The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-06-02

y mi
cheus rlsked no wealth or social posi-
ton in following Christ, but took a
position in 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 semna-
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 di-
ploma may know as much as a man
with one, and that college cannot
transform a sluggard into a philoso-
pher or a 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
Himself up for teacher. 1t 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 80 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 33 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.
I 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 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: II never graduated. y
Aha, the idea of such an unheralded
young man attempting to command
the attention of the world! AS well
some little fishing village on Long Is
land shore attempt to arraign New
York. Yet no sooner does He set His
| foot in the towns or cities of Judea
than everything is in commotion. The
people go out on picnic, taking only
food enough for a 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
fiat before him and says: "My daugh
ter is dead" A beggar tries to ruiz
the dimness from his eyes, and says:
Lord, that my eyes may be opened
A poor, sick, painting woman presses
through the crowd and says: 81
must touch the hem of His gar
ment." Children who love their
mothers better than anyone else
struggle to get into His arms, and
to kiss His cheek, and to run their
fingers through His hair, and for all
time putting Jesus SO in love with
the little ones that there is hardly a
nursery in Christendom from which
He does not take one, saying: Il must
have them. | will fill Heaven with
these, for every cedar that I plant in
Heaven / will have so white lilies. In
the hour when / was poor man in
Judea they were not ashamed OF Me
and now that / have come to throne
l do not despise them. Hold it not
back, o weeping mother! Lay it on
my warm heart. Of such is the King
dom of Heaven"
Again l remark there was no or
ganization in His behalf, and that was
against Him. When men propose
any great work, they band together
they write letters of agreement, they
take oaths of fealty, and the more
complete the organization the more
and complete the success. Here was
one who went forth without any or
ganization and alone. If men had a
mind to join in His company, all right;
if thew had a mind not to join in
His company, all well. If they came,
they were greeted with no loud sal
utation; if they went away, they were
sent with no bitter anathema. Peter
departed, and Christ turned and
looked at him, that was all.
All this was against Him. Did any
one ever undertake such an enter
prise amid such infinite embarrass-
ments and by such modes? And yet
am here to say it ended in a com
plete triumph. Notwithstanding His
worldly occupation, His poverty, His
plain face, His unpretentious garb-
the fact that He was schoolless, the
fact that He was not accompanied by
any visible organization-notwith-
standing all that, in an exhilaration
which shall be prolonged in everlast-
ing chorals He declared: 81 have fin
ished, the work which Thou gavest Me
to do"
See Him victorious over the forces
of nature. The sea is crystal sep
ulcher. 1t swallowed the Central
America the president and the Span