phal return (Jno. 5:11; Bom. 15:3; Phil. 2:5-11; Jno. 6:13). 7. He taught with great boldness and integrity. He called hard names, denounced sin unsparingly and warned most fearfully of a coming judgment. Few at present have His boldness and severity. Too many are willowy and time serving. No times ever demanded more moral courage than the present. Christ or an apostle in some of our modern fashionable pulpits would create a moral earthquake (Matt. 2:20-24, 23: 33; Luke 12:49). 8. He taught with great patience, love and frequent repetition. The dis- ciples were thus able to memorize His discourses. He blended tenderness with severity. As His imitators we should remember that we are to overcome a vast amount of inattention and forget- fulness, and preach the gospel in love. We are to be both terrific and tender (Matt. 7:7-8; Jno. 16:4; Matt. 23:37). 9. He taught with the -utmost sim- plicity, so that the common people understood and heard Him gladly. No one had any excuse for not understand- ing Him. He clothed the grandest thoughts in the simplest language. We need graded textbooks for secular learn- ing, but the Bible suits all grade's. Christ was a clear medium and a per- fect transmitter of truth. You cannot see the bottom of a street mud puddle, but yon can look down 500 feet to the bed of Lake George. Unsanctified learning is one of our greatest present evils. Many of the German apostles of destructive criticism, at whose feet some of our preachers sit to learn who wrote the Bible and what it means, are both unconverted men and infidels (Matt. 11:26; Jno. 15:22; Col. 2:8). 10. He used plain, bold, blunt lan- guage, such as many now shrink from repeating. He did not wreathe the Sword of the Spirit in flowers. His preaching was not all "sweetness and light." He used the most terrible words in human language concerning sin, .-judgment and retribution (Matt. 23:23-33; Mark 12:37). 11. He taught most seriously and earnestly. He never trifled nor "under- took to entertain sinners with fun. He was ever conscious of carrying a life and death message. Let us remember that the King of Kings does not choose a mountebank for an ambassador (Mark 18:16; Luke 12:30; Jno. 9:4). 12. He taught in the wisdom and power of _ the Holy Spirit. He was
anointed at the beginning, as we must be. This is indispensable. But it' is clearly unscriptural to require of can- didates a standard of secular scholar- ship that would rule out all of the original apostles. While we might re- fuse them license for lack of scholar- ship, Christ might refuse some of us for lack of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 9:1; Mark 1:10). And now let us see what were the results of His lecturing: 1. Universal astonishment at both His matter and manner (Matt. 7:28-29). 2. It excited the anger and opposi- tion of many (Luke 6:11). 3. It resulted in the salvation of some (Jno. 10:27-29). Our duty and danger as hearers may be found in Acts 3:22-23: " F o r Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things what- soever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." Unique among the histories of the past is that of the Lord Jesus. What other character ever lived among men who anticipated from the beginning a violent taking off, and spoke of it as the crowning event of his life? What other company of friends or followers ever proclaimed the death of their hero as the distinguishing feature of his career, and the source of their life and peace, as well as that of the whole world? Such is not the wisdom of men, but it is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1: 23, 24) and discloses His finger on the insoired pen. First —The circumcision of Jesus, when the first drops of precious blood were shed, looked on to the cross— ' ' And when eight days were accom- plished for the " circumeision of the child, His Name was called .Jesus" (Luke 2:21). Jesus equals Saviour. Second —At the opening of His min- istry, John saw Him walking, and said, "Behold, the Limb of Go d" (Jno. 1: 29), thus pointing out the sin offering for the world. Third —His vary baptism was antici- pative of His .Burial, and the eternal Spirit anointed Him there for it, "¡A,nd BIBLE BRIEFS. By J. H. Sammis. THE DEATH OF CHRIST.
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