The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-16

Him to have lived on for centuries and for Him
to have been entirely exempted from death.
And so I say mortality is not the necessity of
humanity: and Jesus Christ may have been
thoroughly human, and yet had He seen fit to
exempt Himself from the law of death He might
have done Had it pleased Him, He might
still have walked this earth with the bloom OF
perpetual youth upon His cheek. stalwart, with
an undecayed manhood, the child of centuries
past and the heir of centuries to come But not
only did He assume the conditions of our human
ity, but He assumed the conditions of our NOR
tality, and consented to die. And this leads me
to say, still further upon the thought /
touched moment ago. that He did
so perfectly voluntarily-perfectly volun-
tarily. He preferred to die. There is
something wonderful in the scene of the
and all the heavenly inhabitants came down and
held converse with Jesus concerning His decease
which was to be accomplished at Jerusalem All!
1t seems to me if ever there was moment of SUI
preme temptation to the heart OF CHRIST, 1t was
at that moment, when the splendors of the unS
created glory were flashed upon him. When his
person became radiant with that lndescr1oabie
light, and when the heavens came down and
clothed that man with the splendor OF its
effulgence; when the glory He had with the
Father before the world was, was passing before
him again in panoramic vision! Oh! 1t seems
to me, that was one of the moments of supreme
temptation to Christ. when the gates were
opened and the flood of immortal glory flashed
on His vision, and the sounds of the angels was
in His ears, and all the glory ofimmortality was
passing before him. 1t needed but his own con-
sent when he could have passed from earth in
the cloud OF that glory, and, In the next instant,
He could have been seated on the
throne of grace, amid the acclaim of weleom-
ing angels, He need not have died. But no.
The other alternative was to go back into the
scenes of earth, and, in few days, turn his face
to Jerusalem and there submit to the shame and
infa1ny and agony of that terrible ordeal that
fn1 al niv,fh how nnE
the cross and close his eyes on the awful mys
terry of that tragic death. He preferred to die.
l say that Jesus Christ came into this world not
only for the purpose of dying, but that be chose
to die; and, so far from accepting it as painful
alternative so far from shrinking from 1t, he
even rejoiced in the privilege and the prospect
I am aware that in the awful ordeal of the gar
den OF Gethesmane, during those awful cries. and
during the physical suffering he there under
went--and mental perhaps, as well-that the
minstering angel came down to soothe and to
comfort him, and yet, never for u moment did
he faiter or entertain the thought of turning
back from the dread ordeal that he had entered
upon, and when, at last, he came to submit to
the great trial. with loud voice he yielded up
the ghost. He preferred to died. 1t was not
as q martyr; it was not because he was the vic
tim of the masterful conspiracies OF his
enemies; it was not because he was
subject to the ordinary laws of mortality Nay,
nay! For, as He himself tells u.s. at that very
moment when He stood before the august pres
ence of PLATE, the representative of the grand
est majesty on earth, He, at that moment,
needed but to whisper or express the wish, and
in an instant the cohorts of angels, summoned
by Heavens telegraph, would have gathered
around Him and have smitten the representative
of that empire unto death. Jesus Christ had the
power, and He needed but consent to use it; but
Jesus walked into glory in the presence of that
astonished crowd; and he preferred to die; and,
mark you, how in the memorial of that event,
which we call the Lords supper, we take the
bread and the wine. and we give thanks! Oh,
but make great mistake in going around
the table of the Lord with mournful vision,
and with standing hearts; we make great mis-
take in laying special emphasis upon the sor-
rowful and mournful emotions which we bring
around this table as She appropriate tribute and
the expression of our love for Christ. All the
Son of God gave thanks When the splendor of
all the glory flashing around Him, the Lord
gave thanks, and set His vision upon
the dark and mysterious chasm OF the home OF
the ,sicked. More than that, Jesus Christ, in
becoming o6eaient unto death, submitted to
death as an absolute aud exhaustive obedience
to the will of His father. Christ became obedi-
ent unto death, and | simply mean to say that
the death upon the cross was the -ssssa,lnaung
act of career of absolute subordination, ~
lated. says: ''That He should be equal with God
unto Himself" He disrobed and utterly
eviscerated Himself of any and every thing be-
longing to the independent personality of will,
and sunk simply in the absorbing works and
mysterious atmosphere of the Divine purpose
regarding man. II came not to do my own WILL
but the will of my Father"
In the grand philosophy of the doctrine of
the atonement of Christ there is modern the
ory from which, in some respects, l beg leave to
differ; that Jesus Christ performed two-fold
work in obedience; first, He had to live num-
Der of years in order to obey the law of God,
carrying into all the affairs OF life the obligations
of His nature so that the law of God was
obeyed in the details of human conduct, and
IN that way to secure our titles to tho reward
of obedience; and the other way is by dying, and
suffering the penalty through our trangreSsion,
and so performing the two-fold work. 1t seems
to me do not read the Scriptures in any such
way. / read the Scriptures as representing
Christ performing one simple act. and his life
and death is to be resolved simply by ono act.
1t was act of obedience to the will of God.
1t was not simply that he learned obedience by
the things he suffered. He suffered obedience by
the things he suffered. / know we read, by one
mans obedience many were made righteous.
True enough. By one mans obedience many
were made righteous. but the obedience was an
obedience unto death, and that, in that act of
dying Jesus Christ gives the eliminating proof
of the active subordnation of his will to the will
of His Father This commandment have re-
ceived of my Father: that should lay down my
life /, therefore, hesitate to teach that the
merit of the atonement of Christ is to be meas
ured as if it were two concerns one cup of
active Righteousness, and the other cup of
passive righteousness. He, in His grand per-
sonality, Himself submitted to the obedience
unto death, and, in that act. He achieved
our salvation; wherefore. says the epstle,
God has exalted Him. and has given Him name
which is above other name; and to-day the name
of Christ is over all things in heaven and earth
and things about the earth; and when you
transfer your thought to the glory Of the heav.
emily state beyond it. we read that the redeemed
hosts who are gathered together, of every nation
and people. kindred and tongue. joined in their
grand acclaim to Him that was slain--and not
Him who lived-but unto Him that was slain
and hath redeemed us to God by His blood.
That is the burden of the anthem of the song of
the redeemed; and SO, again. we read of the song
which the universe of intelligence aseribe to Him
who sits upon the throne, saying, with loud
voice, worthy the lamb that was sainn receive
honor, and power and glory; and every creature
which is in heaven, and on EARTH and under the
earth. and such as are here, say all Of them may
blessing. and honor. and glory and noyzer unto