and priso n of the debtor, the palaces and luxury of princes and courtiers, the self-

indulgence of the rich, the avarice of the covetous, the exactions of the tax-gatherer, and

the oppression of the widow by unjust judges, had all made an indelible impression on

His mind. And yet this evil world was not one which He hated, and from which He would

withdraw Himself with His disciples, though ever and again He felt the need of periods of

meditation and prayer. On the contrary, while He confronted all the evil in it, He would

fain pervade the mass with the new leaven; not cast it away, but renew it. He recognised

the good and the hopeful, even in those who seemed most lost. He quenched not the

dimly burning flax, nor brake the bruised reed. It was not contempt of the world, but

sadness over it; not condemnation of man, but drawing him to His Heavenly Father; not

despising of the little and the poor, whether outwardly or inwardly such, but

encouragement and adoption of them, together with keen insight into the real under the

mask of the apparent, and withering denunciation and unsparing exposure of all that was

evil, mean, and unreal, wherever it might appear. Such were some of the results gathered

from His past life, as presented in His teaching.

Thirdly : Of the prevailing ideas around, with which He was brought in contact, some

have already been mentioned. Surely, the earnestness of His Shammaite brother, if such

we may venture to designate him; the idea of the Kingdom suggested by the Nationalists,

only in its purest and most spiritual form, as not of this world, and as truly realising the

sovereignty of God in the individual, whoever he might be; even the dreamy thoughts of

the prophetic literature of those times, which sought to read the mysteries of the coming

Kingdom; as well as the prophet-like asceticism of His forerunner and kinsman, formed

at least so many points of contact for His teaching. Thus, Christ was in sympathy with all

the highest tendencies of His people and time. Above all, there was His intimate converse

with the Scriptures of the Old Testament. If, in the Synagogue, He saw much to show the

hollowness, self- seeking, pride, and literalism which a mere external observance of the

Law fostered, He would ever turn from what man or devils said to what He read, to what

was 'written.' Not one dot or hook of it could fall to the ground - all must be established

and fulfilled. The Law of Moses in all its bearings, the utterances of the prophets - Isaiah,

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi - and the hopes and

consolations of the Psalms, were all to Him literally true, and cast their light upon the

building which Moses had reared. It was all one, a grand unity; not an aggregation of

different parts, but the unfolding of a living organism. Chie fest of all, it was the thought

of the Messianic bearing of all Scripture to its unity, the idea of the Kingdom of God and

the King of Zion, which was the life and light of all. Beyond this, into the mystery of His

inner converse with God, the unfolding of His spiritual receptiveness, and the increasing

communication from above, we dare not enter. Even what His bodily appearance may

have been, we scarcely venture to imagine.91 It could not but be that His outer man in

some measure bodied forth His 'Inner Be ing.' Yet we dread gathering around our

thoughts of Him the artificial flowers of legend.92 What His manner and mode of

receiving and dealing with men were, we can portray to ourselves from His life. And so it

is best to remain content with the simple acco unt of the Evangelic narrative: 'Jesus

increased in favour with God and Man.'