The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-29

Matthew xvii, 2, What snail do then
 with Jesus who is called Christ?'
 The small unpretentious 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 gath cred within the modest house just across
 the street from Ford's theatre. One or the most interesting is pile or papers
 which contain the "Lincoln sermons which were preached by some SOoo dliler reh'
 ministers in the United States on eh1
 Sunday after Lincoln was shot, but 'L
 I could take you today into room aii' show you all the sermons preached upon
 inc death of Abraham Lincoln could say
 with truth they are as nothing in number
 ored to inc sermons which have been
 nreached mon the trial and death ol
 Iosus Christ. That event has inspired not
 onlv nreachers. but artists. Ilme anu es,ain have those pathetic events been oe-
 nicted on the canvas. Probably no ar.ls1
 has succeeded in catching the spirit ol .ho
 scenes so completely as the 1uiis .i..,e.. aii'.i
 painter. Munkacsy His two plelei es, 9,
 aChrist Before Pilate" and 'Chilst ol
 Calvary" have made the "holo eas a. ii..|- iii-e
 world bow In awe before the sunSinp
 and the death of our Master and King,
 NIast of onr older people have seen the orIainal nainting called "Christ Beiore p,late" If was carried from city 10 city in the United States and placed on exhibition, You recollect how the peopie entered the room with silent step. Aou remember how for hours some ol us studied those wonderful typlca Iaees' There were the long beards ana ehe prominent Hebrew features; lhere "els inc Pharisees, with their supercilious ana glances there were the strange looks of others in quandary, as much as to say What manner or man is this?" There is Christ, oh, so silent and still. You can hear the sheerihs voices of the multitudes all about him, yet the defendant himself Is saying noun Ing. And above all others IS the great central figure of that picture Pilate himself It is not here picture or fllate before the Judgment seat of Christ, hui of Christ before Piiate. What Is he to do with this Christ? Here are Christs enemies demanding His execution Here are justice and right pleading Tor Christ When the people tsAnmenced to cry 'Barabbas, Barabbas, Barappas- give us Barbabbas! Pilatc turned to them and said, What shall do then wlth Jesus who is called Christ?' He had to do something with Him He had to either let Him go or to crucify Him. What Pilate had to do you and l must do. What shall we do then with Jesus who is call ed Christ?
 What Shall We Do With Christ.
 What are you going to do with Jesus, in the first place. as an intellectual factE Are you going to shut your eyes to ms very existence? Are you going to act as if there never was such a person as Jesus-that there never was being who came into this world working his mira cles proving that he was the Son Of God2 Are you going to declare there never was A miraculous conception, that there never was any Easter resurrection and that there never was any ascension from Mount Olivet? All these questions are continually facing us and demanding an answer, the same as the guilt or the innocence of a defendant is before the jury trying case or as the guilt or in- nocence of condemned murderer is be- fore the governor or pardoning board.
 In spite of ourselves the facts of Chrlsts life are before us, and we must accept or reject the evidence. We start with his birth. Intelligent men and wo- men as we are, we cannot shut our eyes to the historical facts surrounding the nativity of Bethlehem if we would. The facts may not have been known to Pi- late, but in all their impressive signih- canoe they confront us. When a young officer at an Indian mess table was ridi- culing the idea of the divine birth of Christ, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who after ward became Napoleon's conqueror, turned to him and said: Young man, hoxr trntt Il,. D,Ja IN,.t dences of Christianity? No? Then you had better read 1t before you parade such evidence of ignorance in reference to Christs birth as you are doing now" These facts of Christ's birth are accessi- ble to Pilate. There were living in Pilates time the people who had talked to the wise men from the east There were saees at that time alive who had told lIerod that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem of Judaea. And there were men who were ready to confess that this birth of Christ had fulfilled all the pre- dictions of the prophets. Evidences of Christ's birth are within reach of all We must, like Pilate, accept Chrst's birth as the fulfllment of prophecy, or, like Pilate. we must shut our eyes to the historical facts.
 Then the miracles Piate 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 straightened and those like Lazarus and the boy who was "the only son of his mother and she widow whose dead bodies Christ had resurrected. These living witnesses were in Palestine at the time of Pilate, the same as those who have been miraculously healed of their disease of sin are in the world to- day. The Christ who performed his won oefs i9UO years ago is the same Christ who is performing his wonders now.
 How Christ Changes Men.
 Christ has been able to change the lives of men before our own eyes. We have often seen the transformation The banter Rigo some years ago went to the northern part of Africa to paint pictures of the natives He had for his first model a Nubian warrior just arrived in Cairo. No sooner did the nude native see his head and chest being reproduced upon the canvas the nhe turned and in wild terror fled. He declared the white man had stolen away his head and half of his body and stuck them upon a fence to dry. Great was the wonderment of the dusky African at the bowen of the Eu- ropean artists brush. But our wonder in reference to Christ is even greater than that of the Nubian at the powers of Rigo We have seen Christ absolutely change men. Before our very eyes he has changed their natures, changed their countenanees and changed the whole trend of their lives. He has been work ins his miracles before us as he worked his miracles in Pilates time.
 We have the authenticated historical facts of Christs birth. Like Pilate, we have seen with our own eyes the miracles which Christ has wrought, and like Pi- late, we have had our own evidence of