6

for you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your 'yes' be yes, and your no!' no; for whatever you say more comes from the Evil One."

We shall return presently to the rabbinical subtleties to which Jesus here refers. We see at once that to his mind a commandment forbidding a man to break his word or break his oath implied such a low state of morality as to have lost all significance for his hearers. So he substituted a strict prohibition of all oaths. To require an oath of his followers would be to do them a shameful and unmerited wrong, for it would imply a doubt as to their invincible love of truth; and for any of them to take an oath would be a grievous and voluntary act of humiliation, inasmuch as it would justify a suspicion against their honesty. Even an emphatic repetition of their yes" or "no" would be contrary to the spirit and intention of the Master; and that is why we have followed the text of James' in preference to that of Matthew. То demand or to offer any further confirmation of a simple "yes" or "no" appeared to Jesus something more than a mere personal slight. It was slander against human nature and contempt of human kind; and as such was the work of the devil, the result of his influence in the world. At this point, then, Jesus, who does nothing by halves, comes into direct conflict with the Law. Neither that nor any thing else can divert his steady gaze from the realization of his ideal of society.

But the contrast is far sharper yet when he attacks the principle of the Mosaic penal code:

"You have heard that it has been said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Resist not the evil-doer; but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left cheek to him also; and if any one threatens to go to law to take your shirt from you, let him have your coat too; and if any one presses you for a mile, carry his baggage two miles for him."

The first Gospel weakens the passage by adding a saying that may be genuine, but if so was certainly not uttered on this occasion: "Give to him that asks of you, and turn not away from him who would borrow of you." These additional words simply enjoin benevolence and generosity, whereas the real contrast aims at nothing less than attacking the whole principle of retaliation. That is to say, it overthrows the very foundation of divine and human right upon which Jewish society was built! It is true of course that we are

1 James v. 12.

not to take the precepts literally. To follow out the first of them to the letter would be intensely aggravating instead of sootl.ing. But the general commandment not to return evil for evil, but rather to endure every outrage quietly and push submission to its utmost limits, was certainly meant to be obeyed in the strictest and widest sense. When inclined to call it humiliating or impossible to carry out such a principle, we ought to remember that to exclude the least thought of anger, impatience, or vindictiveness, when we are ill-treated, shows no want of spirit, but the very highest exercise of moral power. And again, there is so much inherent and intrinsic goodness deep down in human nature that true gentleness must put the evil-doer to shame, and make him loathe his own wickedness. In a word, the evil in the world cannot be overcome by evil, but only by good; and social order would at least be better maintained by such conduct as that laid down by Jesus than by penal laws and houses of correction.

How thoroughly Jesus was in earnest in this and his other demands appears from one concluding contrast between the old and the new principles. Here he comes to the very root of the moral life,—namely, faith in God, —and to the deepest, that is the religious, principle which must regulate the relations of men to one another; and here he gives expression to the hardest demand of the most exalted virtue:

"You have heard that it has been said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for them that persecute you, that you may be sons of the heavenly Father who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain to the just and the unjust.

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect!" Here Jesus pushes the difference of principle that separated his teaching from Judaism to its utmost limits; raises the demands of the gospel of the kingdom to the highest point; and, by laying down such a course of action and pointing to such a goal for himself and others, unconsciously places his own exalted character in the strongest possible light.

We must try to understand this saying fully. The last line forms a conclusion of surpassing beauty to the final contrast, ard therefore to the whole series that reaches its climax in it; but Matthew inserts just before it, "For if you love those that love you, what reward have you? Even the very publicans do the same. And if you only greet your brothers, what is that to boast of? The very heathen themselves do the

same." These additional words are evidently misplaced, nor are they strung to nearly so high a pitch as the saying they interrupt and weaken. "Your brothers" and "the heathen,' however, are really the classes to which Jesus refers as "your neighbor" and "your enemy," and this may be the reason why the passage was inserted here. Luke did not at all understand the saying, but interpreted "neighbor" and "enemy" in a narrower sense, and supposed that Jesus was dwelling on one of the many duties which were already recognized by Jew and heathen; namely, the duty of loving one's personal enemies and returning good for evil. On this supposition he worked out the saying as follows:

But to you that hear I say, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that malign and persecute you. . . . For if you do good to them that do good to you, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those of whom you hope to borrow, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners lend each other money in hopes of the favor being returned. But you must love your enemies and do good, and lend without hoping for any return; then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is gracious even to the unthankful and the wicked. Be merciful, then, even as your Father is merciful!”

What Jesus really meant was something very different and much more than this. He was announcing his new religious principle of moral life in all its breadth. The Jewish religion insisted on religious hatred; but Jesus requires love which, like the love of God, regards no difference of faith. It was not too much to say that hitherto the Israelite had been compelled to regard it as a stern and sacred duty towards his god to hate his enemy, not, of course, his personal enemy, whom he was bound to treat kindly,' but the enemy of his people and his religion. In recent times the Scribes had done their best to impress this duty in still sharper forms upon the people. Indeed, the whole of the Old Testament, with a very few exceptions, breathes a spirit of love to fellow-countrymen and fellow-believers (neighbors), but of hatred and vengeance against the heathen (or enemies). This hatred was not only allowed but required of all right-thinking people.* 1 Exodus xxiii. 4, 5; Proverbs xxv. 21.

Ruth and Jonah. See vol. ii. chap. xix. p. 520. 8 Leviticus xix. 17, 18. Psalm cxxxix. 21, 22; compare e.g. Deuteronomy vii. 2; Jeremiah xlvi. 10; Psalm cxxxvii. 7-9; Nehemiah xiii. 28, 29, et seq.; and vol. ii. chap. xxix.

p. 308.

Jesus, on the other hand, was not content with such a selfconquest or such a degree of moral culture as may be needed to love a mere personal enemy. He knew the danger of a religious man feeling justified in hating, or even bound to hate, those whose enmity he had incurred for God's sake; and so he insists that national and religious hate must never be regarded as a demand of faith, or as praiseworthy zeal for God, but that his disciple must imitate the divine example, and love those that hate God, - love the idolatrous and the unrighteous with a love so deep and strong that he must needs pray for the very men that are persecuting his people and his faith! For the heathen, for the hated Romans, for the worshippers of demons, for the haughty oppressors, he must pray for very love! In the parable of the Good Samaritan we have a picture of such love; or rather we are shown how humanity overthrows the walls of separation which tradition, descent, and dogmatic faith have raised, and makes a neighbor of the national and religious foe.1

"As a man

On what did Jesus base his high command? is, so is his god; but again, "As a man believes his god to be, so does he conceive of his duty." The God of Jesus was not the God of the Old Testament. Jesus had felt in his heart what he saw reflected in the impartial bounty of Nature; as rain and sunshine moistened and fostered the land of the wicked and the good, of the heathen and the Jew alike, so had he felt in his heart that God's love extended, unrestrained and impartial, without distinction and without exception, to all his creatures.

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect!"

Perfect in love as bearing the image of God, as followers of him, as his own sons and daughters! This is a far other and far higher command than the old one: "Be holy, for I, Yahweh, your god, am holy!" For this command the complete and true epitome of the Law and the whole religion of Israel was confined to Israel alone; and, moreover, true perfection consists in love rather than holiness. The command of Jesus, then, is higher, and yet it is the same. For the saying of Jesus brings out what was implied in the old command, applies it without reserve, and for the first time realizes it.

That saying is his eternal glory. We regard it as the highest truth that ever passed the lips of man. It is the 1 Luke x. 29-37. See also chap. xxiv. p. 292 of this volume.

great all-comprehending truth. The mere fact that Jesus uttered it would not in itself be so great a glory to hun had he not first exacted from himself what he now demanded of his disciples. Nor did he leave it as an abstract principle; but he applied it unconditionally to the various relations and circumstances of life. In his own conscience he read the commandment to be perfect after the highest type of perfec tion, and in his life he fulfilled it.

These words give the death-blow to human pride. With such a calling how can we speak of merit, of self-satisfaction, of reward? Such thoughts were the canker of Jewish piety; but listen how Jesus would replace them: "Which of you that has a slave at the plough or in the pasture-land will say to him when he comes home from the field, Come quick and lie down with me at table!' Surely he would rather say, 'Get my meal ready, and wait upon me, and when I have done, you may have something to eat and drink yourself.' And does he thank the slave for doing as he was told? Even so, when you have done all that is commanded you, you ought to say, We are unworthy servants, we have but done what we were bound to do."" Such is the natural expression of the deep humility roused by the calling to be perfect, even as the heavenly Father is perfect.

And yet how these same words exalt us! What noble powers, what lofty worth, must that being have who can make such a demand of himself; who can climb up to such a destiny! It is man's patent of nobility, the proof of the true divinity of his nature!

Now that we have come to the end of our account of the attitude that Jesus took up towards the religion of his people, let us glance back over the ground we have traversed.

The Gospels never mention that Jesus offered a feast or thank-offering, or made a vow, a pilgrimage to the temple, or an offering of purification to remove any ceremonial uncleanness. But our accounts are so imperfect that we have purposely abstained from drawing any inferences from a fact that may after all be accidental.

Our conclusions may be summed up in the celebrated words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." This saying is generally chosen as the starting point for an examination of the attitude taken up

1 Luke xvii. 7-10.