The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-26
By Hop

 had said. Your house is left unto you desolate." Now, in short a time, while the fig tree was still green, It's rulers had reached so desperate a place that they were willing to violate law and conscience in His crucifixion. If so quickly the evil worked to such a horrible outrage of jus tice, what might be expected later on, when that Jewish fig tree had thoroughly dried and all the sap Spirituality had gone out of it?
 Similarly, in the end of this age, we may expect that the church, the Body oi Christ, will suffer violence, that thus the salt of the earth will be removed, and that quickly thereafter a general putre faction will set in-anarchy.
 The Son of Man Lifted Up
 Jesus had foretold His crucifixion, say ing that "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up''-be crucified. The brazen serpent was thus type of Christ Actually "holy harmless, undefiled. sep arate from sinners He was treated as a sinner. Under the law the severest pen alty was crucifixion. Cursed is every one that hangeth on tree" And so, says the apostle, Jesus was made curse for
 us Galatians. 3:13) Although He knew
 no sin. He took the sinners place.
 The words. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,' are not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts As a matter of fact, we know that the Jews
 have been cut off from Divine favor for IS centuries It is proper to assume that
 Jesus was in full harmony with the
 Father, and that He did not ask some- thing contrary to the Divine will.
 On the other hand. Jesus. who was giv-
 ing His life for the Jews. would not wish
 them to have full punishment for the
 1f 1Ar -f4,er T.t,A 1,f Con
 just penalty for such willful sin would
 undoubtedly be utter destruction. But
 the blood of Jesus speaketh better
 things''-not justice, but forgiveness for
 all mankind, including the Jews. In Gods
 due time their eyes of understanding will
 be opened.-zachariah, 12:1o.
 "They Parted My Garments" The stony-heartedness of the Roman soldiers is indicated by the fact that while Jesus was dying they cast lots for His seamless robe, dividing His other gar
 ments amongst them. We have Gods promise that the millenial kingdom will take away the stony heart and give in stead tender hearts
 1 The attitude of the world is further represented in the two culprits executed at the same time, one on each side of Jesus. One railed at Him as a fraud, ban
 tering Him to manifest His power by say ! ing Himself and His associates. Little did | he realibe that if Jesus had savel Him l self He could not have been Savior Of | the world
 l The other thief befriended Jesus. de-
 claring that He had done nothing ainiss | and was unjustly accused. Then. turning I to Jesus. he said. Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. | He recognized that Jesus was worthy to I be King, so noble of character and of appearance was He. What if finally, in | the great beyond, this One should prove to be Messiah? The thief would at least
 declare a word in His defense, and ask
 kind remembrance if this One ever I reached His kingly power
 Jesus answer seems to have been very generally misunderstood in the past. We 1 thought that He promised the thief to be with Him that same day in the kingdom. Yet we knew that according to other l Scriptures Jesus Himself was not In the Kingdom that day, but in Josephs new | tomb; that He did not rise from the dead, from Sheol, Hades. the tomb until 1 the third day; and that even then He | said to Mary, after His resurrection, "I l have not yet ascended to My Father and your Father to My God and your God" Evidently Jesus could not have said that | He and the thief would be in Paradise 1 that day.
 1 Paradise, lost 5000 years ago, is to be restored by Messiah in His glorious king | dom. It was then that the thief asked | to be remembered-"w when Thou comest into Thy kingdom" The thief has been sleeping in death ever since, waiting for Messah's kingdom. Jesus answer is in l full accord with this: "Verily l say unto thee this day (this day when nothing seems more unlikely than that l would ever have kingdom), thous shalt be with Me in Paradise
 Jesus cry, My God Why hast Thou l forsaken Me?' attests that He endured to 1 the limit the sinners penalty That pen atty was not merely to die, but to be cut I off from divine fellowship. In taking the l sinners place. Jesus must for a moment | at least fully experience the sinners alieniation. Into Thy hands I commend l My spirit reminds us that Jesus might l still speak of His unforfeited right to life l as His own spirit, merely laid down under l divine promise of the resurrection.