The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-11

Work Mark 1:12-2.
When Christianity Became Organized.
Jesus Identifies himself with the
big crowd of plain people He was
the son of toiler. He was in such
close fellowship with the working
man that He was called the Car
penter." DR.. Van Dyke has written
truly:
But 1 think the King of that country
comes out from His tireless host,
If He loved it the most; \
And here in the dusty confusion, with eyes
that are heavy and dim,
He meets again the Ia5oring men who are
looking and longing for Him.
No Buddha immured in lonely and
ascetic contemplation was He, but a
real man, touching life on all levels,
and yet closest to the dust-grimed
and sweaty crowd Of common people.
The modern fashion of preaching
Christ as the best Brother of all man
of life md the limitless measure OF
death, is as near to "the simple gos-
pei as preaching can get.
Lining Up With the Crowd.
snob wants to emphasize the diff
ferences between himself and the
mass of mankind: Saviour stresses
the points of likeness This lesson
upon the baptism and the temptation
of Jesus, has one great message: the
identity of the Master with the life
and lot of people. He was at con-
slant pains to associate hlmSelI with
the sorrows and tolls and joys and
hopes and religious aspirations OF the
big crowd of us.
Johns preaching was not perfect:
it was only a preparation; none the
less, Jesus insisted that He be pup
licly enrolled as one of Johns crowd
A lot of conceited persons think the
church is not perfect and not quite
up to their standard; and SO refuse TO
unite with it. To all such may be
commended the example of Jesus: He
joined Johns church. He found the
best crowd and stood with it. No idle,
carping critic He.
Each in his place standing for the
b st he knows and not withholding
open allegiance to the best and most
| hopeful organization God has provid-
| ed, is the program of progress. open
and public confession by church mem
| bership is the council conveyed by the
example of Jesus in His Baptism He
wanted to be counted among the
| friends of God on earth. That way
| comes Christian solidarity.
A Real Mans Battle.
After exaltation comes depression;
| the ecstatic. experience of baptism,
when the heavens opened and the
Father attested His approval of the
Son, was succeeded by the temptation
| in the wilderness. Jesus went apart
awhile; to take the measure and
Eeaning of himself, His new expert
ence and His mission: Every normal
person understands the mood. Jesus
wants to get away from the crowd; to
be alone with himself and God.
But He did not get away from the
| devil. Modern philosophy is inclined
l to ignore the devil; substituting devil
parc ~
ally, 1 prefer to think better of man
| and accept Satan. Everybody who
has lifted his eyes six inches from the
RIM of books knows that there are
forces in the world which make for
| unrighteousness. The ugly thing
called sin is no mere theological term;
it is a fact of life.
A successful business man sat OPP
posite me and said, 81 tell you, know
| r1en and I know myself and it is only
the grace of God that keeps me from
| tumb1ing over into the volcano" That
man was not talking about any meta
physical or subjective errors: he
meant gross sins, such as the law OF
the land recognizes as crime Yet he
is a good man, made such. he avows
only by the religion of the tempted
Christ.
| No Sham Fight.
Into such battles as this-the kind
/
more real experiences than any
struggle in business-Jesus went. He
fought the fight that no good man
can escape; and He fought it with nc
weapons that may not be ours.
1t was no sham battle that Jesus
waged. He could have fallen ever
as we may fall 1t was possible for
Him to sin; otherwise the experience
of the Temptation would have beer
las idle as a painted ship upon a
painted ocean"
Sturdy words need to be spoken OF
this point, to meet the misconceptior
of those who would amasculate the
Temptaticn; and Rev. DR.. j. H. Jow-
EFT has spoken them: Whatever else
my Lord shall be to me, He shall not
be a counterfeit man, exposed to
counterfeit fire, a mere stage fire. 6
nan played upon by harmless sheet
lightning and never moving amid the
dread bolts and forked flame. Hi:
shall not be the sham fight and mine
/, the real struggle, or He can be nc
leader to me. He himself suffered
being tempted. He felt the real heat
, of the fire, and felt the fascination
, of the real seduction. Jesus of Naza
reth had a real devil to meet ant
the real battle to wage, and the gar.
lands on His noble brow were nobl,
won.
A Three Battle War.
To the mind of the lonely, spent
and hungry young man, worn will
his long vigil of forty foodless days
the Temptation appeared. There il
no need to apparel him in horns ant
; hoofs; tie devil wears evening clothes
oftener than the rig of red.
A we'll fed man may not be tempt
ed by food; but starving man may
. 1t is amazing how the elementa
wants, food, shelter. warmth, appea
even reason AM
r Jesus was hungry. So Satan haC
! HIM turn the stones into bread Nov
it surely was Gods will that his Sol
should be fed-but not in Satan
! way. Better hunger than dishonor
: Allegiance to evil is too high a pric
to pay for life
More subtle was the second on
Ieln..-l.+