The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-02-04
THE MANHOOD OF CHRIST.

1t is our Lord, and our Lord alone.
who satisfies our human want of an
ideal OF goodness. He shows us what
human goodness was meant to be- He
! offers us, in His life, the ideal life-the
life OF man at his best, in his perfection.
| This is the meaning, or one of the
meanings, of that title by which, more
frequently than by any other, He re-
feTed to Himself-'.the Son of man."
No doubt the original purpose of His
publicly adopting that name was to
claim for Himself the great prophecy in
which Daniel describes one ike the Son
of man coming with the clouds of
heaven to the Ancient of Days, and re-
ceiving dominion and glory and an i'm
perishable kingdom, that all peoples
and nations and languages should serve
| him. But fuller and more
satisfactory reason is to be found in the
fact that our Lord is not merely human,
| but that He is the representative or ideal
mantle one Son of our race who is not
unworthy of its high origin, in whom
its original idea is perfectly realized.
/ This is what St. Paul means by calling
Him the second Adam-the counterpart,
that is, of the first father of our race,
unlike the first Adam in this, that He is
always true to the idea of perfect
| humanity. And so He stands alone in
history, the first of new race of men,
the faultless pattern and type of human
goodness.
For in the ideal which His life pre-
sents to us, let us observe, first, the alb
sence of any disturbing flaw. In the
midst of soiled and sinful world, He
alone is absolutely sinless. He, too, is
tempted, as was Adam. Unlike Adam,
He resists temptation. We shall seek
in vain for any trace of evil in this per-
feet life-for any word, any action, any
gesture or movement which implies a
will averted from good-which implies
sin. Everywhere we see in Him simple
and sustained elevation above the cir
cumstances, above the opinions of the
world, above its pleasures, above its
sorrows. In vain," it has been said
by no friendly writer, Gin vain does the
most keen witted malice seek TO trace sell
fishness in the motives of Jesus of MAJ
areth." No lower inclinations of sin,
no paltering with truth, no swerving
from justice, no self-seeking, no covet-
business, no ambition, can find place
in that character of such lofty purity, of
such stern veracity, of such considerate
equity, of such unreserved sacrifice, of
such disinterested love.
And the ideal of goodness presented
us by our Lord is perfectly harmonious.
We see in Him nothing of the narrow
ness or the one-sidedness which is trace
able more or less in all merely great
men. As rule, one man can only APP
propriate one part of goodness at the
cost of the rest. How often, for in
stance, are the best people we meet with
charitable but Indifferent to the claims
of truth, or truth-loving but careless
about the requirements of charity. In
our Lord there is no one predominating
virtue which throws the others into the
shade. Every excellence is adjusted,
balanced, illustrated, by other excel
lences. 1t is impossible to maintain,
with any approach to show of reason,
that some one particular temperament
shapes His acts and words; that he is
cynical, or chOleric, or melancholy, or
phlegmatic He is each of these; He is
none of them. He combines the mascu-
line with the feminine type of character.
He combines the active instincts of life
with the repose of contemplation. 1t is
impossible to say that He surrenders
Himself to any especial duty to the sur
render of the rest. He obeys the law,
but He proclaims mans freedom in
obeying it, He rivals the sternest
ascetics in not having where to lay His
head; yet He converses brightly with all
the world, eats with publicans and sim
ners, attends wedding banquet. sheds
tears at funeraLl He is consumed, as He
says, with zeal for God honor; yet He is
always calm. He rebukes the ill-con-
sidered fervor which would call down
| fire from Heaven upon those who did
not receive Him. He is ever contem-
| plating, as none else could contemplate,
the nothingnessl of all created things,
the coming of that day which cometh as
a thief in the night; and yet He sympa-
| thizes with all that is tender and beauti-
full in nature and in life. He points to
the birds; He fingers over the colors of
the lilies. He culls from the homeliest,
| incidents and features of country life
| the materials for those imperishable par
ables which, like flowers on the altar, by
reason of their very simplicity, are so
suggestive of divine and eternal truths.
Heis tender without false sentiment, be-
nepolent without a trace of weakness,
resolute without passion, without obsti-
macy, HIS. condescensipn never degen-r
crates into mere Familiarity. His in !.
comparable dignity never touches-it
were blaspheniy to think it4Athe confines
of pride His lofty freedom from the
worlds tyranny and prejudices never
becomes contempt for man, or any form
of misanthrdpy. His implacable hostil-
| ity to sin is always allied to the warmest
love for sinners. Against evil in all its
forms He brings not peace, but sword;
while on those who will He bestows
peace which the world cannot give. In
| His own words, He is as wise as the SER
pent, He is as harmless as the dove. He
is in His character, as by the terms of
His mediatorial office. at once the lamb