THE life of Christ Jesus is an open book, and he who fails to comprehend in some measure its divine message may be accounted ignorant, even though he be considered wise in the knowledge of this world,—a wisdom which is described by Paul as "foolishness with God." Jesus "spake as never man spake," and he proved by his works that his words were true. He revealed things "kept secret from the foundation of the world." He taught his students to speak with "new tongues." His wisdom reflected the divine, causing men to exclaim, "How knoweth this man letters, never having learned?"
If to-day there were no great colleges and universities, no public libraries glutted with books by writers famous and otherwise; if Shakespeare, Milton, Darwin, and Ruskin had never been born; if Homer and Demosthenes, Cicero and Virgil had never voiced or penned their eloquent thoughts, this world would still have a wealth of wisdom so long as the words of Christ Jesus lingered in the minds of men. Although there are not many homes where the words and works of Christ Jesus, as portrayed in the Gospels, are not to be found, still there are comparatively few people who have had a desire for a thorough course of instruction in the school of Christ, Truth. How pure is the thought of this great Teacher; how simple and practical his teachings; how strong his denunciations; how lofty his ideals! As eloquent as is the Sermon on the Mount, as beautiful as his imagery is acknowledged to be, as strong as are his philippics, and as morally beneficial and uplifting as his teachings are recognized to be, still the deplorable fact remains that thousands of college-bred men and women have spent little or no time at the feet of this most able of teachers, this prince of preachers, this master of logicians, this most efficient demonstrator of the truth he proclaimed,— the man Christ Jesus.
No two persons regard another individual in exactly the same light, hence the disparity of views and the variety of opinions regarding Christ Jesus, his words and works. And all this, simply because material eyes have failed to perceive the divine idea. They have failed to recognize the real man, "the only begotten of the Father," the "image and likeness" of God, the one born "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Mortal man's inability to discern in Jesus the Christ "the Son of God," gave them a material sense of the Saviour,—and of God. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that the physical personality known as Jesus was the Christ. The Scriptures plainly state that Christ "was manifested to take away our sins." By thus "putting on" the appearance of a mortal man, Christ Jesus was able to accomplish for mankind what seemed to be impossible in any other way. Christ, manifested in Jesus, was the truth of being illustrated,—brought down to the comprehension of men. In him divine Life, Truth, and Love were sufficiently reflected to cause the ills of mortals to flee away, demonstrating the great truth that God is not afar off, but "a very present help in trouble."
Many good men and women who have known nothing of Christian Science have studied the life and teachings of Christ Jesus, and have thereby been enlightened and refreshed, but the pages of the four Gospels have never been so illumined as since the bright rays from Science and Health have fallen upon them. Through the understanding of this "Key to the Scriptures" the lowly Nazarene becomes the most interesting and exalted character in all history; his teachings become practical for every human need; God and His creation are seen in their true spiritual light; "the mystery of godliness becomes far less mysterious, the immaculate conception is better understood, and ceases to be a mystery, when the student reaches "the glorious perception that God is the only author of man" (Science and Health, p. 29). What advantage Jesus had because of Mary's spiritual perception of fatherhood over those who are materially conceived may be seen in his wonderful understanding of the truth at the age of twelve, in the fact that he was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin", and in the marvelous deeds he wrought.
Was this life dropped into our midst that we might merely long to emulate it, while believing that even an approximation to it is utterly impossible? Did Jesus mean what he said when he exclaimed, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"? Did he say, "Greater works than these shall he do," and not mean what he said? Christ Jesus was not an idle talker; he spake even as he came, for a purpose. He never uttered a vain word, never gave a command which he thought it impossible for his followers to obey, never took a step wherein he thought it not possible for mankind to follow. His mission in the world was not an aimless nor a profitless one; it was "to seek and to save that which was lost." And that which was lost was a realizing sense of man's likeness to God, a likeness which in reality had not been lost, but merely lost sight of. Jesus came to show mankind how to regain this lost sight, this spiritual discernment,—how to realize man's likeness to God.
The way out of all material beliefs was revealed in the life and teachings of Christ Jesus, and herein was he humanity's Wayshower. He taught and demonstrated the great truth which Science and Health so plainly reveals, namely, that salvation from all material beliefs and practices is the only salvation there is; that "if we live in the Spirit," we must "also walk in the Spirit." If mortals believe in the power of sin, they must be saved from this belief. If they believe in sickness and death, salvation from these beliefs is equally necessary. Herein is the great redemptive work of Christ Jesus the Saviour. He showed the nothingness of matter, of its seeming laws and conditions, by his so-called miracles; which were demonstrations of the power of Truth, proving its ability to overcome every phase of material existence.
It is for our encouragement to know that Jesus was an abler demonstrator of Truth in the latter part of his ministry than at its beginning; he gained in his ability to overcome the errors of material sense; he "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." He even suffered certain conditions "to be so now," that he might the more gently lead men out of their material conceptions of life and religion into the pure realm of Spirit, where material conditions, rites, symbols, and ceremonies are unknown. "They that worship him [the Father] must worship him in spirit and in truth." As we follow Jesus in his journey out of matter into Spirit, we recognize the great truth that he was our example not only in speaking kind words and performing good deeds, but that in other and far greater things he was humanity's Wayshower. What he accomplished each child of earth must accomplish, and thus prove for himself the power of Christ, Truth, to overcome every material belief.
Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane illustrates how impossible it is to avoid the bitter cup which the enemies of Truth have filled to the brim. In the garden he drank the cup of the world's hatred and lack of appreciation. He had given the people his best thought,—at least so far as they seemed able to grasp it. He had healed the sick and sinful, bringing health, peace, and happiness to unnumbered throngs. The extent of his beneficence no one knows; although in the last chapter of the Gospel of John its author hints at its extent in these words: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." Notwithstanding all Jesus had accomplished, in the hour of his greatest human need those whom he had benefited—yes, even his disciples— "forsook him, and fled." Sad as it may seem, "he came unto his own, and his own received him not;" they had long yearned for freedom, for health and happiness, but they did not seem to be ready to yield the mode by which they thought those coveted treasures should become theirs, for the way of Truth's appointing. From a human standpoint Jesus sacrificed much that he might demonstrate the truth as "the way."
History repeats itself. All who endeavor to live apart from the world, trying faithfully to realize the Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus," must meet the world's lack of appreciation and be the subjects of hatred and ridicule. Paul says, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." In the bitterness of Gethsemane it was apparent that even the three nearest disciples did not appreciate the labor and sacrifice of him whose "sweat was as it were great drops of blood;" nor did they apprehend the love, purity, and greatness of the humble Nazarene who, all alone, drank his bitter cup while they slept. Sin must know its retribution, but we can never know the agony it produced in pressing its bitter cup to the lips of him who knew no sin. All who rejoice in the blessed truth which Jesus taught and practised, and who endeavor to reflect his love and purity, may not be able to know fully the bitterness of the cup which he drank; but all must to some extent partake of that cup, for the Master himself declared, "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of."
The desire to be good, and the demonstration thereof, lead one to "the secret place of the most High;" but the ascent seems to be through numerous storm-clouds, in which the lightnings of the world's hatred play about the traveler's head, and their heat and sharpness oft touch the weary and sometimes disheartened one not yet "made perfect in love." However trying and bitter one's experience may seem to be, it is well to be patient and uncomplaining, knowing that divine Love can cause all bitterness to melt into sweetness,—a sweetness which is the realization of the divine presence, and the undoubting assurance of an eternal reward.
The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science has, during many years, had to drink to its dregs the bitter cup of the world's disapproval, misunderstanding, and lack of appreciation; and still, in her joy over this wonderful discovery and all it is accomplishing for humanity, she murmurs not, but urges all to accept divine Science. She says, "Read this book from beginning to end. Study it, ponder it;" she warns them, however, not to be surprised nor discontented because they "must share the hemlock cup and eat the bitter herbs" in the "perilous passage out of bondage into the El Dorado of faith and hope" (Science and Health, p. 559).
The crucifixion of Jesus portrays the blackness of error's awful night,—the climax of an evil purpose, the crucifixion of the best man that ever lived. Jesus proved the unreality of "the king of terrors;" he demonstrated the power of Truth to overcome even this greatest of enemies by his realization of the allness of Life,—its indestructibility. He proved that in the great "book of life" there is no such word as death; hence, as the students of Christ learn well the lessons of Truth, the shroud will lose its terror, and the bloom of an endless youth will crown their victory over death. Instead of the crucifixion ever pointing to the thought of death, and hence to a dying Saviour, it points to the necessity of overcoming this "last enemy." Jesus' greatest demonstration was doubtless the overcoming of death for himself, and in this great victory he was emphatically our Wayshower, for as he overcame death, so must we. For all mankind the dirge must finally be lost in the pean, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Then will have been fulfilled the blessed prophecy, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." In the resurrection of Jesus the belief in the certainty and reality of death was pronounced a lie for ever and ever.
Not until he read Science and Health did the writer fully realize the probability and possibility of a probation after death. But in "the little book" we learn that Jesus was our Wayshower in this as in other things. His "probation in the flesh after death" and "its exemplification of human probation" is clearly taught in the Christian Science text-book (p. 35), and as the necessity for a probationary period fully dawns on the student's consciousness, the Scriptural narrative regarding the forty days' sojourn on earth after the resurrection reveals truths which were not before apparent. When Mary saw Jesus in the garden, and recognized him, he said, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." He had not yet fully risen above the belief in matter and its demands; had not become fully conscious of the allness of Spirit. Mary's thought regarding him was without doubt largely material,—a clinging to the flesh. So far as the understanding of Truth was concerned, there was a great distance between them. Jesus had "walked with God," good; he had been without sin, and now, in his last earthly hours, he could not descend from the great height to which he had attained,—"having loved his own ... he loved them unto the end." In this joyful hour all sense of matter and all its beliefs was about to be overcome,—was to yield to a complete spiritual consciousness.
The last and most sublime step in the earthly career of Jesus was his ascension. Here the so-called material body was lost to human sight. That which was "born of the flesh" was seen to be a belief only. He "vanished out of their sight," and Paul says, "Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [after, or in, the flesh]." There are no backward steps in the way of Truth's appointing, for progress is the eternal law of the creator. How long it will be before the followers of Christ Jesus shall overcome every material belief, and thus reach their "ascension," we cannot tell,—"of that day and that hour knoweth no man . . . neither the Son, but the Father." When that blest moment shall be ours depends on our advancement in spiritual understanding, and its demonstration here and hereafter. Christ Jesus left to us the task of doing as he did, and in thus doing we acknowledge that he was our Wayshower,—"for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
