In a former volume the present writer has endeavoured to define the principles upon which a reasonable faith in the Inspiration of Holy Scripture may securely rest. As one of these principles it was recognised that a difference of weight and value attaches to different parts of the Library we call the Bible.
Now one of these parts is plainly of paramount importance. For few will fail to find the very heart and soul of the biblical body in the words of "The Word of God" Himself. By this, the core of Christianity, its claim on the hearts and lives of men must finally be judged. But in order to judge it is necessary to understand. Therefore before all things it seems necessary to set the Words of Jesus in their own proper historical light in order to arrive at the meaning they conveyed to those who first heard them, for this alone can safely be accounted the primary meaning of their Speaker.
Amid much unbridled controversy on matters intrinsically trivial, it is at least a hopeful sign in the religious outlook of to-day that the thoughtful of every school seem more than ever disposed to turn for guidance and relief to a study of the Mind of Christ. And surely the Master's Message is for all. To the disciples of Reason it is He Who cries, "Which of you convicteth Me of sin? If I say Truth, why do ye not believe Me?" To the bewildered seekers after Authority it is He Who declares, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." And this, the most astounding claim imaginable on the lips of an outcast Teacher, the Centuries have justified, so justified one would have thought as clearly to indicate even to bewildered seekers, the true seat of Authority in matters of Religion.
Among the authoritative and reason-compelling Words of Jesus Christ, however, some undoubtedly cause trouble to thinking minds. Appearing on a shallow acquaintance either impracticable or reasonless, they not only fail of authority but sow the seeds of doubt. The object, therefore, of this book is the lessening of such perplexities by setting forth the principles which seem to elucidate the Teaching of the Master. It is an attempt to construe the meaning of some of the more striking of Christ's "hard sayings." Others, here untouched, might no doubt easily be cited. But the aim of the writer has not been to exhaust the verbal difficulties in the recorded utterances of our Lord. He has rather sought to examine the Master's method, and to illustrate its underlying principles by a number of examples perhaps sufficient to enable the reader to apply those principles in solving other problems for himself.
