The Jews acted on this theory in their political history. Their
prophets, their great teachers, asserted over and over again that, if
they were true to their God, if they were faithful in their obedience
to the law, if they lived out all these highest and finest ideals of
ceremonial as well as heart righteousness, that they would be mighty as
a nation, that their enemies would be put under their feet, that they
would have political success and power; and yet their increasing
insistence on this ceremonial and interior righteousness of thought and
life was found to be no adequate defence against the Roman legions.
Political success did not come to them. In spite of all their
obedience, they were swept out of existence as a nation.
Now do we find any difference in teaching in the New Testament? We do;
and we do not. The teaching of the New Testament is not consistent in
this matter. If Jesus be correctly reported, his own teaching is not
quite consistent on this subject. Let me give you one or two
illustrations, that you may see what I mean. John tells us that a
certain man, who had been born blind, was brought to Jesus to be cured;
and the people stood about, and said to Jesus, "Who is it, this man
himself or his parents, that sinned, so that he was born blind?" You
see it does not occur to them that there is any natural cause for a
man's being blind, apart from some sin on the part of somebody. Who is
it, then, his father or mother, or he himself, that has sinned, that is
the cause of it? Jesus says, "Neither this man nor his parents have
sinned," and you think at first that you are going to get an adequate
explanation; but he straightway adds that the man was blind in order
that the works of God might be manifest in him; which we cannot accept
to-day as quite an adequate explanation.
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