CHRISTIAN SOCIOL OG\ III
been well dressed x and to have followed the ordinary dictates of the Jewish fashions except, perhaps, in the matter of phylac- teries. 2 His sensitiveness to matters of common civility appears in the words forced from him by the rudeness of a host who allowed conceit to drive out politeness. 3 Indeed it would seem as if the fact that Judas should have betrayed him by a kiss added bitterness to the cup he was forced to drink. 4
These matters are, of course, of small importance as they stand by themselves, but they gain in significance when they are seen to represent an attitude of mind. Conduct is always less hypocritical than language, and in the case of Jesus it had the added responsibility serving as an example for his followers. Accordingly, it is doubly necessary in his case to look for the spirit and ideal of which conduct is the expression. Such a spirit is clearly not that of the ascetic ; but is it not equally opposed to that of the "man about town?"
Whether it may have been from this sensitiveness or from some other motive, as a matter of fact, Jesus, with all his love and eagerness to attract men, never cheapened himself by indiscrimi- nate friendships. From one point of view, his brief career was marked by great reserve ; indeed, it seems hardly more than a series of withdrawals from men in order that he might establish a few intense friendships. To the outer crowd he carefully refused to show the depths of his character ; to the wide circle of mercurial "believers" he revealed hardly more of himself; to the Twelve as a whole he showed as much of himself as he could educate them to appreciate. But when he found a man or woman to whom he could open his heart, then all that they
'John 19:23.
"Matt. 9 :20. The rabbis seem to have been as supreme in fashion as in religion. We know from their decisions not only the names and styles of the garments worn by Jews but also the order in which they should be put on and their relative importance. (The authority in the subject of Jewish costume is BRULL, Trachten der Juden. See also EDERSHEIM, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, I, 621 sq.) The fact to be espe- cially noticed in this connection is probability that Jesus wore the tsiisith or tassels on his tallith or outer garment.
3 Luke 7 : 36-50. '^22:48.
