Nazareth it was in his consciousness of being the Son of God that Jesus found the strength and joy of his heart, and because he felt himself to be the Son of God he was convinced that he was the bringer of a new covenant. It was because he felt himself to be the Son of God that in the days of the temptation he transformed the notion of the Messiah and that of the preparation for the Messianic kingdom; and upon this divine sonship, as we have shown, he built the idea of salvation.

He was the Son of God in a special sense, for he said my Father, your Father, but never our Father in common with his disciples. He separated himself from the rest. of humanity; but this was only an appearance, for his purpose was to raise humanity up to himself, to create among men and within them that normal relation to God which sin had destroyed. To this end he preached the Father, he revealed the Father, he desired that humanity should know God as Father. He felt that he must awaken the sentiment of divine sonship; then the kingdom would come.

CHAPTER XIV

THE REQUIREMENTS OF JESUS

To study the names which Jesus took is still not enough.

At the moment at which we have arrived, at the hour when he was going up to Jerusalem, where his approaching death loomed up before him, we must understand the words which he spoke about himself. These words are of so imperative a nature that any elucidation, any development, can only weaken their import.

They are such as were never before heard, and their character is absolute. Men must follow him, love him, serve him, believe in him, and give themselves to him, because he first gave himself, and because he brings to us not a new doctrine but a person, his own. Men must live only for him, love only him, prefer no other being to him.1

1 Matt. x. 37-39, xvi. 24, 25; Luke ix. 23-25, xiv. 26, 27; John xii. 26.

The replies which he gave to those who desired to follow him are equally distinct and uncompromising.1 Where the question is of himself, what one owes to him, what his disciples are bound to do for his sake, he refuses all half-way measures and approximations. He asks for all; he will have all. Renunciation must be complete,2 all that one has, without restriction. One must flee from all that binds him to earth; and his illustrations are frightfully strong,

one must cut off the hand, pluck out the eye, which cause him to fall into sin.3

One may take upon himself to renounce marriage, but this he does not absolutely ask.4 In every case he requires a total renunciation of property, of the family, and the rupture of all ties of blood.5 His disciples must make no provision for a journey, not a change of clothing, not even a wallet, they are to live upon alms. They must

27.

1 Matt. viii. 21, 22; Luke ix. 59–62.

2 Luke xiv. 33.

3 Matt. xviii. 8, 9; Mark ix. 43 ff.

4 Matt. xix. 10 ff.

5 Luke xviii. 29, 30; Matt. x. 37 ff.; Luke xiv. 26,

6 Matt. x. 8 f.; Mark vi. 8 f.; Luke ix. 3 f., x. 1 f Cf. Midrash Jalkouth sur Deuter. Sur. 824.

not prepare their defence before their judges; the Paraclete will inspire them and will be their guide through the world.1 They will be hated, persecuted, "lambs in the midst of wolves," but let them fear nothing. They are "of more value than many sparrows." 2 He will confess before his Father those who have confessed him before men, and he will deny those who have denied him, when he returns in glory; and this will be soon, for he ended by declaring that they would not have finished making a tour of the cities of Israel when the Son of man should appear.

In fact, perfectly to comprehend the words in which Jesus demanded the renunciation of all worldly goods and even of the family, we must remember that at that time every one was persuaded that the end of the world was at hand. Men did not even ask a question as to the time, no one asked himself when it would come, for it

1 Matt. x. 20; Luke xxi. 14 f.; Mark xiii. 11; John xiv. 16 f., xv. 26, xvi. 7-13.

2 Matt. xx. 24-31; Luke xxii. 4-7, i. 17; John xv. 18 f., xvii. 14.

8 Matt. x. 32, 33; Mark viii. 38; Luke ix. 26, xii. 8, 9.

4 Luke xiv. 26 f.

was expected to make itself apparent at short notice. It was an admitted, recognized fact, beyond all argument. A Jew of that time would say, The end of all things is at hand, exactly as we affirm that the sun will rise to-morrow, and it could not enter the mind of any one that the world would last perhaps during long centuries.

In general, Jesus condemned the good things of this world only as they hinder the accomplishment of one's Christian duties. There were cases where he did not disapprove of them absolutely, but solely if they were the cause of one's falling into sin. But there were also times when he said that earthly goods always do harm, that they are always a cause of falling or of sin.2 These precepts can only be taken literally by those who believe that the world is about to perish. How otherwise can people literally put such teachings into practice, break all family ties, give all their goods to the poor, give up all that they possess? There have been found holy men who said that it should be done and who tried to do it. They were mistaken. And

1 Mark ix. 43, and parallel passages.

2 Luke xiv. 25 ff. is explicit.