Article November 8, 1919 Issue

If there was one quality in the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth...

The Christian Science Monitor

If there was one quality in the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth which impressed the multitude more than another, it would seem to have been the authority with which he spoke and acted. Constantly the New Testament records refer to this, and quote the exclamations of surprise with which the people acknowledged their recognition of it, and that this authority extended even to the elements. What makes this the more remarkable is the fact that at that time the scribes and Pharisees had for many years claimed to rule the Jews with the strictest discipline, based on the authority of the law, which carried with it all the weight of age and convention, so that the people were by no means unfamiliar with authoritative statements. And yet they evidently felt some striking difference in the attitude of Jesus, who, although, he was not attempting to assume any kind of dictatorship over them, impressed them with this strong sense of authority.

At a time like the present it is interesting to inquire into this subject, for human nature being much the same in the twentieth century as in the first, cause and effect in these matters are likely to bear a similar resemblance. The basis of the authority with which Jesus spoke was, unquestionably, knowledge. He spoke what he knew, not what he believed or opined, and on that knowledge he acted and made it therefore demonstrable. That is the whole matter in a nutshell. The scribes and Pharisees did not know; they talked, they preached, they were full of superstitions, and though many were no doubt well-meaning men, their actions were limited to such matters as ceremonial washings, tithing, "mint and anise and cummin," and some were hypocrites and cruel.

This knowledge which Christ Jesus made so practical was the knowledge of the truth about everything; it was the word of God which had searched his bone and marrow, had tested every fiber of his being, before he came forth to give it to the world. Through this knowledge he healed the sick, he controlled the elements, he fed the multitude. No wonder the people felt the power of it. Is not this the secret of what is happening to-day? Since the old superstitions have vanished under the light of better education, men have felt that there is no authority anywhere, either in religion or politics. No one speaks to them with knowledge except the professor of natural science, who deals with matters somewhat apart from the ordinary man's range of interest, and whose knowledge is also confessedly constantly changing. The truth is that there is no authority really but God, and the old idea of God has vanished, and unless a new and valid idea of Him appears the world must perish, or as Peter expresses it, "melt with fervent heat." The student of Christian Science believes that in this Science such a valid idea has been revealed, and that only here can salvation be found, because Christian Science reveals through demonstration the Principle which gave Jesus his authority.

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