I HAVE seen a schoolmaster, in teaching to write, place his hand over the boy’s hand, so as to guide the pen, and form the letters. It was somewhat similar one day, hundreds of years ago, when Pilate, the Roman governor, wrote a title to place at the head of a cross upon which One was to be crucified. That One had stood before him for examination, but with his utmost efforts he could gain nothing, and three times he distinctly declared to those who had brought Him, “I find no fault in him.” But they clamored the louder for His blood; nothing would content them but His crucifixion; until at length the governor, governed by the people, gave way, and delivered Him to be crucified. Of Pilate’s guilt in thus surrendering the guiltless to death we must say nothing; in a day that is coming he must answer for himself before the Judge of all the earth.
But now, according to custom, he must write a title, declaring why the crucified One suffered. What could he write? Thrice, before all, he had pronounced Him faultless, what can he now state as His crime? He wrote in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, ―and God’s hand, though unseen, guided his― “THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Whatever might be Pilate’s thoughts, God had a truthful testimony, so far as it went, in the three great languages of the world.
“Write not,” said the chief priests, dictating to the governor, ― “write not, The King of the Jews, but that he said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate would listen to them no more: said he, “What I have written I have written.” So God’s purpose stood, and in the face of those religious men hung the threefold testimony to their guilt, they had crucified their King. Oh, solemn, awful crime! Jehovah was the King of His people; He had come to them in the lowly grace of Jesus, but they valued Him at a slave’s price, and craved for Him a malefactor’s death! Much as they disliked the yoke of Rome, they infinitely preferred it to the presence of Jesus; they cried, “We have no king but Cesar.”
Now, dear reader, have you understood that the world, even by its religious leaders, has rejected God the Lord? Do you wonder at all the difficulty which surrounds even the wisest statesmen as they seek to subdue the evil passions of men, and fill the earth with peace? Wonder no longer. He who alone can rightly rule the world has been rejected and murdered. God will overturn, overturn, overturn, until He shall come whose right it is to reign. But let me ask, while we wait for the rightful king, is your heart loyal to Him, or are you joining hand in hand with His murderers? Oh, the terror of that day when He shall say, “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke 19:2727But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (Luke 19:27)).
But the title spoke of grace as well as of guilt. Where lay hidden the grace? In the precious name of Him who hung there― “This is JESUS.” By it our minds are carried back to a moment before His birth into this world, when it was said by the angel to Joseph, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:2121And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)). The name itself means Jehovah the Saviour. What depths of grace are enfolded in that sweet name! His people were wretched and guilty; but in His name He pledged Himself to be their Saviour from sins.
But how could He save them? Only by dying as a sacrifice for their sins. Death, judgment, and the eternal lake of fire, were all merited by His poor, sinful people; but in love He offered Himself without spot to God, the sacrificial victim, to take away their sins. Mockingly the chief priests said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save” (Matt. 27:4242He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. (Matthew 27:42)). How little did they think of the deep truth underlying their impious words! If He would save others from their sins, thus being true to His precious name, Jesus, He could not save Himself from the awful agonies of the cross. He endured them all; bore the judgment due to His people’s sins; finished His blessed work; and now, having been raised from the dead, is seated at God’s right hand, the proof of the acceptance of His sacrifice. Never was more awful consummation of guilt than in the cross of Calvary; never was such wondrous manifestation of grace. The title testified to both guilt and grace.
And it was written so as to appeal to the whole world in its distinct classes. The religious Jew, boastful of his privileges, saw, in his familiar Hebrew characters, the name of the One who hung upon the cross, and that the only true reason for His hanging there was, “This is Jesus.” The Greek, proud of his philosophy, was appealed to in the letters of his own refined language, “This is Jesus.” The Roman, master of the world, with warlike courage, military skill, and clever politics, found there an answer to his sinful state, written in his Latin tongue― “This is Jesus.”
Those who gazed upon that cross have passed away long ago; but in this nineteenth century representatives exist of those three classes. The Jews still exist, carrying on their religion. And along with them are many thousands of others who are equally zealous for their religion. But learn, dear reader, that church-going, baptism-trusting, sacrament-taking, prayer-saying, sermon-reading, alms-giving, sick-visiting, work-doing, nor any forms of an empty religion can ever save thee. The title that spoke to the Jew of old speaks now to thee, “This is Jesus.” See thy Saviour upon Calvary’s cross, bearing judgment for thee; and now at God’s right hand, the “same Jesus”; and put thy trust in Him. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)).
Many are there, also, in this day, who follow in the steps of the ancient Greek, and boast of their great scientific knowledge, their deep philosophy. But such wisdom can never save the soul. “This is Jesus,” said the title of the cross to the Greeks. Some years afterward Paul, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, preached amongst them “in weakness, and fear, and much trembling,” his one theme being “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2). The gospel by which they were saved was this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-41Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:1‑4)). Thus wholly apart from all their wisdom, they were saved as poor sinners, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. O wisdom-loving reader, when thou hast learned the vanity of philosophy, as regards the salvation of the soul, remember that it pleases God “by the foolishness of (the) preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:2121For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)).
The third class is formed of politicians, and how numerous are they! Men have their schemes of government, which they toil to establish. Though nations have risen and fallen, and the ebb and flow of the tide continues, yet men deem the glory of all nations transient except that of their own. Yet is the doom of every nation fixed. The Word of God tells of days when “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:4444And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44)). GOD’S KING has hung upon this world’s cross, a rejected man. God has replied, “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psa. 110:11<<A Psalm of David.>> The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1); Heb. 1:1313But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? (Hebrews 1:13)). He shall soon be manifested as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19). Now He is set forth as the Saviour of sinners; “This is Jesus.” O busy politician, no longer be linked as a traitor with His murderers, but bow at His feet owning Him as thy Saviour and Lord “Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psa. 2).
In Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin, the writing ran, embracing in its testimony religious Jew, philosophical Greek, and political Roman. O reader, whatever thou art, sinful but loved, is it yet written upon thy heart― “THIS IS JESUS”?
J. R.