CAUSES OF CHRIST'S REJECTION.
By R. F. Smith
HUMAN nature in all ages worships its greatest need—that in which its greatest hope is centered. In order to understand the Jewish attitude toward Christ, and the causal forces culminating in His rejection, we must know the character of the truths regarding the expected One, with which their minds had been saturated for generations: truths which were destined to invest Him with a certain fixed personality and definite character. When we perceive the picture of Christ which was painted upon the canvas of the national mind, and see that the real Christ did not conform to it—did not measure up to the standard which interpretation of prophecy had created, one phase of His rejection is explained. There are multiples of prophetic references to Christ ascribing an imperial character and mission. Isaiah says in 7:14 that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be “Immanuel.” Jeremiah in 23:5, 6 refers to Him as the King who shall save Judah, and cause Israel to dwell safely. Isaiah again apostrophizes Him as “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” And again, the “Shepherd of Israel.” The epithets and titles applied to Christ in these and many kindred prophecies are such as to impress the mind with the idea of royalty, and in looking for the Man to fulfil them, the Jews naturally expected a regal personality—5especially so as their greatest national need, from their point of view, was a leader capable of re-establishing the shattered kingdom. It is only natural that, during their heart-broken wanderings from their ancestral home, when the chiefs gathered the tribes about them by the camp-fire and places of clandestine worship, encouraging them with the sure promises of God concerning their nation—it is only natural that they should have dwelt most eloquently upon the prophetic references to Christ as King and sovereign Shepherd, and invest Him with all power to alleviate their suffering. It was this idea in which their whole intense hope was centered, for which their whole life was a supplication, that God would, at the end of their allotted term of punishment, raise up for them a Messiah who would deliver them from the hardships, shame, and ignominy of allegiance to the hated Gentiles, and place them under a pre-eminent sovereignty worthy of God’s people. This misconception of personality was one of the most potent forces operating in Christ’s rejection. The idea that they were distinctively God’s people, sole heritors of His favors and blessings, had been instilled into their minds from generation to generation, gaining strength, tenacity, and irresistible force, until it had become an unalterable conviction—an axiomatic certainty. The fruit of this sentiment was that national bigotry which characterized them, and blinded them to divine realities. Another cause of His rejection was unconscious defection from the true religion, a gradual transition from the worship of God and the national religion, to a worship of national destiny. They worshiped their religion as a national tradition, foreshadowing a brilliant national destiny, instead of holding the spiritual principles and divine essence. This transition was an unconscious one, and left them with the unalterable conviction that they were still perpetuating the God-sanctioned worship of their fathers. Hence with a religion inflexible and incapable of adaptation to changing conditions and new spiritual conceptions, modified by corruption and misconception, requiring a particular personality for its vindication, rejection of Christ was a logical certainty. The reasons for His rejection were both intellectual and moral; intellectual because of a false conception of Christ’s character and personality; moral because in their depravity, their decadence from pure religion, they had lost that subtle spiritual sympathy and sensitiveness by which they might have perceived intuitively that the anticipated One and He whom they rejected were identical. While the people may have been honest in their rejection of Christ, there is abundant evidence of the dishonesty and perfidy of the priests. Two conspicuous motives which actuated them were bigotry and cupidity. Bigotry induced a hatred of religious innovation—a bitter opposition to any interference with their immemorial institutions. Cupidity incited them to violent opposition for fear of losing their prestige and the perquisites of their religio-official positions. As self-announced mediator between God and man, Christ robbed them of their distinctive and exclusive function. They displayed their insincerity in repudiating Christ prematurely, and maliciously refusing to exercise their superior wisdom in trying to reconcile Christ with prophecy. Not only were they criminal in a latent sense, but actively so when they incited the people to demand Christ for crucifixion. For he who fires the brain of the perpetrator should be held responsible for the crime. A thoughtful analysis of these causes reveals a subject replete with valuable lessons for us. There is to each individual the necessity of careful introspection to avoid lapsing into the worship of a misconception instead of the true religion. History records numerous instances of grave crimes having been committed in the name of holy religion, owing to this unfortunate tendency of religious enthusiasts. Of equal significance is the lesson that we can not comprehend the deep meaning of the Scriptures except by the aid of the Holy Spirit revealing them to our minds. Sensuous ears are deaf to its voice. It is only when our spiritual sensitiveness is acute that the ears of the soul are delicate enough to catch its promptings. If we would hear God’s voice we must keep our spiritual natures attuned to His divine utterance. R. F. SMITH, B.S.