r. His
reply to the charge of league with Beelzebub is as merciless an exposure
of feeble malice as can be found in human literature. He was as worthy to
be Master of his disciples' thinking as he was to be Lord of their hearts.

241. In the teaching of Jesus two topics have the leading place,--the
Kingdom of God, and Himself. His thought about himself calls for separate
consideration, but it may be remarked here that as his ministry progressed
he spoke with increasing frankness about his own claims. It became more
and more apparent that he sought to be Lord rather than Teacher simply,
and to impress men with himself rather than with his ideas. Yet his ideas
were constantly urged on his disciples, and they were summed up in his
conception of the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven. This was the
topic, directly or indirectly, of far the greater part of his teaching.
The phrase was as familiar to his contemporaries as it is common in his
words; but his understanding of it was radically different from theirs. He
and they took it to mean the realization on earth of heavenly conditions
(kingdom of heaven), or of God's actual sovereignty over the world
(kingdom of God); but of the God whose will was thus to be realized they
conceived quite differently. Strictly speaking there is nothing novel in
the idea of God as Father which abounds in the teaching of Jesus. He never
offers it as novel, but takes it for granted that his hearers are familiar
with the name. It appears in some earlier writers both in and out of the
Old Testament. Yet no one of them uses it as constantly, as naturally, and
as confidently as did Jesus. With him it was the simple equivalent of his
idea of God, and it was central for his personal religious life as well as
for his teaching. "My Father" always lies back of references in his
teaching to "your Father." This is the key to what is novel in Jesus' idea
of the kingdom of God. His contemporaries thought of God as the covenant
king of Israel who would in his own time make good his promises, rid his
people of their foes, set them on high among the nations, establish his
law in their hearts, and rule over them as their king. The whole
conception, while in a real sense religious, was concerned more with the
nation than with individuals, and looked rather for temporal blessings
than for spiritual good. With Jesus the kingdom is the realization of
God's fatherly sway over the hearts of his children. It begins