The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-12-16
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY The
REV. HUGH BLACK, NJ. A.
subject; "Jesus His own Sign and Mir
seie"-Mere Wonder Working IL No
Evidence OF the Things Christ Came
TO Teach the World.


Evidence OF the Things Christ Came
to Teach the World.
NEw YORK CITY-Fith Avenue Pres
byterlan Church, which Il . very large
building, wac filled IN every part Sunday
MA. associate Of DR. White in the Free
81 Georges Church, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mr.. Black had for his subject Jesus HIS
Own Sign and Miracle" The text was
from Matthew &ii IS: Then certain Of
the scribes and OF the Pharisees answered,
saying: Master, We would see sign from
Thee. But He answered and said unto
them, An evil and adulterons generation
seekeih after sign; and there shan 10
sign be given TO it, but the sign OF the pro-
phet Jonas" Mr. Black said:
We gather from its source, as coming
from the Pharisees. that this question had
a malicious purpose 10 undermine the au-
thorty of the new Teacher with the peo.
pie by asking from Him what He could
not or would not perform, but from the
historical connection IN which the evan
gellsts place u the purpose was not only
malicious, but almost insulting. Our Lord
had been IN the pursuit OF His benehcent
healing ministry. mad cured many suffering
men aud women. and the Pharisees' eXpia-
nation was that He had power from an
evil source; He did it, they asserted, by
virtue of His connection with Beelzebub,
the prince OF devils And now, after this
Jesus did among men, they came with the
insulting question, Master we would see
q sign from Thee" What sort of a sign
did they want, and what sort OF evidence
could convince them II they could at;rlb-
ute His healing ministry 10 diabolc art.
The veiled insult OF the demand Is the
superellious passing over of all He had
af al IL no Aona A n
not count and as if He must now begin to
do something of sufficient magnitude to
convince them that His pretensions were
trustworthy.
Now there is a demand for evidence
which ~ legitimate, evidence which ls
necessary for the highest faith, but in tins
case, apart from the hypocrisy of the ques.
tion. there underlay a wrong conception Of
revelation and wrong conception OF the
nature and the place Of miracles. They
wanted Christ to perform some prodigy, as
If piece OF wonder working could be real
evidence of spiritual things; hence, our
Lords rebuke. 1t ls religious rebuke.
God should be recognized for what He rs,
and the recognition of Him should not be
dependent upon external signs, which IN
themselves, after all. have no spiritual sig
nihcance. Christ's feeling as regards TINS
is seen through graphic touch recorded
by ST. Mark, who writes that when the
Pharisees came seeking q sign from Him
Jesus sighed deeply IN His spirit. IL
showed to Him lamentable dullness of
soul, to think that the recognition Of the
spiritual should be made 10 hang on prodi-
gies and on mira acle-mongering of any kind.
There shall no sign be given unto this
generation This attitude OF our Lord,
notice, rs not contradictory to the value
He elsewhere placed on miracles as evi-
dence. He pointed you remember, TO His
deeds OF mercy TO authenticate HIS claims
when, as IN the case of John the Baptist,
there was sincere desire 20 know the
marks of the Messiah, but His miracles
were moral acts to educate and TO reveal,
not TO surprise and to astonish. He knew
from sad experience that IL was possible
for men to believe in the reality OF miracles
and at the same time lose all It's true evi.
dental force, even 10 ascribe It TO evil
powers as the Pharisees did.
There shall be no sign given to curios-
ity mongers." There can be no sign gwen
20 those who imagine that the spiritual
can be proved by the material. Mere won
der working is no evidence Of the things
whicn Jesus came TO teach the world. Men
are not TO be led TO God, then or now
men are not to be led to God, in the sense
that Jesus meant-by displays and conlur-
ing tricks. The demand of the Pharlsees
showed a radically false idea of the whole
nature and place Of the miracle and the
same mistake is possible to US, and posi-
BE TO rs IN many ways and forms. We
make the same mistake, for example, when
we think that faith in God would be easier
TO us If only some portent were vouch-
safed 20 us, If only we could see some ply
sical evidence, especially designed to con-
vince US. We fall into the Pharisees error
and merit their rebuke when we sigh Tor
the certitude which we imagine would
come from a celestial appearance or from a
voice from heaven, or ii we could put our
finger into the print OF the nails.
To understand Christs attitude on this
question we need to nave our minds dis
abused Of the idea that mere miracle IN
the sense OF prodigy is ever evidence OF
spiritual things Some miracles are signs
indeed, but only when there is spiritual
evidence in them; that is, when they are
more than mere woodworking, which
the Pharlsees here desired For example,
our Lords healing ministry was great
and constant sign Of the love of God, car
rying a revelation with as truly as any low
ing word OF the Master ever did. This lets
light IA upon the true way IN which TO
view the whole question. Our Lords mir
ACES cannot be separated from the great
revelations Of His whole lie and teach
ing His words and His works are core
lated: the miracles are not 10 be looked on
themselves contributing 10 the revelation.
They were not signs, but vehicles OF teach
ing. They are not signs externally at
tached TO the teaching to give Il weight.
and therefore 20 make it creditable; not
unexplained occurrences testifying in
mysterious fashion 10 the possession Of d.
vine power; they did not evidence the
teaching, they themselves are the teach
ing. They are parallels in action instead
nj VHs er,fri in h4f
effect, not eyidential at all, except by the
way. They are an integral part OF the rev.
elation OF the love OF God in Christ Jesus
our Lord. They have an essential place IN
the whole round Of the Christian revela-
tion as fruits-fruits of the pity OF God,
as manifestations of the divine love and
wisdom; they are part OF the manifesto.
tion OF Christ; they are not guarantees of
His message as the Pharisees here meant
them, but part Of the message itself, az
much evidences of Gods love as His era-
cious tender words are or ever could be,
therefore Christ's miracles are never 20 be
conceived OF as mere displays OF power.
lie persistently refused from first 20 last
10 work wonders % make men believe. it
is not that the demand for evidence is
wrong, 10 y a natural demand that proof
should be gwen Of III claims. hut we must
make sure what really u evidence. A mir.
Bcle is IN itself no proof Of a moral Truth,
and a miracle can never IN itself engender
spiritual ia!th-not II ono rose from the
dead would it necessarily imply the exist
ence Of God and the souls Immortality.
OF course II - true that every miracle was
a sign--a sign designed TO induce TO spirit
nal results, to lead men 20 God, but. like
the teaching Itself, they could find no foot.
ing IN the soul OF man except through
spiritual susceptibility IN the man himself.
We rightly, ask for evidence, ba. what