The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-02

to understand the Christ and abide in His
light.
With the description of the large tele-
scope came also the mention of the
small or finding telescope" which is
usually used first. The finding glass
gets a general idea of the part of the
heavens in which the star Is located, but
the large glass reveals the hidden knowl-
edge the small glass could never know.
The movement of the earth turning the
telescope away from the point in the
heavens where the desired star was ly-
ing was used as an illustration of the
power of temptation.
l. The machinery or clock work which
lcounteracted the movement of the earth
was used to illustrate the church
mechanism and the ordinary duties of
daily Bible reading and prayer and sys-
tematic helpfulness as an absolute ne
cessity to counteract other tendencies
CENTRAL UNION CHURCH. =,
At Central Union Church Sunday morn
ing the pastor, Rev. VIM. NJ. Kincaid,
took for his text John ii:49-50, and one
of them, named Caiaphas being the high
priest that same year, said unto them, Ye
know nothing at all, nor consider that it
is eXpedient for us, that one man should
die for the people, and that the whole
+ nation perish not And this he spake not
OF himself; but being high priest that
year he prophesied that Jesus should die
for that nation: and not for that nation
only, but that also He should gather to-
gether into one the children of God that
We're scattered abroad"
The significance of Caiaphas is briefly
this: that he is a man who is bitterly OPP
posed to Christ, yet he bears witness for
Him. He announces one of the divinest
principles ever uttered that it is expe-
dent that one man should die for the
people: yet he fails to see the very Lamb
of God who stands before him. He rec
ogniZes that great principle as solemn
and binding just as we recognize the
principle that self-denial is noble and
self-sacrifice is a common Christian du-
ty; but he goes no further, just as we go
no further. And in all this Caiaphas is
nothing more than a type of millions:
of poets who steal the phrases of Christ
and mock His name: Of statesmen who
adorn their orations with the beatitudes
of Christ, and yet pass the most IN
Christian laws; of crowds of worshippers
who sing the noblest sentiments and list
en- with rapt attention to passionate ap-
peals, and approve the sermon on the
Mount, but who would suspect themselves
of instant insanity If they once attempt
ed to reduce its noble axioms to the test
of common life. I want you to notice
mat oaldpHdS StdnUS before US IN IRIS
passage in three characters: as a wit
ness, prophet and philosopher. First
as witness, and what is it that he wit
nesses to? To the miracles of Christ.
This man doeth many miracles" That
was something that Caiaphas never
thought of doubling, because to him it
was indisputable. Had he done so he
knew that it would have been a futile
denial, for all Palestine was Christ's
witness.
And yet the great stumbling block IN
1 the way of multitudes today is the mi
raculous element in the gospels. as
i though there We're no miraculous ole
ment in human life, as though human
life itself were not a miracle through
u and through, from beginning to end The
fearth is but center of vast sea Of
miracle, a chamber echoing with voices
from lips we cannot see, vibrating with
Influence We cannot explain, God above
God beneath. God around, God touching
us, Gazing us, astounding u.s. You can
not take the miraculous from the Cos
pels. for it is its kernel, its essence. its
life. So sure was Paul of this that he
based everything upon the most stupen-
dous miracleof all, the resurrection from
the dead.
Caiaphas witnesses to another thing
the power of formalitv, the deep-seated
human hatred to alton Christ
struck out a new line of thought and g
new line of life. Heslooked out with oper