And the common people heard him gladly.—Mark 12: 37.
If we give to this text the meaning commonly given it by our commentators, we understand that it was the poor, the unlearned, the great mass of the ordinary population, in contrast with the priests, the rabbis, and the self-righteous Pharisee, who listened gladly to the Saviour's words. To these he spake the word of Life so forcibly, so pointedly, with such purity of thought, and terseness of expression, that it reached the common heart of the common people and became to them the bread of life, a religion suited to their every-day needs. There can be found in all the recorded words of Jesus no attempt to impress upon his listeners by rhetorical flourish, or high sounding words, his superiority over them. This fact was established by his life and works and needed no words to impress it upon the consciousness of friend and foe alike. His life was a simple life; his words were simple words that a child might hear and understand.
Paul, sitting at the feet of Gamaliel, learned in all the law and customs of the Roman nation, convincing by the power of his eloquence, and compelling by the force of his argument his very enemies to be at peace with him, used only words easy to be understood. So of all the apostles; so of all the evangelists. Back of their simple words of truth and love, lay the compelling power of a pure life a life in harmony with their words and which was, of necessity, made manifest by their works.
