CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE DIVINE BIRTH. Belief of the Best, Wisest, and Greatest of Men in Divine Providence — Miracles the Outcome of a Natural Law — The Birth of Christ and the Destinies of Mankind — Testimony to Him of History, of - Poetry, of Philosophy, of Art, of Science, of Philanthropy — The Witness of the Human Heart I CHAPTER II. THE UNIQUE SUPREMACY OF JESUS. His Sinlessness — His Superiority to Sakya Muni, to Confucius, to Mohammed, to the Best and Greatest of the Greeks and Romans 24 CHAPTER III. THE UNIQUE SUPREMACY OF JESUS (continued). His Unapproachable Superiority to the Saints and Prophets of the Old Dispensation and to the Best of the Rabbis — His Infinite Supremacy compared with the Saints of Christendom CHAPTER IV. THE TESTIMONY OF SCEPTICS AND FREE INQUIRERS. Utterances of Spinoza, Leasing, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant, Schelling, Strauss, Goethe, Channing, Renan, J. S. Mill, Keim, Theodore Parker, Dr. Congreve, Dr. Martineau, Matthew Arnold, and the author of Supernatural Religion 55 CHAPTER V. THE GOSPELS. The Substantial Truth of the Gospels Vindicated by Modern Criticism — The Synoptiflte — The Fourth Gospel— Contrast between the Genuine and the Apocryphal Gospels 61 CHAPTER VI. THE CLAIMS OF JESUS AND THE SPELL HE EXERCISED. His Sinlessness not a Miraculous but an Achieved Sinlessness — The Witnesses to it — His Seven "I Ams" — Other Declarations Concerning Himself — The Validity of His Words and Promises abundantly justified 72 CHAPTER VII. THE HUMAN EDUCATION OF JESUS. The Silence of Mary as to His Childhood — St. Luke's the one reference in the Gospels to His Infancy — How Jewish Boys at that Day were Trained — The Probability that Christ spoke both Aramaic and Greek — Teaching Children the Mosaic and Levitic Law — Attendance at School and Synagogue — Simplicity of the Worship of the Synagogue SM CHAPTER VIII. THE FIRST ANECDOTE. Jesus Goes with His Parents to Jerusalem — The Journey — The First Sight of Jerusalem and of the Temple — What He must have Seen and Heard — The Temple — Eating the Paschal Meal — Lost, and Found in the Temple — His Docility towards the Rabbis — His Submissiveness towards His Parents CHAPTER IX. LESSONS OF THE UNRECORDED TEARS. The Reticence of the Evangelists as to His Youth and Early Manhood a Proof of their Truthfulness — Years of Preparation, of Poverty, of Obscurity, of Manual Toil — The Scenery around Nazareth — Christ's Loving Observation of all that went on around Him 124 CHAPTER X. THE HOME AT NAZARETH. Poverty and Insignificance of Nazareth — A Peasant's Home Described — Mr. Holman Hunt's Picture of a Carpenter's Shop 143 CHAPTER XI. THE FAMILY AT NAZARETH. Joseph — Mary, the Wife of Cleopas — Probably a Sister of the Virgin — The "Brethren" of Jesus— St. James — St. Jude — The Descendants of St. Jude — The Virgin Mary— Mariolatry Alien from the Teaching of the Gospel — Mary at the Cross— The Human Aspect of Christ CHAPTER XII. THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD. The Gentiles — The Jews in Palestine — The Jews of the Dispersion — The Samaritans — The Galileans 167 CHAPTER XIII. THE STATE OF RELIGION IN PALESTINE. The Zealots — The Essenes — The Sadducees — The Herodians — The Pharisees — Pharisaism the Direct Antithesis of the Teaching of the Prophets 191 CHAPTER XIV. THE MESSIANIC HOPE. An Age of Expectancy — The Older and the Newer Messianic Idea — Expectation not Confined to the Jews — How Christ reversed the Messianic Conceptions of the Age 219 CHAPTER XV. JOHN THE BAPTIST. "God Called forth a Man" — The Essence of John's Teaching — His Aspect — Religions Awakenment the Object of his Preaching — His Protest against Shows and Shams — His Calls to Repentance — His Belief that the Deliverer was at Hand — His Life not a Failure 227 CHAPTER XVI. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. Theories as to the Meaning of our Lord's Baptism — John Decreases — His Failure to Enter into the Kingdom 230 CHAPTER XVII. THE TEMPTATION. Jesus Goes into Solitude to Meditate upon His Mission — The Temptation Real, and yet an Illustration of His Sinlessness — The First Temptation an Appeal to the Desire of the Flesh — The Second to the Pride of Life — The Third a Suggestion to Make Concession to Earthly Prejudices 246 CHAPTER XVIII SCENES OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY. "The Galilean Spring" — The Plain of Gennesareth — The Sites of Chorazin. Bethsaida, and Capernaum — Jesus Leaves the Synagogue and Teaches in the Open Air — The Four Places where it is Known that His Feet have Stood 264 xii THE LIFE OF LIVES. CHAPTER XIX. CHRIST'S METHODS OF EVANGELISATION. The Simple Humanity of His Procedure — His Teaching suggested by Immediate Circumstances — His Insistence upon Spirituality, Simplicity, and Sincerity 278 CHAPTER XX. THE FORM OF CHRIST'S TEACHING. His Teaching as Varied and as Simple in Form as in Method — His Use of Aphorism and of Paradox — His Assonances and Plays on Words — His Spontaneous Poetry — His Use of Parallelism 285 CHAPTER XXI. THE FORM OF CHRIST'S TEACHING (continued). The Parables — Not a Single Parable in the Apocryphal Gospels — Why our Lord Adopted this Form of Teaching — The Story of the Prodigal Son — The Parables Classified — How they were Influenced by Circumstances 297 CHAPTER XXII. THE SUBSTANCE OF CHRIST'S TEACHING. Christ's Relation to the Priests and the Legalists — His Severity towards the Pharisees — The Laws of His New Kingdom 310 CHAPTER XXIII. THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST'S TEACHING. Its Insistence upon the Love of God and the Duty of Man — Christ's Attitude towards the Ancient Scriptures — His Proclamation of the Fatherhood of God—Man's Duty to God Involved in the Relation of God to Men — The Beatitudes a Reversal of the Judgments of Men 317 CHAPTER XXIV. THE TITLES OF JESUS AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. "The Son of David," "The Son of God," "The Word," "The Son of Man "— What the Last Title Implies — Christ's Attitude towards the Samaritans, the Gentiles, the Common People, the Publicans, Women and Children 330 CHAPTER XXV. CHRIST'S CONDEMNATION OF PHARISAIC RELIGIONISM. His Antagonism to the Phari see s How they Magnified the Oral Law — His Attitude towards Ceremonial Purifications ; towards the Distinction between Clean and Unclean Meats ; towards Fasting ; towards the Rabbinic Exegesis CHAPTER XXVI. CHRIST AND THE SABBATH. Pharisaic Rules as to the Day of Rest — Christ's Principle, "It is Lawful to do Good on the Sabbath," and How He Exemplifies it — Wherein Pure Religion Consists 371 CHAPTER XXVII. THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST. "Powers," "Wonders," "Signs," "Works" — The Miracles Not Intended Primarily as Evidences of His Divinity — A Classification: Miracles on Nature, on Man, on the Spirit-world — Why they had not a more Decisive Effect 388 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE GLADNESS AND SORROW OF THE CHRIST. The Elements of Simple Gladness to be Seen throughout His Ministry — Only Recognises Fasting as the Natural Expression of Natural Grief — His Afflictions Caused by the Wickedness of Men — His Pity. His Surprise, His Grief and Anger, His Indignation, His Self-restraint — The Expressions of His Emotion CHAPTER XXIX. THE APOSTLES. A Division into Tetrads — The Little we Know of the Majority of the Apostles — Whence they Derived their Amasing Influence 415 CHAPTER XXX. ST. PETER, ST. JOHN, AND JUDAS. St. Peter's Strength and Weakness — St. John's Faults and Distinguishing Glory — The Traitor — His Remorse the Measure of what his Better Feelings must have been 424 XIV. THE LIFE OF LIVES. CHAPTER XXXI. THE APOSTOLIC COMMISSION. The Power of the Keys — The Power to Loose and Bind — The Power to Forgive Sins Conferred upon the Disciples Generally — How it is to be Interpreted 435 CHAPTER XXXII. ORDER OF EVENTS IN OUR LORD'S LIFE. Date of our Lord's Birth — Length of His Ministry — Its Division into Four Periods 442 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE CLOSING DAYS. Arrival at Bethany — Palm Sunday — A Day of Parables — The Day of Temptations — A Day of Seclusion — Preparing for the Paschal Feast 467 CHAPTER XXXIV. THE LAST SUPPER. Washing the Disciples' Feet— Partaking of the Last Supper — Christ's Final Revelations — Singing a Hymn — The Great High - Priestly Prayer 474 CHAPTER XXXV. GETHSEMANE. The Agony — The Arrest — The Final Triumph Won 479 CHAPTER XXXVI. THE TRIALS BEFOBE THE JEWS. The Illegality of the Trials — Character of Annas — The Trial before Annas — The Trial before Caiaphas — The Trial before the Sanhedrin 482 CHAPTER XXXVII. THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE. The Three Charges Brought against Jesus — The Remission to Herod An tipas — Again before Pilate — Pilate's Attempt to Save Him — The Scourging — "We have no king but Caesar!" — Pilate's Weakness 494 CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS. An Enumeration of His Sorrows and Distresses— The Final Cry from the Cross 506 CHAPTER XXXIX. THE RIGHT VIEW OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. The Deification of Pain — Christ's Agony not Self-sought — His Death not to be Separated from His Life — His Sufferings a Revelation of Victorious Majesty — The Error of Dwelling too exclusively upon His Anguish 513 CHAPTER XL. THE ATONEMENT. False Conceptions of the Doctrine — Christ's Death a Transcendent Pact not to be Strictly Categorised — The Atonement Apprehensible only in its Effects 522 CHAPTER XLI. THE RESURRECTION. The Resurrection as Important in the Teaching of the Apostles and Evangelists as the Crucifixion — The Central Event in the History of the World—The only Pledge of Man's Immortality — The Evidence for it Distinct, Decisive, and Varied — Its Cumulative Effect 529 CHAPTER XLII. THE ASCENSION. The True Meaning of Christ's "Ascension" — Only a bare Reference to the Manner of the Ascension, and that by but a Single Evangelist — Transcendent Importance of the Fact of the Ascension 544 CHAPTER XLIII. THE FINAL ISSUES. The Crime of Calvary the Beginning of the End of the Old Dispensation — Christianity a Transfiguration of Life — What it has Done for the World 549 Index 565 Passages of Scripture Quoted or Referred To 573 Digitized by Google.

Description based on print version record

Includes bibliographical references and index

Electronic reproduction

Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002

digitized

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews