42 THE KEY OF MYSTERIES

him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.' Here again Christ accepts the title and signifies that Nathanael's belief in Him as Son of God is right and due. So also before He raised Lazarus to life, when the Lord Jesus Christ had said to Martha, Lazarus' sister, 'I 1 am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die,' He asked her, 'Believest though this?' 'She 2 saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, even he that cometh into the world.' That the Lord Jesus Christ approved of her faith in Him as Son of God is evident, not only from the fact that He did not reprove her for speaking thus, but also because He proceeded to recompense her faith by restoring her brother to life.

(2) The same declaration of His divine sonship was made by the Lord Jesus Christ on another and very much more momentous occasion also. When He was brought before the high priest 3 for judgement, the false witnesses who were suborned against Him failed to bring any proof of their statements. At last the high priest administered unto


1 John xi. 25-6. 2 John xi. 27.
3 Matt. xxvi. 57-62; cf. also Mark xiv. 55-64; Luke xxii. 66-71.
PROOF OF THE DEITY OF CHRIST 43

the Lord Jesus a most solemn oath, saying, 'I 1 adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.' It is clear that any answer to this question given under these circumstances was an answer on oath. No one who believes that Christ was even a prophet can doubt that His reply was literally and strictly true, for our Muslim friends admit Him to be the Word of the Truth (قول اْلحقّ)2, and He calls Himself the Truth in the Gospel. Even one who was not a prophet but an ordinary man would not answer falsely on oath on such an occasion. Moreover, every one there present knew that, if Jesus uttered a single word which could by any possibility be perverted into a foundation for the charge against Him, He would be condemned to death. Therefore it would have been unworthy of Him to give an ambiguous reply. To lay claim to any high rank which did not of right belong to Him must result in His condemnation. We may be sure then that His answer was carefully and thoughtfully given, with a full realization of its grave importance to Himself, His disciples, the Jews, and the whole human race, which He had come to save and not to mislead. What then did He reply on oath to the high priest? 'Jesus 4 said unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall


1 Matt. xxvi. 63. 2 Suratu Maryam (xix) 25.
3 John xiv. 6. 4 Matt. xxvi. 64.