IT was in the end of 1912, that the church building in Laguna, a small town in North America, was filled with people. They were Indians who had come from the surrounding country to hear the white man tell about the Lord Jesus. It was as still as the grave, when the missionary climbed into the pulpit, and quite motionless were all the copper-colored faces turned towards the white man as he uttered the following words: Of the Lord Jesus it is written: “He was rich!” Do you know, when that was? Have you ever thought about when the Lord Jesus was rich? He was not rich at His birth. We read in the Bible, that Mary and Joseph, on the night that the Lord Jesus was born, came to an inn, but there was no room for them. Now it is possible that the little place was filled with strangers, but we are all convinced that for a rich man, a room would have been found. But Mary and Joseph were poor. They could not give a high price for a room, and so they were obliged to pass the night in a stable, and in that stable the Lord Jesus was born. They then took the Holy Child, wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in the manger. That was His cradle.
The Savior at His birth was as poor as the very poorest. And yet Paul says: “He was rich!” When then? As He grew older, was the Lord Jesus rich? He was yet very small when Herod tried to have Him killed, for God sent wise men from the east to worship Him. But King Herod feared that he would lose his throne, and planned to have the little child killed. Then an angel warned Joseph in a dream, and ordered him to flee into Egypt with the young child. Obedient to this command Joseph took the young child and His mother and fled. NOW, they were poor refugees without a country, and when the time came that they must return to Palestine, they settled in Nazareth, one of the most despised places in the whole country. There the Lord Jesus grew up, and was known as the “Carpenter’s Son.” At that time He was far from being rich, was even very poor. Rich people did not live in Nazareth. If they became rich there, they would certainly have moved on to a more important town.
After this time the Lord Jesus was baptized by John, and went throughout the country preaching and proving by His mighty works that He was the Son of God. Did He become rich now? No, for He said: “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Luke 9:5858And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Luke 9:58).
Who could be poorer than He? You, my dear hearers, have each of you a dwelling; but He had no home. Often He slept in the mountains while His precious head was resting on the bare earth: He was a stranger here below.
And yet Paul says: “He was rich!” But He was not so during His life here below. But before that time, before He was born in the stable, then He was rich. The heavens were His kingdom. The angels stood around His throne and served Him. Heavenly riches and glory were His portion; but He gave it all up for your sakes. O, what love! He came down to this earth that through His suffering and death, multitudes of sinners, cleansed by His blood, might enter the glory with Him. There they will have joy forever. Jesus was rich. No one was as rich as He, but for your sakes He became poor.
I have spoken of poverty at His birth and during His further life, but that was not the greatest poverty. If I have friends, to comfort and help me, then it is not so terrible to be poor; and if I am sick and my friends think of me, and show me warm affection, then I am really not poor. No one is poor that has a real friend. But listen. The time came, that the Lord Jesus must die. Had He friends, who helped and comforted Him then? No. All His disciples forsook Him and fled. Crowned with a crown of thorns, He was nailed to the shameful cross, and in His terrible suffering there was no one to comfort Him. Truly, at the end of His life He was poorer than ever. But I ask once more: “Was that the greatest poverty then?” No. It was not yet the greatest poverty. Although when you are in the greatest distress and every one forsakes you, still God will be with you. And the presence of God maketh rich! Had the Lord Jesus the strengthening power of God’s nearness? Just hear the agonizing cry: “My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Yes, that was the greatest poverty. God turned away His face, and let His beloved Son suffer and die alone!
Do you ask now: “Why should He, the righteous one, die in such a way?” The answer is again: “For your sakes.”
If God should meet you, while your sins are unforgiven, He would be obliged to turn His face from you, for God cannot behold sin; and therefore He turned away His face when the Lord Jesus died, laden with sins, in order to be able to look down on us in grace. For your sakes He came on earth. For your sakes He was forsaken of God.
But although the Lord Jesus became poor, so that through His poverty ye might become rich, still many will not get the heavenly riches. Forgiveness of sins, the indwelling of God’s Spirit in our heart, a dwelling in heaven throughout eternity, all that the Lord Jesus has gained for man. But man can only get it by going to Him; taking Him as his Savior. You cannot possess all this, and hold on to your sins. You must turn to God, and believe in the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior. People will someday complain in eternal torment: Jesus became poor that I might be rich. He died that I might be saved, but I loved my sins better than Him, although I knew it all. I chose my own evil ways, and would not listen to His gentle voice. Therefore I am lost. I did not desire the heavenly treasures. Now I must be poor throughout eternity!
I trust that none of you shall join in this terrible lament. Then hesitate no longer. Come to Jesus, and confess your sins. He will blot them all out with His precious blood, and give you the imperishable riches. All this I have declared unto you in the Name of Jesus. Now you must know for yourselves where you stand. But I pray for you that you may inherit the eternal riches for which the Lord Jesus became so poor.”
Thus spake the white man, and the simple but earnest words made a deep impression on the attentively listening Indians.
Dear readers, I hope these words have also a message for you. How much the Lord Jesus has suffered for your sakes! Will you think today of how He came on earth, and in great poverty was laid in a manger in a stable, and that He walked through this sinful world the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, with no home and no money, and He went to the cross and bore the severe judgment of God on account of the sins which were laid upon Him, all for your sakes!
ML-08/22/1920