And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.--John xii:32, 33.

HE "if" in this text is not to be taken as expressive of doubt. Christ knew from the beginning of his ministry that he would be crucified. In his conversation with Nicodemus, which occurred in the early part of his ministry, you remember he said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." In the latter part of his ministry he spoke plainly and repeatedly to his disciples of his death by violence, saying, "The Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him." And not only did he foreknow the nature of his death, but he understood beforehand its profound significance as a fact in the government of God, and its essential worth in the solution of the problem of man's redemption. To Nicodemus he [152] explained that he should be lifted up so "that whosoever believed on him should not perish, but have eternal life."

      When he uttered the language of the text he was near the time of his crucifixion, and the shadow of the cross which had rested upon his heart all the while, now casts a deeper gloom. It was Tuesday; on Friday he must die. The context reveals in some degree the sorrow which even then he felt flooding his heart, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? but for this cause came I unto this hour." He had already entered upon his great baptism of suffering. To me there is a sacredness in any great sorrow, and especially in the great sorrow of our Saviour and this sacredness attaches itself to this text. With tender touch and loving hearts let us seek to unfold its meaning--for I feel it is full of meaning and redolent of love.

      1. Jesus herein declares his purpose to unite men of every race and rank into one harmonious and fraternal bond, by drawing them to one common center. "I will draw all men," not in the sense that each one of the entire race will actually be drawn to him, but that from all classes, and conditions, and nations I will draw.

      It was the request of the Greeks to see him that called forth the response of the text. For "there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast; the same came therefore to [153] Philip, saying, 'Sir, we would see Jesus.'" As Philip was the only one among the twelve who had a pure Greek name, it is supposed that he was of that blood, and that this was probably the reason they approached him with their request to see the new teacher, now attracting so much attention. This request was presented to the Master by Philip and Andrew, and it awoke within him thoughts of his atoning death upon the cross and the world-wide provisions of his grace. I will be lifted up, but not for the Jew alone. This uplifting will be the widening of my work and mission. It will possess an attraction over the wide world--to civilized and savage, learned and illiterate, Greek and Jew alike. It will beak down opposition, and form out of the most heterogeneous and discordant materials a kingdom of surpassing glory.

      This purpose marks the opening of a new era in the religious history of the world. Not only was the purpose unparalleled, but the thought was new. No religious teacher prior to this had even suggested such a thing. All other religions were ethnical. Each nation had its gods and its system of religion, as it had its laws and its system of government. Even the divinely-given religion of the Jew was never, intended for any other than the chosen nation. It was limited in its provisions, its application and its territory. But the religion to be established by Jesus was designed for the whole world. Its author proposed it as the religion for the race. It is catholic [154] in spirit, its provisions are universal, its field is the world. Nor was this an ambition kindled within it after its splendid victories made universal dominion appear possible, but in the hour of comparative obscurity did its founder entertain and declare this great purpose!

      It was so new, so unlike anything the world had ever known or heard before, that his immediate disciples and their early converts were slow to apprehend and understand it. They seemed to regard it as a revision and enlargement of Judaism. The story of Peter's vision on the housetop in Joppa, and of the commotion and controversy occasioned by his visit to the house of Cornelius, and the history of the Jerusalem council, reveal to us how slowly the light dawned upon their minds. The development of his catholic purpose met with very strong opposition from his own followers then; and, sad to say, in different ways it has experienced the same opposition from his professed followers since. And even now we are slow to understand the riches of his grace, the wideness of his mercy, and the catholicity of his purpose. The narrowness and bigotry of man is like the little land-locked sea of Galilee, which is shut in from all the world, and its waves wash the shores of no land but its own; while divine mercy is like the Great Sea, bearing upon its bosom the commerce of the world, and with its blue waves it washes the shores of all the nations. [155]

      In the broad philanthropy of Christ is an argument for his divinity. Whence came this gracious catholic purpose, set forth in the text? We know that the age, the country, the education, the society of early years exert a wonderful moulding influence over every one. The seeds of that definite form and character which we eventually assume will be found to lie within our early history. But Jesus was born and reared in the midst of a nation and at a time proverbial for religious bigotry. By natural birth a Jew, trained from infancy by a Jewess, a regular attendant of their synagogues and their temple service, how came he to be the founder of a religion so broad in its philanthropy, so catholic in its spirit? His gracious purposes strongly suggest, if they do not fully demonstrate, that he came forth from the bosom of the universal Father. The Father of our race, must be the Father of Christ, its lover and Saviour.

      The nature of his kingdom is new. He forms it into a perfect union by drawing each one to a common center. It was formed and is governed by the power of attraction. There had been universal [156] dominions before his day, but they were formed an sustained by the force of arms. That which he proposes to establish is, like our solar system, to be held in unity and harmony by a hidden power which holds each part to a common center. Nor does he propose to destroy all individual peculiarities. Mercury and Venus and Mars and Jupiter and Saturn retain their features of individuality, and yet they harmoniously combine to form one system. Then too, some are much nearer their central sun than others. And, yet, each fills its appropriate place. It is a grave mistake to suppose that the union which should characterize the kingdom of Christ among men is a dead, a slavish uniformity. Great variety is consistent with perfect unity.

      It is important for us to know, since this is the character of his kingdom, exactly what that center is toward which all are drawn and around which each revolves along his appointed course. Should we suppose that to be this center which is not the center, confusion must appear even though harmony prevails. So it was with the old astronomers. They supposed the earth was the center of the system to which it belongs. Upon this supposition other parts appeared to be deranged. When, however, they found the sun to be the common center perfect harmony appeared. So, should we suppose any creed or doctrine or ordinance or theory of church organization, or a special interpretation of any passage o Scripture, to be the center, when, in fact, it is not [157] all would appear to be in fearful discord. We are not left, however, to grope in a vain search for this center of gravitation and government in the spiritual kingdom on earth. The text states it!--"And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me."

      2. Jesus Christ is himself the center, and personal, heart-felt attachment to him is the controlling principle in the life, as it is also the final test of Christian character. The basis of Christianity is not a theory, nor a system of formulated doctrines, but it is a person. In Christianity, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Its two great questions are, "What think you of Christ?" and "What, then, shall I do with Jesus? " He who in heart and life gives the true answer to these questions is a Christian. He has been drawn to Christ and is obedient to him as the planets are obedient to the sun.

      A study of the historical development of the church as recorded in the New Testament will serve to illustrate and demonstrate this. If we go back to the time of the personal ministry of our Lord, before the existence of the New Testament Scriptures, we see him gathering, chiefly from the fishermen of Galilee, the nucleus of the church. He does not propound to them a system of abstract truth, as the Greek philosophers did, to which he demands their assent; nor does he present for their acceptance a plan or constitution for the organization of societies to be called churches, and call upon them to adopt [158] it and aid him in putting it into practical operation, but his simple request was, Follow me. He makes himself the center of a group of personal friends, and he is the bond by which they are held together in the fellowship of a fraternal love. They loved him, they followed him. Their confidence in him was the cord by which they were held. They willingly left all for his sake. Persecutions could not drive them away from one so dear to their hearts. This devotion to him was the central principle of character in each, and the vital point around which their lives developed into spiritual strength and moral beauty. They could not, even after three years of discipleship under him, have passed an examination in a modern theological seminary. Yet during all this time he had been preparing them to evangelize the world! He had not been drilling them in dogmatic theology, and the science of church government, so much as he had been binding them with multitudinous cords to himself.

      At a later period, when they had fully entered upon this world-wide mission, we find that everywhere they went they preached Jesus. They told the story of his gracious life and his sacrificial death over again and again and again, and sought to win and to bind the hearts of the people in loving devotion to him. In him they saw all' fulness dwelling. Their converts were not converted to doctrines, to churches or to men. They were converted to Christ. All faith, all obedience, all hope had value only as [159] they centered in his person and work. He was the object of saving faith as he was the substance of their simple confession of faith. He was held before the people as their only teacher and guide, and as the one who alone could give rest to their weary souls. They were to wear no yoke but his. Above all other love should be their love for him. He was the living vine into which believers were engrafted, and from him they drew the vital current which sustained their spiritual life. Paul's experience was also the experience of the whole body of believers, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Christ was their life.

      It is to be feared that controversy over many other things has perverted this simple faith of the early Christians. These controversies have lifted minor points into undue prominence. Questions concerning divine sovereignty, human agency, Christian ordinances, spiritual influence, church government, and many other matters have grown, through controversy, to occupy controlling positions in many ecclesiastical organizations. The result has been to displace, in a greater or less degree, the simple heart-trust in Christ which made the early Christians what they were. It is to be feared that most of that which now passes for religion is little more than ecclesiastical morality. It is practically Christless. His loving [160] presence, his sympathetic mediation, his kingly authority are obscured by the clouds of religious conflict.

      Then, too, may not we be making a mistake in the method of our labors for Christian union? Do we not need to make a more practical use of the fact that the only union worthy the name is union in Christ? Is it strictly true that the Bible is the basis upon which we are to unite? Would it not be much nearer the truth, yea, would it not be the exact truth, were we to say that we are to unite around Christ and in him? And does not the New Testament teach that in this union there may still be harmonious variety? As when from the circumference of a circle we advance along its radii toward its center, we must come nearer and nearer together, so must we, as Christians, come nearer each other, as, from our remote positions, we come nearer and nearer to Christ, the center of the spiritual kingdom. "I will draw all men to me." It was in this way that the most discordant elements in society were harmonized in the first churches. They became one in Christ. The Jews and the Gentiles were as far from each other as pole from pole, and yet Paul could say, in writing to the Ephesians, "But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one." From each extreme they drew near to Christ, until they became one in him. His attraction was so strong that it broke down the [161] middle wall of partition between them. If, therefore, we are to succeed in our labor for union we must rely upon this same attraction. Turn individual hearts, with their deepest devotion, to Christ. Let his magnetic power sway our own hearts--

      In his church, Christ himself is the center, and personal, heartfelt devotion to him is the controlling principle in Christian life, as it is also the final test of Christian character.

      3. In his atoning death upon the cross, we find the magic power which draws the hearts of men, which reconciles discordant elements and moulds believers into one fraternal band. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me. This he said, signifying what death he should die." Paul finds this attracting power in the bloody tree, saying, "Ye who were sometime afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." The history of preaching demonstrates the fact that the power which wins men to Christ is focalized in the cross. German theology is practically without the cross and so is shorn of its power. Unitarianism is weak from the same cause. Never has there been a preacher, from Paul's day to this, who has done much for the conversion of souls, who has not made much of the cross. To the Jews it was a stumbling-block; to the [162] Greeks it was foolishness, but unto them who are called, Christ crucified is the wisdom of God, and the power of God. It is wonderful power. No analysis can fully reveal its hidden potency, and yet it may be a delight and a help if we hold before us for a while this morning a few of its prominent features.

      1. In its revelation of divine love I find power. Love draws. Herein is love. God commendeth His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. In the cross I find the genesis of our love for God. For we love him, because He first loved us. There are problems which have been solved by the cross too profound for my comprehension. I do not undertake to explain the deep philosophy of the atonement. But one thing I do understand, although its fullness passeth knowledge. I know that the cross is radiant with love. While all that Jesus did was but the unfolding and expression of his love, yet chiefly in the cross of Calvary do I see this love displayed. In the manger at Bethlehem is love incarnate; in the ministry of Jesus is love working; in the scene at the grave of Lazarus is love weeping tears of sympathy; in the garden of Gethsemane is love sweating, as it were, great drops of blood; but on the cross is love enduring the agonies of a fearful death and swelling with a strength and fulness that breaks the heart. Here is love that has height without top, depth without bottom, length without end, breadth without limit. Let us seek with all saints to comprehend its fulness. Let us [163] believe in its genuineness and reality. It is love that draws us with its silken cords and binds us to the cross.

      2. In its revelation of danger and of safety I find power. Is there anything in God to fear? I answer yes, and point to the cross. That is a revelation of the danger of sin, and a fearful demonstration of the divine wrath against it. He was made sin for us. Every pang he felt was a pang of suffering for sin. He suffers upon the cross as our substitute. The cross stands before the world as God's warning.

      At the same time it is a place of security for us. We flee to it for refuge, and are safe. Its blood saves us. As the blood that was sprinkled upon the doorposts of the Israelites in Egypt preserved from danger all within, on that dreadful night when the firstborn of the Egyptians were smitten by the angel of death, so the sprinkling of this blood is our defense and shield. Under the seal of Christ's blood we are safe. I have been told that out upon those vast prairies of our Western frontiers, where the grass grows rank and high, there are often in the autumn great sweeping fires. The leaping flames fly with a swiftness greater than that of the fleetest horse. And it is said that, when the frontiersmen see the approaching hurricane of flame, they quickly set fire to the grass on the leeward side and then take their stand in the place thus burned bare, and await in safety the approaching storm. Though it sweeps [164] about them they are safe. The place where they stand has already been burned bare. So there is one place already burned bare for us. It is Calvary. Standing by the cross, when the world shall be wrapped in its winding sheet of flame, we shall be safe--perfectly safe. There is safety here; there is safety nowhere else. Many have fled to it because of its revelation of danger and of safety. Will you? It seems to me that when anyone comes to understand its revelations of love, of danger, and of safety they must feel so driven and drawn to it that they cannot withstand its power.

[NTC2 152-165]