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VI.

CHRIST AS A MECHANIC.

BY REV. WILLIAM W. PATTON,

PASTOR OF THE FOURTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, Hartford, conn.

"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses, and of Juda and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.”—MARK vi. 3.

GOD in the execution of his designs follows a course which differs widely from that which human wisdom would have suggested. Man is impatient; he burns with a restless desire to see his plans immediately accomplished, and hardly conceives of an important object before he rushes impetuously to secure it. Hence he often mistakes both as to the character of the end and the adaptation of the means, and, as a natural consequence, reaps bitter disappointment where he expected a harvest of success. God, on the other hand, forming his purposes in infinite wisdom, and dwelling amid the ages of eternity, where "one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," acts without rashness, without impetuosity, without haste, and with unerring certainty. When the great design of human redemption was formed, man's wisdom, could it have been consulted, would have suggested the propriety and importance of having the atonement made immediately. He would have had the cross planted by the very gate of Paradise, that as the guilty pair issued from the garden, they might behold the vicarious sufferer opening the way for their return to life. Yes, human reason would have had the whole world pointed to an actual expiation from the very beginning, that each successive generation might have lived and died amid the noonday refulgence of gospel light. God thought otherwise. Infinite wisdom was not hasty in its efforts. To the divine mind there was in the future a fulness of time," when it would be appropriate for the Saviour to appear and to enter upon his astounding mission. That fulness of time involved, as the event proved, a lapse of four thousand years. We may not comprehend, even after the fact, all or any of the reasons which had weight with God, but we may be certain that no mistake was made, and no fault committed. He whose moral nature is summed up in Love had surely a deep interest in pursuing the course that would

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ultimately tend to the greatest good of his creatures, nor would he have delayed the actual work of atonement for forty centuries, if there had not been sufficient and benevolent reasons.

The text is connected with another illustration of a kindred nature, of the difference between the divine and human mode of procedure. Men are fond of parade. They love ostentation, and if engaged in a great design, plan to have the arrangements and instrumentalities splendid and imposing, that the stamp of greatness may be visible through the whole affair. They are not content to have the result speak for itself, and announce its own magnitude and importance, but must herald its praises and celebrate its majesty in every preliminary step. It is not so with God. He loves, even amid his mightiest operations, and in the execution of his noblest designs, to conceal his greatness. Often in the review of past events are we forced to say in the words of the prophet, "There was the hiding of his power." This principle of the divine procedure was strikingly announced by the Saviour, when he said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." Men love to speak amid the stormy wind, the earthquake, and the fire; but the utterance of God is in "the still small voice." Had men been consulted with reference to the manner in which God should become manifest in the flesh, they would probably have recommended a glorious and triumphal descent from heaven, that should strike the nations with astonishment and awe, and secure universal submission. They would have considered no other theophany worthy of the Infinite Being, or adapted to secure the end contemplated in the redemption of a fallen world. And here, as before, God was of a different opinion, and sent his Son into the world in a lowly and humble manner, or as the apostle expresses it, "in the form of a servant." I wish on the present occasion to draw attention to this fact, and to certain lessons which it is fitted to impart.

I. Let us consider the earthly position which the Saviour assumed. When the great scheme of human redemption was devised, it was determined that the Saviour should assume the nature of the race that was to be saved, and should be born of a virgin mother. But who was the mother? From what family was she selected? Which of the royal daughters of earth was worthy to give birth to the promised Messiah? Was the choice made from the family of the Roman emperor? or of the kings innumerable who were his allies or tributaries? No: the mother of Jesus was neither queen nor princess. Was she then of noble race, numbered among the titled and wealthy of society? She was indeed of high and even royal extraction, in so far as centuries before her ancestors had been the monarchs of Judah and Israel, but as to her immediate and proximate relatives, they were probably all obscure and poor. Nothing definite is known of the early worldly position of Mary, the mother of Jesus; but as she married a

humble mechanic, and during her whole life seems to have lived in straitened circumstances, such was probably her condition from birth. That she was poor after marriage is evident from several incidental facts in the gospel history. The Jewish law made it the duty of parents to present their young infants, especially the firstborn, to the Lord, with an accompanying offering. This offering was mercifully graduated to their worldly condition. Those in ordinary prosperity were required to bring a lamb for a burntoffering, and a young pigeon for a sin-offering; but with regard to the poor it was thus commanded, "And if she (the mother) be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtle doves, or two young pigeons." In the gospel of Luke we have an account of the presentation of the infant Jesus with the appropriate sacrifice. "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord,. . . . and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons." From this statement it will be seen that the offering of Mary or Joseph was the one prescribed for the poor. The language of the text conducts us to the same conclusion. In the course of his journeys, after he entered upon his public ministry, Jesus came to the district of country around Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath he entered the synagogue, and, to the astonishment of all who were present, began to teach the people and work miracles. Their astonishment, however, soon gave place to indignation, and they exclaimed, "From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him." What was the difficulty with these hearers? They were unwilling to be taught by a man of such humble extraction, whose father, as Matthew relates it, was a carpenter, and whose mother, brethren, and sisters, were known to be among the common people. From the known poverty of his parents, and the consequently limited opportunities of Jesus for acquiring information in the usual manner, they were amazed at the wisdom and intelligence which he displayed, and soon their pride rebelled against sitting under the instruction of a teacher so thoroughly plebeian, upon whose family they had been accustomed to look down as unworthy of regard, because of their poverty. We read, also, that when Jesus hung upon the cross he committed his mother to the care of John, who took her to his own house; from which we may infer, that Joseph was dead, and that Mary was left in destitute and dependent circumstances. Such then was the family of whose number the Son of God was. Unknown to fame, people of common life, supporting themselves by manual labor, and counted

among the poor. It will not be unreasonable if we suppose that all the playmates of the Saviour's childhood, and all the associates of his adult years were of the same humble class, so that his companions were laborers, mechanics, and artisans, while into the abodes of the rich he seldom entered, and with their refined and proud inmates scarcely ever came in contact, until his public life commenced.

Having thus scanned the circumstances of those who surrounded Christ, let us now notice his own position and rank. And here we find another illustration of the calmness, self-possession, and moderation of God, as compared with the rash haste and impetuosity of man. Man would not, only have executed the plan of atonement centuries before the time chosen by God, but he would have inducted the Saviour into office at once, that no time might be lost. Of what use could it be to have him pass through the protracted periods of infancy, childhood, and youth? Why not send him into the world full of manhood as in the case of Adam? Then his divine origin would be undeniable, as none among mankind could claim to be his parents. But if he must be born as a babe, and grow up to adult years in the same gradual manner as others, let him enter as soon as possible upon his appointed work, and begin his ministry with incipient, or at least with complete manhood. But all this plausible reasoning seemed folly to the divine mind. God knew the perishing condition of the world, and how much such a preacher as Christ was needed; and yet he went forward in his plans with deliberation and coolness. The promised Saviour appeared as a babe, and not as a man; he grew up to maturity with no greater rapidity than other children, and except the remarkable occurrence at the temple, when he was twelve years of age, and engaged in discussion with the doctors of the law, he gave no indications of his future greatness, beyond the unexampled purity of his life. Not till thirty years had elapsed did he enter upon' his public ministry. And how were those thirty years of private life spent? Were they years of profound study and meditation? Did he lead the life of a recluse, preparing himself for his lofty mission? Did he place himself under the instruction of some noted Rabbi, to be qualified for the work of a public teacher? Not at all. On the contrary, he mingled with his fellow-men, and was one of the people, engaged in active industry. During that long period he pursued the trade of a carpenter. Nay, start not back in horror and disgust, ye delicate despisers of honest labor, who think that human fingers were only made to twirl a cane, to handle banknotes, or possibly to guide a pen. It is even so. The Lord of glory was a carpenter. Those hands which with a touch opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, which were so often raised to bless the little children, and the thronging multitudes, and were at last nailed to the cross when the sacrifice was offered for a world's sin, had for years handled the saw, the

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chisel, and the plane. It was natural that Joseph should bring up his reputed son to the same trade with himself, especially as they were poor, and the labor of each member was necessary to the comfort of the family, and as it was also the custom of Jewish fathers to teach their sons some useful handicraft. But, beside this inherent probability to guide our opinion, we have the distinct reference of the text to the Saviour's well-known occupation. The people of Nazareth had been familiar with his life and habits from childhood. They were acquainted with the whole family, and were well informed with reference to their affairs; as much so, as the inhabitants of any country town are with respect to those of their neighbors. Hence when Jesus began to teach in the synagogue, they exclaimed in surprise, " Is not this the carpenter ?" As though they had said, "How comes this man to be an instructor of the people? Whence are his qualifications?" Have we not seen him ever since childhood, laboring as a carpenter, the trade of his father before him? It is but a few months since he quitted the place, a plain mechanic, and now he has set up for a prophet! Away with the upstart!" Thus did those who had been most familiar with him marvel and become indignant, while Jesus quietly replied, in words that were probably current as a proverb, "A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." Nothing more strikingly depicts the obscurity of Christ's early life, and the lowliness of the position which he assumed, than this natural astonishment and human-like anger and envy of his townsmen. How true is the declaration of Paul, when describing the voluntary humiliation of the Saviour, he says, "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but (yet) made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." It would have been unspeakable condescension, had Christ assumed human nature as the son of a king, and consented to succeed his father on an earthly throne. What was it, then, when he became the son of a mechanic, and himself labored for thirty years as a carpenter?

II. Let us attend to certain practical truths which connect themselves with the fact stated in the text. Simple as the narrative is, both as to style and subject matter, it is fruitful in important suggestions, among which are the following:

1. Confidence is to be placed in all the plans of God. Often, during the history of the human race, has he pursued a course which was mysterious to finite mind, and served to confound the received views of the divine benevolence and wisdom; but the result has invariably proved that God saw the end from the beginning, and chose that method of procedure which was best adapted to promote his own glory and the welfare of his intelligent creatures. It was certainly not to have been expected that the revelation of God in man should have been made through so obscure a personage as the son of Mary-that the divine nature should have been

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