CHAPTER XVI.

PERSONAL CHARACTER OF CHRIST.

AFTER the prophecies of Malachi, the last of the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament, the Jews continued to preserve their distinct national customs and religion, and to foster their long-cherished hope of a coming Messiah. They scrupulously adhered to the letter of their law-in several instances yielding to their enemies rather than to fight on the Sabbath. Successively they paid tribute to the Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, and Romans, though for more than a century nominally independent. They were widely scattered among the nations ; thus imbuing the world with their own hope of a Messiah.

In these days came a remarkable religious teacher, called John the Baptist. There were rumours among the people of some supernatural demonstrations attendant upon his birth; and showing himself in the garb of the old prophets, and being a man of unblemished character, his preaching attracted great attention. The sub

stance of his doctrine was, that the Messiah was near at hand, that his kingdom would be of a spiritual character, and that a genuine and radical reform was necessary to prepare for his coming kingdom. The nation would not have been so aroused, had they not been prepared for excitement—they were universally expecting the Christ. Multitudes were baptized, professing their confidence in John, and their determination to be ready for the Christ. Then arose Jesus, openly and freely acknowledged to be the Messiah by John the Baptist.

We propose now to examine briefly the history of Jesus Christ, as given by the evangelists.

The history of no personage that has ever been seen among men, is better attested than that of Jesus. We have four separate lives of the Saviour, embracing descriptions of his teachings and of his death. We have references made to these books by writers who immediately followed them, and by their successors, down to the present time. We have millions of human beings—and there has been no time within a century of the date of the death of Christ when there were not thus millions of human beingsprofessing to trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation. We have historical monuments without

seems to

and

number, and we have customs and usages, especially baptism in the name of Jesus, and the so-called sacrament of the Lord's supper, which could have had their origin only in the history of Jesus, who was called the Christ.

It will aid our purpose to examine briefly the character of the four men who narrated the life of Jesus.

Matthew, from his own authority, have been a tax-collector in Capernaum, till he was invited to become a personal attendant upon the Saviour. It is thought by many that he wrote originally in the Hebrew language, that his book was subsequently translated into Greek. He evidently wrote for his own countrymen, the Jews, and from personal observation.

Mark had been an attendant upon one of the Saviour's immediate disciples, the apostle Peter; and it is supposed wrote his Gospel from the relation of Peter.

Luke was born at Antioch, and was probably a Grecian freedman, who had been emancipated from slavery, perhaps on account of some extraordinary talent; had applied himself to the study of medicine, was styled a physician, and finally spent much of his time in travelling with

the apostle Paul. Whether he was a preacher is doubtful; but he took especial pains to converse with all whom he met that had seen and heard Christ; and from their relations, and from various writings that had appeared he compiled, rather than composed, his Gospel.

John was the beloved disciple of Jesus, his faithful attendant, and adoring friend. This will account for the minuteness of his history, especially upon those parts slightly referred to, or wholly omitted by the others.

Observe now, first, the unaffected simplicity of these four writers. There is no striving for effect, no bombast, no elegantly-rounded period, no striking antithesis, no ornament nor effort to gain applause. Compare these productions with any specimens of literature, ancient or modern, and observe the striking contrast in this respect.

Observe, secondly, that these authors never praise Christ; they use no commendatory terms. You see nothing of such exclamations as these : “What wondrous wisdom did he thus display !" “How he circumvented his enemies!”

66 What an astonishing miracle!” “How simple and severe !” Not a word of it. They simply relate what he did and said, and what was said and done to him, and leave the facts to make their

own impression. There is not one other so simple and passionless a record in the world. We have never read the life of a good man in which the writer did not laud, sometimes extravagantly, the subject of his memoirs.

Observe, again, that these writers have left several apparent contradictions, one to another, in their narratives. We call them apparent contradictions, for they are not real. They arise from the omission of some circumstances, and the relation of others, as will always occur when a narrative, covering a long time, is given by independent witnesses. For instance, Matthew says, that when Jesus was crucified, the Jews had written over his head on the cross, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Mark says the writing was, The King of the Jews. But Luke has it still different, This is the King of the Jews. And John has it different from all, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

This shows without question that the four writers made no effort to harmonize their different relations, for they certainly would not have overlooked so obvious a disagreement. But it does not show that either was wrong. The inscription was in three different languages, and the evangelists may have translated different inscrip