The Human Nature of Jesus Christ

Acts 4: 27, 30 — “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together. By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and what signs and wonders may be done by the name ot the holy child Jesus.”

Mark 1:24 — “Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God”

Luke 4:34 — “Saying. Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God”

Acts 3: 14 — “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you.”

i Jno. 2: 20 — “For ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye. know all things.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ is Holy, absolutely Holy. He is “The Holy One”

NOTE. — In the Old Testament it is Jehovah God who is called the Holy One. Jehovah is called “The Holy One of Israel” about thirty times in Isaiah. (Compare Lecture on the Holiness of God.)

(2) WHAT DOES HOLY MEAN?

Lev. 11:43-45 — “Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, tJiat ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves and ye shall be holy; for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

Deut. 23: 14 — “For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.” (Study context.)

Holy means free from defilement. To say that CHRIST is absolutely holy, is to say that He is absolutely pure. (Compare 1 Jno. 3:3 — “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”)

Note the many ways in which the Bible brings out this absolute purity of CHRIST:

Heb. 7:26, R. V. — “For such a high priest became us holy, guileless undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”

Heb. 9: 14, R. V. — “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

i Pet. i: 19 — “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

1 Jno. 3:5 — “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

2 Cor. 5:21 — “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Heb. 4: 15 — “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

i Jno. 3: 3 — “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The Bible multiplies expressions and figures to produce an adequate conception of the absolute holiness or moral purity of Christ. Nothing in nature with which to compare it except light.

i Jno. i: 5 — “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (Compare Jno. 8: 12 — “Then spake Jesus jagain unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”)

The dazzling white light that glorified the face and garments of JESUS on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17; 2j Luke 9: 29) was the outshining of the moral purity within.

(3) How THE HOLINESS or JESUS CHRIST MANIFESTED ITSELF. (a) Heb. i: 9 — “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in a love of righteousness and hatred of iniquity,

It is not enough to love righteousness; iniquity must be hated as well. On the other hand it is not enough to hate iniquity; righteousness must be loved as well. There are those who profess to love righteousness, but they do not seem to hate iniquity. They are strong in applauding right, but not equally strong in denouncing evil. There are also those who profess to hate sin, but they do not seem to love righteousness. They are strong in denouncing evil, but not equally strong in applauding right. JESUS CHRIST’S holiness was full-orbed as well as spotless; he loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

(b] i Pet. 2:22 — “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.’’

Jno. 8: 29 — “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

Matt. 17:5 — “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” (Compare Jno. 12:49 — “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”)

SECOND PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in deed and word; NEGATIVELY, in His never doing sin or speaking falsehood; POSITIVELY, in His always doing what was pleasing to God and always speaking the things which pleased God.

The holiness of JESUS manifested itself not merely negatively in not doing nor speaking wrong, but positively also in speakingall that God desired, all that was right to do or speak. A full manifestation of holiness does not consist merely in doing nothing wrong, but in doing all that is right.

(c) Heb. 4: 15 — “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus manifested itself in constant and never-failing victory over temptation. It’was not merely the negative innocence that results from being shielded from contact with evil, but the positive holiness that meets evil and over comes it.

(d) The entire Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), especially Matt. 5: 48 — “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in demanding absolute perfection of His disciples and refusing any compromise with evil.

(<?) Matt. 23: 13 — “But woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.”

Matt. 16: 23 — “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

Jno. 4: 17, 18 — “The woman answered and said, I have no husband. JESUS said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he who thou now [hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.”

Matt. 23: 3S — “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can vo escape the damnation of hell 1”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in the stern and scathing rebuke of sinners.

(/) i Pet. 2: 24 — “Who in his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

1 Pet. 3: 18 — “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”

2 Cor. 5: 21 — “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (Cf. Jno. 10:17, 18 — “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”)

The Character of Jesus Christ lor

Phil. 2: 6-8 — “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Gal. 3: 13 — “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: For it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in His making the greatest sacrifice in His power to save others from the sin He hated and to the righteousness lie loved.

This was the crowning manifestation of His holiness. He so hated sin and loved righteousness that He was not only willing to die rather than sin Himself, but even to give up His Divine glory, and be made in fashion as a man, and die the death of a malefactor, and be rejected of man and separated from God, that others might not sin. He was willing to make any sacrifice to do away with sin.

(g) Matt. 25: 31, 32, 41 — “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

2 Thess. 1:7-9 — “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, inflaming fire taking vengenance on them that know now God, and they that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The Holiness of Jesus Christ will manifest itself in the awful, irrevocable punishment of those who refuse to be separated from their sin.

He died to separate men whom He loves from sin which He hates. If men refuse this separation, He leaves them to their self-chosen partnership and the doom which it involves. Men talk much of the holiness of God and love of JESUS, but JESUS is just as holy as God, and God is just as loving as JESUS. (Jno. 3: 16; Eph. 2: 4, 5.) In this as in all else JESUS and the Father art* one. (Jno. 10: 30.)

Let us remember that first of all our Saviour is Holy. Until we have an adequate conception of His Holiness we can have no adequate conception of His love.

(4) WITNESSES TO THE HOLINESS OF JESUS CHRIST.

(al Acts 3: 14 — “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you.” — Peter.

(b] 1)00.3:5 — “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” — John.

(c] 2 Cor. 5:21 — “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might he made the righteousness of God in him.” — Paul.

(d] Acts 4: 27 — “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the People of Israel, were gathered together.’* — The whole Apostolic Company in Concert.

(el Acts 22:14 — “And he said, the God of our Fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldst know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of his mouth.” — Ananias.

(/) Luke 23:41 — “And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” — The Dying Thief.

(g) Luke 23: 47 — “Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.” — The Roman Centurion.

(h) Matt. 27: 19 — ‘* When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” — Pilate’s Wife.

(i) Jno. 18: 38 — “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And wfien he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find no fault in him at all.”

Jno. 19:4,6 — “Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. When the chief priests therefore and officers saw un, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.” — Pilate, himself, three times.

(/) Matt. 27:3, 4 — “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have ginned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” — ; Judas Iscariot.

(£) Mark i: 23, 24 — “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” — The Unclean Spirit.

(/) Jno. 8: 46 — “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”

Jno. 14: 30 — “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” — Jesus himself.

(m) Jno. 16: 8, 10 — “And when helis come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.” — The Holy Spirit,

(n] Heb. i: 8, 9 — “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

Matt. 17: 5 — “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” — <^od the Father.

II. The Love of Jesus Christ to God the Father.

(1) THE FACT OF His LOVE.

Jno. 14: 31 — “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father giveth me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved the Father.

The one thing that JESUS desired the world to know about Him was that He loved the Father. If the secret of His life was asked, it was this: “I love the Father.” If we wish to know what love to God means in its purity and its fulness we have to look at JESUS CHRIST.

(2) How THE LOVE OP JESUS CHRIST TO THE FATHER MANI
FESTED ITSELF.

(a) Jno. 14: 21 — “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.”

Jno. 15: 10 — “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in hit love.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to tto Father manifested itself in His doing as the Father gave Him commandment. (Compare 1 Jno. v: 3 f 1-2.)

NOTE i. — Jno. 6: 38 — “For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

His obedience to the Father’s will faltered not at forsaking the glory of heaven for the shame of earth.

NOTE 2. — Phil. 2: 8 — “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

His obedience to his Father’s will faltered not at death, even the death of the cross.

Comp. Jno. 10:15, 17, 1 8 — “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from rne, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

His death was in the highest sense voluntary. It was the goal toward which JESUS deliberately walked.

Luke 9: 51 — “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” But it was not only on that last journey that “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem;” but when He first took upon Him the nature of man, He had steadfastly set His face to go to Calvary. The Jews stood beside the tomb of Lazarus and saw JESUS weeping and said “Behold how He loved Him” (Jno. 11:3G) — loved Lazarus. We stand beside the cross and behold JESUS bleeding and we cry “Behold how He loved Him” — loved

God.

(b) Jno. 8: 55, R.V. — “And ye have not known him: but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar: but I know him, and keep his word.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His keeping; i. e., attending to carefully, or guarding, the Father’s word.

To keep God’s word means more than to obey His commandments. A man may obey commandments without hearty love to them, but we guard that which we regard as a precious treasure. This JESUS did. The Father’s word was His most precious treasure. He guarded it as other men do their gold and jewels. This esteem for His Father’s word was a peculiar mark of His love to the Father. The Destructive Critics profess to love God. How little of it they show in this way They are ready to give away God’s word to the first plausible sophist that advances a high-Bounding argument for surrendering some precious portion of the Word of God.

(c) Matt. 26: 39, 42 — “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in unwavering submission to the Father’s will, even when that will might require that from which the soul shrank in heart-breaking anguish.

(d) Ps. 40: 8 — “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in positive delight in doing the Father’s will. The connection shows that the Father’ s will here was His own sacrificial death.

NOTE i. — Luke 2:49 — “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” This delight in the Father’s will manifested itself even in the boyhood of JESUS.

NOTE 2. — Jno. 4:34, R. V. — “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” The doing of the Father’s will, and accomplishing his work was JESUS CHRIST’S meat, ;t was more to him than His necessary food. (See context.)

(e) Jno. 8: 29, R. V. — “And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested ti*4&f n His always doing the things which were to the Fat/ter

This is more than obedience to express commandments. A son may do whatever a father bids him, but a more loyal and loving son will not wait to be bidden, but study to find out what is pleasing to his father and anticipate the expression of his will. To know what was pleasing to the Father was JESUS CHRIST’S constant study; to do these things was his unvarying practice.

(/) Jno. 5: 30 — “I can of -mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking the Father’s will.

The accomplishment of His Father’s will wras the one object of His pursuit. As other men hunt for gold, or pleasure, or honor, or the accomplishment of their own will, He sought for the accomplishment of His Father’s will.

(<br) Jno- 5: 34» 4T> R-V. — “But the witness which I receive is not from man: howbeit I say these things, that ye may be saved. I receive not glory from men.” (Compare v. 44.)

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking and accepting testimony and glory from the Father alone.

(h) Jno. 17: 4 — “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His finishing the work the Father gave Him to do.

NOTE. — When was that work finished? (Jno. 19:30 — “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.”) On the cross. It was love to God before love to man that brought Jesus to Calvary. We speak ot God the Father loving men in Christ, which is true, but it is also true that Christ’s sacrifice for men finds its final reason and original source in obedience to the will of the Father, who was the object of His Supreme love.

(/) Jno. 7:18 — He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory:

but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no

unrighteousness is in him.”

Jno. 17:4 — “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

Jno. 17:1 — “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”

NINTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to the Father manifested itself in His seeking the glory of the Father alone.

The Father’s glory was JESUS CHRIST’S first and great ambition, the consuming passion of His life. It was for the Father’s glory He planned, prayed, acted, suffered and died. JESUS taught that the first and great commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matt. 22: 37, 38.) His own life is the supreme manifestation of this law which He taught.

III. The Lore of Jesus Christ to men.

(1) WHOM AMONG MEN DID JESUS LOVE?

(a) Eph. 5:25 — “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the churchy and gave himself for it.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved the Church.

The Church is loved by CHRIST in a particular sense and a peculiar way. While a philanthropist may love all mankind and yet, if he is a true man, will in a peculiar way love his own wife as he loves no other woman, so CHRIST has a peculiar love for the Church, His bride. We must be on our guard, in studying the various passages in the Bible which speak about the love of CHRIST, to note whether they refer to His love in general, i. e., His love to all mankind, or His love in particular; i. e.y His love to the Church, which is His body and His bride.

(by Eph. 5: 2 — “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us as offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”

Gal. 2:20 — “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loves individual believers. Jesus Christ not only loves His church as a whole, but He loves each individual who believes in Him.

(c) Jno. 13: i — “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved Jits own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ “loved His own” which were in the world. Not all men were “His own” when He was here upon earth, neither are all His own to-day.

QUESTION: Who are His own?

Jno. 17:2, 9, 12 — “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as tJiou hast given him. I pray for thorn: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given vie; for they are thine. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”

JESUS CHRIST’S own are those whom God the Father has given unto Him. The proof that anyone belongs to this elect company is that he comes to CHRIST. Jno. 6:37 — “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

This highly favored company given unto CHRIST by the Father, and who come to CHRIST, are objects of CHRIST’S special love. To them He ministers in a special way (see context Jno. 13:1), and them He guards so that not one of them perishes. (Jno. 17: 12, R. V. — “While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition; that the scriptures might be fulfilled;” 18:9 — “That the word might be fulfilled which he spake. Of those whom thou hast given me 1 lost not one.”y

(d) Jno. 14:21 — “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loves him that hath
His commandments and keepeth them.

CHRIST has an altogether special love for His obedient disciples; to them He manifests Himself as not unto the world.

NOTE i. — Jno. 15:10 — “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Those who keep his commandments abide in his love. This does not mean, as sometimes interpreted, “abide in the consciousness of his love.” It means rather what it says. There is a love of CHRIST out of which one steps by disobedience.

NOTE 2. — Mark 3:35 — “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” Whosoever does the will of God stands in the relation of closest kinship to Christ. Such an one is to Him his brother and sister and mother. A man may love all men and yet he has a peculiar love to his own brother and his own sister, and above all, to his own mother. Toward whosoever does the will of God, JESUS CHRIST has that love which combines all three in one. NOTE 3. — Jno. 15:9 — “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” (See also v. 10.) JESUS CHRIST’S love to those who keep His commandments is just the same as His Father’s love to Him.

(el Matt. 9: 13 — “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy; and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 19: io — “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Rom. 5:6, 8 — “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loves sinners, the lost, the ungodly.

JESUS CHRIST loves the vilest sinner as truly as He loves the purest saint, but He does not love the vilest sinner in the same way that He loves the purest saint. His love to the sinner is one thing; His love to the obedient disciple quite another. Toward the one He has pity, in the other He takes pleasure. There is an attraction in both cases. In the one case it is the attraction of need appealing to compassion; in the other case it is the attraction of beauty appealing to appreciation and delight. CHRIST pities the sinner, He delights in the saint. He loves them both. In the parable of the lost sheep we see that the attraction of need is the greater.

(/) Luke 23:34 — “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved His enemies.

(g) Jno. 19:25-27 — “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

i Cor. 15:7 — “After that he was seen of James.” (Comp. Jno. 7 :5 — “For neither did his brethren believe in him.”)

Jesus seems to have shown himself to no unsaved man after his resurrection, except his brother.

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved His c<an kindred. Jesus Christ had a peculiar interest in and love for those who were His kindred according to the flesh. Christianity does not ignore but sanctifies natural ties.

(//) Mark 10:13-16 — “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them; and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved children. Children had an especial attraction for Jesus Christ, and were the objects of his especial solicitude and care.

Matt. 18:3, 6, 10 — “And said, Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

The man or woman who has not an especial love for children is not Christlike.

(z) Jno. 11:5 — “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” (Mark 10:21).

Jno. 19: 26 — “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the discifiU standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, thy son!”

NINTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ loved especial individuals in an especial way.

While JESUS CHRIST loves all men with infinite love, while he has a peculiar love to His Church as His bride and His body, while He has an individual love to each member of His body, while He has a still more especial love to all those who have His commandments and keep them and do His Father’s will, yet, the more open any heart is to Him by faith and love, the more is that person the object of His especial delight.

(2) How THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST TO MEN MANIFESTS
ITSELF.

(a) a Cor. 8: 9, R.V. — “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poorp that ye through his poverty might become rich.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to men manifested itself in His becoming poor that we might become rich.

How great the riches He renounced and how great the poverty He assumed is seen in Phil. 2: 6-8 — “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’’1 How great the riches we obtain through His becoming poor we see in Rom. 8: 16, 17: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

(b) Eph. 5: 2 — “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.”

Gal. 2: 20 — “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

i Jno. 3: 16 — “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Jno. 15: 13 — “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man laj down his life for his friends.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ for us manifested itself in His giving Himself, laying clown His life for us.

His was a self-sacrificing love. The death of CHRIST was not the only sacrifice He made, but the crowning one. His whole life was a sacrifice, from the manger to the cross. His becoming man at all was a sacrifice of immeasurable greatness and meaning. (Phil. 2:6, 7.)

(c) Luke 7: 48 — “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus to the vilest sinner was manifested in His forgiving them when they repented and believed on Him.

(d) Rev. i: 5 — “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

FO UR Til PR OPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to us manifests itself in His washing (or loosing, R. F.) us from our sins in His own blood.

(<?) Luke 15:4, 5,6, 7 — “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to His lost sheep manifests itself (a) in His going after them until He finds them; (b) in His rejoicing over the lost one found; (c) in His laying the lost one found on His own shoulders; (d) in His bringina it safely home.

(/) Jno. 10:4 — “When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”

Is. 40. ii — “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to His flock manifests itself in His tender care for each member of the flock.

(g) Matt. 8: 17 — “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ for men was manifested in Himself taking our infirmities and bearing our sicknesses

(h) Matt. 14:14 — “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude; and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ for men was manifested in His having compassion upon them and delivering them from their sicknesses.

(i) Matt. 15:32 — “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.”

NINTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to men loas manifested in His having compassion upon them and supplying their physical needs.

(Compare Heb. 13:8, R. V. — “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and forever.”)

(/) Rev. 3: 19, R. V. — “As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

TENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to men is manifested in His reproving them in order to bring them to repentance.

(K) Jno. 14: 18, R. V — “I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you.”

ELEVENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to liii disciples is manifested in His not leaving them desolate. He Himself comes to them.

(!) Jno. 11:33-36: “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!”

TWELFTH PR OPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ was mo ifested in weeping over the sorrow of His loved ones.

NOTE. — He knew that this sorrow was but for a moment, that was founded upon a misapprehension, that in a few moments it would be changed for exceeding joy; but it was real, and as it was theirs it was His also.

(m) Jno. 14:1 — “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’r

THIRTEENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to His disciples was manifested in his comforting them in their sorroio and anxiety.

This is the purpose of the entire fourteenth chapter. Note vv. 1 and 27 — “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me;” 27 — “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

(«) Jno. 14:27 — “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you,” etc.

Jno. 15:11 —” These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.1*

FOURTEENTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples was manifested in His leaving them His own peac& and His own joy.

(o) Mark 3: 5, R.V. — “And when he had looked roundabout on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth: and his hand was restored.”

FIFTEENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to men was manifested in His grieving over the hardening of their hearts.

The hardening of their hearts, as shown by the context, was shameful and outrageous. It aroused Christ’s anger. But it also moved Him to grief. Would that we had that feeling toward even the most outrageous sin that our anger would be mixed with tears.

(p] Luke 22: 32 — “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren.”

Jno. 17: 15 — “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

Luke 23:34 — “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

SIXTEENTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ toward His disciples and toward His enemies was manifested in His praying for them.

This is a most important manifestation of love.

(g) Luke 24: 38, 39, 40 — “And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet.”

Jno. 26: 24-29 — “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came, the other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

SEVENTEENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ toward skeptics was manifested in patient dealing with unreasonable, inexcusable and stubborn doubts. (r) Mark 16: 7 — “But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.”

EIGHTEENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ toward a weak disciple was manifested by patient and tender dealing with his lapse into grievous siti and apostacy,

(s) Rom. 8:37 — “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

NINETEENTH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to those u’ho believe in Him is manifested in His giving them overwhelming victory in all their conflicts.

(t] Jno. 19: 26, 27 — “When JESUS therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, Behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

TWENTIETH PROPOSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ was manifested (a) in His forgetting His own awful agony in His sympathy for the sorrows of others; (b) by intrusting His own loork to the one He loved. It was to the disciple He loved that He intrusted His own most sacred charge.

(u] Jno. 13: 1-5, R.V. — “Now, before the feast of the passover, Jesus knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he came forth from God, and goeth unto God, riseth from supper, and laying aside his garments; and he took a towel, and girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

TWENTY-FIRST PR 0 POSITION: The Love of Jesus Christ to men manifested itself in His performing the lowliest and most menial service for them.

It is easy to perform the most menial services for those we love. A mother can perform the most humiliating and repulsive service for the babe she loves. (Yet wealthy mothers usually employ a hireling to do it.) What but love, wondrous love, could enable the only begotten of God, in the full consciousness u that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He came forth from God, and goeth unto God,” to arise from the table and with His own hands do this menial service for His disciples? And Judas was there, too, and the devil had already put it into his heart to betray Jesus. (Vv. 2, 10, 11, R.V.)

(v) Jno. 15:15 — “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

TWENTY-SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ’s love to His friends manifests itself by His making known unto them all things that the Father makes known unto Him.

When you discover some great truth, what do you wish to do with it? Do you not wish to hurry away to your most-loved ones and make it known to them? So Jesus, in the fulness of His love to us, hastens to make known unto us all that the Father makes known unto Him.

(TV) Jno. 10:3 — “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”

TWENTY-THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus’ love to His own
sheep is manifested in His calling them by name.

This looks like a very small matter, but in that fact lies part of its significance. It is a tender illustration of the Savior’s love for His own. There was also something peculiar in the way in which He called His own by name. (Compare Jno. 20: 16.)

(x) Jno. 17:12 — “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me, I have kept and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scriptures might be fulfilled.”

Jno. 18:8, 9, R.V. — “Jesus answered, I told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that the word might be fulfilled which he spake. Of those whom thou hast given me I lost not one.”

Rom. 8:35-39 — “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ! Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our LORD.”

TWENTY-FOURTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His own manifests itself in His keeping them so that not one of them is lost.

(y) Acts 9: 5 — “And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

Matt. 25: 37-40, 41-45 — “Then shall the righteous answer him, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, -ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not utito one of the least of these, ye did it not tome.”

TWENTY-FIFTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples manifests itself in His so thoroughly identifying Himself with them that He regards all that is done unto the least of them as done unto Himself.

(z) Eph. 5: 31, 32 — “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

TWENTY-SIXTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to the church was manifested in His leaving the Father to cleave unto the church, so that they two shall be one flesh. This is, indeed, a great mystery.

(a ay Jno. 14:21-23 — “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

TWENTY-SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to those who keep His commandments is manifested in His manifesting Himself unto them and making His abode with them.

(bb] Jno. 14:2 — “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

TWENTY-EIGHTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples has been manifested in His going to prepare a place for us.

(cc) Jno. 14:3 — “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also.”

TWENTY-NINTH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to His disciples will manifest itself in His conning again for us to receive us unto Himself, that we may be no more separated one from the other.

(Compare i Thess. 4: 16, 17 — “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”)

NOTE i. — He comes Himself: “I come again.” He sends no mere messenger.

NOTE 2. — It is to receive us “unto Himself.’1’1 Not merely into heaven. It is as if He longed for us, longed to press us to His very soul, His very self “unto himself.” Wo long for Him, but not as He longs for us. Heaven is a lonely place to Him without us. Earth ought to be a lonely place to us without Him. Godet’s comment on these words is worth repeating. “He presses him to His heart, so to speak, while bearing him away. There is an infinite tenderness in these last words. It is for Himself that He seems to rejoice in and look to this moment which will put an end to all separation.” (Godet’s John, Vol. 2, p. 270, Am. Ed.) (dd) Eph. 5:25-27 — “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it: That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

THIRTIETH PROPOSITION: The love of Jesus Christ to the church manifested itself in the past by His giving Himself for it; manifests itself in the present in His sanctifying and cleans ing it with the washing of water by the word; will manifest itself in the future by His presenting it to Himself” a glorious church not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” but “holy and without blemish.”

IV. — Jesus Christ’s Love for Souls.

(1) Luke 19: 10 — “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Son of man came to seek and to
save the lost.

This was the great object of His earthly mission. Not to receive honor nor to accumulate wealth nor to gain a kingdom. He left behind greater glories than the world contained. To save the lost. Lost men were of more value and preciousness in His sight than all earth’s wealth and glory. A single soul was of priceless value. The whole material universe had not the value in His sight of a single soul. Each soul had this value in His sight. Not only the soul of the philosopher and the saint, but the soul of the savage and of the outcast,

(2) Jno. 4: 6, 7, io — -“Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink... Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked him, and ho would have given thee living water.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ was ever on the watch for opportunities to save perishing souls.

We see this again in Jno. 9:35 — “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? “And in Mark, 2:4, 5 — “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’’1 “He made use of His miracles as stepping-stones to reach the soul.” (Stalker: “Imago Chris ti “; p. 231.) So ought we to use every act of kindness which we are able to perform for men.

(3) Luke 15: 4 — “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ went after lost souls.

He not only watched for and welcomed opportunities when they came in His way, He sought opportunities. He not only received the lost when they came to Him, He went after them. A true love for souls will always reveal itself in a going out in search of them.

(4) Jno. 4: 32-34 — “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ found His joy and
satisfaction in saving lost souls.

In this work He forgot weariness, hunger, thirst. In it He found joy and refreshment for His body. Mark 3: 20, 21 — “And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread, and when his friends heard of it they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.” Jesus se lost himself in His work that He neglected the ordinary needs of his body in its prosecution and His friends said, “He is beside himself.”

(5) Luke 15: 5-7 — “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ rejoiced with great joy over lost souls found.

As a shepherd rejoices over the sheep that had gone astray when he finds it; as the woman rejoices over the coin lost from her marriage necklace when it is found again; as the gold-hunter rejoices over the great nugget of gold that he digs from the rock; as the merchantman seeking goodly pearls rejoices over the one pearl of great price — so and infinitely more Jesus rejoices over a lost soul found.

(6) Jno. 5: 40 — “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

Luke 19: 41, 42 — “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”

Matt. 23: 37 — “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ grieved with great grief over lost souls that refused to be saved.

No woman ever grieved over her stolen jewels, no mother over a lost child, as Jesus over lost men who refused to be saved. No words can picture the agony that shot through the heart of Jesus Christ when men refused to come to him that they might have life.

(7) Jno. 10: ii — “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Matt, ao: 28 — “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ gladly laid down His life to save souls.

V. The Compassion of Jesus Christ.

(1) THE OBJECTS OF CHRIST’S COMPASSION.

(a) Mark 6: 34 — “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

Matt. 9: 36, R.V — “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the multitude who were distressed and scattered abroad as sheep not having a shepherd.

What if Jesus were in Chicago? How does He feel toward the hundreds of millions in China? Contrast the Pharisees: Jno. 7: 48, 49 — “Hath any of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees? But this multitude which knoweth not the law are accursed.” Which are we more like, Christ or the Pharisees?

(b) Mark 8: 2 — “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the hungry multitude.

Not only the spiritual destitution of men, but their physical need as well appealed to the compassion of Jesus Christ.

(c) Matt. 14:14 — “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the
multitude in general.

Whenever Jesus saw a crowd of men He was moved with compassion. His compassion on the multitude is mentioned five times. A crowd of men is a pitiful sight. It represents so much of sorrow, so much of pain, so much of sin. What is your feeling when you look out upon a crowd? Judging by the context of this passage, the sick seem to have especially drawn out His compassion.

(d] Matt. 20: 34 — “So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”

iFOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the blind.

(e) Mark. 9: 22, 25 — “And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the demonized, the victims of the power of unclean spirits.

In the last case mentioned there was much in the man that was repulsive and hateful, but Jesus beheld him with compassion.

(/) Mark, i: 40, 41 — “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on the
leper.

The world, even the religious world of that day, met the leper with repulsion and disgust and scorn. Christ met him. with compassion. The world drew away from him, Christ drew toward him.

(g) Luke 7: 12, 13 — “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and much people of the city was with her. And when the LORD saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not,”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion
upon the one bereaved of a loved one.

This is the only recorded case in which Jesus met a funeral procession, and we see what His feeling was toward the mourner. What is your feeling toward mourners? What is your feeling when you meet a funeral procession?

(h) Luke 15:20 — “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (Compare vv. i, 2 — “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”)

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on
the sinful, the lost, the spiritually dead.

(i) Mark 3: 5 — “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”

PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ had compassion on all men afflicted by any form of misfortune, or wretchedness, or degradation.

Jesus Christ did not go about his work from a cold sense of duty, but His own heart drew Him out towards those He helped and saved. His deeds of mercy cost Him something more than the sacrifice of leisure and the expenditure of effort and power. They cost him heartaches. He made other men’s sorrows His own sorrows, other men’s agony His own agony, other men’s sin and shame His own sin and shame. He could not look upon misery, pain, death or sin without heart pangs. (Jno. 11:33 — “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. “) Herein lay one great secret of His power. It is the misery that we make our own that we can comfort; it is the want that we make our own that we can fully satisfy; it is the sin we make our own that we can save another from. (2 Cor. 5: 21 — “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”) Real power to help men is a very expensive thing, but anyone can have it who is willing to pay the price. But the one who is not willing to give up lightness of heart, and take instead burden oi heart over the world’s sin and sorrow and shame, may as well give up the thought of being a helper, much less a savior of men. Men can not be saved by burning words. No! only by bleeding hearts.

(2.) THE WAY IN WHICH THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST WAS
MANIFESTED.

(a) Luke 10:33, 34> 35> y — “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him: and whatsoever thou spendeth more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?”

The good Samaritan in the last analysis is a picture of Jesus Christ.

FIRST PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was not manifested in mere feelings or words, but in action, in self-sacrificing and persistent and thoroughgoing ministration to the, needs of the one upon whom He had compassion.

(b) Mark 6: 34 — “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ toward the uns hep herded was manifested in His patiently teaching them when He himself was weary and sore at heart.

He taught before he fed. Why? This manifestation of compassion there is abundant opportunity for us all to imitate. Get an unshepherded child of the street, if you can do no more.

(c) Matt. 14:14 — “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ toward the unshepherded was manifested in His healing the sick.

(d) Matt. 15:32 — “Then Jesus called his disciples unto him and said, I have compassion, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat.” (See following verses.)

FO UR TH PR 0 POSIT ION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was manifested in feeding the hungry.

(e) Matt. 20:32-34 — “And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was manifested; (a) In standing still when on most important and urgent business to listen to the cry of two blind beggars, (b) In opening the eyes of the blind.

(/) Mark 5: 8 — “For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.”

Mark 9: 25 — “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was
manifested in casting unclean spirits out of men.

(g) Mark 1:41 — “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will: be thou clean.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was manifested: (a) In putting forth His hand and touching the leper. (For years that leper had not felt the touch of a clean and loving hand. That is what many a moral leper needs to day, the touch of a clean and loving hand.) (b) In healing the leper.

(h) Luke 7: 12, 13, 14 — “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city were with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ wcu manifest: (a) In bidding the sorrowing to no longer weep. (b) In restoring the departed to the one bereft.

(z) Luke 7: 48, 50 — “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

Jno. 6: 37 — “All that the father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

NINTH PROPOSITION: The compassion of Jesus Christ was manifest in welcoming and pardoning the sinner and bidding

her go in peace,

In all this let us remember, Heb. 13:8 — “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day and forever,” and 1 Jno. 2: 6 — “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

VI. The Prayerfulness of Jesus Christ.

(1) THE FACT or His PRAYERFULNESS.

Heb. 5: 7 — “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh offered up prayers and supplications. He wa-s a man oj prayer.

The words “prayer” and “pray” are used at least twenty-live times in connection with Him, and there are many instances in which the fact of His praying is mentioned where the words do not occur. His praying is mentioned by each of the four evangelists. The iife of Christ had many marked characteristics, but nothing is more marked than His prayerfulness. The extent to which He was a man of prayer will appear more clearly when we consider the next point.

(2) WHEN CHRIST PRAYED.

(a) Luke 6: 12 — “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in the night — in some instances continuing all night in prayer.

Why in the night? That ho might be alone and have undisturbed communion with God.

(6) Mark i: 35: “And in the morning, rising up a great while be fore day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ rose very early in the morning, a great while before day, to pray.

This was apparently partly that he might have solitude for communion with God and partly as a preparation for the day s work.

(c) Luke 3: 21, 22: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son: in thee I am well pleased.”

Mark i: 35, 38: “And in the morning, rising up a great while be fore day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And he said unto them, let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.”

Luke 6: 12, 13 — “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.”

Luke 9: 18, 21, 22 — “And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him; and he asked them saying, Whom say the people that I am? And he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day.”

THIRD PROPOSITION; Jesus Christ prayed before Ills baptism with the Holy Spirit and entrance upon His public ministry; before entering upon an evangelistic tour, before choosing the tioelve, before announcing to the twelve His approaching death; i. e., before important sterps in His life. He prepared for the important events of life by especial seasons of prayer.

(d) Matt. 14: 23 — “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”

Jno. 6: 15 — “-When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed after the great achievements and important crises of His life.

Why? (a) To recruit His strength. Christ’s miracles cost Him something, an expenditure and loss of power. (Cf. Mark 5: 30.) (b) To guard against temptations to pride, or satisfaction, or contentment, with the work already achieved. Jesus Christ was truly human, subject to the same temptations we are, and He met them with the same weapons we must — the Word of God and prayer. It is more common for most of us to pray before the great events of life than after them, but the latter is as important as the former. If we would pray after the great achievements of life we might go on to greater. As it is we are often either puffed up or exhausted by them, and we proceed no further.

(e) Matt. 14: 19 — “And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Luke 24:30 — “And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed before He ate.

He prayed in connection with the simplest, commonest event of every-day life. So characteristic was Christ’s manner of praying in connection with His meals that He was known by this act to the disciples who had failed to discover who He was up to that point. (Luke 24: 30, 31) It is in connection with little things that many of us most forget to pray. Every step of Christ’s life seems to have been accompanied with prayer.

(/) Luke 5: 15, 16 — “But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION; Jesus Christ, when life was unusually busy, withdrew into a solitary place to pray.

Some men are so busy, that they can find no time to pray. Apparently, the busier Christ’s life was the more he prayed. Sometimes He had no time to eat (Mark 3: 20). Sometimes He had not time for needed rest and sleep (Mark 6:31, 33, 46), but He always took time to pray, and the more the work crowded the more He prayed. Martin Luther, Adam Clarke and many another mighty man of God has learned this secret from Christ. Many another mighty man of God has lost his power because he did not learn this secret, and he has allowed increasing work to crowd out prayer.

(g) Mark 6: 31, 33, 34, 35, 46 — “And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed... And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed when weary.

The night vigil in Mark 6: 46, was after a day when he had been so busy he could not eat and when he had taken the disciples aside to rest awhile. But the needed and desired rest had been immediately broken in upon by the multitude who outran Him, and the entire day had been spent in teaching and healing the sick and feeding the multitude. That weary day was followed, not by sleep, but by a night of prayer. There is a better way to re cuperate exhausted energies than by sleep. Ofttimes when we are so tired we cannot sleep, and waste time tossing to and fro upon our beds, if we would arise and pour out our hearts to God we ^ould get far more rest and go back to bed to sleep.

Ji) Matt. 26:36 — “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.”

Luke 22: 39-41 — “And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down and prayad.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed before great
temptations.

He prepared for the temptations He saw drawing near by prayer, so He always came off victorious. The disciples, despite His warning, slept while He prayed; so He stood and they fell. The calm majesty of His bearing amid the awful onslaughts of Pilate’s judgment hall and of Calvary was the outcome of the struggle, agony and victory of Gethsemane.

(/) Luke 23: 34, 46 — “Then said Jesus, Father forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

NINTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in the last moments of His life.

His last utterance was a prayer. His life had been a life of prayer, and with prayer it came to a fitting close.

(3) WHERE JESUS CHRIST PRAYED.

(a) Matt. 14: 23 — “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”

Mark 6: 46 — “And when he had sent them away, he departed into the mountain to pray.”

Luke 6: 12 — “And it came to pass in those days, that he went into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

Jno. 6: 15 — “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ went out into a mountain apart to pray.

Each of the four evangelists makes mention of His going into the mountain to pray, and it is said in Luke 22:39, as his custom was.” Stalker says: “When he arrived in a town, His first thought was which was the shortest way to the mountain, just as ordinary travelers inquire where are the most noted sights and which is the best hotel.” (<’ Imago Christi,” p. 131.) He went to the mountain because of its solitude, and because it brought Him near to God.

(b) Mark 1:35 — “And in the morning, rising up a great while be fore day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ went out into solitary places to pray.

There is doubtless a sense in which we can find a solitary place in our crowded streets, but it is well to follow Christ’s example literally, and get away from the sight and sound of men, and get alone with God. If you have never known what it is to kneel down in the woods where no human voice could be heard, or beneath a tree in the silent starlight or moonlight, and look up with open eyes toward the face of God and talk to Him, you have missed a blessing that cannot be described, but that every child of God should know.

(4) WITH WHOM CHRIST PRAYED.

(a) Matt. 14: 23 — “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come he was there alone.”

FIRST PR 0 POSITION: Jesus Christ prayed alone — by Himself.

(b) Luke 9:28 — “And it came to pass an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed with a chosen
few.

(c) Luke 9: 18 — “And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him; and he asked them saying, Whom say the people that I am?”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed with the whole apostolic company. They were his family and this was family prayer.

(d) Matt. 14: 19 —” And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in the midst oj a great multitude,

Those who would contend from Matt. 6:6 — “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly,” that we must confine our prayers to our closets can find no support in Christ’s example. He Himself prayed in public.

(5) IN WHOSE BEHALF JESUS CHRIST PRAYED.

(a) Jno. 12: 28 — “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

FIRST PROPOSITION; Jesus Christ prayed in Gods behalf, for Gods glory.

He had a supreme regard for God’s interest in His prayers. In the prayer He taught His disciples the first petition was that God’s name might be hallowed. (Matt. 6:9.)

(b) Jno. 17: i — “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”

Heb. 5: 7 — “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared,”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in His own be
half

It was not in any sense a selfish prayer, though it was for self. He prayed the Father to glorify Him in order that He in turn might glorify the Father. He prayed for deliverance from premature death that He might finish the work the Father had given Him to do. There is nothing more unselfish in the world than a true prayer for oneself.

(f) Jno. 14: 16, 17 — “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Jno. 17: 9, 20 — “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in behalf of all His own. Christ’ s own, those given to Him by the Father are the objects of His prayer in a sense no others are. It is for them He now intercedes as High Priest and Advocate.

Heb. 7: 25 — “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by /«’;#, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Rom. 8: 34 — “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

i Jno. 2: i — ‘My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, ive have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

(d) Luke 22: 31, 32 — “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren,”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed for Peter, for an individual disciple.

Christ does not merely pray for believers in a mass, he prays for individual believers.

i Jno. 2: i — “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

(e) Luke 23: 34 — “Then said Jesus, Father forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed for His enemies.

(6) How JESUS CHRIST PRAYED.

(a) Jno. 17:1 — “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed with Gods glory first in view. (Compare Jas. 4:3, R. V. j Matt. 6: 9.)

(b] Matt. 26: 42 — “He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except 1 drink it, thy will be done.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed in perfect submission to the Father’ s

This did not introduce any element of uncertainty into his prayers when the will of God was clearly revealed and known. Compare Jno. 11:41, 42 — “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

(c) Luke 22: 41 — “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down and prayed.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed on His knees.

(d) Matt. 26:39 — “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed on His face
before God,

If the sinless Son of God got upon his knees and upon his face before the Father, what shall we do?

(e) Matt. 14:19 — “And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

Jno. 17:1 — “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed with open, up
turned eyes.

“We do well often to close our eyes that we may shut the world out, but there are times when it is well to look right up with open eyes into the face of God as Jesus did.

(/”) Luke 22:44 — “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed earnestly.

The literal force of the world translated “earnestly “is ‘< stretched-out-ly.” The thought is of the soul stretched out in intensity of desire.

(g) Heb. 5:7 — “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed” with strong crying and tears.”

The word translated “crying” is a very strong word, meaning “outcry “or ‘’clamor.” The force of it is increased by the qualifying adjective “strong.” He prayed “with mi-ghty out cry.” There are some who speak of it as an attainment of superior faith to always be very calm in prayer, and “just take” in childlike confidence what they ask. They have either gotten beyond their Master, or else do not know what Holy Ghost earnestness means. It is to be suspected that sometimes their calm comes not from the Holy Ghost, but from indifference. The Holy Ghost makes intercession “with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Bom. 8: 26.) Be careful not to confuse the laziness of indifference with “the rest of faith.” Any rest of faith that does not leave room for mighty conflicts in prayer and deed is not Christlike. A “groaning” and “tears” and “outcry” that are simulated, or the product of fleshly working of oneself up, are worse yet.

(//) Luke 6: 12 — “And it came to pass in those days, that he went into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed with a large
outlay of time —” all night.’’1

The time element in prayer is of vast importance. By the use of modern machinery a man can do more in a minute than he could once do in hours. No machinery has ever been invented by which the work of prayer can be expedited.

(z) Matt. 26: 44 — “And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”

NINTH PROPOSITION; Jesus Christ prayed importunately — three times for the same thing.

In the face of what is recorded of Christ it will not do to say that the failure to take what you ask the first time you pray necessarily indicates a weakness of faith.

(/) Jno. 11:41, 42 — “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

TENTH PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ prayed: (a) With thanksgiving. (Compare Phil. 4:6.) In this case the thanksgiving was for an answer yet to be and that only faith could see. (b) Believingly. He believed that He had received the petition, He asked of the Father though there was as yet no visible proof of it.

(Compare i Jno. 5:14, 15 — “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” And Mark n: 24, R.V. — “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them,” etc.y.

(7) THE EFFECT OF CHRIST’S PRAYERS.

(a) Jno. n: 41, 42 — “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.” (Compare i Jno. 5: 15 — “And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”)

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Father always heard Christ’s prayers and therefore He always received what He asked.

Jesus Christ accomplished things by prayer which even He could accomplish in no other way. Thus He saved Peter when warnings and teachings failed. Thus He overcame temptation, wrought miracles, escaped death and glorified God, finishing the work the Father gave Him to do.

VII. The meekness of Jesus Christ

(1) THE FACT OF His MEEKNESS.

Matt, n: 29 — “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

2 Cor. 10: i — “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you.”

Matt. 21: 5 — “Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ was meek.

QUESTION: What is meekness?

1 Cor. 4: 21 — “What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?”

2 Cor 10: i — “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but be« ing absent am bold toward you.”

Gal. 6: i — “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lestthou also be tempted.”

2 Tim. 2: 24, 25 — “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.”

Tit. 3: 2 — “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.”

ANSWER: Meekness is that attitude of mind that is opposed to harshness and contentiousness, and that shows itself in gentleness and tenderness in dealing with others. The thought of “meekness” as “patient submissiveness under in justice and injury,” does not seem to be the prominent thought in the Bible usage of the word. The thought rather of gentleness in dealing with and correcting the errors of others seems to be the predominant thought.

(2) How THE MEEKNESS OF CHRIST WAS MANIFESTED.

(a) Matt. 12: 20 — “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus Christ was manifested in his not breaking the bruised reed or quenching the smoking flax.

He dealt tenderly with the broken, and cherished the fire that was well-nigh gone out.

(£) Luke 7:38, 48, 50 — “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus Christ was manifested in His gently telling the outrageous but penitent sinner that her sins were forgiven and to go in peace.

(c] Mark 5:33, 34 — “But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus was manifested in His tenderly saying to the poor afflicted one who had tried to steal the blessing unseen by any: “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole of thy plague”

(dy Jno. 20:29 — “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus was mani. fested in the gentleness with which He rebuked the stubborn unbelief of doubting Thomas.

(e) Jno. 21: 15-17 —” So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord: thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon j son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea,

Lord: thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus Christ was manifested in the tenderness with which He rebuked Peter’s self-confidence and subsequent unfaithfulness and thrice-repeated and flagrant denial of his Lord,

(f) Jno. 13: 21, 27 — “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The meeekness of Jesus Christ was manifested in His gentle, tender and pleading reproof of Judas Iscariot, His betrayer.

(g) Luke 23: 34 — “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The meekness of Jesus Christ was
manifested in His praying for His murderers.

VIII. — The Humility of Jesus Christ.

(1) THE FACT OF His HUMILITY.

Matt, n: 29 — “Take rny yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: Jesus Christ was lowly in heart.

(2) How THE HUMILITY OF JESUS CHRIST WAS MANIFESTED.

(a) Jno. 8: 50 — “And I seek not mine own glory.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was
manifested in His not seeking His own glory.

(b) Is. 42: 2 — “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.”

SECOND PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was
manifested in His avoiding notoriety and praise.

Many professed followers of Jesus Christ court notoriety. He shunned it. He strictly charged those whom He had benefitted not to make it known. He kept no advertising bureau.

(c] Matt. 9: 10 — “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.”

Luke 15: i, 2 — “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in His associating with the despised and outcast,

(d] Is. 50:5, 6 — “The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the

. smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”

Heb. 12: 3 — “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in patient submission to outrageous injury and in justice.

(el Is. 53:7, R.V. — “He was oppressed, yet he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yet, he opened not his mouth.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in silence under outrageous injury and injustice.

(/) i Pet. 2:23 — “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”

Matt. 26: 60-63 — “But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses. And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the son of God.”

Luke 23: 8-10 — “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes itood and vehemently accused him.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION; The humility of Jesus Christ manifested itself in silence under false accusations.

Jesus did not defend His own good name. He left that to God. He ’ committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously, “and He hath given Him “the name that is above every name.” (Phil. 2: 9.)

(g) Matt. 20: 28 — “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in His coming to minister and not to be ministered unto.

(A) Jno. 13: 4, 5 — “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

EIGHTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in His performing the most humble and menial and rive services for others.

(i) Phil. 2: 6, 7 — “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”

NINTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in His choosing the lowliest place, of service as a slave, instead of the loftiest place of glory as God.

(/) Phil. 2: 8 — “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

TENTH PROPOSITION: The humility of Jesus Christ was manifested in His being ’ obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

(It is in this connection that Paul charges us: ‘Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus. ’ ‘)