The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-04-28
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

one of the most renowned
meeting places in the whole earth
Tradition has it that this is the same
supper room" which was owned by one
friendly to our Lord and his disciples
and who granted it as their meeting
place on several occasions most init
mately associated with the Inaugural.
ton of Christianity. Tradition also
has il that this is the room mentioned
by St Mark In our text, where the
disciples with the Lord partook OF
the last Jewish Passover Supper, after
which Jesus instituted the Eucharist
or Lords Supper as an antitypical me
mortal, taking the place of the Pass
over to all who accept Jesus as the
Passover Lamb-"The Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the
world" Gohn i, 20; Christ our Pass.
over is slain, therefore let us keep the
feast" q Corinthians v, Z, 81.
Tradition assures us that this is the
same room mentioned in the Book OF
Acts q, 49, as tue place where the
Apostles resided aud assembled for
worship during the ten days following
tue Lords asceusion--the same upper
rooW," therefore. in which was mani
Tested the acceptance OF all the con
secrated followers of Jesus into Cove
naut relationship with God as "iuem-
bers OF the Body of Christ, which is
the Church" or course, our permits
sion to use this room for public Serv-
ice today was obtained only by pre-
with those having it in
charge. True, traditions are not al
ways reliable. Surely, in almost every
other part Of the world it would be
absurd to thlnk OF the preservation OF
the identity of house like this for
more than eighteen centuries. But
here we have most peculiar condi-
tiOns. Tie Inhabitants of this land
seem TO have been content to leave
things just as they found them from
generation to generation merely max
ing such slight repairs rs were from
time to time found necessary Here
visitors come, look and depart, filled
with a sacred awe, and have done so
for centuries, and the inhabitants,
each intent upon his own business.
have ignored this in a manner hardly
by Europeans. 1t is posi-
BILE therefore that tradition in this case
and ia other Instances ereabouts. has
located correctly, just as in Rome the
prison In which Paul was confined is
indicated by tradition with apparent
accuracy.
Christ Our Passover.
We are favored not only in respect
to the use Of the room. but additional
ly in respect to the time of our visit
and our use of it, This, according to
Jewish reckoning. is the first day of
Passover Wcek-it began last evening
at q o'clock. The three hours preced
ing that marked the time of our Lords
death and the hcgging by Joseph OF
Arimathea for the privilege of bury
ing his body ia his new tomb and the
hssty taking OF our Lord from the
cross and getting him only partially
emSalmcd and the tomb closed and
sIAa LODI hnfnra n'pInak-t Iia Iuu ha
ginning at 6 o'clock being amongst
the Jews, as the Apostle declared, an
~'higb day" a Sabbath day of special
Sacredncss as the beginning of the
Passover Feast Week
AS we look back to that memorable
occasion we can sympathize with the
Apostles and early believers in the
blighting of all of their hopes by the
apparent failure of Jesus to make good
his claim of Messiahship We can i'm.
agine better than we can describe their
detection, their disappointment. On
the next day, corresponding to to-mor-
row, the two with whom Jesus met on
the way to Emmaus said sadly, 1--WE
had trusted that it had been he who
should have redeemed Israel" duke
xiv, 2l.
They had hoped that his miracles
corr0berating his teaching. when he
''spake as never man spake," were
evidences that he was the Mes
siah. They had built their hopes, as
Jews. that now finally Gods promises
to their nation would be fslflled-thai
Israel should be exalted in the earth
ia name aud fame aud power and au
th0rity to bless aud to instruct "all the
families of the earth. They had
hoped that Messiah would be the great
King under whose beneficent reign, as
the great Mediator between God and
vien, the long promised blessing would
come to the earth They had hoped
also for a personal share with him IL
the glories of his Kingdom. according
to his own words-"Ye shall sit will
me on twelve thrones. judging (ruling
the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthev
xix, 2S). His death as malefactor
as n blasphemer against God, seemed
to cast shadow over every hope ans
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