The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-11-11
CONGREGATIONAL. CLun.
Prof. Ropes Paper Read nt she Meeting
Lnst Evening,

Prof. Ropes Paper Read nt she Meeting
Lnst Evening.
The Congregational Club held its first meet
ing for the season last evening, when Prof @.
J. Il. Ropes of the Bangor Theological Sem
inary read very able and interesting paper
on the Manhood of Christ" of which we
give brief abstract. This Is different sub-
ject from FIR. Thomas Hughes essay on
"Christ's Manliness" This includes the quee-
ton, Had Christ any real manhood, and what
was it? Why do raise the question Of Christ's
manhood? 1t is because / find a lack of IL
telligent faith in its reality. The question may
be summarized thus: Was our Lord Oh earth
endowed with Divine attributes? There exists
among the people feeling that Christianity is
soft and weak, and Christ does not escape the
shadow of this idea. People turn away from
Christ to the athletic heroes Of to-day, and the
Christ seems as far off from ordinary manhood
as the saint in q painted window, cold and
lifeless. The mystery OF Christ's person al
ways remains. Did Jesus on earth possess the
Divine innocence, omnipotence and immut-
able perfection? The gospel, think, will
answer, Mol Omnscience: When the crowd
werepressing upon Him, He feels the touch Of
faith, and asked "Who touched me?" But
we may say BE wished to bring the faith of
the healed woman up to the level of con-
fession. And in all similar instances it Is
doubtful from the record whether He knew the
answers to His questions or not, though we can
hardly deny that the scenes gain in spontansity
If He did not know and go asked bona fide CUES.
tions. But in connection with the resurrec-
ton of Lazsrarus, the limits of Christ's
knowledge are suggestively outlined. While
He was in Perara He told His disciples
Lazarus is Dead" though tidings had come
only OF his sickness. This was clearly super
natural knowledge, which was necessary for
the accomplishment of HIS purpose. He could
not 60 to awaken" Lazarus until He knew
he had fallen asleep" But while He knew
of the death, He did not seem to know the
time of it or at least of the burial. For we
read $50 when Jesus came, He found that he
(LaZsrus) "had been in tho tomb four days
already" The natural inference is He did not
know this until His arrival. But the barren
fig tree furnishes decisive test. On the way
from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus sees one
fig tree, conspicuous by a precocious growth of
leaves. Now as the figs set when the leaves
come out it would be natural for this tree to
have some fruit upon it, Jesus was hungry
and thought to stay his need with the fruit OF
that fig tree. But fruit it had nome OF
course in His whitening the fig tree He gave
His disciples an object lesson of the doom inn
pending over the Jewish nation, but the whole
incident cannot be set down to this purposes
or why mention His hunger and His search for
fruit to satisfy it, Nothing is clearer that
Christ did not know the fig tree was barren
until He searched for fruit. This Is entirely
inconsistent with the idea of omniscieuce,
which indeed Christ elsewhere expressly dis
claims.
Especially remarkable is bis power to read
men, their thoughts, their characters, even
their past. Nor is this the force of sympathy
with his friends. He is equally ready in pene-
trating the schemes, discerning the very
thoughts of his opponents. He discerns the
first beginnings of unfaith among his disciples.
"For Jesus knew from the beginning who they
should betray him. If we look at the places
where John uses this phrase, "the beginning"
we shall find it always takes its coloriDg from
the context; and he means 10 the beginning of
unbelief, not the beginning of his ministry.
This alone is consistent with the facts of the
case. The disciples protest against his hard
sayings and he replies that their protest springs
from lack of faith. 1t is evident that Jesus
did not know when he chose him that Jndas
would betray him. Thus we see that Christ's
knowledge of mems hearts did not necessarily
extend to their future, except by inference.
Yet we find Jesus exercising the functions of q
prophet. Bat, in the line of the specific reve-
lation of the Father, which Christ came to
bring, that his knowledge can only be called
divine.
What has been said of omniscisnce applies
also to omnipotence. The gospels furnish no
evidence that Jesus possessed it. 1t has been
said the miracles of Christ implied his divine
omnipotence. Miracles such as our Lord
wrought testify to divine power, but the ques-
lion is whose7 Christ plainly says Gods pow
er. They have an evidential value; they
prove him a heaveD-seDt messenger. They
minister directly to the glory, not of Christ,
but primarily of God. In particular instances
We see Jesus specially invoking the power of
God to perform the miracle. Indeed, Christ
expressly limits his powers to cooperation
with the Father. Like his prophetic knowl-
edge, his miraculous powers are part of his
complete spiritual endowment. This apostles,
when they, too, received the baptism of the
spirit, discerned the character of those with
whom they came in contact, and worked mira
cles In multitude of passages Jesus dwslls
Oh the fact that all his words ard works are
tho Fathers.
OF one more attribute of Deity. do We find
that Christ dives'ed himself: divine moral per-
lection. Jesus was always sinless. He was
born innocent and pure, and elevated innc-
cence into holiness and purity into perfection
by the uucea6iDg effort of his lifelong moral
development. Jesus must earn the constant
help OF God By m6rlting his continued APPROX
al. Bis obedience was not rendered without
effort, conflict and suffering. Sinful sugges-
tions we're constantly made by satan to Christ.
Cbrist's constant need of prayer is another SAL
lent feature of His moral development. Fin
ally Christs life OF moral development is i'm
piled in the reward to which He looks for
ward.
Turn now to single elements of the manhood
OF Christ, secure in the knowledge that they
mean just what they seem TO mean, and are
not the shadow Of divine attributes let fall on
human relations.
Look at His reverence for constituted au-
thority. Notice how Jesus resisted sll the
temptation that comes to a popular leader
and his magnanimity.
How full of manhood are his teachings. No
one ever uttered more scathing rebukes than
he against hypocrisies and false professions.
Observe the common sense Of his teachings.
He would not let the Sabbath interfere with
works of necessity or mercy. He told the
Jews there was no life in their mere possession
aud study Of the Scriptures-these wore only
dead letter unless their spirit led to him.
The speaker briefly referred TO the social
nature of Christ, his skill in argument, to his
sympathy and tact, and to his freedom from
the narrowness and higotry Of his day.
The essayist closed with brief allusion to
his dignity, seIf-control and courage in the
very beginning of his ministry. The disciples
we're filled with wonder at his talking with q
woman yet they did not ask him question.
He, who SO impressed those with whom he
lived SO unconventional life, surely never
lacked dignity. The same dignity, combined
with mistaken courage, We find displayed on
every occasion. He was an ardent patriot; he
loved his country, right or wrong, but he
loved the right more than his country. He
longs to save Jerusalem How calm he APP
pears when, suddenly aroused from sleep, be
faces the angry storm in his little boat. FL
nslly, how utterly calm and uuflinching is his
bearing throughout that last night and day.
See how be meets the adjuration of the high
priest with words that seal his own doom. How
steadfastly and silently mocking, scourging
and crucifxion succeed each other. Truly
here was manhood; truly here was hero, or
as the centurion said, Truly this was the Son
OF God"
The paper was discussed by several of the
members.
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