A Good Place To Leave Him
--at the feet of Jesus. We shall meet him by and by in the kingdom
of God.
His testimony has been ringing down through the ages these last
nineteen hundred years. It has been talked about wherever the Word
of God has been known. It was a wonderful day's work that man did
for the Son of God; doubtless there will be many in eternity who
will thank God for his confession of Christ.
he has left a record that has stirred the Church of God ever since.
He is one of the characters that always stirs one up, imparting new
life and fire, new boldness and courage when one reads about him.
This is what we need to-day as much as ever--to stand up for the Son
of God. Let the Pharisees rage against us; let the world go on
mocking, and sneering, and scoffing; we will stand up courageously
for the Son of God. If they cast us out, they will cast us right
into His own bosom. He will take us to His own loving arms. It is a
blessed thing to live so godly in Christ Jesus that the world will
not want you--that they will cast you out.
II
Now we come to Joseph of Arimathea.
I do not think he came out quite so nobly as this blind beggar did;
but he did come out, and we will thank God for that. We read in John
that for fear of the Jews he was kept back from confessing openly.
"And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but
secretly, for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take
away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him leave. He came,
therefore, and took the body of Jesus."
Read the four accounts given in the four Gospels of Joseph of
Arimathea. There is very seldom anything mentioned by all four of
the Evangelists. If Matthew and Mark refer to an event it is often
omitted by Luke and John; and, if it occur in the latter, it may not
be contained in the former. John's Gospel is made up of that which
is absent from the others in most instances--as in the case of the
blind man alluded to. But all four record what Joseph did for
Christ. All His disciples had forsaken Him. One had sold Him, and
another had denied Him. He was left in gloom and darkness, when
Joseph of Arimathea came out and confessed Him.
It was the death of Jesus Christ that brought out Joseph of
Arimathea. Probably he was one of the number that stood at the cross
when the centurion smote his breast, and cried out, "Truly, this was
the Son of God," and he was doubtless convinced at the same time. He
was a disciple before, because we read that on the night of the
trial he did not give his consent to the death of Christ. There must
have been some surprise in the Council-chamber on that occasion,
when Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, stood up and said:
"I will never give my consent to His death."
There were seventy of those men, but we have very good reason to
believe that there were two of them that, like Caleb and Joshua of
old, had the courage to stand up for Jesus Christ--these were Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus: neither of them gave their consent to
the death of Christ. But I am afraid Joseph did not come out and say
that he was a disciple--for we do not find a word said about his
being one until after the crucifixion.
I am afraid there are
More
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Faith
The next step is faith. Talk about faith! I think this is about the most extraordinary case of faith in the Bible. Abraham was the father of the faithful; but God had him in training for twenty-five years. Moses was a man of faith; but he saw the... A Blank Check
and all he had to do was to fill it out from that time on. When he wanted to bring water out of the rock, all he had to do was to fill out the check; when he wanted bread, all he had to do was to fill out the check and the bread came; he had a rich ... A Falser Idea Of God
than that. Since I have become a father I have made this discovery: that it takes more love and self-sacrifice for the father to give up the son than it does for the son to die. Is a father on earth a true father that would not rather suffer than to... A Good Place To Leave Him
--at the feet of Jesus. We shall meet him by and by in the kingdom of God. His testimony has been ringing down through the ages these last nineteen hundred years. It has been talked about wherever the Word of God has been known. It was a wonderfu... A Heaven-sent Messenger
Had you gone into the palace in those days, you would have heard Herod talking of nobody but John the Baptist. He would say to his associates: "Have you been out into the desert to hear this strange preacher?" "No; have you?" "Yes." "What... A Long Eye And A Short Eye
and they make miserable work of their Christian life. They keep one eye on the eternal city and the other eye on the well-watered plains of Sodom. That was the way it was with Lot: he had a short eye and a long eye. It would be pretty hard work to b... A Masterpiece Of The Devil
to get men into friendly discussions. I don't know whether Nehemiah had a typewriter in those days or not; I don't know whether he had a printed form of letters, but he always sent back the same reply: "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot co... A Much Shrewder Man
than his uncle Abram, and that if he lived twenty-five years he would be the richer of the two, and that by coming into Sodom he could sell his cattle and sheep and goats and whatever else he had for large sums, and could get a good deal better mark... A Very Simple One
Now, don't you see yourselves there? How many men there are who are waiting for some great thing; waiting for some sudden feeling to come stealing over them; waiting for some shock to come upon them. That is not what the Lord wants. There is a man t... Abraham's Four Surrenders
A great many people are afraid of the will of God, and yet I believe that one of the sweetest lessons that we can learn in the school of Christ is the surrender of our wills to God, letting Him plan for us and rule our lives. If I know my own mind... Adding To The Promise
for the benefit of His friend Abram. Let us go back a moment to Lot, and see what Lot gained by making that choice. I believe that you can find five thousand Lots to one Abram to-day. People are constantly walking by sight, lured by the temptatio... Afraid They Would Get Mad
Don't be afraid of getting them mad, if it is the truth that makes them mad. If it is our foolishness that makes them mad, then we have got reason to mourn over it. If it is the truth, God sent it, and it is a good deal better to have a man get mad ... All Sensation
"Catch me there! No, sir; I never did like sensational preaching." Just as some people speak nowadays when any special effort is made to reach the people! "Great harm will be done," they say. I wish all these croakers had died out with that g... Almost Decided
to become Christians cut down in battle without having taken the step that would have made them sure of eternal life. I confess there is something very sad about it. In one of the tenement houses in New York city, a doctor was sent for. He came, ... An Evidence Of The Truth
of what He said by performing some miracle. If He had said He was the Light of the world, He would show them in what way He was the Light of the world. If He had said He was the Life of the world, He would prove Himself to be such by quickening and ... An Open Letter
in which they said that they had heard he was going to set up a kingdom in opposition to the Persians, and that they were going to report him to the king. Treason has an ugly sound, but Nehemiah committed himself to the Lord, and went on building. ... Bid Him Do Some Great Things
Instead of that, Elisha, who was perhaps busy writing, did not even come to the door or the window. He merely sent out the message: "Tell him to dip seven times in the Jordan." And away went Naaman, saying, I thought, I thought, I thought. I ... Big Heads And Little Hearts
If a man has a shriveled-up heart and a big head he is a monster. Perhaps Moses looked down on the Hebrews. There are many people who start out with the idea that they are great and other people are small, and they are going to bring them up on the ... Broke His Heart
It flashed into this thief's soul that Jesus was the Son of God, and that moment he rebuked his companion, saying: "Dost thou not fear God?" The fear of God fell upon him. There is not much hope of a man's being saved until the fear of God come... Change The Very Countenance
of a man. I know some godly men and women, and they seem to have the stamp of heaven on them. The king noticed a strange look about this cupbearer, and he began to question him. Then the thought came to Nehemiah that he would tell the king what caus... Confessing
Next, he confessed his sins: "We indeed justly." He took his place among sinners, not trying to justify himself. A man may be very sorry for his sins, but if he doesn't confess them, he has no promise of being forgiven. Cain felt badly enough ove... Converted The Regular Way
He believed in the regular Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and that was the place for him to be converted. The employer tried every way he could to get him to attend the meetings, but he wouldn't come. After we left that town and went away up ... Cost Them Too Much
They represent those Christians who do not want to serve Christ if it is going to cost them anything; if they have to give up society, position, or worldly pleasures. They do not want to come out. This is what keeps hundreds and thousands from becom... Darkness
And now darkness falls upon the earth. The sun hides itself. Worse than all, the Father hides His face from His Son. What else is the meaning of that bitter cry: "My God! my God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?" Ah! It had been written, "Cursed is e... Drawn Nearer To God
I believe that many a time trouble and sorrow are permitted to come to us that we may see the face of God, and be shut up to trust in Him alone. But Abram went down into Egypt, and there he got into trouble by denying his wife. That is the blackest ... For Twenty-five Years
Abraham had been in the Promised Land without the promised heir. God had promised that He would bless all the nations of the earth through him, and yet He did not give him a son. Abraham's faith almost staggered a number of times. Ishmael was born, ... God Honored Her Faith
"What do you say? A prophet in Israel that can cure leprosy?" "Yes." "Why, did you ever know any one that was cured?" "No." "Well, then, what makes you think there is a prophet that can cure leprosy?" "Oh, that isn't anything to what El... He Came Half-way
and stayed there--we do not know just how long, but probably about five years. Now, I believe that there are a great many Christians who are what might be called Haran Christians. They go to Haran, and there they stay. They only half obey. They a... He Thought The Lord Had Made A Mistake
that he was not the man. He said, "Who am I?" He was very small in his own estimation. Forty years before he had started out as a good many others have started. He thought he was pretty well equipped for service. He had been in the schools of the Eg... He Would Not Give Up One Darling Sin
The longer I preach, the more I am convinced that that is what keeps men out of the kingdom of God. John knew about Herod's private life, and warned him plainly. If those compromising Christians of whom I have spoken had been near John, one of th... Herod And John The Baptist
If some one had told me a few years ago that he thought Herod at one time came near the kingdom of God, I should have been inclined to doubt it. I would have said, "I do not believe that the bloodthirsty wretch who took the life of John the Baptis... How Many Would Buy Salvation!
But, thank God, it is not in the market for sale. You must buy it at God's price, and that is "without money and without price." Naaman found that out. My dear friends, did you ever ask yourselves which is the worse--the leprosy of sin, or the le... How Prophetic That Answer Was
when Abraham turned and said to the son, "God will provide Himself a sacrifice?" I don't know that Abraham understood the full meaning of it, but a few hundred years after God did provide a sacrifice right there. Mount Moriah and Mount Calvary are c... I Know
There is no hesitation about it, no qualifying the expression. Naaman doesn't now say, "I think"; no, he says, "I know there is a God who has power to cleanse the leprosy." Then there is another thought. Naaman left only one thing in Samaria, and... In The Very Act Of Obedience
he was blessed. Look at those ten New Testament lepers who came to Christ. He said to them: "Go show yourselves to the priests." "Well," they might have said, "what good is that going to do us? Here we are all full of leprosy, and if we go and ... Joy Among The Saints In Heaven
Once, as I was walking down the street, I heard some people laughing and talking aloud. One of them said: "Well, there will be no difference, it will be all the same a hundred years hence." The thought flashed across my mind, "Will there be no ... Justifying Christ
The next thing, he justifies Christ: "This Man hath done nothing amiss." When men are talking against Christ, they are a great way from becoming Christians. Now he says, "He hath done nothing amiss." There was the world mocking him; but in the mi... Keep Away From Christ
because they are looking for the experience of some dear friend or relative. They should not judge of their conversion by the experiences of others. They have heard some one tell how he was converted twenty years ago, and they expect to be converted... Lifted The Curtain Of Time
for Abraham. He looked down into the future, saw God's Son coming up Calvary, bearing his sins and the sins of all posterity. God gave him that secret, and told him how His Son was to come into the world and take away his sins. Now, my friends, n...