Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-05-15


/. Commissioned by Christ, the twelve
Apostles travelled over the length
and breadth of Judea and Gaulea,
preaching and prOclaiming Jesus
as the long-expected Messiah. To
confirm their mission the Lord gave them
power to perform miracles. They healed
diseases, restored the afflicted and cast
outdevils, doing al IN the name OF Christ
in confirmation Of his power and presence
IN earth.
The context of the passage before US
shows that on 3 certain occasion john the
beloved disciple Of Christ, On MS way
with some other apostles through Judea,
found q man casting out devils in the
name of Jesus, The man was q stranger.
He was not of the twelve; neither belonged
he to the seventy. John never saw him
with Christ, nor among his followers and
now to find him actually casting out
devils, exercising the highest power and
prerOgRtive offs disciple. II must not be.
The zeal ofJohn Is aroused, and in the
spirit Of a true partisan, be p~eremptOrily
orders the stranger to desist. He doubt
less gives force to his prohibition by show
ing that be is an apostle of Christ-One of
his bosom friends, and that Il is wrong
and inful for On5 not q chosen follower
to thus assume authority and power.
We can well conceive the emotions of
the lone worker in the name of Jesus.
Here are men and followers of Christ
men who love Christ, who have lefG all to
follow him, and surely they viii gladly
greet him as one who knows the power Of
Jesus name. Alone amid the multitude he
has spoken for Chris, shown his power and
doubtless a thrill of joy fills his heart as
he sees approach fell~Ow-la63rers more
blessed still tbsn be, in being always with
the Master. All. how his heart closes! how
his 10Y freezes at its source as ne listens to
the reprimand, the censurs, The prohibit
ton, where he had every reason to expect
brOtherly love and affection. What a re-
vulsion Ct feeling sweeps over his SOUL
The mans heart is TOO iull of SORROW to
speak. No word Of his in reply is on re-
cord. Silently he turns away, a thou
sand times more alone than ever. He
makes no defense. What can he say to
men so closely associated with Christ?
His brave spirit is broken; mis- faith is
rudely shaken, for he msant well and la
bored for the Lord, whom he had, doubt
less, heard and learned to love, when. as
one OF a vast multitude, he listened to His
teachings of love aud truth. And so, with
q bowed down head End troubled soul, he
pursues his cheerlsss way, burdened with
that heaviest grief-the rebuke and insult
of q friend.
THE CONDUCT OF JOHN
on this occasion seems very harsh, espe-
cially when we remember his general
character. He was the disciple whom
Jesus loved, the gentle, faithful John,
who, of all the followers, was the only one
to see the Master through the last bitter
humiliation, when men and devils
heaped on His holy brow all the
shame and cOntumely Ct hendish
malice and mockery. If Peter acted thus
we might not be astOnishsd; but John, it
seems so strange. There is a deep heart
I T----- - - h--aL.A-- ~ - -
eve ready to turn our love for Christ into
evil channels; to prostitute il to the zssl
/ of partisansbip or downright bigOtry,
Wisely has the spirit recorded this fact,
that in future ages men should mark the
temptation and beware Of it. Nor should
we be severe on John for fOrbidding this
witness of Christ to work no more mira
cles. Had ne not what in modern times
among most Christian communities,
would be considered good and Weighty
/ ressOnsG Here was a mau se~lf-sppOinted,
so to speak, a stranger, never ordained
by Christ; q man belonging neither to
apostles nor disciples; behold him exer-
cising the highest powers Of an apostle.
Was it not natural for John to consider
the apOstleship invaSed2 Should be not
as an apostle, commissioned by the Lord,
discOunten8nCe and denOunce all intru-
ders7 SO he thought. He believed be
WAS right in acting IS he did, and truly
he had more show Of right on his side
than the intOlersnt bigOts Of most Chris
tian denominations Of the present day,
who see no followers Of Christ beyond
their pale.
History is studded with numerous in
stances of manifestation of this spirit
pushed to an extreme far beyond Johns
idea. We perceive the germ of that spirit
OF persecution as early as the third cen
tury.
ITS CONSEQUENCES.
Emperor Constantine flung the folds Of
the imperial robe OF Rome round the re-
ligiOu Of Jesus Of Nazareth, thus rObbing
it of its reality, tor the Master had plain
ly stated Ny kingdom is not Of his
world" Since then what rivers Of blood
and heaps Of ashes have sent up their ST
lent witness to Heaven against the fearful
persecution of the witnesses Of Jesus;
who would not follow the popular foot
steps Of organized systems engrafted or
the pure faith Of Christi o, the grOans Of
the NoVstions of that early age come down
to US yet on the stream of time. The
mangled, bruised and murdered forms Of
the A~lbigenses and Waldsuses rise before
us in CHASTITY witness Of cruel, red-handed
intolerance,
The dark forests of Bohemia are fraught
with records of the msrtyred brethren
who loved the Lord and followed His
teachings TO the death. The plains Of Eng
and have their dread memories OF the
slaughtered LOllards. The hills and glens
of Scotland tell OF the butcbered COyen-
anters hunted down and slain by Protest
ant England. Later still the imprisoned
Bunyan, gagged for twelve years lest he
should preach Jesus, Qroclaims the same
story. Aye, and in this N ~ world Of ours
little over a century ago, faithful follow
ers OF the Master were whipped, fined and
imprisoned for preaching the GOSPEL
Of the o Of God. EvOking
the genius of 4 Patrick Henry in defense
of The inherent right of man to do so as
conscience dictated, I turn away in hOr-
ror from the dark images evoked by UGH
COnsideratiOEs-fOr they were ali, my
brethren, perpetrated in the name of Js-
sus, and under preteXt Of fOrbidding un-
recognized followers from speaking in his
name. On! the glorious lives sacrificed
On the altar Of this crue bigOtry! Sscri-
iced, alasl by almost every powerful re-
ugious system Of Christendom.
THE CRIME OF IT.
Omitting much, l pass to the second
consideration involved in my texG, name
ly; The -disapproval of the Master, and
His reprOOt of the spirit Of sxcIusirism,
Ia its earlteast stage and most plausible
shape.
Flushed, doubtless, with self-important
zeal, John returns to Christ, and in a sat
isied spirit nsrrates the circumstance to
Him. But as he speaks, I can easily con-
celvo the shades of sorrow hat sweep
across the Lords face. Here He sees the
FIRST effort of unauthorized human judg-
meuJ undertaking to pronounce on the
qualifications OF the witnesses OF Christ,
and IN the vista of the future He sees at q
glance the dread results Of that evil prin-
cipl6, in letters of blood and fire.
He speaks. Once for all He settles the
question in tho minds Of those who fol
low Him il truth and simplicity. II men
will act thus in His name, Christ will not
c-Ount6nsnce IL. Simply, but with ire
sistible force, He says; Forbid him
noE." Plain, unmistakable words these
behold He speaks further, +" for he /
that is not against as is on our psrtI "a
What blessed and broad Hberality is
herei Whist utter absence Of sectaTian-
What precious freedom and en-
enlargement to every poor lone follower
who desires to speak a word for Jesus, |
whom be loves even outside the man
made systems and rings of priestcraft
and ecclesissticism, with their religious
titles, garments and drapery.
AS a hard COiler from the smoky, bust
ling city on ascending a mountain, drinks
in pure, refreshing air, and feels new life
and energy in the bracing b~reezes, so does
the sincere follower Of the Maste r feel re-
treshing life here at the feet of the Savior
be listens to this blessed and pure
teaching, This noble truth it was that
Frightened the dark prison cell and
the iery flames of their terror in
by-gOne days; this it is that cheers as on
to-day 10 proclaim the name Of Christ
seeking permission from the
world and its systems.
The only stipulation made by Christ
was that the follower was working for
Him. Marx my brethren, for Christ, not
or this system or that, for this leader or
hat teacher, but for Christ. That was the
,aIwr u,uEfaaratfnn vph mvharaunn owI