Editorial December 23, 1939 Issue

"The testimony of Jesus"

Duncan Sinclair

Two outstanding statements on the purpose of Jesus' mission on earth are recorded in the New Testament. One of these, in answer to Pilate's question, "Art thou a king then?" occurs in John's Gospel (18:37), and is as follows: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." The other is to be found in the Gospel according to Matthew (4:23) and reads, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." Thus, Christ Jesus' mission was to bear witness to Truth through teaching, preaching, and healing.

There can be no doubt that the purpose of the Master was to instruct mankind in the truth about God as the Father of all—the Father who cares for His children with love that is boundless—and to demonstrate what he taught in works of healing and regeneration. Moreover, Christ Jesus fulfilled prophecy in that he came, in the fullness of time, a spiritual light unto the world. The Hebrew prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah, who should bring salvation to mankind. He himself declared that he was the Messiah; and he was recognized as such by those who understood his teaching and witnessed the proofs he gave of its authenticity in the healing of disease, the overcoming of sin, and the raising of the dead. In Revelation (19:10) it is written that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Jesus' testimony, set forth in his words and published by his deeds, was in strict harmony with what had been prophetically foretold of him.

Christ Jesus bore witness to eternal Truth. It was a tremendous task he took upon himself, but he pursued it with unwavering courage until his final victory over death. He marvelously overcame the false material sense of existence through the understanding he had of the Science of spiritual being—divine Science. He did not, however, elucidate this Science, but promised that "the Spirit of truth," the "Comforter," should come to bring to fruition the work which he had carried on among his fellow men. The Comforter is Christian Science, and Mary Baker Eddy is its Discoverer and Founder. On page 55 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy writes: "In the words of St. John: 'He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.' This Comforter I understand to be Divine Science."

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