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their destiny is determined by their attitude to Himself and His brethren ; some will sit down with Abraham and Isiiac and Jacob in the King- dom of God; others will l)e cast into the outer darkness, where there shall l>e weeping and gnash- ing of teeth (Mt 25^'-^).
But, generally, it is the ideal which is jiresent with Jesus ; He prefers to look at the possibilities ; He does not see capacity for evil ; He tries rather to discover the latent powers and potencies of gootl. An incident such as that recorded in Jn S^''' is striking proof of this. Jesus there sees not simply the sinner, but the possibility of good in the sinner. His final word to her, therefore, is not one of condemnation : ' Neitlier do I condemn thee ; go thy way ; from henceforth sin no more.' Man, therefore, is crowned with high dignity and solemn grandeur because he is akin to the Divine. If Jesus had not believed in the capacity for good even in the most unlikely and unexi>ected jieople, what we read recorded of Him and His work would never have happened. Of set purjwse He turned from folk who were reputable, respectable, ajid, in the conventional sense, righteous and holj-. He came not to tiie whole, but to the sick ; not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ( Lk o*'- *-). He turned to those without repute, to the so-called 'sinners,' in the faith that goodness lived within their hearts ; and history tells us that He was not dis;ipix)inted. He sought for the common man, unsophisticated, unconventional ; and we read that He was often surprised and astonished at what tiie common man revealed to Him (Mt S*"^^) : Jesus may thus be said to have been the first to discover the true significance of common men and common things. They were significant because they led up to and implied more than themselves ; at the base and heart of each there was God.
l>ut to Jesus nian was not one object or thing among other objects or things in the natiual world. He was not simply a part of Nature. ' How much then is a man of more value than a sheep ! " (Mt 1*2'-). If the recovery of one sheep brought joy to the shepherd in charge of the flock, a man, l)y his choice and pursuit of the good, could bring joj- to the heart of God (Lk 15^"). He was of value, as a lost coin is of value, for which a woman sweeps the house and searches diligently until she linils it (Lk lo*'") ; or as a son is of value, who, even if he has left home for a far country and there wasted his substance in riotous living, is still dear to his fathers heart (Lk 15'^-^-).
To Jesus, man, as a spiritual being, made in the image of Gotl, who is Spirit, took precedence of all material things. The death of the lK>dy was merely a temporal event ; but to think and believe and act as if the material woild was all, was the death of the soul (Lk 12'2--^). It was to deny God by forgetting Him, and at bottom meant the surrender of ones life as a person and the en- deavour to become a thinfj. Such was the act of a fool. -To Jesus the spiritual side was all ; or, in relation to other things it was the central, con- trolling principle, the fons ct origo of all besides. The life is ' more than the meat, and the body than the raiment' (Mt 6^). 'A man's life con- sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth' (Lk 12^*). 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?' (Mt 16-*K
From a strictly moral standjwint the same truth held good of man ; he alone of all natural crea- tures was capable of good and ill ; things could not defile ; they were unmoral, and knew neither good nor bad ; defilement could come only from spirit, from man, and it proceeded from the thoughts and purix>ses of his heart (Mt 15'*- "• -'■^^). If the inner life was watched, and its waters and
streams kept pure, all was well ; from without there was no danger, bec-ause things ha4.1 no power. It was similar in regard to the nature of the true good. It was an inward ix>ssession : moth and rust consumed material things, but they could not touch spiritual treasure, which made up the wealth of the soul ; this was treasure in heaven, and as such would abide (Mt 6-'"). It was the good incori>orated, as it were, into the very life and^ spiiit of man. Such also was the Kingdom of iieaven. Men could not .see it : it did not come bj- observation : it was within (Lk IT-"'- -^).
There is a revelation of God in Nature ; there is a revelation of God in man ; al>ove all, in the moral consciousness of man. People often asked Jesus for a sign or miracle to show them that His teaching was true. But Jesus gave no sign, riie teaching itself was its omti sign and witness (Lk 11-^^-); its presence was also an argument; it "doth both shine and give us sight to see.' The rich man in the torments of hell-fire might ask that a messenger be sent to his brethren — tliat some one should rise from the dead to warn them from his fate ; — surely at a miracle they would repent? But the appeal of Jesus ever addressed itself to the moral consciousness of man. • Tliej* have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them. ... If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded tiiough one rise from the dead ' (Lk 16"^*'). In this asi>ect John also, in the Prologue to his Gospel, defines for us the nature of man. There was a light which ! lighted everj- man as he came into the world. The j source of this light was God. Its supreme mani- j festation Mas in Jesus ; in Him was life, and the life was the light of men (Jn 1'"*).