A Present-Day-Supreme Question

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 11, Issue 9, 1 August 1945, Page 4

A Present-Day-Supreme Question

(Address by the Rev. W. Grist, M.A., the well-known Evangelical Vicar of St. Philip and St. James, Ilfracombe.)

Text: "What think ye of Christ?"— Matt. 22 : 42. This is the question of all questions. According as we answer it is our knowledge of God and our ap-. proach to Him. Herein is the comfort and strength that we derive from God's presence. It is a question which determines the quality and iibre of, our character, and decides the destiny of our immortal souls. If you study the context you will see that people had been asking questions of Christ, questions of politics, as to whether, or n6t, they should pay taxes to the Roman occupying authority, questions of philosophy — as to the existence of the soul after death? They had plied Him with questions concerning morality. They had faced Him with what they thought we're supreme issues. But the Lord brushes aside all these and asked them the question of a'U questions: "What think ye of Christ?" That this question marked- the climax of His ministry to men is seen m the time when the question was asked. It was on -the Tuesday of Passion Week. His miracles of mercy had been performed; His gracious teaching had been given; and then gathering it all up, He, asks this supreme question: "What think ye of Christ?" Now the wonderful thing about this question is that it was not only a question -for those who heard it from His lips m the days of His flesh, but it comes up before our hearts and consciences m this hour, demanding a verdict from us, for Christ has that unique quality of projecting Himself before our very thoughts as though He was before us m the flesh. Question of Questions Of course, it is not our mere personal opinion that is involved; it is not a question of what we like to think about Christ. Rather it is the issue and the attitude of our wills toward Him. I know there are some folk who never think anything at all about Christ, and would avoid, at all costs, any personal reflection about Him: to them He is just a figure of history, and taken by them for granted: One who has no claim upon their lives; and on the busy highroads of life they just pass Him by. There are others to whom this question "What think ye of Christ?" is the question of questions, > for it has brought them into living touch with Him. That is the viewpoint and the angle from which they regard the meaning

of all those events which come into their lives. It is to Christ that their thoughts fly unbidden when trials come. It is to Him that they relate the issues of life, and they seek to find out from Him His intention to permitting those trials. And when they look out upon the upheaval of the nations, and the bankruptcy of all human devices to bring peace and justice to the world, it is m the terms of Christ's revealed programme and His declared purpose that they think. "What think ye of Christ?" That is the question that determines our eternal salvation. It is the question that governs, our present peace of heart and mind. It is the question that brings us light and leading upon al the dark chapters of life. It is the question m the light of which we may see the course of history, and of the Divine purpose,, among men and nations. So, am I not right when I say that this is. the question of questions? What does God think of Christ? The Old Testament, that Book of truth, is full of what God thinks of Christ. As He looks down the avenues of time down to the days m which we are now living, and as He sees the upheaval of the nations, and man's defiance of Him and His laws, He says of Christ: "Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2: 6). Peerless for Trait of Christ Christ is the world's destined Ruler. All the symbols of the Old Testament speak to us of Christ, the Coming One. Think of the wonderful details given m Exodus regarding the tabernacle m the wilderness: they all speak of Christ bringing the presence of God near to men. Think, too, of the apparel of the priests of old, and of the sacrifices, and the offerings m the temple — every one is woven with the Name of Christ. In each as m a mirror, we see reflected the work of Christ m the souls of men. Yes, the Old Testament is full of Jesus. Just as if you were to take a mirror and break it into a thousand fragments, every fragment of that mirror would reflect your face, so as you break up the Old Testament Scriptures every chapter, every verse reveals the peerless portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ. What did God the Father think of Christ? Hear the Divine yoice m testimony after those 18 years of hidden life spent m Nazareth, of toil at the carpenter's bench, those years

of silence were broken when the voice of God was heard by the River Jordan: "This is My deloved Son, m whom I am well pleased." That is God's answer to this question. And when the Lord Jesus died on the Cross it was God who raised Him up; that by that Divine act men might know what God thinks of Christ m raising Him up from the dead, revealing Him as the One who had atoned for the world's sin, as One who m the unique qualification of His Person and His sinlessness had fully paid the price of man's redemption. The Resurrection is the supreme evidence of what God thinks of Christ. And what did His" friends think of Him? In the rocky fastnesses of Caesarea Philippi the Lord Jesus asked His disciples the question: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Not that He was ever at pains to guide the policy of His life by what people thought or said of Him. He was simply seeking to draw out the testimony concerning Himself from those whom He was thus questioning, His own disciples. Satisfies the Hungry Soul And Simon Peter, the mouthpiece of the disciples that man of such a complex personality, a man of extremes, but with such a deep, deep love for his Master declares: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" — the Deliverer for whom the world has waited. Again it is Peter who says: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." Peter, the representative disciple of Jesus Christ, declares that He is both the Son of God ,the bridge along which alone we can travel to God: and He is also the unique One who wholly satisfies the hungry soul. Again, how would Christ Himself have. us think of Him? "What think we of Christ?" How would He have us answer that question? He quietly claims a greatness surpassing all standards of greatness. He was greater than Solomon, for m Him was all wisdom. He was greater than the temple, the way by which men approached God, for He is the way. to God. He was greater than Jacob. He came to establish a Kingdom whose citizens, no man can number. Not only is He above all human greatness, but He claims oneness with the Father— "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." Jesus

further takes upon"* Him the. Name "I Am"— the Name of . Jehovah. "Before Abraham was I AM." "The words that'll speak I speak not of Myself, but of the Father who sent Me." "The word that I have spoken, , the same shall judge men m the last day." , / "He Trod Our Human Way." Such claims can haye nothing to do with that modern, easy conception of God as a next-door neighbour. True, He trod our human way. True, He borne our human burdens. True, He wept by the open grave. But with His, humanity He is the eternal Son of God. And the. claims that He makes upon vs — how vast they are! "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me," He says. "I am the Way, . the Truth, and the Life." No priest;no system of theology; no schemes of self-bettermen. "All power is given until M ein heaven and earth. And when the shadows of death gather around either ourselves or our loved ones it is He who makes the claim: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth on Me though he were dead, yet shall he live." We have seen what God thinks of Christ, and what the representative disciple thinks of Him,, and .what Christ Himself would have us think •'of Him. Now comes' the question: "What think ye of Christ?" Those of us who know Him love to think of Him. Just as the thoughts of a lover ever fly to the beloved, so it is m spiritual things, thoughts of love fly to Him. Do you remember -m the "Pilgrim's Progress" how Prudence, wanting to think of Christ, asked Christian the question: "Can you tell me by what means ,we find our thoughts most turn to Christ?"' What was his answer? "When I think of what I saw at the Cross, that will do it. And when I look at the roll which He gave me there and which I carry m my bosom, that will do it. And when my heart waxes warm about the place whither I am going, which He is now preparing for me, that will turn my. thoughts to Christ." ' -.- - A Living- Bright Reality Yes, when we think of what He has done. When we think of the. Cross, and how He met us there, and we received from Him the certificate of our salvation, that roll m his bosom as John Biinyan depicts it. m "The Pilgrim's Progress." When we think of that moment when all our sins were swallowed up, and when A God through Christ was made to us a living, bright reality. When we thipk of His presence with us all the .: days, and of what He has been to us along the passing milestones of life's way, love is kindled, and our thoughts

fly to the beloved one, as sparks fly upward, v "What think ye ofvChrist?" Can you say with Peter: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"? : Can you say again with him, as you think of the pleasures of this world, and the dissatisfaction of heart that they bring, "Lord* to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life"? Think of Him: think of what He has done for you. Keep company with Him through His Word. Let some gem of His teaching be your special treasure, whether it be, "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but m Me there is peace." Or whether it be some priceless jewel from that jewel box of His promises:- "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." If you think of Him like that you will realise that He is the only One who can bring you to God, who can keep you day by daypand who one day will bring you to the glory _of the eternal presence. - v