The Soverignty of Christ

The Soverignty of Christ SOVEREIGNTY OF CHRIST
By S. P. PITTMAN

“And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, say­ing, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

Great stress has been laid upon what we are pleased to term “the great commission.” I think the epithet appropriate. It is our Magna Charta, granted by our Great Teacher, as a constitutional guide. You have often heard this commission quoted; you have heard sermon after sermon preached upon it; you probably have listened to too many sermons emphasizing the first part, and too few emphasizing the second part of the com­mission. It is not the nineteenth verse with its command to go, to make disciples, and to baptize, to which I di­rect your attention tonight; nor the twentieth verse, with its injunction to teach the observance of all things, and with the promise of his continuous companionship. I ask you to read carefully with me the preamble to this con­stitution granted after his .passion and resurrection, and just prior to his ascension. Without the truth contained in this preliminary statement, the commission itself would have been a waste of words, and would never have been recorded upon the pages of sacred history. With­out the preamble to impress the apostles with the au­thoritativeness of his utterance, the words of Jesus might have been forgotten almost as soon as the echo of his voice had died away among the rocks and craigs of the mountains of Galdee.

Jesus had made an appointment with the twelve to meet him in Galilee. Before the crucifixion He said, “But after I am raised, up, I will go before you into Galilee” (Matthew 26:32). After His resurrection the angels said, “And go quickly, and tell his disciples, He. is risen from the dead; and lo, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him” (Matthew 28:7). In a short time Jesus himself said to these same women, “Fear not: go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me” (Matthew 28:7) Go tell my brethren.” I am impressed with the wording" my brethren—not my subjects, my subordinates, my servants; but my brethren, a term of equality, fraternity, endearment. When our elder brother meets his younger brothers upon the Galilean mountain to communicate with them concerning a divine commission, may We not expect something extraordinary?

Permit me to digress just long enough to say that this same Jesus makes an appointment to meet us upon the mountains of faith. Have we gone forth to meet him there? Have we received there our commission to go out into the world of sorrow with tidings of joy? into the world of darkness and bring the light into the world of sin and proclaim salvation? The world needs this commission now. The twelve needed the encouragement which this mes­sage brought to them. When, during His ministry, He repeatedly said to them that the Son of man must go to Jerusalem and be crucified, and the third day be raised up, these intimate followers became dispirited, After his passion, they were completely bewildered. They had been taken from the humble walks of life—from the fish-net and the receipt of custom, and had been exalted to companionship with the Son of God. Their associa­tion with the Prince of Life-had led them into holy ground. They were privileged to sit at the feet of the Master and learn of him. They heard many a discussion between him and the Jewish rabbis. They heard him put the Pharisees, the Sudducees, and the Herodians to silence. They heard the great invitation. They heard more than that. They heard that a kingdom was to be established. It was the voice of John the Baptist that broke the silence of centuries: “Repent ye: for' the King­dom of Heaven is at hand.’’ Even while his voice was reverberating among the hills and forests of Judaea, Jesus caught up the message and repeated: “Repent ye; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Then the twelve, through cities and villages proclaimed: “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Then the seventy caught the inspiration and as they went' from place to place, two by two, said: “The Kingdom of God is come night unto you.” The disciples had been taught to pray: “Thy King­dom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. ’ ’ But one day He said to them: “Fear not little flock : for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the king­dom.” That was a positive promise which they cher­ished. The Question of pre-eminence in the kingdom had been raised by the twelve, and two of them had aspired to be prime ministers after the inauguration. But before its establishment, they had seen their promised kingdom apparently shattered, and their idol­ized prospective king go down in apparent defeat. He had deliberately closed every human avenue of success. He had spurned the offer of the prince of demons to become ruler over all kingdoms of the world. He had refused the crown at the hands of the people who were wild with enthusiasm after the miraculous feeding. He had obstinately refused to align himself with either of the dominant factions of the Jews. There was a chance for success by an alignment with the Herodiaus, a com­promise party; but he had offended them and called them hypocrites. One more chance remained. There was a disgruntled party, ever ready to rebel against Roman authority. He could throw himself at the head of this ever-increasing mob and, like Alexander and Caesar and Pompey, conquer for himself a kingdom. But he had urged men to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. With these avenues all closed, the voyage to the apostles seemed gloomy and futile. They were almost ready to mutiny. But the Great Captain said, “Sail on! Sail on!”

History abounds in instances of victory coining in the guise of defeat. Go with me back to the latter half of the twelfth century. Henry II. King of England and Lord of Ireland, not content with ruling in the British Isles, had, by inheritance, by contracting advantageous marriages, and by wars, added Western France to his dominions. In the next reign John, whose profligacy caused his name to be an execration, and whose prodi­gality gave him the nickname of “Lackland,” and whose despotism called forth the Great Charter, lost almost all of his continental possessions. This disaster, humilia­ting as it seems to be, proved a blessing in disguise. England became more isolated, and extricated from foreign influences, she was left to work out her own internal problems. Thus was laid the basis of the never- dying, ever-expanding British Empire. To come nearer home, I recall an incident of the war between the states. According to the story, it was dur­ing the darkest period of American history—dreary days for the North; dreary days for the South. A melan­choly gloom had settled over Washington, The Penin­sular Campaign had proved a failure, and “Fighting Joe Hooker” had been put in command. In May, the two armies met at Chancellorsville. When the smoke of battle was lifted from the bloody battlefield, twelve thousand (12,000) Confederates lay dead and wounded There was a greater casualty among the Federals. The whole, city of Washington seemed deac that day. Men came and read the bulletins, and shook their heads and went away. Seward and Halleck and Stanton have just left the White House, and the Executive Mansion is as still as death. It was now past 9 o'clock, and the meas­ured tread of the president's feet was heard, as he paced up and down in the Cabinet room. 10 o’clock came, and the ceaseless promenade was still going on. 12 o’clock came, and still he was pacing to and fro. One o’clock came; 2 o’clock; 3 o’clock. The next morning the sun rose bright—not a cloud in the sky. At 8 o’clock the president was seated near the end of the Cabinet table, and close by lay a sheet of paper, freshly written upon. It was the order under which General Meade was to take General Hooker’s place and lead the army on to Gettysburg, then on to victory. That gloomy night, while Lincoln was pacing the floor of the White House, stalk­ing like some lonely sentinel soldier, the defeat of Chancellorsville was changed, as if by magic, into the victory of Gettysburg. But why dwell upon these illustrations drawn from secular history, when the most striking instance is the one under consideration—the one taken from divine his­tory. To the disciples, Calvary was a symbol of defeat. The death of their King meant the abortion of the King­dom, the thwarting of His promises, and the crushing of their hopes. On the third dajr all was changed. The apparent defeat of Calvary was'only the prelude to the "victory of the Resurrection, the triumph of the Ascen­sion, and the Exultation of Pentecost. With the resur­rection came a revival of the apostles’ hopes. The claim of authority expressed in the preamble to the Commission is a response to their inquiry: “Lord, dost Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’’ All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth;” From .the beginuing of His earthly career He had obviously possessed some power. At the marriage feast He bad power to turn water into wine. A little later, and the winds and the sea obey Him. The unclean spirits yielded to His will. To the multitudes He spoke as one having authority. The scribes and chief priests and elders rec­ognized His power when they asked: ‘‘By what author- ritly dost-Thou these' things ? and who gave” Thee this authority.”’ No, do we have the admission from His own mouth, “all authority.” Let me repeat those words, “All Authority!’” That sounds like Autocracy—absolutism. Since the great Political Revolution of Europe there has -been a growing sentiment towards democracy, untLhan autocratic government is now an exception 'and rests under the-ban of.the-civilizert world A, democratic rule, with republican institutions may be an ideal form of hu­man government. Not so with the divine government! Monarchy—absolute Monarchy is the divine plan. Our King is an absolute Monarch. He does not propose to di­vide sovereignty with the masses. He does not delegate a portion of His authority to His subjects—not even to Ecclesiastics. “All authority in heaven and on earth.” From henceforth all angels would, and all men should obey His mandates. And why should not all authority be vested in Him? Once He shared with Ood, Omnipotence. “All things were made through Him; and without Him was not any­thing made that hath been made.” When Jehovah said: “Let us make man in our image,” He was there. His dwelling place was the bosom of the Father. But there came a time when He, though “existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself.” Will you permit me to exhibit for a few moments a series of pictures found in the Bible? Word-paintings, I mean, drawn by the hand of Inspiration. The first in the series is the picture of the new-born King, the Babe of Bethle­hem. Surely He had emptied Himself of power; yet in that tiny, frail body lay the potentialities of a King. “And when He again bringeth in the first-born into the -world He saith, and let all the angels of God worship Him.” And men from the East “fell down and wor­shipped Him.” Thus Heaven and earth recognized the prospective King.

The scene changes. The child has grown to manhood. He has become “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Under the bowers of dark Gethsemane, He wrestles alone in prayer. But the deepest depths of hu­miliation have not yet been reached—not until He stands before the Jewish mob arrayed in robes of mockery, hold­ing in His hand a counterfeit sceptre, wearing upon His brow a crown of thorns—not until they bowed before Him in derision and said: “Hail, King of the Jews!”— not until these indignities, did He reach the lowest depths. This is the picture of the humiliated King.

You know what the next picture will be. It is that of the Triumphant King. When Jesus rode into Jerusa­lem upon the colt, the foal of an ass, this was not His triumphal entry into power. Men would fain have crowned Him then. Men and women and children were His escorts then. When God was ready to crown Him King of kings and Lord of lords, He said: “Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlast­ing doors; And the King of glory will come in.” I think a convoy of angels must have accompanied Him to heav­en and participated in the inaugural ceremonies. And when Jehovah said: “Sit Thou on My right hand, Till 1 make Thine enemies the foot-stool of Thy feet,” me- thinks the atigels falling prostrate before the throne said: Amen! Amen! “Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing,” Amen! Amen!