The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1906-08-24

Ysyel ana NeDemlan anu Ddnlel anu
n the Baptist and Peter and Paul
Id John, the beloved disciple, are
% young Christians. These Bible char
acters are not perfect, any more than
the artistic works of the old masters
are perfect. Paul Veronese, one of the
greatest of Venetian artists, painted
his female characters of '"The Family
of Darius at the Feet of Alexander
After the Battle of Issus" in the hoop
skirts and low bodiced waists of the
Venetian costumes Of the sixteenth
century, although the battle of lssus
was fought third of a millennium be-
fore Christ was born. There is only
one perfect being mentioned in the
Bible, and that person is Jesus Christ.
But though the best Bible characters
are not perfect, yet, many of them are
rightly held up as prototypes for young
Christians to copy after. Today want
to speak about one of the best and
noblest of the apostles for us to emu
late. l want to show how st. John
was strong. and how he was one of
the most influential and perhaps the
best beloved of all the disciples who
gathered about the table at the last
supper, just preceding the crucifi1ion.
st. John n Model.
The model of my text, in the first
place. was, l believe, a Christian of
superb physical proportions. He was
not, as some people suppose, physical
weakling. He did not have his head
pillowed upon Christ's breast at the
banquet table of the last supper be-
cause he was a suffering invalid. oh,
no. Far from that. OF all the stall
wart young men gathered about this
TABLETOP at that time they were prob
ably all youngest. John, l believe, had
the best and the strongest physical
frame. His eye, like David's, the shep-
herd boy, must have been clear and
quick. His limbs must have been sup
pie and sinewy. His chest must have
been broad and deep. His skin must
have been aglow with health. He
must have had the body of an athlete
He must have been young man bub
bling over with fun and good humor
on account of the resiliency of his
strong physical constitution. He mus
have had all the advantages which ac
crue from good health, because the
Bible indirectly affirms it.
How does the Bible assert this? You
must read between the lines. The Bi
BILE implies that John lived to be a
very old man. You must not study st
John the young man at the foot of the
cross unless you study st. John an old
man on the island of Patmos. There
he was supposed to have lived to a
very advanced age. Albert Barnes de
clared that in all probability st. John
must have lived far on in the ninetes
before he died. Like Titan, the great
artist who died of the Venetian plague
in his ninety-ninth year, st. John may
have almost reached the century mark
before he passed to glory. Now, no
man could have lived as long as st.
John lived and have done the work he
did unless he started with an unlimited
supply of physical health and had care
fully husbanded his health all through
life. Lord Palmerston, governing the
destinies of England in his eighty-first
year, and William +. Gladstone, still
vigorous and ambitious at eighty-hve,
and Count Won Moltke, the most emf
nent member of the German reichstag
at ninety. and DandolO, the doge of
Venice, leading his soldiers in battle at