The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-20

Between John and the apostles of
Jesus there was a wide difference. The
apostles went everywhere with the mes
sage of Jesus, the message Of a trium-
plant cause; and wherever they went
the cause triumphed. OF course they
suffered, but what cared they about suf-
fering; it was the lot of the soldier of
Christ, and if they died it was with the
cross before them. John had to work in
the desert, in the companionship Of wild
beasts, with nothing but the strength
of his powerful convictions to sustain
| him; and no visible results of his work
! to urge him on. John was alone and
when he died, he died, died never hav-
| ing had any hand in the battle that was
| to be.
| John never allowed himself to be in
toXicated by popular applause, the great
danger of men of all nations who figure
in the public eye. Oh, gentlemen, is
there anything so sad as the decadence
of prophet when a man with mes
sage to deliver becomes intoxicated with
the weight of the message he carries and
allows himself to think himself greater
than his Master John never allowed
himself to think that way. 49, the Mes
siah, he said, Never!" II, the Elijah,
not" II, a prophet, nor but bye and bye
the Master told him what he was.
When Jesus came it was the moment
of great joy in Johns life; but it was
also a moment of great sorrow. He
could preach of the Messiah, and when
He came He could send him apostles,
but his very life separated him from
that Messiah toll n
ascetic Of the desert and make him His
apostle, But 1t was great suffering to
the man to leave his work For John af-
ter Jesus had come had finished his
work, and his death came at the right
time, at the end Of his work. When a
mans work Is done in the world let him
die, and John was perfectly satisfied to
die.
! speak not of Johns temptation.
When people looked out and saw Jesus
succeeding, while John was silent; they
hated John because he had told the
truth. When the difference became
plain between Jesus and John they
went to John and said, What about
Jesus now? You have honored Him
and the apostles have gone to Him.
What about Him now?" Have you
ever seen the good In man when 9TH
ers failed to do so. seen a man succeed
as you prophesied he would, and even
greater, while you fell into shadow;
seen it and still retained your faith in
him and praised him? If So you can
understand John.
But they did not understand John.
He turned on them. Yes" he said.
Did not say He would be great and
isn't He greater than L ever imagined?"
John was an ascetic and lived his life
alone. For him there was no woman,
no love, no marriage, no children. He
lived his life in purity with his faith
for a companion. A man with a heroic
magnanimus soul; that was John. But
before he died John had other works
to do.
There Is one name, of one man, the
worst of all the miscreants of the New
Testament, and I don't exactly except
Judas Iscariot. and that is Herod.
Herod, afraid of all but sin, a petty
Nero, tickle, shameful and weak, as
weak as King John of English History.
He couldn't terrify John, so he put
him in prison. In a university as not
ed for its learning as this, I think you
cannot fail to understand John in this
part of his life, Bedouin of the desert,
whose whole body was trained in the
sight of nature, was taken out of
the air and put in dungeon. He lost
sight of nature and his lungs lost their
power, while the confinement of the |
body got upon the SOUL and when this |
happens the soul gets into trouble So
1t did with John, and I don't wonder at
it. AS he sits in his cage of evil he
begins to ask questions. "Here / am,
and 1 don't mind that l am here, for 7 |
told the truth Elijah suffered and I |
must suffer But Christ, He does not |
suffer: He eats and drinks and ban
CIJatc while T CT barn IN 1,,n