JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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Jesus manifested strength and self-control by His silence. No matter how ruthlessly He
was provoked, Jesus never stooped to self-vindication, much less retaliation. Even before the sly
Pilate and the arrogant Herod He maintained a majestic silence though both of them possessed
the power of life and death. His silences were just as eloquent as was His speech.
One finds here a character distinguished by calmness and self-possession. Here we find
meekness without a trace of weakness, holiness without the sham of hypocrisy, humility
detached from inferiority, power without the blemish of pride and arrogance, suffering without
the companion of self-pity, success without self-seeking, love that knows no limit even in the
face of death.
While most great people are notable for one conspicuous virtue or grace such as Moses
for his meekness, Job for his patience, and John for His love; Jesus is notable for all virtues or
graces held in perfect balance. He is always consistent in Himself.
Jesus—His Person, life and ministry—is the synonym of all that is compassionate,
gracious, beautiful, strong, just, holy, and true.
O. Quentin Hyder, psychiatrist in New York City, analyzed the records of Jesus'
personality, relationships, and behavior in general to see if there were any symptoms of
psychiatric disorders. He concluded his study with these words:
"A person is free to maintain that Jesus, out of honest delusion, made His claim
to deity. But if one takes this position, he does so without any psychological
evidence in its support and, indeed, in spite of considerable evidence to the
contrary."12
As a psychiatrist, James Fisher searched for years for an adequate psychological basis for
personal well-being. His dream was to write a handbook that would be simple, practical and easy
to understand. He wanted to help people learn how to really live—what thoughts, attitudes and
philosophies to cultivate, and what pitfalls to avoid in seeking mental health. After 50 years of
dealing with emotional, mental and physical problems he discovered that such a work had been
completed nearly two thousand years ago, known to the community of faith as The Sermon on
the Mount.13
James Fisher did not exaggerate when he testified:
"If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by
the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental
hygiene—if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the
excess verbiage—if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the
parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific
knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would
have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And
it would suffer immeasurably through comparison."14