The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-19
THE SAVIOR'S BOYHOOD.
7ALMAeg ON THE YOUTH OF CHRIST.
The Life OF Jesus as Village Lad Re-
viewed = Early Impressions That
Brought Results in Mankind-Re-
Hgious Thought and Notes.

last Sunday morning, and preached an
interesting sermon on the boyhood Of
Jesus Christ, which was heard by as many
people as could get into the tabernacle.
The text was:
And the child grew and waxed strong
in spirit, filed with wisdom; and the
grace of God was with him.-Luke ii, 40,
About Christ as a village lad l speak.
There is for the most part a silence more
than eighteen centuries long about Christ
between infancy and manhood. What
kind of boy was he? Was he genuine
boy at all, or did there settle upon him
from the start all the intensities of mar
tyrdom? We have on this subject only
little guessing, a few surmises, and here
and there an unimportant perhaps.
Concerning what bounded that
bovhood on both sides we
have whole libraries OF books and
whole galleries of canvas and sculpture.
Before the infant Christ in Mary's arms,
or taking his first sleep in the rough out
house, all the painters bow, and we have
Paul Veronese's "Holy Family" and Pc
rugino's Nativity" and Angelica da Fie-
soles Infant Christ" and Rubens'
Alteration of the Magi" and Tintoret's
,..Adoration of the Magi," and Chiriando-
JOS Alteration Of the Magi, and Ra-
phael's Madonna" and Orcagua's MA
donna" and Murillo's Madonna" and
Nadonnas by the schools of painting in
all lights and shades, and with all styles
Of attractive feature and impressive sur
roundings, but pen and pencil and chisel,
have with few exceptions passed by
Christ the village lad. Yet by three con-
joined evidences l think we can come to
as accurate an idea Of what Christ was as
2 boy as we can of what Christ was as
man.
First, we have the brief bible account.
Then we have the prolonged account of
what Christ was at thirty years of age.
Now YOU have only to minify that account
somewhat and you find what he was at
ten years OF age. Temperaments never
change. 4 sanguine temperament never
becomes a phlegmatic temperament. A
ferrous temperament never becomes a
1ymphatic temperament. Religion changes
ones affections and ambitions, but it is
the same old temperament acting in diff
ferent direction. As Christ had no re-
ligious change, he was as a lad what he
was as man, only on not so large scale.
When all tradition and all art and all his
tory represent him as a blonde with
golden hair l know he was in boyhood a
blonde.
We have, beside, an inspired book that
was for the first three or four centuries
after Christ's appearance received by
many as inspired, and which gives pro-
longed account OF Christ's boyhood.
Some of IL may be true, none of it may be
true. It may be partly built on facts, or,
by the passage of ages, some real facts
may have been distorted. But because
book is not divinely inspired we are not
therefore to conclude that there are not
true things in it. Prescott's Conquest of
Mexico" was not inspired, but We believe
II, although it may contain mistakes.
Macauley's History of England was not
inspired, but we believe it, although
IL NAV have been married with
many errors. The so-called apocryphal
gospel in which the bovhood of Christ is
dwelt upon I do not believe to be divinely
inspired, and vet it may present facts
worthy OF consideration. Because it rep
resents the boy Christ as performing mir
scles some have overthrown that whole
sprocryphal book. But what right have
YOU to say that Christ did not perform
miracles at ten years of age as well as at
thirty? He was in boyhood as certainly
divine as in manhood Then. while lad
he must have had the power TO work mir
acles, whether he did or did not work
them. When, having reached manhood,
Christ turned water into wine, that was
Eaid 10 be the beginning of miracles. But
hal ma hat fxroc ho har
Of that series of manhood miracles.
IN word, l think that the new tesla
raent is only a small transcript of what
Jesus said and did. Indeed, the bible de-
clares positively that if all Christ did and
said were written, the world would not
contain the books. So we are at liberty
TO believe or reject those parts OF the apo
cryphal gospel which say that when the
boy Christ with his mother passed band
Of thieves he told his mother that two of
them, Dumachus and Titus by name,
would be the two thieves who afterward
would expire on crosses beside Him. Was
that more wonderful than some OF Christ's
manhood prophecies? Or the uninspired
story that the boy Christ made fountain
spring from the roots of sycamore tree
so that His mother washed His coat in the
stream-was that more unbelievable than
the manhood miracle that changed common
water into marriage beverage? Or the
uninspired story that two sick children
were recovered by bathing in the water
where Christ was washed? Was that
more wonderful than the manhood
miracle by which the woman twelve years
a complete invalid should have been made
straight BY touching the fringe of Christ's
coat2
In other words, while do not believe
that any Of the so-called apocryphal new
testament is inspired, ] believe much of it
Is true just as / believe thousand books,
none OF which are divinely inspired.
Much Of il was just like Christ. Just as
certain as the man Christ was the most OF
the time getting men out of trouble, |
think that the boy Christ was the most Of
the time getting boys out OF trouble. 1
have declared to you this day boys
Christ. And the world wants such one.
He did not sit around moping over what
was To be, or what was. From the way
in which natural objects enwreathed
themselves into his sermons after he had
become a man l conclude there was not a
rock or hill or cavern or a tree for miles
around that he was not familiar with in
childhood. He had cautiously felt his
way down into the caves, and had, with
1.-the and agile limb, gained a poise on
many high tree-top. His boyhood was
passed among grand scenery, as most all
the great natives have passed early life
among the maintains. They NAV live