Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-30
NV Father will love him, and We will come
q nd alc nnr ahnda with him -

NV Father will love him, and We will come
and make our abode with him."
Think what these two conversations mean.
Imagine any other teacher saying as Christ
says-If you would see God, look at Mel or,
| If you do as say then God will love you,
and We-that is, God and Twill come and
abide in your hearti
What Christ meant by these and many
other startling assertions of himself, the
Jews understood perfectly well. 81 and
my Father are one," He said, and down go
their eager hands reaching after stones to
punish Him for blasphemy, because He,
"being man, made himself God" "Be-
| fore Abraham was I am," He says again;
and again there is an endeavor to stone Him.
What Christ said was a distinct claim to be
equal with God. II is possible to read into
these words in these days certain mystical
meanings which would take away all
semblance of such claims. There is a union
between man and God which might make
such speech possible. But Christ was adj
dressing Jews. He was not speaking either
to pantheists or to mystics. He had
certain meaning which He meant
His words to convey. Because that is
what words are tor-to carry the
the words carried Just the truth which He
intended. The Jews understood perfectly.
Christ was a blasphemer. The Jews were
entirely right. If Christ were indeed a
man like other men, then He deserved ston-
ing. He was blasphemer, as they said.
WHAT LED TO THE SAYING.
Take the sentence which we have selected
as indicating this element of selfassertion
in Christ's teaching; Before Abraham was,
I am" Our Lord has ust been telling the
Jews, "1f man keep my saying, he shall
never see death" This, they thought, was
an extraordinary utterance, and they re-
piled at once that all the saints and patri-
archs Of old were dead, Abraham was dead,
and the prophets were dead-"whom max
est thou thyself?" cart thou greater than
our Father Abraham, who is dead, and the
prophets are dead?" Christ answers, Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and
he saw it and was glad" Why, cry the
Jews. you are not yet 80 years old, have you
seen Abraham? To which, in reply, Christ
answers, "Before Abra ham was, am"
There is difference, greater than the
difference which appears in the two English
verbs "was" aud "am," between the two
verbs which stand here in the old language
of the gospel. The only variation which
the translation shows is in the person and
the tense. But Christ used two different
words. Abraham, He said, was born (gen-
esthai), but am (elmi). Nor is this dis
tinction all. 81 am," We must remember,
was the name of God. There was but one
81 am" known to the men to whom Christ
spoke; any one they knew who could look
back into the past, into Abraham's day,
and say Even then, I am" and that was
God Himself. This seit-asserting sentence
was plain claim to equality, if not to
identity, with God. And in that sense
the men to whom Christ spoke,
at once understood it. At once also they
made it plain that such was their under
standing, and Christ uttered no word of dis
claimer. That was exactly what he meant
to say.
ALL THROUGH THE BIBLE.
1t is all as clear as day. If it were but
single assertion we might, perhaps, invent
some ingenious exegesis by which we could
evade it. If it were in but a single gospel,
still some evasive theory might be possible.
But it is interviewer with the utterances of
Christ, as those utterances are recited BY all
the four evangelists. Again and again
comes in this note OF startling self-asser-
ton.
Indeed, it was this self-assertion and moth
ing else W hich brought Jesus of Nazareth
to the death upon the cross. "We
have a law" the Jewish judges said to
Pilate, "and by our law he ought to die"
What for? "Bacause he made Himself
the Son of God" Read the account
OF the trial, and you will |
see how plain it is. They asked Christ
to be the Son of God, and He gave them a |
straight answer. He said: 81 do" ''Thou |
sayest, is the phrase, meaning thou say |
est TRUTH" 'the Son of God am" Thereat |
they rent their clothes, and the high priest |
said: "There is ro more need OF witnesses;
you have heard his blasphemy. What is
your sentence?" And with one voice they |
answered, Death" Christ was crucifed
for blasphemy.
Consider but one instance more. It is
after the resurrection. Thomas, the doubter,
longer in bis heart for doubt. Thomas falls
at Christ's feet And what does he call
Christ? "My Lord" he says-"and my
God" And Christ permitted that. He
did not rebuke Thomas like the angel
in st. Johns vision. He did not
forbid him like the apostles by the
gate of Lystra when the people took
.hem for gods come down TO earth. He did
not say, as they did, 81 am a man of like
passions with you" No; Christ spoke no
word of disapproval. He permitted Thomas
20 call Him God.
THREE STRIKING ASSERTIONS.
Now, here are two facts about Jesus of
Nazareth which are beyond denial. Or
hree facts. let us say. which nobody can
eally call in question. One fact is that He
vas the ideal man. and the other two facts
ire that He asserted difference between
Himself and all other men, in that He was
perfectly guiltless of any faintest stain of
in, and that He asserted likeness between
Himself and God such as no other sane per-
on has ever asserted since the world began,
ven 10 the extent OF permitting disciple
o adore Him as God made visible These |
hree facts are not involved in any
doubtful controversy. They are not
ouched by any criticisms of documents. 4,
They are not implicated in any question |
bout the miraculous. They are so large ,
nd continuous and essential part of the
history of Jesus of Nazareth that if they .
an be denied nothing whatever remains.
nto any discussion of the relation and diff.
arences which some imagine between the
Jesus of history" and the "Christ of
ogma" these facts Go not enter. There is
o possible divorce between the history of
esus of Nazareth and these three facts. ;
But how can these three facts be made to
o together? (which of you convinceth 1
lie of sin?" and, "Before Abraham was, 1
M" How shall we fit these sentences and T
II that they stand for into the ideal life? !
here are only two ways in which that ques- -,
ion can be answered. Ii Jesus of G
Iazareth was only a human man, as a
e are, then here is puzzle, an i
contradiction. such as has 5
o parallel in all the records of the race of e
ian, and to which we can offer no solution. q
must remain forever strange, perplexing
nd unsolved enigma.
Buff Jesus of Nazareth was more than 9
human man; If He was what the Christian
.eed proclaims Him; it He was what we, =
ith all our hearts. believe Him to have !