The Larger Christ Author:George D. Herron Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill The Growing Christ — The Dying Self. He must increase, but I must decrease.—jfohn THE Hebrew John Baptist was made of different stuff from the Gr... more »eek god Pan, . . . who, coming out to sing to the Arca- . . . dians, took fright at the echo of his own voice, and fled back into the forest depths, never to return. No echo of itself, nor doubt of its message, nor earthly terrors, could affrighten the voice from the wilderness of Judea. Above the best and bravest of the servants of the race, the messenger of the IVfessiah rises in solitary grandeur, like one of the majestic peaks God lifts above the Sierras and clothes with theclouds. He was true to the greatest and most perilous trust that God had ever imposed upon a man. He stood undaunted and calmly trustful amidst the mightiest temptations that had ever beset a man's loyalty and faith. He marks the highest reach of human unselfishness. When Jesus appeared on the scene of John's ministry, the prophet was in the noontide of his popularity. By the sheer force of his character he had mastered public opinion. He had come from his haunts carrying the wilderness and mountains in his soul; and men humbled themselves before such blended massiveness and intensity of manhood. His prophet-garb and manner, and his annunciation of the long-expected King and kingdom, had appealed to Jewish national expectation, and forged it to a white-heat, so that the Baptist could mold it at his will. Herod was jealous; the Pharisees were suspicious and hateful; but the populace believed. A word from John would have kindled the mass of Jewish discontent into a furious flame of revolution. He had but to so announce himself, and Judea and Galilee would have hailed him as the Messiah. But not a word does the Baptist turn to personal advantage. In...« less