Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-11
BILLY" SUNDAYS SERMON TODAY

rms sermon tCos tCritten bu Mr.. sun
quy especially for the serUice at the
tuOernucte This afternoon. 10 is prtnted
jor the first time beiotp.
"BARABBAS"
Then released he Barabbss unto ,ben,. and
| to "Sm S ne had scourged Jesus, he delivered him
IN the castle OF Antonio, at jerusalem
Is Saraobas bound with heavy fetters,
Lor ne is a dangerous man, and II would
mean death to more than one Roman SOL
uler II he should make his escape.
ne was the captain Of an insurgent
roDoer band, who has caused the Govern
ment much trouble. for he has long re-
sisted and dehed its authority. Many
companies Of soldiers were sent against
MIN, with orders to bring him either
dead or alive, but like the Apache In
dians, who for so long were able to defy
Uncle sam because they knew so we'll
all the secure hiding places In their own
western wilds, so Barabbas with his out
law band long resisted and e'uded the
roman battalions that were sent against
him.
But Just as General Miles at last
proved too willy for old Geronimo so
Barabbas was finally run down and
taken, and now he is securely Gagged in
the dungeon of Antonio. He was tried
and found guilty OF both murder and
treason and sentence of death had been
pronounced upon him. He Is doomed to
die, and that very soon, and he must die
without mercy. with excruciating suffer-
Ing for he is t. be cruclned. this being
the way in which Rome put an end to
all such offenders In the dark solitude
OF his dungeon Barabbas has been COM
PEELED to think-and think-the weary
hours away He has had to think as he
never thought before in all his life, for
he is now where there is nothing to divert
his thoughts. There is nothing to break
the Grazing monotony of those closing
days except when once In "a hours his
brutal jailer brings his allowance OF
bread and water
"He thinks of the time when they
pighted their troth, and of the feast that
was made and of the joy of parents and
friends when it was known that they
were to wed. lie remembers their early
housekeeping days, in the little home
upon which was the very breath of
heaven. He can see again every article
of furniture, just as 1t was then, and
how precious everything there was to his
precious little wife. No kings palace
ever had more in 1t to make hearts happy
than their little home had for them In
those bright days.
And then what day It was when the
cup of their JOY was made to run over
by the coming of the first little stranger,
but who was at once so we'll known, for
he was like guest from heaven. o Bar
abbas, how far you were from the dun
Eeon of Antonio then! How undreamed
of the cross on Golgotha Hill With the
coming of little Stephen how soon every
thing centred in him-for love to imag-
Inc that Barabbas may have been the
father of Stephen. Now they lived and
planned for the little one, and nothing
so blocks the way to destruction for
o., 1.,,,s oh
ing can so put courage Into the heart OF
a man as little arms about his neck
How Barabbas loved his wife and
boy and wanted to be strong and noble
and brave for them, and how the moth
er's happiness lay in making little coats
for the boy, in which she put her moth
er's heart, her highest skill and best
needlework, building with every stitch
bright castles in the air for him, for
mother never lives so little in the pres
ent moment as when beside the cradle.
And so Barabbas sits and thinks, as
scene after scene from the olden time
comes into his mind. of when child after
child came into his home, until at last
he awakes from his reverie with start.
for his thoughts have led him a long
and winding way, and have brought him
to the present moment
How he repents of his misdeeds
which have brought such sorrow to those
ne loves, anu now ne leelS lndl ne WOulu
give his very soul for a chance to live
life over again! But alas! 1t is simply
vain regret. There Is no hope for him!
He must die, as Rome has declared and
from Caesar there is no appeal. He
realizes it all too we'll
THE Roman Government has never
been known to have mercy on such as he.
Some things can be condoned. but treason
never! 1t will be so hard to die with
out even one farewell look into the faces
of those he loves. With no chance to
hear them say that they forgive him for
the sorrow he has brought upon them.
mo, there is no hope for any of this,
and realizing 1t in all its bitterness the
doomed man almost longs for the sum-
mons-the summons that will send him
to the cross! But suddenly, as he sits
there in his dungeon, with the weight of
his fetters and his troubles so heavy upon
him, he hears the great shout of multi
tude crying out his own name -'Barabbes!
Barabbas! Barabbasv What can it
mean? What new thing has happened?
He hears the tramp-tramp-tramp or
soldiers coming along the narrow corri-
dor. They are coming to lead him TO the
chamber of torture where his flesh will
be torn to shreds by the cruel Roman
which he knows too we'll is al
ways preliminary to crucifixion. He must
brace himself for the terrible ordeal. God
of Abraham, help me now" II is his first
prayer in years, but he must pray now