Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-10-27
Calnase
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank Dc Witt Tslmase. d. ID.

Eermon the preacher presses home the
greatr'QuestiOn of The ages aud marks
the distinction between real and nomi-
nal Christians The text Is Matthew
xvii. %, what shall / do then with
Jesus who is called CHRISTI"
The small, unpretentlous house in
which Abraham Lincoln died is for the
tourist one OF the most interesting
places in all Washington. The same
fascination which draws the sightseer
to the tomb of Mount Vernon hovers
about the little room in which the first
martyr president of the United States
breathed his last There are many
Lincoln memorials gathered within the
modest house just across the street
from Ford's theater. One of the most
interesting is pile of papers which
contain the Lincoln sermons" which
were preached by some 5000 different
ministers I'm the United States on the
Sunday after Lincoln was shot But IL
could take you today into a room and
show you all the sermons preached up
on the death OF Abraham Lincoln 1
could say with truth they are as moth
ing in number compared to the SER
mons which have been preached upon
the trial and death of Jesus Christ.
That event has inspired not only
preachers. but artists. Time and again
have those pat. etic events been depict
ed on the canvas. Probably no artist
has succeeded in catching the spirit OF
the scenes so completely as the Hunga-
rian painter Munkacsy. His two pic
lures, Christ Before PLATE" and
Christ on Calvary" have made the
whole civilized world bow in awe be-
fore the sufferings and the death of our
Master and King
Most of our older people have seen
the original painting called Christ Be
fore Plate" 1t was carried from city
to city in the United States and placed
on exhibition. You recollect how the
people entered the room with silent
step. You remember how for hours
some OF us studied those wonderful
typical faces. There were the long
boards and the prominent Hebrew fea-
lures; there were the Pharisees. with
their supercilious and condemnatory
glances; there were the strange looks
OF others In n quandary. "a much as
TO say. What manner of man is this 60
You can hear the sneering voices OF
the multitudes all about him. yet the
defendant himself IS saying nothing.
And above all others is the great cen
trail figure OF that picture. PLATE him
self. 1t Is not here n picture OF PLATE
before the Judgment seat OF Christ"
but OF Christ before plate. What Is
he to do with this Christ? Here are
Christ's enemies demanding his execu-
ton. Here are justice and right plead
ing for Christ's vindication. When the
people commenced to cry. "Barabbas,
Bsrabbas. BarabbaS - give us Barab-
basv' PLATE turned TO them and said.
What shall I do then with Jesus who
Is called the ChristT' He had to do
something with him. He had to either
let him go or TO cruelty him. What
Plate had 10 do you and 1 must do.
What shall we do then with Jesus
who is called Christ?
what Shall We DO with Christi
What are you going TO do with Jesus.
IN the first place. as an intellectual
fact? Are YOU going 10 shut your eyes
20 his very existence? Are you going
10 act as if there never was such a
person as Jesus-that there never
was being who came into this world
working his miracles and by these
miracles proving that he was the Son
OF God? Are you going TO declare
there never was n miraculous concep-
ton, that there never was any Easter
resurrection and that there never was
any ascension from Mount Olivet? All
those questions are continually fac
Ing Us and demanding an answer. the
same as the guilt or the innocence of
defendant is before the Jury trying a
case or as the guilt or innocence OF a
condemned murderer is before the gov
ernor or pardoning board
In spite OF ourselves the facts OF
Christ's life are before us, and we
must accept or reject the evidence. We
start with his birth. Intelligent men
and women as we are. we cannot shut
our eyes 10 the historical facts sur
rounding the nativity OF Bethlehem II
we would. The facts may not have
been known to PLATE, but in all their
Impressive significance they confront
us. When young officer at an Indian
mess table was ridicullng the idea OF
the divine birth OF Christ, Sir Arthur
wellesley, who afterward became Ma
poieon's conQueror, turned to him and
said: Young man. have you ever read
DR.. Paley's Evidences of Chrlstianityp
NO? Then you had better read IL before
You parade such evidence OF Ignorance
in reference to Christ's birth as YOU are
doing now" These facts OF Christ's
birth were accessible TO PLATE. There
were living In Pilates time the people
who had talked to the wise men from
the east. There were sages at that time
alive who had told Herod that Christ
was TO be born in Bethlehem of .Judaea
And there were men who were ready
10 confess that this birth OF Christ had
fulhiled al the predictions of the proph-
cts. Evidences OF ChriSt's birth are
within reach OF all. We must. like Pr
late. accept Christ's birth as the fulfill
ment OF prophecy. or. like PLATE, we
must shut our eyes to the historical
facts.
Then the miracles. PLATE may have
seen some of the blind men whose eyes
Christ had opened, and the deaf men
whose ears Christ had unstopped, and
the lame men whose crooked limbs
Christ had Strengthened, and those like
Lazarus and the boy who was "the
only son OF his mother aud she a wild
ow' whose dead bodies Christ had
resurrected. These living witnesses
were in Palestine at the time of PLATE.
the same as those who have been mirac-
ulously healed of their disease of sin
are in the world today The Christ who
performed his wonders 1900 years ago
is the same Christ who is performing
his wonders now.
Row Christ Changes Men.
Christ has been able to change the
lives OF men before our own eyes. We
have often seen the transformation.
The painter Rigo some years ago went
to the northern part of Africa to paint
pictures of the natives. He had for his
first model Nublan warrior just ar