The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-28

IHE KEW. DOCTOR 4. ID. PATTON,
Pastor Of the First Congregational Church.
| dominant ideas of the world in all ages,
love and selfishness. The world divides
between the two. Each side must have
its hero
This contrast, startling as it is, re-
minds us of the still greater one which
which walked with him in Galilee. which
talked with him in Judea. which sat at
his very table. 1 refer to the contrast be-
tween Judas and Christ.
Here was the world spirit in the midst
Of the very disciples of the Master. Here
was the hypocritlcal Pharisee, the crafty
scribe, the cruel high priest, the coward
ly Governor rolled into one mans charac-
ter, and that man going in and out with
Jesus. looking into his face. enjoying his
! tender consideration, witnessing his low
Since sin existed in the world. since it
belonged to the humanity for which
Christ came to die, it must, perforce, en-
ter into the closet with him, and lean up
on his bosom at the daily meal.
''Judass sin was undoubtedly a growth.
All sin is His betrayal Of Christ was not
the yielding to a sudden whirlwind Of
temptation, as in the case of Peter. 1t
1t was carefully planned deed of shame.
1t was sin against light and love and
tender tender Sond re was sin In the
from some small beginning.
1--WE may mark three stages in the
growth of his sin. The first begins with
the last week of his life. He started ont
with carnai idea of the messlanic king
dom. 1t was to him largely a matter of
honor and profit LOT JUDAS las, through the
shattered by the scene across the lake
when Jesus refused to be made King. In
close connection with this event it is sale
Jesus informed the disciples that one of
them was a devil. The sin of selfish am
bition, then, lay at the bottom of his
guilt
from the bag which held the money of
the little company over which he had
been appointed treasurer. When Jesus
paid his taxes or gave aims he DID 1t
customed to handling sums OF money ana
| he fell before the opportunity to steal
Along with these sins there was grow
ing hypocrisy. as he was Obliged to keep
| up the appearance of religious earnestness
and the position of a public teacher. This
faint of insincerity Is a very Important
sins growing upon him. we see him ap..
proach Jerusalem and the closing days Of
| Jesus's ministry. At the supper at Beth
any Judas poses as one having pity on the
| Christ. it is natural to think that bitter
| resentment set In on the top Of the other
vices.
In close connection with this scene
| 1t is stated in three gospels that Judas
held his first consultation with the enc
mics of Jesus. covenanting to deliver him
up for consideration.
Every following event served to blacken
| his soul In guilt. All analysis fails at this
point Everything becomes merged in
| the fiendish malignity of his heart And
SO he comes to the Last Supper. st.
John here marks the final stage of growth.
AT the opening of the supper he says
| the devil had already put into the heart
| of Judas Iscariot to betray him. Then
| later on. after Jesus had handed to Judas
the. friendly morsel. the. sign of esteem
| and confidence between friends, John re-
| marks, And after the sop, then tat that
momenD entered Satan into that man.
What came after this you all know.
| dark streets of the city to the rendezvous
at the High Priests palace. and there
| bargaining over the life of master and
friend. accepting thirty pieces of silver,
the price of slave, for the Son of God.
full thing. When we belittle sin, let us
think of its growth. Selfish desire. Gu
pidity, insincertty, resentment, these are
saars saS n s heY hsy get S
TO grow, there is nothing too wicked for
u.s. Sin. too is deceitful, fearfully de-
ceitful. Judas deceived his fellow disci-
pies up to the very end. That perhaps
ability of smart men to dissenble. But.
what is infinitely worse, Judas deceived
himself His whole life was one OF little
hypocristes: His pretended pity for the
kiss in the garden-he kept it up to the
end
but at the beginning this was just or
binary insincerity. such as We see all
little makebeIieyes of religion. little e <
carnations of holiness. these are the
things which have damned many man
and woman. There is Judas in Us all,