Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1912-01-27

dwclt among us full of grace
and truth"
The character of Jesus Is the cen
trail theme of the Christian religion
More fundamental to our faith than
His teaching is the personality Of the
Teacher himself TO know Jcsus-tO
understand, If possible, his viewpoint
to catch His spirit aud make it our
own, must ever be the chief aim and
most ardent desire of every true dis
CiplC of His. Thoughtful men are still
asking the question which His own
admirng, Oftimes, hcwildered dis
ciplcs, were wont to ask: What man
Ucr OF man is this?
The subject is ineXhaustible and
our answer must over remain made
QuatC and unsatisfactory because we
soon find when We try to compass His
character that We are dealing with mn
extraordinary personality.
"Nur can the estimate of any for
mor age, or Of any school of thinkers,
suffice. Everyone must make his own
Judgment. and formulate his own i'm
prCssiuus Of that life once lived among
men. Indeed, as Professor Peabody
Says 1t is one of the evidences of
the moral greatness of Jesus, that
each period in Christian history, each
social and political change, has
brought to view some new aspect of
His character and given Him a new
claim TO reverence. The impressions
which Ills life have made have been
as various as the Compartments and
needs Of different times and men.
"Onc could not, therefore, be so
prCsumptuuous rs to undertake to
present in a single discourse view
Of this life which has been so fifty
characterized as
The choicest among ten thousand,
The one altogether lovely
All that We can nope to do Is to study
now one and then another phase of
His life in the hope that we shall
come at last 10 a more adequate con-
Coption of its beauty and strength.
and that more and more as we pro-
coed in our study, We shall be con-
strained to yield our lives in whole
hearted allegiance to Him.
THE question which We want to
try TO answer is: What did John
mean when he said of Jesus that lie
was full Of grace and truth? /. e., In
what did His graciousness consist?
What would we not give for true
picture--a portrait of the physical ap-
pearancc of Jesus, or for faithful
reproduction of His voice? The
simple, abbreviated records which we
have left to us offer practically no
material for the reproduction of His
face or form.
Frequent reference we have to the
impression which He made upon
those who heard Him. And so Jesus
proceeded in His ministry the effect
OF His personal bearing is often evil
dent, People of all classes and all
ages were attracted by His personal
ity.
strong men, mastered by Him. had
but to hear the invitation, Follow
Me and they left business, and home
and friends, aud attached themselves
TO the strange young peasant prophet
"Madmcn, torn by evil spirits, that
seemed to completely possess them,
became sclf-controllcd aud calm in
His presence.
Little children, on the other hand,
came when He called and nestled in
His arms, while women followed Him
and mnistcred until Him gladly.
Command and sympathy, power
and charm, must have been singularly
blended in person who drew to
himself these varied types of loyalty.
Authority and affection, playful
ness and gravity, the light of love and
shadow Of robukc, must have touched
In quick succession, the face OF Jesus.
"And vet those are but vague sug-
gestiuns upon which to base any clear
conception of the physical appearance
Of our Master Artists have, in every
age, tried to express through sculp-
ture and paintings their cOnceDtion of
His face and features, but these vary
as greatly MS do the ideals of His life
and teaching which have prevailed in
successive ages of the church. Only
by placing ourselves back with those
associated with can we know the gra-
ciousncss, the winsOmeness of His
character.
First, in the synagogue when He
read the nature of His mission from
the book of Isaiah, and spoke to the
multitude gathered, All bear Him wit
ness and wondered at the words oil
grace that proceeded out of His
mouth'.-Luke iv:22.
Take the instance of the social
gathering of outcasts at the home OF
Levi, the tax collector, described in
Mark 2, The freedom with which He
mingled among them, even sitting
down at feast with them, shocked
the moral sense Of the religious lead,
ers of the day, but to that great, neg.
lected, utterly ignored class who
jostled Him in the crowded guess
chamber of Lewis house that day was
a revelation of the universally o.
Gods love such as they had never
heard or thought OF before.
"What was Jesus attitude TOWARD