The Teacher Sent From God
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"Consider Him."
"His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6.
In the Teacher sent from God, heaven gave to men its best and greatest. He
who had stood in the councils of the Most High, who had dwelt in the
innermost sanctuary of the Eternal, was the One chosen to reveal in person
to humanity the knowledge of God.
Through Christ had been communicated every ray of divine light that had
ever
reached our fallen world. It was He who had spoken through everyone that
throughout the ages had declared God's word to man. Of Him all the
excellences manifest in the earth's greatest and noblest souls were
reflections. The purity and beneficence of Joseph, the faith and meekness
and long-suffering of Moses, the steadfastness of Elisha, the noble
integrity and firmness of Daniel, the ardor and self-sacrifice of Paul,
the
mental and spiritual power manifest in all these men, and in all others
who
had ever dwelt on the earth, were but gleams from the ****ning of His
glory.
In Him was found the perfect ideal.
To reveal this ideal as the only true standard for attainment;
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to show what every human being might become; what, through the indwelling
of
humanity by divinity, all who received Him would become--for this, Christ
came to the world. He came to show how men are to be trained as befits the
sons of God; how on earth they are to practice the principles and to live
the life of heaven.
God's greatest gift was bestowed to meet man's greatest need. The Light
appeared when the world's darkness was deepest. Through false teaching the
minds of men had long been turned away from God. In the prevailing systems
of education, human philosophy had taken the place of divine revelation.
Instead of the heaven-given standard of truth, men had accepted a standard
of their own devising. From the Light of life they had turned aside to
walk
in the sparks of the fire which they had kindled.
Having separated from God, their only dependence being the power of
humanity, their strength was but weakness. Even the standard set up by
themselves they were incapable of reaching. The want of true excellence
was
supplied by appearance and profession. Semblance took the place of
reality.
From time to time, teachers arose who pointed men to the Source of truth.
Right principles were enunciated, and human lives witnessed to their
power.
But these efforts made no lasting impression. There was a brief check in
the
current of evil, but its downward course was not stayed. The reformers
were
as lights that shone in the darkness; but they could not dispel it. The
world "loved darkness rather than light." John 3:19.
When Christ came to the earth, humanity seemed to be fast reaching its
lowest point. The very foundations of society were undermined. Life had
become false and
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artificial. The Jews, destitute of the power of God's word, gave to the
world mind-benumbing, soul-deadening traditions and speculations. The
wor****p of God "in Spirit and in truth" had been supplanted by the
glorification of men in an endless round of man-made ceremonies.
Throughout
the world all systems of religion were losing their hold on mind and soul.
Disgusted with fable and falsehood, seeking to drown thought, men turned
to
infidelity and materialism. Leaving eternity out of their reckoning, they
lived for the present.
As they ceased to recognize the Divine, they ceased to regard the human.
Truth, honor, integrity, confidence, compassion, were departing from the
earth. Relentless greed and absorbing ambition gave birth to universal
distrust. The idea of duty, of the obligation of strength to weakness, of
human dignity and human rights, was cast aside as a dream or a fable. The
common people were regarded as beasts of burden or as the tools and the
steppingstones for ambition. Wealth and power, ease and self-indulgence,
were sought as the highest good. Physical degeneracy, mental stu****,
spiritual death, characterized the age.
As the evil passions and purposes of men banished God from their thoughts,
so forgetfulness of Him inclined them more strongly to evil. The heart in
love with sin clothed Him with its own attributes, and this conception
strengthened the power of sin. Bent on self-pleasing, men came to regard
God
as such a one as themselves--a Being whose aim was self-glory, whose
requirements were suited to His own pleasure; a Being by whom men were
lifted up or cast down according as they helped or hindered His selfish
purpose. The lower cl***** regarded the
76
Supreme Being as one scarcely differing from their oppressors, save by
exceeding them in power. By these ideas every form of religion was molded.
Each was a system of exaction. By gifts and ceremonies, the wor****pers
sought to propitiate the Deity in order to secure His favor for their own
ends. Such religion, having no power upon the heart or the conscience,
could
be but a round of forms, of which men wearied, and from which, except for
such gain as it might offer, they longed to be free. So evil,
unrestrained,
grew stronger, while the appreciation and desire for good diminished. Men
lost the image of God and received the impress of the demoniacal power by
which they were controlled. The whole world was becoming a sink of
corruption.
There was but one hope for the human race--that into this mass of
discordant
and corrupting elements might be cast a new leaven; that there might be
brought to mankind the power of a new life; that the knowledge of God
might
be restored to the world. {Ed 76.1}
Christ came to restore this knowledge. He came to set aside the false
teaching by which those who claimed to know God had misrepresented Him. He
came to manifest the nature of His law, to reveal in His own character the
beauty of holiness.
Christ came to the world with the ac***ulated love of eternity. Sweeping
away the exactions which had en***bered the law of God, He showed that the
law is a law of love, an expression of the Divine Goodness. He showed that
in obedience to its principles is involved the happiness of mankind, and
with it the stability, the very foundation and framework, of human
society.
So far from making arbitrary requirements, God's law
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is given to men as a hedge, a ****eld. Whoever accepts its principles is
preserved from evil. Fidelity to God involves fidelity to man. Thus the
law
guards the rights, the individuality, of every human being. It restrains
the
superior from oppression, and the subordinate from disobedience. It
ensures
man's well-being, both for this world and for the world to come. To the
obedient it is the pledge of eternal life, for it expresses the principles
that endure forever.
Christ came to demonstrate the value of the divine principles by revealing
their power for the regeneration of humanity. He came to teach how these
principles are to be developed and applied.
With the people of that age the value of all things was determined by
outward show. As religion had declined in power, it had increased in pomp.
The educators of the time sought to command respect by display and
ostentation. To all this the life of Jesus presented a marked contrast.
His
life demonstrated the worthlessness of those things that men regarded as
life's great essentials. Born amidst surroundings the rudest, sharing a
peasant's home, a peasant's fare, a craftsman's occupation, living a life
of
obscurity, identifying Himself with the world's unknown toilers,--amidst
these conditions and surroundings,-- Jesus followed the divine plan of
education. The schools of His time, with their magnifying of things small
and their belittling of things great, He did not seek. His education was
gained directly from the Heaven-appointed sources; from useful work, from
the study of the Scriptures and of nature, and from the experiences of
life-- God's lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them
the
willing hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart.
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"The Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the
grace of God was upon Him." Luke 2:40.
Thus prepared, He went forth to His mission, in every moment of His
contact
with men exerting upon them an influence to bless, a power to transform,
such as the world had never witnessed.
He who seeks to transform humanity must himself understand humanity. Only
through sympathy, faith, and love can men be reached and uplifted. Here
Christ stands revealed as the master teacher; of all that ever dwelt on
the
earth, He alone has perfect understanding of the human soul.
"We have not a high priest"--master teacher, for the priests were
teachers--"we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the
feeling
of our infirmities; but One that hath been in all points tempted like as
we
are." Hebrews 4:15, R.V.
"In that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them
that are tempted." Hebrews 2:18.
Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that befall
human beings. Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset by
temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world's sin and
pain. Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so tender.
A
sharer in all the experiences of humanity, He could feel not only for, but
with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one.
What He taught, He lived. "I have given you an example," He said to His
disciples; "that ye should do as I have done." "I have kept My Father's
commandments." John 13:15; 15:10. Thus in His life, Christ's words had
perfect illustration and sup****t. And more than this; what He taught, He
was. His words were the expression,
79
not only of His own life experience, but of His own character. Not only
did
He teach the truth, but He was the truth. It was this that gave His
teaching, power.
Christ was a faithful reprover. Never lived there another who so hated
evil;
never another whose denunciation of it was so fearless. To all things
untrue
and base His very presence was a rebuke. In the light of His purity, men
saw
themselves unclean, their life's aims mean and false. Yet He drew them. He
who had created man, understood the value of humanity. Evil He denounced
as
the foe of those whom He was seeking to bless and to save. In every human
being, however, fallen, He beheld a son of God, one who might be restored
to
the privilege of his divine relation****p.
"God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through Him might be saved." John 3:17. Looking upon men in their
suffering and degradation, Christ perceived ground for hope where appeared
only despair and ruin. Wherever there existed a sense of need, there He
saw
op****tunity for uplifting. Souls tempted, defeated, feeling themselves
lost,
ready to perish, He met, not with denunciation, but with blessing.
The beatitudes were His greeting to the whole human family. Looking upon
the
vast throng gathered to listen to the Sermon on the Mount, He seemed for
the
moment to have forgotten that He was not in heaven, and He used the
familiar
salutation of the world of light. From His lips flowed blessings as the
gu****ng forth of a long-sealed fountain.
Turning from the ambitious, self-satisfied favorites of this world, He
declared that those were blessed who, however great their need, would
receive His light and love. To the poor in spirit, the sorrowing, the
persecuted,
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He stretched out His arms, saying, "Come unto Me, . . . and I will give
you
rest." Matthew 11:28.
In every human being He discerned infinite possibilities. He saw men as
they
might be, transfigured by His grace--in "the beauty of the Lord our God."
Psalm 90:17. Looking upon them with hope, He inspired hope. Meeting them
with confidence, He inspired trust. Revealing in Himself man's true ideal,
He awakened, for its attainment, both desire and faith. In His presence
souls despised and fallen realized that they still were men, and they
longed
to prove themselves worthy of His regard. In many a heart that seemed dead
to all things holy, were awakened new impulses. To many a despairing one
there opened the possibility of a new life.
Christ bound them to His heart by the ties of love and devotion; and by
the
same ties He bound them to their fellow men. With Him love was life, and
life was service. "Freely ye have received," He said, "freely give."
Matthew
10:8.
It was not on the cross only that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity.
As
He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38), every day's experience was an
outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained.
Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. To the secret
place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, men now and then
repair; they abide for a season, and the result is manifest in noble
deeds;
then their faith fails, the communion is interrupted, and the lifework
marred. But the life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by
continual communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without
failure or faltering.
As a man He supplicated the throne of God, till His
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humanity was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with
divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.
"Never man spake like this Man." John 7:46. This would have been true of
Christ had He taught only in the realm of the physical and the
intellectual,
or in matters of theory and speculation solely. He might have unlocked
mysteries that have required centuries of toil and study to penetrate. He
might have made suggestions in scientific lines that, till the close of
time, would have afforded food for thought and stimulus for invention. But
He did not do this. He said nothing to gratify curiosity or to stimulate
selfish ambition. He did not deal in abstract theories, but in that which
is
essential to the development of character; that which will enlarge man's
capacity for knowing God, and increase his power to do good. He spoke of
those truths that relate to the conduct of life and that unite man with
eternity.
Instead of directing the people to study men's theories about God, His
word,
or His works, He taught them to behold Him, as manifested in His works, in
His word, and by His providences. He brought their minds in contact with
the
mind of the Infinite.
The people "were astonished at His teaching (R.V.), for His word was with
power." Luke 4:32. Never before spoke one who had such power to awaken
thought, to kindle aspiration, to arouse every capability of body, mind,
and
soul.
Christ's teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world. Never can
there
be a cir***stance of life, a crisis in human experience, which has not
been
anticipated in His teaching, and for which its principles have not a
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lesson. The Prince of teachers, His words will be found a guide to His
co-workers till the end of time.
To Him the present and the future, the near and the far, were one. He had
in
view the needs of all mankind. Before His mind's eye was outspread every
scene of human effort and achievement, of temptation and conflict, of
perplexity and peril. All hearts, all homes, all pleasures and joys and
aspirations, were known to Him.
He spoke not only for, but to, all mankind. To the little child, in the
gladness of life's morning; to the eager, restless heart of youth; to men
in
the strength of their years, bearing the burden of responsibility and
care;
to the aged in their weakness and weariness,--to all, His message was
spoken,--to every child of humanity, in every land and in every age.
In His teaching were embraced the things of time and the things of
eternity--things seen, in their relation to things unseen, the passing
incidents of common life and the solemn issues of the life to come.
The things of this life He placed in their true relation, as subordinate
to
those of eternal interest; but He did not ignore their im****tance. He
taught
that Heaven and earth are linked together, and that a knowledge of divine
truth prepares man better to perform the duties of daily life. {Ed 82.4}
To Him nothing was without purpose. The s****ts of the child, the toils of
the man, life's pleasures and cares and pains, all were means to the
end--the revelation of God for the uplifting of humanity.
From His lips the word of God came home to men's hearts with new power and
new meaning. His teaching caused the things of creation to stand out in
new
light. Upon the face of nature once more rested gleamings of
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that brightness which sin had banished. In all the facts and experiences
of
life were revealed a divine lesson and the possibility of divine
companion****p. Again God dwelt on earth; human hearts became conscious of
His presence; the world was encompassed with His love. Heaven came down to
men. In Christ their hearts acknowledged Him who opened to them the
science
of eternity--
"Immanuel, . . . God with us."
In the Teacher sent from God, all true educational work finds its center.
Of
this work today as verily as of the work He established eighteen hundred
years ago, the Saviour speaks in the words--
"I am the First and the Last, and the Living One."
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." Revelation
1:17,
18, R.V.; 21:6, R.V.
In the presence of such a Teacher, of such op****tunity for divine
education,
what worse than folly is it to seek an education apart from Him--to seek
to
be wise apart from Wisdom; to be true while rejecting Truth; to seek
illumination apart from the Light, and existence without the Life; to turn
from the Fountain of living waters, and hew out broken cisterns, that can
hold no water.
Behold, He is still inviting: "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me,
and
drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said," out of him
"shall flow rivers of living water." "The water that I shall give him
shall
become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life." John 7:37,
38; 4:14, R.V.
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