he Messiah
was described by the inspired writers as a divine Being. All that Jesus
claimed for himself, as recorded in the Gospel of John, was included in
the answer which was implied by the question which he now asked. Even for
the present day it involves the supreme problem in the sphere of
philosophy and religion. This problem concerns the person of Christ. Is he
to be regarded as Man or God, or at once God and Man? Where is he to be
placed in the scale of being; or, as Jesus voiced the problem, how could
David speak of the coming Messiah as both his son and his Lord? There was
but one answer. There can be but one. The Messiah was to be divine. The
son of David is also the Son of God. The incarnation is the only solution
of our most serious difficulties in the realm of religious belief. By his
question Jesus not only silenced his enemies; he also showed their
insincerity in condemning him to death and their rejection of the inspired
Scriptures in their unwillingness to believe the testimony concerning the
person of the Messiah. Jesus unquestionably claimed to be the divine
Saviour of the world. The ideal Man is also the incarnate God.

G. The Warning Against The Scribes. Ch. 20:45-47

45 And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his
disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long
robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats
in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; 47 who devour
widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall
receive greater condemnation.

As the long day of public controversy drew to its close, it was not
strange that Jesus turned to warn the people against these enemies who had
been seeking to defeat him and who were determined upon his death. These
professed guides could not be followed safely. These rulers had shown
themselves to be unworthy of their place and power. The people must look
elsewhere for true teachers. They must find other men to interpret for
them the will of God.

The scribes were the professional teachers of the day, the trained
expositors of the Law. Most of them were Pharisees. They were of all men
the most bitter enemies of Christ; they were jealous of his power; they
were angered at his claims; and finally they had been goaded to
desperation by their humiliating defeat at his hands. Upon these men Jesus
pronounced the most stern condemnation. His words are recorded at lengt