3. The Temptation of our Lord, following im- mediately (Mk l'^) after His Baptism, shows tlie nature of the internal conflict which He had to face when He set about the work of His life. There was no struggle with doubt as regards God, or Himself, or the end which He sought. The force of every temptation depended indeed on the clearness with which these were realized. His victory was an overcoming of the tendency to escape from the limitation, the lowliness, and tlie self-sacrifice whicli, to human tliought, seem so unlieconiinL' tiic Son of God in His great work of estalili-hiii- ll..' Kingdom.
It is iiii|iii~>ililL- ill tlie short space available here to deal witli all the definite instances of self-revela- tion which are given in the four Gospels. It must suffice to dwell briefly upon a few of the more remarkable, and to mention such of the rest as cannot be omitted. It may be added that, to those who have really considered the question, almost every incident in our Lord's life is, in some way or other, a manifestation of His superhuman con- sciousness.
4. One of the most noteworthy instances is that given by St. Matthew (IP'^) and by St. Luke (lO^'"-). St. Luke introduces the passage with the remarkable words, ' In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said.' It is a proof tliat the Apostles recognized our Lord's utterance on this occasion as the open expression of His communion with God. The insight into the heart of God, which was the secret of the inner life of Jesus, finds here such utterance as human language can give it. He addresses God as ' Father, Lord of heaven and earth,' a great expression which fore- shadows the truth whicli follows : ' All things have been delivered unto me of my Father; and no one knowetli tlie Son, save the Father ; neither doth any know tli" I 'at her. s.ave the Son, and he to whomsoi'vi 1 I ho Son willeth to reveal him' (Mt 11="). It i> iiiii.o^iMo to e.xaggerate the im- portance of tliese «oi<l^. They contain four great assertions about our Lord and His work: (1) His universal authority ; (2) the mystery of His person, known in its fulness to the Father only ; (3) the tinique relation of tlie Son to the Father, as in- volved in the Son's perfect knowledge of the Father ; (4) the knowledge of the Father, so far as it is possible to man, is to be liad only througli tlie Son. This short passage contains "the w^hole f'hristology of the Fourth Gospel. It records f(ir us an occasion when our Lord permitted His hearers to gain some insight into His conscious- ness of God, of Himself, and of H'
Among the many important pas.'-.ages which agree with those which have been discussed, may be mentioned the following: (1) The account of our Lord's reception of the disciples of John the Baptist who brought their master's doubts to Him for solution (Mt ll-"'' and Lk 7'"-=^). Here our Lord's perfect confidence in His mission is ob- viously based upon His consciousness. The con- trast with the intensely human searchings of heart displajed by John in his time of trial is very striking. (2) The narrative which includes the confession of St. Peter and the teaching which followed it (Mt 10""-, Mk 8-""-, Lk Q'^"-). The announcement of His approaching death and the tremendous terms in which He claims the utmost self-.sacrifice from His disciples, give an extra- ordinary depth to the revelation of our Lord's self-knowleclge contained in this narrative. (3) Every incident and every teaching belonging to the last period of the ministry reveals the over- powering intensity of His consciousness of the mission which Heliad to fulfil and of its depend- ence upon Himself. All the circumstances or His public entry into Jerusalem are notable in this respect (Mt 21'-« Mk ll'"", Lk 19^", Jn 12'=-"; see especially vv.^'- ■">• *^-"^ in St. Luke's account). (4) His answers to those who questioned His authority (Mt 21-^-"'^, Mk 11='-12'-, Lk 20'-'") are equally impressive. The parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, which is given in all the Synoptic Gospels, is very striking, as showing how our Lord made an essential distinction between Himself and all other messengers of God. (5) The description of the Future Judgment (Mt 25"""', cf. Mk 8»», which shows the same conception, and proves that the idea is not peculiar to St. Matthew among the Synoptists), contains as lofty a conception of the dignity of the Son as any passage in the Fourth ' Go.spel : 'Then shall the king say' (vv.3'- *). What a depth of consciousness is involved in the words, ' ye did it unto me ' and ' ye did it not to me '
It would be possible to give many more instances almost as impressive. The fact is important, as showing that here we are dealing with an essential element in the Gospel history. So far our instances have been tal^cii from the Synoptic Gospels, and mainly from narratives \\hichare common to them all. When we turn to St. John, we find the self- revelation of Christ on e\ ery page, almost in every paragraph. See, as examples, Jn P' 2"' 4'' S"-*" 6:j8-42.6i.fe 814.46. (ginlessncss) » 10'« 12"- '" 13» U'J- '» etc. The climax is reached in ch. 17, in which we are admitted to the sanctuary in which the Son pours out His heart in the presence of His Father. Here are evident all the elements already noted as peculiar to our Lord's thought about Himself and His mission : His unique Sonshij), His sinlessness, His Messiahship, His universal authority, the mystery of His relation to the Father.