Richard Newton

“ Had it been possible to add a pang to the suffering already endured, this must surely have been effected by the foul jests and ribald mockery which Jesus was now called upon to endure at the hands of the ruffians of the barrack-room. The lust of cruelty, delight in inflicting and witnessing torture, marks the lowest depth of human depravity; and to sorrow of heart beyond what we can comprehend, to physical suffering as great as any which mortal man can endure and live, was now added the humiliation of being the object of sport and derision to the dregs of mankind. ”

“ And from that time John took the mother of Jesus to his own home and took care of her, as if she had been his own mother. How thoughtful and tender this was in Jesus! How much it was like the loving Saviour! And how touchingly we may learn from this crucifixion scene the lesson of our duty to our parents, and especially to our mothers! No child can ever fully repay a faithful, loving mother for all that she has done. Let us try to follow the example which Jesus set us from the cross about our duty to our parents. ”

“ James Harvey came to his last sickness, his physician came in one day and told him he had but very little time to live.
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“Then let me spend my last moments,” said he, “in praising my blessed Saviour. Though my heart and my flesh fail, yet God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. St. Paul says: ‘All things are yours, whether life or death; things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.’ Here is the treasure of a Christian, and a noble treasure it is. Death is ours. Jesus has made it our friend, by his death and burial. ”

“ At one time, when Muckle Bess had passed middle life, there was a great religious interest among the churches in that part of the country.
On one Sabbath day they were holding services in the open air. A great crowd of people had gathered round the minister. To the surprise of every one, who should appear, at the outside of the crowd, but poor Bess. Ragged, and wild-looking, she seemed just like the witch of Endor. The women trembled at the sight of her, and the men thought she had only come for mischief. But she sat quietly down on the grass and listened to the preaching. ”

“ And by what Jesus said on this occasion, he meant to teach Peter, and you and me, and all his people, that if we really love him, the way in which he wishes us to show that love, is by being kind to others—by teaching them about him, and by trying to get them to love and serve him, too.
This is a good lesson for ministers to learn; for parents, for teachers, and for all who love Jesus. When we have found what a faithful friend, what a loving Saviour, what a kind and tender comforter we have in him, then he wishes us to do all we can to help others to know him, and love him, and serve him. ”

“ Charles Anderson—the fierce, unmanageable man—the man who had been chained, like a wild beast to that lonely rock, became a Christian. And he was a thoroughly changed man in every respect. The change from midnight to mid-day, from mid-winter to mid-summer, is not greater than the change that appeared in him. From being an ill-tempered, gloomy, disobedient, idle man who was a plague to all about him, he became gentle, and kind, cheerful, obedient, and trustworthy; a man who gained the respect and the love of all who knew him. ”

“ When Jesus was speaking to the disciples of the Spirit whom he promised to send, he said, “He shall teach you all things.” St. John xiv: 26. But, when our Lord spoke of the Spirit teaching us “all things,” he did not mean those things which we can find out ourselves by diligence in study. We do not need the help of the Holy Spirit to teach us spelling, or reading, or history, or geography. He meant “all things” about himself and the work he has done for our salvation. Sin has closed the eyes of our souls. It has made us blind to spiritual things. ”

“ The second lesson that we may learn from the history of Christ’s trial is a lesson about—the wicked priests.
If our Saviour had been persecuted and put to death by infidels or by men who did not profess to be religious, it would not have been surprising. But, when we find that it was the priests—men occupying the highest places in the church, and whose business it was to study the Scriptures, and teach them to the people—when these were the men most forward in having Jesus put to death—it seems very strange. ”

“ He is called—the Holy Spirit—not only because he is holy himself, but because his work is to make his people holy. And this is what we all need to make us fit for heaven. The great law of that blessed world, the law that is written, as it were, over the gate of heaven, is this—“without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” ”

“ Now, they run into each other, and make a little rill. Every moment the breach grows wider and deeper, till, at last, there is a roaring torrent rushing through that nothing can stop.
Every sin is like a seed. If it be planted in the heart and allowed to spring up, no one can tell what it will grow into. ”

“ And it is the thought of this amazing love of Christ, making him willing to suffer for us, which gives to the story of the cross the marvellous power it has to melt the hardest hearts and win the worst of men to his service. There is a power in love to do what nothing else can do,—to make men good and holy. And this is what we are taught when told that—“Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” I. Peter iii: 18. And when we find people acting in this way towards each other in everyday life it has just the same effect. ”

“ The growth of a river from a rill—of a giant oak from a tiny acorn—would not be half so surprising as the monstrous growth in wickedness that we should have seen in Judas. When we saw him committing his first sin, he was like a little child. When we saw him committing his last awful sin—the child had sprung up into a huge, horrible giant. Jesus said he had become a devil. St. John vi: 70. How fearful it is to think of such growth in wickedness! ”

“ By a man trusting in his own heart, he means, having too much self-confidence. And the folly of this sort of trust is seen in this, that it keeps us from seeking the help of God; and without this help, we are not able to resist temptation when it overtakes us; and then we are sure to fall. We see a striking illustration of this in the case of Peter. When Jesus told the disciples that they would all forsake him, Peter had such trust in his own heart—such confidence in himself,—that he said, “Though all men forsake thee, yet will I never forsake thee.” ”

“ Love is the golden thread that runs through them all. Look at the opening words of the third chapter of his first epistle. How the very heart of the loving disciple seems to be speaking out when he exclaims: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” It is remarkable that the two shortest verses in the whole Bible, and yet two among those that most melt, and stir our hearts, were written by this apostle. One of these is in his gospel and contains only two words—“Jesus wept.” ”

“ Paul tells us that—“sin is the transgression of the law.” To transgress a law, means to walk over it, or to break it. But the law of God is only his will made known. And so, everything that we think, or feel, or say, or do, contrary to the will of God—is sin. And when we remember this it should make us very anxious to learn the lesson of submission to the will of God. ”

“ Finding that though she went regularly to church, and read her Bible at home, and prayed every day, she yet found no peace; he said to her, “My friend, do you expect to be saved because you are doing these things?”
“Certainly I do,” was the answer.
“Well this is your mistake. You are putting these in the place of Jesus. There is no peace, or comfort, or salvation anywhere but in Jesus only. Now let me give you one verse to think about, and act upon. Jesus said—‘Come unto me—and I will give you rest.’ Have you gone to Jesus only for rest and peace and salvation?” ”

“ Jesus Revealeth Himself to Mary Magdalene
Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre. And seeth two angels in white sitting, ... where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? ”

“ He became an earnest Christian. And that which led to this great change was the convincing proof he found in the New Testament of the truth of the resurrection of Christ. He saw it was true that Jesus did rise from the dead. And when he became satisfied that this was true, he was obliged to admit that all the other teachings of the New Testament respecting Christ must be true also. The resurrection of Christ is the foundation stone on which the religion of the Bible is built up. ”

“ How amazed the angels must have been when they saw it! [77] Oh! what an example of patience we have in Jesus! And if we call ourselves the friends and followers of Christ, let us try to have the same mind in us that was in him, by imitating the example of his patience. There is no way in which we can do so much good to others, and make them think well of the religion of Christ, as by trying to practise the same patience which he practised. ”

“ There are several lessons that may be learned from the ascension of our Saviour, but we can only speak of one. This is the lesson of obedience to the command of Christ.
Just before he went up to heaven, Jesus said to his disciples—“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” St. Mark xvi: 15. This is the last command he gave to his people. He kept it till now because he wished it to be especially remembered. When we lose a father, or mother, or a friend whom we love very much, we listen attentively to the words spoken by that friend as we gather round the dying bed. ”

“ His mind or soul was enduring sufferings much worse than those which the scourges, and the crown of thorns, and the crucifixion, caused to his body. He said to his disciples as he entered Gethsemane—“My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” This was the sorrow he felt from thinking that his Father in heaven was angry with him, and was looking at him as if he were a sinner. He had taken our sins upon himself, and God was treating him as if he had really been a sinner. ”

“ Oft-repeated words are apt, for this very reason, to lose the force of their significance; and the Cross of Calvary has furnished so frequent a theme for Christian literature and Christian art, that it is by an effort only, which we do well to exert, that the anguish of that lingering death can even dimly be appreciated. The harrowing details have often been recounted, and it is sufficient here to state in brief, that it comprised, in one awful agony, well-nigh every pang which the human body can be called upon to suffer ”

“ The last lesson taught us by the burial of Christ is—a lesson of comfort.
If Christ had not suffered, and died, and been buried for us, we should have no comfort when we come to die. The thought of having to lie down in the grave would have been terrible to us. But Jesus died and laid in the grave [145] for us, on purpose that we might not be afraid to die. ”

“ We have no reason to suppose that Jesus ever took upon himself the nature of any other race of creatures, as he did take our nature. We have no reason to suppose that he ever died, in any other world, as he died in ours. How wonderful this makes the thought of his crucifixion! ”

“ And this is what the Holy Spirit does for us. The Bible is like a great gallery. It is full of beautiful pictures, such as none but God can make. But our eyes are blinded, and we cannot see them. The Spirit’s work is to open these blind eyes so that we may see.
And the great end of all the Spirit’s teaching is to help us to see Jesus, as our Saviour, and [231] the one in whom we must trust for everything necessary to our salvation. Here is an illustration of what I mean. We may call it:
“Jesus Only.” A lady had been trying for some time to be a Christian, but she could find no comfort. ”

“ And the trials which he sends on us are the proofs of his love. As the sculptor was trying to make this image of an angel out of the marble block, by every blow he gave it, so God, by all the afflictions of this life, is fitting us to be like the angels in the heavenly kingdom.’
“‘Now, I shall never feel sad on account of my lameness,’ said Annie. ‘To think that this is a proof of God’s love will always make me happy.’”
Let us remember these four lessons when we think of the history of the apostle Peter. ”

“ It was proper, therefore, that those disciples, who would, of course, hear of his death, should have some public proof given them of the fact of his resurrection. No doubt the eleven disciples went to Galilee after Jesus rose. They would spread the news that he had risen, and that he was about to show himself to his friends on a certain mountain. Nothing more would be necessary anywhere to draw together a great concourse of people than a report that one who was dead had come to life again, and was about to show himself ”