The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-04-10
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. L. o. ROTENBACH.
Theme: Dead Eyes Opened.

|
! sermon in the series on Miracles; the
! Wonders of Jesus and Their Lessons
! For To-day" His theme was, Blind
Eyes Opened" The texts were in
Mark 1928: HE took the blind man
! by the hand and led him out of
| town." and Matthew in 9:29 and 90:
"a: According to your faith be 1t
unto you; Jesus had com passion"
Mr.. Rotenbach said:
The texts bring before us three
scenes in the healing mercy of Jesus.
, The first is yonder where lies the city
of Bethsaida, near the Sea of Cali
| lee, close by the Jordan. Jesus is in
| that city; you can see Him together
with His disciples. Now, notice that
company Of people yonder. See, they
are leading a blind man. They bring
him to Jesus and beseech Him to
touch him. Here is faith on the part
! of that company and neutrality ap-
parently on the part of the man. What
i he needs is faith. Jesus undertakes
| to arouse that. He takes the blind
man by the hand, leads him out of
the city, one side by themselves, the
man and Jesus.
| Now, notice the process, for such 1t
. Is. The Master moistens his eyes
/ with spital, places His hands over
! them and asks: "Seest thou apght
at all?" The man looks up. Here
is faiths beginning: Eyes, yes. I
see men, but 1 see them like unto
trees walking" Again those hands
! are placed over his eyes, and now
Jesus makes him look up also. He
| sees clearly!
l1ere, now, is the second picture
fyun of
are following Jesus. Let us get the
setting. The Master is teaching with
Jairus, ruler, comes beseeching
Him. "My daughter is dead; come,
lay Thine hand upon her and she
shall live" He goes to grant the
request, when through the throng a
woman makes her way, reaches out
her hand timidly and touches the hem
of His garment and is made we'll. At
the house of Jairus professional
mourners have taken possession. Jes-
us puts them out. 1.-THE maid is not
dead but sleepeth." They laugh at
Him. He goes in, takes her by the
hand, and loi she rises, and the fame
of it went everywhere.
That is the setting, and now as He
, departs from thence, these two blind
men keep following Him. We can
see them go. How pathetic the sight!
We can hear them creeping out after
Him. Listen, "Son of David have
mercy, have mercy, have mercy" But
He heeds them not. Now, at length
they approach the house where He is
to remain. He goes within. Crowd
remains outside. But these two blind
men, what will they now do? They
! are keeping right on eagerly through
the crowd. They are at the door
now. What! they have gone into the
house and right up to Jesus.
He asks, as He looks upon their
sightless eyes: believe We that am
able to do this?" Do they believe!
Why, He has healed that woman in
the way little while before when
she had but touched Him. He has
raised from the dead the daughter of
Jairus by simply taking her by the
hand, and they had kept following
after Him all along the dusty road,
though utterly ignored by crowd and
by Him. Do they believe now when
at last they stand by His side? Yea,
Lord" and as the answer bursts from
their eager lips, He touches them,
saying: According to your faith be
it unto YOU and their eyes are
Opeu6u- r d1tH Is ITluu puduI.
Now, over there we have the third
picture. Again we need the setting
to bring out the force and the beauty
of it. Jesus is going up to Jerusa-
lem. 1t is the week before Passover
"a week before the cross. AS He
goes He takes His disciples one side
and says: Behold we go up to Jer-
usalem, and the Son of Man shall be
betrayed; and they shall condemn
Him to death and deliver Him to the
Gentiles to be Knocked, scourged and
crucified, and the third day He shall
rise again"
Then comes to Him the mother of
Zebedee's children. Her request is
that her sons might sit one on the
right, the other on the left of Jesus
in His kingdom. The ten, you re-
member, are incensed, but Jesus calls
them unto Him, saying: "Ye know
that the princes of the Gentiles lord
it over them, but it shall not be so
among you. Whosoever will be great
among you let him become your SER
want; even as the Son of Man came
not to be served, but to serve and to
give His life ransom for many"
After these two events Jesus, His
disciples and a great multitude de-
part from Jericho. He is in the midst
of one of those great pilgrim bands
on their way to Passover feast. They
have come from Galilee, augmented
in numbers as they have drawn near
er to the city of David.
Their people believed on Him-as
a prophet, and in vague way as
Messiah and the coming king, who
even now, when they arrive at the
city, may be crowned, as once before
they sought to crown Him by force.
On sweeps the procession-a crowd
before Him, another behind, Himself
and disciples with others in the mid
die. He perchance engaged in teach
ing.
Suddenly sharp cry breaks in up
on them. At the roadside ahead sits
blind Bartimaeus and a companion
begging. They hear the advance of
the multitude What means this?"
Jesus of Nazareth passeth by" At
once all he had felt, hoped and be-
lieved of Jesus burst out in one great
cry: Jesus, Son of David, have mer-
cy on us" The multitude, impatient
at disturbance, rebukes them and
bids them be still. No, no, louder yet
rises their cry: Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on us"
That cry reaches Jesus. He stops,
commands that they be brought to
Him. Bartimaeus leaps forward,
throws aside his cloak, lane opens
through the crowd and now they are
before Jesus. What will We that
shall do unto ycu?" Lord that our
eyes may be opened" See the won
dering multitude, those eager blind
ones and Jesus. Is it a wonder that
He is moved with compassion? He
touches their eyes. They receive
sight Immediately, follow Him, glori-
flying God, whilst the multitude sings
praises unto God.
These three scenes are given us not
so much to please or interest US, as
to touch our hearts and to instruct
our faith. There is a manifest pro
gress also. In the first the blind man
IS lead of others to Jesus. In the
second they follow after Him of their
own eager volition, and in the third
Jesus has them brought to Him. In
each is an advance of faith, and faith
is the medium alone through which