On the one hand, then, we have the imaginative portrait of Krishna, surrounded by millions of adoring worshippers—touching spectacle! On the other, stands the historical Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Man and Son of God, stretching out His nail-pierced hands to India, as He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Rightly read, the Gītā is a clear-tongued prophecy of Christ, and the hearts that bow down to the idea of Krishna are really seeking the incarnate Son of God.
IV. We have been able to see some little distance into the self-consciousness of Jesus, and to realize in part at least that on which He grounds His claim to the heart of every man; but we have not yet learned the secret of that most marvellous of His powers, His power to win human love. To that we must now address ourselves.
It is a well-known fact of history that, shortly after the death of Christ, His followers began to preach in His name, and that very soon the new faith began to spread rapidly. We have already learned from Tacitus that in 64 A. D. there was “an immense multitude” of Christians in Rome itself. Now the greatest of all the early missionaries was Paul. He was the apostle of Europe. We mention his name here, because we wish to refer to one of his Epistles. These letters are the earliest of our Christian documents. The series begins with two brief letters, both written, with a short interval between them, to the church at Thessalonica. The most probable date for them is 49 A. D., that is, only twenty years after the death of Christ. But the letter we wish to use is one sent from Ephesus to the church of Corinth[[235]] about 55 A. D.,[[236]] that is, twenty-six years after the death of Jesus. We must not stay here to speak of the splendour of the ethical feeling and teaching of the Epistle further than to say that it manifestly has its source in Jesus. We must direct our attention to other facts which appear in it.
Christianity, we note, has already spread from Judæa into the provinces of Asia[[237]] and Galatia[[238]] in Asia Minor, and Macedonia[[239]] and Achaia[[240]] in Europe. Phœnicia, Syria, Cilicia and Cyprus are not mentioned; but we know from other sources[[241]] that they too were already evangelized. Thus in twenty-six years the Church of Christ has become a great organization, extending through many lands, yet conscious of its unity in Christ.[[242]] We note also that then, as to-day, BAPTISM is a solemn ceremonial act, in which a man through the action of the Holy Spirit becomes a member of the body of Christ,[[243]] while THE LORD’S SUPPER is a recurrent feast, in which the members of the Church have fellowship with the Lord and with each other.[[244]]
But what we would call special attention to is the place assigned to Christ in the Epistle. With reference to the Christian, Christ is THE LORD;[[245]] with reference to the Father, He is THE SON;[[246]] He is spoken of as the Lord of Glory,[[247]] the Power of God,[[248]] and the Wisdom of God;[[249]] and prayer is offered to Him.[[250]] All spiritual authority and power are attributed to Him.[[251]] The Church is His body,[[252]] and He supplies His grace and power to every member.[[253]] He will come back again to earth in glory,[[254]] and will then reveal all secrets and judge all men.[[255]]
But there is another point still more noteworthy, and that is the way in which the crucifixion of Christ is interpreted. Instead of regarding that judicial murder as a regrettable incident, like the assassination of Cæsar or the death of Socrates, Paul and his fellow-believers glory in it,[[256]] not only as the crowning event of the divine revelation made in Christ, but as the consummation of His work as the Saviour of men.[[257]] Paul makes it the basis of all his preaching,[[258]] and in it he finds all the wealth of spiritual wisdom which Christianity contains.[[259]] He contrasts the wisdom of God wrapped up in that divine tragedy with the worldly wisdom of earthly rulers.[[260]]
What can be the explanation of this extraordinary attitude to such an event?—The basis of it is the solemn declaration, which Paul makes in the Epistle, and which he says he made to his converts first of all, that ON THE CROSS CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS.[[261]] The crucifixion, as a bare event in history, is but an act of wicked folly on the part of the rulers of Judæa; but, viewed from the standpoint of morality and religion, it is a divine act of world-wide significance. In the blood of Christ a new covenant had been made between God and man.[[262]] This is the Gospel, which all the Apostles teach, and which all the churches believe.[[263]] Through faith in Christ, on the basis of this tremendous assertion, the Corinthian Christians, like the rest, had been saved,[[264]] i.e., they had received the forgiveness of their sins[[265]] and the sanctifying Spirit.[[266]] They thus no longer belonged to themselves: they had been bought with a great price, the blood of the Son of God.[[267]] They were no longer part and parcel of heathen society; each one was a member of the body of Christ.[[268]]
What led Paul and all the other Apostles and all the early Christians to form such an extraordinary theory? How did they come to the conclusion that the crucifixion was not a squalid tragedy, but a divine sacrifice? This letter tells us quite plainly; the reasons were these: Jesus Himself declared before He was crucified, that His death was to be the basis of the New Covenant,[[269]] and this declaration of His had been divinely confirmed by His Resurrection.[[270]]
Now mark: this letter was written within twenty-six years of the event. The majority of the twelve Apostles, and multitudes of other men who had known Jesus, were still alive.[[271]] Paul’s good faith is beyond all question; and, as he was intimate with Peter and John and the rest of the Apostles, and also with James the brother of Jesus,[[272]] he had access to the very best information possible. Further he had been one of the most violent opponents of Christianity. His testimony is, therefore, evidence of the very highest value. We may conclude, then, with the utmost certitude that we are standing on an immoveable historical foundation, when we say that Jesus, before His crucifixion, said He was about to die for the sins of men.
But this evidence does not stand alone. It is a historical fact, acknowledged by scholars of every school, that all Christian churches have from the very beginning celebrated the Lord’s Supper.[[273]] Now this universal usage in so many churches, divided not only by long distances but in many cases also by minor differences in doctrine, cannot be explained at all except as a result of a command of Jesus Himself. If any single disciple had started such a practice, it could never have won its way to universal acceptance. Now consider the significance of this fact: Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, broke it, and bade His disciples eat it, saying, ‘This is My body.’ He then took a cup of wine and bade them drink it, saying, ‘This is My blood.’[[274]] The scene is absolutely without a parallel in the history of the world; and it can have but one meaning, viz., that Jesus regarded His death as a sacrifice.