everlasting. And so it is, and ever shall be, eternal thanks to the love of Him Who sent,

and the grace of Him Who came: that the things which He spake, He spake as the

Father said unto Him.

These two things, then, are the final summary by the Apostle of the History of the Christ

in His public activity. On the one hand, he shows us how Israel, hardened in the self-

chosen course of its religious development, could not, and, despite the clearest

evidence, did not, believe. And, on the other hand, he sets before us the Christ

absolutely surrendering Himself to do the Will and Work of the Father; witnessed by the

Father; revealing the Father; coming as the Light of the world to chase away its moral

darkness; speaking to all men, bringing to them salvation, not judgment, and leaving the

vindication of His Word to its manifestation in the Last Day; and finally, as the Christ,

Whose every message is commanded of God, and Whose every commandment is life

everlasting - and therefore and so speaking it, as the F ather said unto Him.

These two things: concerning the history of Israel and their necessary unbelief, and

concerning the Christ as God-sent, God-witnessed, God-revealing, bringing light and life

as the Father's gift and command - the Christ as absolutely surrendering Himself to this

Mission and embodying it - are the sum of the Gospel-narratives. They explain their

meaning, and set forth their object and lessons.

THE last day in the Temple was not to pass without other 'temptations' than that of the

Priests when they questioned His authority, or of the Pharisees when they cunningly

sought to entangle Him in His speech. Indeed, Christ had on this occasion taken a

different position; He had claimed supreme authority, and thus challenged the leaders of

Israel. For this reason, and because at the last we expect assaults from all His enemies,

we are prepared for the controversies of that day.