The Newtown bee., 1904-12-16
THE HOME CIRCLE. WHAT JESUS SAW FROM THE
 CROSS,

WHAT JESUS SAW tkON N HE
 CRDSS,
 A SERMON BY REV L. w. HOLMES OF
 WES1P,RT.
 Text. John 19: IS ''Thev c"ucded Il i'm. and two other, with Him, on either side one, and Jesus in the'midst
 In a little magazine, Rev Dr HallUck speaks of one of llssot's pictures which represents the CrucltiXiun and which is conspicuous among all his fine col lection of paintings. The artist calls 1t, "What Jesus saw from the Cross. " This picture represents the entire uni verse of intelligent beings. Here are women ErOSt Strated from sorrow and despair; there, hard viSaged soldiers clutchiDk their spears, and with eyes upturned to the suffering man of SOr- rows and grief; nearby are jeering Jews, the representatives of that people to whom he came, but who re- ceived him not. Some one of that motley crowd tauntS him by shouting, ''If thou be the Son of God come down saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him " Another old hard listed, wrinkle viSaged Jew adds to the insults already hurled at the sufferer, by saying, "He trusted in God let him deliver Him now, if he will save Him; for He said, I am the son of God. Wonder moving down the slopes of Calvary are the frightened muitltude: there in the foreground, near the cross stands the awakened centurion. Men, women and angels were there; devils were there; God was there to smite the sufferer and there to sus- tain the Smitten One. Representa- tiveS from cart b. hell and heaven were there to see d culprit die. What a view point was Calvary! What d tower of ObServati' n was the cross! Let us study the scene this morning. AL though we are able to see only d few of the many things which Jesus saw, yet those few things are of intense inter- est tD us, and by the blessing of God may be spiritually helpful.
 HE EsAw HARD, SINFUL WORLD.
 Those men who witnessed the cruel fiXiOn with eve undimmed by tears, with hearts unnouched by sympathy, whose feet were swift to shed innocent blood, and who rejoiced in the appar- ent triumph of sin over holiness, eX- pressed ibe intense hatred of the world for Christ in all time. The world always has it's bearer of the in- StrumentS of torture for the good. There is always strong hand to carry the box of nails, and ,deXteruus hand to smite with the hammer. Pilates hal of envy and pre judice against the fol- lowers of aesu> Christ is still the worlds tribunal of injustice. Public sentiment which harnesses the rear of Christianity on all it's advance move ments. cries out "Crucjfy him, crucIfy him." The world still has it's Calvary with its cross. While the world is nOl always satisfied with it's own, and finds it necessary, at times, to intlict puuiSh- ment on it's offenders, it always leaves space for Jesus and his cross ''in the midst" as the aggregation of all that is despicabe and criminal. That man >whO drove the nails through the quiv- iering flesh of the hands and feet ot Christ, was the incarnated spirit of evil which is prevalent in our own times. The chief priests who objected tO the title that Pilate wrote, saying, "WriteS Snnt "Ihe k,ng of the Jews, but that he said I am the King of \ tn oJeWs'"
 ' Jews have their counterpart in the trinity of evils which denying his di. ,vinity, would not ouly pluck the many crowns from his head and hurl him !, ITOLH uIlc JnTOnc Ol unlVeTSal u' ullnlOn, |, but degrade him to the level of d male Afactor, subj ct him to the ignominy o1 Nthe cross, and hold him up to the world as gazing-stock of imposture "A SINFUL WORLD IS PERsECUTINo WORLD.
 Jesus said to His disciples, "BeholC q send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, anC they will scOurge you in their Syna gogues; and ye shall be hated of al men for my names sake" How per fectly was this forecast of Christ'S re aliZed in the tyrant, Nero, the apoca liptic antechriSt. This hater of Chris tianity invented one of the most dia bOlical prosecutions for eXtermjnatinl the Christian religion in all the annal, of history See him as he goes, under cover of darkness from Ward t. warC with torch in hand with which ht kind ed nine days conf grafton, burn ing out ten of the fourteen wards 0 the magnificent city of Rome, ant when he found that public opinion wa pointing the finger of suspicion at hin as the probable incendiary he charged the Christians with the offence. au( punished them accordingly. In thu present St Peter'S square, then tn, gardens of Nero, the Christians wer. put to death; some were CruCtied others were sewn in skins of animals and thrown 10 dogs, many were envel Oped in intlammahie stuff. raised upOl poleS,and used as turcht $ to ilunlpat, the streets of the city. Nero was DO the perSOniiicatiun of the world hatred of Christianity in the Sixteen tn century only, but in the Twentieth century also. The horror of grea darkness that fell upon Abram wber the burning lamp passed between the divided sacrifices still fingers between the porch and the altar where the saints Of god weep. The fire that time still has for it's fuel the militant church of Christ; but out of this fire the angel still speaks. Blessed are they which are persecuted for right eousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Again Jesus looks down from that cross, and
 HIS LOOK IS ONE OF EXCEEDING sAD-
 NESS.
 A little way from the cross, just be- yond the little group of mOurnerS that fingered there, were four Roman SOL diers setted on tbe ground, forming a circle. Their voices can be heard in animated discussion; they have divid- cd the outer garments which they