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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April, 1935
Modem CRUCIFIXION i B y HERBERT LOCKYER Liverpool, England
" There they crucified him." . O n e peculiarity o f the Bi ble is its power to con compass. What other realms of literature take volumes to ex press; Scripture can reduce to short, terse phrases. Here is a case in point, where the great est fact in history is reduced by Luke to four plain words— “ there they crucified him.” Such a statement tells us, sim ply and definitely, what hun dreds o f books have tried to declare. And each word in the
They ^ — - It is perfectly true that both Jew and Gentile had a hand in the dark crime o f the cross, thus bringing the whole world to be guilty o f Christ’s death. It was Pilate, a Gen tile ruler, who gave the verdict and committed, Jesus to the tree. It was a Gentile’s death He died. Gentile soldiers car ried out the grim work o f killing the spotless Lamb o f God. But let it not be forgotten that these Gentiles were only tools. Pilate, a heathen ruler, tried to save Christ from His cruel-hearted kinsmen. And so the foul deed is laid at the feet o f the Jews, not Gentiles. Listen to Peter on the day o f Pentecost: “ Ye men of Israel, . . . Jesus o f Nazareth . . . . ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” No wonder these Pharisees, scribes, and rulers were pricked to the heart! And trulj we are in the presence o f a great mystery here, for it was these devout religious leaders o f a profes sedly holy nation who were guilty o f Christ’s shameful death. Those who were so exact and particular about the law, the worship o f the temple, who even rebuked Christ for His seeming desecration o f the sabbath— these were the men who crucified Him. He was not surrounded by a furious mob or a horde o f wild, uncivilized men, thirsting for His blood, but rejected, hounded to death, beaten and bruised and brbken by so-called holy men. Oh, can we realize that the people among whom He came, whose nationality He took, were the very men who gloated over His cruel death! And yet, strange though it may sound, we are living in days when such a dark crime is being repeated, for Jesus is being wounded in the house of His friends. His foes are still within His household. Base, coarse, brutal men, sunken in sin, admire Jesus when brought face to face with His claims. Under the preaching o f His cross, they often fall at His pierced feet in love and submission, rising to live transformed lives, becoming beau tiful by His grace. No, it is not the wayward and godless vriio crucify Him afresh, but they within the household o f the church. Those who are professedly religious— such despise Christ’s claims and hurry Him out to Calvary. Ministers and laymen, too, who are modernists, must be included among His murder ers. They may deny it, but the declaration is true. When leaders o f religious thought treat Jesus as they do, rele gating Him to the place o f ordinary humanity, denying His miraculous birth, His sinlessness, His powers o f deity, do they not continue the crime and cry o f the Pharisees— “ Crucify him” ? But let us come nearer to our own hearts. Do we realize that it is sadly possible to add to the wounds o f Jesus? Whenever we slight Him, disobey His voice, act contrary to His wishes, then we pierce our precious Lord anew. Whenever we spurn the entreaty o f the Holy Spirit within, thereby grieving Him, we hurt Jesus as well. W e can fas ten Him to the cross with the nails o f self-love, self-glory, self-pride, self-righteousness— those most bitter o f all nails! Oh, let us add to His pleasure, not His pain!
dense great truth into small
sentence glitters like a pearl upon the necklace o f truth. There — The most privileged place, Jerusalem, the Holy City. They-^rThe most religious people, the Jews, the chosen of God. Crucified — The most shameful punishment, the ex treme limit o f the Roman law. Him —-The most exalted Person, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us examine these words under the guidance o f Him who caused them to be written in all their charming brevity. There , ------------- It is important to notice where our Lord was crucified. It was at Jerusalem, just outside the city. Jerusalem was called the “ Most Holy City,” seeing that the temple was therein, where the nation gathered for worship. Thither the Jews assembled, for Jerusalem localized the presence of God. “ In Jerusalem is the place where men ought to wor ship.” It was here that our Lord was crucified. He was not thought fit to die within the city, and thus died out side the wall. Yet the fact remains that Jesus was slain, and hanged upon a tree within the environs o f the city called “ holy.” But what a contradiction! The holiest Person dying the most unholy death in earth’s most holy place! And Christ is being crucified afresh in the world’s so-called holy places of worship! There are churches and temples reared by man, where worshipers gather to worship God, but not His Son, for therein He is not honored, loved, trusted, followed, or accepted as the Lord o f Glory. Christ is sometimes pierced from pulpits— His Golgotha is among the gowns; His Calvary is in a church. It is in many so- called holy places, where least expected, that He hears the old cry, “ We will not have this man to reign over us.” The dark tragedy o f Calvary is being re-enacted in these apostate days within the precincts o f the church. Jesus re ceives His deepest wounds where He expects the deepest sympathy. And let us remember that our homes and busi nesses are privileged places, if we profess to love and serve the Lord. Therefore, let us strive as blood-washed ones not to wound our Lord anew therein. [Mr. Lockyer is at present in Bible conference work in Amer ica. — E ditor .]
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