Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1913 — Jesus at Bethany [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Jesus at Bethany

By REV. JAMES M. GRAY. D. D.,

Dm J the Moody Bible h»Mute. Chiregn —J-

• r TEXT—“There they made Him a supper.”—John XU, X

It Is the last! week of Jesus’ early life, and he days In Jerusalem and the nights in Bethany the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. "There they made him a supper.” An exquisite touch o f Christ’s humanity! Is not this what we would have done to such a friend? But think of the

human kindliness and simplicity of the Redeemer here displayed! It recalls the marriage in Cana at which he was a guest. That was at the beginning of his ministry and this at its close. How better could he have demonstrated that he came into the world not to disturb its social arrangements or mar Its domestic joys, but to elevate them to a higher plane? Blessed be God, we may have Jesus at our feasts and festivals as well as at other times, and what heart, loving Jesus, would attend a feast or festival where he could not be a guest? But there is a practical question here of another kind. When we reremember that Jesus knew he was to die within a week, and endure beforehand unprecedented contumely, and desertion by his dearest friends, and then look upon him at this friendly board, receiving happiness from others, and dispensing happiness to them, must we not regard it as a sublime example of that confidence in God which knoweth that he doeth all things well? Death, sorrow, pain, desertion are experiences 'continually present. Some of us attempt to throw off the thought of them with the stoic’s plea, “What can’t be cured must be endured.” Others seek to drown It in the hilarity and dissipation of the world. But how different that which Jestis knew, and which they' know who have received him, and to whom he has given power to become the sons of God? Who would not be a Christian, a real Christian, If It were only for the sake of this legacy of peace? The Devoted Mary and the Avaricious Judas. The central feature of this supper Is the anointing of Jesus by the devoted Mary. The action was not uncommon In eastern lands, where the begt is great and the feet exposed to It by sandals suffer from dryness and scorching.' The motive of Mary was her love for Jesusu. Love, not only for what she had learned from him, but for what he had done for her brother Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. All of which comes out the stronger In contrast with the fanaticism and avarice of Judas, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundren pense, and given to the poor?" A specimen this of the way worldly people depreciate actions done for the love of God only, and especially giv- f Ing money for Christ’s cause. Judas said this, not because “he cared for the poor,” John says, “but because he was a thief and had the bag and bare what was put therein.” He was thinking of himself and not the poor. The truest friends of the poor, the people who do most for them, are those who do most for Christ "It Is,” says Bishop Ryle, “the successors of Mary of Bethany, and not of Judas Iscariot who really care for the poor." As another says, even if Judas Bad said this from the heart It would have been wrong. It does not follow that the poor will not be benefited, because the rich live according to their means. Social Distinctions to Remain. But how significant that remark ttt Jesus’, “the poor always ye have with you.” How clearly It teaches that distinctions of class and rank will never cease in the present age. It was never intended that society should become a macadamized road where all are on a level. The existence of pauperism alone does not prove that states are 111-governed, or churches are not doing their duty. This separation between rich and poor which Jesus made was opposed to the spirit of Christ, for In the true veneration of his name consists the most effectual caring for the poor. It Is important to keep this In mind In this humanitarian age when the gospel of good works (so called) Is so persistently thrust into the foreground in opposition to the gospel of faith. Poverty is forever at our heels, but Christ in the meanwhile may be vanishing away. How significant, “Me ye have not always.” Oh, let us take It to heart! Him we have no longer when, the wings of death suddenly overshadow us; or when our senses depart under the Influence of disease, and the message of salvation no longer penetrates through the crowd of unbridled imaginations. We have him no longer wben God gives ns up to strong delusion*, and permits them to take their permanent abode In our minds, because we have hardened ourselves against hie calls to repentance.