The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-04-07
Peter Confesses the Christ


He prayed before eyer he chose his
apostles. He prays now before he
reveals the, TO them, inscrutable and
repugnant doctrine of His Cross.
The apostles belief in the Messiah
ship of Jesus had been a natural
growth. They may haveseeninH imat
first the son of Joseph only-the one
divinely endowed, a prophet and
miraclewoker. Now, though they have
neve" yet expressed it categorically,
after eighteen months intimate com,
partnership with Him, they believe
Him the Son of God.
As background of their own con
fession. He draws from them the
current opinion concerning Himself.
1t is favorable, high, and kind; but
crude, con used, erroneous. Upon this
murky base Peters immortal credo
stands forth like a clear-cut medallion
Thou are the Christ of God" That
confession is epochal in the history of
thecollege ofapostles. It's its advance
ment to higher grade.
Now Jesus sets before these sacred
undergraduates the most difficult les
son of the whole curriculum-one cal
culated to dish their enthusiasm. and
shock and dumfound them Previous
limitations seem to have made at
best but superficial and passing i'm
pressions. Only the regal portraitures
of the Messiah, found ia the psaIter
and prophets, had caught their am
bilious eyes. They were thoroughly
inoculatd with the current Hebrew
passion for a Messiah who should be
a temporal deliyerer and restorer of
Solomonic splendors.
Now the Master reveals to them
Messiah without form and comeliness;
beautiless root out of dry ground,
undesirable; a Shiloh on his way. not
to coronation, but to cross one
who should wear crown indeed, but
one of thorns an anointed one on his
way to the capital, but only there to
be rejected and to suffer.
Do you wonder heart and flesh fail
ed these noyices at such revelation?
They strongly needed the Savior's
prayers Just offered in their behalf.
Faint idea had they of a victory that
could come through love and suffer
ing, sacrifice and death. 1t was in
comprehensive to them. Peter only
voiced the doubt of all now, AS a
moment before he had voiced their
faith. The Messiah's death meant
irretrevaberuin to them TheWonder-
worker who had given life to others
could certainly put such an ignomin-
ious fate far from him if he would but
use his power
1t is an evidence of our Lords true
humanity that Peters emphatic
protest was real temptation to him.
Jesus flesh revolted at such a fate as
strongly as Peters flesh did. The
flesh of beth could only be offset by
a zeal of the spirit.
What Jesus wanted at this crucial
moment was disciples who should not
be ashamed of this new conception of
the Messiahship; disciples willing to
forego their widest dreams of polit-
ical independence and power willing
to let their cherished hopes of world
ly monarchy die; willing to take the
Via Dolorosa instead of the regal
highway. This, too, not to be an
occasional affair, but their very life.
To carry the cross always; to die daily
an hourly self effacement,-this was
the essential of the kingdom of Jesus.
See the Masters sweet patience
with His dazed pupils. He knew that
flesh and blood can not attain such
an altitude at single bound. He
spends the next eighteen months in
training the twelve to the unworldly
idea of His kindom; inuring them
to the sight of Him formal rejection
by the highest court Of the nation,
and the many things" He must needs
suffer, even His bloody agony and
death.
One blessed word of comfort Hegiyes
them straightwav, The kingdom of
of truth is very unlike what they
mad expectee; but some of them
present shall not taste death before
they see it. And they shall be satisfied.
The Teachers Lantern
In his last year, Jesus turned from
the multitude and concentrated His
energies upon His disciples. His
ministry to the throng had proved a
failure. His pearls of word and deed
hadfallen beforea british people. To
perpetuate His Church after His
departure, He turns to trim and
square and polish His apostles-as the
foundation-stone that are to bear
aloft the superstructure With this
in view, He led them to Decapolis
and Tyre and Sidon and Caesarea-
Philippi, localities where He was COM
paratiyely unknown. In such places
His courses of private instruction
II L