Solomon and Solomonic LiteratureConway, Moncure Daniel
History
Solomon and Solomonic Literature
Conway, Moncure Daniel
Hebrew literature -- History and criticism; Solomon, King of Israel
Without blemish! That was the great point. The champion of the Good
confronts the champion of Evil, his purpose being to conquer the last
enemy, Death, by unarmed human virtue. This was the central idea
in the Passion, a drama gone to pieces in the Gospels. Therefore,
he did not summon legions of angels, and said to Peter, "Sheath
thy sword." Therefore, the mere lynching of Jesus, for such it was,
is given the formalities of judicial procedure, in order to impress
an official character on the testimonies to his innocence: Pilate,
Caiaphas, Pilate's wife, Judas, Herod, all bear witness that no evil
is in him, and he challenges the High Priest's court, "If I have
uttered evil bear witness of the evil." [34] In this passion-drama
Jesus Barabbas is set beside Jesus the Christ,--officially proclaimed
guilt beside officially proclaimed innocence,--and Wrath selects guilt,
condemns innocence. But it was thus the first-born of Life prevailed
over the first-born of Death. In that crisis the blameless man swerving
not from his rectitude, established the "assembly of the first-born,"
who can dwell with the living God because they have learned from their
Captain how to get rid of the defilement of mortality. There is nothing
vicarious in his service. The Captain represented the human race in
a single combat with Satan, and he discovered for all the vulnerable
point of that Adversary,--that he could not hold in sheol a perfectly
sinless human being. But it still remained that without holiness no
man could see the Lord. Another advantage secured by Jesus for men
was that after his victory was achieved the heroic man, on resuming
his previous position as Son of God, was able to add thereto what
he had won as Son of Man,--the office of high priest or intercessor,
who could take good care that every man who fulfilled the condition
of holiness got his reward. Satan should not cheat. Nevertheless
Jesus had been his own saviour, and every man must be his own saviour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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