Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1911-05-25

judgment"
And well we need to heed the APP
peal. To Judge by appearance Is a
most common weakness. OF all his
torical characters who have been sub
jected to the misjudgment OF his fell
low men does not Christ stand en-
phatically marked as the Misjudged
One? Misjudged by his townsmen,
misjudged by the spiritual leaders OF
his time. whose duty 1t was to have
watched the signs of their times pre-
dicted by the prophets and so clearly
fulfilled before their own eyes that
he that runneth might read. and yet
the majority failed to recognize the
Amounted One.
Misjudged by scribes, Pharisees,
the Sanhedrim with two notable ex-
ceptions he did not even escape the
total misjudgment of his own dis
ciples and his own kin.
Not only did Christ's contempor-
aries fail to Judge the righteous judg-
ment Others of other times. yea
even of our own, have shown the
same lack of judgment. With the
Jews as a nation and within the
church, among the gentiles, though on
different lines. misjudgment of Christ,
that somber specter of unbelief, has
tacitly adhered throughout the ages
as a doleful heirloom.
Mary, in her lack of appreciation
Of the divinity of her child, faifs to
Judge a righteous judgment when she
found him in the temple questioning
and hearing, and receives as a re-
buke: twist ye not that / must be
about my fathers business?"
The scribes saw in him only the
carpenters son and, arrogant in their
classical pride, asked with super
cilious contempt, Whence hath he
then this learning?"
The Parisees, blinded by their self
righteousness which amounted to
self-worship and created around them
selves an air Of exclusive sanctity in
nothing second to the caste feeling OF
the Brahman, seeing Jesus receiving
sinners and eating with them" and
judging by appearances, saw In him
only one of the puebel aspiring to a
thing beyond his reach and ken and
said: Praise God, we know that this
man is a sinner John 10:24.
The priesthood, who, with the
Parisees only added burden to burden
upon the people, without aiding them
with their smallest finger, as well as
the Sanhedrim as a whole, looked
upon this Jesus who did we'll, helping
all, as one playing to the galleries for
Interior purposes; a usurper and an
interloper within.
The Jew of today judges most
harshly of him who has done most to
exalt the nation whose only excuse
for existence is that he, the despised
one, should come through It, for the
despising of whom they are today
despised, but through whom they
shall see him whom they have pierced
and acknowledged him the Messiah.
The Mohammedan judges Of him as
the prophet whose term has expired
only to be supplanted by another.
The Unitarian, the Theosophist, the
Brahma Sumaj. Reformed Buddhist
and others of similar stamp, agree
in assigning to Christ a place in their
systems as a good man, the best man.
teacher, a model a prophet. yea,
even a God, lacking In judgment and
failing to Judge the righteous judg-
ment.
And why? For, says Jesus. ''Ye
judge after the flesh, John S:15,
Spiritual things must be spiritually
discerned. God is spirit and those
that worship him must worship him
In spirit and truth. Only those who
have been spiritually regenerated,
thus having received the spirit OF
God can Judge righteous judgment
OF the person and divinity of Jesus
Christ. No man can say that Jesus
is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit. -
l Cor. 1873 who is liar but he
that denieth that Jesus Is the
Christ? He is anti-Christ who denieth
the Father and the Son. II John,
2:22.
Is then Christ misjudged by all?
No, blessed be God, he has yet
remnant preserved unto himself.
1000 knees who have not bowed
unto Baal."
Then asked Jesus of them, Whom
say We that | ann" And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou are
the Messiah, the Son of the living
God" And Jesus answered and said
unto him, Blessed are thou, Simon
Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not
revealed II into thee but my father
which is in Heaven"
The man who was born blind
healed by Jesus. driven out OF the
synagogue by the blinded priests and
Pharisees. judged a righteous judg-
ment and acknowledged and wor.
shipped Jesus as the Son of God
John 8.
Jesus himself said John 100, II am
the Son of God, and furthermore the
Father and I are one. he who seeth
me seeth the Father"