THE PROBLEM OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST 247 



anything like them among His great ancestors. 

 Isaiah was nearest like Him, but He was far 

 away; and while Isaiah spoke glowing words 

 about a time when sectional and national lines 

 would go down, he himself was an intense patriot. 

 The unique characteristics of Jesus become 

 more apparent when His teaching is examined 

 in detail. He was surrounded by those who were 

 slaves of the letter, who magnified the unessential : 

 but He spoke one clear message concerning the su- 

 premacy of the spirit. Not the letter, but the spirit ; 

 not the form, but the substance ; not the outward 

 conduct, but the inner state of the heart, according 

 to His teaching, are the tests of character. He 

 still further reversed the teaching of His age. 

 Revenge against enemies had been considered 

 almost a national virtue. He lived near to a great 

 Roman highway, and must have been familiar 

 with the ethical teachings which followed the 

 Roman armies. The idea of love to enemies, 

 that no man could possess a holy character until 

 he could say that he loved those who did him evil, 

 was utterly foreign to His nation and to the 

 atmosphere in which He lived. To the Jews 

 the Romans were brutal dogs, and to the Ro- 

 mans the Jews were a nation of cringing, sneak- 

 ing, money-loving hypocrites. Yet in the midst 



