The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1900-06-01

prepare wine for the company
Other kings rode in chariot; He
walked Other kings as they advance
have heralds and applauding sub
jects behind; Christ's retinue was
made up of sunburned fishermen.
Other kings sleep under embroidered
canopy; this one on a shelterless hill.
Riding but once, as far as I now re-
member, on colt-and that Dor
rowed
His poverty was against Him. It
requires money to build great enter
prises. Men of means are afraid of a
penniless protector, lest loan be de-
manded. 1t requires money to print
books, to build institutions, to pay in
structors. No wonder the wise men
of Christ's time laughed at this penni-
less Christ. ''Why," they said, "who is
to pay for this new religion? Who
is to charter the ships to carry the
missionaries? Who is to pay the sal
aries of the teachers? Shall the
wealthy. established religion be dis
comfited by penniless Christ ?" The
consequence was that most of the
people that followed Christ had moth
ing to lose. Afflue nt Joseph of Arima-
thea buried Christ, but he risked no
social position in doing that. It is
always safe to bury a dead man. Zac-
cheus risked no wealth or social posi-
ton in following Christ, but took a
position in a tree to look down as He
passed. Nicodemus, wealthy Nicode-
mus, risked nothing of social position
in following Christ, for he skulked by
night to find Him.
All this was against Christ. So the
fact that He was not regularly grad
uated was against Him. If a man
comes with the diplomas of colleges
and schools and theological semina-
ries, and he has been through foreign
travel, the world is disposed to lis
ten. But here was a man who had
graduated at no college. had not in
any academy by ordinary means
learned the alphabet of the language
He spoke. and yet He proposed to talk,
to instruct in subjects which had con-
founded the mightiest intellects. John
says: "The Jews marveled, saying:
How hath this man letters, having |
never learned?'" We, in our day, have |
found out that man without a di-
ploma may know as much as a man |
with one. and that a college cannot |
transform "a sluggard into a philoso-
pher or theological seminary teach |
a fool to preach. An empty head |
after the laying on of hands of the
presbytery is empty still But it |
shocked all existing prejudices in
those olden times for a man with no
scholastic pretensions and no gradu-
alton from learned institution to set |
up for a teacher. It was
against Him.
So also the brevity of His life was
against him. He had not. come to |
what we call midlife. But very few |
men do anything before 33 years of |
age, and yet that was the point at |
which Christ's life terminated The |
first Is years you take in nursery and |
school. Then it will take you six |
years to get into your occupation or
profession. That will bring you to |
81 years. Then it will take you ten |
years at least to get established in
your life work, correcting the mis-
takes you have made. If any man
at SO years of age gets fully estab-
lished in his life work he is the ex-
ception. Yet that is the point at |
which Christ's life terminated
: L imagine Christ one day standing
in the streets of Jerusalem. A man |
descended from high lineage is stand
ing beside Him and says: My father
was a merchant prince. He had a |
castle on the beach in Galilee. Who |
was your father?" Christ answers:
Joseph, the carpenter" A man from |
Athens is standing there unrolling his |
parchment of graduation and says to
Christ: where did you go to schol?"
Christ answers: 81 never graduated"
Aha, the idea of such an unheralded |
young man attempting to command |
the attention of the world! AS we'll |
some little fishing village on Long Is
land shore attempt to arraign New
York. Yet no sooner does He set His |
foot lin the towns or cities of Judea |
than everything is in commotion. The
people go out on picnic, taking only |
food enough for day, yet are so fas-
cinated with Christ that at the risk |
of starving they follow Him out into
the wilderness. A nobleman falls down
fat before him and says: my daugh-
ter is dead beggar tries to rub |
the dimness from his eyes, and says:
Lord. that my eyes may be opened"
poor. sick. painting woman presses
l