Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-28
spitefully entreated and spitted on, and they
snail scourge Him and put Him to death"

oh@i scOurBe lin anu put 1lin w uo"sA,
ZEBEDEE's TWO SONS.
The two sons of Zebedee make their foolish
request They want the best places In Chrfsts
kingdom. They want to sit on the right hand
and on the left Of Christ's throne. 30 destitute
OF understanding are theyl Christ answers:
"fe know not what ye ask. Are ye able to
drink of the cup that shall drink, and to be
withf'
precious ointment on the Masters feet.-for
my burying," he says, for me ye nave not
always with you."
Thus Christ looked forward toward the cross.
Along the path of his life lay the black
shadow. But to Christ the cross was not only
fact to be faced; 1t was more than that 1t
was an event to be dreaded. l want to make
that plain. That is the second characteristic
of our Lords thought about his death. which
ask you to think about
II have baptism to be baptized with" he
said once. land how am l straitened till It be
accomplished" That was long time before
the day of the cross. AS the day draws near
that sense of foreboding increases. He
sits at the table on the eve Of
the morrow, and Is troubled in spirit"
Presently, He comes into the Garden of Geth-
semane, and a great and mysterious terror rails
upon Him. LET not your hearts De troubled,
about Him; peace I leave with you. my peace
l give unto you; not as the world glveth give
l unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid"
THE SAVIOR IN GETHsEMANE.
But now the Masters heart is troubled; fear
overshadows Him; there Is no peace for Him.
HE began to be sorrowful," says Matthew.
He began to be sore amazed" saws Mark.
my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto
death" He says Himself to the three nearest
ones whom He has taken with Him. That
ofrnrx Is "a, 1f
petition again and again repeated,
of sweat like great drops of
blood follow. Christ falls upon His face
beneath the olive trees of Gethsmane. The
woe Of death approaches The cross. long
looked forward to, is now close at hand. Already
the traitor has set out across the bridge of
Kedron. 20 my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as
will, but as Thou wilt''
Now, 1 do not need to tell you that Jesus
Christ was brave. No woe-and He had ex-
perlence of many-ever caused Him amoment's
terror. No threat of men who sat in thrones
OF power frightened Him. Not even the woes
OF the day of crucifxon the arrest the trials be.
fore priest and governor, the insults of servants
and soldiers, the forsaking of friends, the spit
ting, the bloodthiTsty shouts of the multitude
the public scourging, nor the cross itself.
broke for an instant His brave and calm
composure. Jesus Chris was physically and
morally courageous But here Is a mysterious
terror. Not after this fashion do the good and
the brave face death. With no such sinking of
the heart as this did the Apostles contemplate
their martyrdom. St Paul. waiting the time
OF his departure in the prison at Rome, writes
letter full of Christian cheerfuness and
reslgnation and hope. He is ready to be
offered" How different from that agonizing
cry beneath the shadow of the olives of Geth-
semane! Christ, it is plain, looked forward
toward the cross with mysterious dread.
THE REASON FOR IT.
Finally, we come to the third characteristic
of Christ's thought about Ills death: there was
''cause' He said, which brought Him to that
hour; there was reason for His death; there
was great purpose to be wrought out by it.
What was that purpose? Step by step
our Lord reveals it. 1.-THE Son of Man must be
lifted up" He said at the beginning. "That
whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life." II am the good
shepherd" He said at another time. 1.-THE
good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"
"The Son of Man came not to be ministered
unto" He said again, "but to minister, and
to give his life ransom for many"
Evidently. taking Chrlst's own words. the
purpose of His death was our good. somehow
He died for us. This might explain why He
looked forward to it so continually throughout
His ministry as the supreme act of His life.
Many things He was doing for us every day He
lived. but this was to be the chief of all. He
was to die for us. Only the dread that He felt
remains still unexplained. If His death were
greater love hath no man than this''-why
then had He that mysterious foreboding about
itS Is there no word further which can tell us
that3
The Lord and HIS apostles sit together at
the table on the night in which he was betrayed.
He appoints them a memorial of Himself.
This they are to do when He is gone, in His re-
membrance. He sums up into single sem
tence that which He wishes those who love
Him to especially remember about Him He
wants them to remember that He died for
them.
IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.
The service which He sets them is a COM
memoration of His death. The broken bread,
the wine shall be a reminder of His broken
body and His shed blood This is NY body
which is given for you;" 'this is My blood
which is shed for you and for many"-but there
is word more. Why is the body broken and
the blood shed! Why does Christ die? For
the remission of SINS" Ah here is the great
secret brought in o the light Here is the last
word of our Lords own revelation of the mean
ing of His death. This is why Christ died
that we might have our sins forgiven.
Now we begin to understand that mysterious
foreboding. 1t was the burden of worlds
sin beneath which Christ was bowed down in
the Garden. 1t was the black cloud of our
transgressions which, upon the cross, came IN
between the soul of Christ and the light of the
love of God, until He cried ''Why hast Thou
torsaken me?" We begin to understand all
thar. surely, He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniqui-
ties. And We, like sheep, have gone astray, we
have turned every one to his own way. and the
Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of US ALL"
That is what the death of the Savior signifies
That Is the Interpretation which is set upon it
died that we might be forgiven.
LESSON OF THE LIFE.
1t is not the life of Christ that saves us from
m L. u.c.
to the end is a elp against the strength of sin.
That is true 1t sets us an example full OF in
spiration. 1t teaches US the love of God, and
His wish that we should keep His law. 1t tells
us what that law is. and by deed and word, by
miracle and parable, it urges and persuades us
to the keeping of it. 1t makes us ashamed of
our sins. 1t gives US hope.
The life of Christ, preached in the hearing of
sinners, has all these centuries been turning
men from darkness to light, touching mems
hearts, leading them to repentance and SO
effecting the forgiveness of SINS
But there is something very different about
the death of Christ. Christ never assures u.s.
nor do His apostles after Him, that by His
birth we have forgiveness of our sins, or that
by the example of His life we have salvation
from our sins 1t is HIS death which saves us.
'Chrst died for our SINS" He suffered for our
sins the just for the unjust" "The blood of
Jesus Christ. Gods son, cleanseth US from all
SIM" "This is my blood which is shed for you
anu IOr many LOT Lne remission OF SINS"
That is what want to tell you. The Chris
rian Interpretation of that blessed death was
not invented by the theologians. was not con-
ucred out of the imagination of the apostles
1t was declared by Christ himself. That death
toward which our Lord through all His life
looked forward toward which he looked with
such mysterious fOreboding. and which was at
tended by that strange loss of the sight of the
face of God,-that death wrought out the su-
preme purpose of the Saviors mission. He
died that we might have forgiveness for our
sins. GEORGE HODGES.
THEIR PLUMAGE TOO BRIGHT