Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-09-21
"Whdt Viii You Do With JeSuS?"
Asks Sunday at Tab sunday Night


night His text was from Matthew.
xxv1i.3a. "Pilste saith unto them. What
shan l do with Jesus which IL called
Christi They all shy unto him. let Him
be cruclfied Mr.. Sunday said:
Nineteen hundred years ago star
paused above lowly Manager In
Bethlehem, and above the moonllt hills
OF Judea glad angels heralded the be-
ginning Of the life OF Jesus Christ upon
the earth, who came to teach US love and
the atonement Of sin through his blood.
No matter what lie said or did 20 dis
prove that lie came TO fulfill the Mes
sianic prophecy. the Jews and Gentiles
stopped their ears and conspired TO muir
der Him. and caused Him to be nailed
10 the cross, although He was blameless
IN the eyes of the law, PLATE, unable 70
find anything against him. asked In the
words of my text, What, then, shall |
do with Jesus. which Is called Christr'
Now. Plate had many difficulties. II
sou give up you are a nonent.ty. Every
thing the devil does Is TO keep you out
OF heaven. Plate had many thinss
90 encourage him TO DO the manly
things to tempt him TO do the IN
manly things with Him. To his ever
lasting shame he chose tn &c the thing
which was wrong. and TO the end OF time
his name will reek with ignominy and
Will be a stencil In the nostris OF all who
like a fair deal Every mar In bell to
night IL there because he hadn't man
hood enough 20 take a stand for Christ
Among the things encouraging Plate
TO q right decision was the dream OF his
wife. We don't know much about her
Il was no proof Of her possession Of
IA
Himself TO her in a dream. for he so re-
veaIed Himself to Pharaoh and Nebuch-
ndnezEar. Yet for all we know she may
have been a good woman and reverant
one.
In Touch with ThinRs Unseen.
IL may have been because OF this that
she was given the vision. or II may have
been her overwhelming love for her hus-
band that put her in touch with things
unseen. We do not know Just what she
dreamed. but II seems probably that God
had revealed TO her n picture OF the muir
der Of Jesus. in which her husband should
have a part, and 30 Mrs. plate gave her
husband the message of warning TO have
thou nothing TO do with that just man,
Tor I have suffered many things this
niRht in a dream concerning Him" So,
plate has his wife's warning as an in
fiuence against an evil decision In the
case of Jesus.
I don't know what has been your exc
perience. but I never went aginst Mrs.
sundays advice that I wasn't up against
Il. think some OF you fellows wouldn't
have your nose to the grindstone II you
only took counsel from your wives.
second-Pilate had the personality OF
srlxr M
Christ into the hands OF his enemies.
Never before had such a character been
taken before Plate as prisoner. He
stood there quiet and calm. silent among
Ills accusers, one of the grandest and
most dignified figures the human eye
ever saw or the Imagination Of man can
conceive. II were a judge, the per-
sonality OF a prisoner would have big
drag with me.
Thlrd-Pilate had the miracles that
Jesus worked as a reason why no should
not find against the prisoner. He may
not have witnessed any OF the miracles Of
Jesus himself, but he had heard Of them.
They were the talk OF the whole region
There was hardly a town or village In
which there was not a man whose eyes
had not been opened from blindness or
whose ears had not been unstopped from
deafness. or who had not been healed
from lameness. or from whom a. devil had
not been cast out. Or. II there were not
these, there were their relatives and their
friends, who knew of tho wonders done
by Jesus. PLATE had heard OF these
things. and there Is no doubt that he waa
curious to see this man. about. whom
the people talked 80 much. Ho had the
miracles Of Jesus TO encourage him to d
the right and manly thing.
Pull other way.
PLATE had these three things 70 In.
fluence him 10 a right decision. They
were trying to pull him over on the side
OF Jesus. but there were influences pull
ing him the other way: ana so. whil'
God is trying to pull you down these ais0
10 confess your sins and acknowledg
Jesus Christ, all hell lie trying to pull 20,
back. No man ever tried TO DO right tina
the devil did not try TO drag him down
Now for the reasons that tempted ri
late to condemn Jesus: First. he asked
what win the Jews say n / let Jesu
gof' The Jews hated Jesus and tn
Jews hated PLATE. They were the ricl
men. the influential men and PLAT
feared their enmity. They had sent
committee OF their leading men TO Rom
TO ask Caesar to recall Plate and SEN
a more humane man IN his place. Tn
Romans. who had conquered the land
were lazy and indolent and cruel and lust
ful. The money 10 pay the taxes cam
mostly from the Woodworking Jews, VIII
were greatly oppressed by Plate an
men like him. Plate thought III l le
Jesus so. these Jews will be more bite
than ever against me. and will max
further efforts against me, and 1 wi
lose my job"
Second. Plate thought What wi
Caesar say? Caesar Is suspicious Of thi
man Jesus. and II he hears that hAv
let Him go. he will think that / thin
Him right and Caesar viii be angry an
] will lose my Job and maybe my heat
But ~ Caesar hears that / gave chi
long-haired evangelist 20 the jews. h
win think ] am on TO my Job ana al
looking after Romes interests dow
here. What a shameful consideration
Many a man today Is just as low-dowi
Faerificing Jesus because he Is afrai
10 sacrifice his Job. sacrifice even his al
for Jesus when he would find no fau
IN Him and was convinced that lie Wa
an innocent man.