Separation of the Chaff from the Wheat

*^’ OW hard and unyielding must have been the nature that remained

^“”^^ unmoved at the Lord’s relation of the parable of the prodigal son, 1 r and how impenitent the soul that took not to itself the lesson taught in that of Dives and Lazarus. But the rabbis who stood about Jesus heard both without feeling more than the sting of self-condemnation, and this only excited their anger because of such public revealment of their faults. But so truthful and forceful were the illustrations which Christ gave that, realizing their inability to raise popular objection, the rabbis seemed to have retired in abashment for a time, leaving Jesus alone with His disciples. The occasion was now utilized by Christ to further instruct His followers, and to forewarn them against the divisions, disputes and persecutions, which would assail them in their ministries. Said He, “Offences must need come; misrepresentations in every farm will have to be met, and under them many who even now feel strong in righteousness will succumb and yield to the influences of those who oppose Me. But these evil instigators will not go unpunished; yea, indeed, it were better for them had they never been born, or that a millstone were bound about their necks and they cast into the sea; for no iniquity is so great as that of men who not only reject the gospel themselves, but who strive by every means of prejudice, bigotry and contamination to induce those seeking salvation to abandon their holy ambitions and return to their sins. To prevent these insidious enemies from sowing seeds of discord and worldliness in the hearts of those who have a desire to live in a true spirit of righteousness, and to spread the gospel of truth throughout the world, recourse to unwearying prayer is necessary. My followers who would remain steadfast in their devout purpose must humble their pride and cultivate a forgiving disposition; they must be patient under all adversity and hold themselves ready to pardon all offences, when the offenders seek repentance. However often you may be wronged, yet for My sake forgive freely whenever the spirit of contrition moves the guilty to seek your favor, for My kingdom shall be founded upon love, upon humility, upon limitless forgiveness, upon charity and upon all those holy attributes which distinguish the righteous man and call forth the approval of God.”

This discourse which Jesus gave to His disciples aroused their misgivings, for not having yet fully comprehended the spiritual condition necessary to &

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thorough conception of their apostolic duties, and not being wholly free from the bonds of the law as interpreted to them by the rabbis, they could not at once accept the rightfulness of returning good for evil, and doubted the strength of their faith to maintain a spirit of forgiving meekness under the infliction of wrong. But while thus feeling their own weakness, they were all the more anxious for a re- enforcement of their ambitions to become faithful servants, and believing that it might be given them by Jesus, they showed their desire and humbleness by praying Him to increase their faith.

To their request Jesus replied by assuring them that true faith was as yet but a germ in their hearts, which would develop only by persistency of prayer; “for,” said He, “if you had even the smallest measure of faith, you would find no difficulty in doing all that I have commanded,’ and a great deal more; things which appear to be impossible to you now, would be easy to accomplish if you had that spiritual strength which cometh from belief. If you had proper faith and should say to this sycamore tree, ‘Be thou plucked up by the roots and planted in the sea,’ it would obey you.”

But with development of their faith and the increasing power which it gave them, Jesus particularly admonished them against permitting pride to supersede their humility, since their advancement in spiritual benefits could only be made by constant dependence in Him, and to impress this fact more firmly upon them He defined the relation which a faithful servant should sustain towards his master, accounting a fulfillment of all the servant’s duties as unworthy to be specially praised, because he had rendered only what had been required of him, “And,” said Jesus, “you are the good servants who should perform your duties while on this earth, looking to God for reward; nor should you regard only the reward, but perform your services through a spirit of love for Me and for the satisfaction that a conscientious discharge of your obligations will afford, since God deserves of you more than you can give.”

The Empire of the Soul.

It was a happy relief to Jesus to escape even for a short while the company of such malevolent spirits as the Pharisees and rabbis, but He was not permitted to enjoy this peaceful riddance long, for very so5n they found Him again and renewed their molestations and angry accusings. Said one of these, one day to Him, “Master, if Thou be the Messiah, as You claim, will You tell us when the kingdom of God will come. It has been promised for a long while, and You have also been many years on the earth, and yet we perceive no signs of the fulfillment of our hopes.”

And then Jesus answered, “Already have I told you, but you are so spiritually blind, so prejudiced, so bigoted, and so firmly attached to the things of this world that you could not understand me. Everything that you see is colored by your worldly ambitions; your expectations have been of a political Messiah; one who would come as a god of war to fight the enemies of Judah, and overwhelming them with the sword of slaughter, establish a Jewish kingdom and make of it the glor>- of all the world. But instead of a god of war, I am come as the God of peace, to set up a kingdom in the hearts of men, to establish a universal brotherhood, to destroy sin and its hideous consequences, and to redeem the world by bringing all people and all nations to God. Therefore say I, Lo, here is the kingdom of God; it is in your midst, for I am the Messiah, and wherever I am, there also is that kingdom.”

The Pharisees were troubled by the answer which had thus been given them, for having seen many of the wonderful works performed by Jesus and listened to the marvelous wisdom of His teachings, they seem to have begun to slightly appreciate the importance of preparing themselves for entering the kingdom which He had declared. This semi-belief, however, in. the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah, was soon destroyed by the hostile rabbis, who did not cease their scoffings, and to ridicule with all manner of revilings. When, therefore, Jesus was again alone for a short while with His disciples. He resumed the subject of His answer to the Pharisees, saying: “The kingdom of God is indeed truly come, but before its final triumph the subjects of that kingdom will have passed through many tribulations. Men will strive to show you signs of its appearing, and some will say, ‘Lo, it is here! ’ and others, ‘Eo, it is there! ’ or, ‘See here, ’ or ‘See there! ’ but regard none of these, for they are intended to catch the credulous and to lure them to destruction. When the Son of Man shall come for judgment it will be as the lightning for suddenness. As it was in the days of Noah, when the floods came to swallow up the world after men had refused to repent, and as it was when Sodom was consumed for its offences, so shall it be again when the Son of Man reveals His power. In that day those who have not prepared themselves, as did Noah and Lot, by prayer and repentance, will be destroyed; nor time given in the last moment of their lives to seek salvation. As there are good and evil in every family, as the righteous and the sinful mingle together in their social or business relations, there will be a division among families and among societies, the good being separated from the bad, and the evil delivered up for punishments while the righteous shall go to their

reward.”

A Hard Judge.

And to emphasize the declarations which He had made, and to illustrate the efl&cacy of prayer, Jesus gave to His disciples another parable: “There was,” said He,” a certain judge who was so impervious to moral principles that he neither feared God nor regarded man. A confirmed pessimist and misanthrope, who saw no trait in human nature but selfishness, nor knew any motive transcending that of self-indulgence in carnal pleasure. And in the same city was a widow who came to him asking for judgment against her adversary. With characteristic indifference to the justice of her complaint he rudely dismissed her. But she would not be discouraged, and was so importunate in her request that to escape the worriment of her petitionings the judge said: ‘Though I fear not God, nor regard men, yet because this widow troubleth me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.” ’

Applying this parable to the lesson which He sought to impress, Jesus said,” And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though he bear long with them? I tell y.ou that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith od the earth?”

The application of this parable does not represent God in the character of an unjust judge, ox as wearying with the repetition of prayer, but is given to show that if a man, unmindful of the rights of others and thoroughly conscienceless himself in everything that appeals to the moral nature of man, can be prevailed upon by persistency of importunings to do his duty, how much more will God grant the prayers of those who approach Him in humility and who by their persistence in prayer reveal the earnestness of their faith? The parable is therefore an incentive to constant prayer, to a continual revealment of faith in the mercy ot God and the belief in its ultimate manifestation in behalf of the petitioner.

Pomposity and Humility.

And again being surrounded by bigoted Pharisees, who made an ostentatious show of their righteousness by vaunting selfishness, Jesus turned to them and related another parable, of the Pharisee and the publican:

What is the matter with the Temple of Jerusalem? Is it on fire? It looks like a mansion just kindled with flame. Why, it is the hour for morning sacrifice, and the smoke bursting through the door and crevices of the building wreathes the mountain top in folds of smoke through which glitter the precious metals gathered and burnished by royal magnificence. I see through the smoke two men going up the steps of the building. They go side by side, and yet they have nothing in common — they have no sympathy with each other. One is a Pharisee, erect, arrogant, pompous, looking down with utter contempt upon the poor man who happens to be going up beside him. The other is a publican, who goes up with head bowed, and who seems to have a world of trouble. Now the two have reached the main enclosure, and they are about to begin worship. The Pharisee goes to the gate nearest the Holy of Holies. He feels that he is fit to stand there. He says in substance: “O God, there are two days in the week when I eat absolutely nothing, and I give a great deal of money to good objects, and I am one of the best of men. I have nothing to do with the common rabble — certainly nothing to do with that poor publican who came up the stairs the same time I did.” The publican goes clear off to the other side. He wants to get as far away from that gate leading into the Holy of Holies as possible. He does not feel fit to

THE PUBLICAN AND THIi PHARISEE.

.Stand there. The Bible says he stood afar off, and then — as the people of the East to this day do when they have any great trouble, smiting themselves — he bowed down, striking his breast, and crying out: “God be merciful tome a sinner.” The incense that went up from the high-priest’s censer that morning was not so sweet as the publican’s prayer wafted into the opening heavens, while the exhilarant prayer of the Pharisee dies on his contemptuous lip and rolls down into his arrogant heart. Now I see them again on the stairs. They are going down side by side. The Pharisee cross, sad, wretched; the publican glad-hearted, the jo)’s of heaven glowing in his cheek and flaming in his eye. “I tell you,” said Jesus, “this publican’s prayer was approved by God rather than the vain-glorying petition of the Pharisee: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

The Holy Bonds of Marriage.

In the time of Christ there were two rival schools, led respectively by rabbis Schammai and Hillel, which were in opposition-, in the construction of certain Mosaic laws, among which that of divorce was a principal question, Hillel was the father of our modern free-lovers, voluptuaries, those socialists in family economy who regard women as nothing more than a creature for a man’s convenience, with no rights above that of a beast of burden that receives only his provender for the service it performs, and which may be disposed of without excuse or accountability. Schammai held the reverse views, esteeming woman as much a creature of God’s love as man, and hence that divorce was justified only for offences against chastity, and that such crimes were equally great whether committed by husband or wife.

This question of divorce having divided the rabbis, some of them thought to confound Jesus by asking Him to interpret the law, for, however He might decide, one of the schools must become offended and He might thus be drawn into a bitter dispute; therefore they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause!” The custom of divorcing wives for any cause had become so general that the whole Jewish nation degenerated into the grossest sensualism, and love become a synonym of carnality, like that’^^hich degrades the Neapolitans of to-day, and which Humbert is using all his kingly prerogatives to correct.

However serious the question, Jesus answered it with His usual wisdom and fearlessness, and by so doing raised woman from her servile condition of the time to a lofty eminence of love and purity, which she occupies to-day. Said He, Have you not read that God created man and woman to be husband and wife, and to be help-meets to each other; and are you ignorant of the blessings which God placed on marriage, and that in instituting that sacred bond He ordained that there should be no relationship on earth so dear, so binding, so holy as that of man and wife; for is it not written that the woman shall leave all and cleave to her husband, and that he shall make equal sacrifices for the sake of his wife? If therefore God instituted marriage, who shall set aside the ordinance at pleasure?” “But,” asked they who questioned Him, “did not Moses permit divorcements, and for no better excuse than the wish of the husband?” “Yes,” answered Jesus, “Moses gave laws permitting divorce, but it was not because he approved the dissolution of marriage, but rather to prevent greater evils, which had their beginning when the race was in bondage. What Moses did, under advisement to restrict the immoralities of the people which dishonored marriage, were acts which served the purpose of temporary expedients, and are not binding upon the race under conditions which have since obtained. Nor could the laws given by Moses contravene those established by God, by whom we are all bound.”

Not entirely satisfied with the answer Jesus had made to the Pharisees, some of the disciples requested Him to explain further His objections to divorce, if it were wrong to seek divorcement for any cause, or if it were advisable to marry. And He answered, “Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her; and if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.” In other words, there are men, and women too, so untrue in their nature and so deformed in disposition that, while they cannot refrain from marriage, yet marriage is an unnatural condition for them, since congeniality and compatibility are not possible, and constancy is least likely to follow from the union of such persons. Recognizing this, and holding to the highest law, “what therefore God hath joined together let no man put asunder,” Jesus did not exhort all people to marry, only such as were qualified for marriage; those who regarded it as a sacred bond to be dissolved only by God Himself, and who would so asshnilate with the one of their choice that the two lives thus united would be indeed as one.

A more glorious teaching than this was never given to man. Marriage, which God established and blessed in Eden, and which Jesus defended, and sanctified, and glorified in disputation with the host of sensualists who surrounded Him, has become by the influence of His doctrines the holiest ordinance that beautifies and irradiates the altars and hearthstones of the whole Christian world. And by Christ’s words also was womanhood emancipated from her servitude to man, and enthroned as queen and joint ruler with her husband, and as an equal integer and factor in the world’s economy, political, social and domestic.

Christ Among Children.

The mothers who stood about Jesus and heard with leaping hearts of joy His eloquent endorsement of marriage, and His elevation of women to the roya) dignity of queen of the home, were thrilled with such gratitude that it is nc wonder they brought their little children to receive His blessing. It had been aip immemorial custom for fathers to take their young children to the synagogue, there to receive blessings of the elders, and this practice was now to be hallowed, not by elder or rabbi, but by the High Priest of the world, whose great heart should be the door through which little ones were to pass in countless procession to the end of time, to swell angel bands that serenade the Eord with hallelujahs and doxologies. It was not the first time that Jesus had showed His love for little children, for how often did He use them in His grand lessons to teach humility, dependence on God, and purity of heart. “Except ye become as little children,” “Except ye be born again and become as a little child;” these were made to serve as objective lessons to His disciples and to Nicodemus.

See the glad mothers coming with their cooing babes, and their laughing toddlings, and their rosy-cheeked boys and girls fresh from a romp, because not yet old enough to know what the gathering about Christ means. See them pressing through the crowd and making their way towards Jesus, who sits with smiling face and outstretched hands ready to receive them. His disciples, however, thinking that such a tumultuous presentation of children will annoy their Master, rebuke the anxious mothers, telling them to stand back and be more seemly in their manners, and more regardful of the comfort of the Great Teacher, who has no time to spend with curious women and noisy infants. But Jesus answered His disciples,” I need no guard to protect Me against such ovations; let them come, it is My joy to receive them; so much innocence, so many pure hearts, it is a reminder of heaven from which I have so long been separated. Suffer little children to come unto Me and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” And with loving hands He blessed every little head in that assemblage, perhaps kissed all the little happy lips, and smoothed the brow of every little cherub, feeling that here were the buds, tender and beautiful, that would flower into red rose, and alabaster lily, and carmine pink, and blushing carnation, and variegated tulip, and sweet jessamine, in His garden of spiritual exotics, a transplantation of the flowers of infancy of this world into that grand conservatory which Jesus has prepared to receive them. Children, who love their mother better than any one else, struggle to get into His arms, and to kiss His cheek, and to run their fingers through His hair, and for all time putting Jesus so in love with the little ones that there is hardly a nursery in Christendom from which He does not take one, saying,” I must have them; I will fill heaven with these; for every cedar that I plant in heaven, I will have fifty white lilies.” And so He loved them, and blessed them, and holding. His loving hands above the little heads about Him, said unto those who stood near, the disciples and Pharisees, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein,”

CHRIST BI.KSSFNG LITTI.K CHILDREN. - Drawn by Bula.
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A Radical Question.

As Jesus departed to continue His journey, a ruler of the local synagogue, and one whose exemplary life had no doubt greatly endeared him to the people, came running to Jesus, and kneeling before Him, as a mark of his inferiority, said, “Good Master [or venerated rabbi], what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The request, made as it was by an exhibition of reverential and humble spirit, indicates sincerity, and g’ives us to believe that the young ruler had been soulfully impressed by Christ’s teachings, even if he did not fully accept Him as the Messiah, Jesus stopped and answered: “Why call Me good, when there is but one perfect one, who is God. If you ask Me what is required of you, I refer you to the commandments, which declare that thou shalt not kill, or steal, or bear false witness, or be covetous or adulterous, and that thou shalt honor thy father and mother, serve only one God, keep the Sabbath day, show mercy, and that thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” And the young man replied, “All these have I kept from my youth up.”

Did the young ruler believe that he had fulfilled all the commandments, oi was there a sense of something yet lacking, which prompted him to apply to Jesus for instructions as to what more he should do? He must have felt that while obeying the letter of God’s law he was not perfect in its spirit, which is indicated both by his request and by the final answer which Jesus gave him: ’ * Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

The ruler had thought himself a devout man, and as his life perhaps had been spent in religious duties, he no doubt believed that his loftiest aim was to perfect himself for that higher kingdom into which he hoped at last to gain entrance, with many others whom he was striving to lead the same way. If he had been asked, “Are you willing to make any sacrifice that would secure your admittance into heaven?” he would have promptly responded,” Yes.” But now he was put to a test that would prove whether or not he was sincere or false to himself. He was rich and a ruler, probably a rabbi, and with wealth and dignity, he was also affected by custom, training and association. He was impressed by the knowledge that the poor were despised, oppressed and subjected to sufferings of many kinds, while the rich luxuriated in the delights of pride, power, advantage, ambition, and all the comforts that money can supply. He therefore cast his eyes toward the ground, but only in momentary reflection, for his mind was soon made up; he could not exchange his proud position on the terras offered; no, not even if by so doing it insured him the reward of heaven. And he turned away sorrowfully.

As the rich young man went on his way, sad of heart but resolute in piupose never to surrender his wealth, Jesus said to His disciples:” How hardly shall (419)

they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a caniel

to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of

God.” The disciples who heard this could not understand the saying, and asked:

” Who then can be saved?” Was not David a rich man? and was not also Job, and

Jacob, and Abraham, and Joseph, and were they not saved? Jesus did not mean

that no rich man would ever enter the kingdom of God, but that wealth so bound

men to material affairs, which was particularly true during the period of the

Jewish hierarchy, and in the time of Christ, that spiritual matters were made

secondary to worldly concerns; that love for the glittering preferments which

wealth supplied chilled holier aspirations, so that rich men were married to the

world rather ‘than to the church, and became ambassadors of sin, instead of

accepting poverty on earth that thereby they might become plenipotentiaries of

heaven. Yet, while this is true of men in general, there are exceptions, deplor-^

ably few, in which rich men are found advancing the glory of God by a liberal

use of their possessions, and for these as well as for the poor, Jesus gave the

promise of great reward, — a life everlasting in the world to come, and manifold

blessings in the present time; for God has the power to wean the hearts of even

wealthy men from their riches.

A Vintage Scene.

Having explained the fullness and glory of the rewards which were reserved for those who cheerfully make sacrifices for His sake, Jesus likened the mercy and generosity of God to a householder who owned a large vineyard, and the vintage being at hand he sent out his servants to hire laborers to gather the crop. Several were engaged in the first hour of the morning at a denarius, or sixteen cents per day, to work, but he had not secured all the labor needed; so in the third hour the master going into the market-place and finding other idle men, these he also engaged, promising to give them what was just for their work. And agiain he went out the sixth and the ninth hours and found yet others, whom he also sent into the vineyard with like promise to pay them what was just. At the eleventh hour the master found yet other workmen idle who had been thus far unable to obtain employment, and these he likewise hired, with no other agreement than his promise to pay them what was right.

When the day’s labor was finished the owner of the vineyard instructed his overseer to call in the laborers and pay each of them, without regard to the number of hours they had worked, the sum of one denarius, beginning however with those who had been sent into the vineyard at the eleventh hour,. These having each received a denarius, they went away satisfied; likewise those engaged at the third and sixth hour; but when those who were hired at ’ the first hour received also a single denarius each, and learned that the same amount had been paid to those who had worked only a single hour, they rose in complaint against the householder, saying.” These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day.” But he answered them:” Have I not paid you the sum that I agreed to give? Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am ^ood?”

“So,” said
Jesus,” the last
shall be first, and
the first last in
My kingdom; for
many be called,
but few chosen.”
Or, in other
words, “Those
who labored
throughout the
day did so for the
sake of a specified reward, while
those who engaged at the later
hours did so relying only upon
a promise that
they should receive what was
just. It is these
latter who compose the few
chosen for reward
in My kingdom.”

This parable
was spoken to the
disciples to show
the willingjiess of thk dissatisfied laborers.

our Lord to reward not for the amount and duration of the labor expended in the service of bringing the world to repentance, but in proportion to the sincerity and trustful faith exhibited by His followers.