Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world as the
unwearied servant of man's necessity. He "took our
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," that He might minister to
every need of humanity. Matthew 8:17. The burden of disease
and wretchedness and sin He came to remove. It was
His mission to bring to men complete restoration; He came
to give them health and peace and perfection of character.
Varied were the circumstances and needs of those who
besought His aid, and none who came to Him went away unhelped.
From Him flowed a stream of healing power, and in
body and mind and soul men were made whole.
The Saviour's work was not restricted to any time or place.
His compassion knew no limit. On so large a scale did He
conduct His work of healing and teaching that there was no
building in Palestine large enough to receive the multitudes
that thronged to Him. On the green hill slopes of Galilee, in
the thoroughfares of travel, by the seashore, in the synagogues,
and in every other place where the sick could be brought to
Him, was to be found His hospital. In every city, every town,
every village, through which He passed, He laid His hands
upon the afflicted ones and healed them. Wherever there were
hearts ready to receive His message, He comforted them with
the assurance of their heavenly Father's love. All day He
ministered to those who came to Him; in the evening He gave
attention to such as through the day must toil to earn a
pittance for the support of their families.
Jesus carried the awful weight of responsibility for the
salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided
change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all
would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none
could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Through
childhood, youth, and manhood He walked alone. Yet it was
heaven to be in His presence. Day by day He met trials and
temptations; day by day He was brought into contact with
evil and witnessed its power upon those whom He was
seeking to bless and to save. Yet He did not fail or become
discouraged.
In all things He brought His wishes into strict abeyance to
His mission. He glorified His life by making everything in it
subordinate to the will of His Father. When in His youth His
mother, finding Him in the school of the rabbis, said, "Son,
why hast Thou thus dealt with us?" He answered,--and His
answer is the keynote of His lifework,--"How is it that ye
sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father's
business?" Luke 2:48, 49.
His life was one of constant self-sacrifice. He had no home
in this world except as the kindness of friends provided for
Him as a wayfarer. He came to live in our behalf the life of
the poorest and to walk and work among the needy and the
suffering. Unrecognized and unhonored, He walked in and
out among the people for whom He had done so much.
He was always patient and cheerful, and the afflicted hailed
Him as a messenger of life and peace. He saw the needs of
men and women, children and youth, and to all He gave the
invitation, "Come unto Me."
During His ministry, Jesus devoted more time to healing
the sick than to preaching. His miracles testified to the truth
of His words, that He came not to destroy, but to save. Wherever
He went, the tidings of His mercy preceded Him. Where
He had passed, the objects of His compassion were rejoicing
in health and making trial of their new-found powers. Crowds
were collecting around them to hear from their lips the works
that the Lord had wrought. His voice was the first sound that
many had ever heard, His name the first word they had ever
spoken, His face the first they had ever looked upon. Why
should they not love Jesus and sound His praise? As He passed
through the towns and cities He was like a vital current,
diffusing life and joy.
"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations,
The people that sat in darkness
Saw a great light,
And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up."
Matthew 4:15, 16, A.R.V., margin.
The Saviour made each work of healing an occasion for
implanting divine principles in the mind and soul. This was
the purpose of His work. He imparted earthly blessings, that
He might incline the hearts of men to receive the gospel of
His grace.
Christ might have occupied the highest place among the
teachers of the Jewish nation, but He preferred rather to take
the gospel to the poor. He went from place to place, that those
in the highways and byways might hear the words of truth.
By the sea, on the mountainside, in the streets of the city, in
the synagogue, His voice was heard explaining the Scriptures.
Often He taught in the outer court of the temple, that the
Gentiles might hear His words.
So unlike the explanations of Scripture given by the scribes
and Pharisees was Christ's teaching, that the attention of the
people was arrested. The rabbis dwelt upon tradition, upon
human theory and speculation. Often that which men had
taught and written about the Scripture was put in place of the
Scripture itself. The subject of Christ's teaching was the word
of God. He met questioners with a plain, "It is written,"
"What saith the Scripture?" "How readest thou?" At every
opportunity when an interest was awakened by either friend or
foe, He presented the word. With clearness and power He
proclaimed the gospel message. His words shed a flood of light
on the teachings of patriarchs and prophets, and the Scriptures
came to men as a new revelation. Never before had His hearers
perceived in the word of God such depth of meaning.
Never was there such an evangelist as Christ. He was the
Majesty of heaven, but He humbled Himself to take our
nature, that He might meet men where they were. To all
people, rich and poor, free and bond, Christ, the Messenger
of the covenant, brought the tidings of salvation. His fame
as the Great Healer spread throughout Palestine. The sick
came to the places through which He would pass, that they
might call on Him for help. Hither, too, came many anxious
to hear His words and to receive a touch of His hand. Thus
He went from city to city, from town to town, preaching the
gospel and healing the sick--the King of glory in the lowly
garb of humanity.
He attended the great yearly festivals of the nation, and to
the multitude absorbed in outward ceremony He spoke of
heavenly things, bringing eternity within their view. To all
He brought treasures from the storehouse of wisdom. He
spoke to them in language so simple that they could not fail
of understanding. By methods peculiarly His own, He helped
all who were in sorrow and affliction. With tender, courteous
grace He ministered to the sin-sick soul, bringing healing and
strength.
The prince of teachers, He sought access to the people by
the pathway of their most familiar associations. He presented
the truth in such a way that ever after it was to His hearers
intertwined with their most hallowed recollections and
sympathies. He taught in a way that made them feel the
completeness of His identification with their interests and happiness.
His instruction was so direct, His illustrations were so
appropriate, His words so sympathetic and cheerful, that His
hearers were charmed. The simplicity and earnestness with
which He addressed the needy, hallowed every word.
What a busy life He led! Day by day He might have been
seen entering the humble abodes of want and sorrow, speaking
hope to the downcast and peace to the distressed. Gracious,
tenderhearted, pitiful, He went about lifting up the bowed-down
and comforting the sorrowful. Wherever He went, He
carried blessing.
While He ministered to the poor, Jesus studied also to find
ways of reaching the rich. He sought the acquaintance of the
wealthy and cultured Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, and the
Roman ruler. He accepted their invitations, attended their
feasts, made Himself familiar with their interests and occupations,
that He might gain access to their hearts, and reveal
to them the imperishable riches.
Christ came to this world to show that by receiving power
from on high, man can live an unsullied life. With unwearying
patience and sympathetic helpfulness He met men in their
necessities. By the gentle touch of grace He banished from
the soul unrest and doubt, changing enmity to love, and
unbelief to confidence.
He could say to whom He pleased, "Follow Me," and the
one addressed arose and followed Him. The spell of the
world's enchantment was broken. At the sound of His voice
the spirit of greed and ambition fled from the heart, and men
arose, emancipated, to follow the Saviour.
Brotherly Love
Christ recognized no distinction of nationality or rank or
creed. The scribes and Pharisees desired to make a local and
a national benefit of the gifts of heaven and to exclude the rest
of God's family in the world. But Christ came to break down
every wall of partition. He came to show that His gift of
mercy and love is as unconfined as the air, the light, or the
showers of rain that refresh the earth.
The life of Christ established a religion in which there is
no caste, a religion by which Jew and Gentile, free and bond,
are linked in a common brotherhood, equal before God. No
question of policy influenced His movements. He made no
difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and
enemies. That which appealed to His heart was a soul thirsting
for the waters of life.
He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to
apply the healing remedy to every soul. In whatever company
He found Himself He presented a lesson appropriate to the
time and the circumstances. Every neglect or insult shown
by men to their fellow men only made Him more conscious
of their need of His divine-human sympathy. He sought to
inspire with hope the roughest and most unpromising, setting
before them the assurance that they might become blameless
and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them
manifest as the children of God.
Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control,
and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a
one, discouraged, sick, tempted, fallen, Jesus would speak
words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be
understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand
battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged
to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels
of God were on their side and would give them the victory.
At the table of the publicans He sat as an honored guest,
by His sympathy and social kindliness showing that He recognized
the dignity of humanity; and men longed to become
worthy of His confidence. Upon their thirsty hearts His
words fell with blessed, life-giving power. New impulses were
awakened, and to these outcasts of society there opened the
possibility of a new life.
Though He was a Jew, Jesus mingled freely with the
Samaritans, setting at nought the Pharisaic customs of His
nation. In face of their prejudices He accepted the hospitality
of this despised people. He slept with them under their roofs,
ate with them at their tables,--partaking of the food prepared
and served by their hands,--taught in their streets, and treated
them with the utmost kindness and courtesy. And while He
drew their hearts to Him by the tie of human sympathy, His
divine grace brought to them the salvation which the Jews
rejected.
Personal Ministry
Christ neglected no opportunity of proclaiming the gospel
of salvation. Listen to His wonderful words to that one
woman of Samaria. He was sitting by Jacob's well, as the
woman came to draw water. To her surprise He asked a favor
of her. "Give Me to drink," He said. He wanted a cool draft,
and He wished also to open the way whereby He might give
to her the water of life. "How is it," said the woman, "that
Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman
of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."
Jesus answered, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and
who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest
have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living
water.... Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John
4:7-14.
How much interest Christ manifested in this one woman!
How earnest and eloquent were His words! When the woman
heard them, she left her waterpot, and went into the city, saying
to her friends, "Come, see a man, which told me all things
that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" We read that "many
of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him." Verses 29, 39.
And who can estimate the influence which these words have
exerted for the saving of souls in the years that have passed
since then?
Wherever hearts are open to receive the truth, Christ is
ready to instruct them. He reveals to them the Father, and
the service acceptable to Him who reads the heart. For such
He uses no parables. To them, as to the woman at the well,
He says, "I that speak unto thee am He."