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they become subject to all the uncertainties of our limited faculty. Is it unreasonable to infer that, when such very inadequate provision was made for the expression and preservation of an infallible system of dogma, the communication of such a system lay entirely outside the purpose of Jesus, and he was not miraculously gifted with an infallibility which would have been superfluous ?

We must now proceed to a more direct order of evidence. We have already seen that the doctrine of Kenosis is founded on the clear indications that Christ accepted some erroneous opinions current in his time, and it will be sufficient now to refer to a single instance in which, according to the representations of our evangelists, his judgment was demonstrably at fault. One of the functions usually ascribed to a prophet is the power of prediction; and though it was on higher grounds that Jesus was recognized as a prophet, certain predictions are attributed to him. All three Synoptical Gospels ascribe to him an eschatological rhapsody, in which he depicts the great and terrible consummation of all earthly things. He then says, 'This generation shall not pass away till all these things take place,' and immediately adds the very solemn and confident assertion, Heaven and earth. shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."1 But that generation fell asleep, and Christians began to ask, 'Where is the promise of his coming?' for the world went on as it had done from the beginning of creation. It was necessary to silence these men by treating them as mockers, and to explain away the sacred word. But it is not necessary for us either to mock or to explain away. Critics of the Gospels may doubt whether Jesus ever really made use of words so startling in their mixed solemnity and error. But if he did not, his infallibility vanishes in the fallibility of the records; and if he did, then we must frankly admit that the closeness

1 Matt. xxiv. 34, 35; Mark xiii. 30, 31; Luke xxi. 32, 33.

2 II Peter iii. 4.

3 This subject will be dealt with more fully when we treat of eschatology.

of his communion with God did not exempt him from the possibility of mistake even in some of his most confident convictions.

If the case is so, it may be asked, is not the authority of Christ destroyed? In a certain sense it is; but the highest authority remains. In regard to mere outward facts, such as the authorship of an ancient book, or the scientific explanation of certain obscure phenomena, or the mode in which the present world is to come to an end, he has no authority; for it was no part of his mission to be a literary critic, or a proclaimer of scientific laws. In such matters it seems clear that he simply accepted the opinions of his time. And here we must once more remark that it is only a very mechanical view of inspiration that can bring these within its range. Inspiration in its truest sense does not consist of depositing in the mind ready-made propositions upon all kinds of subjects, but of a quickening and clearing of insight into moral and spiritual truth. We find the plainest intimations of its nature in the exaltation of prayer, which gives a deeper comprehension of God's Spirit and Will, but throws no light upon questions which come within the scope of purely intellectual knowledge and judgment. We must, then, look for the prophetic authority of Christ in the moral and spiritual realm. But here too we must make a distinction; for the belief in demons, and the expectation of the speedy coming of the Son of Man are at least closely connected. with that realm. His authority, therefore, does not attach itself to the mere form of proposition in which he may make an announcement; nor is it imposed from without as something unconditioned by our own judgment and discrimination. A truth which came to us in this way, and was received by us with irresponsive submission, would have nothing religious in it, but would lie as a dead deposit in the mind, and leave the heart and will untouched. The authority of Christ is that of the higher over the lower soul, of one who tells what he has seen and heard in the intimacy of Divine communion,

disclosing the deep things of God and the secrets of holy living, and through the fervour of his appeal clearing our duller apprehension, quickening our conscience, and illumining the dark recesses of our spirits. Through this quickening we become conscious of a witness within, an inner Word answering to the Word without, a living and Divine authority within our own souls. Thus the highest function of the prophet is fulfilled, and we see how untrue it is that the authority of our leader is destroyed unless we bind ourselves to every reported utterance; for the beatitudes have lost none of their charm because we disbelieve in demons; and the parable of the prodigal son has not become foolishness because we think that David was not the author of the 110th Psalm. These difficulties are purely theoretical, and have no existence for him whose fellowship is with Christ, and who finds his authority in the spirit, not in the letter.

These remarks suggest a peculiarity of Christ's teaching which separates him, not indeed from the prophets of Israel, but from other founders of religion, and places him in sharp antagonism to the bulk of Christendom. His teaching has sometimes been spoken of as a new law,' and it may be so spoken of in a figurative sense. But the expression is misleading; for he lays down no law, and his precepts bear no resemblance to the precise enactments of a statute-book. He does not promulgate as binding on his followers either a system of theology or a moral or ceremonial code. We may find in his words materials for these things; but he himself leaves them to the free working of the intellect, and confines his endeavours to implanting great principles of thought and action. In setting forth Divine truth he appeals to the deepest intuitions in the spirit of man, and calls for genuine devoutness and love, but shows not the slightest regard for those metaphysical questions which have usurped the throne of Christianity, and driven the soul of Christ into a new Gethsemane. In his moral exhortations he appeals to the noblest dispositions, and illustrates

their action by suitable examples; but he does not formulate rules by which a man might be judged in a court of justice, and he treats with scorn the fulfilment of a legal duty as a substitute for the exercise of love. Having planted a seed of Divine life in the heart, he would leave it to its own free development; and accordingly a true disciple of Christ cannot be known by his believing or doing certain things, but only by the signs of an indwelling life with God, whereby the will is surrendered in filial love, and the whole course of the outward life is shaped and coloured by the ideal of the Son of God within. It is, then, we repeat, by thus reaching the deepest recesses of the soul, and wakening there the dormant sense of its relation to God, that Christ fulfils the highest function of the prophet.

2. Sacerdotal Office

The priestly functions of Christ are usually divided into his self-sacrifice and his intercession. We must once more remark that we are now dealing with figurative terms. Not only did Christ not belong to the priestly line, but the whole tenor of his teaching is opposed to the sacerdotal conception of religion. Accordingly he is nowhere spoken of as a priest in the New Testament except in the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews; and there the reason is sufficiently plain. The object of the writer is to show that the Jewish ceremonial system is abolished, but abolished only because it has received its spiritual fulfilment. There were to be no more priests, because Jesus had realized the underlying idea of priesthood; and there were to be no more sacrifices, because they were mere shadowy representations of true sacrifice, and this had been offered by Christ. Hence Christians generally are described elsewhere as a 'royal' or 'holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices."1 But to those who have been trained in a spiritual Christianity the idea of priesthood has

1 I Peter ii. 5, 9. Compare Rev. i. 6, v. 10, xx. 6.

ceased to convey the impression of the highest and purest religious sanctity. The priest stood between the people and God, and observed for them ceremonies which they were not competent to observe for themselves; but those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth have none between, but offer their own prayer, and receive a direct answer in their own hearts. Hence the habitual description of Christ as a priest would not only be untrue historically, but would be misleading spiritually by suggesting a doctrine of mediation which is quite antithetic to Christian thought. If Christ is a mediator, it is as one who brings God and man into intimate union, not as one who, recognizing their inevitable separation, acts as an intervening channel of communication.1

The case is altered, however, when we come to the word 'sacrifice'; for though this too is figurative, we cannot dispense with it, as no other word conveys the necessary ideas. That the expression is figurative even when applied to Christ is obvious; for an animal sacrifice was slain by a priest, and offered upon an altar, whereas Christ was put to death upon a cross by Roman soldiers. It is important to remember this, because the misapplication of figurative language is a fruitful source of error, tempting men to extend the meaning of the metaphor far beyond the real ground of comparison. At a time when sacrifices formed universally an essential part of national worship, the use of the figure was exceedingly natural; and especially a body of men who abolished sacrifices altogether, as belonging to an unspiritual stage of religion, would easily contract the habit of saying that their sacrifices consisted of such and such things. Thus, as we have seen, I Peter speaks of offering spiritual sacrifices; and Justin Martyr says that prayers and thanksgivings are the only perfect and acceptable sacrifices to God.2 It is

1 Outside of Hebrews Jesus is called peoírns only once in the New Testament, I Tim. ii. 5. In Heb. he is one who mediated a new covenant, viii. 6, ix. 15, xii. 24.

2 Dial. 117.

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