126
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April-May, 1933
B y MILO F. .JAMISON* Los AngelëSTCalif.
m few years ago while in Philadelphia, I was privileged to visit the private gallery in the John Wanamaker store, in which is hung the great painting, Christ on Calvary, by Michael de Munkacsy. The reality of the scene at the cross had never been so meaningful to me as when I stood for some time alone gazing upon that mag nificent canvas, twenty-three feet long by fourteen feet wide, which has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and America. The three crosses, as they stand upon Calvary’s hill— Christ in the center illumined by a shaft of light coming through the dark clouds, and the two malefactors on either side, one repentant and the other re jecting the Lord of Glory—impressed me as have few pic tures I have ever had the privilege of viewing. Let us examine these three crosses of Golgotha to dis cover their meaning and message. T he C enter C ross Dr. A. C. Dixon says, “The tragedy of the crucifixion is one thing; the deeper meaning of the cross is quite another. In its tragedy, it is repulsive; in its deeper mean ing, it is the most attractive thing in all God’s universe.” Externally, we there see Jesus of Nazareth nailed be tween two thieves, dying an ignoble death—a martyr and a perfect example of heroic self-giving. The trouble with many people is that they stop here and never see deeper into the mystery and tremendous significance of Calvary. Here died the holy, spotless, perfect Man of all the ages, •the only pure, untainted human being that ever lived; but here also died Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and on the center cross we learn two tremen dous lessons. To measure the human heart, we must see Calvary. The cry of the crowd, “Crucify him,” has been the cry of the ages. “When man preferred a robber and a murderer to the Son of God, he proved that he would rather have rob bery and murder than light and love.” The measure of man’s sinful heart is demonstrated by his rejection and crucifixion of. the only perfect Man that ever lived. Some may argue that the world today would not reject Christ, that we have made too much progress in the past nineteen centuries. True, the influence of Christianity has been *Director of. University Bible Clubs, Inc.
marked, but a mere casual glance at the trend of the day will display the fact that, in the mad rush of today, few have time for the meek and lowly Jesus, the Man of Calvary. Not only do we see man’s heart and its sinful blackness, but we see God’s wonderful love for man. This same cross measures both the hatred and the sin in the heart of man, and the compas sion and tenderness of a merciful God. Here God and sin met; God triumphed. Man here displayed the height of his enmity against God, God the height of His love for man. This is the bright side of the cross. “God so loved.” Jesus’ first word on the cross is tremendously significant, “Father, for give them.” Oh, the tenderness, the graciousness, the su preme heart-yearning! The center cross shows us the blackness of our sin. It also shows us a forgiving Saviour crying to a lost world, “Come unto me.” Here we can understand Paul’s declaration, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Christ of God on Calvary is the measure of God’s love for us. Superficially He is acclaimed; actually He is crucified afresh every day in the lives pf countless millions. His ethics and principles are acknowledged as very good, but men and women draw back from His death on Calvary’s cross. The skeptics and agnostics scorn the cross. The rationalists and modernists ridicule and make light of it. The religionists and moralists shudder when it is mentioned. The indifferent pass it by without a look. The deluded glibly explain it away. And they all reject the One nailed to its rugged beams. The cross judges man’s heart and discovers it deceitful and desperately wicked; and the cry today, as at Pilate’s Hall, is, “Away with Him, we do not want a bloody reli gion ; we can be saved by our own works. We do not need a sacrifice for sin; an example of heroism is enough—-not this man, but Barabbas.” And by the cross, we are judged as all being sinners before God. “I see the crowd in Pilate’s Hall, I mark their wrathful mien; Their shouts of, ‘Crucify,’ appall, with blasphemy between; And of that shouting multitude I feel that I am one; And in that din of. voices rude I recognize my own. “I see the scourges tear His back, I see the piercing crown, And of that crowd who smite and mock, I feel that I am one; Around yon cross, the throng I see, mocking the Sufferer’s groan, Yet still my voice it seems to be—as if I mocked alone.
M ílo F. J amison
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker