LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 PRINCETON. N. J. 
 
 PRESENTED bTR-M . cy.'T?\'Vcn\e Smitln^'D.Ti. 
 
 BX 8066 .P427 1918 
 Pfatteicher, Ernst Phillip 
 
 Henry, 1874-1943. 
 Sermons on the Gospels 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sermonsongospelsOOpfat 
 
Sermons on the Gospels 
 
 ADVENT TO TRINITY 
 
 JUL 2^; 1920 
 
 BY 
 
 ERNST P. PFATTEICHER. D.D. 
 Pastor Trinity Church, Reading, Pennsylvania 
 
 GENERAL COUNCIL PUBLICATION HOUSE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
Copyright, 1918 
 
 BY 
 
 EENST P. PFATTEICHEE 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The sermons contained in this volume were preached 
 in the Church of the Holy Communion, Philadelphia, to 
 a congregation consisting in part of University and col- 
 lege students. In preaching it was impossible to disasso- 
 ciate from my mind the struggles through which many 
 of these young people were passing and the battles which 
 I was asked to help them fight during the week. This 
 fact, if borne in mind, will help the reader to understand 
 why certain themes rather than others were chosen and 
 why certain methods of treatment were indulged in rather 
 than other, more obvious methods to the firm believer in 
 Christ Jesus. The endeavor throughout is to set forth 
 Christ Jesus as the Savior of the world. I have at- 
 tempted to compare and contrast the Christ with those 
 with whom He came into contact. The sermons thus 
 presented are outlines rather than elaborations; earnest, 
 practical discourses with a definite object in view rather 
 than rhetorical, literary productions with an esthetic con- 
 gregation in mind. 
 
 In reluctantly sending forth these messages may I say 
 that they go with very tender and delightful memories of 
 ten years filled so full with the diverse and exacting duties 
 demanded of a city pastor of the twentieth century it was 
 impossible to revise even cursorily the material in hand. 
 The parish to which I have been called is hardly less 
 exacting in its demands. May these imperfect sermons be 
 read sympathetically and prayerfully and may they lead 
 those who read them to a fervent desire to know Him 
 Whom to know is life eternal. 
 
 m 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. PAGE 
 
 First Sunday in Advent 1 1 
 
 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter 
 of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, 
 and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even 
 upon a colt the foal of an ass." — Zech. 9 : 9. 
 
 II. 
 
 Second Sunday in Advent 19 
 
 "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the 
 Kingdom of God is nigh at hand." — Luke 21 : 31. 
 
 III. 
 
 Third Sunday in AD\fENT 27 
 
 "Art thou he that cometh or look we for another?" 
 
 Matth. II : 3. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Fourth Sunday in Advent 36 
 
 "This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him 
 from Jerusalemi priests and levites to ask him, Who art 
 thou ?" — John 1 : 19. 
 
 V. 
 
 Christmas Day 43 
 
 "Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a 
 
 decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be 
 
 enrolled. 
 
 "There is born to you this day in the city of David a 
 
 Savior, who is Christ the Lord." — Luke 2:1, 11. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Second Christmas Day ' 51 
 
 "And when they saw it, they made known concerning the 
 saying which was spoken to them about this child. And 
 
 V 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken 
 unto them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these say- 
 ings, pondering them in her heart." — Luke 2: 17-19. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Sunday after Christmas 58 
 
 "And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, 
 Behold, this child is set for the falling and rising up of 
 many in Israel ; and for a sign which is spoken against ; 
 yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul; that 
 thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. 
 
 "And coming up at that very hour she (Anna) gave 
 thanks unto God, and spake of him to all that were looking 
 for the redemption of Jerusalem." — Luke 2: 34, 35, 38. 
 
 VIIL 
 
 New Year's Day , 66 
 
 "And when eight days were fulfilled for circunncising him, 
 his namie was called Jesus, which was so called by the 
 angel before he was conceived in the womb." — Luke 2: 21. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Sunday after New Year 74 
 
 "Arise and take the young child and his rrtother and flee 
 into Egypt and be thou there until I tell thee for Herod 
 will seek the young child to destroy him^" — Matth. 2: 13. 
 
 Epiphany 80 
 
 "We have seen his star." — Matth. 2 : 2. 
 
 XL 
 
 First Sunday after Epiphany 87 
 
 "Knew ye not that I must be about my Father's busi- 
 ness ?"-HLuke 2 : 49. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Second Sunday after Epiphany 96 
 
 "Mine Hour is not yet come." — ijohn 2 : 4. 
 
CONTENTS vii 
 
 I 
 
 PAGE 
 XIII. 
 
 Third Sunday after Epiphany 103 
 
 "And straightway his leprosy was cleansed — and the 
 servant was healed in that hour." — Matth. 8 : 3, 13. 
 
 I 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany m 
 
 "And they came to himj and awoke him, saying, Save, 
 Lord ; we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye fear- 
 ful, O ye of little faith ?"— Matth. 8:25, 26. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 120 
 
 "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a m)an that sowed 
 good seed in his field : but while men slept his enemy came 
 and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away." — 
 Matt. 13:24, 25. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The Transfiguration of Our Lord 128 
 
 "He was transfigured before them and his face did shine 
 as the sun. and his garments became white as the light." — 
 Matth. 17:2. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Septuagesima Sunday I37 
 
 "So the last shall be first, and the first last."— Matth. 20:16. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Sexagesima Sunday I45 
 
 "The sower went forth to sow his seed." — Luke 8 : 5. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Quinquagesima Sunday 152 
 
 "And he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, 
 
 Behold we go up to Jerusalem. 
 "And imffnediately he received his sight and followed 
 
 him."— 'Luke 18:31, 43. 
 
viii CONTENTS 
 
 XX. 
 
 Ash Wednesday i6o 
 
 "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a 
 sad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they 
 may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they 
 have received their reward." — Matth. 6 :6. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 First Sunday in Lent i68 
 
 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness 
 to be tempted of the devil." — Matth. 4: i. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Second Sunday in Lent 177 
 
 "I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel." — Matth. 15 : 24. 
 
 XXIIL 
 
 Third Sunday in Lent 187 
 
 "Some of them; said, by Beelzebub the prince of the 
 demons casteth he out demons." — Luke 11:15. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Fourth Sunday in Lent 196 
 
 "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you. Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because j'e 
 ate of the loaves and were filled." — John 6 : 26. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Fifth Sunday in Lent 205 
 
 "Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say truth, why 
 do ye not believe me?" — John 8:46. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Palm Sunday 212 
 
 "Hosanna to the Son of David : blessed is he that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord ; Hosanna in the highest." — Matth. 
 21 : 9. 
 
CONTENTS ix 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Thursday in Holy Week 219 
 
 "Could ye not watch with me one hour?" — Matth. 26:40. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Good Friday 225 
 
 "It is finished." — John 19:30. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Easter Day 232 
 
 "He is risen; he is not here." — Mark 16:6. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 First Sunday after Easter 240 
 
 "My Lord and my God." — 'John 20 : 28. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Second Sunday after Easter " 250 
 
 "I am the good shepherd : the good Shepherd layeth down 
 his life for the sheep." — ^John 10: 11. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Third Sunday after Easter 259 
 
 "A Little While."— John 16:16. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Easter 268 
 
 "He, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of 
 sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." — John 16 : 8. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Fifth Sunday after Easter 276 
 
 "In that day ye shall ask in my name." — John 16 : 26. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Ascension Day 285 
 
 "And when he had said these things, as they were look- 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 ing, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their 
 sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven 
 as he went, behold two men stood by them in white apparel ; 
 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking 
 into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into 
 heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going 
 into heaven." — ^Acts 1:9-11. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 Sunday after Ascension Day 294 
 
 "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto 
 you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro- 
 ceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me : and 
 ye also bear witness." — John 15:26-27. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Whitsunday .•' 301 
 
 "But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the 
 Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, 
 and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you." — 
 John 14 : 26. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Trinity Sunday 309 
 
 "Except one be born anew, he can not see the kingdom of 
 God."— John 3 : 3. 
 
Sermons on the Gospels 
 
 I. 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Zechariah 9:9. 
 
 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout O daughter of Jeru- 
 salem': behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having 
 salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal 
 of an ass." 
 
 We today enter upon a new church year and though its 
 detailed celebration is not essential to our salvation, it is 
 undoubtedly conducive to a clearer, more systematic and 
 consequently more helpful knowledge of the plan whereby 
 God saves men. This is accomplished by unfolding step by 
 step the remarkable crises in the Life of lives, emphasiz- 
 ing first the significant dispensation of that Life and then 
 pointing out the vital teachings which fell from the lips 
 of Jesus. Ever bearing in mind the remarkable testimony 
 of Peter, who, filled with the Holy Spirit, standing before 
 the Sanhedrin said: "In none other is there salvation; 
 for neither is there any other name under heaven, that 
 is given among men, wherein we must be saved" we shall 
 enter upon this new year with a more intense purpose of 
 knowing Jesus, of knowing Him in His meekness and in 
 His might, in His ability to heal and to save, in His 
 preaching and in His teaching, but more especially in His 
 willingness to suffer and to die, and in His glorious resur- 
 rection and exaltation to the right hand of His Father, 
 and in His sending forth of the Comforter Who is to 
 
 n 
 
12 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 lead not only the disciples, but us as well into the fruition 
 of truth. 
 
 If there is salvation in none other it is equally certain 
 that God has at all times communicated the knowledge of 
 salvation to those who have been willing to listen to His 
 voice. If it be true that there is salvation in none other, 
 the Old Testament must bear its witness to this Messiah, 
 for the Old Testament contains God's revelation of sal- 
 vation to those who lived upon earth before the advent 
 of the Savior into our flesh. It is exactly this truth 
 among others which the Advent Sundays, directly pre- 
 ceding the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord, em- 
 phasize. The gospel lessons of this season are not to be 
 read and pondered as interesting bits of historic litera- 
 ture, but rather as the summarization of the Old Testa- 
 ment vision of the Messiah and His reign. From this 
 standpoint you can see how perfectly natural it is that 
 we should have a repetition of the gospel lesson for the 
 first Sunday in Advent on Palm Sunday. It is inserted 
 at this point because it presents the most accurate picture 
 of the Messiah, portraying as it does, the longing of Israel 
 and the world for a Savior, setting forth the real need for 
 Him, presenting by way of contrast the distorted view of 
 the Savior and His coming entertained by Israel, thus 
 permitting us to see wherein the picture as the populace 
 beheld Him must be changed in order that it may accord 
 with the vision of true prophecy. This vision in the 
 prophecy of Zechariah is climactic. It is not the first faint 
 ray of light indicating the Messiah's approach. Zech- 
 ariah is one of the later prophets. The m'essage before 
 us is one of the later prophecies. Other prophets pre- 
 ceded Zechariah. Other prophecies preceded his. In 
 fact, many scholars of today feel that the second part 
 of the prophecy of Zechariah belongs to a later period 
 than the first part, say to the second century before Christ. 
 Should this conjecture happen to be correct, it would but 
 
PJRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 13 
 
 intensify what we are saying and indicate that we have 
 before us one of the great final blasts of the herald's 
 trumpet which announces the coming of the King hence 
 bids the daughter of Zion, the daughter of Jerusalem to 
 rejoice. 
 
 We desire to contrast the Messianic thought in the mind 
 of the rabbi and of the prophet. Zechariah summarizes 
 the view of Israel in ascribing to the Messiah the term 
 King when he says : "Behold thy king cometh unto thee." 
 It was perhaps natural for a people versed in the etymol- 
 ogy of the term Messiah, knowing it to mean king, to look 
 upon its temporal kings, one after the other, as the prom- 
 ised Messiah until the disillusionment came which proved 
 the fallacy of their conjecture. Saul and David and Solo- 
 mon are all of them, one after the other, spoken of as the 
 anointed of the Lord. To this despised, down-trodden 
 race of slaves and serfs, to them who arose gradually 
 from their lowly estate to national consciousness and 
 race loyalty, to them who had marched ever onward 
 until at last the promised land was a reality, to Israel 
 as it realized its physical limitations, to Israel, first as it 
 rebelled against God and then sought Him again, there 
 was a charm in the term king. Israel hoped against hope 
 that it might obtain a strong, valiant, respected earthly 
 king. This hope was kindled into an appreciable flame 
 as Saul was anointed, then it grew ever more faint as 
 this first king of Israel became subject to the evil spirit. 
 Again the hope burst forth as David ascended the throne, 
 but even David was human, even he was tempted, and 
 when tempted he fell. The hope that his son Solomon 
 would prove to be the true anointed one was of short 
 duration. As one after the other of these kings came 
 and went, as one after the other of the house of David 
 succeeded to the stable throne of the smaller half of the 
 divided kingdom, while there was little order in succes- 
 sion or duration in the reigns of the kings of the north. 
 
14 SERMONS ON,' THE GOSPELS 
 
 the term assumed a new meaning as Israel began slowly 
 to realize the meaning of the original objection of the 
 Lord to the establishment of the monarchy and began to 
 study the significance of the prophecies concerning the 
 Messiah which assigned Him to the house of David, 
 called Him a Son of David and established a seat for the 
 holy city. The Messiah was no longer, to the mind of 
 Israel simply an anointed king. He was to be not a king, 
 but the king whose reign might be delayed for some time, 
 but Who was to be the specific king in Whose govern- 
 ment Israel would rejoice and prosper. The Messiah, 
 the one Messiah, became the object of Israel's hope and 
 consolation. 
 
 Unfortunately for Israel, it was willing and ready to 
 accept the first picture of Isaiah and think of the Messiah 
 as '"Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the ever- 
 lasting Father, the Prince of Peace." It never rightly 
 appreciated the second vision — "the suffering servant." 
 In thinking of the Messiah, Israel did not think of Him as 
 either priest or prophet, save as an ideal king would exer- 
 cise the functions of both priest and prophet. It thought 
 of Him as One Who would again restore the kingdom to 
 Israel, a kingdom far surpassing other kingdoms, a king 
 whose supreme rule would be so patent it could not help 
 but be recognized. What a contrast there was between 
 the king whom Israel was taught to expect by prophecy 
 and the king its fancy decreed. The king decreed by 
 fancy was to be a king as wise and as wealthy as Solo- 
 mon, as devout as David, and as warlike as Saul. The 
 king foretold by prophecy was to be "lowly, and riding 
 upon an ass, even upon a colt, the foal of an ass." 
 
 The sense in which the term "lowly" is used does not 
 mean that the Messiah would possess no dignity or in- 
 herent righteous pride or real worth. To be lowly as it 
 is here used does not mean to be ignorant, or poor from 
 necessity, or an outcast. To be lowly means the exercise 
 
EIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 15 
 
 of the spirit of self-abnegation, self-sacrifice on the part 
 of him who possesses every trait, yet is willing to forego 
 his prerogatives in order that he rn,iay be the better able 
 to serve others. Lowliness is the characteristic of true 
 worth. If others have not been able to attain the heights 
 you have scaled, you can do one of two things. You can 
 look down from your superior position in a spirit of con- 
 descension or of contempt, of pity or of scorn, and ulti- 
 mately you can ignore those in the valley below, or you 
 can descend to assist and encourage those who are unable 
 to reach the peak without assistance. How many an 
 ascent has been made easy by painstaking, sympathetic 
 guidance and encouragement, and, on the other hand, how 
 many an ascent has been made impossible because of an 
 absolute lack of sympathy and support. To educate a 
 child a parent may be compelled to stop the process of 
 self -ascent temporarily. To help a blind man over the 
 street congested by traffic the busy pedestrian must permit 
 his onward march to be impeded. To help men and 
 women mentally, morally and spiritually may check the 
 aspiration of genius, because such help demands lowli- 
 ness and lowliness, in the eyes of a falsely aristocratic 
 world, means retardation. Lowliness on the part of 
 Christ was absolutely essential, a trait without which He 
 could not have appeared among men. The Messiah must 
 stoop if men are to be lifted up and drawn unto Him. 
 The Messiah's problem is not the establishment of tem- 
 poral government. It is not the invention of wonderful 
 appliances in the interests of science, nor the discovery 
 of unpeopled worlds. The Messiah's problem is the sal- 
 vation of men and women who cannot be saved without 
 this most remarkable demonstration of lowliness. They 
 will not approach Him. He must approach them. They 
 cannot think His thoughts. He must think their 
 thoughts. They cannot work out their own salvation. 
 He must work it out for them;, and in doing so He must 
 
i6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 not enslave but free them. They are servants of Satan. 
 It is His problem to convert them into His brethren. He 
 to Whom heaven and earth belong must accept as a loan 
 an ass and the foal of an ass. He Whose ear is attuned 
 to the melodies of heaven must listen to the discordant 
 songs of Hosanna sung in a mioment of tense excitement. 
 He Whose residence is in the Jerusalem above must be 
 content to enter the Jerusalem below. And yet He does 
 all this and infinitely more, because He is the true 
 Messiah. Had Israel studied prophecy instead of follow- 
 ing a contaminated priesthood, which placed a ban on 
 all prophecy not pleasing to it; had Israel thought as 
 seriously of the priestly and prophetic function as it did 
 of the regal function, it certainly could and would have 
 discerned its king and recognized His advent. 
 
 Lowliness and peacefulness are placed in juxtaposition 
 by the prophet. As you think of the Messiah you must 
 think of Him as the Prince of Peace in His lowliness. 
 The daily experience of Israel was not particularly con- 
 ducive to peace. There were tribal animosities, insur- 
 rections, civil wars, encounters upon the field of battle 
 with the leading nations of the world. To have slain 
 tens of thousands was a far more acceptable boast than 
 to have slain thousands. Thus it was perhaps natural that 
 Israel, better versed in contemporary events than in 
 prophecy, looked forward to the coming of a Messiah 
 Who, as king, would acquit Himself a mighty victor in 
 battle. The ancient oriental king desirous of leading his 
 armies to victory was ever portrayed upon a charger as 
 valiant as himself, whereas the ambassador of peace, 
 engaged in more tranquil pursuits, was likewise portrayed 
 upon the animal which, according to the prophet, was 
 to be chosen by the true Messiah. We must not shrink 
 from Christian truth because we everywhere meet with 
 the paradox. He Who was to be the Prince of Peace 
 Himself said: "Think not that I am come to send peace 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 17 
 
 on earth: I came not to send peace but a sword." This 
 sword is never sent except as the precursor of peace. 
 The sword that pierces the heart of Mary is but an inci- 
 dent in the Hberation of countless other hearts. The 
 Messiah is to come not as the prince of temporal peace, 
 but as the Prince of the peace that passeth understanding. 
 
 The prophet further emphasizes the justice or right- 
 eousness of this Messiah as a fundamental characteristic. 
 As one who is just He cannot possibly be the Messiah 
 of but a small fraction of the population of the world. 
 And yet Israel's conception, based upon the temporal 
 kingship of the Messiah, was a national conception. It 
 had no sufficient sympathy for those without, the dogs, 
 as it called them. In this respect its criticism had in it 
 more venom than that of the Greeks, who spoke of all 
 other nations as barbarians. We cannot think of the 
 Messiah as a national hero, a national Savior. No one 
 versed in the writings of Holy Writ could ever have 
 made such a mistake. It is this very trait of universality 
 which raises Him infinitely above the gods of the nations 
 and the leaders of men. Prophecy recognizes the need of 
 such a universal Savior. You and I realize this need. 
 Christ must be the Christ of and for the whole world. 
 
 In one other detail does the prophet call attention to 
 Israel's inadequate conception of the Messiah, when he 
 says of Him "and having salvation". Other prophets 
 in times past pointed out Israel's blindness to the heinous- 
 ness and deadlines of sin. Israel spoke of it in cutting, 
 stinging rebuke. As a matter of fact, the rabbis ignored 
 and discredited the teaching concerning original sin. 
 Paul's trenchant reasoning in the Epistle to the Romans 
 is directed against this error in common with others. 
 They not only ignored original sin, they made it easy to 
 atone for actual sin by means of an intricate system of 
 sacrifice, a state of affairs very analogous to even present- 
 day practices in a large part of the Christian Church. 
 
i8 SERMONS ONI THE GOSPELS 
 
 To people thus trained in religious thought and belief 
 there was, of course, little reason why the Messiah should 
 bring salvation. The thought of the rabbis was material- 
 istic. Their plane was that of sight and reason. Their 
 world was the world of sense. Their Messiah must be 
 a Messiah for such a world as this. Truly the fullness 
 of time had come. With a darkness such as this hover- 
 ing over the temple it is not surprising that the world 
 was sighing for redemption, looking for a real Messiah 
 and not an Israelitic king. 
 
 Dear friend, if you have not yet found the Messiah, 
 surely you are honest in your desire to find Him ; surely 
 you are willing to seek Him where there is the greatest 
 possibility of finding Him ; surely you are willing to listen 
 to the cumulative testimony of prophets and martyrs. 
 Surely you are willing to place the testimonies of God 
 side by side and compare them with your needs. You 
 are not asked to accept the rabbinic picture of the 
 Messiah. Its distortion has been pointed out. You are 
 asked to consider the two-fold picture of this Messiah 
 painted by prophecy. You know in your own heart that 
 your life has often been a failure. You need a strong 
 advisor and a sympathetic guide. You need some one 
 who, as Prince of Peace, can calm your troubled breast. 
 You need some one whose devotion to you is unques- 
 tioned. You need some one who, as you draw ever 
 nearer to Him, will grow not smaller and smaller, as is 
 the case with men, but bigger and bigger, until at last 
 you are forced to recognize Him as your Lord and your 
 God. A prayerful study of the Old Testament, with 
 no other purpose than a desire to find the Christ, will, 
 during this Advent season, properly fit you for the reali- 
 zation of your hope and prayer in the ability to crown 
 your celebration of Christmastide with the voluntary con- 
 fession: "we have found the Messiah". 
 
II. 
 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Luke 21 : 31. 
 
 "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the King- 
 dom of God is nigh at hand." 
 
 The phrase "the last enemy to be conquered is death" 
 was paraphrased by Strauss, the German scholar, to 
 whom sacred things were no whit holier than secular 
 word duels "the last enemy to be conquered is the con- 
 ception of another world". In these words he confessed 
 that the principles and the program of the battle he was 
 fighting had not yet been won. He stood boldly for a 
 tangible, visible world subject to sense perception. He 
 deprecated the idea of an invisible world, an unseen 
 realm, a spiritual world, an eternal kingdom of God, the 
 more important hemisphere of life. In spite of his asser- 
 tion as quoted above, and in spite of the more dogmatic 
 "il n'y a pas de surnaturel" of Renan, Christian truth is 
 still proclaimed and followers of Jesus Christ continue 
 to believe the words of Christ and continue to proclaim 
 their adherence to a cardinal article of our Christian faith 
 by listening each year to the Master's announcement of 
 His day and its preceding signs and by confessing their 
 faith in the constant repetition of the words "from 
 thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead." 
 
 We simply cannot disassociate the temporal and the 
 eternal and remain true to Christ. He has spoken too 
 often and too pointedly of His Father's home as our 
 home, and of that day as His day and our day. The 
 Advent season would teach us a second lesson, ever to 
 associate the two realms of which we have spoken and 
 
 19 
 
20 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 to associate them in such a way that we shall appreciate 
 the significance of both. If we would be true to Christ 
 and His teachings, we must subject things tangible and 
 seen to things unseen and eternal. This is an important 
 message for an age which measures everything accord- 
 ing to its conformity to the second commandment and 
 is forgetful of the meaning of the first. The interlinking 
 of these commandments even on that day is clearly 
 demonstrated, but cause and effect must not be inter- 
 changed. 
 
 In the chapter from which our gospel lesson Is taken 
 there is a distinction between things temporal and eternal, 
 things tangible and unseen. In the first part of the chap- 
 ter we are told that Jesus, wending His way along the 
 Mount of Olives, tarries sufficiently near the Holy City 
 to command a view of its imposing temple. The marble 
 blocks stand out in bold relief, a picture of massive 
 grandeur. The disciples naturally call attention to stones 
 which are so aptly emblematic of stability. They can 
 surely not be mistaken in such an evident phenomenon. 
 The picture is real. It forms part of the visible world, 
 a world that may be seen and touched and appropriated 
 by sense. Concerning this visible temple, Jesus says to 
 the enthusiastic disciples: "As for these things which ye 
 behold, the days will come in the which there shall not 
 be left one stone upon the other that shall not be thrown 
 down." The prophecy concerning the city of Jerusalem 
 is specific and imposing. The visible city of God is to 
 be compassed with armies in a warfare in which nation 
 shall rise against nation. It shall be trodden down of 
 the gentiles until the time of the gentiles be fulfilled. To 
 this point we have been moving in a tangible, visible 
 world. In the paragraph that follows we are shown a 
 world that is just as real, just as concrete, though unseen ; 
 and here again, in this very gospel lesson, there is a clear 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 21 
 
 t 
 line of cleavage between the seen and the unseen in their 
 Advent setting. 
 
 Nowhere are the two worlds more clearly distinguished 
 or more forcibly conjoined. The whole Advent thought 
 moves in this two-fold realm, constantly reiterating the 
 consciousness of sin and limitation, yet through it all 
 expressing the firm belief that redemption draweth nigh. 
 Earth and heaven, the seen and the unseen, these are 
 important Advent units. These are the subjects upon 
 which Jesus would have His disciples reflect as they are 
 about to go forth as sheep without a shepherd, and these 
 are the objects upon which they are to fasten thought in 
 token of His coming again to judge both the quick and 
 the dead. In the important discourse here recorded con- 
 cerning His second Advent He moves from the seen to 
 the unseen, that which is seen gradually fading from 
 sight and that which to this point has been unseen, gradu- 
 ally taking its place upon the screen, now visible to crea- 
 tures erstwhile groaning and travailing in pain while 
 waiting for a long-deferred hope and vision. We, too, 
 shall adopt this orderly procedure. We, too, shall throw 
 upon the screen the tangible things of the world as seen 
 in the relation which they sustain to the coming of our 
 blessed Lord and then as our horizon grows more 
 lurriinous, exchanging these for the vision of the Son of 
 Man in His glory and majesty. 
 
 The disciples are men of sense perception. They look 
 upon the temple and behold its glory. They endeavor 
 to pierce the spiritual realm and know something of the 
 coming of the Son of Man and are completely dazed. 
 Asking for a tangible sign whereby they may know when 
 to expect the dawning of that day which marks the 
 beginning of a fuller life, they are commanded to study 
 the sun and moon and stars, for in that day "there shall 
 be signs in the sun and moon and stars". The children 
 of this world and the children of God have, throughout 
 
22 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the ages, vied with each other and helped each other in 
 the scientific study of the heavens as manifested to sense 
 perception. Lessons of the greatest importance have ever 
 been attached to this study of the unfulfilled but firmly 
 believed prophecy concerning the passing of the earth on 
 which we live by virtue of a derangement of the planetary 
 system. But a short time ago there appeared in a scien- 
 tific journal a reiterated warning sounded by an eminent 
 astronomer, who, in studying the heavens, has observed 
 deflections from established rules and orbits and calls 
 attention to the probability of the destruction of the 
 planet on which we live. The trained eye and the tele- 
 scope unite in their confirmation by sense perception of 
 the truth enunciated long ago for the benefit of a doubt- 
 ing Thomas whom the Savior of men would not lose: 
 "and upon the earth there shall be distress of nations, 
 with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring". Accept 
 the former statement concerning the sun and moon and 
 stars and you must accept the latter concerning the sea 
 and its billows and the distress of nations. Light and 
 water, factors of primary importance and power in the 
 creative work, must grind and toil and produce unitedly 
 or rage in their dissonance. The distress of nations is 
 the natural resultant of discords in the natural world in 
 which there exists or should exist a spiritual law. 
 
 These are some of the signs of the coming of the Son 
 of Man which may be perceived by the senses, but this 
 vision is one of destruction, dismay and despair. Is there 
 no sign of His coming to be witnessed in the visible world 
 which tends to exalt? "And he spake a parable; behold 
 the fig tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth 
 ye see and know of your own selves that the summer is 
 now nigh at hand." The thought of Jesus here enun- 
 ciated is beautifully interpreted by Luther: "God wrote 
 the last day not only in books, but also in the trees, 
 that as often as we see the trees shoot forth in spring, 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 23 
 
 we are to remember this parable and the day of the 
 Lord. . . Our miserable life here on earth is like 
 unto the abominable, unfruitful winter. Heaven, earth, 
 sea, stars, air and all creatures are tired of the world's 
 malice and long for new heavens and a new earth wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness." Thus whether it be the fig tree 
 or the maple, the blossom or the flower, nature would 
 remind us of that day of the Lord when all things shall 
 be made new. 
 
 There is a relationship between the unseen and the 
 senses as there is a co-ordination of the seen and the 
 senses. The transformation is not complete. The ad- 
 vance is not radical, but nevertheless there is a new picture 
 before us. As we listen to the harmony of melody and 
 words in the beautiful aria: "O Thou that tellest good 
 tidings to Zion,". the effect produced upon us is not that 
 of a secular strain or of a tangible environment. We are 
 transported by the medium of song to the realm of the 
 unseen, and our sense of hearing becomes the instrument 
 whereby we apprehend somewhat of the glories of the 
 invisible world. There is a connection between the unseen 
 and the senses in the verse "verily I say unto you this 
 generation shall not pass away before all things are 
 fulfilled". Did the generation to whom these words were 
 addressed not pass away before all things were fulfilled ? 
 No, for the reference is here to redemption and' the 
 Kingdom of God stood for redemption. The Kingdom 
 of God was fulfilled in the death of Christ upon the 
 cross, and the redemption thus wrought for believers. 
 The unseen realm, the Kingdom of God, thus became 
 subject, as it were, to sense, and even today as we medi- 
 tate upon the second coming of Christ, the unseen may 
 be discerned in its relation to the past. 
 
24 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Once He came in blessing. 
 All our sins redressing, 
 Came in likeness lowly, 
 Son of God most holy; 
 Bore the cross to save us, 
 Hope and freedom gave us. 
 
 I 
 Still He comes within us, 
 Still His voice would win us 
 From the sins that hurt us ; 
 Would to truth convert us 
 From our foolish errors, 
 Ere He comes in terrors. 
 
 The historic Christ and the eternal Christ, the seen 
 and the unseen, the unseen brought near by the seen, 
 the second Advent the necessary resultant of the first! 
 Again the picture changes. In thinking carefully of the 
 Advent message contained in our text, we cannot help 
 but detect the co-ordination of the unseen and spiritual 
 perception. 
 
 The standard to be employed by the children of this 
 world has ever been the seen and the senses. This stan- 
 dard has been demanded by the wave of scientific pursuit 
 sweeping over the continents. But wheresoever the 
 supernatural element is tolerated in its highest manifesta- 
 tion the unseen and spiritual perception are found closely 
 related. He is the most consummate artist who evolves 
 his picture or his statue, his symphony or his poem in 
 the realm of the spiritual ere he rmaterializes thought, 
 and he is the most advanced Christian who calls out in 
 absolute faith, though he may never have read a biog- 
 raphy of Jesus other than the gospels, which, as a matter 
 of fact, do not claim to be biographies: "I know that my 
 Redeemer liveth." This spiritual perception is to be 
 rewarded as the time draws nigh for the appearance of 
 the Lord, for just as those who are the children of sight 
 and sense will be confounded because of a perception of 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 25 
 
 the phenomena of nature which are unmistakable, so 
 they who have moved even here in an unseen reahn 
 are commanded because of these very same natural 
 phenomena "to look up and lift up their heads" for their 
 redemption draweth nigh. The looking up and lifting 
 up of the head vindicates the exaltation which has never 
 been questioned by spiritual discerners. This exaltation 
 is the natural consequence of a redemption wrought by 
 a living Redeemer and a just Judge. The unseen and 
 spiritual perception, these two factors of essential Chris- 
 tianity, should be present in every earnest disciple of 
 Christ during this Advent season in an intensive con- 
 centration upon the thought as to whether or not he is 
 ready to stand before the Son of Man. May we not 
 concentrate upon this thought for a moment? Do we 
 individually long for that day? Do we long to stand 
 before the Son of Man ? If our lives have been dedicated 
 to sight and sense only, no, then we cannot sufficiently 
 long to stand before Him. As I realize my frequent fall, 
 the many deflections from truth and justice, the ruined 
 friendships, the lack of love and moral force, I must 
 shrink from that day. Only as I enter upon a spiritual 
 communion with my Lord and Master, only as I appro- 
 priate His redemption, only as I realize that my vision 
 may properly penetrate behind the veil which has been 
 rent, may I look up, lift up my head and rejoice that my 
 redemption draweth nigh. 
 
 The contrast between the seen and the unseen is most 
 clearly set forth in their consummation. They who have 
 longingly and patiently awaited the coming of the Son 
 of Man shall realize their expectations. "Then shall 
 they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power 
 and great glory." Contrast the picture of the babe in 
 the manger with that of the glorious reappearance of 
 the Savior and you will revise your once-expressed 
 opinion that it was easier for His age to believe in Him 
 
26 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 than for our age to do so. What the shepherds saw was 
 indeed a wonderful sight, but the vision will be far more 
 glorious when the portals of the unseen shall at last be 
 swung open. The seen and the unseen ! Surfeiting and 
 drunkenness and cares of this life, these are enumerated 
 among the things to be seen ere He shall appear. True 
 watchfulness and prayer, these are among the unseen 
 things of today and tomorrow. Surfeiting and drunken- 
 ness and cares of this life blear the eyes so completely 
 it is impossible to see the snare which has been laid for 
 us. Watchfulness and prayer so thoroughly clarify the 
 vision that things unseen by the natural eye are first 
 apprehended, then comprehended: 
 
 Till with the vision glorious 
 Her longing eyes are blest, 
 And the great church victorious 
 • Shall be the church at rest. 
 
 Do you wonder that so much stress has been laid upon 
 the Hallelujah chorus? Do you wonder that people rise 
 when it is sung? Do you wonder that the great climax 
 of the most wonderful story ever told demlands the con- 
 fession by every tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord to 
 the glory of God the Father? Do you marvel that all 
 creation represented by sun and moon and stars, billows 
 and seas, blossoms and trees, unites with man in this 
 chorus? We return to our question: Are you individu- 
 ally ready for the coming of the Son of Man? 
 
III. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Matthew ii, 3. 
 "Art thou he that cometh or look we for another?" 
 
 On the spur of a hill to the east of and overlooking 
 the Dead Sea are the extensive ruins of Machaerus, a 
 city fortified by Herod the Great, in which he erected 
 a palace, later one of his famous residences. Machaerus 
 fell to the heritage of Antipas, ever after to be associated 
 with his name. To this palace the daughter of Aretas, 
 king of the Nabateans, asked that she be sent when 
 Antipas divorced her and drove her from his presence. 
 In the confines of a palace which, to her, was no more 
 than a prison, she tarried, hoping, ever hoping that she 
 might be permitted to return to her husband or flee to 
 the jurisdiction of her father. Machaerus was the site 
 of a dungeon as well. Hard by the palace was a prison, 
 and to this prison John the Baptist was condemned for 
 championing the cause of the daughter of Aretas in tell- 
 ing Herod that it was not right for him to have his 
 brother's wife. 
 
 The stories of the third and fourth Sundays in Advent 
 do not center in the Baptist, but portray his relation to 
 the Messiah. The active ministry of John is ended ere 
 the story recorded in our gospel lesson begins. He has 
 told the truth at court. He has interfered with the 
 autonorny of a tyrant, he has opposed despotism, sensu- 
 ality and falsehood. He has subjected himself to the 
 wrath of the king and his new queen. He has brought 
 imprisonment upon himself. Languishing in his prison, 
 he hears of the appearance of the Christ, whose 
 
 27 
 
28 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 fore-runner he has been. The honest, impetuous, zealous 
 John, who has awakened so many in Israel from their 
 sleep, who has feared neither king nor peasant, neither 
 class nor mass, becomes impatient and perhaps a bit 
 sceptical. Report tells him the Messiah has cornle. If 
 this person whose fame is spreading be the Messiah, 
 there is no doubt about it he has not yet accomplished all 
 those things which the Baptist has foretold. Impatience 
 and doubt prompted him to send his disciples to Jesus 
 with the question: "Art thou he that shall come, or do 
 we look for another?" In asking the question, the Bap- 
 tist injects a note of doubt into the Advent season. 
 Hitherto there has been no doubt. The primary thought 
 has concerned itself with grace, unbounded grace. "We 
 are saved by grace" is the assertion of the apostle whose 
 personal turning to Jesus was by no means the resultant 
 of his own volition and desire. He had seen the King. 
 His King had come unto him and neither man nor 
 woman, child nor adult, can adequately reflect upon the 
 meaning of the Advent season who has not beheld the 
 motto, "Behold, thy king cometh unto thee" written 
 large over the very portal of the season, and having 
 seen it has heeded its import as did the apostle on the 
 way to Damascus. This very thought, however, of the 
 abundance of grace accorded us by the King, Who for 
 this purpose is willing to lay aside His royal robe and 
 spotless crown and put on our soiled and tattered gar- 
 ments and the crown of thorns woven for Him by us 
 out of the brambles of sin, is followed by its sequence: 
 suppose I do not accept this proffered grace, suppose I 
 do not choose to accept it, suppose I continue to live as 
 I did when I did not yet know Jesus? Then, of course, 
 there is nothing left but judgment, a judgment which, 
 though it need not be feared by them that love Jesus and 
 await His coming, irrevocably settles my status and 
 alligns me either for or against Him for all time. Thus 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 29 
 
 the very thouglit of judgment, emphasized during this 
 season, is a dogmatic thought, and involves either the 
 acceptance or the rejection of grace. At this point there 
 is injected into the thought of the season the element of 
 doubt. Suppose He Who has come is not the promised 
 Messiah? Suppose we are compelled to continue our 
 quest for truth and the promised Messiah; suppose His 
 corning has been indefinitely postponed ; suppose they who 
 are still anxiously waiting for His appearance are the 
 true Israel? The question, as John puts it, is the ques- 
 tion of an honest man. 
 
 No man ever took life more seriously than did John 
 the Baptist. No man ever trifled less with moments, 
 days, months and years. In every sense he was a man 
 sent from God who came for a witness to bear witness 
 of the light that all men through Him, that is through 
 Christ, might believe. Any man who is filled with the 
 Holy Ghost from his mother's womb must realize the 
 responsibility with which he is endowed and' fill life 
 brimful with honest endeavor. This is exactly what hap- 
 pened in the experience of John. Born the son of a 
 priest, his would naturally have been a priest's life, with 
 its outward honors and comparative ease, the accompani- 
 ments of the office in his age. But he breaks with tra- 
 dition, as every great man or woman before or after 
 him has done, goes out into the desert, leaves his home 
 and a life of ease, and prepares for his mission in life. 
 His withdrawal from the haunts of men implied his 
 break with "the prevalent Pharisaic type of piety". It 
 meant his disapproval of corruption. It meant that he 
 had for all time cast his lot as a reformer, an honest 
 reformer. It meant that he believed king's palaces to be 
 no fit places for meditation on life's work. It meant that 
 he believed the question of fine raiment and elaborate 
 food to interfere with a true conception of life. It 
 meant that he realized the importance of studying the 
 
30 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 past and the future recorded in the Scriptures he knew 
 in order to apply their teachings to his own age. John 
 has a message for his age. The message, though vari- 
 ously formulated, returns to the one word, "repent," 
 turn from the darkness which covers the earth to the 
 light which has risen. John's message converts the 
 wilderness into a populated district. It is unnecessary 
 for him to return to the haunts of men, for men, whether 
 high or low in the scale of life, are seeking him out. 
 They realize, as a new truth to most of them, that change 
 of heart and mind are essential ere the Kingdom of God 
 shall be realized. John is, above all things, a searcher 
 of hearts. It seems strange that a man of his type should 
 attract anyone. He lays bare the sins of individual lives 
 just as he lays bare the sins of the nation. He cannot 
 do otherwise. It is the Holy Spirit's message to 
 humanity in anticipation of the day of the Lord. The 
 very people who are most cuttingly rebuked are they who 
 form the major portion of his audience. 
 
 Does this not accord with our own experience? Are 
 there not moments when we awaken from our sleep 
 of contentment to a full realization of the course we have 
 been pursuing and its tragic results? An honest man 
 with a serious motive in life, that motive to understand 
 and interpret the purpose of God in His attitude toward 
 men and the consequent conduct of man in his relation- 
 ship to God and man, there is no greater dynamic in all 
 the world than this. 
 
 The honesty of John may neither be described as the 
 preachment of social integrity to the exclusion of per- 
 sonal responsibility nor the emphasis upon individual 
 sinfulness to the exclusion of its social significance. He 
 meets his duty as it presents itself. He flays society be- 
 cause of its mock mass unrighteousness, but he is equally 
 earnest as he stands before the individual who is a factor 
 in society, whether he be a leading Pharisee or the king 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 31 
 
 of the nation. No man unimpressed with the serious- 
 ness of life and the reality of God's call to him to right 
 conditions that are wrong could ever have assumed an 
 initiative such as John assumed. However, the greatest 
 vindication of John's absolute honesty is not to be found 
 in his presence before the king, whose sphere it was to 
 rule over him. The greatest vindication for and test 
 of his honesty lies in the open question which he puts to 
 Him Who is to rule his heart: "Art thou he that shall 
 come, or do we look for another ?" John knew full well, 
 as you and I know, that some one must rule the heart, 
 some one must be our Master; we must be some one's 
 disciples. The other alternative is that others must be 
 our disciples or that we consciously separate our lives 
 and our interests from the world round about us. John 
 had not given up his hope and faith even here in prison 
 in the coming of a Messiah. The problem of religion was 
 too real for that. The Scriptures were too vital for that. 
 His life, dominated and impelled by the Holy Spirit, 
 would and could brook no thought of ultimate disappoint- 
 ment in the coming of the Messiah. The only question 
 that forced itself upon him as it has forced itself upon 
 the minds of many of the house of Israel was "art thou 
 he that shall come, or do we look for another"? Were 
 there not many in his day and the day of the Messiah 
 who believed as we have already seen that Messiah would 
 come otherwise than He actually came? Were there not 
 those whose conception of the Fatherhood of God 
 through Abraham seemed to demand no Fatherhood of 
 God through Jesus Christ? To them Abraham had 
 actually taken the place of the Messiah, and Abraham's 
 bosom had lost its typical significance and assumed a 
 final meaning. They needed no other than Abraham. 
 For many others Moses was the Messiah. They needed 
 nothing more because they had Moses. They needed no 
 prophets. They did not realize the import of the 
 
32 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 prophetic word: "a prophet Hke unto me shall the Lord 
 awaken from among your brethren". To them the law- 
 giver who had communed with Jehovah on the mount 
 and received his commandments for the children of men 
 was the real intercessor between God and man. Still 
 others, mindful of the very last words of the Old Testa- 
 ment: "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before 
 the great and terrible day of Jehovah come ; and he shall 
 turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the 
 heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and 
 smite the earth with a curse" looked upon the prophet 
 who had conquered the priests of Baal as the Messiah 
 who was to appear. In the lesson for next week we shall 
 see that there were those who believed John himself to 
 be the Messiah. With this great confusion in the minds 
 of the children of Israel, need we be surprised' that the 
 Baptist, languishing in prison, became a bit confused? 
 In it all and through it all his eyes never turned to the 
 past as did the eyes of many of his contemporaries. He 
 knew the Christ was not manifest in Abraham or in 
 Moses, nor in Elijah. He knew the Christ would come 
 as Scripture predicted. His only concern was: "art thou 
 the Christ"? 
 
 In leading foreign students in our universities, the 
 devotees of heathen cults, to Christ it has grown to be 
 the customary procedure to introduce them into the field 
 of comparative religion, to point out to them the char- 
 acteristics of religions which are familiar to them, in 
 order that these characteristics and principles may be 
 compared with the essentials of Christianity. The inten- 
 tion is to awaken in their hearts and minds a conscious- 
 ness of the supremacy of Christ. This consciousness 
 existed in the mind of John. He needed not that it be 
 awakened. He needed a real demonstration of the power 
 of Jesus in accordance with the high ideal which he had 
 ever had before him. It is true, in this respect, he places 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 33 
 
 himself beside Thomas. He must see and feel. He must 
 be assured. But his faith is greater than that of Thomas, 
 for, as we have seen, he has never wavered in his 
 acknowledgment of the expected appearance of the 
 Christ, the Savior of the world. Friends, the question 
 is one you cannot evade. You must answer it and you 
 must seek to answer it honestly. Is the Jesus Who came 
 twenty centuries ago the Son of God, the Messiah, the 
 Savior of the world, or is He not? That the world must 
 have a Savior we know. Is Jesus, the lowly Nazarene, 
 the Son of Mary, the Savior of the world? Is He your 
 Savior ? You have not answered that question by settling 
 back comfortably in your pew and taking it for granted. 
 You have not answered the question by evading it. More 
 than that, you have not answered the question by sur- 
 feiting in the pleasures of this life and the criticisms of 
 the age. The splendid, rugged honesty of John appears 
 in the method which he adopts to convince himself con- 
 cerning the claims of the Messiahship of Jesus. He has 
 brooded over the question long enough. He cannot 
 determine the problem by brooding. He does not decide 
 to send his disciples or others than his disciples to observe 
 the work and teachings of Jesus in a critical spirit with- 
 out revealing their identity to the Master. His method 
 is far more direct than that. The disciples are to go to 
 Christ. They are to ask Him. He is to give Christ the 
 benefit of the doubt. John has not convinced himself 
 that Christ is not the Messiah. The burden of proof does 
 not rest on the shoulders of Christ, but on those of John. 
 It isn't so much the question of having Christ prove His 
 claim as it is of having the Baptist confirm his weak faith. 
 These facts are of very great importance in your determi- 
 nation of the question. Christianity must not be asked 
 to establish its case. It can be asked to set forth a con- 
 tinued demonstration of power over the lives of men. 
 If you would know Jesus, you must go directly to Him 
 
34 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 and not to another. You cannot go to Him as did the 
 disciples of John and witness His works and listen to 
 His preaching as He walks among men; but you can do 
 more than the disciples of John were able to do. You 
 can seek Him in His Word. The entire field of vision 
 open to John lies open before you. The entire Old 
 Testament, with its hopes and its promises, its expecta- 
 tions and its failures, its reverses and its victories, its 
 darkness and its dawning, its search after truth by some 
 :ind its utter blindness on the part of others, this was the 
 Bible of John and his disciples as it is part of our Bible. 
 We say it is only part of our Bible. John the Baptist 
 did not have before him the wonderful testimony of 
 Matthew and Mark and Luke. Neither he nor his 
 disciples realized at that time the enormous progress to 
 be made in the apprehension of Christian truth by one 
 who was numbered among that band and was later to 
 lean upon the bosom of Jesus and still later to give to 
 the world its most precious record of that life. They 
 could not then tell that a Hebrew of the Hebrews, resi- 
 dent in Tarsus, would come forward at the beck of the 
 Master and overthrow many of their preconceived ideas 
 of religion and the Messiah. They did not realize the 
 significance for Christianity in the step which Andrew, 
 the erstwhile disciple of Jesus, took when he went "and 
 first found his own brother, Simon, saying unto him, we 
 have found the Messiah". They did not know the 
 Messiah as you and I can know Him, even though they 
 saw Him with their physical eyes. 
 
 The question is often asked: Why are some of the 
 cults of today so successful in the dissemination of their 
 heretical teachings and true Christianity often so weak? 
 The answer is simple enough; because the devotees of 
 these cults are made to study Scriptures and the Chris- 
 tians of today do not study them. The question "art 
 thou He that shall come, or do we look for another"? can 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 35 
 
 be answered only as we ask Christ, only as we seek to 
 find Him in His Word, only as we pray the Holy Spirit 
 to unlock the mysteries of the Book which testifies of 
 Him. 
 
IV. 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 John i : 19. 
 
 "This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from 
 Jerusalem priests and levites to ask him, Who art thou?" 
 
 Bearing witness may be termed the great business of 
 life. It is a fundamental principle involving both law and 
 gospel, things temporal and things eternal. That the law 
 cannot be administered without witnesses was early 
 recognized, as is clearly attested in the Deuteronomic 
 code. "At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses 
 shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of 
 one witness shall he not be put to death." And the im- 
 portance of witness bearing is still further emphasized 
 by insisting that witnesses shall throw the first stone upon 
 the culprit adjudged guilty of death. According to this, 
 same law, a false witness was to undergo the exact pun- 
 ishment which would have been meted out to the accused 
 had it been true. Prophecy also recognizes the impor- 
 tance of this function and constitutes Jehovah at one and 
 the same time the judge, prosecutor and witness in deal- 
 ing with His people. He has witnessed the sin of mian. 
 Therefore He bears testimony, accuses and judges. 
 
 Even in Jesus' day the importance of having witnesses 
 is acknowledged by the elders of the Jews who introduce 
 false witnesses against Jesus. Would our testimony have 
 differed materially from that of the leaders of His day? 
 We are concerned on this fourth Sunday in Advent with 
 our own personal testimony concerning ourselves and the 
 relationship we sustain to the Christ. The entire incident 
 recorded in the gospel lesson revolves about the question 
 
 36 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN. ADVENT 37 
 
 "who art thou"? The answer will indicate the relation- 
 ship we sustain to both Christ and the world. It will 
 help us properly to celebrate Christmas Day or it will 
 hinder us from a fulsomfe participation in its blessings. 
 "Who art thou?" was primarily the question of the 
 Jews who sent representatives out into the wilderness 
 across the Jordan river to seek out this wierd prophet 
 whose incisive messages had reached the ears of the 
 Sanhedrin assembled at Jerusalem. It was, as we know, 
 a specific function of the Sanhedrin to guard against 
 false prophets. Time and again such false prophets had 
 arisen and led many astray. Hence it was natural for 
 this conservative body on hearing the reports of the 
 mighty preaching and teaching of John to send repre- 
 sentative men out to obtain information concerning hint 
 and his work at first hand. It is not difficult to picture 
 these spies as they mingle with the great throngs and 
 listen to the words of the Baptist. It is not difficult to 
 conjecture the inspiration which prompted the preacher 
 to recognize their motive in coming to his preaching and 
 their need of a new viewpoint, hence such words as these 
 are addressed directly to them: "even now the axe lieth 
 at the root of the trees : every tree that bringeth not forth 
 good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire". The 
 message of the preacher, his appearance, his great follow- 
 ing, the striking realism of it all is too much for these 
 representative priests and Levites. They are bewildered, 
 and in their bewilderment they recognize the need of a 
 personal interview with John. On approaching him, they 
 find him ready to answer their question. So great has 
 been the impression created upon their minds by what 
 they have seen and heard they begin their questioning 
 by endeavoring to discover whether he believes himself 
 to be the Christ or not. John is, as always, absolutely 
 honest. "And he confessed and denied not, and he con- 
 fessed, I am not the Christ." Throughout many cen- 
 
38 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 turies the world had been preparing for the coming of 
 the Messiah. He could not come ere the fulness of time 
 had dawned, but many signs in Israel's history pointed 
 to the fact that Christ was at last standing before the 
 door. He was to be the great climax in the history of 
 Israel. The one specific function of the law and the 
 prophets was to point the way to Him. This had been 
 done. The synagogue was ready for the Messiah. As 
 it afterward proved it was not ready for a Messiah born 
 in a manger, the friend of sinners and publicans, but it 
 did expect a Messiah. And it was ready to investigate 
 the claims of any false prophets who might present 
 themselves. There was nothing unreasonable in the 
 question they asked him when these things are borne in 
 mind. John did not hesitate for a moment. He was an 
 ideal forerunner of Christ because of his never-failing 
 recognition of the relationship which he sustained toward 
 Christ. "In the midst of you standeth one whom ye know 
 not, even He that cometh after me, the latchet of whose 
 shoe I am not worthy to unloose." In the eyes of many 
 of the populace there could have been little to choose, 
 as they thought, between the forerunner and the Messiah, 
 the disciple and the Master. The disciple alone recog- 
 nized the great chasm between the earth-born and the 
 heaven-born kinsmen. Consequently, on the very day 
 after this interview, as Jesus approaches the Baptist, the 
 Baptist points to him as he says: "Behold the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sins of the world." The one 
 thought uppermost in the mind of the disciple concerning 
 the Messiah is his separateness from mankind and His 
 Mission for mankind. To Isaiah the Holy One meant 
 the separated one. It means that and a little more to 
 John. For Isaiah the Separated One is the Judge. John 
 thinks of Him as the Savior of the world. John cannot 
 honestly claim to be the Christ. He desires no such 
 distinction.' 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY INI ADVENT 39 
 
 Humanity's ideal is to be found in no human leader. 
 As the question is asked of those who are deemed great 
 among men "who art thou" with at least some mten- 
 tion on the part of those who question to determine the 
 possibility of actualizing an ideal there comes in each 
 case either from the lips of the person so addressed or as 
 the resultant of an investigation, the by no means un- 
 certain reply "not the Christ". It seems very strange, 
 does it not, that in our times the test cannot be the direct 
 question in every instance, that men are at times unwilling 
 to make the confession of John, that witnesses must be 
 arrayed against them to disprove their erroneous estimate 
 of themselves. Sin is not the heinous thing it once was. 
 There are so many mitigating circumstances, so many 
 reasons why transgressions occur, which seem to be per- 
 fectly natural, so many disturbances for which no one 
 is responsible, so much reasoning about the divinity in 
 our nature, we have quite forgotten our estrangement 
 from God, quite forgotten that He looms larger 
 than man, quite forgotten the relationship we sustain to 
 Him, quite forgotten that our transgressions have created 
 a chasm which only His love can bridge. We cannot 
 live without an ideal, and our ideal is worth but little if 
 it can either never be realized' or if in being realized it 
 separates us from Christ. John's ideal, John's passion, 
 was Christ and Christ was to him the Lamb of God, the 
 Savior of the world. Art thou the Christ, dear friend, 
 for surely there must be a Messiah, a Christ in your life? 
 Surely the hope of Israel is not a delusion. You must 
 confess, and if you will not, others will do it for you 
 "I am not the Christ". 
 
 The priests and Levites have arrived at a partial con- 
 clusion in their investigation of this strange personage — 
 John. They have heard from his own lips that he does 
 not profess to be the Christ. Their difficulty has, how- 
 ever, not been solved. They have swept aside a con- 
 
40 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 jecture. They must obtain a positive answer. "And 
 they asked him, what then? Art thou Elijah?" It was 
 most natural that they should first have sought to identify 
 John with the Messiah. It was quite logical that in their 
 continued examination they should endeavor to ascertain 
 whether or not he was Elijah. The very last words of 
 the Old Testament associate the coming of the great day 
 of the Lord with the appearance of Elijah. "Behold I 
 will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and 
 terrible day of Jehovah come. And he shall turn the 
 hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of 
 the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the 
 earth with a curse." This was part of the Scripture 
 which the priests and Levites read continually and en- 
 deavored to interpret. And there was no doubt about it, 
 the parallelism between Elijah and John was striking. 
 Both came to proclaim judgment. Both came from the 
 wilderness. Both were austere in manner and ascetic in 
 life. In their preaching and in their baptism there was 
 much similarity. Jesus Himself indicates that the 
 prophecy of Malachi has found its fulfilment in John the 
 Baptist, for as he was coming down from the mountain 
 with His disciples after the Transfiguration and enjoined 
 them to tell the vision to no man, they in turn asked: 
 "Why then, say the scribes, that Elijah must first come?" 
 And Jesus answered them: "I say unto you that Elijah 
 is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto 
 him whatsoever they would." The evangelist adds: 
 "Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them 
 of John the Baptist." Why then does John deny that 
 he is Elijah re-incarnate? Because the Jews had woven 
 round about the prophetic word a mass of tradition; for- 
 getting the original setting and meaning of the Word 
 of God, they awaited the coming of a re-incarnate 
 prophet, disguised to suit their fancy and equipped to 
 do their work. In this sense he was not Elijah. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY INj ADVENT 41 
 
 Who art thou, dear friend, a re-incarnate man of God, 
 cast in a certain mould, with no power of initiative, no 
 distinct mressage, no peculiar environment? Are you 
 willing to be some one other than the self God would 
 have you be? As the first question "art thou the Christ" ? 
 has taken you by storm and has convinced you of your 
 own humility and unworthiness, has convicted you of 
 your sinfulness, the second, "art thou Elijah"? has car- 
 ried you to the mount and has shown you the Lord in 
 the moment of His transfiguration, not as Elijah saw 
 Him, but as you and only you have seen Him, recog- 
 nizing your specific duty and your direct opportunity. 
 Your duty and your opportunity very much resemble the 
 duty and the opportunity of every other Christian, but 
 there is added the individual duty, the individual oppor- 
 tunity which belongs to no one other than you. 
 
 Baffled a second time in their conjectures, the inquirers 
 return to their task of ascertaining the identity of this 
 preacher. "Art thou the Prophet ?" they ask him. Moses 
 had been likened unto a prophet who shall be raised 
 up from among his brethren. John has already denied 
 that he is the Christ. He has denied that he is Elijah. 
 The third question and answer follow in logical sequence. 
 John is not a re-incarnate Moses, nor a re-incarnate 
 Jeremiah, as some supposed. John does not claim the 
 distinction of occupying the chief seat at the table of his 
 Lord, for he knows that self-exaltation brings abasement 
 and that humiliation is the highest type of Christian 
 virtue. 
 
 The inquirers return once more to the question "who 
 art thou"? They acknowledge the insufiiciency of their 
 conjectures by permitting the Baptist to exercise his own 
 discretion in the answer he is to render. He is to respond 
 as he deems best and he does so by applying to himself 
 the prophetic word of Isaiah: "I am the voice of one 
 crying in the wilderness; make straight the way of the 
 
42 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet." The real speaker is 
 the Lord. Isaiah is the chronicler and John the voice. 
 Carrying Israel back in its experiences to the dark days 
 of its history spent in journeying to the promised land, 
 this voice of the Lord would remind Israel of the simili- 
 tude of the promised occasion. Again Israel was spirit- 
 ually wandering, spiritually at sea, spiritually seeking the 
 path to Canaan and the way was opening before it. 
 Israel's new Canaan was not to be a temporal habitation, 
 but an eternal presence of the Lord. Israel's sin was being 
 washed away by John as he brought about the repentance 
 of at least some of those who heard him, but after all the 
 baptism of John was a symbol, not to be compared with 
 the regeneration wrought by Christ. John's answer to the 
 question "who art thou" ? is direct and specific. He is the 
 messenger of Christ, the voice of the Lord, at one with 
 his Master and his God. He is not Christ. He is not 
 Elijah. He is not that prophet. He is the path-breaker 
 of the Messiah for many men and women who other- 
 wise would not have been ready to receive their Lord. 
 And that is just what you are to be during this Advent 
 season, a path-finder for those who have not found the 
 path, a constructionist for those who have lost their grip 
 on the unseen world, a unit in the necessary preparation 
 for the comiing of the Kingdom of God. Who art thou ? 
 perhaps the humblest of the children of God, yet able, 
 by the grace of God, to point the way to those who do 
 not know it to Bethlehem. 
 
V. 
 
 CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 Luke 2:1, 11. 
 
 "Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from 
 Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. 
 
 "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who 
 is Christ the Lord." 
 
 We have assembled this morning to attest our appre- 
 ciation of the initial stages of the greatest fact in the 
 history of the world, a deed so luminous, it at once be- 
 comes the logical line of cleavage between all that has 
 preceded and all that follows. The birth of a babe at 
 Bethlehem at a season of enrollment ordered by Caesar 
 Augustus would not in itself have been an object worthy 
 of the laudation accorded to the nativity, even if that 
 child had, in growing to mature manhood, developed 
 traits of genuine human greatness. In celebrating the 
 birthdays of men of great renown, leaders of their age 
 and of the ages, we do not ordinarily commemorate the 
 environment in which they were born, but rather the 
 heights to which they attained. We admire the steadfast 
 purpose, the undaunted zeal, which leads from the rude 
 frontier hut to the place of unsurpassed supremacy in 
 the affections of a people. The birth of the babe of 
 Bethlehem is unique in the annals of the zvorld, not a.$! 
 the coining into this world of a babe destined to attain 
 human greatness, but as the voluntary surrender by God 
 of prerogatives belonging to Him as God in order that 
 He might in turn assume the divine prerogative of res- 
 cuing humanity from sin and the grave. 
 
 The narrator of the gospel history has not by chance 
 
 43 
 
44 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 included in this day's lesson the name of the reigning 
 monarch of the then-known world. He has not by chance 
 introduced that name at the very beginning of the story, 
 long before the introduction of the name of the babe 
 born in an insignificant village in an outlying district of 
 the great Roman empire, over which Caesar Augustus 
 ruled. Though to some it may appear improper at first 
 sight to associate any other name with the name of Jesus 
 on this day, a more earnest study will convince us of 
 the eminent propriety of following the evangelist's lead- 
 ing in our endeavor to compare and to contrast Caesar 
 Augustus and Jesus the Christ, thereby realizing the 
 supreme significance of the birth of Jesus at the time 
 and under the circumstances recorded. 
 
 In his time and among his countrymen the Roman 
 emperor, designated as Caesar Augustus in the gospel 
 narrative, was perhaps better known as Caius Octavius, 
 a name borne by his father as well. It may be interest- 
 ing to follow the leadings of history and to be informed 
 anew that he was the grand-nephew of Julius Caesar. 
 It may be interesting to recall that he was the man who 
 occupied the throne when the fullness of time, spoken 
 of by the prophets, had come, reigning as he did until 
 the year 14 of the Christian era, though born in the year 
 63 of the pre-Christian era. Named as Caesar's heir in 
 the last will of the dictator, he proceeded to Rome after 
 the assassination of his illustrious ancestor. First one 
 of a triumvirate, later, the sole ruler of Rome, Octavius 
 was proclaimed emperor of the country which ceased to 
 be a republic and began its existence as an empire. Soon 
 after the title Augustus was accorded the new Caesar 
 and the process was begun by him whereby he gradually 
 and craftily assumed an arbitrary control of the world- 
 empire of his day. We cannot here trace the steps he 
 took to subordinate first the Senate and then the ever- 
 growing military power of Rome. As by magic he 
 
CH:RISTMAS day 45 
 
 rebuilt or built anew temples of the gods and' prominent 
 among them all, the temple of Julius Caesar in the forum 
 itself. He ordered the construction of great military 
 highways, connecting every part of his vast empire, all 
 of these highways leading from or to Rome. He per- 
 mitted divine honors to be paid to the emperor of Rome 
 as the embodiment of the Roman state. He established 
 a two-fold office of priests, the provincial priests and the 
 city priests, the former, under his direct supervision, 
 taking precedence and carrying out his wishes. Rome 
 had grown mightily. Within the confines of the city of 
 Rome and within the borders of the empire Judaism 
 existed, but only as a despised, rebellious outcast race of 
 perverts, seditiously inclined, in open antagonism to the 
 military and spiritual power of the empire. The real 
 god of Rome was the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, 
 whose conspiracies had established his throne, whose zeal 
 was primarily directed to the perpetuation of his own 
 name and that of his family, who stepped' upon the dead 
 bodies of fallen foes and had little or no time for the 
 reeking conditions of immorality in his empire or even 
 in his home until it was entirely too late to rectify them. 
 In all the tabulation of the gods of the nations of all 
 ages there is no more flagrant illustration of their noth- 
 ingness than that afforded by the god of Rome as he 
 came to be designated and known in the provinces. There 
 was no dearth of outward pomp and magnificence. Rome 
 was a mighty empire. The Caesar of Rome was a 
 mighty but soulless man, at once emperor and slave. 
 
 Have you ever arrayed side by side the contemporaries, 
 the emperor of Rome and the King of Kings? Thus 
 and thus alone you will be able to understand the sig- 
 nificance of this day and season. A comparison such as 
 this completely disproves the validity of human standards 
 in the solution of the problems of life and introduces a 
 new standard for our consideration. Caesar Augustus 
 
46 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 represents human power at its height. A mighty general, 
 he leads his armies, after the cessation of foreign hos- 
 tilities into the camps of his own countrymen, engaged 
 in civil strife, subdues one after the other of his enemies, 
 enters the very camp of his rival, by his pleadings per- 
 suades his erstwhile enemies to be his followers and 
 establishes a temporal reign of vast power and extent. 
 On the other hand, Jesus Christ represents human help- 
 lessness at its height. The leader of a little band of 
 fishermen and untutored Galileans, he is driven from 
 his own hamlet by a hostile group of his fellow citizens, 
 he is despised and rejected of men in a rural province, 
 forsaken by his own disciples, his own claims of royalty 
 mocked by the putting upon his head a crown of thorns 
 and in his hand a reed, the same claims still further 
 caricatured by the inscription placed upon the cross: 
 "Jesus of Nazareth (not of Rome), the King of the 
 Jews" (not of the Romans). Surely his words found 
 their fulfilment: "My Kingdom is not of this world." 
 Have you ever thought of Caesar Augustus and Jesus 
 Christ as the exponents of diametrically opposed pro- 
 grams for their constituency? We cannot stop to speak 
 of the line of cleavage in their home relationships, of 
 the disparity between Rome and Bethlehem or Nazareth, 
 nor of the many things that tended to separate these 
 two kings. The real lesson for this day lies in the 
 presentation of the diametrically opposed programs of 
 Caesar and Jesus. 
 
 Augustus realized that Rome must have a ruler. His 
 view was that later stated academically by the Philosopher 
 Hobbes in asserting that man's natural tendencies are 
 "self-regarding". Caesar would bring men to his feet. 
 He would wage warfare until he had accomplished his 
 purpose. He did accomplish that purpose tempo- 
 rarily. The program of Caesar Augustus was a program 
 of dictatorship, his conscience was the law of Rome, his 
 
CHRISTMAS DAY 47 
 
 purpose the exaltation of self, which, of course, included 
 the exaltation of Rome as a necessary factor. Perhaps 
 we would not be too harsh in our judgment of Augustus 
 if we fully realized that he but expressed the legal pro- 
 gram and attitude of Rome, which, as was later shown 
 in the trial of Jesus, was not altogether unlike the legal- 
 istic program and life of Israel. 
 
 As over against a purpose such as this, the purpose 
 indicated in Christ's coming into the world and an- 
 nounced by the angel to the shepherds upon the fields 
 of Bethlehem is simply unique and marks an era in the 
 history of the world, in its thought and in its life. Of 
 course, you remember the message: "Be not afraid; 
 for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which 
 shall be to all the people: for there is born unto you 
 this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the 
 Lord. And this is a sign unto you: ye shall find a babe 
 wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger." 
 The chorus of the accompanying host is the essential 
 consummation of the message: "Glory to God' in the 
 highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he 
 is well pleased." Thus the message is not by heralds 
 who have been specially chosen, specially commissioned, 
 specially appareled, specially drilled, to proclaim the 
 assumption of the crown by a ruler of the world, but it 
 is the message of God to the children of men, announced 
 by those who appreciate and fully understand the sig- 
 nificance of the errand upon which they have been sent. 
 Caesar Augustus, the slayer of men; Jesus Christ, the 
 Savior of men! For ages and ages in the economy of 
 the world individuality had been emphasized by a process 
 of self-regarding. Even the kings and prophets of Israel 
 were not free from guilt in this respect. Moses the law- 
 giver placed himself, his own personality, his own inter- 
 ests, his own misgivings so prominently in the path of 
 God, he temporarily at times obstructed God's plan for 
 
48 SERMONS! ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 men and their salvation. For the first time in the econ- 
 omy of the world individuality was to achieve power and 
 bestow it upon others by self-renunciation, self-sacrifice. 
 "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world," this 
 was a motto of the early Christians. The fact expressed 
 by the words "Savior of the world" was unique in its 
 realization. As an idea it had been thought of before, 
 but as a fact it had never been an object of thought. 
 Now in a single moment of time the angelic message 
 conveyed to the shepherds as trustees of the ages and 
 the peoples changes the idealism of prophets, the intima- 
 tions of heathen philosophers, the incoherent desires of 
 the nations into a reality. The oftentimes meaningless 
 sacrifices of Israel, meaningless to the prophets, wrongly 
 significant to the people, become surcharged with mean- 
 ing, as the embodiment of an idea never realized until 
 realized in the manger at Bethlehem. The greatest prin- 
 ciple in all the world was suddenly actualized as the 
 passion history of Jesus began at Bethlehem. It is not 
 because others have chanted a refrain, but "we believe, 
 for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is 
 indeed the Savior of the world". 
 
 Friends, let us not shrink from the truth! Let us be 
 perfectly frank and honest in admitting with all our 
 hearts that the Incarnation was rendered necessary, not 
 because Caesar Augustus was a monster of iniquity be- 
 side whom all other men, all other rulers sink into insig- 
 nificance, but because he was sinxply a representative, 
 and a worthy representative of his time, as he would 
 undoubtedly have been looked upon as a worthy repre- 
 sentative of our time if it were not for the Incarnation. 
 Even today the estimate of Caesar Augustus is apt to be 
 very conservative among those who endeavor to eliminate 
 Christ and His influence from their lives. Picture your 
 life and mine without Christ and you have a portrait of 
 Caesar Augustus. Perhaps the sins which loom largest 
 
CHRISTMAS DAY 49 
 
 in him are subordinate to other sins in others who live 
 without Christ, but the effect is the same, because all 
 those who live without Christ cannot help but be mon- 
 sters of iniquity. 
 
 There are stages in human conduct and life which stand 
 for attitudes toward religion. In the first stage, no 
 apologies are needed for the transgression of law, for 
 where law is divorced from religion it is not intended for 
 those who are in authority and exercises no sway over 
 those who do not admit its validity, as is the case with 
 those who deem themselves enlightened. The first stage 
 is that of the man and woman who beckon to their neigh- 
 bors and say: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we 
 die. This was the stage and the attitude of Caesar 
 Augustus, as it is the plane of existence of those who, in 
 their personal life, repudiate religion, even though they 
 may build temples and sacrifice to the gods as a harmless 
 custom and one to be encouraged for the sake of the 
 masses. 
 
 In the second stage, apologies are needed, for there 
 is a recognition of the validity and the hardness of the 
 law. Life is lived in accordance with certain standards 
 because the world holds these standards to be essential 
 to the welfare of society. Man conforms to them not 
 because he is convinced of the rightness of his action per 
 se, but because he would be ashamed of being caught in 
 doing what is considered wrong. To him God is law, and 
 he lives a life of serfdom to the law while cherishing 
 anarchic thoughts within his heart. Let us go a step 
 further, and admit that there may be men and women 
 who, without positive religious convictions, may look 
 up to, prize and reverence law, yet are they not slaves, 
 serving man-made, hence imperfect, ordinances? 
 
 These are the pictures of man without Christ. You 
 must paint him either as a slave or an anarchist, a slave 
 to law, a slave to sin, a slave to society, a slave to him- 
 
50 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 self, or an anarchist because, with Caesar Augustus, he 
 is ready to reign at any price, treading men under foot 
 and crushing out their lives for the good of self or the 
 state. 
 
 There is a third stage of human life and conduct 
 which, admitting the fallacy and the sin in the two stages 
 pictured, the absolute injustice on the one hand of 
 trampling the law under foot, and, on the other hand, 
 the sin of making the law to be one's god, rests its claims 
 solely upon the gospel of the love of God, a love which 
 manifests itself most clearly in the sending forth of 
 Jesus Christ to be the Redeemer of the world. If there 
 need be a choice today, and there must be, between Caesar 
 Augustus, not as a power ordained of God, but as a god, 
 and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, it will not be difficult 
 for you to decide the question. 
 
 We are interested in the little pilgrimage from Naz- 
 areth to Bethlehem many, many years ago, in the sojourn 
 without the inn, in the birth of the babe of Bethlehem, 
 in the shepherds and the angelic message, because these 
 incidents are parts of the most wonderful story ever 
 told, parts of the greatest fact in the history of the 
 world, parts of the deed of God that shall go ringing 
 down through the ages as fathers and sons, mothers and 
 daughters recognizing the personal equation in it all 
 shall catch up and continue to sound forth the refrain: 
 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among 
 men in whom he is well pleased." 
 
VI. 
 SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 Luke 2: 17-20. 
 
 "And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying 
 Avhich was spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard 
 it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shep- 
 herds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. 
 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the 
 things that they had heard and seen even as it was spoken unto 
 themi." 
 
 The gospel lesson for Christmas Day is incomplete 
 without the lesson for the second Christmas Day. The 
 gospel lesson for Christmas Day contains the great an- 
 nouncement of the manifestation of God's love for man- 
 kind. The lesson for this day is its sequel. Yesterday 
 we saw the shepherds upon the field listening to the 
 angel's story while watching their flocks. Today we see 
 those same shepherds deciding to leave their flocks for 
 a little while in order that they might verify the angel's 
 announcement and accept his invitation. Today's gospel 
 speaks to us of the successive steps in our Christian life 
 as it reminds us of the manner in which the Christ Child 
 is revealed unto and within us, for after all, the method 
 pursued in the instance of the shepherds is that still 
 pursued in your life and in mine. 
 
 The Christ was revealed to the shepherds first of all 
 through hearing. In this respect their faith was engen- 
 dered in the manner indicated as the normal method of 
 procedure by Paul in his epistle to the Romans. In the 
 seventeenth verse of the tenth chapter of that letter Paul 
 says: "So belief cometh of hearing and hearing by the 
 
 51 
 
52 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 word of Christ." It was not only the word of the Father 
 transmitted through the medium of angels to which the 
 shepherds listened out there upon the field, they were 
 listening as well to the word of the eternal Christ Who 
 had surrendered certain prerogatives voluntarily that He 
 might be born of a virgin. Had the shepherds been un- 
 willing or unprepared to listen when the glory of the 
 Lord, in which the angel appeared, shone round about 
 them, they would have sacrificed the prestige which has 
 been theirs from that day to this. Was it not because 
 they were more ready to hear, because they were more 
 receptive than were the leaders of the people, the Phari- 
 sees and Scribes, the rich and the learned, the priests 
 and the high-priest, that the angel appeared to them 
 rather than to the standard bearers of Israelitic religion ? 
 They whose ears had become acute in the stillness of a 
 night that might forebode either life or death for the 
 flocks committed to their care were more ready to receive 
 the angel's message than were they whose nightly wrang- 
 lings about matters concerning the law had forced them 
 to stop their own ears for which they had less use than 
 for their tongues. The shepherds had found it not only 
 desirable, but very necessary to develop their faculties 
 for intensive use. Their solitary occupation demanded 
 the cultivation of the sense of hearing and then the culti- 
 vation of their sense of sight. The former of these facul- 
 ties needed to be exercised during the watches of the 
 night, the latter during the watches of the day. The 
 environment of these shepherds fitted them for their life 
 work, but this environment would not in itself have fitted 
 them for their work if they had not studied their environ- 
 ment. How many Christians of today are there who 
 never advance very far in their Christianity because 
 neither eyes nor ears have been trained, and, of course, 
 hearts and minds are, to a certain extent at least, depen- 
 dent upon eyes and ears. There is something very fascin- 
 
SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY 53 
 
 ating about the stories of the American Indians, whose 
 trained ears and eyes have made it possible for them 
 to scent danger where their white companions have 
 neither seen nor heard anything. If it is necessary to 
 cultivate the faculties which God has given us that we 
 may be ready to meet the problems of our every-day 
 temporal life, how much more necessary is it to practice 
 hearing in our spiritual life ere we shall essay to be 
 teachers. How necessary it is also to distinguish between 
 the voice of the good shepherd and the voice of the hire- 
 ling or the robber. The shepherds on Bethlehemi's field 
 recognized the voice of the angel as the voice of the good 
 shepherd and followed that voice to its source. The voice 
 to which they were permitted to listen was not a voice 
 of alarm but of encouragement, not a danger signal, but 
 a call of relief and helpfulness. The news of the coming 
 of the Christ Child very naturally produced astonish- 
 ment. The shepherds on hearing the news were aston- 
 ished. "And all that heard it wondered at the things 
 which were spoken unto them by the shepherds." 
 Wherever the news traveled it was received in the same 
 way. 
 
 The second step in the revelation of the Christ 
 Child must be a sense of astonishment. Otherwise we 
 could not legitimately look upon it as news of a vital 
 sort. Perhaps the nearest appproach to the intensity of 
 the astonishment produced by the coming of the Christ 
 Child upon the minds of the shepherds in our own day 
 was the sense of utter astonishment when in the early 
 days of August, 1914, we read of events which were 
 happening which somehow left us staggering as we 
 realized that the very foundations of the world were 
 being shaken. The inadequacy of the religious life of 
 most of us is due to the fact that the news of the coming 
 of Jesus Christ into this world has gripped us less 
 effectively than the announcement of the beginning of 
 
54 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the world war. The news of the coming of Jesus Christ 
 is constructive, that of the downfall of nations is destruc- 
 tive. We are better fitted to receive and communicate 
 information concerning the world's destructive agencies 
 than we are to receive and communicate the plans of 
 God for man's salvation. The astonishment of all that 
 heard the news in Jesus' day need not trouble us nearly 
 as much as the indifiference with which the news is re- 
 ceived in our own day. The foundations of the world 
 must be shaken if the world is to be rebuilt. The foun- 
 dations of individual life need to be shaken if the indi- 
 vidual soul is to be aroused from its torpor and made 
 fully awake and alive to the presence of the Christ in 
 our world. The coming of Jesus Christ into the world 
 produced astonishment. The teaching of the twelve-year- 
 old boy and of the mature man produced astonishment. 
 The miracles of the Christ produced astonishment. The 
 answers of Jesus produced astonishment. The death of 
 Jesus produced astonishment. The resurrection of Jesus 
 produced astonishment. The appearance of the risen 
 Christ produced astonishment. The ascension of Christ 
 produced astonishment. Real Christians of today must 
 be astonished that these facts no longer produce astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 We are told that "Mary kept all these sayings, 
 pondering them in her heart". This constitutes the third 
 step in the revelation of the Christ Child within our 
 lives. If we would know anything about the Christ we 
 must open our ears to the gospel proclamation of the 
 angels as did the shepherds. If we have opened our 
 ears to this message and have caught its significance we 
 must have been stunned just a bit. Our astonishment 
 is not, however, to be the last step in our Christian devel- 
 opment. Astonishment must yield to meditation. Why 
 are we told all these things? Is there no purpose in the 
 proclamation? Is there no relationship between the 
 
SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY 55 
 
 various parts of this gospel proclamation? Is there no 
 point of contact between the birth of Christ and His 
 passion and death ? Is there no relationship between His 
 death and His resurrection ? Is the resurrection of Christ 
 not closely associated with His ascension? Is His ascen- 
 sion not closely associated with the outpouring of the 
 Holy Spirit? You see, do you not, why it is necessary 
 for Simeon to chill a mother's optimism a bit by an- 
 nouncing to her: "Behold, this child is set for the falling 
 and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which is 
 spoken against: yea and a sword shall pierce through 
 thine own soul; that thoughts out of many hearts may 
 be revealed." Mary needed to place side by side the 
 various messages concerning Jesus for the establishment 
 of a true as over against a false faith in her own heart. 
 She was perhaps the least ostentatious, but the most 
 hopeful of those who had received the message. The 
 sort of meditation in which we can only engage after 
 having heard the entire angelic sermon, the sort of medi- 
 tation in which we can engage only after having listened 
 to the Christ Himself, the sort of meditation that cannot 
 be finished in a noon-day service or a half hour at home, 
 the sort of meditation that requires concentration and 
 much time, the pondering of these things for years as 
 Mary did, this is the sort of meditation that can alone 
 bring us nearer the goal of an adequate revelation of the 
 Christ Child. Luther said that prayer, meditation and 
 temptation go to the making of a theologian. These 
 things go into the making of the child of God as well. 
 The fourth step in the revelation of the Christ Child 
 within us is the voluntary, gladsome proclamation to 
 others of the news which we ourselves have received. 
 The story tells us that "when they saw it, they made 
 known concerning the saying which was spoken to them 
 about this child". They had heard and they had seen. 
 They, the shepherds, were to be the first pastors and 
 
56 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 preachers of Christ from among men. They were no 
 more tutored in speech than were the disciples when they 
 first became disciples of Christ. They had no training in 
 the accompaniments of oratory. They had a message. 
 That was all. That was all that was necessary. Paul 
 Revere was the sort of preacher they were. He had a 
 message and it was necessary to communicate his message 
 as rapidly as possible to the greatest number of persons. 
 Paul Revere's message as his steed went galloping down 
 the village street was conveyed with somewhat of the 
 intensity with which the shepherds made known concern- 
 ing the things spoken to them about this child. Paul 
 Revere simply could not do otherwise than he did and, 
 of course, the shepherds could not have done otherwise 
 than they did. If the passion to tell your friends some- 
 thing about your own hopes and something about your 
 own faith has never taken hold of you there has been 
 no adequate revelation of the Christ within you. If you 
 believe Jesus Christ to be the light of the world and then 
 try to hide that light under a bushel, you are a traitor 
 both to Him and to yourself. If you wish to know 
 why it is that orthodox Christianity has fallen into dis- 
 repute and why it is that false teachings have become 
 popular, you need but ask yourself how much time you 
 have spent and are spending in the proclamation of what 
 you believe to be the truth. We need more shepherds, 
 more physicians like Luke, more tentmakers like Paul, 
 more men and women engaged in the walks of everyday 
 life whose one great absorbing passion it is and shall 
 be to know Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The laity 
 cannot, with any degree of justice or success, absolve 
 itself by placing the blame for things as they are upon 
 an inefficient ministry. We have said the shepherds were 
 not professional preachers, but they were convincing 
 witnesses of the Word which they disseminated. 
 
 We have traced the steps which are necessary in order 
 
SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY 57 
 
 that the Christ Child may be revealed to us and within us. 
 But one thing remains to be said. The shepherds under- 
 went a very remarkable transformation because of their 
 experiences. We read "and the shepherds returned, 
 glorifying and praising God for all the things that they 
 had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them". 
 A little while ago as we looked upon them huddled to- 
 gether on Bethlehem's field we saw that they were sore 
 afraid. They had had many experiences in their lonely 
 careers as shepherds, some of them undoubtedly quite 
 uncanny. They had never had any experience such as 
 that which had now become part of their lives. It was 
 not surprising that they were afraid. It is equally patent 
 that, having heard the angel's message, having gone to 
 Bethlehem, having seen the Christ Child, having been 
 permitted to proclaim the good tidings to others, they 
 returned in a different frame of mind. They had seen 
 the Christ. It speaks well for them that their real 
 Christmas celebration did not occur while on the way to 
 Bethlehem, nor while at the manger, but that their real 
 Christmas celebration was a subsequent act. They could 
 not join with the angels in the "Glory to God in the 
 highest" while filled with astonishment and amazement, 
 but they did join with the Samaritan healed of his 
 leprosy in not forgetting the mercies of God as soon as 
 those mercies had manifested themselves unto them. As 
 the shepherds return to their alloted tasks in life they 
 are lost to view, but their work is not ended. Their 
 hymns of praise and thanksgiving sing themselves down 
 through the ages. Our lives have been strengthened be- 
 cause of our contact with their lives, just as their lives 
 have been strengthened because of their contact with the 
 Christ Child. 
 
VII. 
 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Luke 2:34, 35, 38. 
 
 "And Simeon blessed them and said mito Mary his mother, Be- 
 hold, this child is set for the falling and rising up of many in 
 Israel ; and for a sign which is spoken against ; yea and a sword 
 shall pierce through thine own soul ; that thoughts out of many 
 hearts may be revealed. 
 
 "And coming up at that very hour she (Anna) gave thanks unto 
 God and spake of him to all that were looking for the redemption of 
 Jerusalem." 
 
 It is not the easiest thing imaginable to take a child 
 from imderneath the branches of the Christmas tree, 
 from toys that are alluring, from new books that have a 
 peculiar charm, from sweets that are tempting, and from 
 companions filled with the joyous spirit of Christmas- 
 tide that evinces itself in a local setting, to a nook opposite 
 the tree in order to speak to the child seriously and 
 wholeheartedly of the real meaning of the birth of Jesus 
 into this world. Difficult as the task may be, it is im- 
 portant and essential if the child is to learn one of the 
 greatest lessons of life. As it is not easy to draw the 
 child from its toys, it is sometimes very much more 
 difficult to draw adults from a purely superficial, tem- 
 poral celebration, from feastings and journeyings, from 
 good-natured felicitations and buoyant hilarity to a seri- 
 ous consideration of the meaning of the nativity. And 
 yet that is just exactly what the gospel lesson for this 
 day seeks to achieve. Joseph and Mary have been bask- 
 ing in the joyous realization of a new life. The troubled 
 journey to Bethlehem is ended. The shepherds have 
 
 58 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 59 
 
 appeared and have worshipped and lauded the babe in 
 the manger at Bethlehem. Others have followed in the 
 train of the shepherds until the foster father and the 
 mother are bewildered and marvel at the homage paid 
 their child. Joseph and Mary are not to suffer the effects 
 of an illusion. They are not to go further without being 
 informed of the real significance of this child's birth and, 
 lest those who have been anxiously waiting for the con- 
 solation of Israel shall be deceived into believing false 
 teachings and shall be aroused to false hopes, they, too, 
 are to be recipients of an important message. This day's 
 sermon is addressed to those who are Christ's and to 
 them who ought to be Christ's and speaks to them clearly 
 of the life which is to be theirs in consequence of this 
 birth. 
 
 There are two very distorted views of Christian life 
 and its manifestation current among us. According to 
 the first of these opinions Christianity cannot be thought 
 of otherwise than as a constant feeling of buoyancy, a 
 constant joy, an undying sense of pleasure and gratifica- 
 tion. The story of the man who was very successful 
 in his daily work because he made it a rule of his life 
 to be cheerful at all times impresses our age much more 
 than the story of the prophets whose burdens were at 
 times almost too heavy for them and caused them to be 
 very much dejected, or even the story of "the Man of 
 Sorrows" Who was acquainted with grief. One of the 
 fundamental teachings of a sect in our midst that has 
 been making inroads among us, concerns the cheerful 
 demeanor of its devotees toward each other and those 
 without their own fold. In the ranks of this sect it is 
 looked upon as heresy to vent grief, to express sorrow, 
 to acknowledge pain, to be downcast. Religion to such 
 persons as these is an onward march toward the light, 
 and there must be no obstacles, no obstructions of any 
 sort, no hindrances placed in the path. It is necessary 
 
6-0 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 to ignore or discount shadows. Many critics of the 
 Christian church assume this attitude in their discus- 
 sions concerning the necessary manifestation of Chris- 
 tian Hfe. 
 
 According to the second distorted view of Christianity 
 current among us, a view not held by the critics of the 
 church, but by some devout members of the church, 
 Christianity cannot be thought of seriously otherwise 
 than as a groaning by night and by day, an agonizing 
 which, though it cannot find adequate expression, is 
 intelligible to a large circle. It is the spirit of the mon- 
 astery and the convent, the spirit of the desert and the 
 wilderness, the outburst of the only remembered word 
 of psalmody: "how long, O Lord, how long"? It sees 
 no legitimate pleasure in the Christmas tree. It has no 
 place for carols in its hymnody. Christianity consists in 
 one torment after the other, with no joy in sight until 
 the gates of heaven are reached. 
 
 The gospel lesson for this day indicates very clearly 
 that the whole truth cannot be found in either of these 
 views of life, that Christianity is neither, on the one 
 hand, a constant manifestation of outward joy and 
 pleasure, nor, on the other hand, a manifestation of 
 unyielding pain and loneliness and sorrow. The grand- 
 parent seated on the couch over against the Christmas 
 tree, having experienced the various moods of life, having 
 remained true to the gospel of Christ throughout life, is 
 best fitted to tell both children and adults somewhat of 
 the meaning of Jesus' birth. The aged prophet and 
 prophetess, who have spent so much of life in and near 
 the temple, are well fitted to speak to us today as they 
 desire to convey the message of the two-fold meaning 
 and manifestation of Christian life. Joy and sorrow, 
 peace and war, happiness and unhappiness, these opposing 
 factors are to continue their existence upon earth, not 
 in the confused, at times muffled, indistinct intermingling 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 6'i 
 
 hitherto noticeable, but in a clearly defined, well-under- 
 stood, appreciable struggle within the same breast of 
 emotions diametrically opposed to each other. The 
 preaching of Simeon and of Anna outlined in this day's 
 lesson is radically different, and yet they do not disagree. 
 On the other hand, they emphasize supplementary truths. 
 In considering these truths separately and then molding 
 them into a closely welded conception of Christian life we 
 shall have accomplished a very concrete and important 
 purpose. 
 
 Transitional eras demand heroic figures. The period 
 of turning from a covenant of type to a covenant of 
 fulfilment calls for patience, calmness, a keen vision and, 
 above all, an invincible faith. If we could throw upon 
 the screen the portraitures of those who were chosen 
 to take part in this great era we should undoubtedly call 
 forth many expressions of astonishment at the unthought 
 of resources of God called into play whenever the occa- 
 sion demands. Of all the heroes of this era undoubtedly 
 John the Baptist stands first, but Simeon is not far 
 behind. An aged man, he appears upon the scene with 
 all the authority of the past. An interested participant 
 in the greatest deed of his day, he appears before us 
 as one vitally interested in the present. A seer of re- 
 markable vision, he appears to all ages the leader of a 
 great choir whose sphere it is throughout the ages to 
 chant a hymn of praise and of salvation. The message 
 of this remarkable man, not in and through the words 
 of the Nunc Dimittis, but as it is addressed to Mary 
 specifically is of vast significance to all who are willing 
 to ascribe allegiance to the new-born king. "Behold, this 
 child is set for the falling and rising up of many in 
 Israel ; and for a sign which is spoken against ; yea, and 
 a sword shall pierce through thine own soul ; that thoughts 
 out of many hearts may be revealed." Simeon rightly 
 distinguished between the sham religion of his day and 
 
6f2 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 real religion. He knew there must be a separation of the 
 chaff from the wheat. He knew there were many round 
 about him engaging in the temple service, many eagerly 
 repeating the terms "Lord, Lord" who did not know 
 their Lord and would not know Him on His appearance. 
 He recognized, as few of his age did, the line of cleavage 
 which would be established forever by the coming of the 
 Christ Child. He could see with prophetic eye the sep- 
 aration being effected whereby fathers and mothers, 
 brothers and sisters, relatives and friends in confessing 
 or rejecting Christ, were to assert a greater than human 
 love, and sacrifice at great cost purely temporal relation- 
 ships. Simeon did not mean that there would be suc- 
 cessive troughs and crests on the great sea of the history 
 of Israel. The fallings and risings are not the falling 
 and rising of Israel, but the falling and rising of 
 many in Israel. These words of Simeon apply to 
 us. The coming of the Christ Child has already 
 influenced the Hves of those here present. The impor- 
 tance of this event must be conveyed to you in such 
 a way that you, with Mary, will realize the impossibility 
 of the establishment of perfect peace and the impossi- 
 bility of continuing as before. Nothing is more tragical 
 in all this world than the offense of the cross. Nothing 
 is more serious to the earnest Christian pastor than the 
 final decision of individual men and women who for a 
 season have attended religious instruction that they can- 
 not take the final step and seal their desire to know Jesus 
 with the public confession of Jesus. Recently a pastor 
 who had had such an experience spoke about it to a 
 member of his parish who is engaged in active business 
 life. This man said: "Surely you cannot expect to win 
 every person you come into contact with. In business 
 we do not expect to win out every time." There is a 
 great difference, however, between commercial contracts 
 and human souls. The commercial contract if not won 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMiAS 6'3 
 
 by one man is won by another. The commercial contract 
 is of temporal value at best to the man who ultimately 
 wins it, but the soul is of eternal value, and if not won 
 for Christ, must be the property of Satan. There are 
 no half-way measures. There is no justification for the 
 display of a lukewarm tendency. The nativity must pro- 
 duce one of two effects in your life, either your fall or 
 your rise. Which shall it be? 
 
 Perhaps your indecision, if there has been such, has 
 been due to what others have said about this child. We 
 shall touch, in a subsequent sermon, upon some of the 
 enemies of Christ. It is necessary at this point simply 
 to point out that if this sign has been spoken against 
 during twenty centuries, history has but fulfilled the 
 prophecy of Simeon and has stressed the truth and 
 validity of his message. But if you with Mary do be- 
 lieve in this child, if you with her are going to be true 
 to the child, whatever may occur, you with her must 
 be reminded that your life as a Christian will not assert 
 itself uninterruptedly as a pleasant, delightful, sunny 
 journey. If you are going to be true to Christ and be- 
 cause of your loyalty to Him true to your neighbors, if 
 there is to be in your hearts a consuming passion that all 
 persons may come to a knowledge of the truth in Christ, 
 you will undoubtedly feel the coldness of the steel pressed 
 against your heart, the sharp pain as the blade pierces it, 
 and the consequent weakness as your life-blood is ebbing 
 in the service of the Christ. You will recognize the 
 injustice meted out to Jesus and you will suffer with 
 Him. The tears of the peasants who witness the 
 Oberammergau Passion Play are not to be looked upon 
 as superstitious trifles as they are by some American 
 tourists, but as the expression of a compassion and suf- 
 fering much more vital than that of some of the critics 
 of those who cannot control their feelings as they view 
 a regularly recurrent spectacle of the agony and death of 
 
64 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Jesus for the sins of the world. Perhaps this emphasis 
 upon Simeon's message has been sufficient to point out 
 the fallacy of any conception of Christian life which 
 ignores the thorns and thistles, the wounds and sores, 
 the sin and sorrow in our environment. The life of the 
 Christian is not an easy thing. 
 
 Simeon, a righteous and devout man, a gentleman of 
 the old and true school, has been commissioned to bring 
 a trying message to Mary, a mother ever to be known 
 as the mother of sorrows. Anna, a prophetess whose 
 austerity is implied, if not directly expressed, is chosen 
 on the other hand, to bring a message of good will and 
 cheer, a gospel, to all them that were looking for the 
 redemption of Israel. There can be no greater contrast 
 than that here displayed. Simeon addressing Mary in 
 terms of moderation and reserve and gentle warning; 
 Anna, the prophetess, addressing the masses in unmis- 
 takable terms of gratitude for the salvation that has 
 been wrought, a sermon growing out of her prayer of 
 thanksgiving. Thus is illustrated the wonderful adapt- 
 ability of our Christian life to the circumstances which 
 environ us. We are to be all things to all men. We 
 can rejoice with those who rejoice and we naturally 
 weep with those who weep. Simeon asserts and illu- 
 strates the attitude to be assumed in dealing with our- 
 selves in the spirit of self-examination. We are not to 
 be deluded with false hopes, false dreams, false ambi- 
 tions, false desires. This very process of self-examina- 
 tion will fit us to look out upon the world as we should 
 and as Anna has taught us, with deeply grateful hearts, 
 ready and anxious to proclaim to others the unsearch- 
 able riches of God contained in unfathomable and inex- 
 haustible mines of grace and truth. 
 
 Place Simeon and Anna side by side. Appropriate 
 the message of one as of the other and you will under- 
 stand somewhat of the meaning of the well-developed, 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 6's 
 
 fully-rounded Christian life, a life that is happy and 
 serious at once, a life that knows a peace and joy that 
 pass understanding, a life which, in spending itself for 
 others, is endeavoring to follow in the footsteps of Him 
 Who is alike the Light of the world and the Lamb of 
 God. 
 
VIII. 
 
 NEW YEAR. 
 
 Luke 2: 21. 
 
 "And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcizing him, his 
 name was called Jesusi, which was so called by the angel before 
 he was conceived in the womb." 
 
 Ought we be willing to pass from the old year into the 
 new without a bit of reflection concerning the significance 
 of the step which we are forced to take whether we 
 like it or not ? Perhaps we have misused our opportuni- 
 ties in the past, perhaps the year that closed last night 
 was spent in dreaming, in useless endeavor, in the doing 
 of harmful things, in the thinking of harmful thoughts, 
 in the speaking of harmful words. We are to think of 
 the past just long enough to acknowledge our folly, just 
 long enough to think of and thank God for mercies that 
 have been new with every recurring day and having 
 done that we are to reflect for a little while upon the 
 immediate future. We are to know that each new year 
 marks a crisis in our lives, a threshold we are to cross, 
 a new room we are to enter, a new temple to be occu- 
 pied, a new life to be lived. Each new year is just one 
 additional opportunity God affords us to mend our ways 
 and come to true repentance ere the day of grace be 
 ended. It is most appropriate, therefore, that we should 
 have assembled in God's house this morning to give heed 
 to the one verse that constitutes the gospel lesson for 
 this day. The one thing this verse would teach us above 
 everything else concerns the normal progression of re- 
 ligion in life. We are to weigh our lives this day in the 
 
 66 
 
NEW YEAR 67 
 
 scales of religious certitude, of religious progress or of 
 religious retardation. How far have we come and how 
 far shall we be able to get before our journey is ended? 
 As we think of the beginnings of religion in the indi- 
 vidual life we are amazed at the rapid and successive 
 strides in the life of Jesus. The days of the new year 
 are to be associated with days of babyhood and child- 
 hood. The new year is to present to us new opportuni- 
 ties to become like unto one of these little children. We 
 are permitted to go one step further and say the new 
 year is a new opportunity to follow and have our chil- 
 dren follow in the steps of the Christ Child. As we study 
 the life of this manger babe and as we ask ourselves 
 again when ought religion begin in the life of the indi- 
 vidual the answer is clearly indicated in this day's gospel 
 lesson. The last words of the verse must not be passed 
 over in silence. They must not be slurred over be- 
 cause of mock modesty. They are too important to be 
 ignored. The name of Jesus was so named by the angel 
 before he was conceived in the womb of Mary. The ref- 
 erence in this second chapter of Luke is to the explicit 
 statement found in the first chapter in which we are told 
 how "the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city 
 of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to 
 a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; 
 and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came in unto 
 her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the 
 Lord is with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the 
 saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation 
 this might be. And the angel said unto her. Fear not, 
 Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And be- 
 hold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth 
 a son, and shalt call his name Jesus." We are amazed 
 at the deliberateness of the story, the natural or rather 
 the supernatural, orderly progression of events. We 
 learn from it all that the religious life of Jesus began 
 
6"8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 before His conception and we are to learn as well that 
 the religious Hfe of the child entrusted to us by a loving 
 Father is not to begin at some time or other after birth, 
 but at some time preceding conception. How carefully 
 we prepare for every phase of life except the religious. 
 How tenderly we think of the advent of the little one 
 and how busy we are to see that nothing has been for- 
 gotten, nothing neglected that will lend to his comfort 
 and happiness. There is something which many of us 
 forget, but which a true Christian mother cannot and 
 does not forget: she needs God's help both for herself 
 and her little one, and she is not ashamed to ask it. 
 When we are told over and over again that a great man 
 is the son of a great mother we are told a truth which 
 needs to be restated constantly. Augustine's mother and 
 her prayers, you have them over and over again in life. 
 You are the sponsor of the new life that begins this 
 day and will continue during the year provided you live 
 that long. You ought to have weighed it all before to- 
 day. Are you going to treat this new life as a sacred 
 trust, as a mother would treat it, or are you going to 
 heap upon it all the ridicule you can muster? Are you 
 going to environ the year with religious thoughts and 
 lofty aspirations, or is it to be simply one of a number 
 of similarly constituted, live and let live chapters of a 
 trashy novel? 
 
 The first thought of and for the babe is that of the 
 mother. The second thought is that of the parents act- 
 ing in conjunction. We are allowed to feel that Joseph 
 was interested in this child, but the interest of Joseph 
 is not a separate interest. From the manger scene to 
 the temple scene Joseph is always by the side of Mary, 
 counseling, protecting, serving. "And when eight days 
 were fulfilled for circumcizing him" Joseph and Mary 
 are to be thought of as conjointly planning to carry out 
 the provision of the law of Israel. A Christian mother 
 
NEW YEAR 69 
 
 needs to be reinforced and helped in her desire for her 
 child. The plans of many a consecrated mother are 
 thwarted and brought to nought by the lack of sympathy 
 and the lack of co-operation on the part of a careless, 
 lax, indifferent or unbelieving father. When the child 
 has begun its career it needs all the protection, all the 
 helpfulness, all the strength of the father to supplement 
 the love of the mother. The new year is a new child 
 in your home. It needs to be treated as such. It must 
 be environed with all the positive forces which can be 
 mustered. The first and strongest tie to be established 
 is that of dependence upon a good and gracious Father 
 Who is abundantly able to help you care for this trust, 
 to convert its difficult problems into helpful solutions, its 
 sorrows into blessed joys, its everyday routine into sen- 
 tinels of eternity. 
 
 In our consideration of the normal progression of 
 religion in life we have thought of the beginning of re- 
 ligion in individual life. We have traced that beginning 
 to the grace of God Who sends His holy angels as guar- 
 dians of the new life and we have seen how important is 
 the environing love and devotion and faith of the mother, 
 the supporting strength of the father. We are to think 
 for a moment of the progressive assertion of religion in 
 life. As we ponder upon this gospel for new year's day 
 we are of course reminded of the outward conformity 
 which it prescribes and records. There is no exception 
 presented in the story of the babe of Bethlehem. Jesus 
 is not exempt because He is Jesus, from the various 
 ceremonies prescribed for Jewish children. Milton puts 
 it thus: 
 
 Ye flaming powers, and wingea warriors bright, 
 That erst with music and triumphant song, 
 First heard by happy watchful shepherds ear, 
 So sweetly sung your joy the clouds along 
 Through the soft silence of the listening night; 
 
70 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Now mourn, and if sad share with us to bear 
 Your fiery essence can distil no tear, 
 Burn in your sighs, and borrow 
 Seas wept from our deep sorrow: 
 He who with all heav'n's heraldry whilere 
 Entered the world, now bleeds to give us ease; 
 Alas, how soon our sin 
 Sore doth begin 
 
 His infancy to seize! 
 O more exceeding love, or law more just! 
 Just law indeed, but more exceeding love ! 
 For we by rightful doom remediless 
 Were lost in death, till he that dwelt above 
 High throned in secret bliss, for us frail dust 
 Emptied his glory, ev'n to nakedness; 
 And that great covenant which we still transgress 
 Entirely satisfied. 
 And the full wrath beside 
 Of vengeful justice bore for our excess, 
 And seals obedience first, with wounding smart, 
 This day, but O ere long. 
 Huge pangs and strong 
 Will pierce more near his heart. 
 
 The circumcision which this day commemorates marks 
 the blood covenant admission of Jesus into the privilege 
 of fellowship with the God of Israel as a son of Israel. 
 The shedding of His blood thus early in life is but the 
 beginning of the way of the cross. In how far shall 
 there be outward conformity in our religious life during 
 the course of the year that is beginning? In just as 
 far as the Christian church is the body of Christ. Israel 
 was the chosen son of God in the days of Jesus. There 
 was no alternative for Jesus. The Jesus Who was to die 
 for the whole world was to associate Himself with that 
 part of the world which confessed its faith in the true, 
 living God. There is no alternative for you. Outward con- 
 formity on the part of Jesus did not imply His sanction 
 upon all for which Israel stood in His days. Your 
 allegiance to the Christian church, your outward con- 
 
NEW YEAR 71 
 
 formity does not commit you to its abuses and its short- 
 comings, but your lack of conformity, your unwilling- 
 ness to confess your Lord publicly, your unwillingness 
 to be associated with brethren of whom you are ashamed, 
 these things will assuredly subject you to the judgment, 
 the stern judgment of Christ, "whosoever shall deny 
 me before men, him will I also deny before my Father 
 who is in heaven." Outward conformity brings with it 
 personal sacrifice and suffering. It is so much easier to 
 go one's own way, to subject oneself to no restrictions, 
 to vow obedience to no one, to put one's faith in no one 
 other than self, than to march in step, to lose one's iden- 
 tity, to obey orders even unto death. It is much harder 
 to conquer self and efface self for the purpose of doing 
 the Father's will. It is not easy for our sons to march 
 deliberately into the jaws of death and yet if they are 
 doing that not because they have been drafted, but be- 
 cause they believe that thereby they are helping the 
 world onward and upward in its march from tyranny 
 and oppression to international brotherhood and Chris- 
 tian fellowship, are they not, in accepting the challenge, 
 proving themselves to be loyal followers of Jesus Christ? 
 It is this thought and this thought only that supports 
 and can support parents in times like those upon which 
 we have come. Suppose your profession of Christianity 
 during the new year is going to make you the laughing 
 stock of some, the object of pity of others, of contempt 
 of still others, is that going to influence your conduct? 
 In how far is the lack of conformity of the average man 
 to confess Jesus Christ before men due to an unwilling- 
 ness, a lack of readiness to suffer a bit with and for 
 Christ? There must be a progressive assertion of re- 
 ligion in adult life. Your confirmation is but a step to 
 the Lord's Table. Your wedding must be more than a 
 mere civil rite. It must be the assumption of a vow to 
 establish a Christian home. Every subsequent step in 
 
72 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 your life must be more mature, more deliberate, more 
 consecrated than the steps which have gone before. You 
 must be ready for the prayer which will be offered at 
 your deathbed. That must be a real Nunc Dimittis. 
 
 As we think on this day of the normal progression of 
 religion in the life of the individual in the year that 
 has begun we are reminded of the importance of begin- 
 ning the year in Jesus' name and with Jesus' aim in 
 mind. The angel of the Lord who appeared to Joseph 
 in a dream said to him: "Thou shalt call his name 
 Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their 
 sins." It is this announcement of the angel upon which 
 Christians rely for their interpretation of the meaning of 
 the name Jesus, the Savior, upon which the early Chris- 
 tians based their fond assertions concerning "Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world." What 
 name will you give to this new year? That, of course, 
 will depend upon your aim in the new year. What motto 
 will you choose that is to be written large upon the walls 
 of your home? What battle-cry will you adopt? What 
 slogan will energize and stimulate you to greater devo- 
 tion? Shall it not be "In His Name?" 
 
 " 'Tis the Name for adoration ; 
 'Tis the Name of victory; 
 'Tis the Name for meditation 
 In this vale of misery; 
 'Tis the Name for veneration 
 By the citizens on high. 
 
 "'Tis the Name by right exalted 
 
 Over every other name ; 
 
 That, when we are sore assaulted, 
 
 Puts our enemies to shame; 
 
 Strength to them who else had halted, 
 
 Eyes to blind and feet to lame." 
 
NEW YEAR 73 
 
 If only we would determine during this year to apply 
 Disraeli's statement, a statement that is not orginal with 
 him except for its phraseology, to our religious life. He 
 has said: "The secret of success is constancy of pur- 
 pose." We can be successful as Christians only during 
 this year as we resolve that the purpose which we have de- 
 fined this morning is a sufficiently worth-while purpose 
 to call for constancy throughout the year. Obedience, 
 outward conformity, sacrifice and suffering if need be 
 because of the name we bear, these are the marks of 
 the Christian today as they were the marks of the true 
 child of God in Jesus' day. 
 
IX. 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR. 
 
 I 
 
 Matthew 2:13. 
 
 "Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into 
 Egypt and be thou there until I tell thee for Herod will seek the 
 young child to destroy him." 
 
 The Magi have departed from the court of Herod, to 
 which they had gone for information, and have pursued 
 their journey to Bethlehem guided by the star. They 
 have come into the house where Mary and the young 
 child were and have seen both mother and child. They 
 have fallen down and have worshipped the newborn king 
 of the Jews. They have opened their treasures and 
 offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 
 They have fulfilled their mission. They have been 
 warned of God in a dream not to return to Herod. They 
 have heeded the warning and have gone home by another 
 way. 
 
 Mary and Joseph are still living in somewhat of a 
 stupor. So much has been said about their child, so many 
 attentions have been shown this child, so many visitors 
 have come, some to see, others to see and to worship, 
 they are in this trance, when suddenly, after the depar- 
 ture of the Magi, "an angel of the Lord appeareth to 
 Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child 
 and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there 
 until I tell thee; for Herod will seek the young child to 
 destroy him". The story of the flight of Mary and 
 Joseph and the child is the story of a ready obedience. 
 The story of the continuance of the family in Egypt until 
 the death of Herod is the story of a sustained obedience 
 
 74 
 
SUNDAY AFTER NEW' YEAR 75 
 
 the resultant of faith and experience, the story of the 
 return is the story of the eventual victory of right over 
 mere might and cruel despotism, the story of the return 
 to Nazareth is the story of the fulfilment of God's Word 
 and holy purposes. The interlude, which paints the dis- 
 appointed and raging king, and portrays the untold agony 
 of the mothers of Bethlehem, indicates an attitude toward 
 the Christ Child which cannot even today be viewed 
 calmly, simply because the lesson has not as yet been 
 mastered. 
 
 May it not be well for us at the very beginning of the 
 year to pause a bit while we discuss and reflect upon some 
 of the many influences which are employed to destroy 
 the very existence of the Christ Child? Of course, we 
 are not to think so much of the attempt to destroy the 
 Child twenty centuries ago by Herod; we are to think 
 rather of the influences in our midst which, if allowed to 
 go on unchecked, will undoubtedly destroy the power the 
 Christ Child ought even now be exerting upon our chil- 
 dren. To fight disease we must know the disease we 
 are fighting. To fight an enemy we must know some- 
 thing about him. We must be able to recognize him 
 when we see him. We must know something of his 
 methods in warfare and his conduct in public and in 
 secret. Our task today is that of endeavoring properly 
 to diagnose conditions, to force the enemy into the open, 
 and brand him so that we may not be deceived, but that 
 we may battle with him intelligently. Who are some of 
 these enemies of the child Jesus? Would you not be sur- 
 prised to have me tell you that just as the greatest enemy 
 of the individual is self, the greatest enemy of the child 
 is very frequently the parent? Of course, there is no 
 conscious, deliberate enmity, but just because this is so, 
 this enmity is all the more deadly and destructive. Had 
 Joseph and Mary been left to themselves during the days 
 
76 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of the infancy of the Child Jesus, if there had been no 
 angelic inten^ention, if God had not taken part, and a 
 very pronounced part, in caring for the child, there 
 is no doubt about it that they would have continued' 
 indefinitely basking in the reflected light of the homage 
 and worship accorded their child until the soldiers of 
 Herod would have found their way to the house from 
 which the Magi had just departed, and, under the pre- 
 tence of worship, they would have wreaked their wrath, 
 or rather the wrath of Herod, upon the babe which was 
 the cause of his stern decree. Suppose the angel had 
 not intercepted the course of Mary and Joseph, sup- 
 pose he had not sent true dreams to take the place of 
 idle dreams, suppose having indicated the thing to be 
 done he had not accompanied the holy family into Egypt, 
 suppose having accompanied the holy family into Egypt 
 he had left them there unprotected, suppose he had not 
 reappeared in a dream bidding them return after the 
 death of Herod, suppose that he had not accompanied 
 them from Egypt to their home land, suppose he had 
 not warned them not to return to Judaea but had per- 
 mitted them to wend their way to the domain of Arche- 
 laus, suppose he had not accompanied them to Nazareth, 
 suppose he had permitted Mary and Joseph to have their 
 own way in the training of the boy, suppose these things 
 and at every turn you would be confronted by a danger 
 signal of the first magnitude, in every new line of 
 trenches you would encounter the enemy lying in wait 
 for the unprotected child. If this be true of the Child 
 Jesus, how much truer is it of your own child? If it 
 was necessary for the angel of the Lord or the Lord Him- 
 self to be constantly by the side of Mary and Joseph, 
 how much truer is it that the angel of the Lord must 
 constantly be by your side if you are to protect your 
 child from the enemies of the Child Jesus, if, in other 
 
SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR yy 
 
 words, you yourself are not to be an enemy of the Child 
 Jesus. 
 
 Undoubtedly Mary and Joseph having wended their 
 way from Nazareth to Bethlehem amid great trials, hav- 
 ing experienced the hardship of traveling as exiles over 
 stony and desert paths, were anxious for one of two 
 things, either to remain for the present, at least, in Beth- 
 lehem or somewhere nearby in Judaea, or to return 
 gladly and with reasonable pride to their own city of 
 Nazareth. Surely if left to themselves they would not 
 have chosen to continue their exile march to the south, to 
 a land where their child would receive no homage, where 
 they and their child would be altogether unknov^n and 
 where their sustenance from the purely human standpoint 
 was not assured. The dream ordering them to go down 
 into Egypt must have come as a distinct shock to both 
 Mary and Joseph. Their heroism in obeying the decree 
 can only be understood as we realize that they have been 
 prepared to commit themselves unreservedly into the 
 keeping of God. Perhaps I am addressing the parents 
 of children who are today subjecting their children to 
 the same sort of dangers to which Mary and Joseph sub- 
 jected Jesus in remaining at Bethlehem. Perhaps your 
 interest in your child is purely temporal. There is noth- 
 ing you would not do for your child— except one thing. 
 You would gladly sacrifice life that your child may live, 
 but you have been blinded and deceived by the adoration 
 and the praises of your neighbors. They have brought 
 gifts, to be added to your own, they have lauded what 
 they have heralded as signs of future greatness, they 
 have obscured, completely obscured, the figure of Herod 
 standing in the doorway ready to pounce upon your 
 child. More than that, they have crowded out the Christ 
 Who has sought admission to your home that He might 
 place His hands upon the heads of your little children 
 and say to you: "Suffer the little children to come unto 
 
78 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of 
 God." Dear parent, do not shrink from the figure. Are 
 you with Mary and Joseph an enemy of the best interests 
 of your child if left to your own whims and fancies? 
 What are you doing to permit the Christ Child to enter 
 the life of your child? Our figure is not to be confined 
 to parents. There are other persons and other influences 
 which effectively keep the Christ out of our lives. 
 
 Just as we were compelled to admit of Caesar Augustus 
 that he stands forth not as a monster, unique in the 
 annals of the world, so we must confess that Herod is 
 by no means alone as an enemy of the child. This day's 
 lesson has its deep moral for us in the fact that Herod is 
 the representative of many interests in conflict, in open 
 conflict, with the Christ Child. Edersheim, who, as is well 
 known, has written a most scholarly life of Jesus and 
 His times, pictures very realistically the luxurious, friv- 
 olous, sinful life of Jerusalem in the first century of the 
 Christian era and especially in the days immediately 
 preceding the coming of the Christ. The Jerusalem he^ 
 pictures is a modern city, a very modern city. The life 
 he portrays is distinctly modern, and the leader in this 
 luxurious and profligate life is none other than Herod 
 the Great, the man who, because he could not brook the 
 existence of genealogical records which were not com- 
 plimentary, flouted the children of Israel by ordering all 
 such records to be destroyed, the man who, to curry the 
 favor of his subjects, built a temple of surpassing mag- 
 nificence while spitting in the face of God, the man who 
 murdered whenever and whomsoever he saw fit if thereby 
 he thought it possible to cut some gordian knot which 
 he could not otherwise untangle. Suppose, since we seem 
 today to be in a mood that engenders suppositions, sup- 
 pose it would have been possible for some one to impress 
 upon the mind of this low man that Jesus, the Messiah, 
 was not to be a temporal king, suppose it had been pos- 
 
SUNDAY AFTER NEW) YEAR 79 
 
 sible to make it perfectly clear to him that Jesus did not 
 want his earthly kingdom, would he, do you suppose, have 
 been satisfied with such a pledge? Do you not see that 
 Herod was shrewd enough to realize that the Herodian 
 principle and the Christian principle could not fail to 
 come into deadly conflict? He knew well enough that 
 the coming of the Messiah, even though that Messiah 
 would not wrest his land from him, was an intolerable 
 thought. His whole life would necessarily have to be 
 either ruined or amended. He was neither ready to 
 amend it nor to acknowledge himself a servant of sin. 
 This utter abandon of those who have sold themselves 
 to Satan, this recognition on their part of the inability 
 of the two kingdoms to stand side by side is because of 
 an unwillingness to go one step further and acknowledge 
 the legitimacy of the reign of Christ, the deepest tragedy 
 in human life. Herod and the Christ Child cannot con- 
 tinue together. Herod is an enemy of the child Jesus. 
 So are you, dear friends, as long as you continue to 
 swear allegiance to self. So are you, as long as, with 
 Herod, you hold on to the sins that are damning you and 
 your children and driving you ever further into outer 
 darkness. 
 
 And you, dear friend, who are ready and willing to 
 do the bidding of the angel, may I urge you to save the 
 child ? Let no effort be too great, no pilgrimage too in- 
 volved, no words too precious to save the child, the Christ 
 Child if need be, or your child from Herod. 
 
X. 
 
 EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matthew 2 : 2. 
 "We have seen His star." 
 
 The testimonies concerning the Incarnation of Jesus 
 Christ are cumulative. We shall not here refer to the 
 Advent messages of the angel, of Zacharias, Elizabeth, 
 or even of John the Baptist, or the testimony of the 
 angelic host on Bethlehem's field. 
 
 The first human testimony, following the event, is that 
 of the shepherds. As the disciples were chosen from 
 among the industrial classes, or the masses, in order 
 that the cosmopolitan character of Christianity might 
 be vindicated, and that it might be differentiated from 
 a cult, the shepherds were to establish the claims of their 
 pastoral ancestors, Abraham, Moses and David, and were 
 to be the first to place a new interpretation upon the 
 shepherd Psalm. As the disciples were called from their 
 nets to be fishers of men, the shepherds were called from 
 their flocks to be shepherds of men, leaders of men to 
 the manger. This did not mean a renunciation of their 
 occupation, as the disciples did not, even after the Resur- 
 rection, completely divorce themselves from their earthly 
 pursuits, but it meant a return to life with a new inter- 
 pretation of its meaning. 
 
 The second testimony was that of Simeon and Anna. 
 In the first instance active men were called from- their 
 posts of duty to testify to the Incarnation. They were 
 to be the representatives of the large class of men and 
 women of serious purpose, with life before them, not 
 
 80 
 
EPIPHANY 81 
 
 apt to dream dreams and see visions save as touched 
 by the grace of God, and yet ever on the alert for the 
 appearance of a star, ever ready for the message of good 
 will. In this instance we have before us representatives 
 of a life that has been lived, a purpose that has been 
 formulated, a destiny that has been chosen, a goal in 
 sight — representatives of a meditative class which has 
 had opportunity to think hard and long about life's conun- 
 drums and their solution, and which has found the only 
 logical and adequate solution in the acceptance of the 
 Christ Child and the Christ. The homeward journey 
 of Simeon and Anna, following their testimony, is the 
 triumphant entry of the children of God into their 
 Father's mansion because of the fulfilment of the promise 
 of God, expressed in the Incarnation. 
 
 Following upon these testimonies of simple, honest 
 folk, representing life that is and has been and is to be, 
 it is simply another evidence of the anticipation of 
 humanity's doubt and scepticism on the part of a loving 
 Father, that we should be permitted, ere we turn from 
 these testimonies concerning the Incarnation, to heed 
 the meaning of the message of the Magi: "we have seen 
 His star in its rising, and have come to worship Him". 
 It does not matter much from what country the Magi 
 set out. Persia, Arabia, Babylonia — each of these lands 
 has been mentioned in turn as their probable home. In 
 each of them there were astrologers about this time, and 
 from any one of them they might have come. The testi- 
 mony of the Magi is the testimony of the learned men 
 of their day; the testimony of heathen lands, a testimony 
 that Christ had come to "lighten the Gentiles". 
 
 The final testimony in each case follows a preliminary 
 testimony which demands a trial of their faith. In the 
 case of the shepherds the message "unto you is born this 
 day in the city of David a Savior" calls forth faith as 
 the shepherds say, one to another, "let us now go even 
 
82 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 ) 
 unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, 
 which the Lord made known unto us". In the case of 
 Simeon and Anna, life has been a long-continued asser- 
 tion of faith. Their constant attendance upon temple 
 services and ministrations was the resultant of their faith, 
 a faith that was to find its full fruition in the coming of 
 the Messiah. Was the faith of the Magi a lesser thing 
 as it impelled them to seek the fruition of their hopes in 
 subjecting themselves to a long and tedious caravan jour- 
 ney ? The New Testament is thus born in an atmosphere 
 of faith. As Abraham's faith was tested many centuries 
 before when he was told to count the stars and thus 
 count his seed, the New Testament points to but one 
 star, it may be, but lends to it a significance which is 
 supreme. It will be well for us to consider His star and 
 its Significance. 
 
 Astronomy is the science of the heavens. It speaks 
 to us of the majesty, the omnipotence and the glory of 
 God. Astronomy has ascertained the regular recurrence 
 of a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, joined a bit later 
 by Mars, at an interval of eight hundred years, and it has 
 traced these periods forward and backward to the time 
 of the Nativity. Thus the carefully kept records of 
 the Babylonians, supplemented by those of the Chinese, 
 lead us to marvel at this telling forth by the heavens of 
 the glory of God. Surely there is an importance to be 
 attached to the conscientious study of the heavens, but 
 His star does not primarily concern us as astronomers. 
 It concerns us as a sign of His presence. Perhaps we 
 can best explain just what we mean by distinguishing 
 between the significance of His star for the Magi, Herod, 
 the Innocents and ourselves. 
 
 What was the significance of this star for the Magi? 
 Why did they leave their home? Their endeavor was 
 an honest attempt to solve the problem of life. They 
 were not interested in their science as you are perhaps 
 
EPIPHANY 83 
 
 interested in music. You have very likely never sought 
 to interpret life through the channels of music. You 
 have been interested in it solely for the pleasure, the 
 restfulness, the satisfaction it affords. Music to the 
 true musician means more than that. It assures him of 
 a spiritual life in which he moves. It speaks to him of 
 the love of God. It is an interpretation of life. It forces 
 him to interpret life in one of two ways, either as a 
 wierdly diabolical thing, or as a sweet, heavenly thing. 
 To the Magi the study of the heavenly bodies was part 
 of their program of life. It was their program of life. 
 They sought thus to interpret life. Fortunately they 
 did not spend all their time in star gazing. They endeav- 
 ored to apply the lessons which star gazing taught them. 
 Why did they leave home? Was it to obtain a better 
 vantage point from which to observe the peculiar con- 
 stellation which had swung into their ken? Was it to 
 consult with others eminent as star gazers? You know 
 very well from the statement with which they greeted 
 Herod what their purpose was in setting forth upon 
 their journey. "Where is He that is born King of the 
 Jews? For we have seen His star in its rising, and are 
 come to worship Him." The star had not appeared 
 to them the day before. They had had abundant opportu- 
 nity to be cured of any superstitious emotions, moods of 
 frenzy or fanatical zeal on their journey, and perhaps 
 for some time before they started, for when Herod later 
 carried his terrible decree concerning the Innocents into 
 execution, he ordered that all children two years of age 
 and under must be put to death "according to the time 
 which he had diligently inquired of the wise men". The 
 remarkable thing about this story is its very deliberate- 
 ness. Not that they might advance their studies, but that 
 they might worship the King of the Jews did the Magi 
 set forth upon their pilgrimage. The constellation was 
 not the goal of their journey. They lost sight of that, 
 
84 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 and they expressed manifest surprise when it reappeared 
 as they were leaving Jerusalem. Nor did they look upon 
 an interview with Herod as their goal. They followed 
 their star from the holy city to the little town of Bethle- 
 hem and there lost sight of it, not necessarily because the 
 constellation was no longer visible, for we are clearly told 
 that it stood over the house where the young child was, 
 but because they needed no planetary constellation after 
 having approached the Light of the World. Perhaps the 
 court of Herod, with its recognition of scriptural truth 
 and its lack of scriptural practice impressed them as did 
 the sight of another so-called Holy City a subsequent 
 seeker after truth. At any rate, the Magi returned an- 
 other way, having found the object of their journey, a 
 solution for the problem of life. 
 
 What was the meaning of this star as Herod in- 
 terpreted it? His life was by no means ideal. He was 
 a king, it is true, a king by the grace of Rome, and yet 
 at heart hostile to Rome ; king of the Jews, yet despising 
 the people who time and again cried out: "We have no 
 king but Caesar." He was a king whose own household 
 was at variance with him, a king who could claim neither 
 the respect nor the support of his people. Scripture tells 
 us very briefly that when he heard of the appearance 
 of the star, he was frightened. Would that the source 
 of his fright had been deeper seated. The appearance 
 of the star indicated the coming of the King to the Magi. 
 It indicated the ultimate and perhaps speedy overthrow 
 of a kingdom to Herod. It was the Mene, Mene, Tekel, 
 Upharsin, spoken to him. His one ambition in life was 
 to rule. He could think of no economy, of no realm 
 in which he would be counted a mere subject. Poor 
 Herod, why did he not stop his notorious activity? Why 
 did he not desist from a life of gaiety and dissipation 
 sufficiently long to discern the direction in which he was 
 drifting? There were scribes in his court. They knew 
 
EPIPHANY 85 
 
 Scripture. They could have interpreted it for him. 
 Shall we shift the responsibility and say they alone were 
 to blame? The stars which drift into our ken need not 
 be interpreted as omens of evil. They may be omens of 
 God's good will, even though at times they are too in- 
 finitely above us to merit our assent. Herod's thoughts 
 centered solely in the preservation of his throne. He 
 ignored personal and national righteousness. The ap- 
 pearance of the Star of the Christ signifies the ultimate 
 destruction of the sort of power, the sort of reign he 
 represented. The door of entrance into the spiritual 
 kingdom of the King of the Jews was open to Herod 
 and his court. He might have accompanied the Magi in 
 their onward march. He would have sacrificed nothing 
 by so doing. The star of Herod was not the star of 
 the Christ, however. The gloom and misery and dark- 
 ness in Rama were caused by a conflict between these 
 stars. The powers of darkness will ever continue to 
 endeavor to obscure the true star. Herod will ever try 
 to outwit the Magi. If left to himself he might have 
 succeeded. The Magi might have been unconscious 
 executioners of the Child, but the cruel king had not 
 taken into consideration the presence, unseen though it 
 was, of the angel of the Lord. 
 
 In another respect has this star influenced the chil- 
 dren of men. The tragedy of Bethlehem known to his- 
 tory as "the slaughter of the Innocents" though it may 
 have affected a very much smaller number of children 
 than we at times imagine — it is said that there were 
 hardly more than twenty children of two years and under 
 in Bethlehem at the time — nevertheless becomes epochal 
 in the history of the Christian Church, marking as it does 
 the death of the first martyrs of the new economy. Thus 
 early is the star supplanted by the cross as the symbol to 
 be borne by every true Christian, for was it not he whose 
 star it was who said: "Let a man deny himself and 
 
86 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 take up his cross and follow me." It was Christ Who 
 knew that it was no easy matter for any man to drink 
 His cup or follow in His train. The gospel lesson for 
 last Sunday ought to have made that plain. 
 
 Let me ask you, in conclusion, what is the significance 
 of His star for you ? When did that star first appear in 
 your life? Was it in Holy Baptism, when you uncon- 
 sciously were made to see the unseen world, or was it in 
 your confirmation? Was it at some particular moment 
 when you with others assembled at the Table of the 
 Lord? Or did it appear to you when you were not in 
 His House, but were, nevertheless, engaged in His busi- 
 ness, or were you at the time of its appearance engaged 
 in persecuting Him? 
 
 A short time ago it was my privilege to minister to a 
 woman who has since been called from this life. She 
 had a daughter whose duty it became to attend her every 
 need, and the daughter attended to these needs most faith- 
 fully. A short time after, when the decease of this woman 
 and the attention of her daughter were discussed with a 
 friend of the family, the friend said: "This cross came 
 at an opportune time, for the daughter was drifting. 
 The compulsion laid upon her as a burden at first became 
 to her a pleasurable duty and has brought a transforma- 
 tion in her character which is very marked." Thus the 
 star may come to some of us in moments of joy, to others 
 in sorrow. If we look for it we shall surely discern it. 
 
 The Magi are representatives of the Gentile world 
 and would tell us ere the story of the Nativity must give 
 way to other stories of the Christ that the good tidings 
 are, without doubt, intended for all people who will arise 
 and accompany them to Bethlehem. 
 
XL 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 Luke 2 : 49. 
 "Knew ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" 
 
 Tradition has woven its tendrils deftly and elaborately 
 about the childhood of Jesus. The silence of the gospels 
 concerning His early years has been offset by the ampli- 
 fied versions of apocryphal literature. On the way to 
 Egypt the infant child is made to supply a much-needed 
 draught of cooling and refreshing water by touching a 
 well-chosen spot with the branches of a tree. The supe- 
 riority of the child Jesus over other children is clearly 
 attested in play. Molding birds from inanimate clay 
 He transforms these lifeless toys into animate creatures 
 which obey His voice or touch, as caprice may seize Him, 
 and fly away. Angered, the child Jesus transfixes a 
 youthful playmate into an inert mass like unto Lot's 
 wife. In the workshop of Joseph the lad proves Him- 
 self to be a genius, fashioning the most exquisite results 
 of the carpenter's trade without adequate instruction. 
 Wherever He appears, in His home, in His foster-father's 
 workshop, in the market-place, among adults or among 
 children, the genius of the child exhibits itself in magic 
 and thaumaturgy. 
 
 Turning from this insipid traditionalism which de- 
 grades rather than exalts the Christ Child, the falsity of 
 which is so patent it need not be refuted in the presence 
 of Bible students, we are somewhat startled that Scrip- 
 ture should tell us so little about the early days and years 
 of Jesus. We may fill in the narrative, as biographers 
 
 87 
 
86 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of the Christ have done, by presenting contemporaneous 
 pictures of Jewish child life; but however suggestive such 
 a course of procedure may be, it does not add to the 
 wonderful dignity of the gospels on this subject. The 
 preparations for the coming of the Christ Child, including 
 the angelic messages, the record of His birth, the concise 
 but pregnant statements concerning His subjection to the 
 law, the visit of the Magi, His seclusion in Nazareth con- 
 cerning M^hich it is said "and the child grew, and waxed 
 strong, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon 
 Him," His appearance among the doctors in the temple at 
 twelve years of age, and then the simple statement "and 
 Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with 
 God and men," these are the gospel records which prepare 
 the way for our appreciation of the meaning of His life. 
 The gospel lesson for this day is important because it is 
 the connecting link between the infancy and the man- 
 hood of Jesus, because it affords a view of the unfold- 
 ing of the life of lives, because it permits us to grasp 
 somewhat of the habits, the mental attitude and the 
 spiritual insight of the youth. We must follow the 
 course of the story ere we shall be able properly to 
 point its lessons. 
 
 It may be interesting in passing to refer to the sig- 
 nificance to be attached to childhood days spent in 
 Galilee rather than in Judaea, in Nazareth rather than 
 in Jerusalem. Galilee and Judaea represented the poles 
 of Jewish life. The very physical condition of the two 
 lands typifies their citizenship. In the country to the 
 north, with its fields ripe unto the harvest, its green 
 pastures, its beautifully diversified landscape, its charm- 
 ing sea of Galilee, in the country to the south long 
 stretches like unto the way from Jerusalem to Jericho, 
 barren, rocky desert tracts, valleys of the shadow 
 of death, a sea the name of which adequately character- 
 izes it, this fragmentary description may indicate why 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 89 
 
 the spirit of commerce and of industry, the spirit of 
 acquisition and possession, the spirit of optimism and 
 good will, the spirit acquired by contact with the pro- 
 vincial leaders of a great empire, characterized the land 
 to the north, while the spirit of traditionalism and of 
 strict adherence to the letter of the law, the spirit of 
 open antagonism to the emperor and the empire of which 
 it was a part, the spirit of study rather than of com- 
 merce held full sway in the land to the south. Nazareth 
 and Jerusalem! There could be no greater disparity! 
 Nazareth hidden by the hills, Jerusalem upon their sum- 
 mit, Nazareth a village, Jerusalem a city, Nazareth with 
 its little synagogue and its synagogue school. Jerusalem 
 with its temple and its learned academies! In the 
 providence of God it was deemed wise that the Christ 
 Child should be reared in Galilee rather than in Judaea, 
 in Nazareth rather than in Jerusalem. His life was to 
 be matured among the beauties of nature, not among 
 its desolate deserts. His thoughts were to ripen with 
 the growing grain and not with the growing seeds of 
 discontent planted by the negative critics of their day. 
 It surely meant much to have the child grow up in the 
 environment of the Jewish home in Nazareth. It meant 
 much by way of supplementary training to have this child 
 obtain glimpses of the very different life of Judaea in 
 the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem. 
 
 The religious tendency of the parents of Jesus was 
 by no means unique. Conformity to the law was an 
 essential for the Jew. The entire environment of the 
 Jewish people was, as we know, religious. Hence it was 
 not to be accounted a work of superior merit for the 
 parents of Jesus to go up to Jerusalem every year at the 
 time of the feast of the passover. Scripture does not 
 specifically state that Jesus did not go with Joseph and 
 Mary to Jerusalem before He was twelve years of age. 
 The biographers of Jesus infer that this was His first 
 
90 SERMONS ON THE GOSPEL'S 
 
 visit from their study of contemporaneous customs. The 
 story distinctly says that His parents went up to Jeru- 
 salem every year at the feast of the passover. When 
 He was twelve years of age, they went up as was their 
 custom and He went with them. The designated num- 
 ber of days having been fulfilled they did not manifest 
 any superlative spirit of religious consciousness by desir- 
 ing to remain for the post-passover conferences, but 
 set forth on their journey. We are led strongly to be- 
 lieve it was not the child's first journey to Jerusalem be- 
 cause of the unconcern of the parents about the child. 
 They were by no means the only pilgrims from Nazareth 
 and they were not the only pilgrims from Nazareth to be- 
 take themselves with remarkable promptitude upon the 
 homeward journey. Hence, as the village delegation be- 
 gan its return pilgrimage they believed the child well 
 cared for by kind neighbors. But as the first day of the 
 journey passed and the child did not emerge from the 
 midst of one of the many groups approached by the 
 now anxious parents, they realized the necessity of re- 
 turning to Jerusalem. The loss experienced, necessitated 
 the retracing of their steps to their original goal and 
 subsequent starting point and, true enough, there they 
 found Him after three days, in the Temple in the midst 
 of the Doctors "both hearing them and asking them ques- 
 tions". That Temple scene has been well portrayed by a 
 master-brush and hand. The child Jesus, interpreting His 
 Father's will, and anxious to obtain the interpretation of 
 others in turn, the center of it all, the serious and rapt 
 countenances of the doctors betraying the importance of 
 the moment to them, the Temple setting betokening the 
 importance of the place, there is no idle fancy in a picture 
 such as this, the entire canvas lives and preaches its ser- 
 mon concerning the business of life. As we stand before 
 this great masterpiece in silent wonder the parents stood 
 before the original of this picture a long time ere they 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 91 
 
 fully comprehended the situation and gently chided their 
 child for what seemed to them a bit of childish disobedi- 
 ence. In the answer of the child we have the concise 
 statement of the lesson the story is to teach us. 
 
 Knew ye not that I must be about my Father's busi^ 
 ness? 
 
 Again, before proceeding, it will be necessary to en- 
 deavor to catch the real meaning of the very first of the 
 recorded utterances of our Lord. The entire verse in 
 the authorized version to which many of us have become 
 accustomed reads: "And He said unto them, how is it 
 that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my 
 Father's business?" The revised version changes the 
 obsolete word "wist" for the living word "knew" and 
 directs our attention to the fact that the writer of the 
 gospel and the original translators of the gospel did not 
 define business as the twentieth century exponents of 
 every-day life interpret it by translating the verse: "And 
 He said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? knew 
 ye not that I must be in my Father's house," or, as the 
 Greek puts it concerned in, busied with "the things of 
 my Father". Mary has just said to her Son, "Son, 
 why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy Father 
 and I sought thee sorrowing." Gently but positively 
 Jesus resents the insinuation contained in the words of 
 His mother "thy father and I" by asserting His being 
 engaged at the very moment of rebuke in the things of, 
 the business of, the house of His true Father. They 
 did not understand the saying which He spake unto them. 
 We do! The last word "Father into Thy hands I com- 
 mend my spirit" leaning heavily upon the former word 
 "Father not my will but Thine be done," help us to inter- 
 pret the first word "My Father's business, My Father's 
 house, the things of my Father". The flash in the very 
 midst of the darkness and seclusion of the hidden life re- 
 veals purpose of the highest order. There is concentration 
 
92 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of mind upon the meaning, the business of life. How 
 very different the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus 
 and the apocryphal stories of His childhood! The 
 latter aim to set forth His genius, His precocious nature. 
 There is no sign of boldness, no precocity taught in the 
 story before us. We who have become accustomed to 
 sitting at the feet of a musical prodigy of ten, we who 
 have been informed of the wonderful mathematical 
 demonstrations of a child before the mathematical 
 faculty of one of the leading universities, surely we do 
 not question the reasonableness of the story nor do we 
 permit ourselves to believe it has been recorded to set 
 forth the supremacy of the Christ Child. It has been 
 written that we may observe the dominant passion in the 
 Life of lives. There is purpose, religious purpose in it 
 all. His environment assisted Him in the achievement 
 of His purpose. Bethlehem of Judaea, Nazareth of 
 Galilee, are hamlets far removed from the center of the 
 mighty Roman empire, hence better adapted, not worse, 
 for the out-working of a great purpose. The children 
 of Israel are better adapted, not worse, for the unfold- 
 ing of this purpose. Jesus, the son of Mary, is filled — 
 not with pride or egotism^ — but with the burning desire 
 to accomplish one thing and one only, but to do that 
 well, His Father's business. Many others have attempted 
 to do the same thing and have failed. Moses, the type 
 of Christ, was zealous in the execution of Jehovah's 
 business, but there were moments when he was not free 
 from the doubts fostered by his environment and the 
 murmurings of his people. Aaron, the high-priest, was 
 interested in his Father's business, but unfortunately 
 forgot that business when he became an idolatrous priest 
 and permitted the worship of the golden calf. Jonah 
 was sent to Ninevah on his Father's business, but at the 
 crucial moment rebelled against the task assigned. David, 
 a man after God's own heart, was surely interested in 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 93 
 
 God's business, but he ignored that business to satisfy 
 an unhallowed desire. No men ever took the Lord's 
 business more seriously than the prophets, yet their lips 
 must be touched with the live coals from the altar of God 
 ere their iniquity is taken away and their sin forgiven. 
 Do you not see the necessity for the coming of the Christ 
 into the world to be our perfect example in doing the 
 Father's business? That was His only passion and it 
 was His passion that it might be our passion as well. 
 
 Environment does influence the loyal adherence to 
 purpose. The proper environment for those who desire 
 to ponder upon their Father's business is not that chosen 
 by Moses and Aaron and David and Jonah and other 
 leaders of their people in their moments of deflection, but 
 the environment of the boy Jesus — the Temple and its 
 service and where these are not immediately available 
 the seclusion of Nazareth and a pious home. The first 
 five years of the training of a Jewish child in the century 
 in which Christ lived were devoted to the rudiments, the 
 real rudiment being the Bible. The Bible was taught 
 the child by the mother. Those early years of Jesus 
 spent in companionship with His Father's Word fitted 
 Him as nothing else could have fitted Him for the 
 services of His Father's house, and engagement in the 
 things of His Father. 
 
 A mind centered upon the business of life has escaped 
 the superficiality of the age and has found its anchorage 
 in the conviction of the ages. There were moments in 
 the consciousness of the Virgin mother when she arose 
 to the full meaning of life as when she uttered the 
 Magnificat, one of the greatest of all contributions to 
 sacred song, but ordinarily she does not comprehend her 
 Father's business. There is a certain superficiality in 
 her observance of the law, doing nothing more than is 
 required. There is a certain superficiality in her 
 conduct in the home of the young people at Cana. 
 
94 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 There is a certain superficiality in her utter inability to 
 comprehend her Son's mission even though the Holy 
 Spirit has endeavored to make it very plain. Mary's 
 superficiality can only be cured by a constant process of 
 pondering and prayer. Is it not true that some of us at 
 least are not as deeply interested as we should be in our 
 Father's business because of our own superficiality or 
 that of our environment? We have never been brought 
 face to face with the problem of life in its richest and 
 deepest significance. Our homes have not fostered Bible 
 study as did the Jewish homes of old. Our fickle spirits 
 have never rested sufficiently long to permit the Holy 
 Spirit to begin His regenerating work in our hearts. 
 We have never been compelled to wrestle with an unseen 
 power. 
 
 The two extremes are most manifest today to any one 
 who has eyes and a sense of perception. On the one 
 hand there goes marching up and down the thoroughfare 
 of life the great army of boys and girls, men and women 
 who have never attacked or been attacked by a real prob- 
 lem because they have never had a real purpose in 
 life. They have drifted and are drifting along ever 
 seeking a job ^nd never a vocation, ever seeking change 
 and never a limitation to things worth while. The other 
 great army also consists of men and boys, girls and 
 women, the latter in ever-increasing numbers, who fol- 
 lowing the example of Martha, are so cumbered with 
 much serving of a purely temporal character, so intensely 
 interested in and laboring over a problem of a highly spe- 
 cialized nature they have no time to sit with Mary at the 
 feet of Jesus and listen, simply listen. To them life has 
 no receptive phase as it concerns the great eternal truths 
 of the Kingdom. To them life means physical activity, 
 tabulated results, increased vocational efficiency. 
 
 May I not plead with you this morning to break ranks 
 if you are in one or the other of these armies? If you 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 95 
 
 are in the first army surrender your commission uncon- 
 ditionally. You cannot afford for your own sake to con- 
 tinue to be superficial. If in the second army of earnest 
 toilers who have drifted from their moorings in view 
 of the cares of this life leave the army not as a toiler 
 who ceases to labor, but as a toiler who combines real 
 labor in the acquirement of spiritual things with labor for 
 the acquirement of material things. A passion for your 
 Father's business will result in the adjustment of every 
 relationship in life. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God 
 and His righteousness and all these things will be added 
 unto, you." 
 
XII. 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 John 2: 4. 
 "Mine Hour is not yet Conie." 
 
 The great stride from youth to manhood indicated in 
 the sequence of the Gospel narrative is only exceeded by 
 the chasm in the life of Christ in the creed we confess. 
 In the creed, immediately after the statement concern- 
 ing the birth of Christ we confess our faith in His 
 passion. The gospel lesson for last Sunday presented to 
 us the twelve-year-old Christ Child in the Temple, and 
 in today's lesson we have before us the God-man Jesus, 
 as He asserts His glory and His power in the first 
 miracle performed at Cana of Galilee. The reason for 
 this sudden transition is very obvious. Neither gospel 
 nor creed profess to be biographies of Christ. 
 
 Naturally we ask ourselves: why should we begin the 
 story of the full-grown man in this way? Would it not 
 have been better to have begun our study of the life 
 of Christ with the story of the temptation, so graphically 
 described for us by several of the evangelists? Ought 
 we not logically begin this study with the story of His 
 baptism? Ought it not specifically mark the beginning 
 of the work of the God-man as some have reasoned? 
 Why should we not begin with the narrative of the call- 
 ing of the twelve disciples? Was not this the most 
 important episode at the very commencement of the labors 
 of the Master? Again we ask ourselves, why should 
 we begin this study with a miracle? Does not Jesus 
 Himself say: "except ye see signs and miracles, ye will 
 
 96 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 97 
 
 not believe"? And when Thomas appears before the 
 risen Christ, does He not rebuke him by saying to him: 
 "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou has beUeved. 
 Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have be- 
 lieved." Was there not in a miracle as the starting- 
 point of His work, a concession to their weakness? Again 
 we ask: why such a miracle as this? Why was it not a 
 miracle of healing or of raising from the dead? Was 
 the greatest possible power manifest in the miracle at 
 Cana, and would it not have been better if a miracle 
 marking the beginning of His career had been any other 
 than this? 
 
 The answer to the various questions here propounded 
 by many men of many schools is very clearly set forth 
 in the story itself in the words of Jesus, when He says: 
 "Mine hour is not yet come." 
 
 It was only the third day after His manifestation to 
 the disciples while their faith was still very weak and they 
 did not yet comprehend the meaning of the great tran- 
 sition that had taken place in their lives, when they 
 escorted Jesus to Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus 
 was well known there in a family in which there was to 
 be a wedding feast, and through her acquaintance with 
 the family an invitation was extended to Jesus and His 
 disciples. She who had known her Son during all the 
 formative years of His life — years spent in meditation 
 and humility and helpfulness — must have been surprised 
 to behold Him as He came to the feast, attended by a 
 small band of disciples, for the number was not yet 
 complete. She did not need this visible sign of His 
 leadership. Consequently when there was found to be 
 a lack in the provision for the feast, the mother of Jesus 
 turned to her Son and said: "They have no wine," Jesus 
 employing a common Greek designation, not thereby 
 meaning to cast any aspersion upon her answered: 
 "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is 
 
98 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 not yet come." The harshness of the English transla- 
 tion hardly does justice to the question as Jesus put it. 
 His mother proves that she was not offended by her 
 Son's response. Going to the servants, she said: "What- 
 soever He saith unto you, do it." Six waterpots of 
 stone standing there, after the manner of the purifying 
 of the Jews, were to become conspicuous objects in the 
 first miracle of Jesus, for these He commanded to be 
 filled with water. The command was obeyed. An addi- 
 tional injunction that they should draw out and bear 
 unto the Governor of the feast, was likewise heeded. 
 The surprise of the ruler of the feast is complete. He 
 called the bridegroom and chidingly said unto him: 
 " 'Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, 
 and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse ; 
 but thou hast kept the good wine until now!' This be- 
 ginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and 
 manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed 
 on Him." 
 
 We have said the entire story, with the various intro- 
 ductory questions, revolves around the statement of Jesus, 
 "Mine hour is not yet come." The silent years of prep- 
 aration at Nazareth were spent in looking forward to 
 that hour. What irriportant, dignified years they must 
 have been ! Filled to the brim with holy purpose ; anxious 
 that life might be concentrated on one thing only, the 
 accomplishment of His Father's business. There came, 
 of course, repeatedly during those years the realization 
 of the importance of that hour and the desire to meet 
 that hour adequately and unflinchingly. And now that 
 Jesus has emerged from His home at Nazareth, no 
 longer a youth, but a full-grown man, ready to enter 
 upon the work that the Father has given Him to do, 
 that Father's love which has already appointed the hour, 
 again appoints it, through Mary His mother. No longer 
 was there to be a hesitancy concerning the mission of 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 99 
 
 life. The summons to meet the hour comes not from 
 Mary, but simply through Mary. He who summons 
 is the Father, utilizing Mary as the one best qualified to 
 convey to the Son this important message. Conse- 
 quently, we shall be able to understand both the injunc- 
 tion of Mary and the Son's response. Her injunction 
 demands the solution of a problem which she believes that 
 He alone can solve, and the Son's response indicates 
 that however much He has owed to her in the past, she 
 cannot now help Him to solve the great problem of 
 life. He alone must do that. The summons to meet 
 the hour comes from the Father, through His mother, 
 but comes, as it were, as a valedictory, for these are 
 the last recorded words of the mother of Jesus. 
 
 From this time forth. He is busily engaged in carry- 
 ing out His method of meeting the hour. What is that 
 method? Self-sacrifice! He apparently does absolutely 
 nothing. The servants do it all. Mary lends the initia- 
 tive by telling Him: "They want wine." He commands 
 the servants to fill the water-pots with water. They do 
 it. He commands them to draw out and bear unto the 
 Governor. They do it. The ruler of the feast, tasting 
 the wine, pronounces it proper for the use for which it 
 is intended. Throughout it all there is no touch of 
 Jesus, there is no outward demonstration of power. He 
 who is in the center of the picture is lost completely, 
 whereas Mary and the servants and the bridegroom 
 and the ruler of the feast and the disciples seem to be 
 the dominating characters. Thus He proves His method 
 abundantly in meeting the hour, and we begin to see 
 the importance of this gospel lesson, standing as it does, 
 at the very threshold of His official career. Self-sacrifice 
 through His passion: that is His method of meeting the 
 hour. He apparently does nothing but suffer. Others 
 are the aggressors. Others buffet and smite and commit 
 Him to prison and weave a crown of thorns and place 
 
loo SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 a rod in His hands and rear the Cross and nail Him 
 to the Cross. Others do it all; He simply suffers-sacri- 
 fices Himself. 
 
 And so likewise the history of the Church throughout 
 the ages has followed the example of our blessed Lord 
 and Master in accepting His method in meeting the hour. 
 The Church has not always been strong in those mo- 
 ments when it has seemed to be outwardly most aggres- 
 sive. But the greatest victories of the Church have been 
 won in moments of suspense and self-sacrifice — moments 
 that did not count in the eyes of the world while those 
 moments were passing, but moments that we have come 
 to recognize as the great crucial periods of the Church's 
 history. 
 
 His method of meeting the hour was not only by 
 self-sacrifice, but by sympathy as well. Christianity is 
 something far other than Jewish Christianity, There is 
 a divine economy in the appearance of Paul as the 
 Apostle to the Gentiles; for had Jewish Christianity 
 continued its sway during the first century of the Chris- 
 tian Era, the impress left upon history would have been 
 far different than it has been. There was so much of 
 the cynical, so much of legalism, so much narrowness 
 in the Jewish conception of religion, and life as influ- 
 enced by religion, that it became necessary for the Savior 
 at the very beginning of His ministry to prove the joy- 
 fulness of Christianity, which He does by His appear- 
 ance at the marriage feast. Throughout the gospels the 
 figure of the Marriage Feast appears and reappears as 
 the proper symbol of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is not 
 ascetic in His person. He does not withdraw from the 
 world, but He states very broadly and concisely in this 
 very first incident His social position. He must appear 
 to human beings, and He manifests Himself first of all 
 to the human family in its most joyful moments. The 
 sympathy which He asserts in His method in meeting the 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY loi 
 
 hour sets forth very clearly the human element in Chris- 
 tianity as well as its joyful element. Christianity recog- 
 nizes human ties and bonds. It moves in a human en- 
 vironment. It desires that the Christian Church shall 
 be "the communion of the saints," but as such it need 
 not be segregated from all interest in the affairs of this 
 world. No picture is more human, more temporal, more 
 illustrative of this world and the affairs of this world, 
 than the picture of the Marriage Feast. 
 
 And thus the hour of Jesus dawned typically in the 
 miracle before us. The water transformed into wine is 
 like unto the change effected in passing from Judaism 
 to Christianity. It is the change effected in passing from 
 the thought and realm of the Roman and Greek world 
 to the thought and realm of the Christian world. In 
 the Roman and Greek world, there were masters of the 
 feast, but they did not recognize by what power the water 
 had been changed to wine. Hence, we say the trans- 
 formation of the water into wine is typical of a radical 
 reconstruction. Slavery had its day, but has been com- 
 pelled to yield to nobler ideas of freedom. Woman has 
 resumed the position accorded her by Scripture. Great 
 social movements have been going forward. We have 
 begun to realize the ethical value in life. We have come 
 to a consciousness of high moral purpose, and do not 
 permanently allow those who have no such purpose to 
 dominate in the affairs of life. Reconstruction has taken 
 place. The water has been turned into wine ; a mystery 
 to the master of the feast and a mystery to the children 
 of this age, but not a mystery to the servants who know 
 Him who commanded and it was done. 
 
 How vivid and striking an experience must this have 
 been to John the disciple ; only a few days before he had 
 been called to this discipleship, together with those who 
 had been the disciples of John the Baptist. They had 
 come in from the wilderness, where their food was 
 
102 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 locusts and wild honey. They had come from this great 
 seething mass of frantic human beings, who objected to 
 the truth as it was told them, and now, suddenly, he 
 with the others has been ushered into a banquet-hall. 
 There has been a radical transformation in his concep- 
 tion of religion, a joyful thing, a very human thing, a 
 thing of power, a thing of glory and yet with it all a very 
 spiritual thing. How remlarkable the results of that one 
 hour must have been : and now we realize the importance 
 of this particular miracle, standing in its place at the very 
 beginning of Christ's life work. "Mine hour is not yet 
 come" He could say who foreknew the great purpose 
 and meaning of His life, who realized that the hour of 
 darkness and of the powers of this world was upon Him 
 who had not yet tasted of the bitter agony in the Garden 
 of Gethsemane, and who knew full well that His disciples 
 would, even there, not be able to watch with Him for one 
 hour. His hour did not come until there upon the Cross 
 He looked down upon Mary His mother and John His 
 disciple and they together were able to realize as they 
 had never realized before the meaning of the words 
 uttered at that marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. 
 
 And as we turn to the last, and, in many respects, the 
 most wonderful of the books of the Bible, the Book of 
 Revelation, we are permitted in that new heaven and 
 new earth to appear at the marriage feast of the Lamb. 
 His hour came as He looked down upon Mary and 
 John and gave up the ghost, and we shall feel that our 
 hour has come when we shall be permitted to see the 
 fulfilment of that which even now is prophetic, when 
 the temporal picture of the marriage feast at Cana of 
 Galilee shall be but a poor type of the fulfilment which 
 we shall witness in its most exalted form. 
 
XIII. 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matthew 8 : 3, 13. 
 
 "And straightway his leprosy was cleansed .... and the servant 
 was healed in that hour." 
 
 The manifestation of Christ's real self as a youth in 
 the temple and as a full-grown man in the little home 
 at Cana of Galilee is to be followed today by the con- 
 sideration of the Christ as He stands before us, the help- 
 ful, sympathetic Savior of the world. It is eminently 
 proper that as in the childhood stories the narrative of 
 the Gentile Magi should follow immediately upon the 
 recital of the manifestation of the child to the Judaean 
 shepherds, Matthew should have linked the story of the 
 healing of the Jewish leper, who is told to go, show 
 himself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses com- 
 manded, for a testimony unto them, with the story of 
 the centurion and his slave, the centurion again represent- 
 ing the Gentile world. At the very beginning of our 
 investigations concerning the active ministry of Christ 
 we are to realize that He stands before us as no one 
 person in history ever appeared, the Savior not of a race, 
 but of all races, the Savior of the world. 
 
 Another important point should not be forgotten in 
 the consecutive study of the gospel lessons. As we are 
 to begin our studies by observing the life of Jesus that 
 we may be assured it is the Life of lives, we are to 
 enter upon this consideration with eyes open to the 
 significance of the steps we are taking. It is for this 
 very reason that Jesus appears before us as at once the 
 
 103 
 
104 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 embodiment of mercy and of power, mercy resting upon 
 the pillars of love and justice and truth, these pillars 
 unitedly forming the sub-structure of power. You can- 
 not, you dare not divorce the Christ and miracles; if you 
 do, the New Testament has lost its validity and Christ 
 His sincerity. Right here at the beginning of our dis- 
 cussions for another year there is a two-fold testimony 
 of miraculous power resulting in the exercise of divine 
 mercy. 
 
 The great lesson which we desire to point out today 
 on the basis of the stories before us is the lesson of 
 Divine helpfulness in view of human helplessness. These 
 are the two poles of life, helplessness, despair, gloom, 
 darkness, destruction, the grave ; helpfulness, hope, light, 
 the Sun of righteousness, life. The two poles are ever 
 contrasted in the gospel record because they are ever con- 
 trasted in life. The endeavor of the gospel records is so 
 clearly to point to Him who is the Way, the Truth and 
 the Life we shall never more be found in the army of 
 the helpless, but evermore in the ranks of those who, 
 having been lifted up, are ready to help others. 
 
 True helpfulness asserts itself in the sound advice 
 which must be part of the very self of him who offers 
 it and in the sound example which must make possible 
 and re-enforce the sound advice. In both these respects 
 Christ is and must ever remain our ideal. There are 
 individuals who, from a human standpoint, approximate 
 this ideal, but only as they reflect the ideal. Undoubtedly 
 the centurion reflects the ideal and we are permitted in 
 the stories of our text to compare and contrast the help- 
 fulness of Christ and the centurion in order that we may 
 appropriate to ourselves the lesson involved. 
 
 True helpfulness is well illustrated in the example of 
 the centurion. If we turn to the account in Luke we 
 shall find that he first sent certain elders of the Jews 
 to Jesus to intercede for his slave. Either the duties 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 105 
 
 of the centurion made it impossible for him to go directly 
 to the Master or he felt that representatives of the 
 Master's own race would have greater influence with 
 Him. In either case he does the right thing. If it was 
 true that his duties made it impossible for him to leave 
 his post and go to the Master, his example in believing 
 it to be his duty to send messengers to Jesus is com- 
 mendable. The excuse offered so often "I cannot come" 
 is not a legitimate excuse. Perhaps you cannot accom- 
 plish certain things in person. Perhaps you cannot walk 
 away from duties which God has placed directly in your 
 path ; as your duties expand, your resources will expand 
 and there is some one awaiting your orders, ready to 
 execute them. If, on the other hand, the centurion re- 
 frained from visiting the Master in person because he be- 
 lieved the commission could be better performed by those 
 of the Master's race, he did not thereby asert his own 
 lack of faith, as his words testify, but showed forth his 
 exceeding great love for the slave who, according to the 
 gospel, was "dear unto him". The centurion was, uncon- 
 sciously it may be, but nevertheless truly, offering an 
 opportunity of priceless worth to his messengers to get 
 to know Jesus and through Him the way of life. 
 
 The evangelist again alludes to the real spirit of help- 
 fulness on the part of the centurion in recording the 
 exact statement of the elders on their arrival. They 
 say to Jesus : "He is worthy that Thou shouldest do this 
 for him; for he loveth our nation, and himself built us 
 our synagogue." In other words, the helpfulness of the 
 centurion asserts itself in a very practical way in the 
 expenditure of his money in the interests of religion. 
 The contact of this Roman officer with people of an alien 
 race, ever ready to assert their unwillingness to accept 
 a religion which meant little to Romans in authority, and 
 ever ready to uphold their institutions, had undoubtedly 
 had its effect upon the course of his life. He as a Roman 
 
io6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 was willing to spend his money in the building of a syna- 
 gogue and felt that money so spent would be wisely spent. 
 What an example to the men and women of today ! Dur- 
 ing the course of the week several great buildings in our 
 city are to be dedicated. They have been made possible 
 by the contributions of the Christian men and women of 
 this city. As Christian Association buildings they are to 
 serve a distinct purpose in the life of the community. 
 Individuals have subscribed very heavily to the fund of 
 over a million dollars, which has been collected and 
 almost all of which has been raised. Friends, we ought 
 not disparage such a work as that, but the question does 
 arise in many minds and will not down, would not a 
 hundred thousand dollars spent for the endowment of a 
 church of Jesus Christ net greater results in the exten- 
 sion of the Kingdom of God than an equivalent sum 
 spent for boys' and young men's clubs? Why is it again, 
 that our men and women will subscribe heavily to philan- 
 thropic interests and very meagerly to the distinctively 
 spiritual work of the Kingdom? Are they as truly 
 helpful as they might be ? Are they upholding the hands 
 of their servants, or are they asking them to make 
 bricks without straw? True helpfulness is a helpful- 
 ness that costs something. 
 
 But, after all, the truest type of helpfulness is not a 
 helpfulness that can be measured by dollars and cents, 
 but must be measured by service. To the casual observer 
 the life of the centurion may not have appeared to be a 
 life of service. The casual observer notices the giving 
 of commands, not their reception, the authority exercised, 
 not the freedom restrained. The casual observer notices 
 the difference between the uniform of the centurion and 
 that of his men. He does not notice the difference in 
 uniform between the centurion and his superior officers. 
 The casual observer does not realize the significance of 
 the centurion's own words, "I also am a man set under 
 
THIRD SUNDlAY AFTER EPIPHANY 107 
 
 authority." It is because of its training in the subordi- 
 nation of self to the higher interests of the nation that a 
 military training such as that afforded by Rome was a 
 valuable asset. No man who is unwilling or unable to 
 fit into the place in society which is rightly his can ever 
 expect to be a vital factor in the doing of the world's 
 work. The Roman centurion was able to master the 
 trying situation in his home as his servant was lying there 
 very ill, not so much because he had been trained to give 
 commands, but rather because he had been trained to 
 look up, to seek guidance and instructions from a higher 
 source. This training made it possible for a proud 
 officer of the world's greatest army of his day to subject 
 himself at once to the best interests of his slave and the 
 wishes of a Jewish Rabbi under whose authority he was 
 ever after to be. 
 
 True helpfulness asserts itself in the mastery of the 
 problems of others. Undoubtedly this is true of the cen- 
 turion. Do we imagine for a moment that he built a 
 synagogue for the Jews without having thought the 
 matter over carefully? Does he not weigh the question 
 of cost and expediency and uplift? Does he not realize 
 how much of an asset that synagogue would be. Does 
 he not realize the worth of a slave, who makes himself 
 indispensable to his master? Does he not set wheels 
 in motion looking to the restoration of that servant which 
 proves the intensity of his thought? Does he not appre- 
 ciate the worth of the Master of all men in deeming him- 
 self unworthy to come to that Master in person? Does 
 he not further testify to that worth by being willing not 
 to insist upon the personal presence of the Master, but 
 by simply asking Him to utter the word which brings 
 restoration? He proves to us that he knows his sol- 
 diers, their duties and their capabilities. He knows the 
 Jews among whom it has been decreed he is to live. He 
 knows the elders whom he despatches upon an important 
 
io8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 errand. He knows the worth of his servant. Above all, 
 he knows the Master. We can never be truly helpful 
 until we have placed ourselves in the positions of those 
 whom we would help or influence or from whom we 
 would ask a favor that is worth while. The historians 
 of Rome say of the centurions that they were steady and 
 serious rather than bold and venturesome. They were 
 men who, unlike their generals, held back as long as 
 possible, but when once the order was given for an ad- 
 vance, it was executed at any cost. Isn't it true that 
 these are the marks of true helpfulness? Isn't it true 
 that those who would be thus characterized must be 
 steady and serious rather than quick and venturesome? 
 How much thought do we put into our neighbor's prob- 
 lems? How many sacrifices are we willing to endure 
 for his sake? 
 
 In doing homage to the Lord the centurion loses noth- 
 ing and gains very much. If only we could rid ourselves 
 of the idea of personal station, personal worth, personal 
 prestige in coming to the Master. If we could but for- 
 get who we are and what we are as we come into the 
 House of the Lord in our desire to commune solely with 
 Him, how much more of real worth the service would 
 have in store for us and how much greater the blessing 
 would be which we should' enjoy. How much more 
 helpful we would be as we emerge from the service to 
 take up again the station assigned to us and now trans- 
 figured by the Spirit of Christ. After all, if we would 
 learn the true meaning and application of helpfulness 
 we must turn from the centurion who has revealed this 
 virtue to us from its human standpoint to Christ who will 
 reveal to us the essence of Divine helpfulness. 
 
 Divine helpfulness rests, of course, on Divine power 
 and love. Undoubtedly the centurion was brought time 
 and again into direct contact with leprosy and all sorts 
 of disease. We are not told that he healed the sick. 
 
THIRD SUNDJAY AFTER EPIPHANY 109 
 
 We are not told that he ever pretended to do so. He 
 was a soldier who represented the power of Rome, not a 
 disciple who represented the power of God or a physician 
 who represented the science of medicine. But here comes 
 one who is sent of God, the very Son of God, moving 
 in an atmosphere of sin and sickness, among a people 
 whose faith is weak and needs to be strengthened, among 
 a generation that has been accustomed to signs and won- 
 ders. The question is not so much why did Jesus resort 
 to miracles in healing the sick, the question is rather 
 how could Jesus have refrained from exercising the 
 power which belonged to Him when confronted by a 
 faith such as that of the leper, on the one hand, or the 
 centurion, on the other. He was incarnate power and 
 they who came to Him in true faith were ever to expe- 
 rience the efficacy of this power. 
 
 The helpfulness of Jesus rests upon Divine Love. He 
 was not the cold and stoic Roman who reasoned out His 
 position, but the sanely emotional Israelite who entered 
 into communion with His brother, listened to his plea, 
 and if it was found to be an honest plea, assumed the 
 burden of the pleader, and granted his request. We 
 cannot imagine a centurion, noble man though he was, 
 touching the leper in order that this poor outcast might 
 feel a brother's hand laid upon him. And yet that is 
 just what Jesus does, the one thing no one else would 
 do. And Jesus does it that the leper may experience the 
 blending of power and love in one and the same never- 
 to-be-forgotten touch. 
 
 The helpfulness of Jesus asserts itself in its power 
 of penetration to the utmost ends of the earth. He 
 heals the centurion's servant though he does not enter 
 the centurion's home. Would you call this absent treat- 
 ment? I would not. It was present treatment, the 
 power of Jesus manifesting itself, not through human 
 agencies, but directly; the unseen power of God was at 
 
no SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 work in answer to a prayer. And this power will not 
 limit itself to a circumscribed environment or nation. It 
 is as manifest in the healing of the leper as it is in the 
 healing of the centurion's servant, though the one be 
 a Jew and the other a servant of a gentile. 
 
 Christ does not act slowly or deliberately in response 
 to the pleadings of genuine faith. The leper is cleansed 
 straightway. The centurion's servant is healed in that 
 hour. Divine helpfulness is ever ready to act and does 
 act quickly. It is so unlike the helpfulness of the cen- 
 turion and of us the descendants who wait until the last 
 moment ere we extend a helping hand and when the 
 hand is extended we find it is too late, our brother has 
 fallen. 
 
 The helpfulness of Jesus would teach us, furthermore, 
 the necessity of an adequate remedy. Leprosy can be 
 eased by us. It can be healed only by Christ. The cen- 
 turion's servant might have been healed by a physician 
 of today, but the centurion's life could not be made a 
 better, stronger, more helpful life than it then was save 
 by Christ. The remedy of Christ is adequate because 
 it is nothing less than the rebuilding of the whole man. 
 It does not mean the expulsion from the system of a 
 germ. It does not mean the restoration of wasted tissues. 
 It means the re-creation of man. It means putting off 
 the old man and putting on the new. 
 
 Dear friends, the centurion's life, helpful as it was 
 before he came into contact with Christ, was undoubtedly 
 a vastly more helpful life after the recovery of his ser- 
 vant. Surely he was a Philemon and his one-time slave, 
 his brother Onesimus, and both, disciples of Jesus. 
 
XIV. 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matthew 8 : 25-26. 
 
 "And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Save, Lord; wc 
 perish. And he saith unto them,. Why are ye fearful, O ye of little 
 faith?" 
 
 Great crowds of people have been attracted by the 
 preaching of Jesus. They are in nucleus, at If-ast, the 
 same crowds that have been listening to the sledge-ham- 
 mer thrusts of John, but they have grown in numbers 
 and they have acquired an added desire to hear. No one 
 has ever preached as did Jesus when in the Sermon on 
 the Mount he unfolded the real significance of the King- 
 dom of God and asserting its real constitution, laid down 
 certain standards and established certain tests, standards 
 and tests clearly emphasized in God's dealings with His 
 people in the days of the old covenant, but misunderstood, 
 misinterpreted and wilfully misconstrued by the very 
 leaders of the people, some of the later representatives 
 of whom are in His audience. Comiing down from the 
 mount, Jesus has at once sought to apply the religion He 
 has been teaching, in His contact with individual souls. 
 He meets a poor leper whose request to be made clean 
 is granted. He is confronted by a centurion whose ser- 
 vant is lying at home sick of the palsy, grievously tor- 
 mented. The faith of the heathen centurion is rewarded 
 as was that of the Jewish leper. Jesus enters Peter's 
 house simply to find himself again confronted by sick- 
 ness. The mother of Peter's wife is lying sick of a 
 fever. Jesus heals her. Do you suppose that an activity 
 such as this can continue indefinitely without any respite 
 
 III 
 
112 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 on the part of one who, though He be the Son of God, 
 has assumed human nature? Do you not realize how 
 very essential it was for Him to rest, especially if you 
 bear in mind the many reverses and misunderstandings 
 with which even now He is compelled to contend ? Bear 
 in mind the coming of the scribe whose impetuosity has 
 made him absolutely blind to what is really involved in 
 following Jesus withersoever He is to go. Remember 
 also the coming of the disciple who believes it proper for 
 Jesus to wait, to put aside His program, until he, the 
 disciple, has gone to bury his father, a task to which 
 others can attend, whether he has been a faithful son 
 during his father's lifetime or not. 
 
 Jesus needs to withdraw from the multitude. He 
 needs to withdraw from the individuals who are emerg- 
 ing from that multitude to harass Him with all sorts of 
 petty questions. The surest way of withdrawing is by 
 way of the lake and by means of the boat which has 
 already been gotten ready for Him in response to the 
 direct contmand issued to the disciples. And thus at 
 eventide, after a day which has been a veritable benedic- 
 tion to the great multitude now assembled about the 
 shores of the lake, Jesus enters into a boat and His dis- 
 ciples follow Him. The wondrous restfulness of the 
 scene need not be portrayed to those whose good fortune 
 it has been to launch their own boats or the boats of 
 their friends at eventide for an hour or two of silent 
 contemplation of the wonders of God manifest in the 
 dying radiance of one orb and the rising radiance of 
 another; in the sense, which must come to true children 
 of God at such a time, of being alone with their Father. 
 Jesus needed solitude. He needed rest. Solitude and 
 rest are to be found in the boat of the disciple, not as it 
 lies along the strand, but as it is pushed out into the deep 
 beyond the reach of a multitude which dare not follow 
 Him at once, though it will not forever remain behind. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 113 
 
 The childlike trust of Jesus is beautifully portrayed in 
 the record of the event preserved by Mark. He Himself 
 was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. But while He 
 slept conditions were fast changing. A storm arose! 
 Was it due to an earthquake beneath the lake as Matthew 
 has been interpreted or to a great wind which swept 
 down from the mountainside and across the bosom of 
 the waters, as the other evangelists seem to think? This 
 does not matter to us, for the important thing is the 
 arising of the storm from whatever cause. And the next 
 important thing is to note the extraordinary fear on the 
 part of men who are sailors as they come to the sleeping 
 Jesus, arouse Him from the rest He so much needs and 
 bid Him realize the condition of their boat, rapidly filling 
 with water as the waves are dashing over the side. 
 
 Friends, is there not in the state of mind of these 
 men a very important lesson to those of us who even 
 yet at times experience the sense of fear in our every- 
 day life? Is there any one person in this congregation 
 who never has a moment of fear, induced by whatsoever 
 cause? Are we exempt from a feeling which at some 
 time or other seems to have possessed even the stoutest 
 hearts of all ages? Are the great men and women of 
 Europe today absolutely free from every pang of this 
 dread monster's influence ? Are our leaders as they face 
 the new responsibilities of a new day absolutely fearless ? 
 Are we fearless as we face the morrow? If not, is there 
 any cure for this malady, for surely it is a malady? Yes, 
 friends, there is a cure for it, but in order that we may 
 apply the remedy we must know the cause. In order that 
 we may know the cause our diagnosis must be careful 
 and painstaking. Was there any reason why the disciples 
 acted as they did ? Could they or would they have acted 
 differently under other circumstances ? Would such other 
 action have promoted peace and health and life? If so, 
 our investigation is worth while. In endeavoring to 
 
114 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 trace the cause of fear we shall bear in mind the con- 
 crete illustration presented in the gospel lesson for this 
 day. There is no doubt about it, the disciples, fishermlen 
 though they be, sailors though they be, accustomed to 
 boats and the management of boats, even in crises, know- 
 ing the comparatively little lake of Galilee perfectly, have 
 suddenly forgotten every rule of seamanship as their 
 boat rocks wildly and dangerously in the trough and upon 
 the crest of a raging storm. What shall they do ? What 
 can they do? Their coming to Jesus, under ordinary 
 circumstances a most laudable thing, is at this juncture 
 a sign of weakness and merits the rebuke with which the 
 Master addresses them. 
 
 Fear is the fastening of the mind upon the object to be 
 feared. When the disciples came to the sleeping Jesus 
 with their cry, "Save, Lord; we perish," they did not 
 place sufficient emphasis upon the first two words. They 
 placed the emphasis upon the last two "we perish." The 
 storm had suddenly assumed not the guise of an enemy 
 to be fought and conquered, but the form of an invincible 
 demon in whose presence they counted for absolutely 
 nothing, in whose embrace their boat was but a shell, and 
 they mere toys. Their thought of Jesus was secondary. 
 Their thought of the storm was primary. Their great 
 momentary concern was not a concern for the Kingdom 
 the interests of which were being jeopardized by the 
 storm; it was not a concern for Jesus, it is a question 
 whether they included Him in their thought in crying 
 out "we perish," their momentary concern was not for 
 their families who would naturally suffer as the result 
 of their loss. Their one thought was the storm. The one 
 picture painted by their mental anguish was a picture of 
 despair, of impending doom, of death. Suppose Jesus 
 had not been in that boat at that moment, of course they 
 would have perished. They deserved nothing more. 
 Their mind fastened upon destruction and death invited 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 115 
 
 the very agencies of which they were afraid. Their boat 
 was filling with water. What were they doing to offset 
 this calamity. The storm was swooping down upon them. 
 Why were they not driving into its very teeth bidding it 
 defiance? Isn't it tragic to realize that a man like Peter 
 was in that boat, a man whose impetuosity made him so 
 strong at times, and so weak at other times? There is 
 another classic illustration of Peter's fear which drives 
 home the point we have been endeavoring to make. Jesus 
 has been led away by the band of legalistic outlaws to 
 the home of Caiaphas, the high-priest, where the scribes 
 and elders were gathered together and this same Peter 
 followed Him afar off because he was anxious to see the 
 end of it all. While sitting in the court a maid came 
 to him, and then another and a third time people came 
 to him saying "of a truth thou art also one of them?" 
 What was it that made Peter curse and swear? What 
 was it that made him say, *T know not the man?" Noth- 
 ing other than fear. As he sat in the semi-darkness of 
 the court with a bad conscience, realizing undoubtedly 
 that his place ought not to be there, but beside the Master ; 
 as he saw the guard, as he listened to the by no means un- 
 certain conversation, he saw death staring Jesus in the 
 face, and he saw death staring him in the face. One word 
 might have sent him in to be the companion of Jesus 
 on the via dolorosa, one statement on his part might have 
 influenced the authorities to erect an additional cross. 
 Peter saw it all and he shrank from it all. He was afraid. 
 In his moment of fear he saw death and nothing else. 
 He did not see Jesus. He did not remember the words 
 of Jesus. He did not think of Jesus. He thought of no 
 one except himself. He did the inevitable thing under 
 the circumstances. His fear forced him to deny his 
 Savior. The very thing which, in a sane moment, he 
 would not have thought of doing, he did. Fastening the 
 mind on an object to be feared can have but one result. 
 
Ii6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 It can never end otherwise than in tragedy. We need 
 not add further illustrations. This is exactly what hap- 
 pens in our moments of fear. We fasten the mind ten- 
 aciously upon the object to be feared. 
 
 Now, fastening the mind tenaciously upon the object 
 to be feared brings about a loss of the sense of propor- 
 tion and drives out of the mind the very things we need 
 to offset the fear. As we have seen, the disciples had 
 but one thought as they realized the severity of the storm, 
 the thought of perishing. Their going to Jesus to arouse 
 Him was not the act of calm, heroic men. It was rather 
 the act of hysterical men who had lost every vestige of 
 self, of trust, of faith, of proportion. Remember, if you 
 please, they were not Christians when subjected to this ex- 
 perience; they were very weak, Jewish disciples of the 
 Christ, and then compare their conduct with the conduct 
 of other men of the nineteenth century, whose lives, at 
 least some of them, were not at all times exemplary, but 
 who, having directly or indirectly come under the influ- 
 ence of Christianity, could stand as heroes upon the decks 
 of a sinking vessel helping others into lifeboats while lis- 
 tening to the strains of the hymn "Nearer My God to 
 Thee" and preparing to meet their God. Surely the sink- 
 ing of the Titanic reminding us of Babylon in one respect, 
 reminds us as well of the enormous advance made by man- 
 kind through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 
 driving out fear. Fear causes a loss of the sense of pro- 
 portion. It is true the storm was raging on the lake of 
 Galilee. It is true the little boat was rapidly being filled. 
 It is true a storm is not to be welcomed as an auspicious 
 visitor. It is equally true the sun was shining in many 
 regions not affected by the storm. It is true that storms 
 constitute the intensive moments of life and yield in turn 
 to the more extensive moments of life. The disciples 
 thought of nothing but the storm. Jesus would have them 
 rise above self and think of other things or at least 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 117 
 
 think of themselves, the disciples of Christ, as victors 
 over storms. We speak of people as mono-maniacs when 
 they have lost all sense of proportion. Fear produces 
 mono-maniacs. We may be perfectly reasonable in every 
 respect save one, but in giving way to fear we have 
 allowed that one mania of ours to drive out and sup- 
 plant every good and true and holy motive. If fear can 
 thus be diagnosed as the fixing of the mind upon an un- 
 desirable and disproportionate object do you not see that 
 it is comparatively simple to prescribe a cure ? 
 
 Its cure lies in doing exactly what the disciples did, 
 though the doing of it must be done in quite another 
 way. They had started on a journey across the lake of 
 Galilee, depending upon their own skill. They took Jesus 
 along with them upon this journey as a guest, not as 
 their pilot. They counted upon His services, if at all, as 
 a last resort, not as essential to the beginning, continuance 
 and ending of their journey. Contrast again, if you 
 please, the conduct of these disciples in the emergency 
 which has arisen, as they face death, with the conduct of 
 the Master as a little later He faces death and realizes 
 not its probability but its absolute certainty. They rush, 
 as frightened, hysterical distracted children to him Who 
 alone can help them, indicating by their rude awakening 
 their helplessness and unbelief. On the other hand, Jesus 
 has from the very beginning of His life upon earth en- 
 trusted Himself completely to the keeping of His Father. 
 He has come to do His will. He listens to His voice, obeyg 
 His commands, consults with Him from day to day and 
 from hour to hour. Jesus lives in the Father and the 
 Father in Jesus. The Father was the pilot of Jesus' life 
 and Jesus trusted His pilot. There is something won- 
 derfully helpful and stimulating to every Christian in the 
 contemplation of this relationship of the Son to the 
 Father. If the relationship of the disciples to Jesus had 
 at the moment of the storm on the lake been similar to 
 
ii8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the relationship of Jesus to the Father they would have 
 asked Jesus to help, but they would have done it in a 
 very different spirit and in a very different manner. They 
 had not yet learned the lesson they were about to learn. 
 They did not realize that their journey across the lake 
 was but typical and symboHcal of the journey ot life; 
 they did not then appreciate the value of having Jesus 
 aboard their craft as its pilot. How were they to elimi- 
 nate the fear which held them captive? By according 
 to Christ His rightful place. As soon as Christ is in 
 command of their craft their unbeHef is rebuked, their 
 fear is driven out and the winds are rebuked. Dear 
 friends, is it not true that it makes all the difference in 
 the world whether Christ is simply to be a guest on your 
 craft, allowed during at least a great part of your trip 
 to be both out of your sight and out of your mind as He 
 is permitted to slumber somewhere in the stern, or its 
 pilot, in complete control of the vessel and bound to bring 
 you safely into port? The words of Jesus addressed to 
 the disciples are just as pertinent when addressed to us 
 at the present day: "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little 
 faith?" Their fear was produced because there was not 
 some bigger faculty of mind and heart and soul to keep 
 it out of their lives. If there had been faith in their 
 hearts fear would have found no lodgment there. Faith 
 produces assurance, but faith centers in personality and 
 whereas their faith was sufficiently strong to drive them 
 to Christ in an emergency, their faith was not sufficiently 
 strong to keep their boat on an even keel. "They could 
 not at that moment have said with Paul: "We are more 
 than conquerors through Him that loved us." Shall we 
 not examine ourselves? Shall we not admit our journey 
 has often been interfered with by storms of all sorts be- 
 cause we have not permitted the relationship to be estab- 
 lished between ourselves and Christ which Christ permit- 
 ted to exist between Himself and the Father? If it be 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 119 
 
 true that fear is caused by the fastening of the mind on 
 the object to be feared it is equally true that fear will be 
 forever banished if another, more helpful, more health- 
 ful, more vital object shall be permitted to act as an anti- 
 dote. Friend, as Christ accomplished the work and the 
 passion placed upon Him strengthened by His Father, 
 may we with equal candour and devotion acknowledge 
 that Jesus is the pilot of our ship. 
 
XV. 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matthew 13 : 24-25. 
 
 "The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good 
 seed in his field: but while men slept his enemy came and sowed 
 tares also among the wheat, and went away." 
 
 To the Jew of Jesus' day the parable was not unique. 
 As he listened to the teachings of the preceptors of the 
 race he found emerging from the discourse as its climax 
 a parable drawn from life. But there was this great 
 difference between the parables of Jesus and those of 
 the Jews, in the latter everything that had been said led 
 up to a final analogy which was apt to make the hearer 
 forget the real lesson. For Jesus the parable was the 
 real starting point. It was but an introduction to sus- 
 tained thought concerning a difficult subject. No subject 
 was more thoroughly misunderstood by the contempo- 
 raries of Jesus than that of the Kingdom of God and yet 
 no subject was more important. Hence we can readily 
 understand the emphasis placed by Jesus on parables 
 of the Kingdom, their multiplication until every detail 
 was illumined by parabolic teaching. And we can also 
 understand the otherwise enigmatic statement of Jesus 
 concerning the parables : "Unto you it is given to know 
 the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them it 
 is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, 
 and he shall have abundance; but whosoever hath not, 
 from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 
 Therefore speak I to them in parables because seeing 
 they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they 
 understand. And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of 
 
 120 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 121 
 
 Isaiah which saith: By hearing ye shall hear and shall 
 in no wise understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall 
 in no wise perceive ; for this people's heart is waxed gross, 
 and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they 
 have closed ; lest haply they should perceive with their 
 eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their 
 heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them." 
 Christ has not closed the eyes and ears and hearts of 
 these people. He has not restrained them. He has not 
 endeavored to make things hard for them, but they have 
 closed their ears and eyes and hearts. They have come 
 to ridicule and to criticise. They have come to inform 
 Him that they have done all these things from their youth 
 up. They have come with no real interest in the message 
 of the Kingdom and consequently this teaching in para- 
 bles means little to them, but for that matter no teaching 
 would have meant more. Fortunately there are some 
 in that audience who are anxious to be His disciples, 
 anxious to learn of Him and just as the parables as mere 
 introductory statements mean nothing to those who have 
 hardened their hearts, they mean infinitely much to those 
 whose hearts are open to the influences of the Spirit. And 
 you and I with the benefit of these twenty centuries be- 
 hind us find the parables of Jesus to be great store- 
 houses of truth. The storehouses will forever remain 
 closed to them who endeavor to seek mere mental food, 
 but will ever remain open to those who realize the value 
 of spiritual analogies, spiritual influences, spiritual seed- 
 thoughts. Take, for instance, this parable concerning 
 the tares found in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, 
 a chapter that teems with just such teaching concerning 
 the Kingdom. Let us endeavor, with the help of the 
 Spirit, to seek out its lessons. "The Kingdom of heaven," 
 Jesus says, "is likened to a man that sowed good seed in 
 his field ; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed 
 tares also among the wheat, and went away." The ques- 
 
123 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 tion asked by the servants is, of course, the question we 
 must ask, and this question concerns the disposition of 
 the tares. What shall we do with the tares? There is 
 a three-fold answer, the answer of the wakeful enemy, 
 the answer of the drowsy servants and the answer of the 
 watchful householder. The parable proves to us as so 
 many other parables do, the keen power of observation 
 of our Lord. We can hardly imagine any one doing just 
 what this enemy of the householder did. It seems such 
 a contemptible thing to do, this dastardly undoing of the 
 beneficent activity of another, this example of spite work 
 pure and simple. Think of the motives which prompt any 
 such person. Think of the utter lack of principle. Think 
 of the actual suffering involved for many who are de- 
 pendent upon the fruition of the seed planted in that 
 field. And yet we are told that this particular method of 
 showing enmity or revenge was by no means unusual in 
 the orient. We are told of instances in which exactly 
 this thing was done, after a householder had spent earn- 
 est thought upon the preparation of his soil, after he 
 had spent time and of his substance in securing the very 
 best possible seed, after he had secured laborers to plant 
 the seed, after everything had been done that the human 
 mind and hands can do in the constructive work of the 
 world, an enemy who for some reason or other believed 
 himself to have been wronged by this householder, in 
 order to show his resentment went out into the field, while 
 men slept, and in the silence and seclusion of the night 
 planted seeds of darnel, seeds of a weed so much like the 
 grain which the householder had planted in its first ap- 
 pearance, it must be given time and hence power to assert 
 its destructive sway ere it can be discovered and rooted 
 out. And, of course, the rooting out is a difficult, tedious 
 and dangerous process. We of the cities and of a later 
 Christian century may not actually go out into the fields 
 of another man to undo the work he has there done, per- 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 123 
 
 haps because we are not engaged in agriculture, but is 
 it not true, that acting under the inspiration of Satan, 
 the enemy of the Kingdom of God, we are far too often 
 engaged in the very thing we here brand as despicable. 
 In the unjust judgments which we subtly and in a some- 
 times concealed manner render concerning others, in 
 the attempt to resort to unfair business methods, in the 
 rivalries which have passed the stage of good-natured 
 competition, in the effort to undermine the faith and 
 Christian life of another, by thought and word and deed, 
 we are, day by day, doing or attempting to do just what 
 this enemy of the oriental householder did. And, strange 
 and sad to say, we practice these methods until, with the 
 enemy of the parable, we believe ourselves to be justi- 
 fied in doing what we do. In answer to the question, 
 "What shall we do with the existing tares," the wake- 
 ful enemy answers: "your weak efforts will not change 
 the order of the universe nor will they change the course 
 of a single life. There are certain forces at work and 
 they will continue to work until the end of time. In the 
 economy of things there is a place for tares otherwise 
 they would not exist, hence it is best to look upon them 
 as part of this world and if necessary utilize them." Of 
 course, this wakeful enemy, though he reasons thus, 
 proves by his action that his thought and his deed have 
 not been brought into complete subjection to the thought 
 of the world ^bout him. He is not in full accord with 
 the best thought, represented by the conscience of his 
 neighbors, and that is the reason the man who reasons 
 in this way acts quietly, stealthily, secretly, clandestinely. 
 He cannot afford to work by day for he still cherishes 
 the esteem of his fellow-citizens. Another reason why 
 he dare not work by day is because by doing so he would 
 be brought into direct conflict with the forces of right- 
 eousness and he is shrewd enough to know that that is 
 unwise, as it eventually means his overthrow. In a 
 
124 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 recent story picturing a prevalent phase of life, a man 
 who engages in certain ventures in disposing of securities 
 which possess no value and concerning which he knows 
 that they possess no value, is asked by a friend: "'Do you 
 re-visit the people to whom you have sold these stocks? 
 Do you find they continue to be your friends?" With- 
 out any apparent shame the destroyer of honest inter- 
 course among men answers: "No, as a rule, I do not 
 find it possible to interest persons a second time, and as 
 for holding them as friends, that, too, is often impossible, 
 but then, you know, there is a certain fascination in deal- 
 ing with new faces and in making new friends." There 
 are men and women today, some readily distinguish- 
 able, others not so easily pointed out, who engage 
 in this dastardly work of destroying trust, of tearing 
 down the buildings that have been reared with great 
 efifort, of uprooting plants that have been nurtured with 
 great care, of undoing the work in which honest men 
 and women engage. It has been pointed out that the 
 parables of Jesus were all of them uttered as a protest 
 against the false standards, the false accusations, the 
 subtle thrusts and questionings of the enemies of Jesus; 
 they were called forth by the regular nightly prowling 
 of the Pharisees and scribes and perhaps of others who 
 ought equally be censured. These false leaders were not 
 the servants of the living God as people supposed them to 
 be, they were tools, pliable tools in the hands of Satan. 
 Of course, Jesus means that Satan is the enemy of the 
 Kingdom of God. He means that Satan is he who is 
 sowing seeds of weeds where good seed has already been 
 planted. Jesus knows with whom He has to wage war- 
 fare. He knows that this conflict is being carried on with 
 one who works secretly and He knows that Satan em- 
 ploys tools. We ought not to divert our attention from 
 the real meaning of the parable and the proper interpre- 
 tation of its characters, but as the parables are answers 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 125 
 
 to the craftiness of the Pharisees they ought still to be 
 looked upon as parables of the twentieth century life in 
 which Satan employs real men and women to do the 
 things he himself shrinks from doing. 
 
 There is a second answer to the question "What shall 
 we do with the tares?" It is the answer suggested by 
 the servants of the householder: "And the servants of 
 the householder came and said to him, Sir, didst thou 
 not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it 
 tares? And he said unto them. An enemy hath done 
 this. And the servants say unto him. Wilt thou then that 
 we go and gather them up?" The surprise of the ser- 
 vants is evident and genuine. They have been engaged 
 in agriculture long enough to know that the householder 
 has sowed good seed. Their confidence in his knowledge 
 and judgment is unimpaired as they come to apprise him 
 of an unfortunate state of affairs and offer their services 
 to offset the ravages which have been wrought. Let us 
 not be unkind in our judgment of these servants. They 
 have toiled earnestly and long. They have borne the 
 heat and labor of the day. They have endeavored to be 
 faithful. And yet what a correct picture of the disciples 
 these servants present and we may say, what a correct 
 picture of those who have, in the various ages of the 
 church's life, been servants of their Master. They have 
 toiled during the day. Some may have toiled during the 
 night. But there has been a lack of concentrated, intelli- 
 gent, faithful, continuous service in the vineyard. There 
 have been too many nights when the field has been left 
 entirely unprotected. They, the servants, have needed 
 rest and no one will deny them this need, but there ought 
 to have been other servants able and ready to stand sen- 
 tinel in order that the field might not be left unprotected. 
 We know that in certain districts the custom observed 
 in the orient still prevails and that instead of make-believe 
 men to guard the fields from the ravages of birds there 
 
126 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 are real men to guard them from the ravages of wild 
 beasts and of men. Too often there have been make- 
 believe men in the Lord's vineyard and too seldom have 
 real men stood watch as Satan endeavored to overthrow 
 the work of the true servants. In our own time there 
 has been a growing sense of consciousness that some of 
 these real men and women must be the men and women 
 who occupy the pews, not as they leave the pews and 
 enter into a necessary official relationship, but as they 
 recognize the duty incumbent upon laymen to further the 
 interests of the Kingdom of God. The servants in the 
 parable not only imitate the disciples in their desire 
 for sleep at crucial moments, but they are very much like 
 them in their desire so often to do the wrong thing. Their 
 efforts are honest and well-meant, but misdirected. They 
 follow the initiative of their contemporaries and herein 
 again we note the keen power of observation on Christ's 
 part. We are told that it was no unusual thing in His 
 day in the holy land to see great bands of people in the 
 fields, doing exactly this work of trying to get rid of 
 weeds in growing grain. Jesus would say: There are 
 many well-meant but misdirected efforts which must be 
 curbed because they are harmful. To most men and 
 women not acquainted with the situation the proposed 
 solution appeals as a considerate remedy. Its fallacy 
 will appear manifest as we learn more about the culti- 
 vation of fields or the cultivation of the Lord's vineyard. 
 Hence it is important to consider the answer of the house- 
 holder to the question concerning the disposition of the 
 tares. As the servants ask him whence the tares come 
 and add "wilt thou then that we go and gather them 
 up" ? the householder answers, "Nay, lest haply while ye 
 gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. 
 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time 
 of the harvest I will say to the reapers, gather up first 
 the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 127 
 
 gather the wheat into my barn." Tares, a positive good ; 
 that is Satan's answer; tares, a positive evil, hence to be 
 uprooted immediately, that is the servants' answer ; tares, 
 a positive evil, but lest we mistake wheat for tares and 
 tares for wheat, let them both grow together until the 
 harvest; that is the answer of the householder, the answer 
 of Jesus and the answer of God. When the servants 
 come to their master with their sorrowful story they are 
 surprised to find before them one who is not at all per- 
 turbed as they are. He is even more directly affected, be- 
 cause the loss will rest most heavily upon him. Yet he 
 seems to have anticipated the enemy's deed. Perhaps in 
 view of this very anticipation the seed has been more 
 thickly planted, which would make it all the more difficult 
 to distinguish between the tares and the wheat. At any 
 rate, in a very calm way, this householder who has been 
 informed of a terrible mischief that has been wrought, 
 instead of furthering, restrains the zeal of his servants. 
 In restraining the zeal of his servants he eliminates many 
 mistakes that would otherwise be made by permitting the 
 wheat to ripen. This is one of the laws of the Kingdom 
 of God which it is so difficult for many persons to under- 
 stand. Ordinarily, of course, we would say, eradicate 
 evil as soon as it appears. Do not permit it to exist for 
 one moment longer than necessary. Undoubtedly this 
 rule would be followed in the working out of the prin- 
 ciples of the Kingdom of God if human beings could 
 be sufficiently divine to make no mistakes in the process 
 of sifting. But mistakes would be made as mistakes 
 have been made whenever such efforts have been tried. 
 The householder's zeal is not a desire to propagate tares, 
 but a desire to garner every bit of pure wheat available. 
 His desire is not to heap up a great pile and burn it in 
 revenge, but to have the wheat for His barn. 
 
XVI. 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matthew 17:2. 
 
 "He was transfigured before them and his face did shine as the 
 sun, and his garmjents became white as the light." 
 
 Sometime ago an earnest Bible student, with com- 
 paratively little knowledge of the church year, asked: 
 "Why has this most important story, representing a crisis 
 in the life of Christ, been assigned as the gospel lesson 
 for the sixth Sunday after Epiphany, a Sunday we so 
 rarely celebrate?" The young man who put this ques- 
 tion was perfectly sincere ; to him the story of the Trans- 
 figuration had become an essential link in the life of 
 Christ. He would have this story told over and over 
 again, year after year, and not assigned to a Sunday 
 which does not recur with successive years, but only in 
 those years in which Easter happens to fall upon a very 
 late day. We have recently decided the contention of 
 the young man to be correct in assigning this lesson to 
 the last Sunday after Epiphany, whatever that Sunday 
 may be. The story of the Transfiguration belongs to 
 this Sunday if you would observe the symmetry of the 
 unfolding Christ life. Those who are responsible for 
 the selection of our gospel lessons knew full well that 
 this crisis, this important event, this overshadowing 
 moment in the life of Jesus belongs nowhere else than, 
 just here. It is a necessary bridge, marking the transi- 
 tion from an important part of the life of Christ upon 
 earth to a more important part, from what has been well 
 termed the constant ascent of that life to its descent into 
 
 128 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 129 
 
 the valley of humiliation, suffering and death. As such 
 a connecting link, it very properly assumes its place at 
 the close of the Epiphany season, a season during which 
 we have contemplated the setting forth of the glory and 
 the power of Christ, and at the threshold of the three 
 Sundays which mark the introduction to the Lenten sea- 
 son. The three evangelists, whose similar treatment of 
 the gospel story has caused them to be grouped together, 
 all of them refer to the approximate week which has 
 elapsed since certain events occurred, defined by them as 
 precursors of the Transfiguration. Unless we realize the 
 significance of these events we shall be unprepared for the 
 lesson of this day. 
 
 After a long, long period of preparation, after days 
 and weeks and months and years of almost constant in- 
 tercourse, after a reiteration of fundamental teachings to 
 various audiences, not only that the multitudes might be 
 taught, but especially also that the disciples might ac- 
 quire the principles of the kingdom and be taught to com- 
 municate them to all sorts and conditions of men, after 
 the exercise of the power of God in the restoration of 
 many in the presence of these same disciples, realizing 
 that this sort of intercourse, this sort of life, this sort of 
 testimony, this sort of fellowship could not continue 
 indefinitely, but that He must be about His Father's 
 business in even another way, Jesus, having thus trained 
 His disciples, having thus enkindled and fostered their 
 faith, having converted them from uncouth, simple- 
 minded fishermen and peasants to world forces and world 
 teachers, is ready to ask them a question which He knows 
 they are now prepared to answer in a sense in which they 
 could not have answered it before. The question was 
 not to be asked them in Galilee, amid surroundings which 
 might have reminded them of their former life and their 
 former unbelief, but they were to accompany Him to the 
 parts of Caesarea Philippi and there, in an environment 
 
130 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 which, because of its very strangeness, made them think 
 of life more seriously than they thought of it in their 
 home. He asked them the supreme question with which 
 every man and every woman must at some time or other 
 be confronted: "What think ye of Christ?" for the first 
 question He puts to them: "Who do men say that the 
 Son of Man is?" is but introductory to the second: "What 
 say ye that I am?" You remember the splendid testi- 
 mony of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the 
 living God," a statement which calls forth from the lips 
 of Christ the tribute: "Blessed art thou, Bar-Jonah, 
 for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but 
 My Father who is in heaven." At last the disciples had 
 come far enough along their journey to know that they 
 were in the presence of, associating with Christ, the Son 
 of the living God. They had at last established them- 
 selves, though not as firmly as they might have, upon 
 the rock upon which the church of Jesus Christ stands, 
 the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of 
 God the Father. 
 
 The confession made both possible and necessary the 
 subsequent intimation on the part of Christ of His suf- 
 fering and death. They must learn to know that this 
 Son of the living God has come into the world to suffer 
 and to die and to rise again from the dead. Is it not 
 significant that in this very narration, in the paragraph 
 following the confession of Peter, there is a clear setting 
 forth of one of the many moments illustrative of the 
 weakness of Peter? Jesus, having told them of his suffer- 
 ing, Peter has said: "Be it far from Thee, Lord; this 
 shall never be unto Thee," forcing from Jesus the un- 
 equivocal condemnation: "Get thee behind me, Satan; 
 thou art a stumbling block unto me; for thou mindest 
 not the things of God, but the things of men." Satan 
 did not even then relinquish his hold upon this vacilat- 
 ing disciple of Christ, but continued to assail him until 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 131 
 
 he thought the battle was won in Peter's denial of Christ. 
 The two incidents to which we have alluded somewhat at 
 length must be understood to catch the real significance 
 of the Transfiguration, marking as it does the culmina- 
 tion of the upward march and the beginning of the 
 descent into the valley of humiliation and death. 
 
 May it not be well to sketch the story briefly lest some 
 of us may have forgotten certain of its details? A 
 period of about a week having elapsed since Peter's con- 
 fession and the announcement of His program by Christ, 
 before these two important moments have been lost sight 
 of by the disciples in the routine of their busy lives and 
 long enough after these events to have permitted them 
 to be pondered carefully, Jesus takes three of them, the 
 three who, as you know, constitute the inner circle, up into 
 a mountain. We are not told what mountain. As the 
 mountain upon which God buried Moses has never re- 
 vealed the exact spot marking the grave of this great 
 leader of Israel, as the Acts of the Apostles are brought 
 to a sudden close ere they have told us of the death and 
 place of burial of Paul, so Scripture has woven a halo 
 of mystery about certain places intimately associated with 
 the life of Christ lest we worship shrines and tombs and 
 mountains instead of the living Christ. The mountain to 
 which Christ went with His disciples was either Tabor or 
 Hermon, as they journeyed some distance from or re- 
 mained near to Caesarea Philippi during the important 
 week of reflection upon the testimony to and by Christ. 
 Of one thing we are sure, the purpose of the ascent is 
 specified by Luke, though we scarcely need the sugges- 
 tion. Luke tells us that Jesus took the three disciples 
 and went up into the mountain "to pray." Thus the 
 mount of Transfiguration becomes intimately associated 
 with the garden of Gethsemane into which, at a later 
 time, these same three disciples were taken for the same 
 purpose and in which they succumbed to the same weak- 
 
132 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 ness. For again Luke informs us that "Peter and they 
 that were with him were heavy with sleep." In spite of 
 their confession, in spite of Christ's announcement, they 
 had not yet learned, nor would they ever quite learn, 
 to pray as Jesus prayed. The need, as it appeared to 
 them, as they climbed the mountainside and tarried upon 
 its summit was not a spiritual, but a purely physical need. 
 The need of the Master was spiritual rather than physical, 
 even though the intensity of His life rendered it more 
 reasonable that He should need rest than they. The two 
 scenes upon the mount and in the garden are strikingly 
 similar as Jesus stands apart from the disciples and 
 wrestles with God in prayer. In each case He is to be 
 confronted with ambassadors from on high. In neither 
 case are these messengers sent to remove the cup. They 
 accentuate its importance, but in so doing they strengthen 
 Christ for His superhuman task. God does not endeavor 
 to remove the cup, though Satan does. The disciples do 
 not understand Christ. He needs the fellowship and the 
 testimony of those who do. He feels the solitariness 
 of His position as He has never felt it before, and the 
 disciples need to be assured in some other way than 
 they have been in the past that they have not been mis- 
 taken in their confession. Again Luke supplies an im- 
 portant detail. "As He was praying," in the very moment 
 of His most intense intercourse with God "the fashion of 
 His countenance was altered, and His raiment became 
 white and dazzling." Never has the power of prayer been 
 more manifest than in the transfiguration which has 
 taken place in the Christ. Prayer always transforms if 
 it be true and sincere. Prayer always removes us from 
 the realm of sin and establishes us in the realm of grace 
 and of light. There is nothing illogical or unnatural in 
 the vision which the drowsy disciples returning to full 
 consciousness saw. "They saw His glory." And as 
 they saw Him in His glory they saw standing by His 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 133 
 
 side two representatives of the Kingdom of God. "They 
 saw His glory." A little later Stephen, the first martyr, 
 saw Him in His glory as he saw "the heavens opened, 
 and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." 
 A little later Saul saw Him in His glory in the light that 
 shone round about him on his way to Damascus. A little 
 later others saw Him in His glory, the last and greatest 
 glory manifest to the apostles being the glory of the Self- 
 revealer made known to John upon the island of Patmos. 
 And even yet He reveals Himself in His glory to His true 
 children. Returning from this bit of digression inserted to 
 assure us of our share in every manifestation of Christ's 
 glory, we stand with the disciples as they look upon Jesus 
 and Moses and Elijah. It is significant that in neither 
 of these two witnesses do we discern Abraham, the father 
 of his people, concerning whom the contemporaries of 
 Christ have been so constantly speaking in connection 
 with Moses. To have seen Abraham and Moses, this 
 would have been ideal, according to the judgment of 
 many in that day, this would have been in strict accord- 
 ance with the height of the ambition of Pharisees and 
 scribes. But no, beside Moses the lawgiver, there stands 
 another, mentioned first in the narrative of Mark, though 
 even here made subservient to Moses as Mark says : "And 
 there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses." Elijah, 
 the prophet, the type of John the Baptist; Moses, the 
 type of Christ, the fulfiller of the law. It is again sig- 
 nificant that the three evangelists take care to specify dis- 
 tinctly that these men were seen by the disciples and not 
 only by Christ. Again Luke supplies an important detail 
 in telling us that they "Moses and Elijah appeared in 
 glory, and spake of His decease which He was about to 
 accomplish at Jerusalem." Their first purpose is here 
 clearly indicated as not being to testify of Him to the 
 disciples, but rather to speak to Him concerning His 
 Father's will and to strengthen Him for the impending 
 
134 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 ordeal. He could not speak to the disciples of His death, 
 expecting them to sympathize intelligently and feelingly 
 with Him. And yet how very much He needed to dis- 
 cuss the question with some one. The crisis must be met 
 alone, but it must be met only after proper preparation. 
 It must be met only after consultation. It must be met 
 only after we have had an opportunity to consult with 
 the Father and whomsoever the Father may delegate to 
 come to us. It must be met only in direct submission to 
 the Father's will, which, after all, is the first step in any 
 true exaltation. 
 
 The scene of the Transfiguration presents one of the 
 most intensely personal and private moments in the entire 
 life of Christ. He was justified in demanding that the 
 disciples should tell the vision to no man, until the Son 
 of Man be risen from the dead. Men would have mis- 
 understood the vision as they misunderstood Him. Even 
 the three who were with Christ misunderstood its sig- 
 nificance, otherwise Peter could never have said what 
 he did. Moses and Elijah were sent with no direct mes- 
 sage for the three. "They were talking with Jesus." 
 That is the testimony of the evangelists. There are 
 moments of vision in our lives which are not to be con- 
 verted into seasons of speech. In being permitted to see 
 the glory of Jesus the disciples were to appropriate the 
 gift and the vision vouchsafed to them, not to ask for 
 the bestowal of something else. No wonder that while 
 Peter was saying in an incoherent, meaningless way: 
 "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt I will 
 make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for 
 Moses, and one for Elijah" a bright cloud over- 
 shadowed Moses and Elijah, causing their glory to be 
 overshadowed by the greater glory of Him who was 
 transfigured as a voice out of the cloud repeated heaven's 
 testimony uttered once before at the Baptism of Jesus: 
 "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 135 
 
 hear ye Him." It was not proper at such a moment even 
 to think of ministering to Moses and Elijah. Had Peter 
 spoken less at critical moments and meditated more ere 
 this scene upon the mount occurred, had he been able to 
 bury his impulsive nature more completely in the person 
 of his Master, he might have been able, with John and 
 James, to have rendered unnecessary the appearance of 
 Moses and Elijah. Of course, we realize that their ap- 
 pearance was representative. They represent the law 
 and the prophets which find their fulfilment in Christ. 
 As the cloud overshadows them, it overshadows the law 
 and the prophets of the old covenant and brings Christ 
 into proper relief. The voice which testifies from its 
 citadel on high emphasizes three things: First of all, it 
 testifies of the love of God as directed toward His Son. 
 In all that is to follow, in the moments of suffering and 
 of anguish, in the moments of torture, of false testi- 
 monies, of denials, of betrayals, of false judgment, and 
 of death, there is to be manifest not only a divine love for 
 the world, but there is to be poured out upon this Son a 
 very special portion of this love. Sometimes, however, 
 we love those whose actions have made it impossible to 
 say of them that we are well pleased. The first statement 
 refers to the Father and centers our attention upon Him. 
 The second statement refers to the Son and centers atten- 
 tion upon Him. The pleasure of the Father rests upon 
 and with the Son. There is a third statement intended 
 for Peter and for us. If Jesus is the Son of God in whom 
 God is well pleased, He certainly comes to us with author- 
 ity from on high. The nonsensical advice and sugges- 
 tions of Peter must be eliminated from such an environ- 
 ment. Up to this very moment the disciples have fol- 
 lowed Jesus because of what He said to them, because 
 of their own weakness rather than because of their 
 strength; from this moment on, they are to follow 
 Him, not because of anything He says or does, but 
 
136 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 because of what He is. The testimony of the voice 
 from heaven at the baptism of Jesus was primarily 
 intended for Jesus. "And lo, the heavens were opened 
 unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as 
 a dove, and coming upon him ; and lo, a voice out of the 
 heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 well pleased." On the mount of Transfiguration the 
 voice is directed to the disciples and there is added the 
 significant, authoritative command: "Hear ye Him." 
 
 The transfiguration of life means the unfolding, the 
 unraveling, the exposing of the real self. You cannot 
 forever hide behind a calm exterior the lineaments of 
 either your Lord or Satan. At some time or other you 
 mus(t stand forth as you really are. At some time 
 or other your real self will stand before the world as 
 did the real self of Jesus before the disciples. Shall your 
 life be transfigured or disfigured? Shall it be holy, 
 true and pure because of your willingness to listen to 
 the voice from heaven, or shall it be unholy, untrue and 
 impure because of your willingness to remain at the foot 
 of the mount in the embrace and power of him who is 
 the adversary of Christ? It does make a difference whom 
 we serve, and this difference is traceable in the counten- 
 ance and the life of the individual. 
 
XVI I. 
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA. 
 
 Matthew 20: 16. 
 
 "So the last shall be first, and the first last." 
 
 We dare not ignore the very great importance of 
 this day as the first Sunday in the Easter cycle, which 
 consists of the three Sundays of preparation, the passion 
 season, Holy Week, Easter day, and the Sundays after 
 Easter. We dare not ignore the importance of this day 
 because it forms the outer gate which leads eventually 
 into the Holy of Holies. We may speak of this day as 
 the occasion of our entrance upon a series of meditations 
 and studies, a beginning of the contemplation of deeds 
 and of one great deed, constituting the very heart and 
 core of our faith. We may speak of this day as the 
 first moment of the eleventh hour of the day, the most 
 intense of all hours. It is exceedingly important, there- 
 fore, that our initial meditation shall convince us of the 
 seriousness of the moment, the seriousness of the task, 
 the earnestness of our Lord and the necessary attitude 
 of self. Perhaps no parable of all the parables uttered by 
 Jesus more clearly illustrates the lessons of this day than 
 the story of the laborers in the vineyard, narrated only 
 by Matthew. We are reminded in this parable of the 
 importance of gathering in the rich harvest of the vine- 
 yard promptly and we are further reminded of the grace 
 and goodness of the householder in his dealings with the 
 laborers. May it not be well for us to suggest a thought 
 which is prevalent in the parable as a thought about which 
 the lessons it teaches may be grouped ? We are reminded 
 
 137 
 
138 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 as we read this story that there is an intense hour during 
 the day, an intense season during the year. The intense 
 hour may not necessarily be an hour of sixty precious 
 minutes, but there is a fraction of each day that means 
 more to us than any other part of the day, a period dur- 
 ing which we must be absolutely undisturbed in order that 
 we may center our entire attention upon the task in hand, 
 a period during which we cannot play, no matter how 
 dear the friends are who beckon us and urge us to join 
 them. As a rule, this intense hour of the day, this in- 
 tense period belongs, or should belong, to the morning, 
 when the mind is most active and there is a ready re- 
 sponse to the dictates of every faculty. Occasionally the 
 eleventh hour, the last hour of the day, is the intense 
 hour, during which the account must be closed, during 
 which the remainder of the harvest must be gathered. 
 In a life that is ideal, there should be no eleventh hour. 
 There should be purpose, desire, intensity, poise, activity 
 all the day long. Unfortunately our lives are not ideal. 
 Our religious life is not ideal and there is an intense 
 eleventh hour in it just as there is in our daily business 
 or vocational pursuits. The most intense period of the 
 Christian year is undoubtedly the season upon which we 
 are just entering. The death and resurrection of Jesus 
 are undoubtedly objects of most vital importance for the 
 consideration of the Christian. His thought during this 
 entire period is to be intense as his life is to be intense. 
 He is to be a man of prayer because his Savior was a 
 man of prayer; he is to agonize and suffer and triumph 
 with an agonizing, suffering, victorious Christ. Jesus 
 presents the importance of the task which confronts Hi'^ 
 Father and Himself, in the language of the parable of 
 the vineyard, as He presented the task confronting tlie 
 disciples in the language of the parable of the sower. 
 The world is to be likened unto a vineyard. The work 
 of the vinevard is cumulative. The need for workers is 
 
SEPTUAGESIMIA 139 
 
 not equally great at all seasons. There are times when, 
 the vines having been planted after the vineyard has 
 been properly prepared, it is less necessary to have a large 
 force of workers than during times of preparation, of 
 planting, of storms, of blight, of frost, of drought, of 
 ingathering. There is an eleventh hour in every vine- 
 yard, when the work of the vineyard must be done 
 quickly and effectively, even at large cost, if the labors to 
 that very moment shall not be sacrificed. Sometimes the 
 eleventh hour and the first hour synchronize. Sometimes 
 the intensive hour comes at noon. Sometimes the 
 eleventh hour is the direct resultant of the first. Our 
 first parents, in misapplying the first hour of their day, 
 hastened the approach of the eleventh. Their vineyard 
 might have been a garden, a paradise. They chose a 
 thorny, rocky tract instead. Their task might have been 
 that of supervision and enjoyment. They chose that of 
 the laborers called at the very first hour. From the 
 moment of the fall of the first man, the vineyard assumed 
 a very different aspect, hence work in the vineyard be- 
 came a very difficult thing. Instead of being synony- 
 mous with pleasure, it got to be a hard, grinding pursuit. 
 Thorns and thistles, frost and heat, drought and wet sea- 
 sons, rocky and hard-trodden soil, storms and hurricanes, 
 birds and creeping things, wild beasts and thieving men, 
 evil wishers and malicious devastators, all these infested 
 the vineyard as tools of Satan and largely neutralized the 
 efforts of man to regain paradise. With these obstacles 
 to contend with by day and by night, the householder, 
 depending solely upon human agencies, found his efforts 
 thwarted at every turn, found his vineyard a bit more 
 impoverished after every season of new endeavor, a bit 
 nearer its kinship with the desert and the wilderness. 
 The expression "the fulness of time" applied to the vine- 
 yard did not imply that the work was finished, that the 
 fruit had ripened, that the hour had come for the vintage ; 
 
140 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 it implied, on the other hand, that if the vineyard was 
 to be saved it had become high time to save it, that all 
 efforts along reasonable, ordinary lines having failed to 
 bring results, a superhuman effort must be instituted, the 
 entire resources of heaven and earth must be engaged 
 in this great deed which is to restore the vineyard as a 
 garden, no longer a wilderness, a kingdom of heaven 
 not a kingdom of earth, dominated by low desires and 
 unholy purposes. The intense hour in the vineyard was 
 the fulness of time, not only in which Jesus was born, 
 but especially also the fulness of time in which he suf- 
 fered and died and arose again. The entire world, a 
 vineyard, the vineyard overgrown, overrun ; the laborers, 
 so many of them inefficient, unsympathetic, hostile, 
 mutinous, murderous in their purposes, slaying every 
 laborer whose inclinations and intentions were honest, 
 this was the outlook presented to the eyes of Jesus as 
 He set forth upon His mission. The world from Adam 
 to Christ had gradually retrograded. The world from 
 the day of Christ's appearance among men and the estab- 
 lishment of the Christian church has gradually advanced. 
 The vineyard is more fruitful today than ever, because 
 the crisis has been passed, the most intense hour in its 
 history has been lived and the importance of that hour 
 has been realized by some. Has it been fully realized by 
 us? This brings us very naturally to a consideration of 
 the intense hour from the standpoint of the laborers. 
 
 In the parable we are told of the growing needs of the 
 vineyard as the work progresses. We are informed that 
 laborers were engaged at almost all hours of the day, and 
 are we not to infer from every class, for the work de- 
 mands men and women of every conceivable talent. The 
 first retinue of men for the vineyard was called to service 
 "early in the morning." In the first century of the Chris- 
 tian era there was no eight-hour day. The parable refers 
 to a day of twelve hours, from sunrise to sunset, or from 
 
SEPTUAGESIMA 141 
 
 six o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening. 
 The householder, having returned from his first journey 
 to the market-place, having supervised the getting under 
 way of those whom he had hired, discovered the inability 
 of this body of men to cope with the situation. He did 
 not do as we might have done. He did not discharge the 
 men already employed and seek others. His work was 
 too pressing for that and he too reasonable. The work 
 must be done, and it must be done in a given time. So 
 he set out again, went into the market-place and found 
 others who were sent to his vineyard. The same routine 
 is repeated several times as he finds it necessary to work 
 more intensively. Having gone out at nine o'clock in the 
 morning for the second time, he finds it necessary to go 
 out at noon and again at three o'clock in the afternoon. 
 There is but little over one hour left as he endeavors to 
 study conditions to ascertain the possibility of concluding 
 the work of ingathering that day. He finds again that the 
 work will not and cannot be concluded within the limit 
 of time allowed unless additional laborers be secured. 
 He sets forth once more upon his errand of employment 
 and again visits the market-place, the public employment 
 bureau of oriental towns as it is to this day in some of 
 our communities. It will not do, at the eleventh hour, in 
 view of the work that is to be done, to employ anyone who 
 is unwilling to work, anyone who will at all shirk the 
 responsibilities imposed. Hence the question asked of the 
 men whom he is about to employ is very searching, not 
 calculated to arouse sympathy in the hearts of men un- 
 willing to work, but intended to prove the mettle of those 
 who have already shown their willingness to be of service 
 by remaining in an opportune place to the very last hour, 
 hoping against hope. The householder asks these men: 
 "Why stand ye here all the day idle ?" He has seen them 
 before. They have not particularly appealed to him as 
 able workers. He has passed them by in his earlier jour- 
 
142 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 neyings. He would assure himself now, ere he engages 
 them of their willingness to work. He knows their answer 
 to be true and true men are to be trusted. They say to 
 him: "Because no man hath hired us." They are anxious 
 and willing to be servants. They are ready to attempt to 
 prove, at the very last hour of the day, the seriousness of 
 their purpose. They are engaged. They go. They work. 
 They receive their reward. 
 
 The men of our age have spoken and written much of 
 efficiency. They have endeavored to study men at their 
 work. They have discovered the applicability of certain 
 laws. They have found that men serve more cheerfully, 
 more effectively under certain conditions than under 
 other conditions. They have discovered that the man 
 who works less extensively is apt to work more inten- 
 sively. It would undoubtedly be unfair to many men 
 who have "borne the burden of the day and the scorching 
 heat" to say they have all of them proved to be unfaith- 
 ful, but it is true, nevertheless, that eleventh-hour men 
 are needed to inspire, enthuse and urge on the men who 
 have thus far held the position of supremacy. These 
 eleventh-hour people are like the runners in a race who 
 are a bit slow in getting started, but who, when they have 
 gotten under way, test and defeat the endurance and the 
 ability of runners ahead of them and pass them just be- 
 fore the goal is reached. In the group of chapters of the 
 gospel according to Matthew, of which this is one, Jesus 
 has much to say of the unfaithfulness of the leaders of 
 Israel, who were called by God to be servants in His 
 vineyard, but who, because of their long, uninterrupted 
 service, forgot that they were simply servants and 
 stewards, acting under the instructions of their house- 
 holder, fulfilling His wishes, but gradually assumed posi- 
 tions of unwarranted dictatorship, lording it over men 
 who were called at other hours of the day, establishing 
 traditions of the vineyard which they endeavored to 
 
SEPTUAGESIMA 143 
 
 interpret as laws in force when they entered the vine- 
 yard, making it almost impossible for men to endure the 
 burdens they placed upon them. If the scribes and phari- 
 sees are the laborers of the vineyard who have toiled 
 all the day, or if the priests be looked upon as they who 
 toiled all day and the scribes and pharisees as those who 
 have entered the vineyard at an early hour and dictated 
 its policies, you can readily see why there may have been 
 this expression of satisfaction because of the results 
 achieved by the eleventh-hour men, and this equally 
 strong expression of dissatisfaction with the men who 
 have misapplied their day. Or if you choose to look 
 upon Jesus as the householder engaged in the cultivation 
 of His Father's vineyard, assembling His disciples about 
 Him, you cannot help realizing the force of the parable, 
 as He speaks to them of the faithlessness of the men who 
 have loitered in the vineyard, of their carelessness, and 
 of their recklessness, of their intrigues and of their mur- 
 derous inclinations, and then urges upon them and upon 
 us, as those called in the eleventh hour, to be faithful to 
 our trust, to work while it is day and to help right now 
 to consummate the ingathering of the vintage. 
 
 A study of history is largely a study of crises, and 
 crises are intense hours, or inversely, intense hours are 
 crises, during which large results are wrought. Ought 
 we not be exceedingly grateful that God's love and mercy 
 are to be absolutely unrestrained during these crises and 
 that He is Himself to fix the reward for service faith- 
 fully performed? 
 
 Dear friend, we have been speaking of scribes and 
 pharisees and priests. We have been speaking in the lan- 
 guage of the first century. Shall we not, ere we turn from 
 the consideration of this important text, speak in the lan- 
 guage of the twentieth century? Who are the scribes and 
 pharisees and priests of the twentieth century? May 
 we not perchance be included in such a summarization, we 
 
144 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 who, as pastors and people, have assumed prerogatives 
 which smatter of tradition rather than of the Truth? 
 Have we at all times shown the consideration for our 
 eleventh-hour co-workers our Master would have us 
 show? Do we realize the supreme significance of the 
 Savior's redemption as the suffering and death and resur- 
 rection of Him who came to call not the righteous, but 
 sinners, not those who feel no need for an intensive 
 Savior because they have mistakenly believed themselves 
 to be the children of a Savior of Whom they have heard 
 so constantly they have never felt the need of a vital, 
 incisive, concrete subjection to the Savior's power? 
 
xyiii. 
 
 SEXAGESIMA. 
 
 Luke 8 : 5. 
 "The sower went forth to sow his seed." 
 
 Both Matthew and Luke place the parable of the sower 
 and all other parables uttered by the Master after the 
 sermon on the mount. In the sermon on the mount our 
 Lord employed direct phraseology, words and sentences 
 which needed no poetic instinct to interpret them. He 
 was dealing with a re-formulation of the law for people 
 of legalistic training, hence his language was direct, force- 
 ful and explicit. 
 
 In the story before us a great multitude has again 
 assembled, "they of every city resorted unto Him." 
 Jesus was still growing in popularity with the masses and 
 the Pharisees had not yet begun their open persecution. 
 As the people assembled this time the scene is changed. 
 The background for the preaching is not to be the mount. 
 It is to be the lowland in the region of the sea of Galilee 
 and the sea itself. To speak to a concourse of people 
 such as this, with the more eager pressing so closely about 
 Him that others might not hear and the speaker Himself 
 be hampered, would have been impossible or, at least, 
 impracticable. Taking in the situation at a glance, Christ 
 ordered His disciples to push one of the boats from the 
 shore. As we know, some of the disciples were fisher- 
 men and had their own boats. Sitting in the boat, He 
 began to speak to them. To attract their attention from 
 the very outset He uttered the word "hearken" recorded 
 by Mark. They are not to listen to a statement of moral 
 
 145 
 
146 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 law, but to a testimony concerning the workings of spirit- 
 ual forces. The picture of nature round about them is 
 to offer a suitable text for the pronouncement of a great 
 truth as Jesus speaks to them in truly eastern fashion, in 
 language of poetic import. They are to be taught that 
 we can find traces of God's goodness and human de- 
 pravity round about us. 
 
 We speak much of nature study and its educative value 
 and then we laud the educators of the twentieth century 
 for having taught us this lesson, entirely forgetful of 
 the fact that Jesus was a student of nature, a keen ob- 
 server of its forces, its mysteries, its workings, and a 
 teacher of its profound lessons. His knowledge of the 
 animal world leads Him .to draw lessons from an obser- 
 vation of the habits of the worm, the sparrow, the ser- 
 pent, the camel, the dog and the swine. He is a student 
 of nature, represented in the rocks and streams. He 
 speaks of the lightning sent down from heaven. He 
 speaks repeatedly of soil and seed, of flowers and of trees, 
 and applies the lessons of nature to the needs of man. 
 Jesus was intensely practical. He always uttered the 
 words most needed. On the occasion before us, for 
 instance. He knew that His hearers were all more or less 
 acquainted with the tilling of the soil. It was the most 
 ancient of occupations, practised because of necessity by 
 our first parents when they were driven from the garden 
 of Eden, which they had proved themselves unworthy to 
 possess. 
 
 The three parables recorded by Mark referring to the 
 seed, of which this day's gospel lesson is the first, belong 
 together. In the first, Christ lays the foundations, the 
 difircult foundations for the unregenerate man, upon 
 which the Kingdom of God is reared. In the second, He 
 points out, in the parable of the seed which is planted 
 and grows tip while the sower sleeps, the natural and 
 continual growth of this kingdom, and in the third, the 
 
SEXAGESIMA 147 
 
 parable of the mustard seed, which though it is the small- 
 est of all seeds, grows up into the largest tree, we see the 
 splendor and consummation of this kingdom. Our gospel 
 lesson, therefore, is a fundamental and primary study 
 concerning the Kingdom of God. We shall consider the 
 power of the Word of God as it is here represented by 
 Christ under the figure of the sower and the seed. 
 
 There are certain foregone conclusions in the study of 
 this parable. It is understood that the sower, if he be 
 true to his vocation, shall secure the best possible seed 
 and that he shall be convinced in his own mind that he 
 has succeeded in this preliminary undertaking. It is fur- 
 ther understood that he does not discriminate in the use 
 of seeds by securing seeds_of various quality for what he 
 believes to be locations of various f ruitfulness or soils of 
 various richness. In fact, as the seed which the sower 
 employs is of one quality only, there is no distinction 
 drawn in this parable between good and poor soil. The 
 soil is uniformly good, the adverse influences specified 
 not being due to its composition, but to the addition of 
 certain hostile forces. Applying the lesson as far as we 
 have gone we shall speak of the seed as the Word of God. 
 As the Lord is the sower, so are those whom He has 
 chosen. As the true sower can use but one seed, they 
 who are sowers in His kingdom are constrained to use this 
 same seed which He provides. As the Lord Himself 
 must first prepare the soil for a proper reception of the 
 seed and must wait for the "fulness of time" ere that 
 seed can be planted, we must follow His example. The 
 hearts of men must be prepared for a reception of the 
 grace of God manifest in His Word. What a strong 
 argument this is for the liturgical service if it be engaged 
 in devoutly and whole-heartedly, a preparation of the soil 
 for the reception of the seed which is sown when God's 
 Word is preached in its purity and its real life-giving 
 power is manifest. 
 
148 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Four illustrations of the effect produced by the seed 
 are presented in order that we may realize its action under 
 the most diverse circumstances. In the first place we 
 are told of the seed by the wayside "and as he sowed, 
 some fell by the wayside." The sower was anxious to 
 utilize every available bit of soil. Not any of it was 
 to remain inoperative. Every concealed corner and edge 
 was to receive the benefit of a doubt. Naturally some of 
 the seed would fall upon the wayside, the path, trodden 
 by men, at the expense of the soil. The result was nat- 
 ural: "It was trodden down and the fowls of the air 
 devoured it." There are individuals who have so hard- 
 ened their hearts, they will have nothing to do with the 
 Word of God save by way of criticism. These people 
 study their Bible hard and long, but simply to lead others 
 astray. They are the mockers and revilers of Chris- 
 tianity. Eventually these people and their theories are 
 devoured by the vultures which are ever hovering near, 
 ready to feed upon lost lives. Fortunately, if we may 
 use the term at all in this connection, Vv^e are dealing with 
 a footpath, not a highway; a narrow confine, not a 
 boundless waste ; a restricted area, not a source of gen- 
 eral infection. In answer to men and women who come 
 in this spirit, it is ever important to pray that the Spirit 
 of God may dictate the promptings of our hearts and 
 minds. We shall ever bear in mind John's advice to try 
 the spirits. We shall ever require of such heartless critics 
 more than a mere hypothesis, more than a conjecture, 
 more than a theory. We shall ever ask whether the solu- 
 tion which ends in the utter annihilation of our religious 
 life has any validity. God never hardens the heart of 
 anyone who does not first harden his heart against God. 
 Pharaoh hardened his heart seven times before God 
 hardened it for him. 
 
 Some of the seed fell upon the rock. A soil entirely 
 free of stones is not nearly so valuable, from the agri- 
 
SEXAGESIMA I49 
 
 cultural standpoint, as that which conceals a proper ratio 
 of them. The elimination is to be that of the rock, not 
 that of its disintegrated product. However careful the 
 sower may be there will be rocks in his field. What hap- 
 pens because of their presence? "And as soon as it was 
 sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture." 
 The heat of the sun is needed, but it must be tempered 
 by the moisture in the soil. Wherever it is not so tem- 
 pered the resultant is that indicated in the words of 
 Scripture just quoted. Applying this truth, we find there 
 is a second class of persons, who attend the service of 
 the House of God without any apparent conviction that 
 what they are doing is an essential element in their spirit- 
 ual sustenance, who read the Word of God with no 
 sense of satisfaction after they have read it, nor with 
 any feeling of necessity as of hunger as they approach it. 
 The trait of this class is superficiality. Nothing is done 
 carefully. Nothing is done thoroughly. Nothing is done 
 as well as it might be done. Make up your minds that 
 they who are superficial in matters of religion are super- 
 ficial in the things that pertain to this life and they who 
 are superficial in temporal matters are equally superficial 
 in spiritual matters. There may be great religiosity on 
 the part of people who do not take their every-day life 
 seriously or who are unsuccessful in it, but there is a 
 vast difference between religiosity, the show of religion, 
 and true religion. On the other hand, there may be 
 worldly success on the part of some who are flippant in 
 matters of religion, but worldly success is not by any 
 means always a resultant of ability. Superficial people 
 are not, as a rule, phlegmatic people. They are nervous, 
 active, energetic. They do accomplish some things, but 
 the tragedy of it all is that their energy is so often lost 
 energy, their labor is vain. 
 
 We arrive at the third stage. As our sower continued 
 his task some of his seed fell among the thorns. May 
 
150 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 I remind you again that in every instance the soil is of 
 the same fertility. We are reaching a better state of 
 affairs. In the first instance, the seed was sown by the 
 wayside, where there was no possibility that it would 
 take root. In the second instance, there was sufficient 
 loose soil to permit it at least to take root. And now 
 we have arrived at a state in which there is an abundance 
 of soil. What, we ask, is the detrimental factor? And 
 we are told the thorns. It may be that through the care- 
 lessness of a husbandman foreign seeds have been in- 
 jected; it may be that through the carelessness of the 
 plowman certain roots have not been destroyed. The 
 thorns sprang up with the seed and choked it. The soil 
 for both weeds and grain was the same. Both grew up 
 together. The process once begun, it was necessary to 
 "let both grow until the harvest." Of course, there was 
 danger in the process. Of course, the thorns obtained 
 a mastery of the situation. Environment does influence 
 our lives. If our environment is bad, the struggle will 
 be hard and serious. And yet, though the figure is im- 
 perfect, do we care to shut off every good influence, 
 every good opportunity from those of evil inclinations? 
 May there not be a purpose in thus merging the two, 
 now that man has voluntarily chosen the thorns rather 
 than the wheat, to protect him against himself? Are we 
 not beginning to assert this principle in our punitive 
 and corrective system? 
 
 Is not the intention of the parole the desire to have 
 evildoers associate with persons who are morally strong, 
 not that the morally strong may be contaminated, but 
 that the evildoers may be converted' from their evil ways? 
 Environment does play an important role in our lives. 
 We are not negating the rule of Christ in applying the 
 corollary rather than the axiom. We are simply assert- 
 ing the gradual acceptance of the principles of Christ in 
 our daily program. The great leaders of the world have 
 
SEXAGESIMA 151 
 
 been the men and women who have been strong enough 
 to influence their environment rather than to be influ- 
 enced by it. Knowing there are thorns in this world, it 
 is important to prepare our children and our friends to 
 withstand them. Let them learn from us and not from 
 others the deadliness of sin, the final destruction of the 
 good grain choked by the thorns. But having taught our 
 children this lesson, may we teach them one thing more, 
 that goodness and nobility and truth are not to be sought 
 because the world admires noble, pure believing men 
 and women, but because God would have us thus. Three 
 classifications have been needed to describe the hindrances 
 to the growth and spread of the Kingdom of God. His- 
 tory substantiates this summary. The church of Jesus 
 Christ is not yet a triumphant church. The sower has 
 had and is having his disappointments. He is at last 
 to be rewarded for his industry, for the "other fell on 
 good ground, and sprang up and bore fruit an hundred- 
 fold." Imagine the joy of the sower as he views his 
 hundredfold crop. Yet this joy does not compare with 
 the happiness of Him who recovers one one-hundredth 
 of a flock. The harvest is not everywhere and always 
 the same. It is most abundant and most sure where the 
 growth has been slow and undisturbed, where no whirl- 
 winds and cyclones are permitted to interfere with its 
 development. 
 
 May God grant that we may receive His Word into 
 truly receptive hearts and permit no birds, thorns or 
 stones, no hostile critics, no cares of this world, no super- 
 ficial pleasures or diversions to rob us of this blessed 
 treasure ! 
 
XIX. 
 QUINQUAGESIMA. 
 
 Luke i8: 31, 43. 
 
 "And he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold 
 we go up to Jerusalem, etc. . . . 
 
 "And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glori- 
 fying God." 
 
 The gospel lesson for this day narrates the third pre- 
 diction concerning Christ's passion and records an inci- 
 dent that occurred while Jesus and His disciples were 
 en route to Jerusalem. The first prediction of His pas- 
 sion followed the splendid tribute of Peter: "Thou art 
 the Christ, the Son of the living God." In this first pre- 
 diction we miss the detailed statement of the "many 
 things" which are enumerated in the third prophecy. 
 The disciples needed a general setting forth of the sub- 
 ject before they were ready for a detailed announce- 
 ment. In the second prediction (Matthew 17: 21) Jesus 
 adds that "the Son of man shall be delivered up into 
 the hands of men" without enumerating the men. In 
 the prediction which forms part of the gospel lesson for 
 this day there is a distinct advance upon the prophecies 
 to which we have alluded. It is interesting to note that 
 in each of these predictions Christ's death and resurrec- 
 tion are allied and mentioned as part of one and the same 
 deed. 
 
 As Jesus invited His disciples to go with Him up to 
 Jerusalem, so on this day the Christian Church invites 
 you to go up to Jerusalem during the Lenten season, 
 which begins next Wednesday, and lest your state of 
 mind be that of the disciples, "they understood none 
 
 152 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA 153 
 
 of these things," He would demonstrate the purpose of 
 His coming into the world by proving His readiness and 
 ability to be a light to them that sit in darkness as He 
 speaks to the blind man by the wayside. Of course, 
 leadership implies discipleship, and if the twelve who 
 have been specially chosen are not ready, perhaps some 
 one else here and there is; hence we have the injection of 
 the story of the healing of the blind man at this point. 
 In following certain of the details of the story we are 
 indebted to Mark for a very graphic description. Mark 
 indicates that Jesus and His disciples are on the march 
 as the prophetic words are uttered. He indicates the 
 order of the procession. Jesus is already alone as He 
 leads the way, while the disciples are following at a re- 
 spectful distance lost in wonder. They, in turn, are 
 followed by others, whose fear is real rather than ap- 
 parent. Why this amazement and this fear? Was it 
 because Jesus had chosen to go up to Jerusalem even 
 though others had advised Him not to do so and the 
 disciples and the multitude were beginning to be a bit 
 apprehensive, or was it because of the emotion which was 
 taking possession of Christ as He walked alone to His 
 death, conscious of the significance of that walk? The 
 way of the cross has begun before the wooden instrument 
 of execution is placed upon His shoulders. The first 
 real anguish of soul has overtaken Him long before He 
 has arrived at Gethsemane. The world tragedy does not 
 mean the sacrifice of hundreds and thousands and millions 
 of men while the commander stands back of them and 
 directs the charge, escaping unscathed and riding 
 victoriously at the head of the survivors into the con- 
 quered territory of the enemy as He dictates the terms 
 of peace. The world tragedy reveals the Commander 
 alone as He goes up to Jerusalem, alone as He is deliv- 
 ered up unto the Gentiles, alone as He is mocked, alone 
 as He is shamefully treated, alone as He is spit upon. 
 
154 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 alone as He is scourged, alone as He is killed, and alone 
 as He rises from the dead. 
 
 In speaking of the leadership of Jesus Christ, we shall 
 think briefly of the postulates of leadership, the discour- 
 agements of leadership and the encouragements of lead- 
 ership, and we shall close with a word about the need 
 of Christ's leadership. 
 
 The postulates of leadership are vision, purpose and 
 action. When one or the other of these essential char- 
 acteristics are lacking there is no true leadership. There 
 may, for instance, be purpose and action, as there un- 
 doubtedly was in the crusades and in the French Revolu- 
 tion, but the leadership of those at the head of these 
 movements lacked vision in its true perspective, hence 
 these movements failed. There may be vision and pur- 
 pose without action. Many philosophers and seers of an- 
 cient and modern times have had both. They have seen 
 republics take form in their thought, their purpose has 
 been the ultimate realization of this thought, but they 
 have spent life as dreamers, not as doers. There may be 
 vision and action without purpose. There are in our 
 times men who have both vision and a semblance of 
 action, but whose purpose is hazy and whose action is 
 consequently ill-advised and harmful rather than helpful. 
 Many of us possess one or two of the characteristics of 
 leadership, but we fail in a proper co-ordination of the 
 three. 
 
 During this month we are celebrating the birthdays of 
 two Americans who have been pre-eminent leaders of 
 men because they possessed the characteristics which we 
 have enumerated as those inherent in leadership. Both 
 these men possessed a large degree of vision and neither 
 of them obtained this virtue in college halls, but through 
 personal study and meditation and contact with ever- 
 crowing problems. To both these leaders vision and 
 purpose were supplementary terms. Vision created pur- 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA 155 
 
 pose. Purpose reinforced and extended vision. The 
 purpose of both men can be expressed in concrete terms 
 and implied and brought with it consequent action. The 
 leadership of both men was essential to the welfare of 
 the country, and we firmly believe was part of God's 
 providential plan for the establishment and preservation 
 of our land. Shall we deny to the man who is their 
 successor in office and who has been called upon to be a 
 leader of men in a pre-eminent sense, one of whom vision 
 and purpose and action are demanded, the position which 
 he must occupy in our regard and in our willingness to 
 sub-ordinate self to the achievement of the purposes for 
 which this Republic was founded? 
 
 We are to turn from this digression to the study of 
 the uniqueness of the one leader of men, before whom all 
 leaders must bow their knees, not the leader of a single 
 nation of men nor of a kingdom of this world, but of 
 all men. Ere we enter upon another Lenten season we are 
 to consider the claims of Jesus Christ as our leader and 
 we are to base our conclusions upon the test already out- 
 lined, the resultant of which is sufficiently indicated in 
 our text. The vision of Jesus Christ is not synonymous 
 with university training. The clinic in which Jesus 
 studied was not a clinic which acknowledged the suprem- 
 acy of mind, but it was a clinic acknowledging the 
 supremacy of the soul and the spirit. Nor is the vision 
 of Christ the resultant of extensive travels. Jesus con- 
 fined His footsteps to a very limited area, never repeat- 
 ing His childhood experience by going down to Egypt. 
 Constant travel may dim the true perspective and keep 
 us from the vision we might otherwise enjoy. The vision 
 of Jesus was not the vision of a mfen, but of God. The 
 vision of Jesus was kept upon a high plane, even in 
 moments of deepest humiliation, because of His constant 
 communion with the Father. His vision was intensified 
 day by day in His intercourse with men. Note His 
 
IS6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 words : "All the things that are written by the prophets 
 shall be accomplished unto the Son of man. For He 
 shall be delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be 
 mocked, and shamefully entreated, and spit upon; and 
 they shall scourge and kill Him; and the third day He 
 shall rise again." When we speak of the vision of 
 Jesus we refer to His understanding and wisdom, in 
 which Scripture tells us He constantly increased — and 
 isn't it true that the growth of wisdom in the human 
 Jesus was due to His persistent fellowship with the 
 Father? Is it not true that He entered the synagogue 
 and Temple because He was really anxious to do so, and 
 not only because it was customary? Is it not true that, 
 whereas He was always ready to give. He Himself 
 needed to receive in large measure properly to equip 
 Himself for His mission? And is it not true that He 
 could not have been as interested in these services nor as 
 helpful to those with whom He associated on such occa- 
 sions if He had not come to these services with a mind 
 and heart and soul stored with the precious truths of 
 God's Holy Word? When He met Satan at the begin- 
 ning of His ministry He was ready for Satan's use of 
 Scripture, for He, too, had studied it and knew how to 
 quote it more effectively than His antagonist. The point 
 I am trying to emphasize is that the vision of Jesus was 
 synonymous with His knowledge of the world tragedy 
 and the hope of redemption contained in God's Holy 
 Word. The vision is vouchsafed to you and me only as 
 we follow in the footsteps of the Savior in keeping close 
 to the Father and listening to His voice as contained in 
 His Word. We are not concerned with visions, but with 
 vision. We are not concerned with diverse interests, but 
 with one supreme interest, and this very absorption in a 
 single interest lends vision. 
 
 The words "behold we go up to Jerusalem" indicate 
 purpose as well as vision. As He understood the great 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA 157 
 
 world problem, He formulated long before leaving the 
 Father's throne, the purpose which was the outcome of 
 His vision. Why is it not feasible to rush straight from 
 vision to action? Why must we interpose purpose to 
 delay the process? To have before one a panorama of 
 history is not necessarily to be an historian. To know 
 the principal events and their dates throughout history is 
 not to know history. The historian is he whose study 
 of history has taught him to recognize certain funda- 
 mental causes and effects which have been at work 
 throughout the ages. He who has caught the plan and 
 meaning of it all, he is the true historian as he seeks to 
 have others understand that this plan may be applied to 
 current events and will produce recurrent effects. The 
 historian becomes the philosopher of history. You are 
 something more than a store-house. You are something 
 more than a machine. You are something more than a 
 hand. Your life is circumscribed by your vision and 
 your vision circumscribes your purpose. That purpose 
 will rise to ever higher altitudes as it has caught a bit 
 of the vision of Christ and seeks to hold fast to that 
 vision. Back of the particular work we are doing there 
 is a plan and a purpose which, if we are wise, we shall 
 endeavor to ascertain and further. What was the real 
 purpose of Christ, the resultant of His vision? Was it 
 to sit at the table of rich men in order that He might 
 enjoy their bounty? Was it to associate with them? 
 Was it to associate with the poor because they were poor ? 
 Was it to wander as a hermit out into the wilderness or 
 up the mount, for the purpose of selfish or ascetic retire- 
 ment? Was it to be the leader of an itinerant band of 
 fishermen plying their trade while He talked to them or 
 to a group of idlers ? Was it to be a fanatic whose lust 
 for martyrdom led Him to the very city which was cry- 
 ing out for His blood? Was it to establish within the 
 circle in which He moved a program of social service? 
 
158 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Not one of these reasons has the slightest semblance of 
 truth in it. The sole purpose of Jesus Christ in coming 
 into the world was to fulfil the program of His Father for 
 the salvation of souls. That He might accomplish this 
 purpose He sat at the table of rich men. That He might 
 accomplish this purpose He associated with the poor. 
 That He might accomplish this purpose He went into the 
 desert, and climbed the mount. That He might accom- 
 plish this purpose He drew unto Himself a band of 
 disciples from among lowly fishermen who would not 
 continually be reasoning why, but who, in a critical 
 moment would dare both do and die. The life of Christ, 
 viewed from this standpoint of leadership, cannot be 
 understood unless we remember that He came into the 
 world to save sinners. He knew that He would find 
 them in every class of society, hence He did not asso- 
 ciate exclusively with any one class. It is absolutely 
 wrong to interpret His purpose, as is so often done in 
 our day, by saying that He came into the world to 
 ameliorate the outward lot of society. The purpose so 
 clearly set forth in our text was ever before Him as He 
 sojourned in His Father's house; as He accepted the 
 challenge of Satan; as He acknowledged that His hour 
 had not yet come in answer to premature desires and 
 longings. As has been stated over and over again, there 
 was but one purpose, the resultant of one vision and 
 this could lead to but one action. 
 
 Though the Savior refers specifically to physical action 
 as He says: "Behold we go up to Jerusalem," there is 
 no doubt that we ought today consider not so much His 
 outward activity, but rather the action of His mind 
 and heart at the very moment when He uttered these 
 words. The action of Jesus Christ, the resultant of 
 vision and purpose, must not be construed as physical 
 action only, but as spiritual action of a most intense 
 nature. In fact, the word passion indicating suffering 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA 159 
 
 and the passive capacity of the individual in suffering, 
 does not at all adequately express the real activity of the 
 soul of the sufferer. The spiritual activity of Jesus can 
 only be apprehended, it cannot be fathomed. Ever alert, 
 ever ready for emergencies, ever anxious to serve by pre- 
 cept or by deed. He was undoubtedly, and still continues 
 to be, the one and only true leader of humanity in its 
 heavenward climb. 
 
 Acknowledging the tests of leadership as thus indi- 
 cated, and as manifest in the Christ, the episode follow- 
 ing the words of Jesus and included in the gospel lesson 
 is a natural sequence — the blind man sitting by the way- 
 side begging is the symbol and type of every man, woman 
 and child sitting in the darkness of this world needing 
 the blessing which only the true Light of the world can 
 offer. 
 
XX. 
 
 ASH WEDNESDAY. 
 
 Matthew 6 : i6, 19. 
 
 "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad 
 countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen 
 of men to fast. 
 
 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth 
 and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal but 
 etc." 
 
 In no respect has the intelligent appreciation of the 
 church year developed more rapidly than in the growing 
 observation of the season of Lent by Christians as a 
 time particularly fitted for a consideration of the great 
 deed which is the foundation stone of our Christian faith. 
 The Lenten season has been subject to several lines of 
 growth or development. In the first place, the celebra- 
 tion was that of a single day, soon after of two and 
 three days, a week and at last the cycle seemed to be 
 fixed when the period of forty days so significant in 
 biblical history had been decided upon. It may be that 
 the extension of the period did not at first bode an exten- 
 sion of interest in the Savior's passion. We can readily 
 see that the Christians of the earliest days, whose Chris- 
 tianity was so real and vital they lived and moved and had 
 their being in their Savior and their God needed not to be 
 told during a protracted period of their Master's suf- 
 ferings because they had directly experienced these suf- 
 ferings and were experiencing them in their own lives 
 daily. As we move farther from the historic Christ, as 
 Christians are no longer persecuted, as they go about 
 their duties no longer able to converse with the disciples 
 of Jesus, no longer able to listen to those who have been 
 
 160 
 
ASH WEDNESDAY i6i 
 
 disciples of the disciples, as the intensiveness of the sit- 
 uation becomes a bit less pronounced they seek to coun- 
 teract any adverse influences by prolonging the season 
 for meditation and prayer during which they are to 
 re-live the scenes of their Lord's sufferings. From very 
 early times the Christian church has set apart the forty 
 days preceding Easter, excluding Sundays, which are 
 looked upon as feast days, as a season of fasting. Of 
 course, this term needs to be defined, and this day's 
 gospel offers an adequate definition. 
 
 We have touched upon the gradual lengthening of 
 the season; it may be well for us to bear in mind that 
 the general observance of the season on the part of those 
 who do not belong to churches which have always had a 
 well-defined conception of the liturgy and the church year 
 has been introduced during the time of many now living. 
 There is in this growing perception of the fundamental 
 importance of the atonement a clearer and more remark- 
 able sign of an approach on the part of the Christian 
 church to the sort of unity Christ would have than in 
 many other signs of the times. There must be an axis 
 about which the Christian life shall move, and this axis 
 is, of course, Christ, but how often the name is used 
 without any appreciation of its significance. There is 
 the cry of "Lord, Lord" to one who knows them not 
 because they have never put forth any real effort to 
 know Him, although He has offered them every oppor- 
 tunity to do so. Just as there must be an axis about 
 which our Christian life must move there is an axis 
 about which the church year must move if we are to 
 look upon it as something more than a merely desirable 
 mechanical arrangement for the upbuilding of life. This 
 axis about which the church year moves is the lenten 
 season properly conceived and properly celebrated, for 
 the birth of Christ came about in order that He might 
 suffer and die for us and the resurrection would have 
 
i62 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 been impossible had there been no previous death. We 
 must, therefore, not be unmindful of the exceeding 
 great importance of this season, and of the clear under- 
 standing of its meaning ere we enter upon it, that we 
 may derive its blessings. 
 
 Of course, the message of the season is a proclamation 
 of the gospel of Christ. And yet we cannot understand 
 the real majesty and excellency of the gospel unless we 
 have had an opportunity to compare it with the law. 
 And that we may the better appreciate the great chasm 
 which exists between the law and the gospel, Jesus 
 Christ, in the sermon on the mount, interprets the law 
 as it finds its fulfilment in Him contrasted with the law 
 as it is interpreted by His contemporaries who are the 
 teachers of Israel. It is important that we should give 
 undivided attention to two Lenten commandments which 
 He utters and' orders. They bear such an important 
 relationship to this season we cannot possibly celebrate 
 it until we have mastered them. 
 
 The first of these two commandments concerns fast- 
 ing. How wonderfully Luther, in a later century, caught 
 the spirit of the Master when, in his catechism, in the 
 interpretation of the commandments, he invariably 
 touches upon their negative and positive teaching. In 
 the teaching concerning fasting as we have it from the 
 Master's lips there is this distinct two-fold statement. 
 Jesus says: "When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, 
 of a sad countenance ; for they disfigure their faces, that 
 they be seen of men to fast. Verily, I say unto you, they 
 have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, 
 anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou be not 
 seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret ; 
 and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense 
 thee." 
 
 Fasting in the days of Jesus had assumed very great 
 proportions. It was looked upon as a mark of religious 
 
ASH WEDNESDAY 163 
 
 life and enthusiasm. Twice in the week some of these 
 Pharisees fasted as they celebrated the ascent to and the 
 descent from the mount by Moses or as they engaged in 
 certain self-imposed or school-imposed fasts. The fast 
 in Jesus' day had lost its significance very largely be- 
 cause it had emerged from the closet and the secret 
 place and had assumed the rights and privileges of a 
 public act. In its emergence it had sacrificed its very 
 being. To the leaders of Israel the apparent fast, the 
 fast seen of men, the disheveled appearance, the self- 
 mortification, the going up to the temple, the foremost 
 place in the temple, these were the important and essen- 
 tial elements in the act. And is it not true that to many 
 of the twentieth century these same public demonstra- 
 tions of will-power in matters of worldly abstinence and 
 religious observance have come to be looked upon as 
 integral parts of the fast. The fast to many of today 
 means the ability to do without sweets, to do without 
 the theater, to deny oneself a pleasure which is no longer 
 a pleasure because we have indulged in it all winter and 
 yet because of our well-known fondness for this pleas- 
 ure and our post-season restraint we are admired of men, 
 or it may be we have resolved to attend service very 
 regularly during this period, even though we do not 
 attend service very regularly during any other part of 
 the year, or, having attended service regularly during the 
 year, we feel we must increase our devotion and our 
 activity. In all these acts of restraint or of indulgence 
 there is a public manifestation of our inner life, or our 
 supposedly inner life. Of course, no one will and no 
 one can disparage the deeds of the man or woman wed- 
 ded to Christ. No one will for a moment think of cen- 
 suring the Lenten restraint of those who are ever able 
 to assert a constant control over their bodies or of mis- 
 judging the Lenten enthusiasm of those whose knowl- 
 edge of and love for Christ assert themselves in in- 
 
i6'4 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 creased attendance upon the services of the church. But 
 Jesus does criticise very sharply a fasting w^hich is en- 
 gaged in "to be seen of men." He says: "Be not as 
 the hypocrites" and you will, of course, naturally be led 
 to think of the early meaning of this term, the actors, 
 be not as the actors, as those whose sincerity is question- 
 able, as those who assume a part, and become so well 
 trained in the assumption of that part that unless you 
 are an expert in character study or an adept in reading 
 the hearts of men, and, of course, this can be predicated 
 of no one save God, you will be deceived time and again. 
 It is important that actors should be able to control their 
 facial expressions for the countenance betrays truly or 
 falsely the intents and purposes of the heart. There are 
 hypocrites, actors, who believe fasting to assert itself 
 in a "sad countenance." To bring about this result they 
 disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to 
 fast. Jesus would say this is not fasting. This is not 
 a meritorious deed. This is an act which, played upon 
 the stage of life, receives its reward in the playing and 
 its condemnation from Him who can distinguish be- 
 tween the mask and the countenance. Having thus in- 
 terpreted for us the hollowness and the lack of reality 
 in much that we term fasting, Jesus proceeds to show us 
 what He means by fasting. "When thou fastest, anoint 
 thy head, and wash thy face, that thou be not seen of 
 men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret ; and thy 
 Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee." 
 
 It has been suggested that the anointing of the head 
 and the washing of the face alluded to are the acts which 
 preceded the feast, and there is in this thought an inti- 
 mation of the close relationship between the feast and 
 the fast in the Kingdom of God. However, it seems 
 better to interpret the anointing of the head and the 
 washing of the face as the insistence upon the daily ablu- 
 tion in which the true Israelite as over against the false 
 
ASH WEDNESDAY 165 
 
 Israelite engaged. The fast is to be a service. As such 
 it is not to interfere with the laws of hygiene. Cleanli- 
 ness and godliness are ever to be associated. The un- 
 kempt appearance of the hair, the abstinence from cus- 
 toms which common sense and decency prescribe, these 
 are not acceptable tokens of religion as so many holy 
 men of the east seemed to think and continue to think 
 to this day. Our Christianity has taught the value and 
 the importance of restraint. They who mourn are not 
 to mourn, as they that have no hope. They that fast are 
 not to accept the false standards which paganism would 
 have them continue. They that are steeped in the 
 thoughts of Christ are to move among men as they who 
 are interested in men. The sacrifice of Christ was for 
 men, not for personal satisfaction. Fasting and sacri- 
 fice, these two factors are to be associated. Sacrifice 
 is most complete and most real when entirely forgetful 
 of self it seeks to do the thing that must be done at 
 whatever the cost may be. Thus the contemplation of 
 the sacrifice of Christ for us naturally calls forth on 
 our part the most intense sympathy, which means the 
 most intense engagement in His suffering and the most 
 earnest, heartfelt prayer that we may be found worthy 
 to share His agony. In no way can the spirit of fasting 
 manifest itself more clearly than in our readiness to be 
 cross-bearers, light-bearers, bringers of salvation through 
 Christ to the men and women for whom He died. Hence 
 our season must be spent in prayer. It must be spent 
 in prayer that we ourselves may appropriate the full 
 meaning of His sacrifice and then naturally in prayer for 
 all sorts and conditions of men, prayer of the most in- 
 tense nature because of our growing realization of the 
 importance of prayer. Prayer such as this has, as we 
 have seen in the consideration of the transfiguration nar- 
 rative a few weeks ago, an effect upon the whole person 
 which is mirrored in the countenance. Hence the coun- 
 
i66 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 tenance of the Christian during this season will not be 
 sad, nor disfigured, but earnest, intense, spiritual be- 
 cause He has communed with God and has had a vision 
 of the needs of the Kingdom and the grace of God in 
 making him a sharer in the administration of that king- 
 dom. 
 
 There is a second commandment concerning the proper 
 celebration of this season. "Lay not up for yourselves 
 treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, 
 and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up 
 for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth 
 nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break 
 through nor steal; for where thy treasure is, there will 
 thy heart be also." This is an insistence upon the prin- 
 ciple that no man can serve two masters, that we cannot 
 serve God and mammon. Of course, you will assert 
 that this is one of the maxims of the kingdom which is 
 not to be interpreted of any one season, but rather of 
 them all, and yet is it not true that in order to enforce 
 a maxim it is necessary to begin its enforcement at some 
 time, at some specific time? Now, there is no time in 
 all the year when the glaring contrast between the serv- 
 ice of mammon and that of God stands out more promi- 
 nently. Jesus, despised, rejected of men, with no place 
 where to lay His head, with nothing He could call His 
 own is the giver of life to all the world because He was 
 able to withstand the temptation in which a temporal 
 kingdom was offered Him in exchange for the eternal. 
 Moth and rust, the destroyers of oriental possessions, are 
 emblems of the various agencies constantly at work un- 
 dermining the activity of men, making it impossible for 
 men ever to feel certain in the possession of earthly ac- 
 quirements. Thus the most material gain of tomorrow 
 is the golden fleece which eludes the grasp of him who 
 wishes to continue to possess it. Thieves, digging 
 through, breaking through, vaulting over, reaching us 
 
ASH WEDNESDAY 167 
 
 in many ways, take the things we have thought to be the 
 objects of our highest pursuit from us and we stand with 
 nothing to show for a life that has been almost spent. 
 You see the force of the negation and of the command. 
 Do not, and begin at this time, when your thoughts nat- 
 urally center in Christ, do not lay up treasures upon 
 earth. Do not set your hearts upon the trifles and vani- 
 ties of a day. Do lay up for yourselves imperishable 
 treasures in heaven and thus co-ordinate the whole life, 
 thus bring it to that perfection which demginds the unity 
 of heart and treasure. A very practical test of our 
 willingness to obey this command has from the earliest 
 times been insisted upon, the desire to manifest our fast 
 in the communication of our earthly gifts to the causes 
 of the kingdom. Our willingness to part from things 
 we cherish here and now is an indication of our willing- 
 ness to accept the treasures of heaven. 
 
 Our celebration of Lent so often amounts to very little 
 because we outline too large and too imposing a program 
 of outward observances which push the significance of 
 the season into the background. May we not urge the 
 observance of two things, emphasized in these two com- 
 mandments, a fast which asserts itself in prayer and an 
 activity which asserts itself in giving. 
 
XXI. 
 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Matthew 4:1. 
 
 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be 
 tem|)ted of the devil." 
 
 Ill order that the plan and purpose of God may be 
 carried out, there must be perfect submission to His plan, 
 a perfect agreement with His purpose, consequently im- 
 qualified, absolute obedience. Paul had fully mastered this 
 thought when he wrote of Jesus in addressing the Philip- 
 pians, "Have this mind in you which was also in Christ 
 Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, counted not 
 the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped 
 but emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, being 
 made in the likeness of men ; and being found in fashion 
 as a man, he humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto 
 death, yea, the death of the cross." It was this perfect 
 obedience which Jesus had in mind as an essential ful- 
 filment of the Father's will when, of His own volition. 
 He went to the shores of the Jordan to seek out John 
 to be baptized of Him. It was to test this obedience 
 that, after His baptism, before entering upon the most 
 active ministry in which anyone ever engaged. He was 
 led of the Spirit not to Galilee with its many personal 
 associations, nor even to the Holy City and the Temple, 
 but into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 
 
 As at the very beginning of his active life our first 
 parent is tempted in a beautiful garden which, by his 
 fall, he has converted into a wilderness, the Redeemer of 
 the world must prove His ability at the very outset of 
 
 168 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 169 
 
 His ministry and His passion to vanquish the lord of 
 the wilderness. The Spirit, in taking Jesus by the hand 
 and thus leading Him away from the haunts of men 
 would say to Him: 'The task before you is greater than 
 any ever undertaken. It is because You and You only^ 
 being one with God, fully understand the Father's will 
 that You have been commissioned for the performance 
 of the work of the world's redemption. It is essential 
 at the very outset to think carefully and prayerfully of 
 your Father's plan. You must ever have this plan be- 
 fore you. The cost involved in its execution must be 
 measured. There is no way in which the world may be 
 so sure of Your ability to emerge the victor in the strife 
 than by a trial of Your resolution right now. Ever bear 
 in mind the subtlety of the enemy of mankind, and re- 
 lease man from this pernicious deathly hold.' 
 
 Though there is no detailed record of the manner in 
 which the forty days in the wilderness were spent, it is 
 certainly not presuming too much to say that the period 
 was one of watchful, searching, earnest, meditative 
 prayer; not the lip language, nor the artificial stammer- 
 ing we sometimes call prayer, not the critical dissection, 
 nor the superficial nibbling we sometimes call medita- 
 tion, but communion with God of a most intense char- 
 acter and an earnest, consistent, fulsome thinking- 
 through of God's program. The narrative in Mark is 
 much simpler and much more condensed than is that of 
 Matthew. Mark says that Jesus "was in the wilderness 
 forty days tempted of Satan." Matthew tells us that 
 after Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights 
 the tempter came to Him. There is no contradiction in 
 this statement. There is no doubt that the entire period 
 of forty days and nights was a season of temptation, 
 just as there is no doubt that specific temptations, 
 enumerated by two of the evangelists formed the climax 
 of the crisis. This wilderness scene is but preliminary 
 
I70 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 to the garden scene, the prayer in the wilderness that 
 God's will be done is re-echoed in the garden as the cup 
 which has been hovering over Him many times forty 
 days and nights is given to Him to drink. The forty 
 days spent in prayer and meditation are days of con- 
 tinuous fighting in a conquest that involves the mastery 
 of the world. Two personal factors, both of them men- 
 tioned in the first verse, are brought to our attention in 
 a careful study of the temptation of Jesus. These two 
 are the Spirit and the devil. Let us read the verse again: 
 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilder- 
 ness to be tempted of the devil." 
 
 A moment's thought will lead us to see that tempta- 
 tions encountered without the aid of the Spirit will in- 
 variably result in a victory for Satan, whereas tempta- 
 tions encountered under the influence of the Holy Spirit 
 just as invariably result in the conquest of Satan. And 
 whether or not we shall lose or win the battle we are 
 waging will depend upon whether or not we shall enter 
 the fray under the guidance of Satan or of the Holy 
 Spirit. We can rest assured of two things. Satan is 
 stronger than we are. The Holy Spirit is stronger than 
 Satan. May we not then consider the three temptations 
 enumerated from the standpoint of the relationship we 
 shall sustain toward them as we are influenced more 
 strongly by either the Spirit or by Satan ? 
 
 Matthew tells us that the forty days having been com- 
 pleted "the tempter came and said unto Him, If thou 
 art the Son of God, command that these stones become 
 bread. But Jesus answered and said, It is written man 
 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word thnt 
 proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The lowest form 
 of temptation is invariably the temptation that apneals 
 to the body. We have all heard the story recited by 
 school-children for generations of the woman who was 
 accused of stealing and who was acquitted by the judge 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 171 
 
 on the plea that she stole to satisfy her children's need. 
 They had no bread. They needed it and, not knowing 
 how else to supply it, this woman took it in a moment 
 of despair. The story is pathetic and presents the temp- 
 tation in its most refined form, but though it is pathetic, 
 it is ethically and spiritually unsound. The tempter knew 
 how to persuade this poor woman to sin and she sinned. 
 The temptation that affects the body is the temptation 
 round about us continually. It is the temptation that 
 primarily environed and enslaved Israel in Egypt. The 
 murmuring of Israel while on the march through the 
 desert for the flesh-pots of Egypt indicates that Israel 
 has not yet learned that man does not live by bread 
 alone. Jesus has this incident in mind as Satan ap- 
 proaches Him. It was God who fed His people in the 
 desert and God has ever been the same very present help 
 in time of trouble. Such is the argument of Satan. 
 Jesus has gone farther in His study of God's plan and 
 Word than Satan. He recalls the gracious dealings of 
 God not only in giving bread, but especially also in with- 
 holding it as He calls to Satan's mind the word of Scrip- 
 ture: "And thou shalt remember all the way which 
 Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the 
 wilderness, that He might humble thee, to prove thee, 
 to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest 
 keep his commandments or not. And he humbled thee, 
 and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, 
 which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, 
 that he might make thee know that man doth not live 
 by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of 
 the mouth of Jehovah doth man live." The mastery of 
 this principle is of exceeding importance because Satan 
 is daily trying to tempt each and every one of us in this 
 carnal manner. How many of us listen and yield as he 
 speaks of the bread which forms one of the necessities 
 of life! We must have it and in the plausible language 
 
172 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of some of Satan's most pliable tools "it is the duty of 
 the world to supply it." To those who have sufficient 
 bread, of course, some further bodily temptation must 
 be presented. And in order to realize his low purpose, 
 Satan has keenly and shrewdly evolved a system of caste 
 as binding and as hard in Christian lands as in heathen 
 countries. Having worked out his system, he whispers 
 to men and women: there is no reason why you should 
 not become members of another caste and in thus cajoling 
 he appreciates the hunger for just this sort of thing 
 among those whom he is approaching. He would sup- 
 plement the legitimate and necessary unfolding of man's 
 life by artificial means and thus fasten his fangs securely 
 into the flesh of those who yield to his ways. But even 
 gilded halls lose their allurements as time goes on. There 
 must be diversion within these halls and more than diver- 
 sion, and so he prompts to a life whose end is the destruc- 
 tion of the sanctity of our bodies as temples of God. 
 Need we enumerate the temptations he has in reserve? 
 Paul has done it for us, and he has told us that these 
 are the things that war against the spirit. There you 
 have it! The leading must be that of the devil or of 
 the Spirit. How shall we be able to resist the pleadings 
 of the evil one as he comes to us, endeavoring to take 
 us at a disadvantage as he offers us sufficient bread for 
 the journey of life. There is no way of resisting these 
 temptations, absolutely no way upon earth, save as the 
 Holy Spirit fills our hearts and becomes to us an abiding 
 presence. Ruling in our lives He will transform these 
 lives so thoroughly we shall no longer pine for the flesh- 
 pots of Egypt, but will care to live only in and through 
 and unto Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 
 The temptation that will seduce one person may have 
 absolutely no effect upon another. This has made it 
 necessary for Satan to be inventive, to present the allure- 
 ments of the city to some and of the desert to others. 
 
FIRST SUNDlAY IN LENT 173 
 
 Jesus cannot be led into temptation when alone. And is 
 that not a wonderful test? Satan has been caught nap- 
 ping. He has forgotten that the true child of God is 
 never alone, even in the desert. Having failed in this 
 first encounter, he does not relinquish his hold, but takes 
 Him into the holy city and places Him on the pinnacle 
 of the temple and says unto Him: "If thou art the 
 Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall 
 give His angels charge concerning Thee; and, on their 
 hands they shall bear Thee up lest haply Thou dash Thy 
 foot against a stone." Again the appeal to Jesus is an 
 appeal to His Sonship. "If Thou art the Son of God" — 
 what a challenge ! What a challenge to one who is about 
 to assert His Father's will and to do that will. And again, 
 you will note the subtlety of Satan. Christ has placed 
 Himself firmly upon the "it is written" of Scripture. 
 That is to be His norm through life. Satan accepts the 
 challenge and proves that he, too, knows Scripture, at 
 least, its letter. As the first temptation was one that 
 affected the body, the second is to affect the mind, that 
 citadel of human longing and aspiration. Satan was not 
 in this instance appealing to the vanity of Christ, as so 
 many would have us to believe. He was entirely too 
 shrewd for that. He was appealing to a passion within 
 Christ to be acknowledged as God's ambassador and 
 thereby to be permitted to begin promptly and effectively 
 the work for which He had been sent to the world. Did 
 not Satan even then know of the latent ability of Christ 
 to perform miracles, and did not he misjudge the use 
 to which that power would be put, as he thought of this 
 power from his own standpoint rather than from God's 
 standpoint? The quotation from the ninety-first Psalm 
 applied by Satan not to the believer as such, but to the 
 Son of God as such, certainly does not deny this inter- 
 pretation. It speaks of guardianship, and implies power. 
 It is Jesus who is to initiate the action and the angels 
 
174 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 are to serve Him. It is Jesus who is to act and God is 
 to confirm the action. The miraculous, which is to form 
 such a prominent phase of Christ's activity, is to begin 
 here and now in the Holy City, within the confines of 
 the temple, before an assembled host of worshippers. 
 Jesus, again quoting from the book of Deuteronomy, 
 saith unto him: "Again it is written. Thou shalt not 
 make trial of the Lord thy God." Jesus once more has 
 been victorious, the same Jesus who was led by the 
 Spirit into the wilderness was accompanied by the Spirit 
 from the wilderness to the Holy City. 
 
 There are many men and women in our day who seem 
 to be unaffected by temptations which beset the body, 
 but are very much affected by temptation which touches 
 the mind. Satan offered to Christ the exercise of the 
 power of achievement, a power very much sought after 
 today, sometimes rightly, but many times wrongly. 
 Christ believed in achievement, but only when His hour 
 had come and only when achievement implied the glory 
 of God and the well-being of man. The distinction be- 
 tween His mind and our mind is patent. Are there not 
 men and women among us who are constantly trying 
 the Lord our God by endeavoring to measure mind with 
 mind, finite mind and infinite mind being weighed in 
 the same balance? We cannot say that the first temp- 
 tation and its consideration refers especially to the indus- 
 trial classes and the second to the professional classes, 
 our individual constitution is too involved for that, but 
 there is a wonderful survey of the present-day outlook 
 and problem in these temptations. And just as the 
 first temptation can only be resisted as the Spirit is pres- 
 ent and assists us, the second requires an equally large 
 measure of help and guidance from on High. We are 
 naturally amazed at the infinitude of a mind that can 
 grasp and comprehend the sumi total of the problems of 
 the human mind and, with Paul, we cry out as we have 
 
FIRST SUNDlAY IN LENT 175 
 
 come to a partial realization of the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God: "How un- 
 searchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing 
 out." Had Jesus yielded to the second temptation of 
 Satan He would ever after have been Satan's inferior. 
 
 There is to be a final test. The temptation hurled at 
 the body has been resisted. The temptation hurled at the 
 mind has been resisted. Is there nothing else in this 
 person that may be vulnerable? And Satan thinks of 
 Jesus' soul. Of course, if he had conquered His body he 
 would likewise have conquered His soul. And if he had 
 conquered His mind he would also have been victor over 
 His soul, but he has thus far endeavored to conceal his 
 real purpose. He cannot continue this particular series 
 of temptations indefinitely, hence he hurls his attack 
 directly against the object of his attack, the soul of 
 Jesus. "Again, the devil taketh Him unto an exceeding 
 high mountain and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the 
 world, and the glory of them, and he said unto Him, 
 all these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down 
 and worship me." 
 
 The brazenness of the demand startles us. Undoubt- 
 edly if we could be made to realize that every temptation 
 is neither more nor less than a deliberate effort on the 
 part of Satan to subject the soul to his dominion we 
 should pray more fervently than we do "lead us not into 
 temptation." It is very clear that Satan meant that 
 Jesus was to recognize his superiority and his right to 
 bestow gifts upon Him in return for devotion and 
 homage. Jesus was to subject Himself completely to 
 Satan. He was to recognize a lordship other than of 
 His Father. In ordering Satan away, Jesus proves that 
 He at least understood the implications of the homage 
 which Satan demanded as once more He quotes the 
 Word of God: "It is written, Thou shalt worship the 
 Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." This 
 
176 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 third temptation teaches us that there is no such thing 
 as a trial of but part of a man or woman in Christian 
 life. The whole man is always involved and the whole 
 man will ultimately gain the victory or be defeated ac- 
 cording to the relationship he sustains to the Spirit. In 
 quite another sense than Satan had either anticipated or 
 desired the prophetic word of the ninety-first Psalm 
 was fulfilled when Satan, having been expelled from the 
 presence of the Lord, angels came and ministered unto 
 Jesus. 
 
 It may sound paradoxical, but it is true that the pres- 
 ence and leading of the Holy Spirit in our temptations 
 places a restraint upon us. Christ was held back, held 
 back from converting the stones into bread, held back 
 from letting Himself down from the pinnacle of the 
 temple, held back from ascribing homage to Satan, This 
 does not negate the power of personal resistance. He 
 was not a tool in the hands of the Spirit with no power 
 of His own. It means that His human nature was 
 trained in the school of the divine, just as our human 
 nature is to be trained through its dependence on His 
 Word and its faith in His Person. 
 
 Christ's emergence from the wilderness as the victor 
 over Satan even ere His public ministry has begun is a 
 pledge to us that He is what Satan termed Him hypo- 
 thetically — the Son of God. 
 
XXII. 
 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Matthew 15 : 24. 
 "I was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 
 Jesus left the borders of the lake of Gennesaret to 
 escape the cold, carping, unsympathetic criticism of the 
 traditionalist leaders of Judaism, who avowedly preferred 
 the letter to the spirit and their own traditions to the 
 commandments of God given by Moses. You will re- 
 member that the embassy of Pharisees and Scribes sent 
 from Jerusalem to intercept Him had found Christ at 
 Gennesaret and straightway put to Him the question 
 which was to cause Him much discomfiture: "Why do 
 Thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders, 
 for they wash not their hands before they eat bread?" 
 Think of a body of learned men, or supposedly learned 
 men, think of a body of religious leaders sending all the 
 way from Jerusalem to the lake of Galilee for an answer 
 to such a puerile question. As a matter of fact, the 
 legalistic party among the Jews had taken it upon itself 
 to change an original commandment which was intended 
 for the priests into a tradition applied to all persons. The 
 tradition supplanting the commandment made the com- 
 mandment void. Jesus needed not to have retired in the 
 face of such criticism. He answered it effectively by 
 pointing out the false pretence, the hypocrisy underlying 
 the acceptance of tradition involving the sacrifice of the 
 original commandment. In effect He said: It was God 
 Who decreed that we shall honor our fathers and our 
 mothers, and that he that speaketh evil of father or 
 
 177 
 
178 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 mother shall die. But ye say whosoever shall say to his 
 father or mother that wherewith thou mightest have been 
 profited by me is given to God is exempt from this very 
 commandment. If this is a fair illustration of your tra- 
 ditionalism in its working out is not your traditionalism 
 to be condemned? Proceeding to answer the question 
 they have put, Jesus tells them that real defilement is 
 not caused by what entereth the mouth, but by what pro- 
 ceedeth from the mouth, hence has its origin in the 
 very innermost recesses of the sentient, thinking, moral 
 or immoral, spiritual or unspiritual man. 
 
 Imagine a great soul battling with the problem of life 
 and eternity on behalf of others, earnestly striving to 
 actualize the weal of every living being, attempting by 
 thought and speech, by example and act to illustrate the 
 way of salvation brought ever and again face to face 
 with this sort of criticism. It was harrowing in the ex- 
 treme. It was harrowing because it pointed clearly to 
 His ultimate rejection, harrowing because it brought into 
 prominence the blind leadership of those who endeavored 
 to lead. It was harrowing because it distracted the atten- 
 tion of the disciples from the real issue to trifling irrele- 
 vancies. His retreat to the borders of Tyre and Sidon 
 under these circumstances was not strange. He needed 
 to be freed, if but for a moment, as you will realize if 
 you turn to the very next chapter, from the incessant 
 hostile questionings of the Pharisees. He needed a re- 
 spite in order that He might speak seriously, quietly and 
 effectively to His disciples concerning the mission in 
 which He was already engaged and in which they were 
 to engage. He needed to teach them and the world the 
 real reason for the Incarnation, that for all time the 
 world might know why He had come, for whom and to 
 whom He had come. 
 
 The encounter with the Canaanitish woman at this 
 point, upon the very borderline of the Jewish and Gentile 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 179 
 
 world was not by chance. The lessons involved in that 
 incident are not to be placed on a par with the traditions 
 of the elders, but belong to the enunciation by Christ of 
 the truths of eternal life. What a contrast between the 
 proud, assertive leaders of the chosen people when they 
 have just left behind because they dared not enter even 
 upon the borderline of heathendom, and this meek, hum- 
 ble, penitent, contrite Greek-speaking descendant of the 
 old inhabitants of Syro-Phoenicia, whose name, accord- 
 ing to the Clementine Homilies, was Justa and her 
 daughter's name Bernice. This woman has heard of the 
 advent of the Son of David. She seeks and finds Him. 
 She has no question of casuistry with which to approach 
 Him. She comes with a real need to one who, in her 
 judgment and because of her faith in Him, can meet 
 that need. She importunes: "Have mercy on me, O 
 Lord, Thou Son of David, my daughter is grievously 
 vexed with a demon." The cry of the woman is op- 
 pressive. The silence of Christ is equally oppressive. 
 The disciples beg of Him to "send her away for she 
 crieth after us." Jesus turns to them, not to the woman, 
 and says: "I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of 
 the house of Israel." Undaunted by the remark which 
 she very likely overheard, she comes to Him, worships 
 Him and says: "Lord, help me." This time turning to 
 her Jesus says: "It is not meet to take the children's 
 bread and cast it to the dogs." Even yet undaunted 
 she replies: "Yea Lord, for even the dogs eat of the 
 crumbs which fall from their masters' table." She has 
 won the day. Her faith has won the day. She receives 
 the assurance she craved, "O woman, great is thy faith; 
 be it done unto thee even as thou wilt." And the evan- 
 gelist adds: "And her daughter was healed from that 
 hour." 
 
 The lesson which Jesus would teach may be approached 
 from one of several angles. We have chosen to approach 
 
i8o SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 it from the angle injected by Christ when He said: "I 
 was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 In these words we have a message addressed to the 
 disciples, the Canaanitish woman and to us. 
 
 Addressed to the disciples these words are very clearly 
 a rebuke. The silence of Jesus was at all times as sig- 
 nificant as His speech or act. His silence was never to 
 be interpreted as either a lack of compassion on the one 
 hand or of comprehension on the other. There was sym- 
 pathy in His silence. There was intelligent fore-thought 
 in that silence. If only we could emulate Him in that 
 one respect ! Silence such as His tokens intelligence not 
 ignorance, the quiet working out of problems, the im- 
 portant accumulation of facts, the laying-up in the store- 
 house of the mind and heart of treasures which shall 
 nourish and sustain life in great crises. He was work- 
 ing while silent. His disciples could not see the work 
 He was doing. They, too, were working, but their 
 thought and their Master's differed vitally at times. He 
 was thinking out a method whereby He might most 
 effectively help this woman without sacrificing the flow 
 of the channel of grace. They were disturbed in their 
 minds because of the commotion produced by the woman. 
 They realized how eas)^ it would be for Jesus to grant 
 her request. His answer to them clearly indicates that 
 they did not mean Jesus should dismiss her without 
 granting her request. When they said to Him, "Send 
 her away, for she crieth after us," they were adding a 
 thorn to the crown which was even then being woven 
 for His head. No remark could have shown their pro- 
 fessionalism more conclusively. Why was Jesus to help 
 this woman? not because she needed help, not because 
 her affliction moved them to compassion, not because 
 of any sympathy for her daughter. There was one rea- 
 son and only one why in their opinion she should be 
 helped — because it was annoying to have her continue 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT i8i 
 
 to cry and thus disturb their peace. Had Jesus yielded 
 to their importunity He would have shared in their 
 thought and would have sacrificed His position as our 
 Master. It was but one of the continued assaults of Satan 
 throughout His earthly life in a supreme effort to de- 
 throne Him. The motive which prompted them was 
 equivalent to the motive which at times prompts us to 
 send a beggar from our door with a few pennies or 
 prompts the dismissal of a great cause from our minds 
 by filling out a paltry check. 
 
 In another way was this message addressed to the dis- 
 ciples to be a rebuke. They had come to Him after He 
 had answered the Pharisees at Gennesaret and said to 
 Him: Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended?" 
 How very human this concern of theirs lest those occupy- 
 ing prominent positions be offended. The Pharisees ap- 
 proached Plim as the self-designated leaders of the House 
 of Israel. The disciples had covertly at least sided with 
 them. Their Master had gone a bit too far for them in 
 His antagonism. It might be necessary for Him to re- 
 tract some of the things He said. This was their 
 thought. They could not afford to break completely 
 with the Pharisees, for they were the representatives of 
 God's people. These were undoubtedly the thoughts of 
 His disciples, thoughts that prompt Jesus to say to them: 
 "Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not 
 shall be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind 
 guides." Still unconvinced by what Jesus has said, they 
 have suddenly been brought to this border-land where 
 the problem of evangelization is to be presented to them 
 in a concrete form such as they have had no opportunity 
 to experience hitherto. A heathen woman seeks to be 
 healed, in the healing of her daughter who is tormented 
 by demons. There could not have been presented a more 
 radical case than this. Demons in heathen lands to be 
 driven from a heathen woman by the Messiah of Israel ! 
 
i82 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Jesus presents a very real problem to the disciples as He 
 suddenly asks them: Why do you request the healing of 
 this woman, you the friends of the Pharisees, you who are 
 Jews, you who know that my mission is to the lost 
 sheep of the house of Israel? Can you not see how the 
 machinery of their minds was set to work? They had 
 been moving in a certain direction, the direction of a 
 legalistic Judaism, The moment had arrived when it 
 became necessary to reverse the lever and prove to them 
 the disparity between the political parties dominant in 
 Jerusalem and the House of Israel. They were not 
 synonymous. The disciples must be taught the differ- 
 ence between them. The message of Jesus, "I was not 
 sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" ad- 
 dressed to those who had just asked that this woman be 
 heard, her request granted and she be sent away, pro- 
 duced a momentary confusion as they thought as they 
 had never thought before concerning the question of sal- 
 vation. In their readiness to help were they not antag- 
 onizing the Pharisees? In His anwer was Jesus not in 
 apparent agreement with them? You see how enor- 
 mously important this little jaunt to the seaside and a 
 foreign land becomes to the disciples. As a new world 
 unfolds before us as we visit foreign lands and return 
 with a greater vision, the disciples were apt to remem- 
 ber not so much the contour of the land they visited but 
 the Canaanitish woman who had unconsciously laid be- 
 fore them the problem of the evangelization of the world 
 and forced them to grapple with that problem in such a 
 manner that they were at least somewhat prepared when 
 their Lord later said to them as He left, "Go ye, there- 
 fore, into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
 creature." 
 
 Though the message was primarily addressed to the 
 disciples and corresponded to the commission they re- 
 ceived when they were called, it was indirectly addressed 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 183 
 
 to the Canaanitish woman. Whether or not she heard 
 this particular statement is beside the question. She cer- 
 tainly indicated by her answer to the subsequent state- 
 ment of the Lord addressed to her that she knew more 
 about the Savior's mission and its beneficiaries than did 
 the disciples. The attitude of Jesus and His words are 
 to be looked upon as a test applied to the faith of the 
 Canaanitish woman. The heroic mould of this Gentile 
 suppliant is well worthy our earnest study. We cannot 
 but admire any person placed in a similarly unfortunate 
 position who has courage enough to fight down pride and 
 the rising sense of shame as it becomes apparent there is 
 but one thing to do to save the soul of a dear one from 
 destruction, namely, to assume the sin and sickness of 
 the sufferer, blazon it forth, if necessary, in the sight 
 and hearing of others with one purpose only, of ridding 
 that life of a cancer that is slowly devouring it. The 
 first glory of the Canaanitish woman manifested itself 
 in the heroism which prompted her approach. She was 
 not prompted by the sense of a last resort as were some 
 others who came to the Lord. She did not agree to try 
 the panacea suggested by another, to retreat after find- 
 ing that the heralding forth of the shame of her daugh- 
 ter was heard by all ears except those for which it was 
 intended. There was resolution in her determination. 
 There was resolution in her advent. There was the reso- 
 lution of assurance in her persistency. Her resolution 
 was born of faith. Her second glory, or was it not a 
 prior glory, consisted in the fact that she did not come 
 to Jesus as a stranger. It is true she was a heathen. 
 It is true she was not outwardly a mem^ber of the chosen 
 race, but it is equally true that she lived on the border- 
 line and that her outlook was not narrow. She had 
 taken advantage of her opportunities to associate with the 
 children of Israel to ask them somewhat about their re- 
 ligion and their Messiah. Her very approach, her very 
 
i84 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 address indicates this familiarity: "O Lord, thou Son of 
 David." These are not words she has learned by rote 
 and is repeating mechanically. They are words born 
 of her faith in Him whom she has already learned to 
 know. Her third glory is her willingness to abide by 
 the plan of Jesus. Was it or was it not proper that 
 Jesus should have come as He did, a Jew, endeavoring 
 to establish the Kingdom of God through His own peo- 
 ple? That is the question we would have asked. It is 
 the one question the Canaanitish woman does not ask. 
 She knows very well there must be a well-defined chan- 
 nel for grace as there is a channel for sin. She knows 
 that someone must be responsible, that someone must 
 assume the burden, and if there is any glory, of course, 
 it is right and proper for those who assume the burden 
 to share in the glory. There must be concentration in 
 this work of Jesus. It will not do to Christianize a 
 single individual in each race. The revelation of the old 
 covenant has come to and through Israel. Israel must wil- 
 lingly or unwillingly assume its obligation and its preroga- 
 tive. The Messiah is the Messiah of Israel first, after- 
 ward He is the Messiah of and for the world. Israel 
 must, through Paul and Peter and John and others, 
 preach Christ to both Jew and gentile. The Canaanitish 
 woman does not question this. We do, we who seek Christ 
 anywhere and everywhere except here in this church, we 
 who have not fully realized the importance, the sacred- 
 ness of our fellowship in His church. The fourth glory 
 is her willingness to abide by the classification of Christ. 
 It was common to speak of the heathen as dogs. The 
 term has lost its harshness on the lips of Jesus, who 
 uses the diminutive appellation applied ordinarily to the 
 little dogs permitted to share the luxury of their masters. 
 The woman has caught the distinction. She pins down 
 the Savior, as it were, to His own statement, reminding 
 Him of the natural order of things and the reasonable 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 185 
 
 expectation of the little dogs as they await the bits 
 which they know they will receive. The test has achieved 
 its purpose. The heroic faith of this woman has con- 
 quered the Master whom Satan could not conquer. "Her 
 daughter was healed from that hour." 
 
 The question naturally arises, was this the turning 
 point in the program of Christ? Did He suddenly 
 abandon His plan on beholding the faith of the gentile 
 petitioner and henceforth look upon His mission as 
 changed in character and purpose? Did He suddenly 
 relinquish the thought which He had endeavored so 
 earnestly to impress upon the disciples ? The subsequent 
 narrative of His earthly life makes it imperative to 
 answer by means of a negative. He did continue to prove 
 His mission to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. 
 If this be so, then you are justified in asking, was not 
 the Canaanitish woman one of the lost sheep of the 
 House of Israel? Yes, in the same sense in which we 
 are lost sheep of the House of Israel. The House of 
 Israel ! Mark the distinction which Jesus draws between 
 Jewish descent and Israelitic descent. They pride them- 
 selves upon their lineal descent from Abraham, Isaac 
 and Jacob. Jesus points out to the leaders of His day 
 that theirs is not to be reckoned a prestige of flesh, of 
 lineal descent, of social rank. Their heritage is spiritual, 
 the faith of Abraham, not the person of Abraham, the 
 victory of Israel, not the remembrance of Jacob. 
 
 Is it not pertinent and important to allude in con- 
 clusion to the incident which gave to an individual and 
 through him to an entire people a new name? the mean- 
 ing of which is the key to the statement of Christ in our 
 text. Do you remember the scene which took place by 
 the ford of the Jabbok as Jacob wrestled with the angel 
 of the Lord? Do you remember the unwillingness of 
 Jacob to permit the withdrawal of him with whom he 
 was wrestling until he had exacted a blessing from him ? 
 
i86 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Do you remember the resultant blessing? "Thy name 
 shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast 
 striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed." 
 Israel means "he who striveth with God" in the sense of 
 winning a victory. Let me ask you was the woman of 
 whom we have been speaking a lost sheep of the House 
 of Israel or was she not? Did she not strive with God 
 in the person of the Son? Did she not prevail? Were 
 the statement and the act of Christ contradictory? Let 
 me ask you have you ever striven with God in this way? 
 Have you ever forced Him to say yes to the request that 
 the demons be driven from your life? Have you ever 
 experienced the heroic sense of victorious power spoken 
 of by John: "For whatsoever is born of God over- 
 cometh the world ; and this is the victory that overcometh 
 the world, even our faith." 
 
XXIII. 
 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Luke ii : 15. 
 
 "Some of them said, by Beelzebub the prince of the demons 
 casteth he out demons." 
 
 The phlegmatic, weak, non-assertive individual, satis- 
 fied with things as they are, unable or unwilling to see 
 them in more ideal relationships, has Httle to fear in 
 pursuing the journey of life. As far as he is concerned, 
 the victory of faith has been achieved without his inter- 
 vention. As far as he is concerned, national problems 
 have been evolved to such an extent they do not demand 
 any interference or co-operation on his part. The social 
 questions of the day are being determined by persons 
 who are interested in them and that relieves him of re- 
 sponsibility in this sphere. And so every large question 
 is confronted with the sort of good will which wishes it 
 well, but asks it to go ahead without troubling him and 
 thus diverting the easy flow of his life. On the other 
 hand, the active, strong-minded, powerfully willed, 
 assertive individual, not satisfied with things as they are, 
 but viewing them in their more ideal and possible rela- 
 tionship, is confronted at every turn with obstacles 
 placed in his way by those whose traditions are being 
 destroyed, whose livelihood is endangered and whose 
 ease is jeopardized. 
 
 The battles for reform in civic life, for betterment in 
 social life, for brotherliness in human intercourse, for 
 the highest achievable standards in our national life, and 
 for the supremacy of the true faith have ever been ren- 
 dered most terrible and sanguinary, not because of the 
 
 187 
 
i88 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 open hostility encountered on an open battlefield, but 
 because of the secret intrigue of spies, whose sphere is 
 that of prowling in the dark, of seeking to detect a vul- 
 nerable spot and of endeavoring to strike a fatal blow. 
 We are not led to believe that Jesus Christ encountered 
 any opposition during the formative period of His life. 
 His advent upon the scene was welcomed and it was 
 only when the subtle teachers of Israel discovered that 
 His synagogue teaching and His public preaching, His 
 active ministry in healing the sick and raising the dead 
 was a ministry and a teaching and preaching with power 
 such as they themselves did not possess that they began 
 to question that power and to endanger that life. Christ 
 would never have been antagonized by the scribes and 
 Pharisees and the rulers of the people if He had not 
 begun a campaign in which the assertion of power was 
 manifest. The very patent assertion of power imme- 
 diately made it incumbent upon his critics and opponents 
 to discover its secret. As long as they were unable to 
 fathom its source, just so long they would be absolutely 
 helpless in resisting its wonderful impact. They must 
 know its secret in order either to launch their attacks 
 directly against the source or to invent a plausible theory 
 with which to counteract His claims. Why did they seek 
 to ascertain the secret of His power? not that they might 
 prove to be scientists, not that they might know, not 
 that they might be believers, not that their faith in Him 
 might be strengthened, not that they might add to the 
 store of honest opinions cherished by themselves or 
 others, but rather that they might put down a person 
 whose honest leadership they were unwilling to follow 
 and whose unique and terrible sacrifice they were unable 
 to appreciate. The gospel lesson for this day lays bare 
 the intrigue, the wicked thoughts, the maliciousness, the 
 hostility which drove Jesus to the Cross. His crucifixion 
 is planned with deliberate forethought, with stoical re- 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 189 
 
 sourcefulness, with satanic spirit. And nowhere does 
 the deliberate attempt to vilify Him appear more flagrant 
 than in the accusation which insists that He drives out 
 demons by the prince of the demons. 
 
 It may be well for us to attempt to follow them a bit 
 in their dastardly effort to fasten upon Him a motive 
 for His action. It is not a matter of conjecture, but of 
 gospel record that the friends of Jesus, unable to follow 
 His thought or action to a proper conclusion, attributed 
 His conduct to a state of mental disturbance. We read 
 in Mark "And he cometh into a house. And the multi- 
 tude cometh together again, so that they could not so 
 much as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they 
 went out to lay hold on Him ; for they said He is beside 
 Himself," You will at once recall that Jesus was not 
 alone among the children of the kingdom against whom 
 an accusation such as this was made. Festus said to 
 Paul at a subsequent time: "Much learning doth make 
 thee mad." But we must continue to read the narrative 
 of Mark, which speaks of the fear of his friends. It 
 was really this attitude of theirs which encouraged the 
 scribes on coming down from Jerusalem to say with a 
 semblance of authority: "He hath Beelzebub" and "By 
 the prince of the demons casteth He out the demons." 
 Thus the primary enemies of Jesus were they of His own 
 household. An attempt to analyze the accusation in the 
 light of the irrefutable logic of Jesus will be both inter- 
 esting and instructive. 
 
 Beelzebub or Beelzebul, variously defined, is before and 
 above all else the god of idolatry; as such he was looked 
 upon by the children of Israel as the worst foe of their 
 nation. If there was any one thing which God loathed 
 above another it was idolatry, and if there was any one 
 thing which Israel had struggled heroically to overcome 
 it was idolatry. Time and again there had been deflec- 
 tions from the worship of the one true God, perhaps 
 
190 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the most heinous and glaring of them all, the worship 
 of the golden calf as Moses, their leader, was communing 
 with God upon the mount. But Israel had endeavored 
 to rid itself of this sin and had been at least measurably 
 successful through the efforts of these very leaders of 
 the people who are now accusing Christ of being an 
 emissary of this god of idolatry. Their insistence upon 
 this one evil had completely shut their eyes to the exist- 
 ence of many other sins which rendered the observance 
 of this one law of worship null and void. To return to 
 the charge: "By Beelzebub the prince of the demons 
 casteth He out demons." Their charge resolved itself 
 into this: the god of idolatry is the source of the power 
 of Christ. Of course, to believe any such statement it 
 is necessary to deny the validity of the words of Christ. 
 He has repeatedly spoken to His audiences and in pri- 
 vate concerning His relationship to the Father and His 
 derivation of power from Him. Now the leaders of the 
 people have seen the signs of Christ. In fact, His signs 
 have called forth their words. They have been com- 
 pelled to acknowledge the reality of those signs. They 
 acknowledge the signs, but deny the truthfulness of 
 Christ. They voluntarily and repeatedly charge Him 
 with falsehood. We must understand this phase of the 
 situation, and as we do the language of Christ "ye are 
 liars," with emphasis upon the pronoun, becomes a tem- 
 pered apology rather than an impassioned outburst. 
 Nicodemus acknowledges that if the signs stand the 
 charge falls, for they in themselves prove Him to be a 
 teacher sent from God. Was there not in the very 
 charge an intimation of their belief in the divinity of 
 Christ? Doing the signs He did He was no ordinary 
 mortal. If His authority did not take its rise in God, 
 He must Himself be a god, a false god, according to their 
 reasoning, but nevertheless a god. It is important to 
 bear in mind that even the enemies of Christ realize they 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 191 
 
 must, in order to satisfy their age, find a source of power 
 in Christ which is distinctly more than and removed from 
 the human side. 
 
 It is interesting, in the second place, to consider the ap- 
 plication of this power which so disconcerted the leaders 
 of the people. The power of Jesus Christ was applied 
 in order that He might create a new society and His 
 method of creating a new society was to reach the indi- 
 vidual and His effort to reach the individual did not con- 
 centrate upon any one class, but included all classes. 
 Thus, for instance. He applies that power in calling men 
 away from their nets and their labor that they may fol- 
 low Him and they obey. The power which the Father 
 gave to the Son is the power of attraction. Men do not 
 shrink from Him. Some of them, no doubt, wished to 
 do so, but they could not. There was something there 
 that held them,, something that told them at last a great 
 need in their lives was to be fulfilled. Imagine the power 
 required to draw the impulsive Peter from his leader- 
 ship to discipleship ; imagine the power required to draw 
 the brooding, melancholy, doubting Thomas out of him- 
 self, compelling him to think other thoughts than those 
 of despair. Imagine the power required to draw men to 
 Him at night or to attract women whose lives have been 
 pure and women whose lives have not always reflected 
 the highest virtues of womanhood. Imagine the equal 
 power of attracting little children and men whose rigor- 
 ous, ascetic lives have made them entirely forgetful of 
 the realm of childhood, hence unfit for the Kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 This power of attraction asserted itself in the man- 
 ner in which persons brought to Him their sick. Surely 
 at no time do we reflect greater dependence upon a power 
 not our own than when standing by the bedside of those 
 whom we love. We are willing to sacrifice everything 
 for them, and yet realize how vain this very desire is. 
 
192 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 The very discussion concerning the source of Christ's 
 power in which we are engaged was brought on because 
 Jesus was casting out a demon that was dumb. Of 
 course, He was successful in driving out this demon, per- 
 mitting the man who was afflicted but a moment before 
 to speak, which caused the multitudes to marvel and the 
 leaders to utter various conjectures, all of them attempts 
 to minimize or neutralize the influence of Christ with 
 the multitudes. In the instance before us the inability 
 of the man to speak is directly associated with the pos- 
 session of a demon or an evil spirit. Imagine, once more, 
 the Savior of men attracted to persons infirm, disabled, 
 diseased, ostracized from society, carrying a demon about 
 with them. The power of Jesus Christ is to be applied 
 to the individual. It is not applied to the individual need- 
 ing no physician, but to him whose sin is manifest to 
 himself or to others. And it is applied for the purpose 
 of relieving man of this great burden. In no way can 
 Christ render a greater service to you than by driving 
 from your life the evil spirit who is hovering over you, 
 asserting his sway, not necessarily in depriving you of 
 speech, but perhaps in having taken from you something 
 pertaining to the invisible realm, something belonging to 
 your spiritual life. The "Lord have mercy upon us" 
 rendered as often as we assemble for our morning wor- 
 ship must be converted into a very personal "Lord have 
 mercy upon me" ere I can say "Lord have mercy upon 
 us". For there is dwelling in me an evil spirit who can- 
 not be exorcised by professional exorcists of the Jewish 
 or Christian Science or any other type, but only by Christ. 
 
 In speaking of the secret of Christ's power, it is essen- 
 tial to distinguish between the power of Christ and that 
 of Satan, for it is important that we should know some- 
 thing of this difference. 
 
 The scribes would associate the power of Christ with 
 that of Beelzebub. Christ says to them they are mis- 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 1^3 
 
 taken in this premise. Beelzebub is no separate god, no 
 demon working individually and alone, but Beelzebub is 
 part of the kingdom of darkness. Therefore, Christ is 
 constrained to say in answer to the criticism that by 
 Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is casting out 
 demons: "Every kingdom divided against itself is 
 brought to desolation; and a house divided against a 
 house falleth. And if Satan also is divided against him- 
 self, how shall his kingdom stand, because ye say that by 
 Beelzebub I cast out demons?" In other words, these 
 critics of Jesus were either beating about the bush, real- 
 izing the danger of coming out openly in their denuncia- 
 tion of Christ, or they did not realize the miechanism or 
 the power of the satanic realm. Perhaps both these rea- 
 sons are valid, for they certainly were afraid of the mul- 
 titudes and they were equally blind to the magnitude of 
 the power of Satan. No one can conceive the greatness 
 of Christ's power who has not followed the reasoning of 
 Christ concerning Satan's power. That Beelzebub, the 
 prince of idolatry, is but one of many princes, all of 
 whom are subordinate to a king whose realm and re- 
 sources, whose princes and retainers, whose plans and 
 stratagems are beyond the power of the human mind to 
 fathom is the sum and substance of the teaching of Jesus 
 at this point, especially in the parable which He utters 
 to set forth the contrast between the two realms. Jesus 
 would say, you cannot divide the Kingdom of God and 
 you cannot divide the kingdom of Satan. "He that is 
 not with me is against me ; and he that gathereth not with 
 me scattereth." It is the case of the strong man and the 
 stronger man, the regents in realms which can never be 
 co-ordinated and which cannot indefinitely continue their 
 independent existence in the heart of any man. The un- 
 clean spirit who is driven out of man is here sometimes 
 referred to as the spirit of idolatry, which was, as we 
 have seen, driven from Israel by the leaders of the peo- 
 
194 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 pie. This spirit going about, unwilling to abide where 
 he cannot do some very vital mischief, and recognizing 
 that nowhere is he more needed by Satan in the conflict 
 of the two kingdoms than in his encounter with those 
 who believe in the true God, goes back, seeking to be re- 
 instated, but he finds there are no sympathies for him, no 
 real desire to accord him a place; there is no possibility 
 of serving his master, Satan, single-handed. Instead of 
 giving up the contest, as he would do, if there were no 
 inter-dependence in Satan's kingdom, he goeth and taketh 
 to him seven other spirits more evil than himself, spirits 
 which Israel does not recognize as the spirits of Satan, 
 pride, injustice, lust, why not endeavor to construct a 
 catalogue for yourself from, your knowledge of this king- 
 dom as it is portrayed in Holy Scripture? And thus 
 Christ would say to these opponents as He would be con- 
 strained to say to us, there is a power inherent in this 
 kingdom of darkness which is attacking you which is 
 greater than you are, unfathomed by you, untelligible to 
 you, blind leaders of the blind. There is a greater desire 
 on the part of those who serve in the realm of Satan than 
 on the part of those who serve in the realm of God to co- 
 ordinate forces, to work harmoniously, to wield the en- 
 gines of destruction in a far more effective manner than 
 is employed by the children of the kingdom in acting as 
 light-bearers. The overwhelming power of Christ is again 
 manifest in its ability to crush Satan single-handed. On 
 the one hand, you have an array of demons, of princes, 
 of Satanic agencies in the spirit world and in the world 
 of human beings, here you have the power of darkness 
 seated in high places ; on the other hand, the Son of God 
 entering this world to battle with this great army. 
 
 The assertion of Christ's power in His day led to 
 antagonism of the most bitter sort ending in death. Shall 
 His assertion of power over our hearts and lives result 
 in hatred and enmity, in scoffing and revilement, or shall 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 195 
 
 it result in something other than that? The secret of 
 Christ's power is His divine love. The resultant of that 
 power in our lives must be written in terms of loyalty. 
 The Lenten season, with its story of conflict, of sacri- 
 fices, of suffering and of death, is surely a most fitting 
 time in which we shall assert our loyalty anew, our loyalty 
 not to Satan and his kingdom, but our loyalty to the 
 Kingdom of God. 
 
XXIV. 
 FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 John 6 : 26. 
 
 "Jesus answered them) and said verily, verily I say unto you yc 
 seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves 
 and were filled. Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the 
 food which abideth unto eternal life; which the Son of man shall 
 give unto you." 
 
 In the sixth chapter of his gospel John suddenly trans- 
 ports us from Jerusalem where we tarried as we read 
 the fifth chapter to Galilee. We are to assume that prac- 
 tically a year has passed in the interim. The story of the 
 feeding of the five thousand is told by John because he 
 must narrate it in order to make his subsequent report 
 more intelligible, otherwise it is hardly likely that he 
 would have told a story narrated by the other evangelists, 
 at least he is not in the habit of repeating the stories al- 
 ready told by Matthew and Mark and Luke. John tells 
 us that Jesus left the western shore of the lake of Galilee 
 and crossed over to the other side. He did not cross over 
 alone. His disciples went with Him and a great con- 
 course of people who had seen His miracles and were 
 anxious to see more followed after Him. They undoubt- 
 edly were a little late in arriving, for when they came to 
 Him Jesus had already ascended the hillside, where He 
 communed with His disciples. In the meantime other 
 bands of pilgrims may have drawn near, for the feast was 
 close at hand and great caravans were beginning to move 
 toward Jerusalem. As these separate bands joined forces 
 in the presence of Jesus it was found there were thou- 
 sands of people present, five thousand we are told, not 
 
 196 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 197 
 
 counting the women and the children. Jesus turns to 
 Philip, the prudent, thoughtful, somewhat unbelieving 
 disciple, and asks him how they are to satisfy the need, 
 the temporal need of this great host. Philip at once sets 
 about the task of numbers and informs Jesus that the 
 total amount in the treasury is between thirty and forty 
 dollars, that this amount is scarcely sufficient to buy 
 food for even a very scant meal for five thousand people 
 and the five thousand, of course, do not include the 
 women and the children. Andrew rather adds to the 
 predicament by saying that there is only one lad in sight 
 who has bread and fishes for sale, and his whole store is, 
 of course, too insignificant to merit serious attention. In 
 the face of such reasoning it speaks well for the disciples 
 and better for their Lord that they were willing to do as 
 He bade them and see that the people were seated. The 
 secret of the story, the secret of the miracle lies in the 
 blessing asked by Christ before the distribution of the 
 food. And this leads us to ask, by way of interjection, 
 would not our food go farther, would not our needs be 
 more easily satisfied, would not our lives be richer and 
 happier and better if our prayers were more real? How 
 many blessings of today, repeated at table in a desultory 
 manner, are real blessings? The broken pieces gathered 
 up after the repast are the evidence of the bounty of God, 
 evidences that His baskets are never empty, evidences 
 that there is enough for tomorrow, which may be had 
 for the asking. 
 
 The people had come to Jesus because of the signs 
 which He employed in healing their sick. They were 
 again to follow Him and find Him because of this more 
 recent sign in giving them bread. The story is suggestive 
 of a very important lesson of our own day conveyed to 
 us by 
 
 The Bread-line of the World. 
 
198 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 A few days ago a sight natural to those who live in cer- 
 tain sections of our great city greeted my eyes. At a 
 given signal an army of men seemed to emerge from hid- 
 den recesses, the army formed in double file and, in a 
 peaceful, orderly manner, waited for the opening of a 
 door of hope, a door which was to lead them into a sanc- 
 tuary, and in this sanctuary, while listening to the read- 
 ing of the Word of God, and the preaching of that Word, 
 this great army was to obtain food for the body as well 
 as for the soul. Perhaps the primary prompting of that 
 body of men was the need for food and the knowledge 
 that in this place they were to obtain it. The words of 
 Jesus, addressed to the multitude which followed Him 
 from the eastern to the western shore of the lake of 
 Tiberias, would undoubtedly apply to this gathering of 
 men as it did to those who heard the original utterance: 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not because ye 
 saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves and were filled. 
 Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food 
 which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man 
 shall give unto you." The incident just narrated and 
 happening day by day in our city is mentioned first in 
 order that you may realize the similarity of purely human 
 conditions in every age of the world's history. 
 
 We might, if we had time, spend the rest of the day 
 in speaking of the bread-line in the history of the world, 
 the bread-line inaugurated in the garden of Eden when, 
 after man's fall, God said to him: "Because thou hast 
 hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten 
 of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying. Thou 
 shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; 
 in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns 
 also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou 
 shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face 
 shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground ; 
 for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 199 
 
 unto dust shalt thou return." We are very apt in our 
 day and generation to speak of man's spiritual status as 
 conditioned very largely by the satisfaction of his tem- 
 poral needs, but may we never forget that man's temporal 
 needs were primarily the resultant of man's disobedience 
 to God in denying the spiritual needs which were to be 
 the very center of his life. The bread-line of the world 
 and the bread-line of the Kingdom: of God are again 
 brought into contrast as "Abel offered unto God a more 
 excellent sacrifice than Cain," as Noah "prepared an ark 
 to the saving of his house," as Abraham permitted Lot 
 to wrest from him a fruitful vale. Observe, if you 
 please, the great bread-line, in which are included the sons 
 of Jacob, as it moves from Canaan into Egypt and im- 
 ploringly seeks to obtain from Pharaoh the bread so 
 much needed to tide over a very grievous famine. Is 
 there not in this incident a blending of temporal and 
 spiritual blessing as the brethren of Joseph are brought 
 to realize their sinfulness and their sole hope of forgive- 
 ness in the mercy of the God who has satisfied their tem^ 
 poral needs? Observe, if you please, the great bread-line 
 in the desert, as the children of Israel go out early each 
 morning to gather the manna provided by the God who is 
 leading them. Observe this same people bringing their 
 vessels to the rock which has been smitten and from 
 which flows a stream for the quenching of their thirst. 
 The ability and acumen of the individual Israelite is ever 
 contrasted with the helplessness of the nation and the 
 necessity on the part of God to provide food for a bread- 
 line co-extensive with the bounds of the nation. "As 
 sheep without a shepherd" that well expresses the status 
 of the nation and it is in this condition that Jesus finds 
 them. It is in this condition He sees them wandering 
 somewhat aimlessly through the desert on their way to 
 the Holy City, hoping there to satisfy their hunger and 
 thirst. 
 
200 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Over against this bread line is He Who has no 
 home, no individual purse, no common purse sufficient for 
 the morrow, no hope of ever being ranked with the rich 
 men of His age, and yet able in calm assurance and faith 
 to bid the disciples seat this multitude in order that He 
 may open the doors of His Father's granary and, enter- 
 ing, bring forth a supply abundant for each and every 
 one of them. Think of holding a great line like that in 
 check, think of satisfying the wants of that line, think of 
 constraining the men and women and children gathered 
 there on their way to Jerusalem to turn back again from 
 their course to see a bit more of this King, to enjoy a 
 bit more of His bounty. Friends, as the bread-line con- 
 tinued from the days of our first parents to the days of 
 Jesus, it has continued from His day to our own. The 
 cry of the masses for bread in the streets of ancient Rome 
 is very much akin to the cry of the masses of today in 
 the streets of London and New York and Philadelphia. 
 Thank God that the influence and example of Jesus are 
 manifest in our city and that our people have arisen and 
 are increasingly arising to the need round about them. 
 The need, the temporal need of each person in that great 
 crowd round about Jesus was thought of in Jesus' prayer 
 and answered in the Father's blessing. The temporal 
 needs of all persons in our great city will be met as we 
 discriminatingly, rather than abstractly, pray to the 
 Father and as we each and every one of us seek to make 
 ourselves responsible for the putting upon his or her feet 
 of some one child of God. We are too often interested 
 in a cause instead of being interested in individual souls. 
 
 Is it not important that we should turn from the story 
 of the literal feeding of the five thousand to the applica- 
 tion of this feeding so explicitly explained in this sixth 
 chapter of the gospel of John? After the satisfaction of 
 the hunger of these many people Jesus withdrew to the 
 hillside alone to engage in prayer. He dismissed His 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT aoi 
 
 disciples, for there were moments when even they could 
 not enter into the meaning of Jesus' life. He may have 
 observed their boat putting out as He quietly withdrew 
 into the silent fastness of the hills of God. During the 
 watches of the night the distance between Jesus and the 
 Father was growing less. Early, very early, in the morn- 
 ing He descended from His solitary mount and pursued 
 the boat now almost at the other side of the lake. 
 Silencing their momentary fear, as they believe they are 
 looking upon an apparition, Jesus joins them and goes 
 with them at the hour of prayer on the morrow into the 
 synagogue at Capernaum or a similar house of worship 
 and instruction nearby. There the crowds surge about 
 Him. There He is constrained to declare His conscious- 
 ness of the reason which has prompted their approach. 
 They have felt no real, inward want to be near Him. 
 And that is the tragedy in the religious experiences of 
 today. In outward life there is a need. "Ye ate of the 
 loaves and were filled" Jesus says to them. People join 
 the great bread-lines of the world because they need 
 bread. We feel the pangs of hunger coming upon us 
 and our dear ones and we endeavor to be up and doing. 
 We are willing and ready to work for food which 
 perisheth because we have need of such food. We recog- 
 nize the need of water for our parched throats. We 
 recognize the need of new shoes to take the place of the 
 shoes we can no longer wear. We recognize the need of 
 new garments to take the place of those which have been 
 worn threadbare. We recognize the need of a new equip- 
 ment at home, in the factory, in the workshop, in the 
 office, in the study, to supplant an equipment that is no 
 longer sufficiently modern to meet our needs. We recog- 
 nize each and every material need that arises in our daily 
 life — and we are blind, absolutely blind to the spiritual 
 needs which transcend the material needs as the heavens 
 transcend the earth. Jesus tells us in this very chapter 
 
202 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 that God alone is fully conscious of man's needs. The 
 Father as God, Jesus as God, knows the deepest needs of 
 humanity. Man does not know and cannot know all 
 things. Man moves in the limited world of his own 
 vocation. In being unable to know man must believe, 
 but in order to believe man must come to Christ, and 
 yet the experience of Christ is as true today as it was 
 twenty centuries ago — "ye would not." There is no 
 need to ask God for a home because we have one. There 
 is no need to say grace at table because the larder is full. 
 There is no need to ask for garments because we have 
 them. There is no need to ask for health as we enjoy it, 
 and, furthermore, we are able to employ a physician. 
 There is no need to ask for guidance in our vocational 
 life. We simply fit into a groove which we ourselves have 
 created. There is no need to attend the services of the 
 House of God because we can worship equally well 
 wherever we are. Those in the audience of Jesus are 
 endeavoring to convince Jesus that He is unduly worried 
 about some things. Did not Moses provide manna when 
 manna was needed? That is their reasoning, a reason- 
 ing which must be refuted by having them understand it 
 was not Moses but God who gave them the manna, the 
 same God, by the way, who was even now giving them 
 Christ. This utter inability of the contemporaries of 
 Jesus to look out into the unseen world is manifest today. 
 Hence the admonition of Christ "work not for the food 
 which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto 
 eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you" is 
 an admonition addressed to the Christians of today. 
 
 The counter-question of the Jews indicates their spirit 
 of mockery. "What workest thou?" Jesus has spoken 
 to them of spiritual work. He has indicated that He is a 
 worker. They are thinking of Him as an itinerant 
 teacher, thinking of Him as a man without a country, 
 thinking of Him as the leader of a band of followers, 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 203 
 
 thinking of Him as a person endowed with power to such 
 a degree there is no longer any need for the display of 
 effort. They cannot see that Jesus is doing anything 
 which may be termed work. "What workest thou?" you 
 can hear the sneer in their words and you are reminded 
 of these same words addressed to many servants of Jesus 
 Christ. Jesus answers their question by indicating to 
 them that He is the bread of life. Jesus answers their 
 question by setting forth the importance of this other 
 bread-line, consisting of those who are seeking for food 
 which will not perish. They are willing to follow Jesus 
 outwardly if Jesus will declare Himself publicly to be 
 their bread-king, the dispenser of temporal food, the 
 occupant of a temporal throne. It is not difficult for 
 them to fit into a material universe such as that. They 
 have perhaps already chosen the offices they desire to 
 fill in this new realm. The whole thing is tangible. They 
 are anxious to inaugurate the new reign. Their earthly 
 hopes are to be shattered as Jesus speaks to them in lan- 
 guage which is mysterious and offensive to them, so 
 offensive that "many of his disciples went back, and 
 walked no more with him." 
 
 What is it that enables a man without an overcoat to 
 stand for a long time in the dead of winter before a 
 closed door, the hope that that door will eventually be 
 opened and that he will be allowed to enter and that, hav- 
 ing entered, he will find within a warm spot where he is 
 allowed to rest, and a warm cup of coffee and a bit of 
 bread. He belongs to the bread-line of the world be- 
 cause he needs bread. He is willing to work for his 
 bread by standing in line and by listening to the service 
 in which he must engage. You and I, whether we care 
 to admit it or not, belong to the spiritual bread-line of 
 the world. We need food and we need Christ as our 
 food. Some of us are unwilling to acknowledge our 
 need. We are wasting the precious moments God has 
 
204 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 given us and while we are debating the question others 
 take the places we might have had. We are pushed 
 back farther and farther. Time and again we make up 
 our minds to hold our place in the line. Time and again 
 we emerge from it as others press on. Dear friends, 
 when Jesus said 'T am the bread of life," He was saying 
 nothing less and nothing more than that He is God and 
 that as God He is abundantly able to sustain us by im- 
 parting Himself to us. The sustenance is for time and 
 eternity. This sustenance by virtue of the sufficiency of 
 this bread is to protect you from your lower satanic 
 desires, from the falsehoods you otherwise would tell, 
 from the carnal desires you otherwise would cherish, 
 from the lack of love you would otherwise display. This 
 sustenance will make it possible for you to bear and fore- 
 bear and your life thus transformed will be what it is be- 
 cause of your coming to Jesus and because of your faith 
 in Him. 
 
XXV. 
 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 John 8: 46. 
 
 "Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say truth, why do ye 
 not believe me?" 
 
 The verse chosen as the basis of our meditation this 
 morning is a javelin thrust into the very thick of an en- 
 counter between falsehood and truth, false religion and 
 true religion, life and death. On the one hand we have 
 the forces of truth and life represented by and personified 
 in Christ, on the other the army of sin and death mustered 
 from amongst the very leaders of the people. Christ, the 
 captain of our salvation, has sent His terms of surrender 
 to the camp of the adversary in a message pregnant with 
 love and sympathy, 'T am the light of the world ; he that 
 followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall 
 have the light of life. . . . If ye abide in my word, 
 then are ye truly my disciples ; and ye shall know the truth 
 and the truth shall make you free." Words such as these 
 must have come with startling force and as a very serious 
 shock to men who believed themselves, because of their 
 heritage as the children of Abraham, to be the light of 
 the world, who believed themselves to have been elected 
 as guardians of the truth, hence free. Imagine these 
 leaders of the people suddenly checked in their career, and 
 told in very unequivocal language: "Ye are of your 
 father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your 
 will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and 
 standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in 
 him." The difficulty with these leaders of the people 
 was that their program lay buried in the past. Their 
 
 205 
 
2o6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 plan of action was constructed upon the precepts of the 
 past. Their exemplars were the men of a very distant 
 past. Their program was neither constructive nor pro- 
 gressive. In taking a horoscope of the past they did not 
 observe the important signs of coming events, the fore- 
 shadowing of the fulfilment of days, the coming of the 
 Kingdom, the coming of the King. Abraham meant 
 more than Christ to these blind leaders of the Wind. They 
 could not see that allegiance to Abraham' means also 
 allegiance to Him who said: "Before Abraham was, I 
 am." They were astonished in being told that though 
 they might be the children of Abraham after the flesh, 
 they were not the spiritual children of Abraham because 
 they had neither the faith of Abraham, which asserted 
 itself in his acceptance of God's pledge for the future, nor 
 did they do the works of Abraham. 
 
 The exchange of opinions between Jesus and these 
 leaders of the people reveals their real narrowness and 
 the illogical attitude assumed by them. After all, a test 
 may be the proper means of determining the relative 
 value of the assertions of the opponents. Christ decides 
 upon this course of procedure as He asks them: "Which 
 of you convicteth me of sin?" and receiving no answer, 
 He adds: "If I say truth, why do ye not believe me?" 
 The word "convicteth" employed in the revised version 
 is stronger than the word "convinceth" employed in the 
 authorized version. According to human standards, I 
 may never be convinced of my wrongdoing because of 
 stubbornness or narrowness of vision, because I cannot 
 be persuaded to see things as others see them. The 
 Savior, though He is the truth incarnate, does not care to 
 have anyone place Him on this platform, and afterward 
 say: The test was unfair. It was but natural that He 
 should not permit Himself to be convinced of wrong- 
 doing.' Christ anticipates such reasoning by boldly ask- 
 ing 'which of you can hold me guilty of wrongdoing by 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 207 
 
 any demonstrable proof?' In so saying He appeals to 
 reJson and forever challenges the many vam appeals of 
 those who are out of sympathy with Christianity to the 
 unreasonableness of our faith. There must be faith and 
 a faith centering in sinless personality is certainly worth 
 sor^ething. There is, hence, involved in the two ques- 
 tions of Christ, an apology of Christianity which is re- 
 markably telling. Christ stands squarely for a reason- 
 able faith. As He is life and truth, He would have His 
 followers approximate His state. The leaders whom He 
 Is addressing can be exponents of life and truth only a. 
 thev forsake the darkness which is not consonant with 
 light, their own false teachings which are not in accord 
 with'the word in which they must abide. 
 
 Sin, according to the interpretation of Jesus, is per- 
 sonal hostility to the will of God. If we accept this 
 definition as our own, two consequences emerge. iNo 
 human being other than Christ can possibly be said to 
 be without sin and Christ cannot possibly be said to be 
 guilty of sin. If we accept this defimtion 0/ sin, can 
 we possibly speak of a spring-tide of sin? Was there 
 any particular moment in your nxature life when sin was 
 born? Is not the cry of the infant, other than its cry of 
 pain, an utterance of its hostility to the will of the 
 parent? And is not the parent the representative of 
 God for this infant? Hence is not the cry of rebeUion 
 against the misunderstood counsels of the parent a cry 
 of rebellion against God? Surely those who have come 
 into contact with infant life must have been amazed at 
 times because of the strong utterances of protest, the 
 bitter struggles, the unwillingness to surrender a desire, 
 all of which clearly point to the presence of sm which is 
 not being slowly evolved in the child, but depends for 
 nourishment on the very life roots. 
 
 There is no spring-tide of sin. There was, once upon 
 a time, when the apple, not yet touched, was still hang- 
 
2o8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 ing upon the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 
 while man, tempted to take it, stood in doubt while listen- 
 ing to the voice of another than God. That was the 
 spring-tide of sin, experienced by our first parents. You 
 and I and all others born into this world since that 
 moment have never beheld the spring-tide of sin. The 
 punishment meted out to the child betrays the fact that 
 we have arrived at sin's summer long ere the summer of 
 life dawns for us. 
 
 And what, we ask, are the marks of sin? Is there 
 any way in which we can recognize evil? The skeptic 
 says: "How could our first parents have distinguished 
 good from evil before tasting of the tree of the knowl- 
 edge of good and evil?" Ah, yes, there you have it! 
 Man must know by subjecting everything to test and 
 experiment. The age of authority has not received its 
 first hostile onslaught in our century, but the age of 
 authority received its first wound when man, in his 
 disobedience, denied the sovereignty of God, took of the 
 apple, ate, and his eyes were opened — opened to what? 
 Life and immortality? no; nakedness, sin and death. 
 What are the marks of sin? Disobedience and the spirit 
 of rebellion, cowardice and the spirit of retreat, unclean- 
 ness and its artificial resultants, illness and the process 
 of decay, death and eternal lamentation. 
 
 But after all, the most harrowing influence of sin is 
 in its inter-relationship with death. When once sin has 
 begun its sway in the system there is absolutely no 
 effective human remedy. It simply precipitates itself 
 from ledge to ledge until it has fallen into the abyss from 
 which it cannot recover itself. Each and every one of us, 
 children of the first Adam, are subject to sin and its 
 consequence — death. In view of the universality of sin 
 and death, is not the challenge of Jesus of Nazareth to 
 convict Him of sin, if that be possible, very astounding? 
 Here are men in whose proximity He lives, men of in- 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 209 
 
 telligence, men who are very much prejudiced against 
 Him, men who have every facility to investigate His 
 ancestry, His family, His words and His works, and to 
 them the challenge is issued. Their inability to lay the 
 finger upon any direct violation of God's law was not 
 due to reticence or seclusiveness on the part of Him 
 whose whole life was an open book. No man was ever 
 more active than Jesus. He of whom Matthew reports 
 that multitudes brought their sick to Him in the evening, 
 after a full day of toil, He of whom the evangelists 
 report that He could not be hid from the multitudes, He 
 whose preaching was an everyday occurrence, could not 
 very well be accused of hiding His real self from the 
 eyes of others. If ever any man stood subject to the 
 direct rays of a searching criticism, that man was Jesus, 
 and yet He and He alone is able to challenge the world 
 to convict Him of sin, because He and He alone has com- 
 pletely subjected Himself to His Father's will even unto 
 death. Do you imagine that the centuries intervening 
 between the day on which the challenge was uttered and 
 this have been altogether without men whose endeavor 
 it has been to prove the challenge fallacious? And yet 
 Christ asks the question now as He asked it then, "Which 
 of you convicteth me of sin?" And receiving no 
 answer He very properly asks, "If I say truth, why do ye 
 not believe me ?" 
 
 The life of which this Lenten season testifies is some- 
 thing that does not exist nor can it be had apart from 
 God. And this life in God must be mediated by Christ. 
 What is this life in God through Christ? It is not meat 
 and drink. Christ says distinctly: "The life is more than 
 food." He continues: "A man's life consisteth not in the 
 abundance of the things which he possesseth." He thus 
 places the ban upon both the purely physical life as con- 
 ceived by the Hebrew mind and the economic life of the 
 rulers of the people. In His analysis of the subject, Christ 
 
210 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 thus proceeds to a moral consideration and advances be- 
 yond that to one that is distinctively spiritual. "He that 
 findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his Ufe for 
 my sake shall find it." According to the teaching of 
 Christ, life is something that begins in Him and endures 
 forever. John puts this concretely in his testimony con- 
 cerning Christ: "In Him was life." And, having set forth 
 the story of his Master, he concludes the narrative long 
 before he has exhausted the material at his disposal, 
 asserting that "these things are written that ye may be- 
 lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that 
 believing ye may have life in His name." How then, 
 we ask, are we made participants of this life which He 
 has so willingly and abundantly communicated to us 
 through His death and resurrection ? You remember the 
 story of the prodigal son, the boy who left his father's 
 home, went out into the world, sank lower and lower in 
 the scale of existence, until finally he was an outcast. 
 It was in this condition, however, that the real manhood 
 of the youth conquered. His return was not prompted 
 by pride, for pride would naturally have kept him from 
 returning to be laughed at and insulted by his former 
 friends. A twofold recognition prompted his return; 
 first that life, true life, could be regained and lived only 
 in his father's home and secondly, the fact that this life 
 could be had if he was willing to confess his wrongdoing 
 and desist therefrom. He wished to be reinstated. He 
 desired life rather than the mockery of life to which 
 he was subject. He was man enough to be willing to 
 pay something for it. So he went back, confessed, and 
 ere the confession was ended called forth from the 
 father's lips the song of praise which laid bare the 
 promptings of the father's heart: "My son was dead, 
 but is alive again." How many of us there are who are 
 spiritually dead, who, having once been sons or having 
 believed ourselves to be sons, have gone forth to roam 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 211 
 
 far from our Father's home, who haven't manhood or 
 womanhood enough to go back again. We are afraid 
 of an elder brother who is certainly very different from 
 the older brother of the prodigal. We might be willing 
 to return to the Father's house, but we are unwilling to 
 surrender to Him who taught us to say "our Father." 
 If sin is to be banished from our lives, we must be 
 wilHng to believe in Him who is the sinless one. It was 
 He who said: "I am the true vine, and my Father is 
 the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not 
 fruit, He taketh it away ; and every branch that beareth 
 fruit. He cleanseth it that it may bear more fruit . . . 
 As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, so neither can 
 ye, except ye abide in me." The whole teaching of the 
 gospel of John revolves about this central idea of life 
 in Christ. It is manifest in the conversations with Nico- 
 demus, the Samaritan woman, Pilate and the multitudes. 
 Christ is the way, the truth and the life. He is the 
 bread of life. Christ, not His teachings nor His works, 
 but His very personality is this hidden, mysterious thing 
 called life, hence the necessity of believing on Him, the 
 sinless one, hence the unreasonableness of not believing 
 on Him, 
 
XXVI. 
 PALM SUNDAY. 
 
 Matthew 21 : 9. 
 
 "Hosanna to the Son of David : blessed is he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord ; Hosanna in the highest." 
 
 What an unusual sight the city of Jerusalem must 
 have presented at the season of the annual festival of 
 Ingathering or, as it was otherwise known, the feast of 
 booths — booths in every available, normally unoccupied 
 space, in the courts of the temple, round about the temple, 
 even in the streets. As Israel journeyed to the Holy 
 City for the purpose of being present at this festival, 
 which was at once a reminder of God's goodness while 
 His people journeyed from Egypt to the promised land 
 and a reminder of His ever-recurring goodness in pro- 
 viding an abundant harvest, it sang its songs of grati- 
 tude, which may be termed songs of ascent as truly as 
 that title is accorded to certain other psalms used on the 
 occasion of another pilgrimage. One of these songs 
 was undoubtedly the ii8th Psalm, the twenty-fifth and 
 twenty-sixth verses of which are as follows: "Save 
 now, we beseech Thee, O Jehovah; O Jehovah, we be- 
 seech Thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that 
 cometh in the name of Jehovah; we have blessed you 
 out of the house of Jehovah." Bear in mind, if you 
 please, that Hosanna means "save, we pray Thee," or 
 "save, we beesech Thee," and the cry of the multitude 
 encircling Jesus on His last journey to Jerusalem im- 
 mediately becomes a paraphrase of these verses of the 
 1 1 8th Psalm, a paraphrase which becomes vibrant with 
 meaning as Israel believes that at last He that cometh 
 
 212 
 
PALM SUNDAY 213 
 
 in the name of the Lord has really appeared. And so, 
 going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover festival, 
 Israel sings the songs of ascent, then the songs which, 
 though they are designated for other seasons, have, never- 
 theless, made their impression upon a religious people, 
 and these songs culminate in one song, the one song cul- 
 minates in one refrain of that one song as the people 
 surrounding Jesus shout rather than sing: "Hosanna to 
 the Son of David ; blessed is he that cometh in the name 
 of the Lord; hosanna in the highest." This verse has 
 eaten its way into the lives of Christians who are ac- 
 customed to hear it read in the gospel lesson for this 
 day, to hear it paraphrased in the hymns of the day and 
 to take it to heart in the rite of confirmation which is 
 celebrated on this day. 
 
 May it not be well to apply this verse to our confirma- 
 tion today? May it not be helpful to the band of cate- 
 chumens here assembled to re-live this day in the lives of 
 those of us who have already confessed Christ before 
 men, asking ourselves certain questions which affect our 
 confirmation in the hope that our answers may be helpful 
 to those who are about to confess Christ? And may we 
 not express the earnest prayer that these considerations 
 may start trains of thought and of self-examination in 
 the minds and hearts of those here present who have not 
 yet determined to confess Christ openly before men? 
 What I would have those of you do who have already 
 been confirmed is to attempt to visualize and re-live your 
 confirmation day, no matter whether it was last year or 
 a score of years ago, and I would ask you first of all, was 
 this day in your life the resultant of a mass movement 
 or of individual constraint? 
 
 We speak of great movements as if they were the in- 
 vention of the modern world. We would not classify 
 them thus if we knew a little more about history than 
 we do. There have been great movements in every age of 
 
214 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the world's history, movements whereby men attempted 
 to get away from God and movements whereby they 
 sought to draw nigh. Israel was particularly susceptible 
 to both currents, the currents toward and away from 
 God. For movements away from the living God we need 
 but refer to the frequent attempts at the introduction 
 of idolatry among the people. For movements toward the 
 God Whom they so often forsook we need but point to 
 the repeated rallying under successive leaders of prophetic 
 calling and instinct. The great movements toward God 
 and the Messiah culminated in a common impulse which 
 prompted the multitudes to follow Jesus and acclaim 
 Him the true Son of David and the blessed of the Lord. 
 These are the same great caravans journeying to Jeru- 
 salem that have been diverted from their pilgrimage on 
 this and former occasions as they have tarried in the 
 desert to be fed by Christ or by the lakeside or on the 
 hillside to be taught by Him, or in the villages and 
 towns to see the miracles which He wrought upon their 
 sick. They' do not so much as stop to assert an in- 
 dividual impulse, they are carried down the maelstrom 
 of restless, expectant, eager, searching mass movements. 
 It is largely in this spirit they have come to the outskirts 
 of Jerusalem on their annual pilgrimage. It is in this 
 spirit they encircle the Christ. It is in this spirit they 
 unitedly, not singly, shout: "Hosanna to the Son of 
 David ; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ; 
 hosanna in the highest." You could not possibly imagine 
 this verse utilized as a recitative or an aria for a single 
 voice. It is the mass utterance of the same concourse of 
 people which a little later shouts in just as lusty a 
 fashion: "Crucify Him, crucify Him,." A public con- 
 fession such as that in which a group of young people 
 are to join this morning, such as that in which many of 
 us have joined on a previous Palm Sunday, can be, and 
 
PALM SUNDAY 215 
 
 there is danger, that it will be just such a mass con- 
 fession. 
 
 A public confession to mean anything at all signifies 
 that the individual dare not be lost in the mass, but the 
 individual must be active and vibrant in and through the 
 mass and the mass must be transformed because of the 
 presence of the individual who takes himself or herself 
 seriously. The best illustration of a public confession 
 which came as the resultant of individual constraint is, 
 to my mind, the little incident which occurred at Bethany 
 just six days before the passover. When it was known 
 that Jesus had arrived a group of villagers prepared a 
 public supper for Him. Of course, they were His 
 friends, but they could not have realized how little their 
 supper must have meant to Jesus at that time. Un- 
 doubtedly it meant more to them than to Him. They 
 could not understand the loneliness of Jesus. There was 
 one who could and did understand that loneliness, that 
 burden, that sorrow that was weighing Him down and 
 fitting Him for the Gethsemane struggle. There was 
 one who was willing to confess her faith in Him and her 
 love for Him in a truly sacrificial way. There was one 
 who, though she knew that her act must bring strong 
 rebuke from her kinsmen, was willing to suffer rebuke 
 for His sake. There was one whom individual con- 
 straint prompted to confess Jesus as her Savior in the 
 anointing of His body against the day of His burial. It 
 was a public confession in the presence of many wit- 
 nesses and was understood by Him Who called for and 
 needed just some such sign of discipleship at that moment. 
 The confession cost Mary a very great deal, not only 
 because of the depletion of her purse. That must have 
 meant something to her. It cost her more because of the 
 rebuke and the ridicule which she anticipated. In reading 
 the gospels we are surprised to find that public confes- 
 sions of an individual character of real worth are so few. 
 
2i6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea and others con- 
 fessed their faith in Christ, but not publicly, hence not 
 whole-heartedly. The precrucifixion confessions of Peter 
 were the confessions of a self-appointed leader, on the 
 one hand, and of a man who, in inspired moments, spoke 
 better than he knew how, on the other hand. They 
 were not the deliberate confessions of one who has un- 
 conditionally found Christ. How much did your con- 
 fession of Jesus Christ on the day of your confirmation 
 mean to you? Was it a sing-song recital of something 
 you had learned by rote, or was it the outburst of con- 
 victions pent up within your heart? Were your 
 thoughts centered upon mere externalities of place or 
 person, or were you alone with the Christ even though 
 others were there? 
 
 The first question which we have asked and which we 
 must ask you individually to answer is: Was your con- 
 fession of Jesus Christ on the day of your confirmation a 
 mass confession, a class confession, or was it an individ- 
 ual confession in the presence of many witnesses? Your 
 answer to this question will depend upon your answer to 
 the second question. Had you mastered the meaning of 
 the act in which you engaged? Did your confirmation 
 mean something more than an external act because you 
 had caught the purpose of Christ's coming into the world 
 and of His coming to you? This leads, very naturally, 
 to an interpretation of the confession itself. Hosanna is 
 a prayer for safety, a prayer for salvation. There is 
 implied the need for salvation, a need which, according 
 to the ii8th Psalm, from which this prayer is taken, can 
 be satisfied only by the Lord. "Save now" was the cry 
 of the multitudes from Galilee and the approaching mul- 
 titudes from Jerusalem. Was the prayer addressed to 
 Jehovah in the interests of Him Who was riding on in 
 majesty to His last and fiercest strife, or was it ad- 
 dressed to the Son of David Himself? In either case 
 
PALM SUNDAY 217 
 
 it announced the need of salvation and set forth the ap- 
 proach of this day of salvation. In either case Israel 
 looked upon the Christ about to enter the Holy City as 
 the Messiah, even though a little later it was to repudiate 
 its confession. They who had witnessed the raising up 
 of Lazarus could not refrain from honest appreciation 
 of His personality and of His claim. Our confession on 
 this day of confirmation is couched in a more specific 
 formula than that of the ii8th Psalm. Of course, we 
 include that, but in our recitation of the Apostles Creed 
 as we have perhaps never recited it before, we pause 
 for a moment before each of the great milestones of re- 
 ligion and we ask ourselves. Do I really believe that, or 
 are we here because we have paused before these mile- 
 stones as we have proceeded on our journey? It is because 
 they have become very real to us, one after the other of 
 these articles of the creed, one after the other of these 
 interpretations of the articles of the creed as we have 
 interpreted them, it is because we are able with our whole 
 heart to make this confession our own that our confirma- 
 tion really means something to us. The hymn "Abide 
 with me, fast falls the even tide" means less to the per- 
 son who sings it occasionally at an evening service than 
 it does to the person who has been permitted to repeat it 
 at the death bed of a member of the family. The gospel 
 of Jesus Christ means more to me because of the con- 
 fession of its saving value by a group of poor lepers 
 slowly decaying in body whom it was my privilege to 
 visit in company with some missionaries. There must 
 be a vital relationship between confession and creed. 
 My confession must be the honest expression of my 
 creed. I cannot believe one thing in my heart and say 
 something else with my lips. Now, as a matter of fact, 
 the public confession is not always a clear, cleancut ex- 
 pression of the inmost beliefs of our hearts. There are 
 those who have no clear, clean-cut beliefs. There are 
 
2i8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 those who believe in the validity of mental reservations. 
 There are those who believe in the validity of moral 
 reservations. There are those who believe in the validity 
 of spiritual reservations. There are those who come to 
 Him without any reservations, but ask Him to take up 
 His abode within their hearts. The last named are true 
 catechumens. Did you or did you not come in this 
 spirit? Are you the catechumens of today coming in 
 this spirit? 
 
 The hosanna of the advent season is a prophetic 
 hosanna, pointing to a Messiah Who is still to come. 
 The hosanna of Palm Sunday is a gospel hosanna, the 
 proclamiation of the arrival of One Who is ready and 
 willing to be your Savior. During the week that begins 
 today we are not so much to center our thoughts upon 
 Him Who is to come to judge the quick and the dead, 
 but rather upon Him Who has come and Who has suf- 
 fered and died for us. In view of the Deed of Christ, 
 in full realization of the atonement which He has 
 wrought for us, the question is asked shall we or shall 
 we not join in this public yet very personal confession of 
 allegiance to Him about Whose person and purpose there 
 is no question? Our hosanna is not sung as we wend 
 our way with the multitudes to the city in which Christ 
 is to die, but our hosanna is sung because we have seen 
 Him die for us. We no longer merely hope that He 
 might have been the One to redeem Israel, but we know 
 that He is the One Who has redeemed us. Our hosanna 
 is the hosanna of faith, but it is the hosanna of experience 
 as well. Our hosanna is the hosanna of child-like trust 
 on the part of those who have mastered the first rudi- 
 ments of religion and are ready to enter upon the joys 
 of their Lord as well as upon His sorrows. 
 
XXVII. 
 HOLY THURSDAY. 
 
 Matthew 26 : 40. 
 "Could ye not watch with me one hour"? 
 
 In the transition of a soul from this world to the 
 world beyond there are normally two struggles, the con- 
 flict of soul ere it is at rest and at peace, and the struggle 
 of the body. The violence of the physical struggle is 
 dependent very largely upon the manner in which the 
 soul struggle has spent itself. If there has been little or 
 no willingness to subordinate the personal will to the 
 will of God, then, of course, the great and final struggle 
 must be purely physical. If, on the other hand, the soul 
 struggle has convinced us of the necessity of subordinat- 
 ing self to God, the physical struggle is a mere aftermath 
 in which resignation makes possible a peaceful exit from 
 the life that now is to the life to come. The struggle 
 of the individual passing through this unique yet uni- 
 versal experience must or should be shared by those who 
 are next of kin or by those whose friendship supercedes 
 the position of kinship. They who have watched by the 
 bedside of a parent or child whose life was slowly ebbing 
 away, know what is meant. As you analyze your feel- 
 ings you realize that during those trying moments you 
 have passed through two very different frames of mind. 
 In the first place, there was the soul struggle which en- 
 deavored to avert the calamity. You prayed that the 
 cup might pass from you and your dear one. It took 
 some time until you were ready and willing to commit 
 the soul of your parent or your child or your friend into 
 
 219 
 
220 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the keeping of your Father, until, in other words, you 
 were ready to say "not my will but Thine be done." 
 After that came the subsidence of the storm, the phy- 
 sical ebbing out of the breath of human life and that was 
 peaceful compared with the struggle of soul which pre- 
 ceded it. 
 
 Perhaps all that has been said thus far ought to have 
 been said in conclusion as the resultant desire to imitate 
 the example of our blessed Lord and Master and yet it 
 has been said at the very start so that we may realize, 
 those of us who are so prone to ignore the practical ap- 
 plication of the Savior's sufferings to our own sufferings, 
 the practical postulates in every act of the passion of 
 Christ. The intensity of the struggle in the days pre- 
 ceding the crucifixion centered in the scene in the garden 
 of Gethsemane because it, above all things else, became 
 the real, culminating soul struggle which made possible 
 the subsequent physical conflict. Jesus was justified in 
 asking His disciples to share His agony. Perhaps their 
 wakefulness in the garden would not have changed 
 things and there would have been no outward turning 
 of the tide in Jesus' favor because of it, but on the other 
 hand it would have meant so much to Jesus to have 
 known at that moment of the hearty sympathy of those 
 whom He loved so tenderly. 
 
 May I ask you to follow that little band of disciples 
 and their Master as they leave the upper room in which 
 they have just finished the last supper and where they 
 have joined in the singing of one of the inspiring and 
 comforting Songs of the Hebrew Psalter, as they wend 
 their way out of the gate, down into the valley of the 
 brook Kedron and ascend the slopes of the Mount of 
 Olives to the garden which was so well known to them 
 as one of the retreats to which they resorted on the way 
 to or from Bethany. On this particular evening they 
 stopped, as was their custom at the garden of Geth- 
 
HOLY THURSDAY 221 
 
 semane, but the Master was the only one in that party 
 Who realized that they would not eventually proceed to 
 Bethany, their usual shelter for the night. To them, 
 their evening pilgrimage presented little that was un- 
 usual. Jesus realized its unique significance. His 
 thoughts were centered on the events of the morrow. 
 The time for instruction had passed, the time for a 
 supreme soul struggle had arrived. This explains the 
 two relays of disciples, the first group stationed near the 
 garden gate, the second group nearer the Lord, yet re- 
 moved a bit from the scene of His conflict. 
 
 The appeal of Christ as they face the tragedy before 
 them is wonderfully pathetic. We have already indi- 
 cated the method of their adjournment after the even- 
 ing spent in that upper room. As they arise from the 
 table ready to go out into the darkness of the night 
 Jesus says: "All ye shall be offended in me this night: 
 for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
 of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am 
 raised up, I will go before you into Galilee." This state- 
 ment demands no answer. It is a prophetic setting forth 
 of facts which will transpire in the immediate future. 
 We are therefore very much annoyed because of the 
 persistent way in which Peter intrudes upon the sacred- 
 ness and solemnity of the hour in asserting one of his 
 boastful commonplaces: "If all shall be offended in 
 Thee, I will never be offended." The rebuke of Jesus, 
 a further prophetic statement of fact, remains unheeded 
 by the disciple who does not take time to meditate upon 
 its significance but blurts out "Even if I must die with 
 Thee, yet will I not deny Thee." In this verdict, Peter 
 becomes the spokesman for the entire band "likewise 
 also said all the disciples." It was natural for Jesus to 
 ask the great majority of the disciples to wait for Him 
 at the entrance to the garden. In moments of great 
 soul struggle we must be alone with God. It is inter- 
 
222 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 esting to note that as He leaves them He does not ask 
 them to share His burden, whereas He does ask certain 
 things of the little group of three which accompanies 
 Him into the confines of the garden. He has borne up 
 wonderfully to this point. He now begins to be sorrow- 
 ful and sore troubled. As they arrive at a strategic 
 point He endeavors to have them understand a bit of 
 His anguish as He says: "My soul is exceeding sor- 
 rowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with 
 me." We can watch with others even though we are 
 not within a line of vision. The request is not unreason- 
 able. Relatives and friends do it day after day as they 
 remain near at hand while surgeons and physicians and 
 nurses, and shall we not say pastors, are in the sick 
 room. Relatives and friends do it day after day in this 
 season of world conflict as they alternate between prayer 
 and the scanning of the casualty lists. Jesus was justi- 
 fied, amply justified, in the request He made. He was 
 facing a death of shame. He was facing a period in 
 which He, the sole sinless one in all this world, would 
 be misunderstood by all the world. He needed the sym- 
 pathy and the love of His disciples, of James and of 
 Peter and of John. 
 
 His disappointment on returning from that first con- 
 flict is keen and bitter. His faith is not shattered, His 
 faith in the ability of His disciples to resist temptation. 
 Note the change in His appeal. He no longer asks them 
 to watch with Him. They have shown their inability 
 to do that. What He does ask of them is that they 
 watch and pray for their own souls, lest they fall into 
 temptation, adding the very significant maxim "the spirit 
 indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." He has learned 
 that He cannot depend upon human aid in this crisis. 
 
 There is in the admission of the disciples the admis- 
 sion of all the world that it cannot by its own power or 
 strength come to or believe in our Lord or remain in 
 
HOLY THURSDAY 223 
 
 fellowship with Him. He found them asleep. May not 
 this judgment be pronounced upon Adam and Eve in 
 the moment of their temptation in the garden ; upon 
 Noah as "he drank the wine and was drunken" ; upon 
 Abraham in moments of forgetfulness recorded in Scrip- 
 ture ; upon Lot, the sordid, base nephew of a great uncle ; 
 upon Isaac and Jacob, upon the Judges and Kings and 
 Priests, upon prophets and disciples, upon exalted church 
 fathers and haughty world rulers? May not this judg- 
 ment be pronounced upon you and me even here and 
 now? Three times in succession our Lord finds His dis- 
 ciples asleep. The deliberateness with which they thus 
 acknowledge their inability and their lack of desire to 
 stand by Christ in His hour of extreme need and peril 
 must have added an hundred fold to the intensity of 
 Christ's suffering. When Peter put the question to the 
 Lord concerning the frequency with which a brother must 
 be forgiven he did not think of himself as the brother 
 who must be forgiven for a volley of transgressions in 
 a single night which almost equalled the succession of 
 the shots from a modern machine gun. And isn't it so 
 in our own lives? Take the sins to which you are most 
 addicted and see how frequent is their repetition even 
 after the Lord has come and taken us by the hand. Per- 
 haps it is the un-Christian attitude of nagging others, 
 the lack of sympathy for members of our own family, 
 the inability, because of the degeneracy of our ears, our 
 heart and our tongue, of reproducing reports correctly, 
 the proneness to accept rather than to give, to steal in a 
 gentlemanly way, to waste our lives and our substance 
 in riotous living, all of which sins and all other sins are 
 the direct result of our unbelief in Christ. We too are 
 causing Him even today to tread the wine-press alone 
 by our repeated sleeping at the post of duty, by our 
 lack of vigilance when viligance is most needed. If a 
 commanding officer is permitted, in the interests of his 
 
224 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 army and his country, to order a man to be shot for 
 sleeping at his post in hours of peril, what punishment 
 ought to be meted out to the soldier in the army of 
 Christ who brings peril to countless souls by falling 
 asleep while on duty? Might not the disciples have in- 
 tercepted the plotting and scheming and planning of 
 Judas if they had before this fateful evening endeavored 
 with all their souls to learn to know both Christ and 
 Judas? Had they not voluntarily sacrificed golden op- 
 portunities never to be regained ? 
 
 Friends, the hour in our lives during which Christ asks 
 us to watch with Him is not so much the hour of baptism 
 or of confirmation, or of the Sunday service ; these hours 
 are important, but the hour which Jesus asks us to watch 
 with Him is the hour in which Satan draws nearest to 
 us, the hour of darkness, the hour in which restraint is 
 removed, the hour during which we are away from home 
 and friends, the hour of greatest peril. On the other 
 hand, the hour of greatest peril to us is the hour of most 
 intense intercession on His part. This negative, destruc- 
 tive hour in our lives has a positive constructive value 
 only as we are able to watch and pray because we know 
 that our redemption draweth nigh. 
 
XXVIII. 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 John 19:30. 
 "It is finished." 
 
 Good Friday has come upon us unaware. It is always 
 so. The greatest tragedies heralded though they may 
 have been for years dawn upon an unexpectant, unbe- 
 lieving world. The sunset and the evening star appear 
 long before we are ready for either. As we parted last 
 evening we saw the hostile band lead the Savior away 
 into the darkness of the night. It is unnecessary to re- 
 peat the indignities to which they subjected the Lamb 
 of God. It is unnecessary to refer to the patient pas.- 
 sion of the greatest, noblest prisoner ever brought before, 
 a human tribunal. We do not care to rehearse this 
 morning the detailed action of this day. It is too har- 
 rowing, too shameful, too incredible. Our attention is 
 to be fastened upon one of the ever memorable words 
 from the cross, the sixth: "It is finished." 
 
 What did they who stood near enough to hear this 
 outcry make of it? How did they interpret it? If 
 they thought of it in any intelligible way they very likely 
 thought of it as a word referring to the agony upon the 
 cross, the physical suffering to which the Savior was 
 subjected. They did not for a moment realize that they 
 were listening to one of the greatest words ever uttered, 
 a word the significance of which cannot be fathomed 
 even by those of us who have assembled twenty cen- 
 turies after the deed and have had the opportunity of 
 examining a countless host of witnesses from the days 
 
 225 
 
226 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of Calvary to our modern days of world tragedy. May 
 we pause for a moment to realize that the word which 
 Jesus uttered when He said: "It is finished" is abso- 
 lutely unique in the history of the world. World con- 
 querors like Alexander and Caesar and Napoleon have 
 uttered the word in one form or other, and yet we know 
 how hollow was the ring of the word as it left their lips 
 and how untrue it was subsequent ages have abundantly 
 shown. No world conqueror ever completely finished 
 the world's work in such a way that his successors could 
 reap the fruits of his conquests. No world conqueror 
 ever will or ever shall finish the world's work. There 
 will always be something to do, something that has 
 been left unfinished, sometimes that has been marred 
 rather than made, consequently something that must be 
 undone. No world conqueror has ever yet been able to 
 look into the future as he uttered his cry of triumph. It 
 has always been a testimony to past achievements and a 
 false testimony at that. 
 
 But you will answer, the realm of the Christ is the 
 spiritual realm. His victory. His achievement, must be 
 different from that of the world conqueror. Yes, what 
 you say is true. Jesus Himself said: "My Kingdom is 
 not of this world." Turning to the spiritual realm we 
 find the utterance of Jesus, this outcry of His upon the 
 cross, to be absolutely unique even there. The various 
 outcries of Moses, the first as he seeks to evade the 
 task which God imposes, those which give vent to his 
 feelings concerning the inabilty of Israel to enter upon 
 the promised inheritance, his outcries against friend 
 and foe alike, all of them are the bitter wails of one 
 who recognizes his own insufficiency and that of his 
 own people. The work of Moses was not finished. 
 Israel had not entered fully upon its heritage. Israel had 
 not learned to submit to the Mosaic covenant. Joshua was 
 needed to complete the work of Moses and others were 
 
GOOD FRIDAY 227 
 
 needed in turn to complete the work of Joshua. The spirit- 
 ual realm of Israel is the realm of which the prophets 
 were the mouthpieces of Jehovah and yet not one of them 
 stands out as the beginner and finisher or as the finisher of 
 Israel's spiritual combat and the solver of Israel's prob- 
 lems. We are simply trying to remind you of the impossi- 
 bility of thinking of this exclamation as the honest vale- 
 dictory of any one other than Jesus. The words on other 
 lips, proceeding from other hearts, are untrue and hollow. 
 The words uttered by the Christ are true. The thought 
 which gave rise to these words was no sudden thought, 
 flashing through the mind of Christ and as suddenly 
 finding expression. The preceding word "I thirst" was 
 uttered only after Jesus knew that all things were fin- 
 ished. Until He knew that and was sure of it He had 
 no inclination to satisfy His thirst. After the conscious- 
 ness of a completed task and a completed passion had 
 manifested itself to Him He was ready to quench the 
 thirst which might and would have interfered with the 
 calm transit of the soul from this world to another 
 realm. "When Jesus therefore had received the vine- 
 gar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and 
 gave up his spirit." What was it that was finished? 
 Are we to interpret these words only of the personal 
 suffering of Jesus? I do not think so. There are those 
 who would interpret them of both His suffering and His 
 work. If that suffering is not to be looked upon as mere 
 personal pain, but as a passion, a suffering made more in- 
 tense because of its extensive reaches, its necessary inclu- 
 sion of all the pain of all the world, then we are willing to 
 agree with this verdict. When Jesus said : *Tt is finished" 
 He was certainly not thinking of Himself even if He had 
 been conscious of treading the winepress alone. When He 
 said: "It is finished" He was thinking of the business 
 which had been entrusted to Him, His Father's business. 
 He knew as no one else knew the significance of the 
 
228 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 tearing of the temple veil. He knew as no one else 
 knew the distinction between the old covenant, forever 
 abrogated from that moment of His death, and the new 
 covenant instituted by His death upon the cross. He 
 knew how much this supreme sacrifice would mean for 
 humanity. He knew that at last the fulness of time had 
 come and that the Scriptures had been fulfilled. The 
 prophecy which had been heralded by His forerunners 
 had found its fulfilment in Him and in that yielding of 
 self to death upon the cross. "It is finished" refers 
 primarily to the work of redemption. 
 
 For whom was this great cry of victory intended? It 
 is exceedingly difficult to limit the word to any one circle 
 of hearers. In the first place Jesus must have uttered 
 the word as a monologue. He Who had repeatedly 
 spoken of the judgment which is to be meted out in that 
 great day, He Who had so often urged men to work 
 while it is day, reminding them of the night wherein no 
 man can work, He Who had recognized the close of day 
 in His earthly life, certainly could not refrain from sub- 
 jecting His own life, His own deeds. His one great deed 
 to a critical self-examination. It is the human Jesus 
 and the divine Jesus, the Jesus Who is the son of Mary 
 and the Jesus Who is the son of God, rendering an 
 account to the eternal Logos, the eternal Word. We 
 cannot render an account to ourselves in the sense in 
 which Jesus did. The message contained in this sixth 
 word from the cross was not simply an outburst of 
 assurance which came as the resultant of self-examina- 
 tion. It was a message intended for the Father. He 
 was entitled to know the result of this one great supreme 
 effort to reach humanity and bring it into touch with 
 heaven. The message was to find its way into the un- 
 seen world. It was to bring joy and happiness to the 
 God Who is love and Who as love sent forth His only- 
 begotten Son into the world. It sounds anomalous, does 
 
GOOD; FRIDAY 229 
 
 it not, to speak of the joy afforded the Father in hearing 
 the "it is finished" of the Son. It sounds awkward and 
 cold to speak of the happiness of the Father at the 
 moment of the death of the Son, but it rings true to 
 spiritual experience, this joy of the Father in the salva- 
 tion of countless souls. Some of the most exalted hymns 
 in our Christian hymnody, some of the hymns which have 
 most adequately portrayed the life eternal with all its 
 joys and all its happiness have been penned in moments 
 of persecution and distress and famine and pestilence. 
 Some of the most beautiful transitions of human souls 
 have been those in which there has been no question of 
 the presence of the light of eternity. The Son teaches 
 us how to die. The Father teaches us how to act in the 
 presence of death. 
 
 The audience in the unseen world includes those who 
 encircle the throne. We cannot think of the angels as 
 messengers to whom have been entrusted repeated em- 
 bassies in the interests of the Christ, without thinking 
 of them and their interest in this moment of blended 
 darkness and light. An angel was sent to strengthen 
 Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. We are not told 
 that any angel was sent to sustain Christ upon the cross. 
 That would not have been treading the winepress alone. 
 We cannot for that reason, however, think of the angels 
 as impassive to all that was transpiring. It is not easy 
 to stand back and look on when you feel that perhaps you 
 might be able to be of some help. How gratifying, 
 therefore, this message of Him Who is their Lord and 
 Whom they have not been permitted to serve at this 
 juncture, this assurance that without their aid "it is 
 finished." As we think of the effect of these words in 
 the unseen world we think naturally of those whose 
 graves were opened, of those whose hope was to find 
 its fulfilment. Turning from the sympathetic throng in 
 that unseen world to the great army at enmity with God 
 
230 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 we realize what a challege Christ's message must have 
 contained for them. The Paradise which was lost 
 through the disobedience of our first parents was con- 
 verted into a harvest field for Satan and his army. Sud- 
 denly the tables were again turned and Paradise lost 
 became Paradise regained. An army which had been 
 trained to act constantly and consistently on the offensive 
 found itself suddenly on the defensive, its power gone 
 and its retreat begun. It is for us, Christians of today, 
 to continue the offensive begun by Christ. 
 
 The message was intended not only for the unseen 
 world, it was intended for this world in which we live. It 
 was intended for the high priest, a high priest no longer, 
 but the lowest of all priests. It was intended for the 
 Sanhedrin, no longer the religious citadel of the people 
 of God, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of 
 saints, was soon to be that. This word was intended 
 for the masses which had cried "Hosanna to the son of 
 David" and a few days later "crucify Him, crucify 
 Him," a word of warning and a word of invitation. The 
 word was addressed to the soldiers at the foot of the 
 cross. It was addressed to Pontius Pilate and his wife. 
 It was spoken to the women who remained true to their 
 Lord during His last hours upon the cross. It was 
 addressed to the disciples who had failed to watch with 
 Him even for a single hour. It contained a special ap- 
 peal for Peter and for Thomas. It was one of those 
 laconic messages which eat their way into the highways 
 and byways of this world forcing people to take heed. It 
 is a message which today is challenging attention as 
 never before. People are asking themselves "is it fin- 
 ished" this work of Christ, and many of them answer "no, 
 it cannot be finished or we would not be experiencing 
 the scenes we are made to witness today." As this an- 
 swer comes to us, worming its way into our thinking, we 
 are permitted again on this day to hear His insistent reply 
 
good; FRIDAY 231 
 
 "it is finished." As we are forced to pay attention to the 
 devilishness of the intrigue which has converted our nine- 
 teenth century civilization and Christianity into twentieth 
 century barbarity and lack of religion we are told by 
 the men at the front themselves that there is but one hope 
 for this world and that hope is the cross of Christ. They 
 are praying today and as we turn to the last of the 
 collects in the litany of intercession which has been pre- 
 pared for them and is being used by them we pray with 
 them as we recognize the significance of this day and its 
 message : 
 
 "Eternal Father, Who in the sending of Thy Son, Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord, didst speak peace to the world, and in 
 the blood of His cross hast opened the way to all man- 
 kind to find peace with and in Thee: Hold Thou the 
 cross high that every eye may see, fire every heart with 
 Thy Spirit that all may accept in Christ the way of life, 
 that following His holy example and burning with His 
 zeal of service, all mankind may be one brotherhood 
 in Him, and Thy peace possess every heart and rule 
 all the nations of the world through the same Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord. Amen." 
 
XXIX. 
 EASTER DAY. 
 
 Makk i6 : 6. 
 "He is risen ; He is not here." 
 
 It was an ideal day, that Easter day years ago on which 
 parents and children attended service together in God's 
 House and then quietly but joyfully wended their way 
 to a delightful forest within walking distance of the town 
 and reveled in the happiness of Easter-tide. A member 
 of the family, sent in advance, selected the place, secreted 
 nests of wholesome Easter-eggs in secluded spots of un- 
 dergrowth or in the branches of a tree, and on the arrival 
 of the party directed the whole-hearted search on the part 
 of the children, with an occasional word of advice and a 
 constant "not here," "not there," until the object of the 
 quest had been attained. 
 
 There was just a bit of instruction added concerning 
 the symbolism of the act. The egg itself, the symbol of 
 life hidden away in the secluded nest, must be sought 
 diligently, but is at last found perhaps where we least 
 expected to find it, just as the women did not find the 
 Savior where they looked for Him at first. Would that 
 we could re-live these happy days ! Can we not re-live 
 them if we so choose? Would that we could again hear 
 the good old Easter message as we once heard it! Can 
 we not thus hear it if vv^e choose? In terming the Easter 
 message, the most important message ever delivered to 
 men, are we not a bit archaic? Are not the messages 
 which are being exchanged between various governments 
 at this moment more important? It seems incredible, 
 does it not, that people should even dare raise such a 
 
 232 
 
EASTER DAY 233 
 
 question. The various vital problems with which we 
 are concerned today will undoubtedly affect the weal 
 or woe of individuals and of nations for many years to 
 come, but the one greatest message ever delivered to men 
 by the mouth of the angel will continue to affect the weal 
 or woe of every individual for all eternity. Paul states 
 the issue concisely and strongly "Now if Christ is 
 preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how 
 say some among you that there is no resurrection of 
 the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 
 neither hath Christ been raised; and if Christ hath not 
 been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also 
 is vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God: 
 because we witnessed of God that He raised up Christ, 
 whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not 
 raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ 
 been raised; and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith 
 is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are 
 fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If we have only 
 hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most 
 pitiable." 
 
 We reassert the statement, the message of Almighty 
 God delivered by the mouth of His holy angel to the 
 women and by them to the disciples and by them to other 
 disciples and so on down the ages to the present time is 
 the one great message of the ages and of eternity for 
 man redeemed, restored, reclaimed. This announcement 
 has been and is being delivered today to very different 
 groups of people and is producing very varied results. 
 We have chosen but a few words conveying a decided 
 shock to the women who first heard them. "He is not 
 here" is a message addressed to those who sincerely but 
 mistakenly seek Christ where He is not to be found. 
 
 What a long Sabbath it must have been for the women, 
 especially for that tried band of faithful helpers in His 
 work, as they awaited the passing of the hours until their 
 
234 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 law would permit them to perform a last loving service 
 to His body in seeking by means of spices to preserve it 
 from decay. At the first possible moment "very early on 
 the first day of the week they come to the tomb when 
 the sun was risen." There behind the big stone which 
 mortals believed to be a door that could not be opened 
 from within, at least, and, as a matter of fact, it was 
 sealed to make it secure from without, behind that door 
 and in the recesses of that rock-hewn grave they ex- 
 pected to find the body of their Lord, hoping fully to 
 see Him again in the resurrection of the dead but not in 
 this life. John says of Peter and Mary Magdalene and 
 that other disciple who was no other than himself "As 
 yet they knew not the Scripture that he must rise again 
 from the dead." They had heard it, of course. They 
 had heard it from the lips of Jesus Himself, this great 
 truth, but they had not appropriated it. It had never 
 penetrated beneath the surface of their shallow compre- 
 hension. Peter and John must be told "He is not here." 
 To this day people are seeking the Christ in tombs of a 
 Judaean wilderness rather than by the charming lake of 
 sun-lit Galilee. To this day the words of Christ Plim- 
 self are true: "Then if any man shall say unto you, 
 Lo, here is the Christ, or here; believe it not. For there 
 shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall sho;v 
 great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, 
 even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If, 
 therefore, they shall say unto you. Behold, he is in the 
 wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner 
 chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh 
 forth from the east and is seen even unto the west, so 
 shall be the coming of the Son of man." As Christians 
 we mlist pity and pray for those who have not yet found 
 the living Christ and who, in their impetuous zeal, rush 
 with Peter from place to place in their restless quest for 
 Him Who is not as far removed from them as thev 
 
EASTER DAY 235 
 
 imagine. But perhaps our prayers ought to be expended 
 upon ourselves first of all. Perhaps the Christ has been 
 buried by us in the tomb of a fleshly heart where, of 
 course, He cannot tarry, from which, consequently, He 
 must flee or be driven out. 
 
 The angel's message is addressed to those who shun 
 the Christ as well. How do you suppose Pilate felt on 
 hearing the news of the empty tomb? The angel would 
 say to Pilate: "He is not here" where you have per- 
 mitted the body of Him Whom you ordered crucified to 
 be laid and Pilate is years older as he hears the news. 
 
 The leaders of the Sanhedrin are informed that the 
 very thing they have sought to prevent has been accom- 
 plished. The tomb is empty in spite of a seal, in spite 
 of Roman guards, in spite of every precaution which 
 their cunning was able to devise. The angel would say 
 to the members of the Sanhedrin assembled on the morn- 
 ing of the day after the Sabbath: "He is not here" and 
 he accompanies each of these dignified hypocrites to a 
 vantage point sufficiently near to, yet sufficiently far from 
 the tomb as he whispers in the hope of persuading one or 
 the other "He is not here." Nicodemus and Joseph, and 
 let us hope others, too, are persuaded, that the angel's 
 message concerns them. 
 
 The camp of Roman soldiers from whose midst a 
 detachment has gone forth and into whose midst a de- 
 tachment has just returned is astir. The angel's mes- 
 sage has been relayed throughout the camp, "He is not 
 here" and the centurion and others immediately correct 
 a former verdict. Instead of saying "Truly this was the 
 Son of God," the centurion is heard to exclaim, "Truly 
 this is the Son of God." 
 
 The day's work is ended in the palace of Caiaphas. 
 The court is again astir with a retinue of servants. They 
 had heard the angel's message, "He is not here," and they 
 recognize that perhaps their jeers, their insults, their 
 
236 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 cruelty may have been unjustifiable. The angel's mes- 
 sage spreads throughout the city of Jerusalem. It 
 spreads throughout the regions of Galilee. It is spoken 
 of in Samaria and in Peraea, in fact, wherever the Christ 
 was known while upon earth, people are discussing often 
 behind closed doors and with bated breath this strange 
 evangel "He is not here." 
 
 The empty tomb becomes one of the most forcible 
 preachers of all times as the angel's voice echoes and re- 
 echoes from out its depth "He is not here." The Chris- 
 tian church is being mustered even now. Even before the 
 festival of Whitsuntide those who were enemies of the 
 Cross of Christ are receiving their marching orders and 
 are enlisting as they who have been won by the empty 
 tomb. 
 
 Can we gainsay the import of this message to those 
 who, in our own day and generation, seek to point us to 
 false Christs? 
 
 If the angel of the Lord were to come to our city on 
 this Easter morn, if, because of his inability to find the 
 hospitable home of a believing Abraham, he would be 
 compelled to seek quarters in one of our modern hostel- 
 ries, if assigned to a table at which no blessing is asked, 
 to a room adjoining the apartments of those engaged in 
 revelry, to a place in the lobby through which swarming 
 hosts of automobilists pass on pleasure bent, surely he 
 would be compelled to exclaim, "He is not here." 
 
 If the angel of the Lord were to visit the institu- 
 tions of learning in our midst, if he were to pass from 
 one department to another, from one class-room to an- 
 other, from one laboratory to another, from one library 
 to another, from one student's den to another, how often 
 would he be compelled to admit "He is not here." If 
 the angel of the Lord were to visit our workshops, active 
 day and night, every day and every night, if he were to 
 stop to speak to those who, because of the din of the 
 
EASTER DAY 237 
 
 machinery, could not hear his voice, he would be com- 
 pelled to admit "He is not here." 
 
 Turning to the present-day scene of destruction and 
 from there to the homes of the instigators of the terrible 
 holacaust which is devastating the world, the angel 
 would be compelled to admit "He is not here." 
 
 What a difference there is between the original intent 
 of the announcement and its subsequent application. The 
 angel's function was to announce the resurrection and 
 consequently the absence of the body of Christ from its 
 rock-hewn tomb. The original intent was to set forth 
 the impotence of the material earth in its desire to 
 absorb and disintegrate the body of Christ. "He is not 
 here" was not spoken originally of the hearts of men, 
 but of the heart of the material universe conceived apart 
 from its Creator. "He is not here" is God's challenge 
 to materialism and to those who have made materialism 
 their creed. "He is not here" is God's solace and hope to 
 those who have been weighed down by the whisperings 
 of an unbelieving world. "He is not here" is God's 
 choicest bit of gospel for all His children, not here in a 
 body subject to corruption, not here as a memory, not 
 here as a faded flower or a withered leaf, but here as a 
 risen Christ. 
 
 "He is risen ; He is not here," the two statements are 
 akin and supplementary. "He is risen" was uttered first 
 because it is of primary importance. "He is not here" 
 was a mere supplementary statement. It so happened 
 that the fundamental message could not be adequately 
 appreciated or understood until the second statement had 
 eaten its way into the consciousness of the women and 
 the disciples. They believed Jesus to be dead when He 
 was not dead, just as truly as we sometimes believe that 
 we are possessors of the risen Christ when we are far 
 removed from any such vital touch with Him. The mes- 
 sage must be announced to us as it was announced' to the 
 
238 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 women. Our thought process on receiving the message 
 must be that of the women. We must first rid ourselves 
 of the conception that Christ is here, part and parcel 
 of our lives, if it be true that the Christ Whom we ought 
 to follow is not the Christ Whom we have followed. 
 After thinking that He has been within our hearts all 
 this time there must come the rude awakening to the 
 fact that, after all. He is not there. When that fact 
 dawns upon us, then we shall set forth in our quest for 
 Him and He will reveal Himself to us as He is, our 
 risen Lord and Master. "He is risen" means that the 
 Christ W^ho is our Christ is our Lord and our God, 
 Who, because of His victory over death and grave, 'is 
 entitled to that supreme place in our hearts and lives 
 which He and He alone is entitled to occupy. 
 
 May I ask you what are and where are the spiritual 
 springs to which you go for draughts of water that 
 ought to be living water? May I ask you where is your 
 Bible? May I ask you how often is it taken from the 
 table upon which it lies? May I ask you whether or not 
 you have a Common Service Book at home and whether 
 or not you know how to use it? May I ask you what 
 your church means to you ? May I ask you what your fel- 
 lowship with your brethren in the faith means to you? 
 Would or would not the angel of the Lord, if he were 
 to ask these questions, be compelled to write on your 
 record card "He is not here?" 
 
 May we, in closing, turn for a moment to the record 
 of the resurrection preserved by Luke in which he quotes 
 the angel's message as it has been transmitted to him. 
 "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not 
 here but is risen; remember how he spake unto you 
 when he was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man 
 must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and 
 be crucified and the third day rise again. And they 
 remembered his words." 
 
EASTER DAY 239 
 
 Dear friends, the great pity is not that the heathen 
 will not be adequately represented on the day of judg- 
 ment, but the tragedy of this and every Easter celebra- 
 tion is that the angel must be sent into Christian lands 
 and Christian churches and Christian homes with the 
 message "He is not here." May we, in this morning 
 hour, call to memory the first Easter day. May we recog- 
 nize that the Lord was present on that day and may it 
 be said of us and of our service, though He is risen. He is 
 here. 
 
XXX. 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 20 : 28. 
 "My Lord and My God." 
 
 Action and reaction, the two follow each other as 
 night follows day, as darkness follows light. Man's 
 disobedience is sin, the first reaction against God's holy 
 purposes. God's willingness to cope with man's sin in 
 sending His Son into the world is a subsequent example 
 of divine action. Surely there can be and will be no 
 further illustration of reaction from so holy a love and 
 so unexampled a gift, and yet we are mistaken. The 
 glorious announcement of Easter day is not to be ac- 
 cepted unchallenged. The message of the angel "Be not 
 amazed; ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been 
 crucified; he is risen; he is not here; behold, the place 
 where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and 
 Peter, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye 
 see him, as he said unto you," is not to wait for a 
 twentieth century challenge, but is challenged by a dis- 
 ciple of the Lord immediately upon his reception of the 
 report that the Lord is risen. Have you ever thought 
 of the manner in which God always anticipates the dif- 
 ficulties and questionings of men? Last Sunday every 
 heart was attuned to the gospel for the day. We all 
 felt the tenseness of the situation. We had heard so 
 much of the bitter sufferings of Jesus and of His cruel 
 death we were prepared and keyed for the angel's an- 
 nouncement. We needed it to fill the very great want 
 which the proclamation of Jesus' passion had enkindled. 
 
 240 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 241 
 
 Then we went to our homes and during the week re- 
 laxed a bit until today the result of this relaxation is evi- 
 dent in the absence of a number of followers of the 
 apostle whose questionings and whose ultimate confes- 
 sion need to be considered most especially by the very 
 individuals who have absented themselves from the serv- 
 ices of this day. The reaction from the unalloyed joy of 
 Easter day is bound to come. The question which this 
 day's gospel raises is: Shall there be an action to follow 
 close upon the reaction that has set in, or shall we fol- 
 low the example of Judas? It is either despair or vic- 
 tory. The question as to which it shall be depends upon 
 whether or not we shall appropriate to ourselves the 
 story of Christ's death without fathoming as well the 
 significance of His resurrection. It was only by a pain- 
 ful process that Thomas advanced from the former to 
 the latter attitude, and it is this process we are to study 
 this morning for the benefit of any among us who may 
 have had the same misgivings which Thomas experi- 
 enced before he arrived at the biggest conclusion of his 
 life. The fact of Christ's resurrection must not be 
 studied as we would study a bit of history in school. It 
 must not be to us something that is entirely outside our- 
 selves. The fact of Christ's resurrection must be to me 
 the very center of my religious thought. It must be such 
 an integral part of my personality that, with Job, I shall 
 simply be forced to exclaim: *T know that my redeemer 
 liveth." To thwart any possible reaction the Christians 
 of the first century extended their Easter celebration to 
 this day, and on this day the newly confirmed members 
 of the church received their first communion. On this 
 day the service of the early church was begun with the 
 Introit: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of 
 the Word." Can there be a more urgent appeal addressed' 
 to all those who, because of the experiences of this sea- 
 son, are newborn? This then is to be our greeting this 
 
242 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 morning: as those who are newly born, may you each 
 and every one desire the sincere milk of the Word. May 
 you each and every one appropriate to yourselves this 
 greatest of all the facts of the ages just as naturally and 
 as sincerely as the child receives and appropriates to its 
 use the gifts which loving parents bestow upon it. May 
 the Word of God be both food and drink to those who 
 cannot get along without it. The arrival of Thomas at 
 the stature of Christian manhood was only achieved by a 
 slow and tortuous process. He has been bitterly attacked 
 for his doubt by some and has been as warmly defended 
 for his persistency by others. I am inclined to feel that, 
 though Jesus rebukes his unbelief, nevertheless the story 
 is preserv^ed by John for the encouragement, rather than 
 the estrangement of those who find themselves in equal 
 predicaments. May God help them to be equally per- 
 sistent, equally honest and ultimately equally victorious. 
 The expression "my Lord and my God" has frequently 
 been interpreted as a spontaneous outburst on the part 
 of one as suddenly converted as was the apostle Paul. 
 Nothing could be further from the truth. There was noth- 
 ing spontaneous about the confession. It was but the audi- 
 ble confession which came naturally as the result of a 
 long-continued, earnest yearning. No one can question 
 and no one has questioned the honesty of Thomas. His 
 disposition made it very difficult and trying for him to fit 
 in with his new environment. The very fact that John is 
 the only one of the recorders of the gospel narrative who 
 has thought it worth while to let us see the workings of 
 the mind of Thomas is noteworthy. John could not have 
 stressed the incidents concerning Thomas which he has 
 noted if John had not approached the problems of 
 Thomas in a sympathetic frame of mind. It is important 
 for us, therefore, to remember that the confession which 
 later arose to the lips of Thomas expressed itself first of 
 all in his life as an earnest yearning, an earnest desire. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 243 
 
 In so far he was infinitely ahead of some so-called Chris- 
 tians who have taken and are taking their Christianity 
 in a very matter-of-fact way and he was infinitely re- 
 moved from that large class of doubters which has ex- 
 perienced no such desire and whose only purpose seems 
 to be to refute the statements of the Word of God. 
 
 Thomas was not alone among the disciples. He is the 
 most conspicuous example of a tendency rather than the 
 sole representative of doubt. We must bear in mind that, 
 though the Lord has repeatedly indicated to His dis- 
 ciples that He would arise from the dead, they did not 
 comprehend His statements. More than that, they made 
 absolutely no effort to understand His utterances on this 
 subject. The one or two seeming attempts to grasp His 
 message are undoubtedly to be interpreted as the efforts 
 of men out of sympathy with the inner life of the Master. 
 They doubted the literalness of His statements. They 
 doubted the assertion that He would rise from the dead. 
 Their doubt was unbelief. Mark distinctly informs us 
 that Jesus afterward appeared unto the eleven as they sat 
 at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- 
 ness of heart, because they believed not them which had 
 seen Him after He was risen. Thomas was, therefore, 
 not alone in his unbelief. The band, of which but one 
 remained true to his Lord during His passion, was in- 
 fected with hardness of heart. This coldness on the 
 part of His disciples was undoubtedly one of the greatest 
 trials Jesus had to bear. Thomas is certainly superior to 
 the majority of the disciples. Though honestly doubt- 
 ing many of the statements made by his Master, he en- 
 deavored to approach every question openly. The 
 earnest yearning of his heart to accommodate himself to 
 Christ and to follow Him is nowhere more apparent than 
 in the incident recorded in the eleventh chapter of the 
 gospel according to John. Lazarus of Bethany was sick 
 unto death when his sisters sent word to Jesus asking 
 
244 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Him to come and heal their brother, Lazarus had died 
 before Jesus started upon the journey. Jesus knew that 
 he had died before He set forth with His disciples for 
 Bethany. He knew and His disciples knew of the danger 
 involved in leaving Peraea and going back to Judaea 
 where the Jews were on the lookout for Him. When He 
 told the disciples of His decision to return to Judaea 
 they held a little conference, and it was Thomas who ex- 
 pressed his willingness to return with Christ, though 
 he believed the only outcome of the trip would be the 
 death of Christ and their own death as well. To quote 
 his own words: "Let us also go, that we may die with 
 Him." There was no sneer in these words, no desire 
 to attempt to dissuade the disciples from their under- 
 taking, no flinching. He, more than they, had thought 
 through the problem and he, more than they, was willing 
 to assume the consequences of his decision. There was 
 enough love in his heart for Jesus to desire to follow 
 Christ even into death though he might, of course, have 
 turned from the enterprise and might have forsaken the 
 band if he had been convinced of the folly of the under- 
 taking. His very statement, his calm decision, these 
 indicate the pull of Jesus' personality and the impossi- 
 bility of letting go. 
 
 In varying degrees this pull of Jesus' personality has 
 made itself felt in all lives that have seriously and con- 
 scientiously approached His life. The pull has not been 
 equally strong in all lives. It has not been strong enough 
 in the lives of some who have deliberately sought to resist 
 it, but even they have yielded more than they care to 
 admit. 
 
 The earnest yearning of the disciple manifests itself 
 in his admission of the unfathomableness of the plan of 
 Jesus or the purpose of Jesus. When in the wonderful 
 last discourses of Jesus with His disciples the Master has 
 said to them: "And whither I go ye know, and the 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 245 
 
 way ye know," it was Thomas who said: ''Lord, we 
 know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the 
 way?" These words gain in importance as we rememr 
 ber they were not uttered by the thoughtless Peter, but 
 by the thoughtful Thomas. And now Jesus had been 
 crucified. Thomas may have witnessed the crucifixion. 
 He had very likely heard of the report of the women 
 concerning the empty grave during the day of the resur- 
 rection. If so, we do not know why he did not attend 
 the meeting of the disciples on the evening of that day. 
 It was because of his hesitancy to be present, because of 
 the fact that he did not associate with the disciples at 
 a time when he most needed the solace of their inter- 
 course that he was not present when Jesus appeared in 
 their midst and breathed His "peace be unto you" upon 
 them. Perhaps, dear friends, for similar reasons you 
 may have missed the help and the comfort which Jesus 
 could have offered you had you been present on some 
 days on which you were absent from His House. The 
 long-continued brooding of Thomas has led to the result 
 to which such brooding must inevitably lead. He will 
 no longer accept the evidence of his friends. He no 
 longer trusts them. He must see for himself and experi- 
 ence for himself the blessings which they possess. "Ex- 
 cept I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and 
 put my fingers into the print of the nails, and thrust my 
 hand into His side, I will not believe." These words 
 seem very reasonable to some. They mark the cold 
 logician, the matter-of-fact man. They typif> the man 
 who will be guided only by his brain, who, because of 
 the many deceptions and delusions to which he has been 
 subjected, will have nothing to do with anything that 
 cannot be tested and found true to sense-perception. And 
 yet we ask, whither does such a religion of and for the 
 intellect lead? Thomas had forgotten that all things 
 rnust be tested by the heart as well as by the head, and 
 
246 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 that things that do not appear clear when treated either 
 as matters of the head or heart exclusively become lumin- 
 ous when viewed from the standpoint of the whole man. 
 Thomas had forgotten the power over death which Jesus 
 manifested in his presence. He had forgotten that Jesus 
 said to him, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." 
 How was it that Thomas forgot so absolutely in this 
 crisis that Jesus was Himself the Prince of Life? We 
 are led to admit that the faith of Thomas was not a 
 strong faith, not as yet a living faith, but thank God 
 there was still a spark of faith in his heart. If there 
 had not been he would not have allied himself with his 
 old comrades a week after the resurrection. Jesus had 
 not reappeared in the meantime. He did not know that 
 He would reappear. He was still receptive to the truth. 
 Though he had frankly and openly confessed that he 
 would not believe until he had seen, he did not shut him- 
 self off from those influences which were necessary to 
 the quickening of his faith. The confession which he was 
 about to utter was, as we have said, that of one who had 
 not come upon a great truth suddenly, but of one who 
 had meditated for years upon the probability of what 
 he was about to confess as a certainty. 
 
 There in the hall in which they had assembled a week 
 before are the ten who had seen Christ, and this time 
 Thomas is with them. The scene is to be repeated in its 
 exact original setting. The doors are shut. The Master 
 appears unto them. Again He utters that welcome greet- 
 ing and blessing, "Peace be unto you." The moment of 
 suspense was critical. What would Jesus say to Thomas ? 
 Would He again receive him into the band of believing 
 disciples? The suspense was not to be prolonged. Com- 
 passionate as Christ ever was, yet fully recognizing the 
 necessity of justice, He saw the conflicts which were 
 surging in the breast of the storm-tossed disciple. Upon 
 Thomas, therefore, the command was enjoined : "Reach 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 247 
 
 hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and reach hither 
 thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faith- 
 less, but believing." The voice, plus the sight, proved 
 too much for the disciple. Before him stands He Who 
 in His body bears the print of the nails and the v^ound 
 inflicted by the spear. More than that, before him stands 
 the Christ Who predicted over and over again that He 
 would arise from the dead. As there has been a moment 
 of suspense, an expectancy on the part of both Jesus and 
 His disciple and the ten who were witnesses of the un- 
 usual scene, there is a moment of suspense for us. The 
 suspense is not to be prolonged, for the faith of the well- 
 nigh lost disciple was quickened through the tremendous 
 influence of the God-man. His language is not over- 
 drawn. As a matter of fact, he feels the difiiculty of 
 properly expressing his inmost feelings. Hence his 
 words are the feeble echo of an awakened recognition of 
 the truth. His speech came as the spontaneous outpour- 
 ing of a soul flooded with new life. The words become 
 doubly important if we view them as the aftermath of a 
 fierce conflict. They were not the outburst of a momen- 
 tary ecstasy. They were not the resultant of a modern 
 revival. They were the resultant of a very real tribula- 
 tion on the part of one who, though he had been a mem- 
 ber of the band of disciples of Jesus, had, nevertheless, 
 always persevered in a state of doubt concerning his posi- 
 tion. Words such as these, uttered under the circumstan- 
 ces which called them forth, can only be interpreted as the 
 confession of a truly believing disciple. His victory over 
 unbelief is not a clean-cut, thornless victory. Before he 
 is permitted to enter fully upon the privileges of disciple- 
 ship he must face his Lord's rebuke. And it is his wil- 
 lingness to face that rebuke which proves the complete- 
 ness of his regeneration. His willingness to surrender 
 an untenable position marks him as one in whom the 
 Lord had not trusted in vain. 
 
248 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 It has again been our privilege to celebrate the week 
 in which we commemorate the passion and death of our 
 Lord. It has again been our privilege to listen to the 
 message of His resurrection. Can we remain passive? 
 Can we be told this story year after year and be deaf to 
 the great love of the Savior? Have we or have we not 
 been led with Thomas to the crucial moment in our lives 
 when it simply becomes necessary with Thomas to ex- 
 claim: "My Lord and my God?" Israel linked the two 
 terms and spoke of the Lord God in designating Jehovah. 
 Yet there is a difference, for to them God was not as 
 close as He was to Thomas. To them He appeared to be 
 a strange, far-away God. The difference between their 
 conception of God and that of Thomas is contained in the 
 little personal pronoun which Thomas employs, a pronoun 
 which they employed for Israel conjointly, but which they 
 never, except in rare instances, applied to the individual. 
 To us, as to Thomas, this God is my God, this Lord is my 
 Lord. He is my Lord and my God because "He has re- 
 deemed me, a lost and condemned creature, secured and 
 delivered me from all sins, from death and from the 
 power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with His 
 holy and precious blood and with His innocent suffering 
 and death, in order that I might be His, live under Him in 
 His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteous- 
 ness, innocence and blessedness, even as He is risen from 
 the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is 
 most certainly true." The first personal pronoun must 
 be emphasized, but so emphasized that it is lost in the 
 following nouns: The Lord is my Lord. God is my 
 God. In recognizing this fact, I resign myself entirely 
 into His keeping and enjoy completely and unequivocally 
 the Christian liberty which is the heritage of all true be- 
 lievers. This unequivocal acceptance of Christ led to 
 the celebration of Holy Communion in the early church 
 on this day because in this act Christ and the believer are 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 249 
 
 at one. Our strength is in Him. Our life is in Him. 
 "He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the 
 Son of God hath not the life." 
 
XXXI. 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 John io: ii. 
 
 "I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd layeth down his life 
 for the sheep." 
 
 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." In an 
 abandon of trust so unqualified, so unreserved, so abso- 
 lute, a king tottering to the grave, once a youthful shep- 
 herd boy watching the flocks of his father upon the plains 
 hard by the little town of Bethlehem, poured forth the 
 intensity, the depth, the loveliness of his religious con- 
 sciousness in the presence of the Lord of Whom he 
 sang. It is little wonder the prayer has reverberated down 
 the ages. In this beautiful lyric he has expressed nobly, 
 sincerely and adequately the passionate love of the true 
 believer for his shepherd. In this lyric he has not only 
 opened his heart to God but to all the world as well. 
 
 As the sheep committed to David's keeping were 
 secure, so the shepherd boy, the defender of his father's 
 flock from robbers and wild beasts, was equally secure 
 because he too had a shepherd in whose vigilance he 
 trusted with the same degree of confidence which the 
 sheep manifested toward him,. Is it too much to say 
 that David was what he was in after life because early 
 in life he mastered a lesson which his vocation taught 
 him ? In the presence of Goliath it was this trust in the 
 Lord his shepherd which made him victorious. In the 
 presence of Saul torn by the evil spirit, the good spirit 
 of the Lord in the bosom of David averted the deadly 
 spear and the deadlier hatred. In the presence of Nathan 
 
 250 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 251 
 
 the one-time trust, forgotten in a moment of weakness, 
 was rekindled as the thought of this merciful shepherd 
 brought to shamje within him the thought of the robber 
 of his poor neighbor's lamb. Confronted by a mutinous 
 son the refrain rings in his ear and thus throughout life 
 to its very close, though chastened and subdued, no 
 longer the buoyancy of youth but now the vigor of vic- 
 torious old age causes the singing of the shepherd psalm 
 "the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want". 
 
 What a blessed faith this is which can cling to its 
 Lord in sorrow and in joy, for if it is thus tenacious 
 the Lord will prove its efficacy. If this be our faith He 
 will assuredly appear to us as He appeared not only to 
 David but to the little band of disciples, breathing His 
 benediction upon them, blessing them as He utters the 
 significant promise "peace be unto you". Of course, He 
 did not mean temporal peace. He did not mean that at 
 last the day of Israel's temporal redemption had dawned. 
 As He spoke these words they must have remembered 
 that sometime before He said to them "peace I leave with 
 you ; my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth 
 give I unto you". He has endured the cross. The dis- 
 ciples must take it and bear it too. They must endure 
 persecution, tribulation, anguish, famine, nakedness, 
 peril, sword. They must be accounted as sheep for the 
 slaughter but in all these things they will be more than 
 conquerors through Him that loved them. The peace 
 which is to make possible the spread of the gospel and 
 the establishment of the kingdom of Christ upon earth 
 is a peace no one can take from them for it is the peace 
 of God which passeth understanding. As shepherds the 
 apostles are to go forth to bring all nations to the true 
 shepherd. 
 
 It was not strange that Jesus delighted in using this 
 picture of oriental life to portray one of the greatest 
 lessons He had to teach. The figure of the shepherd 
 
252 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 loomed large in the life of the east. Jesus transfigured it, 
 changed its symbolism, as He was a bit later to change 
 the symbolism of the lamb into a truer, higher signifi- 
 cance. The shepherd must be to his sheep and his lambs 
 what the mother is to her child, a constant monitor, a 
 constant protector, ever watchful lest the obstacles in 
 their path be too great to be surmounted. Here there are 
 stones which may prove hurtful and need to be removed. 
 There is a ditch which must be filled in lest the lambs 
 fall into it. In yonder meadows there is better pasturage. 
 The way across is a bit dangerous, but it must be under- 
 taken. The sheep are thirsty and need to be led to the 
 still waters. The shepherd is tired. He ought to rest, 
 but just as he is about to turn over his post to another 
 for a little while, he observes a wolf prowling in the 
 vicinity and he finds it necessary to postpone his rest 
 and continue his vigil. The battle with the wolf is immi- 
 nent. The outcome means the sacrifice of a life, either 
 the life of the shepherd or the life of the wolf. 
 
 The shepherd's life is pre-eminently the life of Jesus, 
 It is the life of His disciples as well. Their task is to 
 be that of going forth into the world to gather and pre- 
 serve the fold. In those early days of persecution and 
 distress which dawned in their crimson wierdness on a 
 world that was awakening from troubled dreams there 
 were many incursions among the flock. The morning 
 light disclosed the slain form of many a shepherd and the 
 bloody traces of the depredation wrought by the wolf in 
 his nightly prowlings. That the flock was able to in- 
 crease under conditions such as these, that new shep- 
 herds were found, willing to take the places of those 
 slain on the preceding night, these facts stand for the 
 power of Christianity. Throughout all the centuries 
 from the days of Jesus Christ to the present day the 
 battle between the wolves and the one Shepherd has 
 been going on. At times it has seemed almost as if the 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 253 
 
 wolf must be successful, but just at such moments a well- 
 directed javelin thrust from the Lord's own hand has 
 shielded the flock from imminent danger. It may not be 
 amiss to contrast the hireling and the true shepherd and 
 then ask ourselves just what is expected of the flock to 
 which we belong to facilitate the shepherd's task. 
 
 We must have hirelings just as long as we live in a 
 world which is imperfect in its social adjustments. Let 
 us be absolutely sure we know just what we mean by 
 the term. We do not mean any and every one in the 
 service of another. Though that is the literal meaning 
 of the term, it was not in this sense that Jesus employed 
 it. Undoubtedly there were many shepherds in the 
 orient who though they did not own the sheep, literally 
 speaking, did have a share in the ownership of those 
 sheep because of the very personal interest they took 
 in them. Such shepherds, employed by others and re- 
 ceiving compensation for their labors, were decidedly 
 not hirelings. The men and women of today who 
 are engaged in doing the world's work by others and 
 who receive their compensation from others for the per- 
 formance of honest duty adequately well done in an in- 
 terested manner are not hirelings. Christ distinguishes 
 between the men and women whose sole endeavor is 
 to gain a livelihood in the easiest possible manner and 
 the men and women who are unafraid of hard work, 
 who court hard work and large responsibilities as the 
 way in which they can fulfil their mission here on earth. 
 Rebekah and Rachel drawing water and caring for the 
 flocks and herds of their fathers are not hirelings. Moses, 
 keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest 
 of Midian, is no hireling. David, the son of Jesse, 
 keeping his father's sheep is no hireling. And yet they 
 are not the real owners of the sheep. 
 
 The oriental hireling and the occidental hireling, the 
 hireling of Jesus' day and of our day are alike in this 
 
254 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 that they have little or no interest in what they are 
 doing. Their time is equally divided between the sheep- 
 folds and the market-place. In the market-place they 
 lounge and spend their wages and wait for further em- 
 ployment. While employed they wait for the passing 
 of the time for which they have been employed. The re- 
 quirements of the true shepherd in engaging their 
 services are not unreasonable. He asks of them that 
 they discharge the duties which fall to the lot of a real 
 shepherd. They are to lead and provide for the sheep. 
 They are to sustain a sympathetic relationship to both 
 the shepherd and the sheep. They are to learn to know 
 the sheep. They are to prove faithful in times of emerg- 
 ency. But see how disappointed the shepherd is bound 
 to be as he realizes that his hopes, his requests, his rea- 
 sonable expectations have been ignored. "He that is 
 a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are 
 not, beholdeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, 
 and fleeth, and the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth 
 them: he fleeth because he is a hireling, and careth not 
 for the sheep." The cowardliness, the coldness, the 
 traitorism, the criminality of it all is simply appalling. 
 The reason is after all very plain "he careth not for the 
 sheep". How can you expect anything else? The rule 
 thus indicated applies of course to the extension or limi- 
 tation of the Kingdom of God on earth and it is to this 
 the Lord would direct our attention. Why is it that 
 things are as they are in the spiritual realm? Why are 
 there so few real workers for Christ? Simply because 
 in our ranks there are so many hirelings. You will not 
 mistake my meaning. Though false teachers are often 
 spoken of as hirelings, we are not at this point thinking 
 of false teachers, however pernicious their influence may 
 be. Nor are we thinking of the many men and women 
 who are drawing salaries for the work they are supposed 
 to be doing in the Vineyard who are acquitting themselves 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 255 
 
 simply as hirelings. We are thinking and we must think 
 today of the many men and women who have accepted 
 Christ in their baptism and confirmation and in the re- 
 ception of the Holy Communion and who go forth from 
 the services of the House of God to live solely unto 
 themselves, who because they are not salaried officers of 
 the church feel they have a perfect right to flee from 
 responsibility and danger — men and women who act in 
 this way are hirelings. Hirelings are false prophets 
 whether they be in the pulpit or in the pew. Hirelings 
 are lazy, shiftless, indolent disdainers of the duties which 
 they owe to him in whose service they stand. The picture 
 of the hireling presented by the Lord is tragical in the 
 extreme. Before us is the flock scenting danger, in the 
 distance the wolf whose evil intent is unmistakable, and 
 separating himself from the flock, not in the direction 
 of the threatening danger, but in the direction of per- 
 sonal safety we see the despicable coward whose title 
 has become the synonym for traitorism. His duty as 
 he sees it is to save himself. His life is worth more — 
 to him and to him only — than many flocks of sheep. 
 What matters it to him if the sheep suffer? What mat- 
 ters it if this catastrophe undermines the health and hap- 
 piness of many people dependent upon these very flocks? 
 It is for himself that he cares. "He careth not for the 
 sheep". Can you not see how contemptible such a view 
 of life really is? Are there any hirelings in this church 
 this day? 
 
 Turning from this picture may I ask you for a few 
 moments to consider the details of that other picture 
 presented in this same lesson? The picture of the good 
 shepherd, a picture which teaches the lesson of love and 
 devotion more beautifully and tenderly than perhaps any 
 other? The flock before us consists of the same help- 
 less animals we saw but a moment ago. The background 
 is exactly the same, the same fertile, green meadows. 
 
256 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 the same silent waters, the same enclosures for seasons 
 of danger, and yet how wonderfully different this pic- 
 ture is. Of course you know why ! It is simply because 
 there is a different figure in the fore-ground. You need 
 not be told of this transformation. It is very evident. 
 The sheep no longer huddled together in fear about their 
 leaders are grazing peacefully and trustfully. The 
 mothers of the flock no longer bleating in anguish as 
 they realize the danger of their unprotected lambs, are 
 bleating in joy because of the tender care of the good 
 shepherd. We need not be told that He is the good 
 shepherd. We need not be told that a good shepherd 
 layeth down his life for his sheep. We need not be told 
 that this good shepherd knows every one of his sheep 
 by name, an actual fact in oriental life. We need not 
 be told that this shepherd has other sheep for we know 
 that His love is sufficiently extensive to include flocks 
 other than the one in the foreground. Perhaps the most 
 striking feature in this picture is the readiness and wil- 
 lingness on the part of the good shepherd to serve. As 
 shepherd he must lead the flock, but as shepherd he must 
 also serve the flock and this service must be in inverse 
 ratio to the ability of the members of the flock to take 
 care of themselves. Has this not been the experience of 
 Christianity, the help of God ever extended first to the 
 weak and the poor, and yet a sufficient leadership, a 
 sufficient grace for the tutored and the rich? The Nico- 
 demuses and the Josephs of Arimathea of our day will 
 place no obstacles in the way of such leadership. On the 
 other hand, ought we not expect them to help in the 
 realization of this program? 
 
 Satan, a very real Satan, is the wolf who is endeavor- 
 ing to overthrow the Kingdom of our Lord. "The ful- 
 ness of time" meant among other things the fulness of 
 his time, the time when of all times the battle must be 
 fought, a very propitious time for the powers of dark- 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 257 
 
 ness to do their worst. Jesus came into the world in 
 the fulness of time because the world was full of hire- 
 lings unable to cope with the situation, unable to set up 
 the standard of righteousness, unable to put down sin. 
 John the Baptist could never have done what Jesus did. 
 John's work was negative. It was to tear down idols, 
 to set forth the existence and the ugliness of sin. The 
 work of Jesus was to substitute righteousness for sm, to 
 enthrone God in the places from which John had re- 
 moved the idols. Jesus is the one true shepherd because 
 He alone, the only-begotten Son of God, endures test 
 after test, emerging victorious after every battle. The 
 prophets have fought well, but they have not won their 
 battles consistently. There has been a capitulation at 
 a critical moment which has necessitated the continuation 
 of the campaign under a different leadership. Jesus is 
 the good shepherd because He and He alone has entered 
 fully into the life problems of every single soul in this 
 world. He is the good shepherd because He has laid 
 down His life for the sheep, in place of the sheep. 
 
 The story of the good shepherd holds out no appeal 
 to those who value a story only because of its intel- 
 lectual worth. It is true the life of the oriental shep- 
 herd so dominates the clime in which he thrives we could 
 readily spend a long time in becoming acquainted with 
 the various details of the career so prominently pic- 
 tured in the Bible. The real and vital appeal of this 
 story is to the heart. The vocation of the good shepherd 
 is not his profession coldly conceived, the vocation of 
 the good shepherd is as the term indicates His call to 
 the only sphere in life which appeals to Him. To under- 
 stand the story of the good shepherd we must on the 
 one hand be students of the prose of life, but on the other 
 hand we dare not be ignorant of its poetry. The rela- 
 tion which the lone hunter sustains to the faithful dog 
 that accompanies him into solitary wilds, the relation 
 
258 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 which the Arabian nomad sustains to his steed, the re- 
 lation which the shepherd sustains to his sheep, these are 
 relationships of conscious, devoted love on the part of 
 man toward the animal world, reflected in the devoted 
 love which God sustains toward the creature. The hunter 
 dies with his dog. The Arab dies with his steed, but 
 the shepherd dies for his sheep. 
 
XXXII. 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John i6: i6. 
 "A Little While." 
 
 The Easter Cycle of Sundays, to which this day be- 
 longs, is a most important season of the Christian year, 
 because it reviews the promises of the Lord in the light 
 of their fulfilment and repeats unfulfilled promises based 
 upon an authority which cannot be questioned. Quite 
 naturally our minds revert to the now distant past as we 
 read the Easter story. We are brought but eight days 
 further on our journey as we read the Gospel lesson for 
 the Sunday following Easter, the story of a morose dis- 
 ciple who is forced to believe. The story of the good 
 shepherd again carries us back to an oriental environment 
 of an early day. The lesson for this day, recorded in 
 the sixteenth chapter of the gospel according to John, 
 bids us revert to the night preceding the crucifixion and 
 re-study the words of the Savior addressed to His dis- 
 ciples, as a legacy of priceless worth. 
 
 But why revert to these scenes of twenty centuries 
 ago? Why shall we be concerned with discourses and 
 problems which on the face of them point backward, 
 ever so far, and then point forward into a future we 
 know not how distant? It is because we have brought 
 ourselves to reason thus that the beautiful narratives of 
 Holy Writ are ignored and neglected by many, accepted 
 as pure literature by some, as history by others, and as 
 an abstract philosophy of life by those who realize the 
 need for such a philosophy but are unwilling to proceed 
 further in their thought processes. 
 
 259 
 
26b SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 The cardinal truth of the resurrection story and its 
 resultant lessons does not lie in any local setting, but in 
 an applicability as a dynamic which is to be felt in your 
 life and in mine. "As Christ was raised up from the 
 dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk 
 in newness of life." (Rom. 6: 4.) If the subject matter 
 of the narrative recorded in the sixteenth chapter of John 
 had been limited to the circle of the disciples and the even- 
 ing preceding the day of the crucifixion, we might well 
 study it as an interesting bit of archaeology, from the 
 standpoint of either literature or history ; but its inclusion 
 among the lessons to be read and studied and interpre- 
 ted on the Sundays after Easter, year after year, twenty 
 centuries after the occurrence of the narrative, is recog- 
 nition of the vital importance of the message for you 
 and for me as well as for the disciples. Fully conscious 
 of impending death, the Savior has drawn apart with 
 His disciples in order to commune with them. His heart 
 is heavy as He tells them that they shall soon behold 
 Him no more but soon thereafter they shall again see 
 Him. The disciples realize the anguish of their Master, 
 but do not comprehend its reason. They consult among 
 themselves: "What is this that He saith, a little while? 
 We know not what He saith," Jesus, reading their 
 perplexity, adds thereto momentarily by the enunciation 
 of a great truth which they are to master slowly. "Verily, 
 verily, I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament, 
 but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but 
 your sorrow shall be turned into joy." He illustrates 
 in a very realistic manner how this sorrow is to be con- 
 verted into joy. Now they are constrained to debate 
 among themselves and to ask Him concerning mysteries 
 hidden from ages and generations, A little later He 
 tells them these questions will no longer arise to harass 
 them. The iteration and reiteration of the words "a 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 261 
 
 little while" perplexes the disciples. It perplexes the dis- 
 ciples no more than us. 
 
 Let me repeat the words, "a little while." Let me ask 
 you to think of them seriously and then let me ask you 
 to lend expression to your thought. Let me indicate 
 certain of the avenues of approach. There is a certain 
 rich man whose judgment we shall obtain first. He tells 
 us plainly that he has no use for this term in his vocab- 
 ulary. He has reaped enormously. He will build 
 greater barns and cofifers. He says to his soul: "Soul, 
 thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thine 
 ease, eat, drink and be merry." He denies the existence 
 of any such term, "a little while." God forces its recog- 
 nition upon him. "This night" is God's answer to the 
 self-inflated prater. 
 
 We shall next ask the ungodly to define the term. 
 With an abandon that is frightful he acknowledges the 
 validity of the words as he urges you to "eat, drink and 
 be merry for tomorrow we die." We turn for a moment 
 to the rich young man who, of his own volition, has 
 come to Jesus in order that he might obtain the gift of 
 eternal life. On discovering that a real gift on the part 
 of Jesus implies also a real gift on his own part, he 
 turns from Jesus in order to enjoy his earthly posses- 
 sions "a little while." We turn to still another who is 
 anxious to be counted among those of more serious 
 thought, but he too, with the rich man, though from a 
 different motive, denies the existence of the term. "Let 
 me go first and bury my father," he says, "and then I 
 will come and follow thee." 
 
 There are many others standing near who might be 
 questioned. Peter has come to a recognition of the little 
 while as he seeks to atone for his shameful denial. 
 Thomas, looking upon his Lord and God, is forcibly 
 reminded of the little while of doubt and uncertainty. 
 The intense application of Christ, as He interests Him- 
 
26'2 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 self personally in the least and the greatest of men, the 
 poor and the rich, the high and the low, makes us realize 
 the constant emphasis which He places in both word and 
 deed upon "the little while." We have called the roll 
 of others. Let us turn for a moment to self. Let me 
 ask you, To what use are you putting the little while 
 entrusted to your keeping here ? 
 
 "A little while and ye shall not see me and again a 
 little while and ye shall see me." How tender the love of 
 the Father and the compassion of the Son ! How forbear- 
 ing! The little while of sight is to precede the little 
 while of anticipation. The faith demanded of the dis- 
 ciples is not greater than the opportunity offered them or 
 in contradiction thereto. Sight precedes as long as such 
 an order is deemed necessary, but faith precedes sight 
 when the call, the invitation, the gentle voice of Jesus 
 has reached the ear of humanity. 
 
 Yesterday I stood by the deathbed of a young woman 
 in one of our hospitals, who looked at me in a most 
 searching manner as she said, 'T know that I shall not 
 get well. Pray for me, won't you please pray for me?" 
 Now, this woman did not say, she could not say that she 
 had had no opportunity to learn to know Jesus. Yet, as 
 a matter of fact, she did not learn to know Him sooner 
 because she would not. With churches round about her, 
 with Christian people ready and anxious to help her, with 
 Christian institutions beckoning and pleading and urging 
 and sustaining, with announcements and reports and 
 occasional editorials in the daily press, how could she, 
 how can you blame any one except self? 
 
 My dear friend, to what use are you putting the little 
 while entrusted to your keeping? It rriay be that your 
 interests are centered in the building up of a large com- 
 mercial enterprise. Barn must be added to barn, store- 
 house to store-house, field to field, new machinery must 
 supplant the old, an ever larger force of human beings 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 26'3 
 
 must be employed. You are intensely interested in every 
 fluctuation in the world of barter and of trade. You 
 know full well that the vessels which are bearing your 
 merchandise, the trains which convey your cargoes, the 
 individuals who are planning their distribution, are one 
 and all resistlessly engaged in their great work day after 
 day.. The machinery once started, it is exceedingly dif- 
 ficult to have it stopped and thus we come to a tardy 
 recognition that the world of commerce and of trade does 
 not stop to ask whether a man belongs to the ranks of 
 labor or of capital, whether he be at the top or at the 
 bottom of the ladder, he is driven on by the force of the 
 wheels of industry. He labors or plans seven days a 
 week until at last the widow of the man of wealth clasps 
 hands with the widow of the man of toil, as both lament 
 the unsatisfactoriness of the life that has passed, its 
 association with hard labor, its relentless grind. Are 
 you ready for eternity if there has been nothing more 
 than this? 
 
 In asking, to what use are you putting the little while 
 entrusted to your keeping, we turn from the fathers to 
 the sons and daughters. Suppose the fathers have been 
 successful in the achievement of life's purpose as they 
 have defined it. Suppose they have been enabled to 
 build ever greater barns. Suppose they have left this 
 heritage to you not for ever but for a little while, meas- 
 ured either by the span of life or the span of indiscre- 
 tion. Have you thought of the problem which con- 
 fronts you ? Have you fully measured the trust imposed 
 upon you? What is your viewpoint? What is your 
 intention? Suppose you need not care for the mbrrow, 
 will you spend your life in pure pleasure, in selfish pleas- 
 ure, in the gratification of the senses? Will you say to 
 your soul, "Soul, thou hast many things laid up for many 
 days, take thine ease, eat and drink"? There are indi- 
 viduals who reason thus and act accordingly. The little 
 
26*4 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 while is soon spent. The verdict is rendered. The judg- 
 ment of the world and of God are not very different. 
 
 The catalogue might be continued indefinitely. There 
 is a dominant note in your life, an impulse, an ambition, 
 a virtue, a vice, a holy purpose, some one dominant note 
 which distinguishes you from others and characterizes 
 you in the eyes of others. It is important that you should 
 endeavor to learn what that passion is. Ask those who 
 know you best. Question your own conscience. Ask 
 God. 
 
 Jesus spent a little while with the disciples, not that 
 He might learn from them, not that they might show 
 Him the allurements of the world, not that they might 
 influence Him, but simply and solely for the purpose of 
 teaching them, influencing them, leading them in paths of 
 righteousness, and during the period of His bodily with- 
 drawal for "a little while" an opportunity was afforded 
 them of getting their bearings, of meditating upon His 
 teachings, of coming to a realization of the folly of en- 
 deavoring henceforth to live without Him. 
 
 There is one thing we ought not, we dare not forget. 
 The words, "a little while," refer to temporal conditions. 
 They are to be applied to the bodily presence of Jesus 
 only, not to His spiritual presence. He would teach the 
 disciples that the bodily presence is merely a prelude, 
 a prologue, an introduction, a preface to His abiding 
 spiritual presence. As they employ their moments in 
 intercourse with Him, as they live by the bread which 
 He supplies and the water with which He quenches their 
 thirst, they shall never again either hunger or thirst. 
 They shall never again be without Him who has said, 
 "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world." How sharply the line of cleavage is defined. 
 "A little while" on one hand, "alway" on the other, but 
 "alway" only as the resultant of the little while. Do 
 not ask, why did Jesus not continue to dwell in human 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 26*5 
 
 form? Do not ask why is the little while extended in 
 the case of John and abridged in the instance of James? 
 Do not ask why are the opportunities of one greater 
 than the opportunities which are accorded another. In 
 so doing you are wasting the little while in useless ques- 
 tioning. Know, on the other hand, that Jesus has warned 
 you lovingly. His ambassadors have repeated His mes- 
 sage, the Church has re-echoed the gospel tidings of 
 peace, and many consecrated Christians have endeavored 
 by their precepts and example to impress upon you the 
 seriousness of it all. A little while of intercourse with 
 Him ; how rich these moments fraught with blessing. A 
 little while of Christian intercourse with those round 
 about you. 
 
 Will you permit me to lend a personal touch to this 
 subject, which is to impress upon you the reality, the 
 nearness, the seriousness of it all? In a former parish 
 of mine there was a youth whom it was my privilege to 
 instruct in the essentials of Christian faith and life. He 
 confessed allegiance to his Lord and Master and became 
 a communicant member of our congregation. With a 
 heart full of gratitude toward God, I noted the earnest- 
 ness and spirituality of the young man and realized a 
 constant advancement in his spiritual thought and life. 
 With great interest I followed him through school. He 
 easily led his class in a school which stands in the front 
 rank of our preparatory schools. He not only led his 
 class, but attained the highest average ever awarded a 
 graduate of the school. His proficiency was not one- 
 sided. He was interested in athletics and became a 
 strong runner. On graduation, his brilliant talents were 
 recognized and rewarded. A scholarship was provided 
 for him at Yale University. He entered upon his studies 
 there with the same marked devotion and acumen which 
 have already been noted. His teachers say the leader- 
 
266 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 ship in his class lay between him and one other man 
 in a class of 700. 
 
 He had begun nobly. His race had but started. He 
 was permitted to run but a little while. His parents were 
 suddenly summoned to his bedside in the somewhat dis- 
 tant University town. The young man realized he could 
 not recover. There was no eleventh-hour conversion. 
 There was no religious hysteria. Quietly and calmly he 
 informed his parents of his condition. He asked his 
 father to pray for him, and then he prayed; and what 
 a prayer it was! First, he commended his parents into 
 the keeping of God, then he prayed that they might meet 
 in heaven, and finally he committed his soul into the 
 guardianship of his Heavenly Father. Having thanked 
 the physicians and nurses for their heroic efforts in his 
 behalf, he turned feebly to his mother and said, "Good- 
 bye, God be with you." A brilliant future before him, 
 parents able to provide for him, he a young man whose 
 pre-eminence in studies did not produce the slightest 
 affectation, was summoned home. His period of pil- 
 grimage was for but a little while. His associations with 
 young men were but for a little while. He had time and 
 opportunity in his short and busy life for but a few words 
 and conversations, yet who among us will say the little 
 while was not worth while? In his active identification 
 with the work of the Christian Association of one of the 
 great universities of the land, he proved that it is not 
 enough to possess a sound mind in a sound body, but 
 that manhood of the Christian type and pattern demands 
 a sound soul, a sound mind and a sound body; or, if 
 you still cling to the more familiar designation, "a. 
 sound mind in a sound body," remember that no mind 
 is sound which does not employ the immediate present 
 in constructive endeavor, in building for life and eternity. 
 As it does this, as it exercises itself in the work which 
 God has given it to do, it converts the little while into an 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 267 
 
 unending, blessed eternity for self and others. This, 
 after all, is the purpose of the little while which Jesus 
 would spend with you and me as His disciples even now. 
 It is "in order that I might be His, live under Him in 
 His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteous- 
 ness, innocence and blessedness ; even as He is risen 
 from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity." 
 Some things may appear as dark and as enigmatic to 
 you as they appeared to the disciples. Do as they did, 
 even while they question among themselves they follow 
 Him. Unconsciously, as it were, they realize the pre- 
 ciousness of the little while. Consciously they realize 
 the validity of the "alway" of which "a little while" 
 was but the most infinitesimal fraction. 
 
XXXIII. 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John i6: 8. 
 
 "He, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, 
 and of righteousness and of judgment." 
 
 The last discourse of Jesus with His disciples, deliv- 
 ered at least in part in the room in which the Master 
 and they have just partaken of their last supper before 
 His death, is intensely interesting because of the earn- 
 estness of Jesus and the earnestness of His disciples. It 
 is interesting because of the many interruptions on the 
 part of the disciples and because of the manner in which 
 Jesus invariably leads them back again to the funda- 
 mental truth He would impart at this crucial point. You 
 of course remember John's version of the circumstances 
 of that evening. "During supper the devil having al- 
 ready put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son 
 to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given 
 all things into his hands, and that he came forth from 
 God, and goeth unto God, riseth from supper" to wash 
 the feet of His disciples, thereby to teach them a lesson 
 in humility and service. Then as He was constrained 
 to point out the betrayer we are told that He was troubled 
 in spirit. 
 
 Judas having received the sop left the room straightway 
 "and it was night." At this point the last discourse 
 begins. The traitor has left the band. The final strug- 
 gle has begun. Jesus looks upon it as one who beholds 
 the redemption drawing nigh as already at hand. "Now 
 is the Son of man glorified." Then He employs the 
 
 268 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 269 
 
 term which is distinctively that of John who borrowed 
 it from His Master and is permitted to use it as he ad- 
 dresses his hearers when he has grown to be an old 
 man and none of those present in that room that even- 
 ing were any longer upon earth. "Little children, yet 
 a little while I am with you." On announcing His de- 
 parture, Simon Peter interrupts Him as he asks: 
 "Whither goest thou?" But Peter is living in the pres- 
 ent. His question does not refer to the going of Jesus 
 to the Father. It refers to the immediate next step as 
 they have finished their supper and are about to go out 
 into the night. In this sense Peter does not know why 
 he cannot follow his Master. The enthusiasm of the 
 disciple as he says "I will lay down my life for thee" 
 is not deep-seated and needs to be revealed in all its 
 superficiality by Jesus who says: "Verily, verily, I say 
 unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied 
 me thrice." As the last discourse could not begin with 
 Judas present to distract the attention of the disciples 
 from the consideration of vital subjects, it could not 
 begin until with this sweeping charge Simon Peter who 
 was bound to interrupt with well-meant but specious com- 
 ments had been silenced. Then Jesus begins to address 
 words of comfort and assurance to the disciples as He 
 says: "Let not your heart be troubled." He would 
 speak to them of the way and the goal. He has just 
 said: "And whither I go, ye know the way." This 
 offers Thomas, the meditative disciple who has since the 
 asking of Peter's question been concerned about its 
 answer, an opportunity that was not directly vouchsafed 
 before. Hence we have the second interruption as 
 Thomas saith unto Him: "Lord, we know not whither 
 thou goest; how know we the way?" The thought of 
 Thomas is imdoubtedly more profound than that of 
 Peter. He has been grappling with the question in its 
 deeper significance and consequently he is to receive a 
 
270 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 deeper answer from his Master and Jesus says: "I 
 am the way, and the truth, and the life." Shortly after, 
 Philip, who is somewhat bewildered concerning the oft- 
 repeated reference of Jesus to the Father in His dis- 
 course and who is anxious to have a clearer perception 
 of this Father says: "Lord, show us the Father and it 
 sufficeth us." He must be told that the Father is re- 
 vealed in the Son and the Son in the Father. The per- 
 sonal revelation of Christ and the Father to the individual 
 believer is hardly intelligible to those who have been 
 looking for a Messiah who would in their estimation 
 reveal Himself to the world, hence the further inter- 
 ruption of Judas, not Iscariot: "Lord, what is come to 
 pass that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto 
 the world?" Disposing of this question by referring to 
 the necessarily prior place of personal relationship Jesus 
 speaks of the subject which is uppermost in His mind, 
 the sending of the Holy Spirit who is to assume a 
 position of leadership. 
 
 During this post-Easter season we are permitted to 
 study the various relationships which the Spirit who is 
 to conquer the world is to assume toward the disciples 
 and the world. Today we are to consider His relationship 
 to the world. In His relationship to the disciples we have 
 been permitted to look upon Him as a Comforter or as the 
 other Comforter for Christ is Himself to be looked upon 
 as a Comforter who sends another. In His relationship to 
 the world we are to look upon Him as an advocate who 
 pleads the cause of God against an ungodly generation 
 or as a court of last appeal. There is to be no reversal 
 from His judgment, no forgiveness if we turn from 
 Him and decide not to submit to His gracious but no 
 less positive sway. The sphere of the Holy Spirit in 
 the relationship which He sustains to the world is that 
 of one called upon to convict. He shall make it perfectly 
 clear to the world that it has been guilty of three gross 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 271 
 
 transgressions of the commandments of God. The first 
 of these transgressions has reference to a misinterpre- 
 tation on the part of the world of the term sin and a 
 consequent disregard for sin. 
 
 Sin, in the eyes of Israel, had lost its personal sig- 
 nificance. The outcry of the Psalmist ''Against thee, 
 thee only have I sinned" was no longer heard as the 
 intense personal plea of a child of God for the re-estab- 
 lishment of a severed relationship. The whole scheme 
 of sacrifices constantly being elaborated by men who 
 obscured the idea of sin and righteousness with their 
 systems of penance and of fasts, separated between the 
 children of men and their God. To an age such as that 
 of Jesus was, this statement of the Holy Spirit's first 
 duty in His contact with the world was revolutionary 
 in the extreme. Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict 
 the world because of sin and lest the disciples misunder- 
 stand what He is saying and again interrupt Him by 
 asserting this to be a thing they very well know, Jesus 
 proceeds to tell them what He means by sin. His ex- 
 planation is nothing less than a re-definition of the term. 
 They looked upon sin as the transgression of God's law. 
 Moses had taught them, and it was God who taught 
 Moses, that certain things well definable were to be 
 shunned and excluded from their lives. But Israel had 
 completely forgotten that long before Moses lived and 
 long before they received ten commandments written 
 on tables of stone God imputed righteousness on the 
 one hand and sinfulness on the other and the basis of 
 the imputation of the one or the other was faith or 
 unbelief, faith in the instances of Abraham and Noah, 
 unbelief in their contemporaries. Thus the Holy Spirit 
 is to recover for them God's primal laws and ordin- 
 ances and is to teach the world of Jesus' age and of 
 our own that sin is lack of faith in Christ. May we not 
 try to grapple with this truth? We say "thou shalt not 
 
272 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 kill." "Why not, under certain conditions," is a ques- 
 tion sometimes asked. Are there not certain persons 
 without whom this world could very well get along? 
 There are outlaws who live in their mountain fastnesses 
 spending their lives in no other pursuit than in that of 
 preying upon their fellow-men. There are men and 
 women in our cities, known to our physicians, in whom 
 destructive fires have been kindled which cannot be ex- 
 tinguished until death shall claim its victims in a most 
 agonizing, gruesome, horrid manner. And we might 
 multiply these illustrations to try to prove as some do, 
 that a transgression of the commandment "thou shalt 
 not kill" is justifiable from the standpoint of the survival 
 of the fittest. In so doing we should be dealing with a 
 world in which there is no God. If I believe there is a 
 God who rules in heaven and on earth, if I believe this 
 God is infinite in power and justice and love, if I be- 
 lieve this God to be interested in the affairs of men, if I 
 believe that earth is merely a training school for eternity, 
 if I believe that God is the creator of man and has given 
 to all men life and its enjoyment as a sacred trust, if I 
 believe that God is working out a great plan which I 
 cannot now understand, if I believe that when this plan is 
 evolved all will be made clear and then even those things 
 which seem to be so inscrutable shall be interpreted 
 clearly, if I believe all these things and many more which 
 pertain to the world in which God moves, then of course 
 I shall at once see that obedience rendered any one of the 
 commandments is but a necessary resultant of my faith. 
 In other words to the man who believes in God and 
 Jesus Christ there will be no question concerning the 
 fulfilment of the commandments. He simply cannot kill. 
 He simply cannot steal. He simply cannot commit 
 adultery. These things are made impossible by his faith. 
 Now Jesus had amply demonstrated to those who cared 
 to see and know that He and the Father were one. The 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 273 
 
 disciples though they had not seen the Father as they 
 had thought He might be seen by His children had seen 
 Him in exactly the way the Father had chosen to mani- 
 fest Himself — namely, in the Son. And this was true 
 not only of the disciples but of the multitudes to whom 
 Christ preached, whom He taught, whose sick He re- 
 stored and whose dead He raised to life. It was to be 
 a function of the Holy Spirit to bring to the conscious- 
 ness of many of those who joined in the cry of "crucify, 
 crucify" a remembrance in after life of their unbelief. 
 It is equally true today that sin can be traced to our 
 willingness to try to get along without a Savior. Sin 
 is not an act in its inmost nature nor a series of acts, 
 but sin is a state, a state of unbelief, in which state we 
 naturally act as those do who think they can get along 
 without Christ. It is the Holy Spirit's duty to convict 
 the world on this score and to show the world that it is 
 wrong. 
 
 In another respect is the Holy Spirit asked to exercise 
 His authority. He is to convict the world with refer- 
 ence to righteousness. You will remember the intensity 
 of the struggle between the powers of darkness and the 
 power of light in the passion and death of Christ. We 
 might truthfully say that this struggle had been going 
 on throughout His life. His relatives and friends think 
 He is mad. The leaders of Israel think He is an agent 
 of Beelzebub. The Romans think He is an ignorant 
 Galilean about whom entirely too much has been said. 
 In the very hour of His death a challenge is issued that 
 He demonstrate His divinity. And after His death 
 guards are placed at the door of the sepulchre lest some 
 deceit be practiced. It was possible for the friends of 
 Jesus, the enemies of Jesus and the great mass which 
 believe itself to be allied neither as friend nor foe to 
 continue to harass Him to the very hour of death. It 
 was impossible for any to carry their accusations, their 
 
274 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 slanders, their torments, their scoffings beyond the por- 
 tals of the grave. He has won the victory and in win- 
 ning the victory He is transported from the battlefield 
 to the right hand of God. The righteous man is the 
 man who can call out in the midst of agony and woe 
 "though He slay me, yet will I praise Him." The right- 
 eous man is the man who though he may be at war with 
 all the world is at peace with God. The righteous man 
 is he who does not crave or need the applause of men 
 because he is conscious of the support of God. The right- 
 eousness of Christ leads at last to God's unwillingness 
 to have Him forever defamed as a citizen of a world 
 which disowns Him. The righteousness of Christ makes 
 possible and necessary His return to the Father. Right- 
 eousness and humiliation are associated in this world. 
 Righteousness and exaltation are just as truly associated 
 in the Kingdom of God. The Lord's words are a suffi- 
 cient answer to those who wonder why He was not per- 
 mitted to remain forever upon earth. They are of tre- 
 mendous value and force to those who are battling 
 against undue odds, and feel they are accomplishing 
 very little in their desire to serve their fellow-men. 
 
 A third sphere of the Holy Spirit is pointed out by 
 Christ in His duty as an advocate. He is to convict the 
 world of judgment. And Christ interprets His meaning 
 by saying: "Of judgment, because the prince of this 
 world has been judged." Men supposed to be religious, 
 methods supposed to be proper, invectives thought to be 
 holy, a penalty thought to be righteous, all these were 
 employed in the crucifixion of Christ. From that 
 moment the line of cleavage between men thought to be 
 holy and men really holy, between methods supposed to 
 be proper and methods actually proper, between judg- 
 ments upon innocent persons and upon criminals, has 
 been clearly drawn. Men may still continue to persecute 
 the righteous but they no longer do it with approval and 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 275 
 
 commendation on every hand, men may resort to all 
 sorts of unfair measures whereby to accomplish unholy 
 ends, but they must declare their allegiance. The Prince 
 of this world is judged. What a hidden store of mean- 
 ing there is in this statement. Satan and his methods 
 are no longer to be held in respect by the children of 
 men. He is to be branded as a deceiver and destroyer 
 of men. The Holy Spirit is to allow men no rest until 
 they have declared their allegiance either to Satan or to 
 God. They can no longer declare their allegiance to 
 both. In the accomplishment of this end He is but ful- 
 filling the work begun by Christ for "He shall glorify 
 me ; for he shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto 
 you." 
 
 Shall the Spirit of truth come to us as He comes to 
 the world or shall He come to us as He is to come to the 
 disciples, shall He come to us as an advocate, a prosecutor, 
 or shall He come to us as a Comforter? 
 
XXXIV. 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 16:26. 
 "In that day ye shall ask in my name." 
 
 Today as we look forward to the Ascension of the 
 Son to the right hand of the Father we are to consider 
 the very last discourse with His disciples, the address 
 which is really a final recapitulation of essential doc- 
 trine. It is the practical "it is finished" when referred 
 to the pedagogy of Jesus. The verse selected for our 
 consideration is the summary of the summary, the golden 
 key which is to unlock the portals of heaven and permit 
 us to see the Lord seated at the right hand of majesty and 
 power. The disciples and we with them are to carry 
 about with us this key to the Kingdom "in that day ye 
 shall ask in my name." To understand the meaning of 
 the text we must try first of all to visualize the day of 
 Jesus; we must next try to understand the potency of 
 the name of Jesus ; and we shall then of course seek to 
 find the link which is forever to weld for us the day of 
 Jesus and the name of Jesus. 
 
 What does Jesus mean in speaking of "that day?" 
 He means primarily that His work has not yet been 
 accomplished and that His day has not dawned. In 
 another verse in this same chapter He says: 'T came 
 forth from the Father and am come into the world." 
 Theologians have termed this the Kenosis of the Lord, 
 meaning thereby that to one who had fully enjoyed 
 the prerogatives of divinity it was a distinct humiliation 
 to be born (even) of a virgin in a manger in a stable 
 
 276 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 277 
 
 in an inn in a little town of Judaea. It was a distinct 
 humiliation for Him Who controlled all things to sac- 
 rifice all, not to know the blessings of a continued home 
 life, to become a wanderer and a fugitive, to be hated 
 and despised of men, to be spitefully entreated, to be 
 mocked, to be scourged, to be betrayed and crucified. It 
 was a great humiliation to be compelled to receive favors 
 in the manner in which they were granted Him, to be 
 misunderstood, and misinterpreted. Surely, if you know 
 the history of the Christ, you will need no definition of 
 humility and you will not need to be told that the day 
 of Jesus did not dawn while He was still upon earth. 
 The fact that Jesus was appreciated by the multitudes 
 did not mean that His day had dawned. Politics in the 
 days of Jesus were not better than they are today. The 
 many did not rule. They meekly did what they were 
 told to do, else why would they have turned so suddenly 
 from their "Hosanna to the Son of David" to the fren- 
 zied "crucify Him, crucify Him?" Of course, Jesus 
 remained true to His great life purpose. He had come 
 to seek and to save. Effort upon effort was put forth 
 to turn Him from His purpose. The inflamed cry of 
 a multitude so recently sympathetic, the sudden flight 
 of His disciples, the denial of Peter, the betrayal of 
 Judas, the judgment which was no judgment accorded 
 Him by Pilate, the false testimony of false witnesses, 
 the shame of the cross, these and many more things were 
 signs of the times indicating the unpreparedness of those 
 who lived in the fulness of time for the dawn of His 
 day. 
 
 But Jesus' day has dawned. It is not yet noon of the 
 day of Jesus, but His day has dawned. What did He 
 mean by the expression "in that day?" Some have re- 
 ferred it to His resurrection. Others have said it points 
 to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of 
 Pentecost. Still others have interpreted it as referring 
 
278 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 to the second advent of the Lord. There is truth in 
 all these interpretations. It was His day when He arose 
 from the dead and that day has continued in its sway 
 over the lives of men and will continue. It was His day 
 when the Comforter appeared Whom Jesus sent forth 
 that He might abide with His people. It will be His 
 day when He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 
 The one point on which all interpreters of the passage 
 agree is that His day had not dawned before His sacri- 
 ficial death. What a great lesson is contained herein! 
 In how far did the day of Jesus dawn when He arose 
 from the dead? There is but one dawn for each day. 
 This day's dawn cannot be resolved into two or three 
 separate and distinct dawns. Now whereas it is true 
 that even this day has not dawned at the same moment 
 in New York and in San Francisco, in Tokio and in 
 London, it is equally true that this day has dawned at. a 
 given moment and in a given place and the dawn at that 
 moment and in that place has been extended to such a 
 degree that the day is still dawning for some while it is 
 high noon for us. The day of Jesus has dawned in the 
 same manner at a specified moment and at a specified 
 place. His resurrection indicates the moment and His 
 empty tomb the place, or instead of thinking of the empty 
 tomb as the place might it not be well to think of the 
 hearts of those first witnesses to the resurrection as the 
 real place in which the day of Jesus dawned? The im- 
 portant fact to be borne in mind is that the dawn of Jesus' 
 day follows close upon His death for our sins. No out- 
 ward signs can gainsay the truth of this statement. Wars 
 and rumors of wars do not change the fact. The 
 apostasy of many in high and low places but confirms 
 the dawn of His day. The drowsiness of the Christian 
 church and its inability to meet the issues of the day 
 worthily can in no wise be said to militate against the 
 truth of this statement. The day of Jesus is not de- 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 279 
 
 pendent upon what you or I may think, but upon what 
 Christ has wrought. 
 
 In a sense this day of Jesus dawned or rather its 
 dawn was extended in visible form on the day of Pente- 
 cost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the 
 assembled congregation in Jerusalem. The horizon be- 
 came more luminous. The world was more clearly seen. 
 Distances which seemed forbidding a moment before be- 
 came contracted. The Christian church assumed a form 
 which it had not yet acquired in the days of the earthly 
 ministrations of Jesus. There was no going back. The 
 clock must be advanced. It cannot be retarded. 
 
 The day of Jesus — in a sense, in its highest sense we 
 shall not understand the full meaning of that term until 
 we shall no longer have occasion to repeat the words of 
 the creed "from thence He shall come to judge the quick 
 and the dead." That He shall come to judge the quick 
 and the dead is certain. We think perhaps too often 
 and too consistently of our going to Him. We do not 
 think seriously enough of Christ's coming to us. In the 
 burial of the dead we think of their going to heaven, 
 we do not think of Christ's coming from heaven to judge 
 the quick and the dead. We think of the new heavens. 
 We do not think of the new earth. 
 
 There are some of course, who prefer their own day 
 to the day of Jesus. Those who live in open or in secret 
 sin prefer their own day to the day of Jesus. Those 
 who are either principals or seconds in looting banks, 
 causing poverty and panic, bringing on war and blood- 
 shed, have their day and then what? This is also true, 
 is it not, of those who live entirely for self, having 
 gained enough to say to their soul: "Soul, thou hast 
 much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, 
 eat, drink and be merry?" Can we mortals not learn 
 just this much from the experience of Christ that purely 
 human standards are very fallacious? A mkn may have 
 
28o SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 joy today and tomorrow it may be taken from him. An- 
 other may be a disciple of Christ and grieve today, but 
 be filled with joy tomorrow. The acceptance of the day 
 of Jesus, on the one hand, the acceptance of the world's 
 day on the other, which shall it be ? No, not which shall 
 it be, which is it? 
 
 Jesus says, "In that day ye shall ask in my name." 
 As there is a day of Jesus specified in the verse before us 
 there is also the supplementary idea of the Name of 
 Jesus. Is there any significance to be attached to a 
 name? If not, why should God have changed the names 
 of Abram and Sarai and Jacob and many others into 
 larger names, i. e., names of greater significance in the 
 economy of His Kingdoni? Why should the New 
 Testament Saul have been anxious to exchange his Old 
 Testament name? Why should Jesus have said to him 
 whom we now know as Peter: "Thou art Simon the son 
 of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas," which is by inter- 
 pretation a rock, if He attached no importance to this 
 change in name? Surely, a name must stand for some- 
 thing. It must not be disassociated from the object or 
 the person for which or for whom it stands. Was there 
 not a clear demonstration of the power attached to one 
 name and the absolute lack of power attached to another 
 in the incident which took place upon Mt. Carmel in the 
 days of Ahab? Time and again the name of Jehovah 
 upon the banner of Israel means victory. Time and 
 again the name of an opposing deity spells defeat. The 
 reason is simple enough. In one instance the name stands 
 for something. In another it stands for nothing. By 
 way of interjection we may ask why is it that at times 
 God permits His people to be defeated for surely Israel 
 was not always victorious over its enemies. The answer 
 is, because God is a just God and He cannot permit even 
 His people to win if their cause is not a just cause. The 
 test upon Mt. Carmel has its New Testament counter- 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER ^gi 
 
 part upon Mars Hill. The prophet Elijah is supplanted 
 by the Apostle Paul. The crude worship of the devotees 
 of Baal surrenders to the refined worship of the Athen- 
 ians. There are a number of altars in one group. There 
 is but one in the other. The many altars are dedicated 
 to known gods, the one to an unknown god. The Athen- 
 ians appear as the priests of gods which they think they 
 know about. Paul appears as the ambassador of a God 
 known to him but unknown to them. The God Who 
 meant little or nothing to the Athenians because disasso- 
 ciated from the Christ was everything to the apostle to 
 whom the Christ had appeared. To him the altar was 
 not an altar to an unknown God, but to a God whose 
 name is above every name "That at the name of Jesus 
 every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things 
 in earth, and things under the earth; and that every 
 tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the 
 glory of God the Father." We are permitted to know 
 this glorified Christ Whom Paul knew. What does His 
 name mean to you? Is it a name and nothing more? 
 Some persons are prone to speak disparagingly of the 
 influence which is needed to secure certain positions. It 
 is true, of course, that influence may be perverted as it 
 is in political life. It is nevertheless true that it is well 
 for the world at large that references are required and 
 that our associations mark us. Your association with 
 or outside the circle of Jesus, your ability to use Him 
 as a reference or your inability to secure His signature 
 are of greater importance in your life than you may 
 seem willing to admit. 
 
 If the day of Jesus is the vital thing we believe it to 
 be, if the name of Jesus is the vital thing we know it to 
 be, then surely we must appropriate and realize both in 
 our lives. How can this be achieved? Through prayer. 
 Before His day dawned on the earth His disciples had 
 never prayed in His Name. They had approximated a 
 
282 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 prayer in His Name when they united in the Lord's 
 Prayer, for it was Christ Who made the Fatherhood of 
 God real to them. But they had never deviated very 
 materially from Jewish standards of prayer. They were 
 to acquire a new power as we shall be re-created through 
 prayer in Jesus' Name. Prayer in Jesus' Name must 
 mean first of all a oneness with Christ of those who thus 
 pray. Giving references is a much more serious piece 
 of business than many people imagine. When a man 
 comes to me with the endorsement of a friend I ever 
 after associate him with that friend and my friend is 
 either strengthened or weakened in my opinion by the 
 manner in which his testimonial and the conduct of him 
 who brings the testimonial coincide. It is a serious thing 
 for any man to write a testimonial and it is an equally 
 serious thing for any one to be the recipient and the 
 transmitter of a testimonial. When you appear before 
 the throne of God with the endorsement which is yours 
 as you use the Name of Jesus you have accepted, volun- 
 tarily accepted, a responsibility which, if you do not 
 discharge, you become a traitor. Hence prayer in Jesus' 
 Name means first of all an identification on your part 
 with the ideals of Jesus. It means that you are under 
 obligation to Him and that you must fulfil the trust. 
 In the second place prayer in the Name of Jesus means 
 unselfish prayer. He Who is willing to spend His energy 
 in endorsing the petitions of millions upon millions of 
 persons is certainly not engaged in a selfish pursuit. The 
 prayers of Jesus are not selfish prayers. Your prayers 
 are selfish prayers and in so far they are not Christian 
 prayers. Your prayer for health is a selfish prayer 
 when it may be that the purposes of God are better 
 brought to pass through your sickness. Your prayer for 
 nourishment is a selfish prayer if thereby you mean to 
 deprive the starving men and women of God's great 
 world of food. Your prayer for victory is a selfish 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 283 
 
 prayer if thereby you mean the complete annihilation of 
 your enemies. Your prayer for personal achievement 
 and success is a selfish prayer if your success means the 
 failure of another. Friends, in the great majority of 
 instances our prayers are selfish prayers and hence are 
 not and cannot be prayers in His Name Who came to 
 give His life a ransom for many. In the third place, 
 prayer in the Name of Jesus means prevailing prayer.' 
 In the very verse we have chosen we read: "In that 
 day ye shall ask in my name: And I say not unto you, 
 that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father him- 
 self loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have be- 
 lieved that I came forth from the Father." Our prayer 
 must not be directed to Jesus in the hope that He will 
 relay it to the Father's throne, but our prayer must 
 ascend directly to the Father's throne because of the 
 Father's love for us and because of the guarantee which 
 the name of Jesus affords. 
 
 May I repeat very briefly for the sake of impressing 
 It upon your minds that true prayer implies oneness with 
 Christ. Until we are at one with Him Who hath brought 
 about our at-one-ment we are not prayers and cannot 
 offer true prayers. In the next place, prayer In the 
 Name of Jesus means unselfish prayer. It means that we 
 have caught a bit of the world sorrow and the world's 
 burden and that we are willing to be burden bearers. 
 Prayers are burdens. And finally, prayer in the Name 
 of Jesus means prevailing prayer. In no respect is it 
 truer that you will get just what you deserve than in this 
 appearance before the throne of grace. 
 
 May God Who knows how weak we are in our day 
 and generation in this respect help us to shake off our 
 slothfulness and our indifference and put on the mantle 
 of prayer. May we join with Isaiah in his prayer for 
 present mercy and help. "Oh that thou wouldest rend 
 the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the 
 
284 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 mountains might quake at thy presence, as when fire 
 kindleth the brushwood, and the fire causeth the waters 
 to boil; to make thy name known to thine adversaries, 
 that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When 
 thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou 
 earnest down ; the mountains quaked at thy presence. 
 For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the 
 ear, neither hath the eye seen a God besides Thee, who 
 worked for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him 
 that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that re- 
 member thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, and 
 we sinned : in them have we been of long time ; and shall 
 we be saved? For we are all become as one that is un- 
 clean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted gar- 
 ment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, 
 like the wind, take us away. And there is none that 
 calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take 
 hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and 
 hast consumed us by means of our iniquities. 
 
 "But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are 
 the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work 
 of thy hand. Be not wroth very sore, O Jehovah, neither 
 remember iniquity for ever: behold, look, we beseech 
 thee, we are all thy people. Thy holy cities are become a 
 wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a 
 desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where 
 our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire ; and all our 
 pleasant places are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself 
 for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, 
 and afflict us very sore?" 
 
XXXV. 
 ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 Acts i :9-ii. 
 
 "And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he 
 ?was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And 
 while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, 
 two men stood by them in white apparel ; who also said, Ye men 
 of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was 
 received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
 beheld him going into heaven." 
 
 The high festival days of the Christian year are gospel 
 days in such an intensive sense that the epistle lessons 
 are often almost entirely forgotten. Suppose we should 
 conduct an examination right here and now to ascertain 
 what are the epistle lessons for Christmas day and 
 Easter day, are there not some present who would hesi- 
 tate a bit before answering these questions? And there 
 is a reason for this hesitancy. We cannot rightly think 
 of Christmas day or Easter day or any other of the 
 festival days without centering our thought upon the 
 central theme which is of course the gospel for the day. 
 This is peculiarly true of the day we are celebrating. 
 On Ascension day the epistle lesson blends so perfectly 
 and absolutely with the gospel lesson we hardly feel we 
 shall be misunderstood in saying that the church has 
 proceeded in an unusual way and has rightly selected 
 two narratives of one and the same gospel, assigning to 
 one the title epistle and to the other the title gospel. In 
 other words, Ascension day has no real epistle lesson. 
 There are many passages in the epistles which might 
 have been chosen for this day because they adequately 
 
 285 
 
286 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 convey its teaching, notably among them the words of 
 Paul in the epistle to the Ephesians based upon the 
 Psalmist's exclamation "Thou hast ascended on high, 
 thou hast led away captives; thou hast received gifts 
 among men," or as Paul applies the message, "Where- 
 fore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity 
 captive, and gave gifts unto men," in which lesson Paul 
 points the real lesson of Ascension day "He that 
 descended is the same also that ascended far above all 
 the heavens, that he might fill all things," that he might 
 send the Comforter that in turn men truly called might 
 be apostles or prophets or evangelists or pastors or teach- 
 ers going forth in the name of Him Who is to fill all 
 things. Ascension day has its message for the laity as 
 well, but it conveys a very specific message to the dis- 
 ciples who are to go forth and preach the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The passages from the epistle which might have been 
 assigned as lessons for this day have been barred simply 
 because of the unconditional necessity of including the 
 most specific narrative of Christ's ascension which is of 
 course contained in the first chapter of the Acts of the 
 Apostles. The distinctively gospel narrative may be 
 accurately defined because certain things are essential 
 to it. There must be the necessary setting, the necessary 
 act and the necessary message. The necessary setting for 
 the gospel of Christmas day is the manger and the field. 
 The necessary setting for the gospel of Easter day is the 
 empty tomb. The necessary setting for Ascension day 
 is the tangible earth and the tangible circle of disciples. 
 The necessary act portrayed in the gospel for Christmas 
 day is the Incarnation. The necessary act portrayed 
 in the Easter gospel is the Resurrection. The necessary 
 act portrayed in the so-called epistle lesson for this day 
 is the Ascension. The necessary message contained in 
 the Christmas gospel is the evangel of the angel: "There 
 
ASCENSION DAY 287 
 
 is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, 
 who is Christ the Lord." The necessary message con- 
 tained in the Easter gospel is likewise the angel's an- 
 nouncement: *'He is risen." The message of and for 
 this day is again an angelic message: "Ye men of Gali- 
 lee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who 
 was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in 
 like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven." 
 
 The ascension of Jesus Christ is a transitional act 
 leading us from the seen to the unseen, from a world 
 that is real to a world equally real, from earth to heaven, 
 and from heaven back again to earth. This two-fold 
 relationship may be illustrated by referring to the kin- 
 ship between this festival and Good Friday on the one 
 hand and between it and Whitsunday on the other hand. 
 Chrysostom tells us that on Good Friday and again on 
 Ascension day the early Christians, instead of assembling 
 in their respective places of worship met for their services 
 in the acres of God. In this manner they endeavored to 
 visualize the unseen world. As the day was early made 
 to point back to Good Friday, Jesus and the angels 
 made it point forward to Whitsuntide and the coming 
 of the Comforter. In the former instance the effort was 
 made to bring the seen into touch with the unseen, in the 
 latter, the unseen was to be brought into touch with the 
 seen. 
 
 This transitional act marks the beginning of a new 
 era for Christ. The things which Jesus began both to 
 do and to teach until the very day in which He was re- 
 ceived up marked a distinct era for Christ as well as for 
 the world. The Incarnation marked the beginning of 
 that era and the Ascension its close. As if to refute the 
 thinking and teaching of those who would have this early 
 dispensation close with the death and burial and resur- 
 rection of Christ Luke is exceedingly explicit in his lan- 
 guage. The first era was to include the giving com- 
 
288 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 mandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles 
 whom he had chosen; it included the epiphanies of the 
 risen Lord, together with the instructions they afforded ; 
 it included the re-affirmation of the promise of the Holy 
 Spirit; it included the command that they should not 
 begin their activity prematurely; it included the warn- 
 ing against purely human engagement in speculations of 
 no real value and of positive harm ; it included the going 
 forth together for the last time for the fulfilment of the 
 one act which was to be the culmination of Jesus' earthly 
 intercourse with His disciples and the beginning of His 
 eternal spiritual intercourse with His church. We have 
 said the Ascension marks the beginning of a new era 
 for Christ, an era which may in turn be characterized 
 as a period of doing and teaching, doing and teaching in 
 the application of redemption to all mankind. Have we 
 sufficiently contemplated the importance of the activity 
 of Christ in this new era? It is He Himself who says 
 in His last discourse: "It is expedient for you that I go 
 away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you; but if I go, I will send Him unto you." I 
 like to feel that the first act of Christ in resuming His 
 place in His Father's Kingdom was not the sending forth 
 of the Comforter but the restraining of Himself and the 
 Comforter until the disciples shall have had an oppor- 
 tunity through their mutual assemblages for prayer and 
 meditation to be ready and willing to say "Here am I 
 Lord, send me," During these days of earnest watch- 
 fulness they were not without the grace of God. They 
 possessed it as truly as did Paul when after his con- 
 version he went into seclusion to meditate upon the 
 heavenly vision and his heavenly calling. Jesus must 
 at times restrain Himself and the Spirit just as we be- 
 lieve that the Old Testament religion is a religion of 
 restraint as well as of the immediate execution of ven- 
 geance and blessing. If therefore His first act be that 
 
ASCENSION DAY 289 
 
 of restraint, the second is that of the projection of the 
 full power of the Kingdom of God into the hearts of 
 believers and consequently into the newly founded 
 church. If the church has not always known how to 
 utilize that power, the fault is not that of Christ or of 
 the Holy Spirit, but of those who have failed implicitly 
 to trust the promises of Christ. The great deed manifest 
 in sending forth the Holy Spirit on Whitsunday is for 
 the distinct purpose mentioned in the passage from Ephe- 
 sians to which reference has already been made, "in order 
 that he might fill all things," and this filling of all things 
 by Christ is for no selfish reason, but in order that we 
 may all attain "unto the measure of the stature of the 
 fulness of Christ." And thus Christ has entered upon 
 an era which beginning with the Ascension shall not be 
 brought to its culmination until He shall come again to 
 judge both the quick and the dead. The era is not to be 
 one of doing only, but of teaching as well. The revela- 
 tion of Jesus Christ to Saul includes not only an act in 
 which He manifests Himself momentarily to a confus-^d 
 persecutor, but includes the sphere of teaching as well. 
 The revelation of Jesus Christ to the beloved disciple 
 upon the isle of Patmos and through him to the churches 
 of Asia Minor and the churches of all times is evidence 
 of the fulfilment of a longing desire "I have yet many 
 things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." 
 These things were revealed at least in part in those 
 blessed post-resurrection days. They were further re- 
 vealed by the Spirit after He had come upon them. They 
 were revealed to us through the testimony of one to 
 whom they were made known at the close of the apostolic 
 age. 
 
 The ascension of Jesus Christ is a transitional act 
 which marks the beginning of a new era for those who 
 are Christ's. The first step in this transition is un- 
 
290 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 doubtedly the testing of their faith in the message of 
 the angels. It is interesting in this particular to contrast 
 the message of Ascension day with the messages of 
 Christmas day and Easter. When the angel upon Beth- 
 lehem's field said: "Fear not," etc., he added, "ye shall 
 find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in 
 a manger." It required faith on the part of the shep- 
 herds to appropriate this message, but an easily and al- 
 most simultaneously verifiable faith. "They found both 
 Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger." 
 The angel who announced the resurrection of Jesus added 
 to his announcement the assurance, easily verifiable "He 
 goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, 
 as He said unto you." But when the two men in white 
 apparel address the dazed disciples looking into space, 
 there is no comforting postscript or peroration concern- 
 ing the immediate realization of their desire to be re- 
 united. "This Jesus, who was received up from you 
 into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld 
 him going into heaven." They are to return to Jeru- 
 salem where day after day is to be spent in watchful 
 waiting. Surely their conduct during this period indi- 
 cates the long distance they have traveled since their 
 flight on the night of the betrayal. The first Christian 
 prayer meetings in that upper chamber in Jerusalem are 
 the assemblages of persons who have learned to believe 
 and to pray. The first step in the new era for those 
 who are Christ's is as we have said, the testing of their 
 faith, the second is the awaiting of the promise in the 
 spirit of prayer, the third is the actual outpouring of 
 the Holy Spirit, their baptism in the Holy Spirit, as 
 Jesus Himself has described it, and the fourth step is to 
 be their witness bearing. Is not this experience of the 
 first century repeated every year in an institution such 
 as this? There are in this congregation men who in a 
 
ASCENSION DAY 291 
 
 few days will be graduated from this seminary.* The 
 gospel message has come to them as a call. Their faith 
 has been tested in the presentation to them of the Word 
 of God, they have had to wait and pray and toil and 
 wait. We trust that their ordination will be to them a 
 veritable outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who alone can 
 energize them for effective service and we know that if 
 the Holy Spirit leads them into all truth, they cannot help 
 but lead others into truth. Those of us who do not 
 appreciate the value and significance of the new era 
 heralded by this day as it affects those who are Christ's, 
 are not Christ's. Hence the importance of the day, 
 hence the importance of celebrating it as we are to cele- 
 brate it in receiving the Holy Communion. 
 
 We cannot turn from our consideration of the Ascen- 
 sion of Jesus Christ as a transitional act without noting 
 that it marks the beginning of a new era for the world. 
 We have said it marks the beginning of a new era for 
 Christ and for those who are His. It is no less true 
 that it marks a very distinct beginning in the history of 
 the world. Though the new covenant begins with the 
 Incarnation the realization of the meaning of the new 
 covenant even on the part of the disciples does not begin 
 with either the Incarnation or the Resurrection, but with 
 the Ascension. Of course the full realization of the 
 meaning of the new covenant does not take place until 
 after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, 
 but there is a dawning in the minds of men concerning 
 the meaning of the Life that has been lived and Ascen- 
 sion day has ever preached to the world a message con- 
 cerning the restraining touch of the unseen world. Men 
 have ever since hesitated to do some of the things they 
 might otherwise have done. As nations they have con- 
 
 ♦Preached at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Mt. Airy, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
292 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 tinued to live lives not subject to restraint because as 
 nations they have accepted commercial standards, not 
 even commercial ideals. As men they have endeavored 
 through foundations to repudiate what they have done 
 as nations. After all, if the power of the unseen world 
 cannot, in our day, grip both individuals and nations it 
 is far more essential that it should grip individuals than 
 nations, for salvation is not a matter of nations sep- 
 arately conceived, but of individuals, of individual souls, 
 of individual souls in all nations. 
 
 As the world that now is has felt the restraining touch 
 of the unseen world it has likewise felt its compelling 
 touch. The message of Ascension day has come and will 
 come with special force and significance to those who 
 have been compelled to stand by the open grave. Surely 
 Christianity has taught the world how not only to mourn 
 but how to convert our mourning into a peace that 
 passeth understanding and a joy that no man can take 
 away. In many more ways do we note the influence of 
 the Ascension upon the world, but especially in its quest 
 for permanent values. The world itself is beginning to 
 recognize the futility of much for which the Greek and 
 Roman world stood. It is beginning to seek the few 
 things rather than the many, the one thing rather than 
 the few. 
 
 In speaking to the disciples the angels desired to arouse 
 them from a purely physical exercise born of curiosity 
 and consternation and regret to a spiritual exercise. The 
 disciples would not have been rebuked had the angels 
 found them engaged in prayer while in the act of look- 
 ing heavenward. Nor did they imply as some would 
 have us believe that their words "why stand ye looking 
 into heaven" may be made the basis of a social service 
 program. The spiritual exercise in which the disciples 
 engaged after returning to the city might have been 
 engaged in upon the mount. It would have immediately 
 
ASCENSION DAY 293 
 
 accompanied and followed the ascension of Jesus if 
 they had fully grasped the meaning of the deed. It is 
 because we have at least partially grasped its meaning 
 that we have assembled upon this mount for this service. 
 
XXXVI. 
 SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 
 
 John 15 : 26-27. 
 
 "When the Comforter is come, wihom I will send unto you from 
 the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the 
 Father, he shall bear witness of m£ : and ye also bear witness." 
 
 Why is there such an accumulation of lessons from a 
 comparatively few chapters of John for the Sundays 
 after Easter? Is it because the forty days following the 
 resurrection of our Lord constitute a transitional period 
 during which emphasis must be placed upon the spiritual 
 so little understood by the disciples and their descend- 
 ants? Or is it because in the last discourses of our Lord 
 there is contained such a wealth of thought it has been 
 absolutely impossible to assimilate it while depressed with 
 sorrow on the eve of the crucifixion? Is it not true that 
 the fulness of detail in these last discourses is simply 
 staggering and that we cannot gain a proper perspective 
 of the Life of lives unless we trace the intimate connec- 
 tion between the passion, the resurrection, the forty days, 
 the Ascension, and Whitsuntide as this relationship is 
 carefully and minutely set forth in the first two lines 
 of the Easter hymn: "The strife is o'er, the battle 
 done! The victory of life is won!" to which must 
 be added the third line: "The song of triumph hath 
 begun." It is true the battle is o'er as we assemble on 
 the day of resurrection. It is equally true that the song 
 of triumph hath only been begun. It is essential to re- 
 member that unless we continue in our discipleship to the 
 Mount and to the Holy City and then return to the duties 
 of life thus newly interpreted the song of triumph has 
 
 294 
 
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 295 
 
 little meaning either for us or those with whom we 
 associate. 
 
 Entirely too many Christians look upon the Ascension 
 of Jesus as a personal act in which He only is interested 
 actively and they passively. They consider it His per- 
 sonal retirement from the scene of conflict after having 
 won His battle. The Ascension is something infinitely 
 more than that. It is an advancement of the whole cause 
 of Christ, not only in heaven but also on earth. It is a 
 necessary sequence, a continuance of the plan of salva- 
 tion, a readjustment, a newness of relationship, a bright, 
 bright hope, a recognition of human responsibility in the 
 acknowledgement of the faith "Thence He shall come 
 again to judge the quick and the dead." We are far too 
 prone to discontinue the process of thought ere we have 
 arrived at a logical conclusion. We are willing to say 
 A but not B. Concentrated thought upon the life and 
 purpose of Christ will at once convince us of the real 
 significance of the Ascension in its various and vital 
 phases, the first of which is the sending forth of the 
 Holy Spirit. "But when the Comforter is come, whom 
 I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of 
 truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear 
 witness of me." Do you see why in the light of this 
 assertion of Christ it is necessary to review the last dis- 
 course.? The life of Christ, the discourses of Christ, the 
 miracles of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, not any one of 
 these things can be properly understood except as the 
 Spirit bearing witness illumines the message for us. The 
 fall of man and the restoration of man are intimately 
 interwoven in the significance of Ascension day and 
 Whitsuntide. Joel made to experience the devastation 
 of the land, calling the people to fasting and prayer 
 obtains favor from Jehovah. The immediate promise is 
 converted into a prophecy for humanity "And it shall 
 come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit 
 
296 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall 
 prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young 
 men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and 
 upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my 
 Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in 
 the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The 
 sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into 
 blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah 
 Cometh. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall 
 call upon the name of Jehovah shall be delivered." This 
 is the promise emphasized by Isaiah in the thirty-second 
 and forty-fourth chapters. This is the promise of the 
 Father to which Jesus alludes in our text. It is the 
 promise spoken of by Peter in the Pentecostal discourse 
 "Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
 Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear." 
 Amid the rack and ruin of society there appeared unto 
 the prophets a vision of restoration, heaven even here 
 upon earth, a new order of affairs, supplanting an econ- 
 omy of law and destruction. There was a hope, a very 
 well-founded hope that "whosoever shall call upon the 
 Name of Jehovah shall be saved." But a power must 
 be given unto men whereby they may call upon this 
 Name. It was in order to obtain this power, surely not 
 for Himself, that Christ came into the world, suffered 
 and died and returned to the realm from which He had 
 come. And the Father recognizing the validity of the 
 claims of His only-begotten Son fulfilled the promise 
 which had been ringing down through the ages. This 
 sending forth of the Holy Spirit was to empower men 
 to understand the Savior's love and mission and thus 
 find life in His Name. "This is My beloved Son" was 
 the testimony proclaimed to all who would hear at the 
 Baptism of Jesus. The witness unto Christ is an essen- 
 tial element in Christian life. That witness has been 
 made possible by the coming of the Holy Spirit. The 
 
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 297 
 
 outpouring of the Holy Spirit was conditioned upon 
 the return of the Son "whom I will send unto you." 
 Hence the Ascension of Christ to the right hand of God 
 assumes a supreme significance not readily nor always 
 recognized and admitted. 
 
 We have said that through this act there is established 
 a new relationship between the unseen and the seen, 
 heaven and earth, the Creator and the creature. The old 
 has passed away. All things have become new. The 
 continued presence of Christ on earth after the com- 
 pletion of His mission was not essential. The appear- 
 ance and continuance of Christ at the right hand of God 
 there to continue to intercede for us is essential. The 
 Ascension is the beginning of that movement finding its 
 consummation on Whitsuntide whereby the barriers of 
 race and nation are destroyed, and the promises once 
 made to a people are reiterated authoritatively, strikingly 
 and strongly to all the nations of the earth. The frag- 
 mentary manifestation of the Holy Spirit to those who 
 accepted the covenant relationship of an offended God 
 has been converted into the constant stream of blessing 
 in which all flesh is offered an opportunity to become 
 clean and to approach its God. The new relationship 
 affects Father and Son, the Father willingly hearing and 
 answering prayers in Jesus' name, the Son by His 
 obedience and satisfaction having obtained recognition 
 as the only valid intercessor between God and man, and 
 being appointed Judge of the quick and the dead. The 
 Spirit must abide by the will of the Son and must go 
 forth upon His errand of mercy. In the new relation- 
 ship man is not left without God. He is not less fortu- 
 nate than the disciples. In the old covenant the mani- 
 festation of God was formal, outward, conformed to 
 the limitations of Israel. During the earthly days of the 
 Savior the transition was gradually to be made from 
 that which is limited, formal, artificial, sacrificial to that 
 
298 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 which partakes of less of the purely formal and more 
 of the spiritual. The sacramental is emphasized. It is 
 scarcely surprising that a revolution so pronounced 
 should have left its impress upon radical thinkers, not 
 willing to pursue the journey step by step and should 
 have brought them to an apparently necessary rejection 
 of all form. My relationship to the Savior should be all 
 the more intense because I know that He is at this 
 moment interceding for me and has sent the Holy Spirit 
 to keep me from falling while He intercedes. Thus view 
 the relationship as you will, either as the relationship 
 sustained between Father and Son, Son and Spirit, 
 Spirit and humanity, or the Father and humanity or the 
 Son and humanity, the Ascension has intensified and 
 reconstructed these relationships along larger, broader 
 and more significant lines. 
 
 The Ascension stands for the establishment of head- 
 quarters not on earth nor in hell but in heaven. "Whom 
 I will send unto you from the Father" indicates the realm 
 to which Jesus is about to depart. Heaven cannot be geo- 
 graphically traced because heaven pertains to eternity not 
 to time or space. To be with Jesus and the Father for- 
 ever and ever, this is the meaning of heaven for me. The 
 establishment of headquarters in heaven simply means 
 the establishment of headquarters in eternity. There is 
 to be no restriction in the intercourse and dwelling of 
 Christ and there is to be no restriction in the intercourse 
 and dwelling of those who, purchased by His blood, have 
 heeded the call of the Spirit in their lives and await the 
 translation which shall free them from the restraints of 
 earth. There is an infinite value in this thought for those 
 who believe in the immortality of the soul and who are 
 consequently willing to be without the bodily presence 
 of Christ for a little while in order that He may be per- 
 manently enjoyed by His own. To wish to hold Christ 
 upon earth is the desire of those who have not fullv sur- 
 
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 299 
 
 rendered to Him. The presence of Jesus at the right hand 
 of God is a guarantee of the fulfilment of every promise 
 made by Him. But after all the significance of the 
 Ascension is not rightly measured or understood unless 
 we realize and admit that the sending forth of the Holy 
 Spirit, the establishment of new relationships, the re- 
 establishment of headquarters, all point to at least the 
 temporary continuance of earthly relationships. He, the 
 Savior, indicates that He must leave His disciples. He 
 is to ascend to His Father and their Father. Why not 
 take them with Him if He loves them? The question 
 asked by the scoffer indicates that they have in His eyes 
 become the stumbling-block and offence predicted by 
 Christ. But you have heard so-called believers ask the 
 question. You have heard them say if there be evil why 
 shall not the disciples of Christ escape it? They are not 
 in sympathy with it and it is wrong to make them suffer 
 the results of it. I trust that no one here this morning 
 has ever reasoned thus. Jesus indicates the continuance 
 of disciples in the world and tells them plainly of the 
 sufferings in store for them. If He knew this why not 
 relieve them? O selfish egotist! wrapped up in personal 
 desires and personal achievement. Have you never 
 thought of the work the Holy Spirit has given you to 
 do ? There was a time when Jesus did it all and the dis- 
 ciples simply stood by and approved. All that has 
 passed. Jesus has done it all. He has redeemed you! 
 He has drawn you from sin to holiness, but He demands 
 as much of you as was demanded of the disciples when 
 He entrusted to them the duty and privilege of witness- 
 bearing. The Ascension has placed new responsibilities 
 upon your shoulders. You are the agents of the Holy 
 Spirit and servants of Christ. If Christ takes you with 
 Him from earth to heaven who is to give a cup of cold 
 water to those who ask for it? Who is to carry the 
 gospel to those who are without it at home and abroad? 
 
300 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 Who is to feed the orphans and supply the wants of 
 widows? Who is to build and supply the needs of our 
 hospitals? Who is to speak a word of cheer to the man 
 who is tired and footsore and ready to fall by the way- 
 side ? Who is to enter the homes of those who mourn the 
 loss of their dead and tell them of the hope of everlasting 
 life? Who is to lend sunshine and cheer and courage 
 and assurance to a world sitting in the shadow of death ? 
 That is your business. And it is your business because of 
 the Ascension of Jesus. Perhaps you too have gone with 
 the disciples to the Mount. You have done it because 
 of your love for the Master, but you must be aroused 
 from your day-dream. "Ye men of Galilee why stand 
 ye gazing up into heaven?" There is a work for you to 
 do here and now. Why are you not doing it? The 
 Ascension stands for the delegation of authority. The 
 Son asks for the gift of the Holy Spirit and sends that 
 Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit energizes the disciples and 
 strengthens them for their witness-bearing. In like man- 
 ner He energizes you and commits to you this trust. 
 Witness-bearing costs something. It may mean that they 
 shall put you out of the synagogues. It may mean that 
 they will expel you from a narrow sect-belief or from 
 the privileges of social intercourse. It may mean the 
 laying down of your life for your Master, but what of 
 that? The Master who demands also promises. The 
 compensation here, a strong, Christ-like character able 
 to do and die. The compensation there, eternity with 
 Christ. The Ascension indicates the trust and the con- 
 fidence which Christ places in you. He knows that 
 Christianity will eventually triumph and He offers to 
 you an opportunity to share in that triumph and its 
 song. Christ says of the disciples, He says of you and 
 me "ye also bear witness." Why not examine ourselves 
 and ask the nature of the witness we bear? 
 
XXXVII. 
 WHITSUNDAY. 
 
 John 14:26. 
 
 "But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will 
 send in nvy name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to your 
 remembrance all that I said unto you." 
 
 Perhaps the most important document in the posses- 
 sion of the Christian Church not included in the canon 
 of Holy Scripture, is the Apostles' Creed. Critics and 
 apologists are united in this opinion, hence the great num- 
 ber of essays on this primitive confession of the early 
 church. Whatever difference there may be concerning 
 its original content or structure, faith in the Trinity is 
 clearly postulated, faith in God the Father, God the Son, 
 and God the Holy Ghost. We cannot speak and we do 
 not speak of the validity of the first two articles of the 
 creed without adding the third, and it is this third 
 article of the creed on which stress must be placed on 
 this Whitsuntide morning. Is it essential or is it not? 
 The question is not based on the permanent value of the 
 creed so much as on the permanent value of Holy Scrip- 
 ture itself. If there is contained in this third article of 
 the creed a biblical truth it has a permanent vahie. We 
 repeat the words "I believe in God the Father" and we 
 have at least a finite, limited idea of what they imply. 
 We repeat the words 'T believe in Jesus Christ His only 
 Son our Lord" and the horizon becomes very luminous. 
 We repeat the words 'T believe in the Holy Ghost" and 
 let us be absolutely honest how many of us have ever 
 searched Holy Scripture for an idea of the importance 
 
 301 
 
302 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 of this statement. It may be well for us to pause a few 
 moments while we consider 
 
 The Personality of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 There is much material on the work of the Holy Spirit 
 as manifest in calling and sanctifying the believer. 
 Luther has rightly emphasized the importance of the 
 work of the Holy Spirit in his interpretation of the third 
 article of the creed. It may be well to repeat that inter- 
 pretation at this point lest we forget: "I believe that 
 I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus 
 Christ my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost 
 has called me through the gospel, enlightened me by his 
 gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith; 
 in like manner as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanc- 
 tifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves 
 it in union with Jesus Christ in the true faith ; in which 
 Christian church He daily forgives abundantly all my 
 sins, and the sins of all believers, and will raise up me 
 and all the dead at the last day, and will grant everlast- 
 ing life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is 
 most certainly true." The work of the Holy Spirit is 
 more important than His person. The laborer, if he 
 be efficient, will voluntarily sacrifice his personality in the 
 interests of his task. He will remain in the background. 
 In fact, the more efficient he is, the less obtrusive will his 
 personality be. The Holy Spirit is distinctly a worker. 
 It is His work rather than His person that needs to be 
 emphasized. And yet in quoting and re-quoting Luther's 
 interpretation of the third article of the creed we become 
 more and more convinced that to Luther as to every true 
 Christian the Holy Spirit must be a very real person. It 
 is because we must be in sympathy with Holy Scripture, 
 it is because we must turn to it again and again in our 
 discussion that on this day there is a clearer line of 
 cleavage than anywhere else between those who accept 
 
WHITSUNDAY 303 
 
 and those who reject the gospel for this day. It is be- 
 cause reason does not help us in the solution of our prob- 
 lem, but only our experience in personal contact with the 
 third person of the Trinity, an experience which accords 
 with the promises of Jesus, that this gospel means so 
 little for children of this world. 
 
 What do we mean in speaking of personality as ap- 
 plied to God? It may be interesting to ask some of the 
 systems round about us of a non-Christian type before 
 discussing the subject from the Christian standpoint. For 
 instance, pantheism treats of God and the world as one 
 and the same thing. Spinoza says there is but one sub- 
 stance and this substance he calls God. He ridicules the 
 idea that personality may be ascribed to God by say- 
 ing "definition is negation." Materialism claims that 
 matter can explain everything. There was no creation, 
 it says, for matter is eternal. There is no providence 
 required as the free movement of the atoms is sufficient. 
 In other words, materialism says there is no personal 
 God. It claims it needs none. The Deist believes there 
 is a God, but his God having created the world remains 
 aloof from that world and from man. What a haughty 
 personality such a God must be ! There is much need in 
 such a system for the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee." 
 Standing out boldly and forcibly in open protest against 
 views such as these is the Christian conception of the 
 personality of God. It is not in sympathy with the cold, 
 rigid attempts to introduce a philosophy invented by the 
 mind of man to take the place of the true philosophy of 
 life which we have in Christ Jesus. In speaking of God 
 as a person we do so because we cannot do otherwise. 
 We have thus learned to know Him and He has thus 
 manifested Himself unto us. In speaking of God as a 
 person the Christian acknowledges his subordination, his 
 willing subordination to perfect, spiritual, omnipotent 
 personality in Him Whom we term God. Personality 
 
304 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 is self-conscious essence and implies spirit rather than 
 body, thought rather than extension. When I say God 
 is a personal God I distinguish Him from the idols of 
 the heathen. I cannot conscientiously fall down before 
 a god made of stone or wood, mutilate myself, inflict 
 all sorts of torment and in doing so cry out: "Baal hear 
 me, Baal hear me." I know that Baal, though he has 
 ears, hears not and though he has grotesque eyes, sees 
 not, and though he has a misshapen mouth cannot speak. 
 Others may imagine personality there, I cannot bring 
 myself to acknowledge as much. My spirit accords with 
 that of Paul who says: "Being then the offspring of 
 God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto 
 gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of 
 man." The Athenians themselves recognize the unsatis- 
 factory nature of their worship, for they ascribe homage 
 "to an unknown God." This "God is a spirit and those 
 who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in 
 truth." In surnmarizing these views concerning what 
 God is as over against what He is not it may be suf- 
 ficient to say that the God of the Christian is a conscious, 
 thoughtful, loving Providence Who cares for us far more 
 efficiently than we imagine. The very fact that God is 
 so infinitely above us makes it difficult to describe Him 
 accurately. Man's sinfulness makes it impossible to ap- 
 proach Him adequately. God recognizes this condition 
 in sending forth His Son and we have an opportunity 
 of becoming intimately acquainted with the unique per- 
 sonality of Christ. Now we are beginning to tread on 
 more familiar ground. We can speak more authorita- 
 tively for whereas no man hath ever seen the Father, 
 we have seen the Son Whose glory we beheld, the glory 
 as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace 
 and truth. These are the distinguishing traits, so pre- 
 eminent in the Person of Christ — grace and truth. The 
 former is the feminine quality without which there can 
 
WHITSUNDAY 305 
 
 be no true home, no true affection, no true friendship. 
 Grace is transparent beauty, not dependent upon goodli- 
 ness of countenance, but deeply dependent upon goodli- 
 ness of heart. Grace means sympathy, co-operation, 
 love. It means self-sacrifice, perfect submission to the 
 will of another. It means a domination over others by 
 example rather than by precept. It is the embodiment 
 of the gospel rather than of the law. It is the poetry 
 of life distinguished from its prose. Grace in mankind 
 is supremely beautiful. Grace refulgent in incarnate 
 Deity is sublime. It blots earth from earth. 
 
 As grace is the feminine quality in the person of 
 Christ, truth is its masculine counterpart. Truth implies 
 certainty. Certainty implies strength. Strength implies 
 victory. "The truth shall make you free" is no empty 
 promise. Truth is not always a desirable factor to those 
 steeped in iniquity. Truth sent John the Baptist to his 
 death. Truth crucified the Savior. Truth will continue 
 to be a stumbling block to the end of time, but eventu- 
 ally it must set us free as it has already accomplished this 
 end in the death of Christ. Truth may be recognized 
 by its fearless dependence upon God. It stands in the 
 very jaws of death and bids them contract. It is this 
 heroic element that wins the admiration of the world, 
 a late tribute in many instances, but a final vindication. 
 The entire subjection of life to either grace or truth to 
 the exclusion of one or the other produces a very one- 
 sided personality. The reason why Jesus Christ stands 
 forth as the only perfect personality clothed in human 
 form is because of the inclusion of grace and truth in 
 that personality in perfect balance. Alike the strength 
 and beauty of the life of Christ appeal to us. We are 
 fond of those pictures which properly blend the two. We 
 hang them upon our walls. We have them engraved 
 within our hearts. In holding intercourse with the 
 Father we approach Him through the Son. There is 
 
3o6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 nothing vague about this person of the God-man. We 
 have a distinct, tangible conception. It may be a bit 
 erroneous in each one of us because of our limitations 
 and our inability even to grasp the Grodhead incarnate, 
 but it is sufficiently clear to permit us to feel that we know 
 Him and knowing, love Him. He is real, incarnate, 
 living. We have no doubts upon this score. Our jour- 
 ney to the real center of the gospel lesson for this day 
 has been long and perhaps tedious to some, but it has 
 been a necessary journey for, after all, there is a close 
 connection between Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday 
 and we cannot grasp the significance of the person or 
 work of the Holy Spirit unless we consider Him in con- 
 nection with the Father and the Son. The journey, 
 though perhaps a bit tedious, has been over charted 
 routes. To how many of us is the discussion of the per- 
 sonality of the Holy Spirit a charted route? We engage 
 earnestly in singing the hymn which is so dear to us: 
 
 "Come, o come, Thou quickening Spirit, 
 
 Thou forever art divine: 
 
 Let Thy power never fail me, 
 
 Always fill this heart of mine : 
 
 Thus shall grace and truth and light 
 
 Dissipate the gloom of night." 
 
 Let us stop to analyze our feelings as we sing this hymn. 
 The line "always fill this heart of mine" seems to con- 
 vey our sentiment most adequately. We believe there is 
 an overshadowing by some mighty power, but further 
 than this we dare not advance. When asked for a 
 definition of the Holy Spirit we almost unconsciously 
 revert to the symbol of the dove or the symbol of the 
 tongues of fire. And yet we are clearly told these are 
 symbols. There is something more than the rushing of 
 a mighty wind. There is the presence and predominance 
 of personality. To this Jesus refers clearly in saying: 
 
WHITSUNDAY 307 
 
 "But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send 
 unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, 
 which proceedeth from the Father, He shall bear wit- 
 ness of me." We are coming to the point of it all. 
 Just as truly as I am to think of the Father and the Son 
 as persons, so also am I to look upon the Holy Spirit. 
 He has come into this world just as truly as Jesus has 
 come into it. He associated Himself with the indi- 
 vidual believer long before the great Whitsuntide out- 
 pouring just as truly as the Son revealed Himself to 
 prophets and saints of the old covenant. The Holy Spirit 
 is referred to by Job as Creator: "the Spirit of God has 
 made me." He is spoken of as present everywhere in 
 the Psalms. John looks upon Him as the author of the 
 new birth. The Acts of the Apostles record at length 
 His sphere in guiding and watching over the servants 
 of Christ. What has already been said of the person- 
 ality of Jesus applies with equal force to the person of 
 the Spirit. If we are taught to look upon Christ as the 
 embodiment of grace and' truth we are equally taught 
 to look upon the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. The 
 disciples are lonely without Christ. They are not suf- 
 ficiently strong to stand without support. We too are 
 lonely without Christ. We need someone to stand by 
 us. As the promise came to them it comes to us. As 
 they needed more than an abstract principle, we need 
 more than that. As feeUng or emotion would not suffice 
 for them, it will not suffice for us. The Holy Spirit is 
 constantly by our side. It is His unseen presence that 
 strengthens us in weakness, comforts us in sickness and 
 in sorrow, and restores to life powers that are nigh unto 
 exhaustion. This task of comforting is the feminine 
 power, as Spirit of truth He asserts His masculine 
 strength. In this capacity He strives with sinners. He 
 is vexed. He reproves the world. How terrible is the 
 judgment visited upon Ananias and Sapphira because 
 
3o8 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 they agree to tempt the Spirit of the Lord and how sting- 
 ing the rebuke of Peter: "Ananias, why hath Satan 
 filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?" If we are 
 to look upon the Holy Ghost as the person nearest to 
 us, for it is He Who leads to Christ just as truly as the 
 Son leads us to the Father, does that not change and 
 intensify our conception of Him? Does it not make us 
 love Him as we love our Lord Jesus? Does this not 
 prompt us to be co-workers with Him in bringing others 
 to Christ? 
 
XX'XVIII. 
 TRINITY SUNDAY. 
 
 John 3:3. 
 
 "Except one be born anew, he can not see the kingdom of God." 
 
 I 
 We read somewhere in the narrative of the first three 
 evangelists of a busy Galilean evening spent by Jesus 
 in healing the sick that were brought to Him. It is inter- 
 esting to compare that Galilean evening with the evening 
 spent in or near Jerusalem, the narrative of which is pre- 
 served for us by John. How true to the customs and 
 the life of the north and the south these two stories 
 are. In the story before us we are told that Jesus had 
 come to Jerusalem for the celebration of the passover. 
 On His arrival at the temple He found wholly unwar- 
 rantable and unjustifiable conditions, a picture of barter 
 and of trade instead of true sacrifice and true worship. 
 It took little time to decide what must be His program 
 under these circumstances. It took little time to drive 
 out both the animals and those who sold them. Drastic 
 action such as He engaged in immediately brought forth 
 from the Jews a challenge to prove His authority by a 
 sign, and Jesus answered them by saying, "Destroy this 
 temple, and in three days I will raise it up," speaking, 
 as we know, of the temple of His body. During His 
 sojourn in Jerusalem He manifested Himself by many 
 signs and we are told that many believed on Him. The 
 second chapter of John from which we have quoted and 
 which forms the prelude to the evening scene about to 
 be described, closes with the significant words "But Jesus 
 did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all 
 
 309 
 
310 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 men, and because he needed not that any one should 
 bear witness concerning man ; for he himself knew what 
 was in man." These words are a proper interlude lead- 
 ing us from the busy routine of the day to the medita- 
 tive seclusion of the evening. 
 
 We do not know where the conversation between 
 Jesus and Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a member of 
 the Sanhedrin, took place. Some have suggested it was 
 in the city itself, perhaps in the home of John, the nar- 
 rator of the incident; others say it was at Bethany, in 
 a home in which Jesus tarried during His southern Jeru- 
 salem sojourn. Whether in the city or out of the city 
 does not matter. Seated in the upper room, the guest 
 chamber, approachable by a staircase from the outside, 
 the Savior of men was accessible even during the hours 
 of the evening and the night to seekers after truth. 
 Nicodemus is such a seeker. He has overcome many 
 scruples in His willingness to come to Jesus. He has 
 placed himself in a rather compromising and dangerous 
 position. The storm is already lowering. There are 
 threatening clouds upon the horizon. The rulers of the 
 people have secretly discussed the person, the teaching 
 and the deeds of this strange man, who has appeared as 
 the Messiah. They have been unable to convince them- 
 selves concerning either Him or His message. The 
 statements of Nicodemus reveal as much. In spite of 
 the hostile attitude assumed by his colleagues Nicodemus 
 is anxious to investigate further, to have first-hand infor- 
 mation, and with this purpose in view he risks his pres- 
 tige and his standing with his colleagues and sets forth 
 on his secret embassy. The first thing of importance is 
 that truly seeking Jesus he finds Him and finds the 
 Rabbi, as he addresses him, willing to discuss his prob- 
 lem with him, perhaps not as he thought that problem 
 would be discussed, but far more thoroughly, far more 
 thoughtfully, far more earnestly. That Nicodemus 
 
TRINITY SUNDAY 311 
 
 realized the earnestness and the sincerity of Jesus is 
 manifest in his after life, of which two incidents are 
 recorded by John. The great question that agitated the 
 Sanhedrin in its thought concerning Jesus was voiced 
 by Nicodemus in his salutation: "Rabbi, we know that 
 thou art a teacher come from God." The Sanhedrin 
 was again confronted with the question of orthodoxy or 
 heterodoxy. Secretly it had admitted His orthodoxy and 
 rested its conclusion on His ability to do approved signs, 
 signs which in its opinion, no one could do except God 
 were with him. In answer to this salutation Jesus said: 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except one be born anew, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God." In the silence of 
 the night, disturbed only by the occasional whisper of 
 the wind, two persons are seated in that upper room by 
 the glimmering light, one of them the representative of 
 a light that faileth, the other Himself the Light that is 
 to lighten the world ; one of them already an aged man, 
 the representative of the old covenant, the other a young 
 man, the representative of the new covenant. The aged 
 man has come to place himself at the feet of the young 
 man. It may be interesting and helpful to follow the 
 conversation and back of that the thoughts of these two 
 representatives of covenants with God on the basis of 
 the introductory utterance of Jesus "Except one be 
 born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
 
 Nicodemus belonged to those Pharisees who though 
 they had gone forth into the desert to hear John and 
 though the message concerning the baptism unto repent- 
 ance had been addressed to them as well as to others, 
 held aloof from baptism itself, believing it to be humiliat- 
 ing and unnecessary for them as rulers of the people to 
 subject themselves to this, to them, superfluous act. 
 Luke tells us: "And all the people when they heard, 
 and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the 
 baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers re- 
 
312 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 jected for themselves the counsel of God, being not bap- 
 tized of him." They based the claims of the spiritual 
 life upon several considerations. They needed no single 
 act to bring about this covenant relationship for they 
 were the children of Abraham. Their insistence upon 
 this test was so pronounced and so conclusive to them, 
 our Lord believed it worth His while to point out the 
 fallacy of their argument. No blood-relationship, no 
 human ties. He would say to them constitute a legiti- 
 mate test of membership in the Kingdom of God. 
 Abraham himself would repudiate many of his children, 
 or rather the religion of many of his descendants, for his 
 religion was one of faith whereas their religion was one 
 of inheritance with other equally extraneous elements 
 added. And so Jesus would say to us there is an old 
 covenant attitude even today, the attitude of those who 
 have never fought the battles of the fathers, have never 
 thought their thoughts, have never attempted to live over 
 again their lives and yet are satisfied to be called chil- 
 dren of these heroes. Jesus would not repudiate the 
 past. He understood it in its relationship to the history 
 of the kingdom. He would do two things for the chil- 
 dren of His age and our age. He would emphasize its 
 proper appreciation and reject a false dependence upon 
 supposed inherited rights. 
 
 Nicodemus went a step farther. He not only re- 
 jected Christ's teaching concerning regeneration because 
 he was a descendant of Abraham, but also because he 
 had been trained in the Mosaic law. This law at all 
 times spoke to the conscience and heart of Israel. But 
 this law could not be grasped in its entirety by any one 
 man. least of all at the very beginning of his avowed 
 religious life. Orthodoxy to a man like Nicodemus de- 
 pended upon an appreciation of the Mosaic law. A 
 man of his mould and school could not speak of the new 
 life or the new birth save as a process. He who was 
 
TRINITY SUNDAY 313 
 
 most learned in the law and the prophets was, to a man 
 like Nicodemus, most religious. Hence a man might 
 gradually acquire holiness, the new life, the new birth, 
 but he could not suddenly be a new creature. You can 
 see how startling the answer of Christ was to a man so 
 trained. And again, Nicodemus though a Pharisee and 
 perhaps a bit at variance with the priestly class, never- 
 theless accepted Israel's sacrificial system. Now there 
 is such a great difference between the work religion into 
 which Israel had fallen through its sacrificial observ- 
 ances, many of which were not commanded by God, but 
 were superimposed by the priests and the religion of 
 which Jesus was the exponent that we must not deal too 
 harshly with Nicodemus for his inability at once to com- 
 prehend the radical change advocated by our Lord. Nor 
 does Jesus condemn his lack of comprehension, what He 
 does condemn is his lack of faith as He must condemn the 
 lack of faith in all those whose religion sinks to the 
 level of visible rites and ceremonials. Nicodemus stood 
 for signs. He admitted as much. He stood for the con- 
 version of religious life and experience into visible 
 proofs. The proof might have been the turning of 
 stones into bread, the outward demonstration of angelic 
 support in the performance of a wondrous feat, or even 
 the cure of the sick. The sign might have been a mere 
 token of power, able to satisfy the curious or confirm 
 the validity of the religion of Moses and Elijah. To a 
 man like Nicodemus, of course, the sign was a sign and 
 not all signs were held to be valid. He speaks of "these 
 signs" as peculiar and remarkable demonstrations of 
 power, but even to him there was too much of the purely 
 objective in it all. The signs and the religion had re- 
 peatedly been compared, but the signs and the religion 
 had not been applied to the individual in the deepest 
 needs of his heart and life. Jesus' answer to such as 
 Nicodemus is unequivocal. You need something more 
 
314 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 than signs, something more than work-righteousness, 
 something more than environment and heredity. You 
 need the Spirit. 
 
 Those who have studied the original text have de- 
 bated earnestly concerning the meaning of the word 
 which in our English translation is rendered anew. It 
 so happens that the word may mean either ANEW or 
 from above. Jesus undoubtedly had both ideas in mind 
 when He used the term. They are not mutually exclu- 
 sive. They supplement each other. They help us to 
 understand what Jesus meant. Here was an old man 
 before Him, a man trained in Israel's law, a man whose 
 test is that of sight. Jesus accepts the challenge. He 
 says to him: "Except one be born anew, he cannot see 
 the kingdom of God." He too would make of religion 
 a visible thing. The kingdom of God, according to 
 Jesus, can be seen, but not as Nicodemus desired to see 
 it. It can be seen only by a limited number of even 
 those who believed themselves to be its members. Jesus' 
 test as over against that of Nicodemus was the new 
 birth — the birth from above. Nicodemus' question in 
 answer to the reply of Christ proves again how com- 
 pletely he moves in the realm of the visible, the material, 
 the fleshly, how could he, an old man, begin life over 
 again if he would? The thing is simply impossible. 
 The thought which has dominated his mind concerning 
 his Abrahamic descent has filled him with ancestral 
 pride. His forbears have been worthy types. He has 
 not gone far enough back in working out the ancestral 
 tree. He has not included even some of his more imme- 
 diate ancestry. He has never thought of the question 
 of original sin or of human depravity in its baneful in- 
 fluences upon his life. The message of Jesus to His 
 age repeated over and over again is that true life does 
 not emanate from Abraham or from Moses, from sacri- 
 fice or self-mortification, but simply and solely from God 
 
TRINITY SUNDAY • 315 
 
 who sends His Holy Spirit into the hearts of men. 
 The new life made possible by Christ, the life that is to 
 be pictured in the season which begins today must itself 
 have a beginning and that beginning is neither our fleshly 
 birth nor our personal endeavor, however intense such 
 an endeavor may be, but the coming of the Spirit into 
 our life. This coming of the Spirit into the life of man 
 is unseen to the eye for that is the meaning of Jesus, 
 whether you render it "the wind blowing where it will" 
 or "the Spirit breatheth where it will." Undoubtedly 
 the revisers of the English Bible have acted wisely in 
 preserving the figure of the wind in the original, insert- 
 ing the supplementary reading in the margin. Nico- 
 demus has asked for signs. In the conversation of which 
 what is preserved to us is undoubtedly only a concise 
 summary, Jesus has spoken of earthly things which are 
 types of heavenly things. 
 
 He has spoken of the wind, one of the most marvel- 
 ous of God's agents. Have you ever stood with the 
 sailor whose duty it is to note the manifestations of this 
 unseen agent? He hears the voice thereof. He marks 
 the direction thereof. He notes its velocity. All these 
 things so utterly unintelligible to you and me are part of 
 his daily life and yet he has never seen this messenger. 
 He has seen its results, but the messenger has ever re- 
 mained unseen. This is a natural thing, illustrative of 
 a supernatural thing, the work of God's Spirit as He 
 goes about as His Messenger. Just as the sailor sees 
 the wind by faith so there are children of God who 
 see the Spirit and the manifestations of the Spirit and 
 thus see the Kingdom of God. Does this radical teach- 
 ing, as it appeared to Nicodemus, justify his drifting 
 from all moorings, his cutting loose from all human 
 associations? Suppose he accepts the definition of Jesus, 
 has he any right to lead the life of a mystic monk, shut 
 off from the world, or has he any right to disassociate 
 
3i6 SERMONS ON THE GOSPELS 
 
 himself from the visible church as the human counter- 
 part of the invisible Kingdom? Jesus again answers 
 the question: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except 
 one be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter 
 into the Kingdom of God." You may say the cleansing 
 by water was an individual act, not a corporate act. 
 Yes, that is true. Ezekiel emphasizes that when he says 
 of the old covenant ceremony: "Then will I sprinkle 
 clean water upon you and ye shall be clean; from all 
 your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse 
 you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit 
 will I put within you." He is speaking of Israel con- 
 jointly, but He is thinking undoubtedly of the individ- 
 uals who constitute the Israelitic people. And Paul says 
 to his young friend Titus, "According to his mercy he 
 saved us through the washing of regeneration and re- 
 newing of the Holy Spirit." But they who are thus 
 born of water and the Spirit, truly born of water and 
 the Spirit, are one and must seek to realize their oneness 
 even here and now. As we have already seen, Nico- 
 demus resisted baptism. His pride separated him from 
 those acknowledged by the Master to be his true chil- 
 dren. The direct testimony of Jesus is that the birth 
 of the Spirit is not sufficient. On the other hand. He 
 testifies that an outward rite or ordinance, however an- 
 cient and legally authoritative, will not do. He excludes 
 Israel after the flesh. He excludes fanatics after the 
 Spirit. 
 
 Is it not eminently appropriate that this lesson has 
 been selected for this day, a day on which we sum- 
 marize the teaching of the Sundays that have passed, a 
 teaching concerning God the Father who of His great 
 love gave His only-begotten Son, a teaching concern- 
 ing God the Son who was lifted up; "that whosoever 
 believeth may in him have eternal life" and a teaching 
 concerning the Spirit through whose grace we are 
 
TRINITY SUNDAY 31; 
 
 brought into fellowship with the Father and' the Son? 
 As we ponder upon the lessons of the festival half of the 
 church-year we pray that if we have not been born anew 
 God may send His Spirit into our hearts and bring 
 about a regeneration in our lives that shall permit us 
 to see the Kingdom of God. 
 

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