still were men, and they longed to prove themselves
worthy of His regard. In many a heart that seemed dead to all things
holy, were awakened new impulses. To many a despairing one there
opened the possibility of a new life.
Christ bound them to His heart by the ties of love and devotion;
and by the same ties He bound them to their fellow men. With Him
love was life, and life was service. “Freely ye have received,” He
said, “freely give.” Matthew 10:8.
It was not on the cross only that Christ sacrificed Himself for
humanity. As He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), every
day’s experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only
could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God
and communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High,
under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they
abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then
their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the lifework
marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained
by continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was
without failure or faltering.
As a man He supplicated the throne of God, till His humanity [81]
was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with
divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.
“Never man spake like this Man.” John 7:46. This would have
been true of Christ had He taught only in the realm of the physical
and the intellectual, or in matters of theory and speculation solely.
He might have unlocked mysteries that have required centuries of
toil and study to penetrate. He might have made suggestions in
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scientific lines that, till the close of time, would have afforded food
for thought and stimulus for invention. But He did not do this. He
said nothing to gratify curiosity or to stimulate selfish ambition. He
did not deal in abstract theories, but in that which is essential to the
development of character; that which will enlarge man’s capacity
for knowing God, and increase his power to do good. He spoke of
those truths that relate to the conduct of life and that unite man with
eternity.
Instead of directing the people to study men’s theories about
God, His word, or His works, He taught them to behold Him, as
manifested in His works, in His word, and by His providences. He
brought their minds in contact with the mind of the Infinite.
The people “were astonished at His teaching (R.V.), for His
word was with power.” Luke 4:32. Never before spoke one who had
such power to awaken thought, to kindle aspiration, to arouse every
capability of body, mind, and soul.
Christ’s teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world.
Never can there be a circumstance of life, a crisis in human experience,
which has not been anticipated in His teaching, and for
[82] which its principles have not a lesson. The Prince of teachers, His
words will be found a guide to His co-workers till the end of time.
To Him the present and the future, the near and the far, were
one. He had in view the needs of all mankind. Before His mind’s
eye was outspread every scene of human effort and achievement,
of temptation and conflict, of perplexity and peril. All hearts, all
homes, all pleasures and joys and aspirations, were known to Him.
He spoke not only for, but to, all mankind. To the little child, in
the gladness of life’s morning; to the eager, restless heart of youth;
to men in the strength of their years, bearing the burden of responsibility
and care; to the aged in their weakness and weariness,—to all,
His message was spoken,—to every child of humanity, in every land
and in every age.
In His teaching were embraced the things of time and the things
of eternity—things seen, in their relation to things unseen, the passing
incidents of common life and the solemn issues of the life to
come.
The things of this life He placed in their true relation, as subordinate
to those of eternal interest; but He did not ignore their
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importance. He taught that Heaven and earth are linked together,
and that a knowledge of divine truth prepares man better to perform
the duties of daily life.
To Him nothing was without purpose. The sports of the child, the
toils of the man, life’s pleasures and cares and pains, all were means
to the end—the revelation of God for the uplifting of humanity.
From His lips the word of God came home to men’s hearts with
new power and new meaning. His teaching caused the things of
creation to stand out in new light. Upon the face of nature once more
rested gleamings of that brightness which sin had banished. In all [83]
the facts and experiences of life were