II. ACTIONS, CHARACTERISTICS, ATTITUDES
1. INTRODUCTION
What then are we to make of the psychology of Jesus? Having prepared the
ground, we now ask this question aware of the difficulties involved. It is
obvious that we are not concerned here with experimental psychology or the
psychology of the conscious, or with any kind whatsoever of scientific
analysis of the psychic processes as such, but with an attempt to
understand, or to discover, the structure of the particular personality, to
see how it works, how it acts, and, above all, what its inner motivating
power is.
But even this is problematic when we are speaking about the person called
Jesus. Psychology is embarrassingly inquisitive. It seeks to probe those
things which the guardian-like inner personality prefers to keep hidden
because they are sensitive and deserve respect. Psychology is indiscreet
and tries to drag out into the open what modesty prefers to keep covered up
because it may cause shame. A secret urge to destroy is at work in
psychology and it knows that personality--a unique and inexplicable thing--
is in danger of falling apart once it is translated into universal concepts
and dissected.
This is true of every human person, especially of great and unusual
figures. But there is a type of mentality which cannot abide the
intellectual power and nobility of the great figure, and attempts to use
psychology against it. This is specially true of this figure who affects so
profoundly every man who encounters him. Psychology can be used as a means
of destroying his claims. We need only recall the painful attempts to
interpret Jesus as a pathological case. The scientific and literary works
dealing with the psychology of Jesus in this vein should be a warning to us
of the worst that can be done along these lines.
It need hardly be said, then, that our essay has nothing whatever in common
with such tendencies. We are prepared to confront something which is
greater than ourselves, and which, moreover, calls us to account, even
though we may not be able to stand up to the test.
2. JESUS THOUGHT
Let us begin with the psychic process most amenable to analytical
treatment--namely, thinking.
How did Jesus think? Of what kind are the thoughts he expressed?
If we compare his thoughts with those of other religious leaders, they
seem, for the most part, to be very simple, at least as expressed in the
Synoptic Gospels. It is true that if we take the word "simple" to mean
"easily penetrated" or "primitive", then this impression is dispelled on
closer analysis. The thought of Jesus is neither analytical nor synthetic:
it states basic facts; and states them in a way at once enlightening and
confusing. Very seldom, and then for the most part only in St. John, do his
thoughts reach a metaphysical plane. Even then they do nothing more than
state a plain fact. The only thing is that he happens to be speaking of the
sublimity and hiddenness of the existence of God, speaking of the mystery
of the Christian life. For the most part, the thought of Jesus, as
expressed in his sayings, remains close to the immediate reality of things,
of man and the latter's encounter with God. It is solidly realistic; but
the realism is that of the man who is stripped bare by the judge of God and
made new by his grace.
And so, Jesus speaks neither of the origin nor of the nature of the
universe. He takes it for granted that the universe was created by God and
finds its meaning in him; that it lies cradled in the hollow of his hand,
and that he is guiding it towards a blessed future.
Nor does Jesus speak expressly about the nature of God. He presupposes what
had been said about him in the revelation of the Old Testament, and passes
on to its fulfillment by making known the way in which God is a Person, the
way in which he can say "I" and "Thou" within himself. He does this, not
speculatively in philosophical or theological language, but in a concrete
way. He takes his stand within this divine life and speaks from it, as each
successive occasion arises. Jesus spoke with greatest conviction about the
Father, not revealing the ultimate mystery of this Fatherhood by explaining
how we ought to think about it and how it is related to human fatherhood,
but by telling us how this Father thinks and acts, and how man is to
interpret God's Fatherhood seriously. Man will then achieve a real,
existential encounter with God and come to the possession of the divine
nature. His last word on the Father was said in the form of a prayer. A
prayer is not doctrine but a guide to action. It exists, not to be thought
about, but to be acted upon. If this is done. the worshipper begins to
understand more clearly the nature of the One to whom he has turned.
Jesus was for ever speaking about Providence--again, not speculatively but
with direct reference to reality; so much so that we are almost tempted to
interpret his words as the simple pious man's philosophy of life, or even
as a kind of beautiful childish fairy-tale (cf. the image of the birds and
flowers in Mat. 6. 26, 28). The truth of the matter is that he presupposes
the whole Old Testament view of the relationship of God to the world. It is
a profoundly serious view and, for us today especially, of far-reaching
significance. Jesus totally disregards questions about the possibility of
God's providence, or about the precise relationship between the existence
of God and the course of world history. He adopts a different approach: he
provides us with a guide to the workings of providence, telling us in the
Sermon on the Mount: "Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and his
justice; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mat. 6. 33). This
is no theoretical statement but a guide to the starting-point for action, a
signal to start off, and a promise that strength will be given us on the
way. And once a man has committed himself, he soon discovers that he is
caught up in a process which demands nothing less than the complete
reorientation of his whole life. To the extent that he does this, he
achieves a true vision of reality.
Much more could be said about Jesus' conception of man, his moral teaching,
and so on. Theoretical questions about the nature of existence play no part
in his thinking--as the latter is expressed in his words: what lies beyond
is unknown to us. It plays no part, not because it does not exist, but
because Jesus' thoughts are oriented towards reality.
His thought was not intended to be a research course, a scheme, a mere
intellectual construction or system, but to proclaim something which did
not yet exist but was to come--namely, the kingdom of God. It pointed to a
new reality and declared that it was meant for us. It made men cognizant of
the fact that in view of this new reality events had been preparing which
were now on the point of coming to pass. His thought is pre-speculative;
but in a way different from the child or primitive man who has yet felt no
need of facing the problem of truth in all its profundity. His thought is
demonstrative, somewhat like that of the scientist who says: Here is a
process in operation, something which has not yet been known, a possibility
you have not yet grasped, powers which have not yet been at your command--
be on the watch for them. Going deeper, we see the issue in another light
as something still more fundamental. This reality can only be created by
him, that is, by the Father through him. For example, the relationship of
being a child of God is made possible solely because of the existence of
Jesus. So then, he places himself at the very first movement in the
creation of this relationship. His words are therefore authoritative in the
fullest sense of the word. They are gift-bearing. Only because he lives,
acts and speaks, does what he is speaking about exist. Only then can we
begin to reflect about what has been discovered, about its nature and its
relation to what we already knew, and so on. What he does is prior to all
speculation because speculation is possible only as a result of what he
does.
All this makes it quite clear that his thought eludes psychology. All we
can say is that it is clear, concise, utterly responsible, with no trace of
self or superfluity, concentrated solely on what is essential. He says--and
says because he has brought it about: This is so. This is happening. Do
this; power to do it has been given you. If you do this, things will turn
out thus, and so on. There can be no "psychology" about this sort of thing,
because it cannot be categorized. We are dealing with a revelation which is
initiatory and creative and therefore incapable of being made an object of
analysis. It is only from within this revelation, as for example about the
manner in which it is experienced or effected, that some kind of analysis
is possible.
