The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-01-01
"STONING JESUS"
Sunday Sermon By Rev. DR.. J. Wilbur
Chapman.
A Plea for Fair Consideration Cf the Claims
Of the Religion Of Anything
Is Better Than Indifference.

ent1tie0, St0nlng jesus, was prcdcucu
by the great evangelist, the Rev. DR.; Dr. j.
Wilbur Chapman, from the text: Then
Him." John X: 81.
The shining of the sun produces two
effects in the world, one exactly the op.
poste OF the other. In one place 1T en-
livens, beauties and strengthens; In the
others it deadens, mars and decays SO
some a "savor of life unto life;" unto 9th:
ers 1t is "a SAVIOR of death unto DEATH"
So it was with the coming. of Christ into
the world. He brought to light the truest
affection and the deepest hatred. Men
loved darkness rather than light, SO
Christs coming into the world could only
disturb them.
II you go into the woods on summers
of the logs which may be near to, you.
you win find underneath hundreds OF
little insects; the moment the light strikes
them they run in every direction; Dark.
il you journey little further and lift a
stone, which for little time has been
covering the grass or the little flowers, the
moment you would lift the obstruction
these things would begin to grow The
n light is their life; they die in the dark
- ness.
Christ's coming into the world pro-
W yoked the bitterest prejudice and called
IA forth the deepest devotioL Simeon, a
devout man, was in the temple. when the
young child Jesus was brought in, and he
N1pok Him up in his hands and blessed God
ND said, Lord, letsest now Thy servant
Wpart in peace, avsording to Thy word
now my eyes have seen Thy saliva.
NJ" 1t was Just the opposite with
nd: When the king heard concerning
he sent the wise men that he might
NCut through them where he was
pen they did not return. he was ex.
mswtoth, and sent forth and slew
vschildren that were in Bethlehem
IN all the. coast thereof two years and
Yer, according to the time which he had
NN,ntly inquired of the wise men. These
Whe two extremes.
N, ms gospel is the gospel of love, bu'
we find the same great differences
We can you find such sweetness as i,
he'd in these words--"For God st
'fAas She world that He gave His only
NSon, that whosevcr beleveth il
I'D not perish but have everlast
Where is there such tenderness
bis expression-"Jesus wept?'
words, and vet on them tn.
world rests, taking comfort ano
n! But where can you find sucl
m | expressed in John viii: so
~ iok they up stones to cast al
8 Md again in the text. Then tn,
TX up stones again to stone HIM
, you remember whom they wer,
Ag, the Son of Man and the Son o
= % =, the One who was going about doinl
&tood, the sin is something awful to think
III bout. This text and the verse that fol
Vows is beautiful illustration of hate and
4 just said, 81 and my Father are one
words which should have made the hearts
! <fof the people leap for joy; that He was
~ me with Jehovah, who had led their fore,
theirs from Egypt to Caanan; who had
ken the worlds into existence; had
the winds in His fists; in whose
the seas washed to and fro. You
aid have thought, at these ,eypressiont
ii the Master every knee would have been
bowed in loving devotion; but not SO,
The Jews took up the stones again with
which to stone Him, and He gave them
one OF the aanG his heart
shown you from My Father, for which oi
these do you stone Me?"
The text is an illustration of the fact
that those who were models in fairness
of their treatment of men are most unfair
in their treatment of Jesus Christ. II
you are familiar with the mode OF stonine
offenders in the early days, you. will be
able to see how true this was of the Jews.
The crier marched before the man who
was to die, proclaiming the mans sins and
the name OF the witnesses appearing
against him. This was for the humane
purpose of enabling any one who was ac.
case to go forward and speak for him,
and the prisoner was held until the new
evidence was given. But the jews were
not so considerate of Jesus; when He
said, II and My Father are one" immc:
diately they began to stone Him.
All that is asked for our religion, for
Christ and for. the Bible is Just iair
consideration of their claims. The Bible,
we claim, is the word of God, not because
IL is old only but because it is both old
and true. 1t seems as ii it were written
for US as individuals; it Is my present an. az,
swer to my present need. We simply
present the Book in evidence. Suppose
you try to find it's equal; suppose you try
to produce its simplest parable; failure
would be the result. Our religion is the
same; we only ask for it fair considera'
ton. For Christ it is just the same. In
England not long ago woman was lee
turing, against our religion, and after she
had closed, one Of fne .mill-hands. said
II would like to ask the lecturer this one
question: Thirty, years age. was the curse
Of this town and everybody in it. l tried
to do better and failed. The teetotaleI
got hold Sa OF me- and oa signed do the p pledge
sent me to prison, and the wardens tried
---, to make me better, and i began to drink
as soap as I left my cell. When all hao
failed, l. took Christ as my Savior, ant
Ee made>e new man of me-, am mem
ber OF the, church, a class leader and sl
perintendenS> : of the Sunday-school. II
Christ is a myth and religion is untrue
how could be so helped by them?"
Men are still stoning Jesus Christ. Per
haps you shrink from the conduct OF tht
Jews and cry, For shame" but there is q
worse way to stone Him than that, aer
can hurt you far more than by str ans i
stripes. Do you imagine that CHI -
worst suffering was when they cast ones
at Him, or scourged Him, or put nail'
through His hands, am sure not. but il
was rather when He came unto His own
and His own received Him not; wher
they called Him 'this fellow when III
was in Gethsemane in agony; when H'
was on the cross and He felt so forsaker
that His heart broke
III He were here to-day in the flesh al
He is in the Spirit am sure there arr
ways we could hurt Him more than b,
taking up stones from the very street,
and casting them in His blessed face unit
His eyes were blinded by the blood drop
falling down.
INCONSISTENCY.
l., Have you ever noticed the sadncs
which throbbed in the words of ou
Savior at the Last Supper, "One OF yo'
shall betray met" or when He was walk
ing with them toward the garden, "Al
Of you shall be offended this night be
cause of Me-" or when He was in tn
gasden and we hear Him saying; What
could you not watch with Me one hour |!
The stone that hurts Christ most is not tn
one that is caft by the unbeieving world
~ L. ~ L.. ~