station--freemen--and hundreds of thousands of slaves. Even her
campaigns in time became virtual raids for plunder. She conquered--and
she plundered those whom she conquered. Great numbers from among the
conquered peoples were regularly taken to Rome and sold into slavery.
Judea had not escaped this. Thousands of her best people had been
transported to Rome and sold into slavery. It was never known where the
blow would fall next; what homes would be desolated and both sons and
daughters sent away into slavery. No section, no family could feel any
sense of security. A feeling of fear, a sense of desolation pervaded
everywhere.
There was a tradition, which had grown into a well-defined belief, that
a Deliverer would be sent them, that they would be delivered out of the
hands of their enemies and that their oppressors would in turn be
brought to grief. There was also in the section round about Judaea a
belief, which had grown until it had become well-nigh universal, that
the end of the world, or the end of the age, was speedily coming, that
then there would be an end of all earthly government and that the reign
of Jehovah--the kingdom of God--would be established. These two beliefs
went hand in hand. They were kept continually before the people, and now
and then received a fresh impetus by the appearance of a new prophet or
a new teacher, whom the people went gladly out to hear. Of this kind was
John, the son of a priest, later called John the Baptist.
After his period of preparation, he came out of the wilderness of Judaea,
and in the region about the Jordan with great power and persuasiveness,
according to the accounts, he gave utterance to the message: Repent ye,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Forsake all earthly things; they
will be of avail but a very short time now, turn ye from them and
prepare yourselves for the coming of the Kingdom of God. The old things
will speedily pass away; all things will become new. Many went out to
hear him and were powerfully appealed to by the earnest, rugged
utterances of this new preacher of righteousness and repentance.
His name and his message spread through all the land of Judea and the
country around the Jordan. Many were baptised by him there, he making
use of this symbolic service which had been long in use by certain
branches of the Jewish people, especially the order of the Essenes.
Among those who went out to hear John and who accepted baptism at his
hands was Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary, whose home was at Nazareth.
It marks also the beginning of his own public ministry, for which he
evidently had been in preparation for a considerable time.
It seems strange that we know so little of the early life of one
destined to exert such a powerful influence upon the thought and the
life of the world. In the gospel of Mark, probably the most reliable,
because the nearest to his time, there is no mention whatever of his
early life. The first account is where he appears at John's meetings.
Almost immediately thereafter begins his own public ministry.
In the gospel of Luke we have a very meagre account of him. It is at the
age of twelve. The brief account gives us a glimpse into the lives of
his father and his mother, Joseph and Mary; showing that at that time
they were not looked upon as in any way different from all of the
inhabitants of their little community, Nazareth, the little town in
Galilee--having a family of several sons and daughters, and that Jesus,
the eldest of the family, grew in stature and in knowledge, as all the
neighbouring children grew; but that he, even at an early age, showed
that he had a wonderful aptitude for the things of the spirit. I
reproduce Luke's brief account here:
"Now, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem,
after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as
they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem: and Joseph
and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in
the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their
kinsfolk and acquaintances. And when they found him not, they turned
back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass that after
three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the
doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard
him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
"And when they saw him they were amazed: and his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have
sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought
me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business? And they
understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down
with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his
mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
Nothing could be more interesting than to know the early life of Jesus.
There are various theories as to how this was spent, that is, as to what
his preparation was--the facts of his life, in addition to his working
with his father at his trade, that of a carpenter; but we know nothing
that has the stamp of historical accuracy upon it. Of his entire life,
indeed, including the period of his active ministry, from thirty to
nearly thirty-three, it is but fair to presume that we have at best but
a fragmentary account in the Gospel narratives. It is probable that many
things connected with his ministry, and many of his sayings and
teachings, we have no record of at all.
It is probable that in connection with his preparation he spent a great
deal of time alone, in the quiet, in communion with his Divine Source,
or as the term came so naturally to him, with God, his Father--God, our
Father, for that was his teaching--my God and your God. The many times
that we are told in the narratives that he went to the mountain alone,
would seem to justify us in this conclusion. Anyway, it would be
absolutely impossible for anyone to have such a vivid realisation of his
essential oneness with the Divine, without much time spent in such a
manner that the real life could evolve into its Divine likeness, and
then mould the outer life according to this ideal or pattern.
VII
THE DIVINE RULE IN THE MIND AND HEART: THE UNESSENTIALS WE DROP--THE
SPIRIT ABIDES
That Jesus had a supreme aptitude for the things of the spirit, there
can be no question. That through desire and through will he followed the
leadings of the spirit--that he gave himself completely to its
leadings--is evident both from his utterances and his life. It was this
combination undoubtedly that led him into that vivid sense of his life
in God, which became so complete that he afterwards speaks--I and my
Father are one. That he was always, however, far from identifying
himself as equal with God is indicated by his constant declaration of
his dependence upon God. Again and again we have these declarations: "My
meat and drink is to do the will of God." "My doctrine is not mine, but
his that sent me." "I can of myself do nothing: as I hear I judge; and
my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me."
And even the very last acts and words of his life proclaim this
constant sense of dependence for guidance, for strength, and even for
succour. With all his Divine self-realisation there was always,
moreover, that sense of humility that is always a predominating
characteristic of the really great. "Why callest thou me good? There is
none good but one--that is God."
It is not at all strange, therefore, that the very first utterance of
his public ministry, according to the chronicler Mark was: The Kingdom
of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. And while this was
the beginning utterance, it was the keynote that ran through his entire
ministry. It is the basic fact of all his teachings. The realisation of
his own life he sought to make the realisation of all others. It was, it
is, a call to righteousness, and a call to righteousness through the
only channel that any such call can be effective--through a realisation
of the essential righteousness and goodness of the human soul.
An unbiased study of Jesus' own words will reveal the fact that he
taught only what he himself had first realised. It is this, moreover,
that makes him the supreme teacher of all time--Counsellor, Friend,
Saviour. It is the saving of men from their lower conceptions and
selves, a lifting of them up to their higher selves, which, as he
taught, is eternally one with God, the Father, and which, when realised,
will inevitably, reflexly, one might say, lift a man's thoughts, acts,
conduct--the entire life--up to that standard or pattern. It is thus
that the Divine ideal, that the Christ becomes enthroned within. The
Christ-consciousness is the universal Divine nature in us. It is the
state of God-consciousness. It is the recognition of the indwelling
Divine life as the source, and therefore the essence of our own lives.
Jesus came as the revealer of a new truth, a new conception of man.
Indeed, the Messiah. He came as the revealer of the only truth that
could lead his people out of their trials and troubles--out of their
bondage. They were looking for their Deliverer to come in the person of
a worldly king and to set up his rule as such. He came in the person of
a humble teacher, the revealer of a mighty truth, the revealer of the
Way, the only way whereby real freedom and deliverance can come. For
those who would receive him, he was indeed the Messiah. For those who
would not, he was not, and the same holds today.
He came as the revealer of a truth which had been glimpsed by many
inspired teachers among the Jewish race and among those of other races.
The time waited, however, for one to come who would first embody this
truth and then be able effectively to teach it. This was done in a
supreme degree by the Judaean Teacher. He came not as the doer-away with
the Law and the Prophets, but rather to regain and then to supplement
them. Such was his own statement.
It is time to ascend another round. I reveal God to you, not in the
Tabernacle, but in the human heart--then in the Tabernacle in the degree
that He is in the hearts of those who frequent the Tabernacle. Otherwise
the Tabernacle becomes a whited sepulchre. The Church is not a building,
an organisation, not a creed. The Church is the Spirit of Truth. It must
have one supreme object and purpose--to lead men to the truth. I reveal
what I have found--I in the Father and the Father in me. I seek not to
do mine own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.
Everything was subordinated to this Divine realisation and to his Divine
purpose.
The great purpose at which he laboured so incessantly was the teaching
of the realisation of the Divine will in the hearts and minds, and
through these in the lives of men--the finding and the realisation of
the Kingdom of God. This is the supreme fact of life. Get right at the
centre and the circumference will then care for itself. As is the
inner, so always and invariably will be the outer. There is an inner
guide that regulates the life when this inner guide is allowed to assume
authority. Why be disconcerted, why in a heat concerning so many things?
It is not the natural and the normal life. Life at its best is something
infinitely beyond this. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." And if
there is any doubt in regard to his real meaning in this here is his
answer: "Neither shall they say, 'Lo here' or 'Lo there' for behold the
Kingdom of God is within you."
Again and again this is his call. Again and again this is his
revelation. In the first three gospels alone he uses the expression "the
Kingdom of God," or "the Kingdom of Heaven," upwards of thirty times.
Any possible reference to any organisation that he might have had in
mind, can be found in the entire four gospels but twice.
It would almost seem that it would not be difficult to judge as to what
was uppermost in his mind. I have made this revelation to you; you must
raise yourselves, you must become _in reality_ what _in essence_ you
really are. I in the Father, and the Father in me. I reveal only what I
myself know. As I am, ye shall be. God is your Father. In your real
nature you are Divine. Drop your ideas of the depravity of the human
soul. To believe it depraves. To teach it depraves the one who teaches
it, and the one who accepts it. Follow not the traditions of men. I
reveal to you your Divine birthright. Accept it. It is best. Behold all
things are become new. The Kingdom of God is the one all-inclusive
thing. Find it and all else will follow.
"Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison
shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it
is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth;
but when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs,
and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge
under the shadow of it." "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? Is
it like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal,
till the whole was leavened?" Seek ye first the Kingdom, and the Holy
Spirit, the channel of communion between God your source, and
yourselves, will lead you, and will lead you into all truth. It will
become as a lamp to your feet, a guide that is always reliable.
To refuse allegiance to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, is the
real sin, the only sin that cannot be forgiven. Violation of all moral
and natural law may be forgiven. It will bring its penalty, for the
violation of law carries in itself its own penalty, its own
punishment--_it is a part of law_; but cease the violation and the
penalty ceases. The violation registers its ill effects in the illness,
the sickness, of body and spirit. If the violation has been long
continued, these effects may remain for some time; but the instant the
violation ceases the repair will begin, and things will go the other
way.
Learn from this experience, however, that there can be no deliberate
violation of, or blaspheming against any moral or natural law. But
deliberately to refuse obedience to the inner guide, the Holy Spirit,
constitutes a defiance that eventually puts out the lamp of life, and
that can result only in confusion and darkness. It severs the ordained
relationship, the connecting, the binding cord, between the soul--the
self--and its Source. Stagnation, degeneracy, and eventual death is
merely the natural sequence.
With this Divine self-realisation the Spirit assumes control and
mastery, and you are saved from the follies of error, and from the
consequences of error. Repent ye--turn from your trespasses and sins,
from your lower conceptions of life, of pleasure and of pain, and walk
in this way. The lower propensities and desires will lose their hold
and will in time fall away. You will be at first surprised, and then
dumfounded, at what you formerly took for pleasure. True pleasure and
satisfaction go hand in hand,--nor are there any bad after results.
All genuine pleasures should lead to more perfect health, a greater
accretion of power, a continually expanding sense of life and service.
When God is uppermost in the heart, when the Divine rule under the
direction of the Holy Spirit becomes the ruling power in the life of the
individual, then the body and its senses are subordinated to this rule;
the passions become functions to be used; license and perverted use give
way to moderation and wise use; and there are then no penalties that
outraged law exacts; satiety gives place to satisfaction. It was Edward
Carpenter who said: "In order to enjoy life one must be a master of
life--for to be a slave to its inconsistencies can only mean torment;
and in order to enjoy the senses one must be master of them. To dominate
the actual world you must, like Archimedes, base your fulcrum somewhere
beyond."
It is not the use, but the abuse of anything good in itself that brings
satiety, disease, suffering, dissatisfaction. Nor is asceticism a true
road of life. All things are for use; but all must be wisely, in most
cases, moderately used, for true enjoyment. All functions and powers are
for use; but all must be brought under the domination of the Spirit--the
God-illumined spirit. This is the road that leads to heaven here and
heaven hereafter--and we can rest assured that we will never find a
heaven hereafter that we do not make while here. Through everything runs
this teaching of the Master.
How wonderfully and how masterfully and simply he sets forth his whole
teaching of sin and the sinner and his relation to the Father in that
marvellous parable, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. To bring it clearly
to mind again it runs:
"A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father,
Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth _to me_. And he
divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered all together, and took his journey to a far country, and there
wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all,
there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his
belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be
called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and
came to his father.
"But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and kissed him. And the son
said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight,
and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his
servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on
his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and
kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is
alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now
his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the
house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants,
and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is
come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath
received him safe and sound. And he was angry and would not go in:
therefore came his father out, and entreated him, and he answering said
to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither
transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me
a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy
son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever
with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make
merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;
and was lost, and is found."
It does away forever in all thinking minds with any participation of
Jesus in that perverted and perverting doctrine that man is by nature
essentially depraved, degraded, fallen, in the sense as was given to the
world long, long after his time in the doctrine of the Fall of Man, and
the need of redemption through some external source outside of himself,
in distinction from the truth that he revealed that was to make men
free--the truth of their Divine nature, and this love of man by the
Heavenly Father, and the love of the Heavenly Father by His children.
To connect Jesus with any such thought or teaching would be to take the
heart out of his supreme revelation. For his whole conception of God the
Father, given in all his utterances, was that of a Heavenly Father of
love, of care, longing to exercise His protecting care and to give good
gifts to His children--and this because it is the _essential nature_ of
God to be fatherly. His Fatherhood is not, therefore, accidental, not
dependent upon any conditions or circumstances; it is essential.
If it is the nature of a father to give good gifts to his children, so
in a still greater degree is it the nature of the Heavenly Father to
give good gifts to those who ask Him. As His words are recorded by
Matthew: "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will
he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them
that ask him?" So in the parable as presented by Jesus, the father's
love was such that as soon as it was made known to him that his son who
had been lost to him had returned, he went out to meet him; he granted
him full pardon--and there were no conditions.
Speaking of the fundamental teaching of the Master, and also in
connection with this same parable, another has said: "It thus appears
from this story, as elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus, that he did not
call God our father because He created us, or because He rules over us,
or because He made a covenant with Abraham, but simply and only because
He loves us. This parable individualises the divine love, as did also
the missionary activity of Jesus. The gospels know nothing of a national
fatherhood, of a God whose love is confined to a particular people. It
is the individual man who has a heavenly Father, and this individualised
fatherhood is the only one of which Jesus speaks. As he had realised his
own moral and spiritual life in the consciousness that God was his
father, so he sought to give life to the world by a living revelation of
the truth that God loves each separate soul. This is a prime factor in
the religion and ethics of Jesus. It is seldom or vaguely apprehended in
the Old Testament teaching; but in the teaching of Jesus it is central
and normative." Again in the two allied parables of Jesus--the Parable
of the Lost Sheep, and the Parable of the Lost Coin--it is his purpose
to teach the great love of the Father for all, including those lost in
their trespasses and sins, and His rejoicing in their return.
This leads to Jesus' conception and teaching of sin and repentance.
Although God is the Father, He demands filial obedience in the hearts
and the minds of His children. Men by following the devices and desires
of their own hearts, are not true to their real nature, their Divine
pattern. By following their selfish desires they have brought sin, and
thereby suffering, on themselves and others. The unclean, the selfish
desires of mind and heart, keep them from their higher moral and
spiritual ideal--although not necessarily giving themselves to gross
sin. Therefore, they must become sons of God by repenting--by turning
from the evil inclinations of their hearts and seeking to follow the
higher inclinations of the heart as becomes children of God and those
who are dwellers in the Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, his opening
utterance: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent ye, and believe the gospel."
Love of God with the whole heart, and love of the neighbour, leading to
the higher peace and fulfilment, must take the place of these more
selfish desires that lead to antagonisms and dissatisfactions both
within and without. All men are to pray: Forgive us our sins. All men
are to repent of their sins which are the results of following their own
selfish desires,--those of the body, or their own selfish desires to the
detriment of the welfare of the neighbour.
All men are to seek the Divine rule, the rule of God in the heart, and
thereby have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is the Divine
spirit of wisdom that tabernacles with man when through desire and
through will he makes the conditions whereby it can make its abode with
him. It is a manifestation of the force that is above man--it is the
eternal heritage of the soul. "Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." And therein lies salvation. It
follows the seeking and the finding of the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness that Jesus revealed to a waiting world.