CHRIST
Similarities between Socrates and Christ:
1. Neither wrote down their teaching but their disciples did.
2. Both died rather then escape as their disciples suggested.
3. Both died unjustly and willingly. Both could have escaped death.
4. Both taught doctrines contrary to the teachings of their culture.
5. Both taught there is one God.
6. Both predicted the downfall of their nations because of refusal to recognize one God.
He who is the Bread of Life began His ministry hungering. He who is the Water of Life ended His ministry thirsting. Christ hungered as a man, yet fed the hungry as God. He was weary, yet He is our rest. He paid tribute, yet He is the King. He was called a devil, but He cast out demons. He prayed, yet He hears prayer. He wept, and He dries our tears. He was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeems sinners. He was led as a lamb to His slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd. He gave His life, and by dying He destroyed death.
In a Gallup poll people were asked with which of eight people they would like to spend a day? The eight were Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, John Wayne, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, and Jesus. Two-thirds of the respondents said Jesus.
A missionary in India visited the Taj Mahal. In its continuous arches sounds would echo with unusual clarity and distinction. He whispered the name of Jesus, and it was to him a personal thrill to hear this name of all names resound through the halls of the Taj Mahal.
J. C. Massee told of a friend who traveled a great distance for an interview with a distinguished scholar. When the man arrived, he received a cordial reception. Before being seated, he said to his host, “Doctor, I notice that the walls of your study are lined with books from the ceiling to the floor. No doubt you have read them all. I know you have written many yourself. You have traveled extensively, and doubtless you’ve had the privilege of conversing with some of the world’s wisest men—its leaders of thought, its creators of opinion. I have come a long way to ask you just one question. Tell me, of all you’ve learned, what is the one thing most worth knowing?” Putting his hand on the guest’s shoulder, the scholar replied with emotion in his voice, “My dear sir, of all the things I have learned, only two are really worth knowing. The first is that I am a great sinner. The second is that Jesus Christ is a great Savior!”
He was born a helpless baby; yet He flung the planets into space. He lay in a manger; yet “the cattle on a thousand hills” are His own. He was tempted, tested, and tried; yet He could not sin because He was God. He worked in a carpenter’s shop and lived among humble folk; yet He could turn the water into wine and feed the multitudes by His mighty power. He “grew in stature and in favor with God and man,” yet He is “the ancient of Days,” “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” He lay in the bottom of the boat, asleep on a pillow; yet He arose to still the tempest. He was “the Man of Sorrows,” weeping with others and shedding tears of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; yet He turned heartaches into rejoicings when He raised the dead and gave them back to their loved ones. He died and was buried—a lifeless corpse; yet He arose in triumph by the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Louis T. Talbot
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with the world except the power of His divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed on a cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying—His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. And on the third day He arose from the dead.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man on earth as powerfully as has that One solitary life. The explanation? He is the Son of God, the risen Savior.
—Phillips Brooks
According to an old legend, a man became lost in his travels and wandered into a bed of quicksand. Confucious saw the man’s predicament and said, “It is evident that men should stay out of places such as this.” Next, Buddha observed the situation and said, “Let that man’s plight be a lesson to the rest of the world.” Then Mohammed came by and said to the sinking man, “Alas, it is the will of God.” Finally, Jesus appeared. “Take My hand,” He said, “and I will save you.”
The Bread of life,
The Water of life,
The Fountain of life,
The Light of life,
The Path of life,
The Way of life,
The Prince of life,
The Prince of Peace,
The Prince of the kings of the earth.
In 1495, Duke Ludovico of Milan asked the Florentine artist Leonardo da Vinci to portray the dramatic scene of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples as they gathered in the Upper Room before His crucifixion. The scene was to be painted on a large wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Crazie monastery in Milan. Da Vinci, then forty-three years old and already famous as a painter, sculptor, and architect, agreed to take on the assignment.
Working slowly and with great care for detail, he spent three years completing the painting. The disciples were grouped in threes, two groups on either side of the figure of Christ, who sat at the center of the table. His arms stretched before Him. In His right hand He held a wine cup, painted with marvelous realism. At last the painting was ready, and da Vinci called in a friend to see it. “Give me your honest opinion,” da Vinci said.
“It’s wonderful,” the friend told him. “That cup is so real I cannot keep my eyes off it.”
Da Vinci immediately took a brush and drew it across the sparkling cup. “If it affects you that way it must not remain,” he exclaimed. “Nothing shall distract attention from the figure of Christ.”
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One lived and died for self; one died for you and me.
The Greek died on a throne; the Jew died on a cross;
One’s life a triumph seemed; the other but a loss.
One led vast armies forth; the other walked alone;
One shed a whole world’s blood; the other gave His own.
One won the world in life and lost it all in death.
The other lost His life to win the whole world’s faith.
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three
One died in Babylon; one on Calvary.
One gained all for self; one Himself He gave;
One conquered every throne; the other every grave.
The one made himself god; the God made Himself less;
The one lived but to blast; the other but to bless.
When died the Greek, forever fell his throne of swords;
But Jesus died to live forever Lord of Lords.
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
The Greek made all men slaves; the Jew made all men free.
One built a throne on blood; the other built on love,
The one was born of earth; the other from above;
One won all this earth, to lose all earth and heaven.
The other gave up all, that all to Him be given.
The Greek forever died; the Jew forever lives;
He loses all who gets—and wins all things who gives.
—Charles Ross Weede
A man published a list of those he considered the ten greatest thinkers of the world—Plato, Socrates, Einstein, etc. Pastors wrote to him and asked him why he didn’t include Christ in his list. He wrote back, “Christ is in a class above all others. He didn’t have to think; that is, He never faced a problem of morals and ethics that He had to stop and think out.”
When Franz Delitzsch, a German exegete, was teaching at Leipzig, on one occasion he said to his students, “Young gentlemen, the battle is now raging around the Old Testament. Soon it will pass into the New Testament field—it is already beginning. Finally it will press forward to the citadel of your faith—the Person of Jesus Christ. There the last struggle will occur. I shall not be here then, but some of you will. Be true to Christ. Stand up for Him. Preach Christ and Him crucified.”
And Jesus said to the theologians, “Who do you say that I am?”
And they replied, “You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the actualization of the potential God-man relationship which is divine, intended truth about every man, the kerygma manifest in conflict at the cutting edge of the humanizing process, the paradigm of human perfection.”
And Jesus said, “What?”
Socrates taught for forty years, Plato for fifty, Aristotle for forty, and Jesus for only three. Yet the influence of Christ’s three-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no pictures; yet, some of the finest paintings of Raphel, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him. Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in His praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble carpenter of Nazareth.
“His unique contribution to the race of men is the salvation of the soul. Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin and Satan. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead.”
—Our Daily Bread
The life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ are a standing rebuke to every form of pride to which men are liable.
Pride of birth and rank—“Is not this the carpenter’s son?”
Pride of wealth—“The Son of man hath no where to lay His head.”
Pride of respectability—“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Pride of personal appearance—“He hath no form nor comeliness.”
Pride of reputation—“A friend of publicans and sinners.”
Pride of learning—“How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned?”
Pride of superiority—“I am among you as He that serveth.”
Pride of success—“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” “Neither did His brethren believe in Him.” “He is despised and rejected of men.”
Pride of ability—“I can of Mine own self do nothing.”
Pride of self-will—“I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.”
Price of intellect—“As my Father hath taught me I speak these things.”
Pride in death—“He … became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
—Gospel Message
Alexander, Caesar, and Hannibal conquered the world but they had no friends.… Jesus founded His empire upon love, and at this hour millions would die for Him.… He has won the hearts of men, a task a conqueror cannot do.
—Napoleon
Christ on the cross delivers from the penalty of sin (Prophet).
Christ at God’s right hand delivers from the power of sin (Priest).
Christ coming in the clouds delivers from the presence of sin (King).
—D. L. Moody
Christ is not a disappointment; every longing in my breast
Finds in Him complete fulfillment; He has brought me into rest.
I have tested Him and found Him more than all I dreamed He’d be;
Christ is not a disappointment; He is all in all to me.
Robert Browning in one of his letters describes a famous literary incident in the life of Charles Lamb in London. One time when Lamb was with several other men of letters and geniuses of literature, he began to speak about what they would do if the great men of the past should rise from the dead and suddenly appear in the doorway. One of them remarked that if Shakespeare were to come they would all stand in respect and in wonder before the Shakesperean genius. But one of the men remarked that if Jesus Christ should come and appear, all of them would kneel in humble worship and adoration.
In Christ we have:
A love that can never be fathomed;
A life that can never die;
A righteousness that can never be tarnished;
A peace that can never be understood;
A joy that can never be diminished;
A hope that can never be disappointed;
A glory that can never be clouded;
A light that can never be darkened;
A happiness that can never be enfeebled;
A purity that can never be defiled;
A beauty that can never be marred;
A wisdom that can never be baffled;
And resources that can never be exhausted.
The presence of Christ is the joy of my life.
The service of Christ is the business of my life.
The will of Christ is the law of my life.
The glory of Christ is the crown of my life.
Christ My All
Christ for sickness, Christ for health,
Christ for poverty, Christ for wealth,
Christ for joy, Christ for sorrow,
Christ today, and Christ tomorrow;
Christ my Life and Christ my Light,
Christ for morning, noon, and night;
Christ when all around gives way,
Christ my Everlasting Stay;
Christ my Rest, Christ my Food,
Christ above my highest Good;
Christ my well Beloved, my Friend,
Christ my Pleasure, without end;
Christ my Savior, Christ my Lord,
Christ my Portion, Christ my God;
Christ my Shepherd, I His sheep,
Christ Himself my soul doth keep;
Christ my Leader, Christ my Peace,
Christ hath bought my soul’s release;
Christ my Righteousness divine,
Christ for me, for He is mine;
Christ my Wisdom, Christ my Meat,
Christ restores my wand’ring feet,
Christ my Advocate and Priest,
Christ who ne’er forgets the least;
Christ my Teacher, Christ my Guide;
Christ my Rock, in Christ I hide;
Christ the everlasting Bread,
Christ His precious blood hath shed;
Christ hath brought us near to God,
Christ the everlasting Word,
Christ my Master, Christ my Head,
Christ who for my sins hath bled;
Christ my Glory, Christ my Crown,
Christ the One of great renown;
Christ my Comforter on high,
Christ my Hope draws ever nigh.
—H. W. S.
An elderly gentleman who walked closely with the Lord was visited in his home by an unbeliever. Soon the conversation turned to the subject of religion. After hearing the Christian quote Galatians 2:20 and give a testimony of his salvation, the unbeliever remarked sarcastically, “I can’t figure you out. First you said Christ lives in you, and then just a few minutes later you contradicted yourself by saying that you are in Him. How can that be?” The believer walked to the fireplace and picked up the poker. Then he said, “I’m going to put this in the fire until it turns red in the heat.” In a short time the tip of the shaft of the iron began to glow. Pointing to it, the aged saint continued, “You see, my friend, now the fire is in the poker and the poker is also in the fire! In the same way, I am in Christ—and He is in me!”
All history is incomprehensible without Christ.
—Ernest Renan
Gauged by the consequences that have followed, the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus have been the most important events in the history of mankind.
—Kenneth Scott Latourette
Christ is the great central fact in the world’s history. To Him everything looks forward or backward. All the lines of history converge upon Him.
—Charles H. Spurgeon
Christ Alone
The world, I thought, belonged to me,
Goods, gold, and people, land, and sea.
Where’er I walked beneath God’s sky,
In those old days, my word was “I.”
Years passed: there flashed my pathway near,
The fragment of a vision dear;
My former word no more sufficed,
And what I said was “I and Christ.”
But, O, the more I looked on Him,
His glory grew, while mine grew dim;
I shrank so small, He towered so high,
All I dared say was “Christ and I.”
Years more the vision held its place
And looked me steadily in the face;
I speak now in a humbler tone,
And what I say is “Christ alone!”
All historians must confess that the turning point of the race is the cross of Christ. It would be impossible to fix any other hinge of history. From that moment the power of evil received its mortal wound. It dies hard, but from that hour it was doomed.
—Charles H. Spurgeon
Christ always identified Himself with the least, the last, and the lost.
The achievements of the Savior through His incarnation are so astounding and so numerous that any one wishing to describe them in detail would be like one who gazes at the expanse of the sea and attempts to count its waves.
Christ is the hinge of history.
—Charles Malik
What the sun is to a flower, so is Jesus Christ to me.
—Alfred Tennyson
CHRIST—BIRTH OF
The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men may become sons of God.
—C. S. Lewis
CHRIST—DEATH OF
Devoutly kissing the nail-scarred feet of a statue of Christ in her church, an old Russian woman was approached by a Soviet military officer. He addressed her using the common term for grandmother: “Babushka, are you willing to kiss the feet of Stalin?” “Yes,” she replied, “if he gets crucified for me.”
During the American Civil War a farmer in New York was drafted for the Union army. He wife had died and he was the sole support of his young children. But then an unmarried man in the town who had no dependents came to his home and offered to go to war in his place. For the sake of his children, the farmer accepted the offer. The generous friend marched off to battle, and in the first engagement, he was shot and killed. When the farmer heard what had happened, he went to the scene of the battle and brought back the body. He buried his friend in the churchyard and had these words engraved on the headstone: HE DIED FOR ME.
An African chief heard a missionary explaining the death of Christ in our place. The chief suddenly jumped to his feet and said, “Come down, come from that cross, I tell you. You have no business there. That is my place.”
Christianity is the religion of redemption. The central figure in the Bible in the Person of the Redeemer; and the central fact is His death.
—John Page
Christ was
Gracious, though bound.
Truthful, though disbelieved.
Innocent, though condemned.
Forgiving, though forsaken.
Victorious, though dying.
CHRIST—DEITY OF
If the life and death of Socrates were those of a philosopher, then the life and death of Jesus Christ were those of a god.
—Jean Jacques Rousseau
Oswald Sanders, in his book Christ Incomparable, tells of an outstanding Brahmin scholar disturbed by the progress of the Christian faith among his people in India. He decided to do all in his power to combat it. After careful consideration he decided to prepare a pamphlet that would set forth the weaknesses and failings of Jesus. With this purpose in mind, he purchased a New Testament and began a careful study of it. For eleven years he pursued his search for some inconsistency or weakness in the life of Jesus. Not only was he unsuccessful, but he was more and more convinced that the One he sought to discredit was indeed the Son of God. He accepted Him as his Savior.
W. Robertson Smith, a cleric in Scotland, was subject to a heresy trial by the Scottish Presbyterian Church. He was accused of denying the deity of Christ. He responded, “How can they say that? I have never denied the divinity of any man, let alone that of Jesus Christ.”
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.
—C. S. Lewis
The belief in the deity of Christ is derived directly from statements concerning Him in the Bible. The references are so many and their meaning so plain that Christians of every shade of opinion have always regarded its affirmation as an absolute and indispensable requisite of their faith. It is proclaimed in the very first sermon of the infant church (Acts 2:36) …; while in the last vision of the book of Revelation the Lamb occupying one throne with God (Rev. 22:3) can betoken only essential oneness.
—F. F. Bruce and W. J. Martin
An American lady by the name of Prince gave an English Gospel of John to a Japanese man whom she was teaching. After reading for some time, he burst out with a question. “Who is this Man about whom I am reading—this Jesus? You call Him a Man, but He must be God.”
If Christ does not remain the true, natural God … then we are lost. For what good would the suffering and death of the Lord Christ do me if He were merely a man such as you and I are? Then He would not have been able to overcome the Devil, death, and sin. He would have been far too weak for them and could not have helped us.
—Martin Luther
If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, “Are you the Son of Brahma?” he would have said, “My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.” If you had gone to Socrates and asked, “Are you Zeus?” he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, “Are you Allah?” he would first have rent his clothes, and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, “Are you heaven?” I think he would have probably replied, “Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.”
—C. S. Lewis
CHRIST—DEITY AND HUMANITY
Daniel Webster, the nineteenth-century statesman, once dined in Boston with several eminent literary figures. Soon the conversation turned to Christianity. Webster, a convinced Christian, confessed his belief in Christ and His atoning work. A Unitarian minister at the table responded, “Mr. Webster, can you comprehend how Jesus Christ can be both God and man?”
“No, sir, I cannot understand it,” replied Webster, “and I would be ashamed to acknowledge Christ as my Savior if I could comprehend it. He could be no greater than myself, and such is my conviction of my accountability to God, my sense of sinfulness before Him, and my knowledge of my own incapacity to recover myself, that I feel I need a superhuman Savior.”
CHRIST—FELLOWSHIP WITH
When Queen Victoria reigned in England, she would occasionally visit some of the humble cottages of her subjects. One time she entered the home of a widow and enjoyed a brief period of Christian fellowship. The poor woman was later taunted by her worldly neighbors. “Granny,” they said, “who’s the most honored guest you’ve ever entertained in your home?” They expected her to say it was Jesus, for despite their constant ridicule of her Christian witness, they recognized her deep spirituality. But to their surprise she answered, “The most honored guest I’ve ever entertained is Her Majesty the Queen.” “Did you say the Queen? Ah, we caught you this time! How about this Jesus you’re always talking about? Isn’t He your most honored guest?” Her answer was definite and scriptural. “No indeed! He’s not a guest. He lives here!” Her hecklers were put to silence.
According to a Persian legend, there was a great bird of the East whose shadow of its wings would bring fortune. One day the king in his splendor was riding with his courtiers. Then they saw the bird and all the servants ran to get under the shadow of the bird’s wing—all except one servant. The king was surprised. “Why didn’t you go in to your fortune?” “Why should I run after a mere bird when I can enjoy the presence of the king?” The king was so impressed that he promoted the servant to a position of vice-president.
What the hand is to the lute,
What the breath is to the flute,
What fragrance is to the smell,
What the spring is to the well,
What the flower is to the bee,
That is Jesus Christ to me.
What’s the mother to the child,
What the guide in pathless wild,
What is oil to troubled wave,
What is ransom to the slave,
What is water to the sea,
That is Jesus Christ to me.
—Charles H. Spurgeon
CHRIST—GOD–MAN
Many years ago there was found in Asia Minor a very old Latin inscription chiseled in marble. This inscription bears an interesting witness to the faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ in the first century of Christianity. It presents the eternal Word, the Son of God, bearing witness to Himself. He speaks of Himself as incarnate, the Word made flesh, and then declares, “I am what I was—God. I was not what I am—man. I am now called both, God and Man.”
—A. C. Gaebelein
CHRIST—INCARNATION OF
Luther, who often told a story in order to make a point, stressed the impact of God assuming flesh when he described a preacher reading from the first chapter of John’s gospel. When he came to the words, “In the beginning was the Word,” the Devil stood motionless. But when he read, “and the Word was made flesh,” the Devil immediately fled.
In the fourth century B.C., Plato, discoursing on some of the insoluble mysteries of the universe, exclaimed, “Oh, that there might come forth a word from God to make all things clear!” Long before Plato’s day God had spoken: “In sundry times and in divers manner … unto the fathers by the prophets” (Heb. 1:1). Moreover, about four centuries after Plato hoped for a word from God, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
CHRIST—INTERCESSION OF
If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference; He is praying for me.
—Robert Murray McCheyne
CHRIST—KNOWING HIM
We have no greater need than to know Christ better.
—Andrew Murray
I have one passion—Christ.
—Count Zinzendorf
Let our foremost resolve be to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ.
—Thomas á Kempis
Knowing God without knowing our wretchedness leads to pride.
Knowing our wretchedness without knowing God leads to despair.
Knowing Christ gives the balance.
—Blaise Pascal
CHRIST—LOVE OF
A mother was busily writing letters at her desk as her little girl played in another room with a doll. After some time, she called her daughter to come and sit on her lap. The little girl said, “Mommy, I’m so glad you called for me. I love you so much.” “Do you, darling?” she asked as she tenderly hugged her beaming five-year-old. “I’m glad you love me. You weren’t lonely while I was writing, were you? You and your dolly seemed to be having such a good time together.” “We were having fun, but I got tired of loving her. She never loves me back.” “Is that why you love me?” “That’s one reason, Mommy, but not the best.” “And what is the best?” Her bright blue eyes were earnest as she replied, “O, Mommy, can’t you guess? I love you now because you loved me and took care of me when I was too little to love you back.”
A girl learned that Jesus watches over her to see everything she does. Her mother said, “Doesn’t that bother you that He sees everything you do?”
“Oh, no. He loves me so much He can’t keep His eyes off me.”
All that Jesus did for His church was but the expansion and unfolding of His love. Traveling to Bethlehem, I see Love incarnate. Tracking His steps as He went about doing good, I see Love laboring. Visiting the house of Bethany, I see Love sympathizing. Standing by the grave of Lazarus, I see Love weeping. At Gethsemane, I see Love sorrowing. Passing on to Calvary, I see Love suffering, bleeding, and dying. The whole scene of His life was but an unfolding of the deep, wonderful, and precious mystery of redeeming love.
—Andrew McCheyne
CHRIST—LOVE FOR
A woman in the Belgian Congo, crippled with leprosy, crawled nearly eight miles on swollen knees protected only by rough bark-cloth to a mission station. When some of the missionaries remarked about her amazing fortitude, she said to them, “Of what matter the pain and weariness of the journey! Jesus loved me enough to die in my place. I love Him and long to be taught His Word.”
—E. Schuyler English
CHRIST—PREEMINENCE OF
When Raphael’s picture The Sistine Madonna was brought to Dresden, Germany, it was displayed in the castle before the king. However, the spot where the light was best was already occupied by the throne. Observing the situation, the king immediately stepped down from his royal chair, saying, “Make room for the immortal Raphael.” So too, there is but one throne in the human heart, and the most important question for any of us to answer is this: Who is to occupy that place of authority? Will it be Christ or self?
—Our Daily Bread
Arturo Toscanini led his orchestra in an electrifying rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The audience applauded wildly. Toscanini bowed and bowed and bowed. Then he turned to his orchestra. “Gentlemen, I am nothing; you are nothing; Beethoven is everything, everything, everything.”
Once it was blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.
Once ’twas painful trying,
Now ’tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost;
Once ’twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once ’twas busy planning,
Now ’tis trustful prayer;
Once ’twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care;
Once ’twas constant asking,
Now ’tis ceaseless praise.
A distinguished British Bible scholar, the late Henry Jowett, attended the coronation of Edward VII of England in Westminster Abbey at the turn of this century.
He observed with interest the assembling and the seating of princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, and others of lesser nobility, and how homage was paid them. “But then the king arrived,” Dr. Jowett writes, “and all eyes turned away from those of lower rank and were fixed upon him.”
“So,” Jowett continues, “literature, music, art, and the sciences are worthy of our respectful attention; but when Jesus Christ comes into the heart, He must be King and all lesser subjects take their lesser place.”
—E. Schuyler English
CHRIST—PRESENCE OF
One day David Livingstone stood before the students of Glasgow University. He had spent many long years in the heart of Africa at a time when conditions were much more trying than they are today.
It was the occasion of the commencement exercises, and Livingstone asked, “Shall I tell you what sustained me in my exiled life among strangers whose language I did not understand?”
A hush swept over the student audience. “It was this—‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ ”
CHRIST—PRIESTHOOD OF
Three themes captured the essence of the Reformation:
No priest but Christ
No sacrifice but Calvary
No confessional but the throne of grace
CHRIST—PROPHECIES OF
Christ was foretold to:
Adam—as a man (Gen. 3:15)
Abraham—as to His nation (Gen. 22:18)
Jacob—as to His tribe (Gen. 49:10)
Isaiah—as to His family (Isa. 11:1–5)
Micah—as to His town (Mic. 5:2)
Daniel—as to His time (Dan. 9:25)
Mary—as to His Person (Luke 1:30)
By angels—as to His date (Luke 2:11)
By a star—as to His birthplace (Matt. 2:9).
—D. L. Moody
In his book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applied the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies. He says, “The chance that any man might have … fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 1017. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.” (That’s one hundred quadrillion.) Stoner suggests that “we take 1017 silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly.… Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [the one marked ‘silver dollar’]. What chance would he have of getting the right one?” Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, … providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”
—Our Daily Bread
CHRIST—REJECTION OF
Aaron Burr, the third vice president of the United States, was reared in a godly home and admonished by his grandfather Jonathan Edwards to accept Christ. But he refused to listen. Instead, he declared that he wanted nothing to do with God and said he wished the Lord would leave him alone. He did achieve a measure of political success in spite of repeated dis-appointments. But he was also involved in continuous strife, and when he was forty-eight years old, he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. He lived for thirty-two more years, but through all this time he was unhappy and unproductive. It was during this sad chapter in his life that he declared to a group of friends, “Sixty years ago I told God that if He would let me alone, I would let Him alone and God has not bothered about me since.” Aaron Burr got what he wanted.
Outside the Peace Palace at The Hague, Netherlands, there stands a very large statue of Christ. A guide, asked by a visitor why it was outside instead of inside where it was most needed, replied, “Because the entrance is too small to admit it.”
CHRIST—RESURRECTION OF
In his early days as a missionary in Japan, Sam Boyle hired a translator so he could preach to a growing group of interested Japanese. The only person he could find was a Japanese man who was teaching English in one of the nearby junior high schools.
Although he wasn’t a Christian, the man agreed to translate the missionary’s sermons. Boyle felt his ministry was moving along quite well until the third week, when he came to a place in his sermon where he said, “And on the third day He rose from the dead.” Immediately, the translator looked at him and said, “They’re never going to believe this.”
While traveling in Egypt, Harry Rimmer had an opportunity to talk with that country’s secretary of state, and in the course of the conversation he brought up the subject of Christianity. Rimmer told the official that Christians believe God has given us three revelations of Himself. “We too believe that,” said the official, who was a Muslim. “We believe God revealed Himself in the works of creation,” said Rimmer. “We also believe that,” the other responded. Rimmer continued, “We believe God has revealed Himself in a book—the Bible.” The Muslim answered, “We too believe God has revealed Himself in a book—the Koran.” Rimmer declared, “We believe God has revealed Himself in a man—Jesus Christ.” “We also believe God has revealed Himself in a man,” replied the official, “the prophet Mohammed.” “We believe,” added Rimmer, “that Jesus is able to substantiate His claims because He arose from the dead.” The Muslim hesitated, then his eyes fell. Finally he replied, “We have no information concerning our prophet after his death.”
Joseph Renan, the French skeptic, said sarcastically but truthfully, “You Christians live on the fragrance of an empty tomb.”
One Easter day near the end of his life when he was unable even to speak, W. E. Sangster wrote to his daughter, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout ‘He is risen!’ ” But it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.
No single event in ancient history is better attested than the resurrection of Christ, according to B. F. Westcott, who spent a lifetime studying the question of His resurrection. For example only five copies of Julius Caesar’s Gaulic Wars are in existence, and they go back only to A.D. 900. In the New Testament, however, five thousand complete or partial copies are available and they go back to within fifty years of events recorded. Some entire manuscripts were written within A.D. 300.
The story is told of how the news of the battle of Waterloo was received in England. Tradition tells that sailing ships came to the south coast of the islands and by signal flags wig-wagged to the tower of the Cathedral of Winchester. When the message came, hearts failed for fear as the words were spelled out: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D,” and then the fog descended and hid the signal from view. All of London was shocked and the people felt their country had been entirely lost in this strategic battle. But after a while, the fog lifted, and the signals still came through with the complete sentence: “WELLINGTON DEFEATED … NAPOLEON!” Immediately the thrilling news raced across the nation, lifting everyone from gloom to joy.
So the heavy gloom and despair of Calvary fled before the victory of Jesus’ open tomb. Out of all the dark shadows, our hearts leap, for in Christ we can say, “But thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Thomas Jefferson culled out all moral teachings of the first three Gospels and gathered them into a book called The Life and Moral Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The book ends, “And they laid Jesus in the tomb and departed.”
By contrast George Washington’s epitaph contains the words of John 11:25.
What does the resurrection [of Christ] mean to me? A clear hope vested in my risen Savior which I could not have had Christ never risen from the dead.
—Dr. Howard Kelly
One of the greatest of the chief justices of England, who was a deist, said, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ rests on a basis of testimony greater and more indisputable than sustains any other fact of ancient history.”
Two young men were discussing the account of the resurrection of Jesus. They agreed that such a thing was impossible. Seeing an old Christian gentleman approaching, one of them asked him, “Tell us, why are you so sure that Jesus rose from the dead?”
The old gentlemen said, “Well, for one thing, I was talking with Him this morning.”
A Moslem said to a Christian, “We Moslems have one thing you Christians do not have. When we go to Medina, we find a coffin and know that Mohammed lived because his body is in it. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, you find nothing but an empty tomb.”
“Thank you,” replied the Christian. “What you say is absolutely true, and that makes the eternal difference. The reason we find an empty tomb is because we serve a risen Christ!”
—Ralph Turnbull
He who would preach the Gospel must go directly to preaching the resurrection of Christ. He who does not preach the resurrection is no apostle, for this is the chief part of our faith.… Everything depends on our retaining a firm hold on this article [of faith] in particular; for if this one totters and no longer counts, all the others will lose their value and validity.
—Charles W. Keysor
General Lon Wallace and Bob Ingersoll once connived together to disprove the resurrection of Christ. But General Wallace became converted, and he wrote Ben Hur to point to the fact.
The noted conductor Reichel was taking his choir and orchestra through their final rehearsal of Handel’s beautiful and inspiring “Messiah.” When the soprano soloist came in with the refrain, “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” she sang it with flawless technique, perfect breathing, and clear enunciation.
After she completed her part, everyone looked at the conductor expecting to see his response of approval. With a motion from his baton for silence, he walked over to the soloist and said, almost sorrowfully, “My daughter, you do not really know that your Redeemer lives, do you?” Embarrassed, she answered, “Why, yes, I think I do.” “Then sing it!” cried Reichel. “Tell it to me so that I’ll know you have experienced the joy and power of it.” Then he motioned to the orchestra to begin, and she sang the truth with a fervor that testified of her personal knowledge of the risen Lord. Those who listened wept, and the old master, eyes wet with tears, said to her, “You do know, for this time you have told me.”
Years ago a missionary in Turkey was having great difficulty making the Muslims understand why they should trust in Jesus Christ. One day he was traveling with some Muslims along an unmarked road when they came to a fork. At this point there was the tomb of a Mohammedan “holy man” as is seen frequently in Islamic countries. While they were trying to decide which fork to take, the missionary said, “Let’s go to that tomb and ask the dead man.”
They all protested, “The dead man can give us no information! See that little house over there? Let’s go there and ask a living man.”
“You are quite right,” said the missionary. “Never forget that Mohammed is dead; he can give you no help or information; in him is no life. But Jesus Christ is alive, and He will give you eternal life if you will trust in Him as your Savior!”
Tradition has it that one day some skeptics were discussing Christianity with Voltaire, the prince of skeptics. He observed, “Gentlemen, it would be easy to start a new religion to compete with Christianity. All the founder would have to do is die and then be raised from the dead.”
—Charles W. Keysor
CHRIST—RETURN Of (See RAPTURE and SECOND COMING)
CHRIST—SUFFICIENCY OF
Were it not for the consciousness of Christ as my life, hour by hour, I could not go on. But He is teaching me the glorious lessons of His sufficiency, and each day I am carried onward with no feeling of strain or fear of collapse.
—J. Hudson Taylor
CHRIST—TEMPTATION OF
In the early days of railroading a railroad bridge was built in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. Some people didn’t think they could rely on the bridge. So the engineers put a mile-long string of locomotives on the bridge and let them sit there. This was not a test to see if the bridge would hold up because the engineers knew that before they built it. It was a demonstration, not a test. So it was with the temptation of Christ.