The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-02-22

But Peter broke the pause by saying,
with solemn emphasis: Thou art the
Christ of God.
We marvel that these words came to
Peter. They surely could not have
come to him from the events which had
recently marked the experience of Jesus.
All these events indicated, to the surface
vision, that Jesus was not the Christ.
There is some appearance of marvel even
in Jesus, that Peter, in the face of the
contrary suggestions. should make such
confession of faith. Blessed art thou,
Simon, SON of Jonah, he said, as Mat
thew reports: for flesh and blood hath
not revealed 1t unto thee, but my Fa.
Their achich is IN heaven.
Jesus thus acknowledges his own SON.
ship to God. and declares that when Pc
ter names him the Christ, he speaks by
inspiration of his Father.
z. Jesus Explains the Nature
of His MissiOn,-vs. 81. %.
Who was Peter at this moment? Man
ifestly the incarnation of the truth that
Jesus is the Christ. Upon this Peter,
literally Rock, Jesus declared that his
churce would be built.
Jesus prophesied that his church.
built upon himself as the Son of Man
and Son OF God, would endure through
the ages. The gates Of Hades, and the
- ~ I
would be indestructible.
Jesus, according to Matthew, further
declared to Peter as the pioneer of his
church: Whatsoever thou shalt bind
on earth shall be bound in heoUen;
achatsoever THAI shalt loose on earth
| shall be loosed in hedven. He tells
Them in phrasing common to the rab-
| bis, that his church will represent to the
world the eternal Justice and mercy of
Heaven.
Jesus deemed it prudent to charge the
disciples not yet to proclaim that Jesus
was the Christ. Such an announcement
would have speedily brought the Roman
hordes on his track, and set all the ma
lign forces in Jerusalem in activity
against them.
Jesus now began to tell his disciples
the astounding news that he was to es-
tablish his kingdom by suffering; that
his throne was to be cross; that he was
to be the victim, not the conqueror, of
the venomous priests and elders in Jeru-
salem; that he was to conquer death for
human faith, rather than Rome for Is.
rael's worldly ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
Peter, according to Matthew again be-
came spokesman for the Twelve: Be 1t
far from thee, Lord; this shall never be
unto thee. 1t was friendly, yet Of
course mistaken endeavor, to dissuade
Jesus from going to Jerusalem and offer
ing himself in martyrdom to the Gospel.
That Peter could see no wisdom in
such choice is to say Of him that he
judged as all would Judge who looked at
things with human eyes. What Jesus
proposed to do, by the standard OF hui
man experience, seemed supreme folly.
That Peter should say. literally, God
haze mercy on thee; it mast not be so
unto thee. indicates simply that the
wisdom of this world. in the Hottest
ranges then achieved, found utterance
through his tongue.
But the firm purpose of THE CHRIST.
his moral heroism which could never
really waver, impelled him to say to his
kindly meaning disciple: Get thee behind
me, Satan: thou art stumbling block
unto me: for thou mindest not the
things of God, but the things of men.
No eyes at this time save those of Je-
sus could discern the wisdom of the
cross.
3. Following Jesus in Cross
Bearing the only True Disciple
ship.-vs. 1927.
1t was the life-plan of Jesus, deliber-
ately chosen in his self-confiict in the
wilderness Matt. A: Ill; Luke A: 1-13),
to make an exclusively moral appeal to
the world; and to this end he abjured
all the temporal emoluments Of the Mes
siahship, refrained from all exercise OF
power based on force, refused to be the
pinnacle Of the temple" or the leader
OF the temple party, by any. even the
slightest. compromise with deception.
With clear foreknowledge he planned to
conquer and save the world by self
abnegation.
| And now, having announced himself
to be the Messiah, and such Messiah as
had never entered into the dream of the
Jews or the apostles, he completes his
communication, If any man rould
come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up has cross daily. and folloic
me. Jesus saw the cross to be the nat
ural end of his own life; his own daily
taking up of the cross was simply his
daily continuance in the course OF life
which more and more united against
him both the ecclesiastics Of the Jews
and the politicians of Rome, and made
essential crucifixion finally inevitable.
Those who followed him would have
their own crosses to bear.-that is, their
own temptations to selfshness and
worldliness to Withstand. To follow him
for what they hoped to get, would be