rose, or violet essences.
In the two passages that describe Salome's re- quest at Herod's birthday feast, the charger is mentioned as an essential part of the stipulation.
In both narratives the demand is for the head of John the Baptist in a charger. In e.xplanation of tliis it has to be noted that the daughter of Hero- dias liad demeaned herself to play tlie jjart of a hired Oriental dancer, with the usual accompaniments of paint and jewellery, loose and showy costume, and gestures of indelicate suggestion. The appear- ance tiiid daiiciii.L; of llic yoiiTi.n princi'ss had capti- vatcil Ihc t^iii-is alic,-id\-"c'\liilattilr.l \i\ Ow royal bamin.'l, .'it.^l iHv|ir,iv,l ihriit (<i .-ipiilait.! anything clever .and aud.iei.jtis ftoiii the same prfsuii: The king entered into the .spirit of the occasion, and treating her as a paid performer, ottered her for her services anything slie might desire. And so when she requested that the head of John the Baptist miglil !"• Mne.l nji to her on one of the trays from wliirli tlie un^ -I- were being regaled, the unfeeling jest iiii|ileil iliai ihi.s would be to her both her professional leu unU Iter portion of tlie feast.
It was John the Baptist's last testimony against the artificial and insincere spirit of the age. When such a crime could be so lightly committed, the day of the Lord upon the nation could not be far oti'. Afterwards, when Herod addressed his questions to Christ, it was to find Him absolutely silent (Lk 23'). The atrophy of moral feeling may be gradual, and be relieved by intervals of wrestling and regret, but at last unwillingness to feel becomes inability to feel.