this
gathering
by Dr. Louis T. Talbot I n com ing to this, the closing mes sage of this series, I feel that I should deal to some extent with the question which constantly meets me: “Of all the places you have visited in the Holy Land, which impressed you most?” This is difficult for any Chris tian to answer. Suppose you let these points of travel, so sacred to those who love the Lord, pass through your thinking and see what the result might be. For instance, I went to the little town of Sychar in Samaria near which was Jacob’s w'ell and I sat on the edge of the well. The story of Christ and the woman at the well is told in the fourth chapter of John. But there are three outstanding places which stand out most sharply in my thinking. 1. There is Golgotha’s Hill. It is called the place of a skull. 2. The Garden Tomb which is open. 3. The Mount of Olives. Now let me say a word in regard to each of these thre'e 'places. You know, I was about to walk through the gate into the city when my guard touched me on the shoulder and said, “Look over there.” Turning, I saw a hill in the shape of a skull. It is a strange thing that that hill has been standing there, just about a mile from the gates of entrance through which you go into the city. The hill is preserved in the form of a skull with the eyes, nose, and mouth in clear outline. As I stood there with uncovered head, I thought
of what had taken place about 2000 years ago, and I thanked God for His wonderful grace that had brought Christ down to meet the world’s debt of sin, and for the mighty power by w h i c h God exalted Him. Perhaps you may never actually see the hill, but I think that every day of our lives we ought to take a journey to Calvary in our mind and heart and stand there in awe of His love and genuineness of our own gratitude. The second place that drew me was the Garden Tomb which is not very far away from Calvary. It is an open tomb, and I pointed out to a group of folk whom I had the privilege of ad dressing, that the fact of the one word “open” tomb holds in it the difference between Christianity and all the re ligions of the world. The founders of the religions are dead and have re mained buried. For instance, the tomb of Mohammed is as fast in its hold upon the body of that leader as it was the day of his burial. The same thing is true of all the others. What inspira tion is found in a dead leader who is sealed in death? But the Garden Tomb is open and Christ is at the right hand of the Father. A living Saviour! The third thing that impressed me so deeply was the Mount of Olives which is just outside of Jerusalem. If you want to know the significance of the present world confusion, read the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew. In these chapters lies the last great prophetic utterance of the Lord Jesus 26
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