Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-14

Christs crucifxion is the center Of
all history. ancient annals looked for
ward to Golgotha, the place Of the skull.
where Jesus died upon the cross. Mod
ern history took its rise from that hour.
No other death in all history has meant
to the world what the dying of the
Master means. 1t has transformed the
lives of men and changed the character
of civilization. Although it can truth
fully be said to be the worlds greatest
tragedy, it possesses the most sacred
and tender interest for all who love the
Lord Jesus because they see in His
suffering upon the cross the power of
God" redeeming the souls of men.
The cross was the highest point in
His revelation to all the world Draw
ing near the site where Christ was
crucified one says, here the Father
demonstrated His love for the salvation
of men to such an extent that He gave
His only begotten Son that whatsoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but
have eternal life" Not only spirit of
love. but the rays of light and life are
reflected from the cross of Christ. One
| sees the tremendous love of God for
room for doubt either as to its sincerity
or the depths OF His desire to impart
His life TO all who will accept the gift
OF His salvation. No one can stand and
look upon the. scene of the Masters
death without testing his own person.
atty. Our emotions reveal that today
| the same classes are found about the
cross that were attracted to it outside
the walls of Jerusalem when our Lord
was crucified, for the Indifferent, hos
| tile and friendly are still present.
Gethsemane 10 Calvary.
When the Masters enemies arrested
Him in the Garden of Gethsemane they
had, in all probability, authority from
PLATE to make the arrest. He was the
only one authorized to dispatch the
Roman troops. There could be only one
basis for his issuing a warrant that
Jesus was dangerous to the peace of
the state and menace to Roman au-
thority" Moved by inherited prejudice,
the ecclesiastical leaders had deter
mined upon putting Jesus to death.
They had plotted with Judas concern
ing where they could arrest Him So as
| not to excite the populace. When Judas
| saw the error of his action he repented
| that he had betrayed his Lord out of
| covetousness. He returned the blood
money to the officials to whom he had
sold the information, confeSsing that
he had betrayed innocent blood. He
paid the penalty of his treachery by
| taking his own life, while the religious
authorities used the blood money to
purchase a field in which to bury the
poor and strangers.
The effort made to shift the RESPONSE
bility for Christ's death was due to the
fact that they recognized the ground
lesSness of their action. In studying the
! proceedings of the Lords trial before
the high priests, the Sanhedrin and the
Roman rulers We can see that Jesus did
not receive justice from those who
should have executed the law in the
spirit of justice. We do not have to in
terpret their actions by our standards,
but by those of that hour, to realize that
His trial was highly irregular and con-
trary to their own law, and their de-
cisions were not based upon the evil
dence submitted Although the San
hedrin had voted that Jesus was guilty
and. according to their law, should be
punished with death, PLATE could find
no fault in Him. Forced by the threats
Of the priests and cries of the rabble,
he reluctantly gave his approval Of
Christs crucifxion. There was no de-