The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-09-24

How Christ Was Different.
Christ was different from all other
men, in the first place, because he
claimed that he was the divine sourcs
Of spiritual life He spoke as proph-
ct, but he was more than a prophet.
He spake as a priest, but he was more
than a priest. He spake as a divine
king In whom was all power. He
stood up in the midst of the people and
said, Il am the Christ whom the
prophets foretold" He said, Il am
the Messiah who has come to establish
| a kingdom" He did more than that,
He compared himself to fountain OF
| living water Ct which if any man
| should drink he would never thirst
| again. He did more than that. lie
! said that if any man should believe on
him the divine power which - pos
sessed would flow thron.-'. Imam
heart as through a livir': '.'. In
all the history of the vol; there
ever Il human being who to-: him
self such divine authority =; did
Christ? no you wonder that Wa the
officers of the law, at the behe.t If the
chief priests. went to apprehen'l Jesus
they stood amazed and exclaimed
~Never man spake like this man."
His Claim of Divinity.
But the exalted claims Of this d.
vine Nazarene did not end with mere
words He said, Il am the Christ"
| Then he again said: Il will prove IT
by working the most wonderful mira
cleS man ever witnessed. DO YOU SO"
that young man who was born blind
| touch his eyes and they are opened
See, here is Il deaf and dumb man. J
place nv finger I'm his ear and on his
tongue and he is able to hear ami
sneak. See. here is dead man. De
compoSition has already set in. That
| body is a corpse | will call him ana
he will rise up and turn his bier int"
a couch. | do these miracles to prove
to YOU that am divine. All power Is
IN me. | and my Father are one
Thus did Jesus TO prove his divinity
He was a man. He was born bone Of
our bone and flesh of our flesh yet Il
the same time he said: Il am God.
am the Messiah whose advent was
prophesied from the earliest time. Lis
ten to me-" Do you not realize that
this claim of divinity makes Christ
stand forth from all other men as dis
tinctively Individual?
Now. my brother If this divine
Christ has a divine strength to give
TO YOU what You can receive fr"A!
no other source, does it not behonVf
YOU to seek Christ and ask for this
divine blessing? If Jesus IS truly God
are YOU not willing to kneel down ana
ask for his pardon and his love: And
especially would you not have this dl
vine strength when it is offered freely
to the vilest and the most fragrant
sinners as 1t is offered to you:
Professor Phillips tells the story OF
q burglar who broke into seaside
mansion. He tumbled into the middle
Of the parlor floor all the valuableE
. which he wished to take away, bu
, in the corner Of that parlor was
; beautiful figure Of Guido's "Ecce Io
mo-" There was the Christ. as only
the Italian master could paint him
, Jesus head was crowned with thorns
With look Of ineffah love III
, seemed to say: Il am dying for you
, l III: dying that you might be savet
from Sill and live forever with me.
, The burglar stopped in his work o
theft and began to study that race
Then he seemed to say. 20 Christ.
? cannot steal while thou art looking Il
: me-" And so he turned the face Of Je
: sus to the wall. o man, 0 woman, {
child, are you going to turn the FAC
Of Christ away? Remember nj
, parched. bleeding lips are ready +
f., speak words of eternal life to you
Are you going to turn your back upol
, this Christ. who is man and yet God
6 Can you not hear Christ saying to you
4 IF any man thirst let him come unit
o me and drink" God is speaking
+ Christ the God is speaking. He
G speaking to you He is speaking t
r me- He is speaking to all sinners
n Yea. he is speaking to the Who'll
q world
). But Christ did more than claim d
l. vine kingship. When he opened n
4 lips he taught new social doctrine
9 He upset all the foundation stones upo
= which the society Of his day had bee
J. built He came to the rich man an
d said. THAT poor man is thy neighbor
n He came to the man who had grie'
d ance against his neighbor and sale
% THE Mosaic law is not In force nov
n 1t is not eye for eye or tooth for toot
Y 1t is love for hate, forgiveness for II
70 Justice, mercy for transgression. Bles
n them which prosecute you. Bless an
% curse not" Could there have been
n more revolutionary doctrine preache
ID than that which Christ taught In h
IT message of the new kingdom?
IS A Woman's Preaching.
once heard an anarchist, woma
G. preach her horrible doctrine. Tn
,e night after the meeting when lay
IS bed with all my better manhood r
II. voting from the despicable teaching
th Of this dangerous woman l thought
to the shock Christ's teachings must ha'
Id given to those scribes and Pharisees
ty his day. But what difference! 81