The greatest single contribution that Jesus made to social and
political science was his insistence upon the worth of the common
man. That is practically a declaration of the moral equality of all
mature individuals, rich and poor, bond or free, a declaration of
their duty to make their own decisions on questions of right and
wrong, and in consequence the recognition of the responsibility which
each must bear for the conduct of his own life.
This was a new philosophy that Jesus brought into the world. No one
of the great teachers among the Greek philosophers had dreamed of
such a doctrine. In the _Republic of Plato_ and in the writings of
Aristotle we find, indeed, a type of republican form of government,
but in that government the rulers are to be the intellectual
aristocrats, the philosophers, while the great mass of the common
people are to be subservient. Among the ancient Hebrews, even in the
days of the kingdom, there was more than an inkling of a democracy.
The common man had many rights which were protected by the law,
but he had relatively few responsibilities. If he obeyed the law
as that law was given him by the priests, he was doing right. The
responsibility did not rest upon him to interpret the law. And in the
days when Jesus lived, the priests and the commentators prescribed
in minute detail the application of the law to life: the clothing
which should be worn, the food that should be eaten, the work that
should be done on the Sabbath--all the minute forms of religious
ceremonial were matters of prescription which the common man need not
think about. He was to do as he was told. How revolutionary, then,
was this doctrine that Jesus taught of the infinite worth of the
individual human soul!
"Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are not ye of much more value than they?" (Matt. 6:26).
And again: "If God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which
to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. 6:30).
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall
fall on the ground without your Father: but the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than
many sparrows" (Matt. 10:29-31).
But with this doctrine of individual worth is combined, of necessity,
the principle of individual responsibility. Each man is to decide
for himself what his life shall be, and his punishment or reward at
the hands of God, that is, the development or degradation of his own
character and soul are dependent upon his determining decision.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and
rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where
thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.... No man can serve
two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or
else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon" (Matt. 6:19-21, 24).
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19).
Then again: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?" And it is his individual decision that
determines.
This development through the bearing of responsibility demands, of
course, independence of judgment. We have already noted how in his
own life, in interpreting the ancient laws and in determining his
course of action, Jesus held himself independent of the decisions or
interpretations of the laws as given by others. He must think out by
the light of his own reason, independently, his course of action. He
likewise expected his disciples, as he sent them on their mission,
to judge and determine their own actions.
But if I demand from others the right to think independently and to
determine my own line of action, it is, of course, imperative upon
me to grant that same right of independent action to my fellow men.
I ought not to insist upon my right to bear my own responsibilities
without being tolerant of the rights of others; and Jesus nowhere
in his teachings or life shows any lack of tolerance. Perhaps the
most striking incident of this trait of character is found in the
broad-minded way in which he dealt with the woman taken in adultery.
With ironical scorn for her hypocritical accusers he said: "Let him
that is without sin among you first cast a stone." And then he gives
a judgment as merciful as it is just. "Neither do I condemn thee; go
and sin no more." So long as repentance and determination for right
living in the future is secured, forgiveness can be granted. There
must be no prejudice about formal rules or customs.
In his scornful condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, he always
placed the emphasis not upon any difference of opinion, but upon
their hypocrisy and cruelty. A difference of opinion need not be
condemned, but hypocrisy, falsity in mind and heart, is worthy of
the utmost contempt and punishment.
No person who bears responsibility can safely make decisions without
proper study of his problems and preparation for his work. Jesus'
life and teachings exemplify this principle completely. So much
emphasis has been placed by many Christian teachers and writers upon
the divine nature of Jesus that many assume that there was given him
all knowledge and wisdom in some superhuman way entirely different
from that by which ordinary human beings attain their knowledge and
bases of judgment. Such persons apparently overlook the fact that
if that were true Jesus could not have been tempted in all points as
we are. From the evidence given in the New Testament, Jesus, when a
boy of twelve years of age, showed a remarkable precocity and mental
grasp of the deep problems of life in his discussions with the wise
men in the Temple. Nevertheless, he did not venture upon teaching in
any formal way and making public his convictions regarding life and
society until he was some thirty years of age. Moreover, there was a
progressive development in his views and plans for the redemption of
humanity. During his period of preparation, he made himself master of
the Hebraic law and the writings of the leading commentators upon it.
Evidently, also, while he was working at his trade of carpenter, and
presumably also as master carpenter and contractor and citizen, he
had been studying and reflecting most deeply upon the traits of human
nature as manifested in the people whom he met and those with whom he
had come in contact through his work and studies. When he began his
public ministry, he had at his command the most profound knowledge
of human motive and of human nature possessed by any of the great
teachers of history. While he left us no formal analytical discussion
on psychology, and probably never made one, as did Aristotle or
Immanuel Kant or William James, none of them had more completely
understood the ways in which human hearts and minds are to be touched
and convinced so as to change their entire nature. It is not too
much to say that as regards the practical working knowledge of human
nature and the way in which it is to be influenced and changed,
Jesus Christ is the greatest social psychologist of history. He had
made himself such by long and patient study during a period of from
eighteen to twenty years of preparation.