The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1924-10-02

Jesus never seemed surprised by
changing situations. He was contin-
ually facing new needs and meeting
them with swift readiness of plan
that denotes the greatest alertness
of mind. We left Him on the Galilee
road making His first tour that COW
cred, perhaps, January-May, A. D.,
%. 1t had focused attentinn upon
this new Teacher and had brought the
Jerusalem party into Galilee to the
support Of the Sclibal party there
The laxness of Jesus in His keeping
the Sabbath regulations, His brushing
aside Of many traditional things such
as the refusal to associate with the
"great unwashed," to make a fetish
of fasting, or to follow the minute
regulations for ceremonial cleanness,
had brought Jerusalem to the place
of positive opposition The fight was
to be met and in this Jesus took the
initiative in pushing the movement
of which He was the heart more rap
idly than ever, for time was & ire
mendous element in the making pos
sible the Kingdom dream that was in
His mind. His need Of haste was one
of the determining things in shaping
this new stage in Gods adventure.
More often than any other was
the term Teacher applied to Jesus.
He was that and His whole ministry
was teaching one, but He knew that
if the end should come before the
group Of workers were fitted to carry
forward the work begun then it
would all be in vain So instead of
scattering effort He determined to
give intensive training to small
group. And one can place them in
the background Of all the Gospels as
the class being instructed by word
and miracle alike: To fail with them
was to fail with the world and the
care shown their instruction measures
Christ's judgment Of their import
ance. Calling them from their vari-
Gus tasks He took them mo intimate
contact for long months of 2t-hour
days. Under the stars. beside the
camp fire, on their hikes, in endless
iteration He dinned into their souls
His message for the world. But one
learns faster by doing than by hear
ing, and for this reason He sent them
out to do for others what He had
been doing for them. It was their
need that had large place in the send
ing. And there was another need and
that was among the people them
selves. Jesus had compassion on
them, misguided, explosive, uncared
for by the scribes, Jesus saw no rem
edy for their condition other than in
instruction and the Twelve were in
some measure able to meet that and
could go further and faster than He
could alone. Dire disaster impended
unless there was speedy change and
Jesus wound save them if it were at
all possible.
THE CHOOSING.
Failing in Judea, opposed in Cali
lee. and rejected in Nazareth, Jesus
had no large choice in the material
from which He would build the hope
of the world. That He was able to
accomplish what He did is high proof
of ability to evoke the best of which
man is capable. 1t was a youth
movement, for none of them were
older than Himself. Based on His
calling them children" MARK 1924;
John 1898; 21:5) there is room for
the claim of some that they were
much younger than He and may all
have been under 20. Whatever their
ages, they were young in mind and
open to full reception of new truth.
But that Jesus staked His cause upon
youth in that old day is significant in
this new one when more and more re-
sponsibility is being given to that
same group. Another feature is that
it was a clean group. They were not
all respectable in the eyes of Jews
but they were wholesome minded.
Matthew was a Publican? Yes, but
that doesn't say he was dishonest; he1
was bad Jew, but he could close his
accounts for inspection ever night.
Judas was a thief? Yes, but he be-
came that later. Of the others, there
is never a question raised-it was a
clean, fine group of youth. They were
all Jews. However greatly Jesus es-
teemed the others He was convinced
that this race had acquired higher
moral ideas than the others within
reach, and He would start by building
upon the best of the past instead of
breaking away from it. However He
might be regarded at Jerusalem, Je-
sus refused radicalism in the select
ing of this inner grouping They
were working folks. Not all with net
and boat for Matthew was a business
man, John had free entry to the High
Priests palace and Judas must have
had an experience that caused him