Love to God is the first commandment ; love to man is included in it, as the less in the greater. Tiie motive which makes the service of men right- eous in the highest sense is that it should be done for Christ's sake (Mk 9", Mt lO''^ 18^), or, in other words, in order that men ' may glorify your Father which is in heaven' (Mt 5'^). We must really lose ourselves before we can find our true selves (Mt 16^^ etc.) ; i.e. self-development is included in the end, but it can never come through selfishness. The Christian's paradise is not like the INIoham- medan's ; the reward of self-denying toil in Christ's service is more toil (Lk 19"). The Lord's Prayer opens, not with petition, but with adoration and thanksgiving ; and petition must be qualified with
RIGHTEOUS, RIGHTEOUSNESS
RIGHTEOUS, RIGHTEOUSNESS 531
the thought, 'nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done' (Lk 22^-).
TiniH one important aspect of love is filial trust, or faith in God. But this faith is certainly not intellectual in essence. Without love it is void and empty (Mt T"'")- It is the faith which seeks God's kingdom and His righteousness first, and makes the daily toil for the material necessaries of life STibordinate to these, in its calm certitude that God will give sufficient for our needs. But how, it may be asked, are we to win such faith as tins? Partly by contemplation of God's love in Nature (Mt 5-*^ 6-8-f", Lk l2-^-»-') ; partly by the evi- dence of Christ's life, death, and resurrection (Mt 16^"'" 28^^' -" etc. ) ; partly by turning into earnest prayer the measure of faith that we have (cf. Mk 9'j3. -n-^ . j^jkJ partly by loving service of our brother men in all humility (see Lk 17"'^").
Again, as love for nuinkind is incomplete except when based on love for God, so is love for God an idle sentimentality unless it is realized by the service of men. ' Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father Avliich is in heaven' (Mt ?-')• This is set forth in detail in the picture of tlie Last Judgment (]Mt 25''"'"'). Here the test of men is whether they gave food, drink, and shelter to strangers and to those who were needy, or sick, or outcast. For the 'Golden Rule,' which sums up 'the Law and the Prophets,' is, ' All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also to them ' (]Mt 7'-, Lk 6^^). Nor is any man to be outside the pale of a Christian's love. To the scribe's question, 'Who is my neighbour?,' Christ replies by a parable, in which a Samaritan is represented as doing for one of his traditional enemies, the Jews, what the priest and Levite of the man's own race had left undone (Lk 10-»«-)- Sp He abolishes the Jewish belief that ' neighbour/ includes only those of one's own race. And His last words on earth lay before His Apostles their duty of teaching all nations (ISIt 28i», Lk 24^^ cf. Mk W% He uses also the term ' brother ' in a no less catholic sense, in all probability, though He never explicitly tells His disciples that they are to consider all men as bretiiren (see Mt 7^ and IBi^-ai, Lk H^-^). The teaching of the parable of the Prodigal Son is still more emphatic on this point. It is also true that He uses the word ' brother ' in a narrower sense, to denote specially the man, whoever he is, that does the will of God (Mk 3^^ ll). See art. Brotherhood.
It was the simplicity and the ' inwardness ' of this supreme test of righteousness by love that were to make Christ's 'yoke easy' (Mt IP")^ ^^ contrast with the 'heavy burdens' imposed on men's shoulders by the externalism and endless rules of the Pharisees (23^). He said, ' Excejjt ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Who- soever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven' (IS^-^ cf. Mk O^^) ; and He called the scribes and Pharisees 'children of hell' (Mt '23"'^)— a term which He never applies even to tiie publican or the harlot— because He found in their self-exalta- tion and censoriousness (cf. Lk 18'i, ]\It 23'^-'") the very antithesis of the meekness and humility which were to Him tlie essence of righteousness (Mt 11-9 71-5^ Li^ 177-10) Hi^ mission. He says, is not to the self-righteous, but to the man conscious of his sin (Mt O''' ||, cf. Lk 15^). To the Pharisee ceremonial was everything, the spirit of action nothing (Mt 23^5. 26) . ^^ Yi\vL\ the ceremonial was useless unless carried out in the spirit of love (S'^--'), and the rule of law must always give way to the rule of love (cf. His treatment of Sabbath- observance, Mk 223-3«). Therefore He said, ' Ex-
cept your righteousness shall exceed the righteous- ness of the scribes and Pharisees, j-e shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven ' (Mt 5-").
This leads us to sj)eak briefly of His treatment of the ^losaic Law. He made a rule of observing it, but never in a literal, slavish manner. In every- tliing He acted on the princi])le that ' the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath' (Mk 2-«). He yielded to authority (cf. Mk 12" |!, Lk 17'-*, Mt 17-'), except when doing so meant the violation of a higher law (see jNlt '23^). The LaAv was to Him sound in princijile, but not perfect. His work in respect to it was not revolutionary, but evolution- ary (5""-"). Not 'a jot or tittle' of its underlying principles was to perish ; and the man who should ' break ' (Xt'/o-T; in v.''-* picks up /caraXOo-ai in v." ; cf. Jn 7-'') them would be acting against Christ's command.*