and his service of men. The study of his life shows how he depended upon his Father for guidance. His way was not one clearly seen in all its course from the beginning. Its great moments are marked by struggle. That is especially seen at three points: the temptation, the time of the confession and transfiguration, and the prayer in the garden. All three of these struggles bear upon this question of his death. The first more remotely; but when he decided in the wilderness to take the way of humble service, to trust his Father instead of seeking to save himself, there was probably even then in his mind the question as to what danger the future might bring.

How He Learned.-His ministry had not advanced far before the question became more definite. On the one hand appeared the dangers from his foes, on the other it became ever more clear that the way of duty led to Jerusalem with all its perils. "The days will come," said Jesus at this time, "when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast" (Matthew 9. 15). Driven from Galilee, wandering among the Gentiles, he faces the question in a night of struggle that ends in the transfiguration. From that time in clear and definite words he tells his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and that he must suffer death there at the hands of his foes (Mark 8. 31; 9. 31; 10. 33, 34). The end of John the Baptist and the fate of the prophets help to point the way (Matthew 17. 12; 23. 29-31). "It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Luke 13. 31-35). He suggests it even to his foes in the parable of the wicked husbandmen by his reference to the son (Mark 12. 6-8). He sets his face steadfastly toward this dark future, but the burden weighs heavily upon his soul. "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Luke 12. 50).

How Jesus Thought of His Death.-How, then, did Jesus conceive of his death as being a part of his work? Jesus does not, indeed, speak anywhere with fullness upon this matter. His words contain only intimations and suggestion, which it is not right for us to press too far. And

yet certain things are quite clear. (1) Jesus did not think of his death as a tragedy or an accident, but as the will of the Father for his life. (2) He himself freely and willingly chooses that death. The choice is not made without a terrible struggle, to which other passages witness besides the memorable one that tells of Gethsemane. But it is freely made. He need not have gone to Jerusalem. Once there, he might easily have escaped. His enemies, who feared the people, would probably have been only too glad if he had quietly given up his public ministry and gone away. We may say that he was murdered, but we must also say that he lay down his life; and the latter is the deeper truth. (3) He saw that his death had a meaning. It was not only a part of his obedience to God, but it was a part of his service to men, a part of his work in bringing in the Kingdom.

Some Sayings Concerning His Death.-Two words of Jesus concerning his death demand a closer study. In Mark 10. 45 he speaks of giving his life as a ransom for many. In Mark's account of the Lord's Supper, the briefest and perhaps the most faithful, he says: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14. 24). Matthew adds to this account the words, "unto remission of sins." In so doing he only gives what was in the thought of the church from the beginning. According to these words, what meaning did Jesus give to his death? (1) His death means a service for men. His blood is poured out for many, his life is given for many. But just how does this serve men? We must say (2), by his death God establishes a covenant with men. Luke speaks of it as the new covenant. That is clearly implied, for the Jew would at once contrast it with the old covenant. All the way through here Jesus is using the language of picture and allusion. As the old covenant established a people of God, so will the new covenant. His death is to make manifest God's love and purpose, and thus a new people is to be gathered. (3) His death in some way is to mean the forgiveness of men, the saving of men from their sins.

Jesus' Death Has Saved Men.-It is in this last matter that men have disputed most as to the meaning of Jesus' words. We who have noted the Master's picture method of teaching should not be led astray here. He is using the picture of the captive or slave for whom a price must be paid. Men are in bondage, they are not free. By the word of truth and by his deeds of love he has been seeking to deliver men from this slavery of ignorance and fear and sin, and now it is to cost his life. His death is to save men whom this life could not win. How true his word has proven! It is his death that has won men. It is the cross that has drawn men. That cross has somehow gathered unto itself all the meaning of his teaching, all the glory of his life, all the purpose of his coming. Here men have seen what sin means, from which such a deed of darkness might come. Here men have seen God's holiness. Here has appeared the love of God, God's infinite affection set forth so simply that all might understand, so movingly that multitudes have felt and made answer. Leaving aside all theory for the time, the fact remains clear that the cross of Christ has ransomed the many, and has brought to many the remission of their sins.

DIRECTIONS FOR STUDY

Scripture references: Mark 1. 38; Luke 4. 17-21; 19. 10; Matthew 9. 13; Mark 10. 42-45; 8. 29-31; 9. 31; 10. 33, 34; 14. 22-25.

Read through the Scripture references and recall any others that you can in which Jesus speaks of the purpose of his coming. State for yourself and in your own language what that purpose was.

He who plans to do a certain work must stand ready to do that which leads to his end. What was it that Jesus had to do as means to his great end, and how did these means serve that end?

Consider in turn these different tasks. He came to give men the truth, to lead a life in their midst, to serve them. Under each of these points, consider what Jesus said as bearing upon this work, and how this particular work helped him to accomplish his end.

In your own faith and in your own life, what has the death of Jesus meant?

CHAPTER XXIII

WHAT JESUS THOUGHT OF HIMSELF

PAUL summed up the message of the early church in the words, "Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Through all the ages the Christian Church has made this its message; not simply Jesus' teaching or his life, but first of all Jesus himself. The question of the person of Christ has been of deepest interest. This is not the place to study the church's doctrine of Christ. We have, however, an even more important question: What did Jesus think of himself?

WHAT JESUS SAYS OF HIMSELF

The Silence of His Earlier Ministry.-It is generally agreed that the first three Gospels give the most faithful account of Jesus' teaching, and the study of these Gospels has shown us that Jesus' great concern was to point men to God. He says little of himself, especially in the earlier days; it is of the Father that he speaks, and of the coming rule of God. It is the life with God that he sets forth, that abundant life which comes only when God rules in

men.

Yet even in these earlier days we find expressions concerning himself that would be most astonishing from any other man. There is the note of authority with which he declares, “But I say unto you," an authority which he sets even against the sacred writings of his people (Mat thew 5. 22, 28, 34, 39). Quietly he asserts that he is greater than the temple, the nation's greatest glory next to the law, that he is greater than Jonah or Solomon (Matthew 12. 6, 41, 42). He declares that John the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets, but with himself there

has come a new age so much more wonderful that the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. He summons his followers to rejoice because they live in such an age: "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I say unto you, that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not" (Luke 10. 23, 24).

Sonship Before Messiahship.—What was the underlying fact in Jesus' thought of himself? Was it that he was the Messiah? That, of course, was the thought that dominated the early church: Jesus is the Messiah, the longexpected Deliverer. And so it happened very soon that the Greek word for "Messiah," the "Anointed One," came to be used as a proper name, and men called him Christ. Very commonly too, as men have studied the person of Jesus, they have begun with the thought of Messiah and then moved on and up to the thought that he was Son of God. And yet, reading the Gospel pages carefully, we must conclude that the first and deepest fact in Jesus' thought of himself was not Messiahship, but Sonship. He claims Messiahship, but the Sonship comes first (Matthew 16. 13-17).

The Experience of Sonship in Jesus' Life.-This spirit of Sonship is evident in all the life of Jesus. The boy's first temple visit (Luke 2. 41-52) shows the devotion to his Father and the sense of his Father's presence which marked all his life. On the other hand, he knew his Father's love and purpose for him. That fact stands out in his great experience of baptism, when the voice comes to him saying, "Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." All through his life flows this great current: on the one hand his utter devotion to God and perfect fellowship with him, on the other the knowledge that his life and his work are all of God and in God's hand. That assurance stands the test of the last terrible days. It cries out "Abba, Father" in the struggle of the garden, and breathes forth upon the cross its last words, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."