LI: By Organized Religion: on Sunday: Evening, the Rev. E. F. Horst-Smith "He came unto His' own and His own received Him not" John I! v. 11
In a previous sermon we spoke of "the world's" dilute to recognize Jegua. Wo noted that the writer of this Gospel speaks of that failure with seme surprise; for he says that Jesus was the Incarnate Word of God and the Word of God was the Creator of the world. How strange it was that in a world of His own making He Iwas not recognized. But He has a full greater wonder yet to records His own people did not desire Him. Who are the people referred to in the phrase "His own"? The wr for was doubtless referring to the Jews, just, as when the spoke of the world" he was referring to the Romans. Now have you noticed the' distinction he draws, between the Roman attitude to Christ and that of the Jews? The Romans did not know Him, the Jews did not want Him; the secular authorities not recognize Him, the ecclecal authorities did'not receive the Stars was aware the Church was wrongful of that presences" word knew Him not, "Itis ow received Him not, The Jewish nation was nominal theocracy; the Church and the State were coextensive; the civil and religious rolers were the sume people, One of the consequences of this dual function was, that for a man, to be excommunicated from the Temple was to be stripped of the privileges of citizenship swell. When therefore vee say that the Jews rejected Jeans, it Is the valent of saying that organized religion rejected Hin, Now as we look at it from the vantage point of history, the Jewish nation had one function to Gischarge and only one, vis, to introduce Jesus to the world.' That, Ttake it, is the meaning' of the announcement, "Sulvation ts of the Jews". In the Divine economy a Sowish nation was created, disciplined and trained for the purpose of giving" birth, to the World's our view the Jewish nation nad no other significance, But for Seaus should we ever have heard of the Jews? The importance that thas been attached to their lava, their religion, their eutturt, and their history is on account of their association with Jesus Chri National Genius The Greeks had a genius Yor the Romans had a genius for and the Hebrews had a gen for religion and their religion was 'a preparation for Christ. The se-ection and the call of Abraham, the founder of the nation, were for a purpose, It was that' there might be an opportunity for the intensive culture of a people in monotheism. It was necessary that there should be a breaking away from idolatry and that could only be dane by the selection of a amall group of people who would witness to the one true God, Nothing is ever done in the world that is not first of all done in the mind of some individual man or woman, Abraham was elected for that purpose, not that he might motiopolise that truth but that he might establish a nation to bear witness to it, and that that nation should teach' the truth to all nations. But Monotheism alone is nota Gospel. The witness of Abraham without that of would be incomplete. Abraham was a forerunner of Jesus.
The same is true of Moses. He Jed the people from the Tand of bondage where they had learned many salutary lessons through the wilderness where much of their training in religion was carried on to the verge of the promised land. Moses was their great lawgiver. May we not also call him the first of the prophets, as John the Bap-was the last? The law was evitable stage on the, way to the Gospel. It was not complete in itself; and-it had no, power to get itself OF
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.