Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-24


the end of His life Jesus fought ano
died as a warrior He was hounueu
by foes. Sometimes He himself dealt
vigorously and physically with evil
conditions. His spirit was that OF
militant hero. There was hothlhs
of the pacifist about the Master we
see Him in the present SUNDAY
Schol lesson, at bay before his
foes, the politico-ecclesiastical hler-
archy of His day.
Obviously, this story of real re-
ligion in sharp combat with tornal'
empty ecclesiasticism is a suggesnon
of the gravely important tact tha'
the Son of Man came not TO sehu
peace, but a sword; and that the pro-
gram of war for the memorable
Tuesday of Holy Week is stlll tne
everyday program of the Church'
The old war still wages. Inc coii
f1ict between truth and error, right
eonsness and selfishness, is still as
real and keen as when, all unlear
ing, the calm-eyed Christ taceu the
sinister countenances of the crown
of His bitter enemies in the teHlple
court of old Jerusalem.
1t is a mistake to assume tnaI re-
ligion reigns with undisputeu SWAY
in the life of to-day. The atmospheie
of the Sunday school is not tne az
mosphere of the big world; TINS SIT,
uation is what first bewilders ana
then overthrows many an lnhoceli'
youth. The standards OIL reiSlUlh II
and of the world are diametrlcallS
10 must MAIN
tain an atmosphere of war-Wlse'
patient war, but war nevertheless. IL
will not do for good people TO retire
into their own eXclusiVeness ana lS-
more great and blighting ana lar-
reaching evils. Let no enthusiast ue-
lude himself into the belief that the
nsolent and active evils OF lntem-
perance, gambling, lust, evil speech
and dishonesty are going TO pc over
come by any other means than tne
wise and courageous battling OF the
forces of righteousness. The son o.
God is at war; His followers must
fight. That is a cardinal truth un-
derlying this dramatic day IN HIS
life.
A Great Careers Crowded Close
The impending crisis which lie
clearly foresaw impelled the heroic
these closing days of His public min
istry. The crucifixion was only three
DAYS distant. Jerusalem was thronSed
with Passover visitors. His name
was upon every lip; He was the
outstanding parsonage OF the IeaSt,
whom all men sought. The record
of the day is full, beginning with the
discourse on faith, apropos OF the
withered fig tree, as Master ana dls-
ciples were on the way from Bethany
where they had spent the night,
doubtless as guests of Lazarus, AT
the very outset the Pharisees and
scribes began to harry Him with
questions designed to entrap Him
into some admission that could be
used against him in a civil trial. lie
spoke several parallels to the people,
talked of the widows mite, and
uttered His excoriating philippe
against the scribes and Pharisees,
in speech that still seems to sizzle
and scar as one reads it. Only
superlative warrior could have so
spoken.
There is a dark pathos over the
picture of this day. Jesus was MAX
ing tremendous efforts to have the
Jews accept Him. 1t was their last
chance Back of all His strong words
lay heart of yearning for the people
lie loved. But in vain. He came
unto His own, and His own received
Him not" John significantly says,
But though He had done so many
signs before them, yet they believed
not on Him."
In the soft quiet of eventide, as
the Teacher and HIS little band of
followers trudged over the valley to
Bethany, He lifted for them the veil
which had 70 rthem the future, and
foretold, in a picture which sets the
reader ashudder, the destruction of
the impenitent city that they were
leaving. The Jews persisted in re-
jecting their King; therefore the dire
consequences were inescapable.
A Trap That Failed
The powerful temple ring during
the day sent certain Pharisees and
Herodians, whom they hoped Jesus
would not recognize, in the guise of
sincere seekers after truth. They
wanted to catch Him in His words,
that they might extract something
that could be twisted into a SEM
blance of reasonable utterance, in
order to hale Him before the Roman
courts. What a putting of heads to-
gether there had been in order to
devise the trap that was sprung!
With the polite palaver of poll
ticians and schemers, they ap-
preached Jesus with lying words of
fattery-which were as false and
reprehensible as they are to-day
when they are uttered in the con-
ventional guise of the white lies" of
society-saying, Master. we know
that Thou art true, and carest not
for anyone; for Thou regardest not
the person of men, but of a truth
teachest the way of God" Para
doxically, this was true though false.
on the lips of the men who spoke il
the statement was false: they did
not mean it. Yet, standing alone
the declaration was more profoundly
true than they could realize.
Then they sprang the trap. rs il
lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or
not?" They thought Jesus was
bound to be transfiXed on one horn
or other of the dilemma: if He said
yes" the common people, in whose
favor He was intrenched, would re-
oudiate Him, for they loathed the
Roman rule; II He said no" then
he sharp talons of the eagles would
swiftly clutch Him. Jesus parried
he question. He was more adroit
than they. Since they were not
~ a.