The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-24

Jesus. Can any good come out Of Nazar-
eth?" was an exclamation. If that was
proverbial at the time, as it has become
since, then the little place WAS a by-word.
If, as seems more likely, the exclamation
merely signiied that the town was a strange
cradle to nurse a prophet in, it shows that
it vas an unimportant and poor place i'll a
provincial portion of the country. Plainly,
either way, it was a village comforting no
dignity on any one coming from it.. and
casting prima faoie suspicion on the claims
of any teacher who was a townsman of SO
poor place.
Again, the story of Jesus is the story of
IN unlettered man. 1t cannot be thought
TINT he was totally ignorant and unin-
structed; for not only do the Gospels say
plainly that he could read and write. but.
what is still more important, his recorded
words, after making every allowance for the
effect of tradition and OF the minds of the
collectors and tianscribers of them, could
not have come from an ignorant and I'M
couth or uneducated mind. Moreover,
there are bits of reasoning and of usage of
texts from the Old Testament here and
there in jesus sayings, which evince ac-
%quaintance with the law and the prophets.
But this was nc more than such an &C
quaintance, SO far as we can judge, AZ any
Jew who had not been left totally unin-
s%tructed would have been quite sure to pos
sess. There is no reason to suppose that
Aihb . uSutSAio hhA Eobo Wv
vious and common rudiments, or that he
was in the Jewish sense at the time q let
tered man. That ia, he was a teacher by
whatever attraction the native force of his
genius and character could procure for him
fortunately a wide and fervent attention).
but not by any learning, like the great doc
tors of the law.
The story of Jesus, again, is the story of
n man who was followed by the poor, the
unintluential, the sinful or those 40
counted so, and accepted only by them.
Here IL there in the gospels there is u
slight trace that he caused II ripple some
times in the upper stratum of society; here
and there some great or powerful person
seems to have cast an eye half of sympa-
thy, half Of wonder. on him; as the in
stance of Nicodemus, who must needs
come to him, but came at night. lRnt in
the main we read only of poorer classes,
and even of outcasts and erring and hope
less people about him. 1t was The com
mon people" who "heard him gladly" says
the Gospel, and the scribes and rulers
feared the people, sometimes i'll their
dealings and conversations with him He
seemed to condescend to no one, but to lift
all up to himself. lie was willing to bo
crowded. He would eat with any ono. He
would accept the spikenard II tho bath
of to ars and tho toweling of the hair of u
sad and way-betrayed woman who was
touched in the holy depths of her by his
presence. That presence said to her, while
yet she was nfar off (ns even ono of our own
poets has written), "Be composed. Be ut
ease with me. Not till the sun excludes
you, do ] exclude you; not till the
waters refuse to glisten for you and the
leaves to rustic for you. dc my words ro-
fuse to glisten and rustic for YOU" Where
upon she was composed, and dissolved in
herself. and the tears flowed washing over
her, and he sorupled not to DO cleaned of
the dust of the wayside with the same
am ~ unNa Spara tina ,,ant.ln xuhn fall
lowed him, the poor in pocket, the poor in
social state and the poor in spirit alike.
and he loved them all, and never dreamed
of my state, nor Of high company and
power.
Again, tho story of Jesus is that of Il man
whose own family and relatives kept aloof
from him. However much a man may DO
neglected or spurned by tho world, or de-
rided and set at naught. he has u shield
and u retreat IL his own people, his family 4
and relatives believe in him and cling to
him. But jesus had not even this support;