Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-03-28
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81 THE REV. w.
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Subjects Jesus the Preacher.

Brooklyn, N. Y. Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church,
on the theme Jesus the Preacher"
the Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson,
pastor, took Mark go, "And He
preached the Word unto them" as
his text. He said:
The sharp line between preaching
and teaching is very hardly drawn.
The preacher who amounts to any
thing at all ought to be good teach
er, instructor of men. 1t does not
necessarily follow conversely that a
good teacher will be as ready when
preaching is the need. But the preach
er must be teacher does he wish for
success in the sowing of the Gospel
seed. He who would be an influence
for and toward God must be able not
only to declare to men what Is the
way we should live that we may at
tain to eternal life, but also he must
be able to unfold to mankind how
we may find the way and keep to its
middle on the march toward heaven.
But lest we drift from the theme
in hand, let us to the point. Jesus
was the greatest preacher the world
has ever seen, and He stands to-day
as the Master and the inspiration Of
all those who would tell His truth.
Glorious as are the messages of the
prophets to their people and their
day, and rich as are the utterances
of the long line of spirit-fllled men,
who have since Christ preached the
Gospel Of God unto men, Jesus yet
holds the premier place as the might
lest message-giver of them all.
Let us for these minutes. while we
are here together, glance at several
salient qualities in the preaching Of
Jesus which commend Him to US. Let
us not waste our time in speculation
over the sort Of gestures Christ may
have used or the oratorical powers
we may conceive Him to have pos
sessed. Let us rather get down to
the kind of gospel He preached, and
to a consideration of those elements
of reaching-force in 1t, which have so
captured and held the attention and
the lives of men throughout these
many years.
First and foremost Jesus preached
the Gospel-the good news to men
that men could be saved from sin
through the everlasting love of the
Father. Knowing that sin is the
deep and engrossing goddess fact Of
life, and knowing also that the one
desire of men when at their best is
to escape from bondage to sin, Jesus
wasted no time over non-essentials,
secondary or inconsequential things;
but came straight to the point. Jesus
took no time to prove the existence of
God-He took that fact for granted.
Christ spent no moments to make 1t
clear that sin really does exist-that
too He felt to be the consciousness
of every normal man. Jesus asked
no man whether or no he was hun
gering or thirsting for sure saliva
ton from sin, but rather gave the
Gospel straight without question. Re-
pent and believe and follow. These
are three of the great words that
Jesus sent to the hearts of men:
"Turn away from evil unto God and
humble yourself in His presence. ask
ing pardon for your sins" Mine is
the revelation of the Father in all
His fullness, which is able to lead
you out of death and bondage into
freedom, light and life" Follow
after Me, do as do, act as I act, walk
as walk, think as l think, love as l
love-for walk in the similituGe of
our Father-and then shall ye grow
from grace unto grace" These are
three Of the mighty words of Jesus
to SHINING men. And they are the es-
sence of the Gospel. No philosophy
is deeper than the Gospel, no story
is more simple, no truth more full of
power. And 1t is because the Gospel
meets and administers to the deep
est need Of men that 1t is to-day al
ever the predominant influence In
our world. Because it shows hope of
escape from sin it lifts the criminal
anto Christ. Because it is so simple
and so satisfying 1t touches the hearts
of little children yet unlearned in the
mysteries of life. A message Of pro-
found and universal truth it chal-
Yenges the thinker and meets his
tests. To all men, and to all condi-
tions, ranks and abilities among men,
She good news has its application
Gnd it's mission. And it is because
the Gospel is the universal, deeply
simple, inspiring message that 1t is,
that it has such hold over the
hearts of men.
In the second place, I would call
your attention to the fact that the
Gospel was definitely preached by
Jesus to the desperately poor, to the
and the weary. In His
day the rich had all they needed and
n
give them as much more as possible.
For the publican and the sinner, for
the oppressed and sick and the dis
couraged no such care was taken.
They were allowed very largely to
shift for themselves. But Jesus over
turned the system with His Gospel
and talked first to those whose need
was greatest. And 1.-THE common peo-
pie heard Him gladly"
In the third place Jesus went out
to the people with the Gospel. He
did not wait for them to come to
Him, but rather sought them out. 1t
made no difference to the Lord
whether men came to Him or He
went to them, whether He had one
man or five thousand to whom He
spake the truth, whether men came
by night or climbed up into the trees
in the broad glare of the hot Eastern
sun to see Him, whether they made
q clamor by the wayside Or just ST.
lently and steathily touched the hem
of His garment. When men would
not come to the synagogues to hear
Him preach and teach-that is to say
to church-He went out into the
streets of the city and up on the hill
sides and brought the word of saliva
ton to them.
Now, to be sure, we have merely
touched upon very few of the ele-
ments which are characteristic of the
preaching of Jesus. But SO far as we
have gone the lessons from the
preaching Of Jesus to the men OF to-
day are Enthusiastically definite and
clear. And the lessons three are
hese: First, we should Hreach the