The Penn's Grove record., 1904-09-09
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. G. CAMPBELL MORGAN. D. D.

AONA vi
LONDON, ENGLAND. - The following
sermon, entitled "The Attractiveness ant
Exclusiveness of Jesus" was preached
Campbell Morgan, d. d. He took for hi
teA: Then said Jesus unto His disciples
if any man will come after Me let hin
deny himself and take up his cross and
follow Me.-St. Matthew 1924.
There were two facts about Jesus Christ
which no one can read the Gospel re
cords without recognizing; facts which
appear to be contradictory, but which, as
a matter of fact, are complementary, and
the understanding of which reveals fol
all time the method of the Master in
dealing with men. l refer to facts OF
the at~tractiveness and exclusiveness Of
Jesus.
There can be no question about the
former; there can equally be no question
about the latter to those who have care
fully read the records and have seen the
methods of Jesus while He was here
among men. He was constantly drawing
people to Him, and He was perpetually
holding them aloof. By the very win
someness of His person, He was drawing
men and women of all sorts and condi-
tions, at all times and in all places to
Himself, and yet by the u~ttering of words
so severe, so searching, so drastic, making
us tremble even to-day, He held men
back from Him.
1 venture to say that the words I read
to you this morning from the Gospel of
Luke come to those who are most familiar
with them bringing a sense of surprise.
We never read them without feeling more
or less startled by them "Unless you
hate father and mother, husband and wife,
parent and child, you cannot be My dis
eiple." We have attempted to account for
these words, but | do not hesitate to say
that in some senses they have staggered
the faith of many, and yet there they
stand.
And not there only, but through all
His teaching there is evident the same
method of Christ, that of holding men
back just as they were approaching Him;
drawing them to Himself by m~ultitudes
and then holding the crowd as they
pressed upon Him, and sitting them with
such surprising words as these. Now there
must be a reason for this. and it is for
that reason that | want to look, with you,
a little this morning.
But first allow me to say a few words on
this fact of the attractiveness of Jesus,
because the more clearly we recognize and
understand that, the more clearly shall
we understand, as l think, the other truth
OF His perpetual method of holding men
back and excluding certain persons from
close companionship with Himself.
Take first, then, this great fact of His
attractiveness, the most fascinating sub
ject on which to speak. Remember, l
pray you, that if the Gospel records re-
veal one thing more clearly than another
they reveal that Jesus was, somehow or
other, &, a Person that drew men to Him
irresistibly.
l go back to those silent years at Naza-
reth concerning which we know so very
little. You will remember that on those
days Luke opens for us just a little Won
dow through which we look when he says,
He was subject to His parents, and grew
IN favor with God and with man." l do
not stop one moment to dwell on the
statement that He grew in favor with
God, although it is a very interesting
statement, but just for a moment, for the
part of it,: HE grew in favor with man."
lake that as it is simply stated, and you
at once see a picture of the boy growing
up to be a youth, and passing from youth
INTO young manhood until He became the
Carpenter of Nazareth, known to all the
little town that nestled among the hills,
Just removed from the highways of life.
This is all the truth that is revealed. If |
may reverently put it, Jesus was a ~favorite
IN Nazareth. lamnot sure that that doesn't
almost startle you, because somehow OF
other we have come to think that holiness
Is almost always accompanied by angular
1ty, and there is a popular idea that if a
man Is good he never can be a favorite. 1t
is a great mistake. 1t is by the measure
IN which a man lacks holiness that a man
is not in favor.
Here is a man living in Nazareth, and
lie IS a favorlte. l do not want to lift
that into a super-spiritual realm, but if
you have no imagination you can just 20 to
sleep for two minutes while I imagine [
look into that window and I see the Car
penter at His work, and | tell YOU what I
see. He Is a favorite. [ see children tax
ing their toys to Him to be mended, and I
am quite sure He mended them. I see
men going at eventide to take their
with them because they know
Is sane, honest and pure. l think | see
Did men, upon whose brow already sat
light that never was on land or sea-" talk
ing to Him because He has such a wonder
tul way of talking about my Fathers
and THE many mansions" a favor
tie, sane and strong, and pure, and attract
We as to personality.
L know full well that a little later on
5hese same men took Him to a hill and
to murder Him, but that was the re-
suit OF something else to be discovered
alter. The pure, human, simple life of
Jesus was, Ill itself, attractive, and Luke
says, HE grew in favor"
Leave those hidden years and look at
him just for n rapid moment as He
reads the pathway upon which a %fiercer
light falls than ever fell upon a throne
The pathway of the public teacher, and if
strikes you is the fact Of the multi
sudes around about Jesus Christ. Wher-
He went they followed Him. If He
vent out into the city the country people
the streets to be near Kim: if He
out into the country place the city
men and women focked after Him, follow
ng Him so far that at times there was no
for them to provide themselves
With food, and He had to feed them; for
II their eagerness to follow they had for
gotten food and had forgotten distance.
And wherever He went they came after
Him.
l am not saying that these multitudes
:roWned Him; that is not my point, but
he drew the people after Him. The one
hing they could not do with Jesus was to
ct linn alone; they came, whether to crit
else Him or crown Him is not now the
question; the point is, that He drew men
women after Him in all those davs of
His earthly life. They came after Him, all
'ortS and conditions OF men, the scholars
the illiterate, the learned and the igno- |
'ant, the debased, the depraved, they all
came. Of course, there were more Door
people came than rich because there al
ways We're more poor people than there are
rich, and, of course, there were more of
5he illiterate than OF the learned for the
'elf-same reason, but I protest against this
dea that Christ only attracted a class. |
There is something about Him that at |
all kinds of men, and it is true in |
hose old days.
Come, if you will, outside the Bible, and
rom the day that this Man walked among |
men in Judea until now there has never |
been SO attractive a personality in human |
history as Jesus. And l want to say this
'uperlative thing about Christ. No CEN
Jury, whatever its popularity, or quality, |
Or quantity, has produced any person who |
was so popular as Jesus Christ. He has
Always lowered above His fellows, above
hose historical personages that the centu-
les look back to, or to those imaginative
1ersonages that the centuries give to us in
literature. Jesus has been the most at
,ractive parsonage always.
L come to this very hour. Who is the
most attractive personality in the world at
his hour? Let me take a narrower circle.
Who is. the most attractive personality in
england at this hour2 snSwer without |