THE PROBLEM OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST 265 



has there been the slightest mention of what are 

 so generally recognized as the miraculous elements 

 in the person and career of Jesus of Nazareth. 

 Those lie entirely outside the field of our investi- 

 gation. If, however, the validity of His miracles 

 is granted, it becomes still more evident that the 

 presence of Jesus in the world cannot be explained 

 as we explain that of other, even of most excep- 

 tional men. I have great sympathy with Herder 

 as interpreted by Strauss. " Is it necessary," asks 

 Herder, "that fire should have fallen from heaven 

 two thousand years ago in order to enable us to 

 see the light of the sun at this day ? Must the 

 laws of nature have been arrested in order to con- 

 vince us now of the intrinsic truth, beauty, and 

 necessity of Christ's moral kingdom ? Let us 

 rather thank God that this kingdom exists, and, 

 instead of brooding over miracles, try to compre- 

 hend its true nature ; its nature itself must be its 

 evidence to our minds, else all the miracles and 

 prophecies ever wrought or accomplished are for 

 us unsaid, unwrought, unprofitable."^ The unique 

 character and work of Jesus are not at all depend- 

 ent on the miraculous elements in the story of 

 His life, and I have chosen to omit them alto- 

 gether from this study. The incontestable facts 



^New Life of Jesus, Strauss, Vol. I. p. lO. 



