(3) It seems certain that the Jews, as a body, could never have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. It was the Pharisee who, with all his faults, had remained true in some measure to his national tradition ; and it was in him that the teaching of Jesus found its strongest opponent. It was, above all, the tiniversalism of Jesus that the Pharisee could not bear. He despised the Greek and Roman, and especially his kin and neighbour the Samaritan, as ' Gentile ' folk — outsiders. If the God of the Jews should show Himself favourable unto such, it would have to be by some special act of grace. But Jesus followed out the prophetic ideal. He submitted to be baptized by John, and He expressed in no stinted way His feeling about the Baptist and his work. In His first public utterance Jesus reminded His hearers of the nature of Israel's God. He was the God of men, no niiitter wdiat their race and no matter what their moral character. It was this God who despatched Elijah to Zarephath on an errand of mercy, when there Avere many widows in Israel. Elisha also was sent to heal Naaman the Syrian, althougli there were many lepers nearer home (Lk 4-^"^). It was by uttcj.- ances such as these that Jesus gained at the outset the opposition of the national party. Men felt — and felt rightly — that if Jesus triumphed Judaism was undone. The Pharisees were also deeply ti'oubled by Jesus' manner of life. He received ' sinners,' and ate with tiieni ; He dined with tax- gatherers, and spoke kindly and compassionately to a woman of ill fame (Lk S-'-^" 19'-'", Jn 8'""). The official class — the Sadducees and priests — also felt that new wine like this would burst the old skins, and that a new society might arise, in which they themselves might be anywhere save at the top. And from the moment Jesus set foot in Jer- usalem, the priests and Sadducees, as the ruling official party, set themselves to work, not to con- fute Him, but to compass His death (Mt 2p3 26^- ^ Lk 19*^- ■*» 20. 22).
It follows from this that Jesus was a lover of man, irrespective of his race or condition. He 1 egan His nunistry with teaching and healing. He was often moved to compassion bj' the multitudes which followed Him ; they were as sheep without a shepherd ; they heard Him gladly, and even tarried with Him a whole day, and that in a desert place (Mk l"" 6^""^'*). On one occasion they would have made Him their king ( Jn 6'"'^). And to Jesus, though He refuses their proffered sovereignty, they were as 'fields white unto tlie harvest' (Jn 4-*'). Many of the most striking sayings of Jesus, how- ever, occur in utterances addressed to individuals. It was while sitting and talking with a Samaritan — a Samaritan woman — that He said : ' God is Spirit ' ( Jn 4-*) ; it was in the house of Zacchoeus that men first heard that ' the Son of man came to seek and to save that which Mas lost' (Lk 19'"); while it wjis in answer to ' a certain lawyer ' that ■Jesus related the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10'-^"^'). Men were amazed at and charmed by Jesus' power of speech ; they ' wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth ' (Lk 4'--). Police officers on one occasion were dis- armed by it. ' He taught,' says the Evangelist, ' as one having authoritj'', and not as the scribes' (Jn 7«-»', iMt T'"- ^^).
What was it that led Jesus to teach and to asso- ciate Himself, not simply with Jews, but with men as men ? What was it that carried Him willingly and of set juirpose into all classes of society, and especially among the outcast and unfavoured folk? What led Him to seek, not the righteous, but sinners, and not the whole, but the sick? To answer this question we must pass to —
2. Christ's teaching on man. — With Jesus the doctrines of God and man are closely akin. They pass into each other, and are deeply interfused ; so much so, that at times we seem but to have been looking at different sides of the same fundamental truth. Central, basal, a pole ai'ound which every- thing else centres and revolves, is His conception of God. To know Him is to share His life, and to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness is alike the highest duty and the highest joy of man (Jn 17^ Mt 6^3). He is Spirit (Jn 4-'^). Without Him nature would cease to be ; its beauty, its order, and the creatures which have within it their home, derive all their life and sustenance and joy from Him. The hairs of a man's head are all numbered ; not even a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice. The common flowers and grass owe their life to Him (Mt &^^-^ lO-"- '^).
Wliat, then, does Jesus, with this high doctrine of God, say about man ? He tells us that man is distinct from the natural world and natural crea- tures ; he is God's child ; God is his Father ; he is God's son (Mt S'*^-'^ 6-="^). Such words may not define man's present condition ; they look at him in the light of the ideal ; they describe his duty, his highest destiny and ambition. The loftiest hope and purpose that any man may cherish is to become a son of his Father wdio is in heaven, and to become perfect as his heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5"""'**'). It is noteworthy that Jesu-; never mentions the fall of man, nor is there any very conclusive passage in wliicli He speaks of man as a sinner. But He implies that man is such in that He makes 'Repent' the keynote of His opening ministry (Mt 4"). There is but one who is good, even God (Lk IS'**- '^) ; yet men, who are evil, can render good gifts to their children (Mt 7" ). It is possible for a man's ej'e to be evil, and for his whole body to be filled with darkness rather than with light (Mt 6-^). Men cannot serve two masters, mammon and God (Mt 6^). A rich man can with difficulty enter into the Kingdom of God (Mt 19-"'). Ultimately, too, men are sifted out and