The herald., 1895-12-30

Yesterday morning, the pastor OF Unity
church, j. S. Thomson, preached sermon
in answer to the question, Was the Cruel
fixion of Christ a Loss to Humanity? from
the text, Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I
might take it again. John 10:l1.
In part Mr.. Thomson said:
After Christ had assumed the moral and
spiritual functions of the Messahship, he
charged his disciples that they should tell
no man that he was Jesus the Christ; but
his disciples and those whom he cured
published abroad that he was the Messiah.
Many results followed the publication.
John the Baptist asked Christ if he were
the Messiah. He was requested to be "a
Judge and divider' among them. They al
tempted to make him king by force. He
entered Jerusalem as the son of David. He
cast the traders out of the temple. he
told Plate that he was the king of the
Jews, in the religious sense. Some people
dreaded revolution that might involve
the nation in disaster. The speech of
Caiaphas, the high priest, shows that sucn
a revolution was possible. The innocent
people would suffer much, if Christ would
not Law down his life for the sheep. He
should die for the nation. But he did no.
seem 10 court the means of death which
were so frequently offered to him. When
he saw that the storm OF per-
secution was gathering fast, and
that loyalty TO truth, conscience, and
love would not permit him to escape any
more, he sought means for protecting him
self. He ordered his disciples to buy
swords. to accompany him to a secluded
garden, TO guard all approaches TO 1t and
to pray for strength and bravery TO do
their duty. He prayed as no man ever
prayed to have the cup of death removed.
He aroused his diciples from their SUM-
"a tt1f- foh will
him an hour, but they slept and the officers
discovered his hiding place and proceeded
to arrest him. Then some of the diciples
s,note Maichus with the sword, according
to the orders of Christ. 1t soon appeared
that it was useless to resist the officers,
and Christ told them not to use their
swords any more. Does not all this show
that Christ did not insist upon being muir
dered by his enemies? If he came TO this
world chiefly to die and if that were Gods
intention i'll sending him to earth, why did
Christ pray to escape? Why did he de-
fend himself? Why did he depart into
Galiiee when John was cast into prison?
Why did he escape when the Nazarenes
attempted to kill him? Why did he hide
himself when the Jews took up stones to
cast at him in the temple: Why did he
keep his Messahship secret and escape
out of the hands of his ene-
mics so often if his object in coming TO
our world were to die? If he knew that his
death were to save a part of the race. why
did he pray to escape his destiny? Christ
did not come to our earth to be murdered.
He did not wish to die. He never said that
he desired to be sacrificed. He regarded
his death as a misfortune. and he strove
to avoid il. He was forced to die. He was
a victim Christ had the sanest soul, the
truest conscience. the purest moives, the
bealthiest life, and the highest qu4lifica-
tons for enjoying nature, friendships,
duty. and life. He was not morbid and I'M
natural. coveting to die before his time.
Catholic and Protestant martyrs rejoiced
to die; but Christ had no unnatural desire
for an unnatural death. lie did all that
wisdom and conscience had suggested to
! save his life; but. when loyalty to truth,
justice and love required him TO face his
enemies and the penalties OF his mission,
He did not try to evade his position. But
he laid down his life in order that he
might take il again. He surrendered His
lower life for the sake of his higher life.
He lived the doctrine which he preached l.:
- He thai love.h his life shall lose it. and
he that hatch his life in this world shall
keep it unto life eternal" "For the joy
set before him, he endured the cross" If
Christ had had q full and natural old age,
his life might have been another
revelation OF human life. In that case, he
could also have risen from the dead. Il it
were not undigniied for him to be a weak,
arms, neither would it have been undigni-
fed for him to have been an old man, like
Moses, tull Of life and strength. There is
no proof in the constitution of the human
body Tia at God ever made a man to die in
his youth, or in middle life. Ignorance,
sin and disease kill people before their
time. Neither prema ure death nor muir
der seems 10 be Gods intention in the ere
alton of man. We are saved by Christ 5
life and gospel. In the Bible. blood signi-
ties life. Christ consecrated his life to the
mission which God gave him. He fulfilled
all the dreams and prophecies of the race
in his own life and character He destroyed
the power and fear of death by his resur-
rection and by showing how the human
soul can gain the sense of immortal life. of
eternal life, in this world. The four gospels
contain all the laws and principles of re-
ligious and moral truth in the world.
Chrst's life and gospel save us. and no
one can make his death an excuse or a
punishment for his sins. 1t is not cow
ards castle for those who do not follow