him so much disgust, the suppression
of an impious and haughty priesthood, and, in a general sense, the
abrogation of the law, appeared to him absolutely necessary. From this
time he appears no more as a Jewish reformer, but as a destroyer of
Judaism. Certain advocates of the Messianic ideas had already admitted
that the Messiah would bring a new law, which should be common to all
the earth.[1] The Essenes, who were scarcely Jews, also appear to have
been indifferent to the temple and to the Mosaic observances. But
these were only isolated or unavowed instances of boldness. Jesus was
the first who dared to say that from his time, or rather from that of
John,[2] the Law was abolished. If sometimes he used more measured
terms,[3] it was in order not to offend existing prejudices too
violently. When he was driven to extremities, he lifted the veil
entirely, and declared that the Law had no longer any force. On this
subject he used striking comparisons. "No man putteth a piece of new
cloth into an old garment, neither do men put new wine into old
bottles."[4] This was really his chief characteristic as teacher and
creator. The temple excluded all except Jews from its enclosure by
scornful announcements. Jesus had no sympathy with this. The narrow,
hard, and uncharitable Law was only made for the children of Abraham.
Jesus maintained that every well-disposed man, every man who received
and loved him, was a son of Abraham.[5] The pride of blood appeared to
him the great enemy which was to be combated. In other words, Jesus
was no longer a Jew. He was in the highest degree revolutionary; he
called all men to a worship founded solely on the fact of their being
children of God. He proclaimed the rights of man, not the rights of
the Jew; the religion of man, not the religion of the Jew; the
deliverance of man, not the deliverance of the Jew.[6] How far removed
was this from a Gaulonite Judas or a Matthias Margaloth, preaching
revolution in the name of the Law! The religion of humanity,
established, not upon blood, but upon the heart, was founded. Moses
was superseded, the temple was rendered useless, and was irrevocably
condemned.

[Footnote 1: _Orac. Sib._, book iii. 573, and following, 715, and
following, 756-58. Compare the Targum of Jonathan, Isa. xii. 3.]

[Footnote 2: Luke xvi. 16. The passage in Matt. xi. 12, 13, is less
clear, but can have no other meaning.]

[Footnote 3: Matt. v. 17, 18 (Cf. Talm. of Bab., _Shabbath_